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

Audrey walked along the corridor to its end, even though the corridor seemed endless.

As she passed by, she saw one wooden door after another. These classical doors with bas-relief carvings looked particularly mysterious under the dim candlelight, making one wonder what was hidden behind them.

But Audrey skillfully restrained her inner desire to explore and never opened any of them.

Because she knew that each door here represented a dream, representing the inner world of its owner.

In other words, Audrey could see the various secrets hidden deep within the hearts of their owners by opening any of these doors.

However, under Carula's tutelage, Audrey understood a principle very early on:

Demigods in the spiritual realm must learn to restrain themselves and respect others.

If you can usually read other people's true thoughts from their body language, facial expressions, and emotional fluctuations, and then you are still not satisfied and greedily explore other people's inner world, digging up their privacy and secrets, then you may eventually suffer the consequences.

This is a very simple truth: everyone has some dark and bad thoughts to some extent, but most people control them well and don't let them affect their behavior. In this case, if a demigod in the realm of the mind insists on digging into these thoughts and the ugly parts under the mask, he will easily become disappointed in humanity, be infected by all kinds of negative consciousness, and gradually go crazy without realizing it.

This is one of the reasons why, even though "audience members" can "soothe" themselves and treat their corresponding psychological problems, they are still prone to becoming abnormal or crazy.

They are both safe and dangerous.

Herwin Lambis, the Pride of the Rogue, is the best example.

Although he usually disguises himself well, his true nature is still crazy.

Therefore, Audrey set a behavioral standard for herself: she would only observe and "read minds" of acquaintances, and try not to enter their dreams; she had no restrictions on entering the dreams of strangers, but she would not enter anyone's mental world unless necessary.

She knew, of course, that to leave the maze, she had to open one wooden door after another and find the exit hidden within.

That's exactly what Paulie Dellaud did.

He should be opening those doors one by one, exploring their secrets, and searching for a possible exit.

But if Paulie Dellow really explored so frequently, yet Audrey still couldn't see him in the corridor, it means they weren't in the same space or the same corridor.

Of course, if they open the same door, they will still meet in the corresponding dream.

This is a cat-and-mouse game that requires a lot of patience.

It also requires sufficient sensitivity.

Audrey could not see Boley Dellau, but her spirit always guided her.

They led her to a door.

Audrey stopped in her tracks. A door appeared in front of her. Unlike the other doors that lined up endlessly on both sides of the corridor, this door stood across the corridor, blocking Audrey's way.

It wasn't there from the beginning; it appeared "suddenly" when Audrey came to it. And the instant the door appeared, the seemingly endless corridor behind it vanished without a trace, as if the door was the end of the corridor.

Looking back, you'll find that the corridor still stretches endlessly, with countless doors that Audrey encountered on her journey still standing there.

Snapped!

Audrey pursed her lips, her breathing steady as she reached out and grasped the doorknob.

As the wooden door opened, the scene inside was gradually revealed.

This was no longer a room. The ground was covered with smooth stones and clumps of dark green weeds, and the depths were shrouded in darkness, making it impossible to see clearly. But Audrey could see that in the darkness ahead, there was a gray-white dragon, staring blankly at the things in the shadows, frozen in place, unable to move.

Audrey recognized him almost immediately—it was Boley Dellow, the man she was looking for!

But Boley Dellau's attitude also says something—whatever is hidden in that darkness, it is definitely not the 'exit' that Boley Dellau craves.

On the contrary, something even more terrifying might be lurking in that darkness.

For example, the owner of this dream is a Sequence 2 angel.

Before an angel, a Sequence 3 demigod is almost powerless, which is why Boley Dellow stood there stiffly.

They neither fled nor attempted to launch an attack.

He simply stood there, awaiting his fate.

If Audrey were to enter, she would likely end up like Boley Dellaud, awaiting judgment from that angel.

