Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

The capital of the Kingdom of Fenneport, the city of Fenneport.

A luxurious carriage was traveling on the city's cement road. The driver's seat was empty, seemingly unattended. However, the carriage did not suddenly veer into the sidewalk and could automatically avoid carriages and newsboys that suddenly rushed out from around corners, making its journey extremely smooth.

Inside the carriage, a blonde girl in an elegant beige dress observed the hurried pedestrians through the glass window and murmured softly:

"Completely different from Rune."

Since the outbreak of war, the Kingdom of Rune had long implemented a food rationing system, with each person receiving only a fixed amount of food per day, insufficient to fill their stomachs. The wealthy and nobles could stockpile large quantities of food in advance and did not have to worry about food and clothing, but most ordinary people could only barely make ends meet.

This made the streets of Backlund appear particularly desolate, with many civilians waiting for relief gathering around relief points before dawn, hoping to obtain some meager food.

The once bustling streets of Hillston and Jowood are now rarely seen with people rushing to work.

Because most of the so-called middle class had already lost their jobs the moment the war broke out, and had to seek new jobs in factories, docks and other places to support their families, even though the meager wages were barely enough to support themselves.

But Fenerbahçe is quite different.

This metropolis, on par with Backlund, still boasts a level of prosperity comparable to Backlund before the war. Even though the war has been raging for months, the city's vibrancy remains undiminished, seemingly unaffected by the conflict.

Being in this city even gave Audrey the illusion that she had returned to Backlund a few months earlier.

Although this was related to the fact that the Kingdom of Feneport's war targets were only small countries like Segal and Lenburg, the bigger reason was the Church of the Earth Mother. If it weren't for the Church of the Earth Mother making the Kingdom of Feneport's grain production several times that of other countries, they would not have been able to support the prosperity of the capital during the war.

The woman in the long black dress opposite Audrey rested her chin on her hand and said languidly:

"We're almost there. I suggest you put on your mask now."

Audrey looked down at the mask beside her. It was a cold, gray mask with eyes that moved upwards and fixed on her forehead, seemingly only looking up and not caring about anything else. It gave people a feeling that was both funny and bizarre, yet also secretly terrifying.

That's a Persona called "Pride," which can be considered a special magical item.

On the face of Karula opposite her, there was also a mask called "Lust" covering her face. The mask was similar in style to "Pride", but the eyes were different from ordinary people. They were sunken to the middle of the bridge of the nose, as if looking at people from below.

Audrey paused for two seconds, then put the cold, gray mask on her face.

Almost instantly, she felt a 'virtual personality' appear on her mental island.

This doesn't originate from external sources, but rather from the amplification and extremism of a certain perception she holds:

"They are poorly educated and need my guidance to make the right choices."

"Not everyone is wise enough; on the contrary, the vast majority of people are foolish."

"Those workers act on impulse rather than reason. They are easily tempted by small benefits and are short-sighted. Only I can save them by thinking, guiding, and making decisions."

"They deserve pity, but not communication."

"..."

These thoughts swirled in Audrey's mind, making her almost believe that they were the truth. After all, they were part of the feedback she had received from her previous observations and experiences, not something fabricated out of thin air.

Audrey fell silent for a moment, then after several seconds spoke in a low voice:

"Is this what 'arrogance' is?"

Carula said with a smile:

"You're recovering much faster than I expected."

Audrey looked up and calmly gazed at the woman opposite her, without answering.

"What are you thinking about?"

Karula frowned slightly and asked.

Audrey looked her over for a few seconds, then said very seriously:

"I'm wondering if you're thinking about 'frightening' all you can think about right now?"

Carula's expression froze for a moment, but she quickly resumed her smiling demeanor:

"It seems that you are more affected by 'arrogance' than I thought."

"Is this considered 'arrogance'?" Audrey blinked and asked innocently.

Karula was about to speak when she suddenly looked to her side.

Noticing Karula's gaze, Audrey's expression shifted slightly, and she immediately followed the gaze, only to find the place empty.

But as Audrey's attention focused on that spot, the scene before the girl changed. She saw a woman whose face was covered by a mask with its eyes tightly closed and its mouth hanging down naturally, giving the impression that the wearer was asleep.

That's the Persona called "Sloth".

The woman was wearing a simple white dress, with long silver hair and snow-white skin, and looked like an elf in winter.

She was barefoot, her snow-white feet resting on the soft carpet inside the carriage.

"Lazy Lady".

Audrey looked the woman over and felt a strange sense of familiarity about her.

But she didn't ask any questions; instead, she turned her gaze to Carla across from her. They were both wearing masks, the masks of the Psycho-Alchemy Council members. The masks affected everything about them, but they could also enhance their abilities; they could conceal their identities while simultaneously serving as symbols of those identities.

Since Karula made them all wear masks, it was clear that she didn't want them to meet with their true faces.

Carula squinted slightly and greeted them with a smile:

"Priscilla, it's been a long time."

"..."

Audrey's expression was somewhat subtle; this was not what had been agreed upon.

Moreover... she was very familiar with the name Priscilla.

In my dream.

Or rather, in the dream world created by Karula.

Before Gwyn the Sun King went out to link the First Flame, he had four children on the surface: his eldest son, who was banished from the Sun; his second son, Gwyndolin, who inherited the title of "God-King"; Gwyn Avia, the "Sun Princess"; and his youngest daughter, Felenenor.

But in fact, Gwyn had far more than just these four offspring. He also had two forbidden offspring unknown to outsiders: Priscilla, a half-dragon, and Yorshka, another half-dragon.

