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

In the void, like the depths of the universe, there is an endless, silent world all around.

Here, vibrant blocks of red, yellow, blue, and green overlap, resembling the most abstract oil painting. All around are ethereal, transparent objects whose forms are difficult to describe. Deep within, high above, seven beams of clear light of different colors drift slowly, seemingly possessing life and containing boundless knowledge.

This is the spirit world, completely overlapping with reality, and it is everywhere.

The existence of the spirit world is quite wondrous for anyone. And for extraordinary individuals, the spirit world is even more indispensable.

For example, the divination commonly used by 'diviners' is based on the images seen by astral spirits traveling through the spirit world. There, the rules of the material world are not followed, and it involves a transcendent 'self,' an infinite 'self,' a cosmic 'self,' where the past, present, and future may overlap. This is the root of divination.

Based on the same principle, the Sequence 7 "Astrologer" of the Apprentice Path can also perform divination with the help of the spirit world. Furthermore, the Sequence 5 "Wraith" of the Heterogeneous Path can transform into a spirit body, directly contact the spirit world, and obtain information, so they naturally possess the ability to divine and counter-divine.

Therefore, in theory, extraordinary individuals, regardless of their path, can receive revelation from the spiritual realm and subsequently utilize extraordinary divination abilities. This is because the essence of divination is the result of communication between the spiritual and the spiritual realm, and between the spiritual self and a higher level of the "self."

But the spirit world has no up, down, left, or right distinctions. The past, future, and present may all converge here. It is like a strange ocean formed by the compression of countless knowledge, information, and illusory spirits, which is completely different from the "world" in normal concepts and logic.

This is why revelations from the spiritual realm can only be images and symbols, not direct answers. They must be interpreted to understand their specific meaning, which is precisely the function of divination items such as tarot cards.

Aside from divination, other types of extraordinary abilities are also inextricably linked to the spirit world.

Whether it's the flame leap of the Seer pathway Sequence 7 'Magician', or the extraordinary abilities such as teleportation and blinking possessed by the Apprentice pathway Sequence 5 'Traveler', the Death pathway Sequence 4 'Undead', and others, their essence is all about traversing the spirit world.

Taking advantage of the fact that the spirit world has no distinction between up, down, left, and right, and that positions and distances are extremely chaotic, the spirit world is used to achieve the effect of "instant teleportation" in the real world.

For example, the "ocean of collective unconsciousness" often used by high-sequence extraordinary individuals in the audience pathway, although in most people's understanding it is the mental world of all living beings, is actually also subtly and mysteriously connected to the spirit world.

It could even be said that the ocean of the collective unconscious exists only by relying on the spiritual realm.

The underworld is the same; its essence is a special area created by the "progenitor of the phoenix," Grey Garley, within the spirit world.

If one were to use other similar terms to describe the "spirit world," Ember could only think of one word:

Subspace.

Upon closer examination, the two sides do indeed share many similarities...

Just as these thoughts crossed Yu Jin's mind, in the spirit realm where the colors were densely layered, among the seven different colored beams of pure light occupying the highest point of the spirit realm, an orange light suddenly flashed and transformed into an old man wearing an orange robe, appearing before Yu Jin.

The old man was plump with a short white beard and looked quite kind.

However, the old man's expression at this moment appeared somewhat tense, even fearful, and he trembled slightly as he said:

"Your Excellency, please allow me to introduce myself. You should have heard of me. I am 'Orange Light' Hilaryon, serving the great being above the spirit world, the Lord of Mysteries, Mr. 'The Fool'."

As he spoke, the old man's expression grew increasingly terrified, as if simply standing before Ember was already causing him immense pain. This compelled him to finish his sentence in one breath, fearing that leaving it unfinished would lead to a misunderstanding and result in his death.

Yu Jin looked at the old man, whose eyes were darting around nervously, and suddenly asked:

Have you seen me before?

"Orange Light," Hilary said nervously.

"We've met before, but you only passed by briefly each time. This is the first time you've had a formal conversation with us."

Yu Jin seemed to realize something; he had indeed "passed by" the spirit world several times.