But since she was aware of all this, it meant that it was all what the 'angel' desired. Otherwise, He could have prevented Audrey from seeing Boley Dellaud, just as she couldn't see what was hidden in the darkness.

Because it is unknown, we are curious, and that is why we step into it.

But Audrey is aware of the dangers involved, so she will most likely decide against entering after weighing the pros and cons.

But this is not possible.

Since that 'angel' dared to let her see all of this and make her realize her current situation, it means that He believed Audrey would make the right choice and would voluntarily step into it.

And that was indeed the case, because Audrey had no other choice.

To escape this mental labyrinth, she, like Boley Dellow, needs to find an exit.

So even knowing it's a trap, she has to walk into it willingly.

However, unlike Boley Dellau, she was not passively accepting all of this.

Audrey walked slowly inside, and the door creaked shut behind her.

The dragon that Boley Dellow had transformed into remained frozen in place, paying no attention to Audrey's arrival. He simply stared intently at the things in the darkness, unable to look away.

As Audrey stepped inside, the outlines of some things quickly came into view within the darkness:

A colossal stone pillar, tens of meters high, stood erect, upon which rested a long, lizard-like monster. This monster, perched atop the pillar like a small mountain, was covered in large, grayish-white stone-like scales, and its eyes were pale gold and vertical.

Without a word, Audrey immediately understood that this was a dragon of the soul from mythical legends, a genuine angel!

With a whoosh, the two wings of this mental dragon spread out, almost covering the sky.

Their skeletons are metallic, resembling leaf veins, and covered with a hazy, gray membrane with mysterious patterns.

As Audrey looked up, the dragon of the mind began to hum:

"Who let you in?"

He spoke the language of dragons without a doubt.

So He wasn't the creator of this labyrinth, but rather an unfortunate soul trapped here as well?

No, the assessment of being trapped here is inaccurate. As an angel, He can escape at any time. Because He doesn't need to search for an exit like Boley Dellow; He has enough power to break through the labyrinth directly.

But He did not do that; instead, He waited for them here.

This suggests that He wanted something from them. But the question is, what did they have that was worth the angel's covetousness?

"I have no idea."

Pauline Dellow lay prostrate on the ground, his wings touching the earth, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"You...no, perhaps you should ask her if she's connected to the person who set up the labyrinth!"

Upon hearing this, the dragon turned its gaze to Audrey.

"I have no idea."

Audrey stated frankly, "I came here from the Garden of Eden to follow him."

She knew Boley Dellau was faking it; those with the 'Audience' pathway could easily see through others' pretenses, and could just as easily fake themselves. Boley Dellau might genuinely fear this angel—after all, he was only a demigod—but certainly not to the point of trembling like he was now.

To be honest, his disguise was rather clumsy.

But for now, this is indeed a good way to divert the dragon's attention.

The giant dragon looked down and asked:

"You didn't set up this maze?"

"Of course not."

Audrey shook her head slightly and said softly:

"I've never even met you."

To connect an angel's dream with this labyrinth, she would need to have at least entered or come into close contact with that angel's dream. But if she had indeed come into close contact with His dream, the dragon would not have been unaware of it, nor would it have felt unfamiliar with Audrey.

The enormous, greyish-white dragon with its massive scales remained silent for a moment, seemingly agreeing with Audrey's statement, and then hummed:

"My name is Erihog, one of the three remaining ancient dragons."

Does He mean that He is one of the three dragons that survived from the Second Age, and that the various dragons that are now few in number are merely descendants of the dragons from the Age of the Ancient Gods? Audrey nodded slightly, not interrupting him.

The dragon's attitude undoubtedly confirmed part of Audrey's guess: the person who created the labyrinth was an angel, but only a Sequence 2 angel.

Since Adam has become a god, there are no Sequence 1 angels in the 'spectator' pathway.

