Chapter 622: Charatu

Nast fixed his gaze on Luo Sai Er, did not answer outright, but asked in puzzlement:

"As the Black Emperor, once you successfully revive, the corresponding traits and uniqueness will naturally return to you. Why then risk vying for the traits there?"

"My revival process encountered issues; I want to try skipping the tomb and directly using an extraordinary trait to return from death."

Luo Sai Er did not hide his condition; for those who understand the Black Emperor, this was not hard to guess.

In Nast's deep black eyes, the dark red surged more violently; he inhaled deeply, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the flowing dark red had subsided, leaving only a heavy, dignified deep black.

"Very well." He nodded slowly in response, then added, "I need to know the truth about the apocalypse; tell me when I become a duke."

"Very well." Luo Sai Er chuckled lightly and nodded.

After a brief moment of silence, the hazy starlight surrounding them faded quickly, and with it vanished the figures of Lei Ke Dun and Luo Sai Er.

Inside the cabin, the crew of the Black Emperor hesitated, looking toward the captain seated on the highest, black, high‑backed chair; the heavy authority of Nast, the King of the Five Seas, made them bow their heads again.

Strange, what was I just thinking, why did I feel the captain had vanished for a while. The second officer Bode Mastan of the Black Emperor muttered two doubtful sentences to himself, and as he pondered, he forgot what question he had been considering.

Never mind, it must not be important, but why am I in the cabin? Isn't it my turn to patrol the deck today? With the thought drifting, Bode Mastan turned and left the cabin.

Deep in the spirit realm, amid layered vivid colors, a pumpkin carriage pulled by two plump rats sped forward.

Inside the pumpkin carriage, Lei Ke Dun curiously looked at Luo Sai Er sitting opposite him and asked, "Are you sure you can skip the tomb and revive directly by this method?"

Luo Sai Er slowly shook his head and said:

"Of course not."

"But if I have already mastered an extraordinary trait of Sequence One, then at the instant my consciousness returns I can actively warp concepts and rules, break free from the tomb's shackles, appear in the Star Realm without waiting for uniqueness to return, and then initiate the process."

"As long as uniqueness is not polluted by the Primordial Moon, even if my mind falters, there will still be room for mitigation."

"And with a trait at my side, I wouldn't be as frail as now; I wouldn't need a companion just to step outside, and I'd have some privacy."

Lei Ke Dun glanced at Luo Sai Er's lower half, his tone calmly mocking, "You are merely a mechanical doll, with no extra functions."

"Don't open your mouth and slander my noble character." Luo Sai Er grunted twice, then fell silent.

After sending Luo Sai Er back to Beiernadai aboard the Dawn, Lei Ke Dun did not rush back to the Southern Continent, but first went to Tosikate Island in the Suniya Sea, a sea where the Black Night Church conducts missions.

In the Black Night Chapel on Tosikate Island, Lei Ke Dun appeared silently in the prayer hall; as night approached, many came to pray, and his figure was lost in the crowd, drawing no attention.

He slowly paced with the crowd to the front, before the Dark Emblem, and found a corner spot to pray quietly.

Unwittingly, amid the fragrance of night‑scented grass, he awoke to see a woman in layered black classical gown standing quietly among the flowers.

Her body was somewhat ethereal, with ripples radiating outward; her face seemed veiled in layers of thin gauze, hazy yet exceptionally graceful.

Lei Ke Dun looked at the figure from his dream, chuckled, and said:

"It's only a small request; it shouldn't require you to come see me in person."

"It's a necessary courtesy."

"You may project Charatu's historical image and, thereby, request appropriate compensation from him."

The Black Night Goddess's voice was very calm; even without any extraordinary power, it carried a soothing quality.

Lei Ke Dun nodded calmly, looked at the Black Night Goddess before him, and chuckled, "Then, what must I give?"

"A single drop of the River of Eternal Darkness's water." The Black Night Goddess said evenly.