Whether it's going back to the past or using the spirit world to travel, it requires the special characteristics of the spirit world.

But for Ember, the Spirit Realm was merely a special tool, and there was no value in staying there intentionally.

But this time is different. He needs to find something in the spirit world, so he will need someone to guide him.

And the indigenous people like the Seven Lights of the Spirit Realm are the most suitable guides.

Ember asked:

"What do you know about Calderon and the source matter inside?"

The 'Orange Light' Hilary, who has no sweat glands, wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead and carefully chose her tone to speak:

"In fact, we don't know much about the source matter."

"When the last civilization ended and the 'first' awakening occurred, the previous seven lights were already erased. We are pure light reborn from the spirit world of the first era, and the things we can understand may not be as many as you imagine."

"Orange Light" Hilary first layered armor on herself, while observing Ember's expression. Seeing that he showed no abnormality, she continued:

"All we know is that the source of Calderon is the 'River of Eternal Darkness.' Greta Garley used this source to create the city and buried it deep within the spirit world by taking advantage of the River of Eternal Darkness's unique properties."

"But in the process of creating Calderon, Greta Garry gradually became aware of the pollution of the River of Eternal Darkness. So she used a tributary of the River of Eternal Darkness to create the Underworld in the Spirit Realm, in an attempt to get away from Calderon, which contained a tributary of the River of Eternal Darkness, and thus get rid of the pollution."

"At the end of His life, threatened by the ancient sun god, He was forced to turn His attention to Calderon once again, throwing the city along with its tributary, the River of Eternal Darkness, into the depths of the spirit world. We speculate that His purpose was to use the special nature of the River of Eternal Darkness as a backup plan for His resurrection, but for unknown reasons, this attempt ultimately failed."

Seemingly fearing that insufficient information would cause dissatisfaction, 'Orange Light' Hilary quickly explained:

"The essence of the Source is far superior to that of the Spirit Realm. We, the Seven Lights, were born in the Spirit Realm and cannot transcend it to explore the secrets of the Source. With the obstruction of the 'River of Eternal Darkness,' we cannot enter the depths of Calderon, nor can we obtain accurate information. But according to our speculation, Greta's resurrection failed either because she was unable to escape the pollution of the River of Eternal Darkness, or because she was influenced by the Death God Salinger."

"in addition."

"Orange Light," Hilary paused for a moment, then said cautiously:

"Since the main stream of the 'River of Eternal Darkness' appeared underground in Calderon, the surrounding spirit world has also been affected. Even if we approach it now, we will suffer irreversible contamination. If you try to explore there, it will be difficult for us to provide any substantial assistance."

In fact, the influence of the River of Eternal Darkness goes far beyond what He said.

As one of the nine fundamental elements left behind by the Creator, the River of Eternal Darkness exists above both the physical world and the spirit world. Therefore, faced with the erosion and pollution of the River of Eternal Darkness, the spirit world is powerless to take any countermeasures or resist, and can only allow it to continue to erode it.

For the spirit world, this is absolutely a world-ending crisis, no less severe than the invasion of the ancient world by the real world.

Fortunately, there is the Source Castle above the Spirit Realm. As a source substance as well, the Source Castle can suppress the erosion of the River of Eternal Darkness. In addition, the River of Eternal Darkness currently has no 'master' and has not yet developed self-awareness, so its pollution of the Spirit Realm is still in an unconscious and spontaneous stage, and the scope of the erosion is not too exaggerated.

Once this pollution reaches an irreversible point, Qiguang will have no choice but to appeal to the great being above the spirit realm for help.

"Lead the way." Ember didn't answer 'Orange Light's' reminder, but simply gave the order calmly.

The River of Eternal Darkness is, after all, a source material, and the embers still gave it some attention.

So even though he had already obtained Calderon's coordinates from Klein, after hearing Orange Light's description of Calderon's current situation, he didn't plan to "teleport" directly to the depths of Calderon. He decided to observe the outer perimeter first.

As for how to determine where Calderon's "outer perimeter" is, we need to use the seven lights of the spirit world—since they are contaminated even when they are just getting close, they must know where the dividing line is.

"This... please come with me."