Unless Adam actively splits off two Sequence 1 extraordinary traits to create two Sequence 1 clones, just like the former "Nightmare Dragon" Alshogod. This is not impossible, after all, Adam is in good condition, and splitting off two Sequence 1 extraordinary traits would not only not weaken His strength, but would also give Him two more lives.

But as I said before, if that were really the case, the giant dragon in front of them couldn't possibly be completely unaware.

As an ancient dragon that has survived to the present day since the Second Age, He was already a Sequence 2 angel back in the Second Age.

It's impossible for Him not to know that Adam had become a god, nor could He not know that the "Dreamer" could actively split extraordinary characteristics. If He is a Sequence 1 angel, then He could be considered Adam in person.

He was not facing a Sequence 1 God, but a dual-path God.

In that situation, it was impossible for Him to remain there and leisurely introduce Himself to Audrey.

Therefore, it cannot be Adam; it must be another Sequence 2 angel.

but……

There aren't many angels in total for the 'Audience' pathway Sequence 2, because the number of extraordinary traits is fixed.

Each Sequence 1 extraordinary trait has only three copies, while the number of extraordinary traits in Sequence 2 varies, but not by much. Currently, the 'Audience' pathway already has far too many Sequence 2 angels.

Erihog is one, and the other two ancient dragons He mentioned must also be Sequence 2 angels, otherwise they wouldn't be alive now. This means that at its peak, the dragon race had more than five angels—including three ancient dragons such as Erihog, the "Nightmare Dragon" Alshogod, and the "Cherubim" Herabergen who later sided with the ancient sun god.

In the extraordinary races of the Second Age, having five angels in one group was actually considered a normal number.

For example, there are at least three known angels among the giant race: the god of dawn, the god of honor, Bradel, and the giant queen, Omibella.

There are also four vampires, and these four have lived from the Fourth Epoch to the present day. They are the three current dukes and the goddess of beauty of the vampire clan.

The dragon race has five angels who are superior to most other extraordinary races, but they cannot gain an overwhelming advantage.

Similarly, due to the ability of the Mind Dragons to hide in dreams, their ability to conceal themselves is no less than that of other dragons skilled in escape, which is why these three ancient dragons have survived to this day.

And here's the key point: the extraordinary properties of Sequence 2 are limited.

The three ancient dragons occupy three portions, Audrey has three portions, Adam has one portion, and Hermes has one portion.

There is one last item whose whereabouts are unknown, but it is highly likely to be some kind of sealed artifact.

In this way, all nine extraordinary characteristics are complete.

The labyrinth was not designed by Erihog, nor could it be any other ancient dragon; they had no reason to kill each other.

Adam was also excluded; He didn't need the labyrinth to easily kill everyone here.

Audrey knew very well that she hadn't done it, and she also believed that neither Karula nor Priscilla had.

So who else could be the remaining suspects?

Audrey suddenly murmured:

Hermes.

The dragon atop the stone pillar shifted slightly, turning its gaze toward the wooden door behind Audrey.

Audrey sensed something as well; as her emerald eyes shifted slightly, she suddenly heard the sound of a metal handle being turned behind her.

Audrey's gaze drifted sideways, and the lonely wooden door, devoid of any external support, slowly slid open, revealing the visitor:

A huge, white rabbit with twitching ears that walks upright.

"You are a woman."

He smiled and waved to the group, looking extremely relaxed and at ease.

"Hermes?" Audrey asked softly.

"I am."

Hermes smiled and nodded, readily admitting it.

Audrey asked in confusion:

"What do you want to do? Save Dellau?"

"No."

Hermes gave a mysterious smile:

"He's just a side effect; my purpose is to get you into this maze and to put you in front of Erihogg."

"Why?" Audrey frowned. Was it to make her and Erihog both suffer heavy losses?

But when Hermes uttered those words, the plan was already doomed to failure.

"For symbolism."

Hermes said slowly and deliberately:

"My friends, times have changed, yet you remain trapped in the old world, failing to grasp the trends of the new era!" (End of Chapter)