Priscilla's father was one of the Four Kings, and her mother was Seath, the last remaining scaleless ancient dragon. She was the product of Seath's forbidden experiments, possessing characteristics of both a god and a dragon, and was born with the power to slay gods.

But precisely because of this, she has been imprisoned in the world of paintings since she can remember.

It is both imprisonment and protection.

She was imprisoned to prevent her from affecting the rule of the gods and the reputation of Gwyn, the "Sun King".

However, this also protects her from the 'experiments' of the White Dragon Heath.

It was precisely because of his unrequited love for Priscilla that, through Hiss's scheming, the girl named Yorshka was born...

As Audrey recalled the details of her dream about Priscilla, a sudden wave of emotion washed over her.

Although she had long known that the dream world was not just an ordinary dream, and that the characters in it were all real people, she still couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions when those characters actually appeared in reality.

What's special about this girl named Priscilla is that, as a descendant of a white dragon and a god, although she is a scaleless half-dragon girl, unlike her 'mother', the white dragon Sith, she inherited the immortality characteristic from the ancient dragon!

This was not a miracle, but rather exactly what the White Dragon Heath desired.

He hoped to find a glimmer of hope for immortality in his descendants. Priscilla's appearance undoubtedly confirmed the success of Seath's forbidden experiment. However, under Gwyn's protection, Priscilla disappeared from reality, and Seath, unable to ascertain her whereabouts, was naturally unable to conduct research on his daughter, ultimately placing his hopes elsewhere.

Lady Lazy gazed quietly at Karula and asked softly:

"If you're going to call me by my name, why make me wear a mask?"

Karula's lips curled up slightly:

"Don't you think this is funny?"

The woman named Priscilla watched her quietly. After a while, she removed the mask from her face, revealing her exquisite features.

She was an exceptionally beautiful woman, but Audrey's attention was elsewhere: her face was very white, extremely white.

Despite her excessively pale complexion, she didn't appear sickly; instead, she exuded purity. This adjective might not be entirely accurate, but it was Audrey's first thought upon seeing Priscilla's true face.

After thinking for a moment, Audrey also reached out and took off her mask, even though she had only put it on recently.

Seeing the woman named Priscilla looking her over, Audrey said softly:

"Hello, I'm Audrey."

The woman responded softly:

"Priscilla, you should know me."

Audrey responded somewhat reservedly:

"Yes, Ms. Priscilla, I have seen records related to you in the dream world."

Priscilla looked up, puzzled, and asked in confusion:

"Just for recording?"

"Huh?" Audrey blinked. What else?

Priscilla noticed the girl's confusion and explained softly:

"The dream world was built by me, Karula, and the others."

"..."

Audrey's gaze fell on Carula, her expression subtle.

So she always felt something was strange. Although Karula was powerful, she was only a Sequence 2, and had only recently been promoted to Sequence 2.

When Audrey was at a lower sequence, she had no doubts, but when she advanced to sequence 3 and entered the dream world there, she began to doubt the truthfulness of Karula's words—because the size of that dream world was clearly far greater than that of sequence 2!

Those few Lords of Cinder alone are comparable to angels, and some of them even surpass angels, reaching the Sequence 0 level!

Such a complete world could not be surprising even if it were the work of a god.

But can Sequence 2 really do this?

And now the answer is obvious—the dream world was indeed created by Karula, but not solely by her.

This achievement also involved the efforts of many others, including Priscilla and many other beings from Lordland. It was through the collective efforts of these remnants of the "Old Ones" that the world they once lived in was restored!

Priscilla saw through the girl's thoughts and noticed the way she looked at Carla, immediately understanding everything. But she didn't say anything more; after all, she hadn't planned to take credit for this matter anyway, only Carla would have such a silly idea.

"What are you looking for?"

Priscilla looked at Audrey, who was looking behind her with a searching gaze. Audrey was startled, her pretty face flushing slightly; after all, her thoughts had been a little impolite—she was looking for a tail, a dragon's tail.

In fact, Priscilla was smaller than she had imagined, well, a little smaller.

After all, the gods in the dream world are much taller than ordinary people, and as a hybrid of a god and an ancient dragon, Priscilla is also described as tall, much taller than the average god.

But at least the girl she sees now is no different from a normal person.

This may be due to her extraordinary abilities, since Priscilla's original form was theoretically a "mythical creature form," and it is understandable that she could control it freely after becoming an extraordinary being. Of course, it is also possible that what appears in front of her is not the girl's true form, but something she conjured using her extraordinary abilities.

That's why Audrey was curious about that tail, which she didn't even know was still there...

For Extraordinary Individuals using the 'spectator' pathway, seeing through the thoughts of the person opposite them is actually quite simple. Even without using their Extraordinary abilities, their 'spectator' instincts allow them to observe and thus guess what the other person is thinking.

Priscilla saw through Audrey's glint in her eyes and realized her purpose.

But she didn't mind, and a piece of her tail stuck out from behind her.

Its tail was not as thick as a typical dragon's tail; instead, it was as thin and small as a cat's tail, and it had no scales.

Audrey's eyes brightened slightly, but she soon heard Priscilla's clear voice:

"You didn't come here for this, did you?"

"I'm sorry, I was rude."

Audrey blushed. "Audrey, how could you be so rude? You're already a demigod at Sequence 3, why can't you even control your emotions? You were already able to do this with ease back at Sequence 7!"

"As expected, it's still the same as always."

Carla clicked her tongue and muttered in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear:

"That's why I hate being with you."

It is so pure that it is almost unbelievable, and it can even influence those around it. It is the complete opposite of the Dark Child.

The gods do not possess such abilities, so this may originate from an ancient dragon, or perhaps from Priscilla herself.

But in any case, Karula didn't like it.