"Orange Light" Hilaryon wore a bitter expression. She knew this trip was bound to end badly. But there was nothing she could do. After all, it was an order personally given by the great ruler of the spirit realm, and none of the other six lights were willing to come, so she had to carry out this arduous task herself.

Even though she was unwilling, "Orange Light" Hilary had no choice but to faithfully carry out that person's order and teleport rapidly into the depths of the spirit world. Along the way, all sorts of strange spirit creatures passed by them, like an oil painting depicting hell.

Ordinary beings would likely be surrounded by these spirit creatures, becoming lost in the spirit world and unable to leave. This is because not all spirit creatures are friendly; many are powerful and malevolent.

Even for the Seven Lights of the Spirit Realm, they are not absolutely invincible in the Spirit Realm. Deep within the Spirit Realm, there are many terrifying beings capable of harming or even killing them. The reason why the Seven Lights of the Spirit Realm are more famous than these powerful Spirit Realm creatures is largely due to their friendly attitude towards extraordinary beings.

Normally, if a single one of the Seven Lights were to venture into the depths of the Spirit Realm, even without encountering danger, they would inevitably be drawn to the greedy gazes of certain beings. This is because the Seven Lights of the Spirit Realm represent not only angelic-level strength but also a corresponding rank within the Spirit Realm—any creature in the Spirit Realm may perish, but the Seven Lights of the Spirit Realm will exist forever.

Just like how even if the seven lights of the spirit world of the previous civilization are annihilated, a new seven lights will still be born in the spirit world to replace them.

If one could devour one of the seven lights and steal their status, the benefits to spirit beings would be immense.

But this time, Hilary, the Orange Light, did not feel those greedy gazes.

Along the way, those strange and powerful spirit creatures dared not approach, or even look directly at, and some even teleported away to other areas the moment they sensed their presence.

Hilarion, the "Orange Light," knew very well that it wasn't because those creatures were afraid of her; they were afraid of the one behind her.

They might have thought that person was sent by "Orange Light" to take revenge on them, which is why they fled at the first opportunity. But what they didn't know was that it wasn't just them who were afraid; "Orange Light" was afraid too!

Just now, He witnessed Ember grabbing a spirit creature that hadn't had time to escape during the teleportation process.

Hilarion, the "Orange Light," saw this and felt fear in her heart, and could only silently mourn for the captured spirit creature.

Finally, after who knows how much time had passed.

They stopped in front of an area.

Behind them were impressionist oil paintings with mixed colors, hazy and dreamlike. And further back, countless strange and grotesque spirit creatures scattered in all directions because of their arrival.

On the surface, this place seems no different from other areas of the spirit world.

But not far ahead of them lay an area shrouded in the gray twilight. Visibly, the gray color deepened as it went deeper, eventually becoming an impenetrable darkness, making it impossible to discern what lay within.

The deathly stillness that permeated that area was enough to send chills down one's spine even outside of dusk.

The darkness and the oil painting are clearly distinct, like two works of art with vastly different styles blended together. And if you look closely, you can even see the twilight slowly seeping into the area of ​​the oil painting, gradually encroaching upon it!

"Orange Light" gazed at the darkness, her eyes filled with deep fear and apprehension, and whispered:

"Further in is Calderon. I'm sorry, this is the only way I can take you."

"It's alright, you can leave first."

Ember's tone was very friendly. If you ignored Orange Light's fearful expression, they looked like two old friends exchanging pleasantries before parting ways.

The next second, "Orange Light" Hilary watched helplessly as Ember threw the spirit creature he had just grabbed on the road into the twilight ahead!

Amidst the screams of the other side, the enormous spirit creature, hundreds of meters tall, with a huge bull's head and two sharp horns, its pink skin covered with equally pink tentacles, entered the grayish-white area from the brightly colored oil painting, accompanied by a desperate scream.

At a speed visible to the naked eye, the 'life force' on the other party was disappearing at an extremely rapid pace.

Finally, He stopped struggling completely. His originally pink and smooth skin was covered with grayish-white, and it was covered with cracks.

From a distance, it looks like a bizarre, enormous stone statue. (End of Chapter)