"Very well." Lei Ke Dun gave a gentle nod.

The Black Night Goddess's request surprised him; he had expected her to ask for more, as the River of Eternal Darkness's water is highly valuable to her, who seeks to control the Death God's uniqueness. As he responded, he extended his left hand forward, star‑light flickering at his fingertips, outlining a somewhat illusory, misty portal.

He reached through the portal, took a deep‑brown glass vial etched with strange symbols and patterns, and tossed it toward the Black Night Goddess.

The deep‑brown vial rippled as it neared the Black Night Goddess, then vanished, its destination unknown.

A breeze scented with faint flowers brushed past him; Lei Ke Dun suddenly awoke from the dream, hearing the constant shuffling of believers and hushed conversations around him.

Lei Ke Dun lowered his gaze to his half‑clenched right hand, where a dark badge had appeared at some point—a deep‑black background speckled with stars, embracing a half‑visible Crimson Moon.

After securing the Dark Emblem, Lei Ke Dun inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, rose from his seat, dropped several banknotes into the offering box at the front, and then stepped out of the chapel.

In the unusually clear sky, a half‑crescent Crimson Moon hung high; on the night‑shrouded horizon, only a thin dusk remained.

Walking down a street where pedestrians grew sparse, Lei Ke Dun suddenly stopped, held the Dark Emblem up to his eyes, gave it a quick glance, then infused it with a touch of spirit.

Silently, the Dark Emblem fractured piece by piece, a deep, tranquil darkness poured out, engulfing Lei Ke Dun's figure like a tide; his body rapidly dissolved under the darkness.

In the blink of an eye, his figure vanished from the street; the surrounding pedestrians continued their comings and goings, as if they had never noticed anyone there, let alone how he disappeared.

On the main peak of the Honachis Mountains, in an unusually quiet, uninhabited yet tidy town, Lei Ke Dun's figure suddenly stood out.

His gaze calmly swept the surroundings; a deep violet light flowed swiftly in his eyes, tracing one symbol after another.

In this state, his sight seemed able to pierce appearances and see the essence of things: the street beneath his feet, the houses on either side, the withered trees by the road, even the red moon in the sky—all transformed in his eyes into pure, dimly mist‑laden information.

A quick search revealed the spire‑topped church at the town's center; inside, numerous suspended mummified corpses hung, quiet and eerie.

Poor Charatu, at last someone has thought of you and has decided to come rescue you; I hope you can prepare enough recompense, Lei Ke Dun twitched the corner of his mouth, sighed inwardly, and then stepped toward the town‑center church.

As he walked, his body suddenly became ethereal, breaking into streams of tangled knowledge that surged like a torrent toward the town center.

After a while, the Crimson Moonlight bathed the ground, casting silhouettes onto the street; the once‑quiet road became bustling, and within the spire‑topped church at the town's heart, streams of information poured in, countless pieces of knowledge converging to reconstitute Lei Ke Dun's body.

He glanced back at the now‑bustling street, his sight piercing those figures to discern their true nature.

With a light sigh, he withdrew his gaze, walked past the toppled mummified corpses on the roof, and finally stopped before a gray‑white stone chair.

A figure in a hooded black robe rose on the stone chair; his eyes were dark as lightless water, a long dense white beard framed his face, resembling a mysterious, wise elder.

He is the target Lei Ke Dun sought: Charatu, the leader of the Secret Cultivation Society, sealed by the Black Night Goddess within the historical projection of the Honachis Mountains.

Charatu's gaze lingered on Lei Ke Dun for a moment, his lips curling, his voice a low, hoarse tone as he said:

"So many years have passed, and I never expected another angel to arrive here."

"Your eyes are unusual, but there should be nothing you need here. Why did you come?"

Lei Ke Dun calmly stared at the elder before him, his tone leisurely, "There is nothing I need here, but you do."

As he spoke, his deep gaze swept back and forth over Charatu's historical projection, catching every illusory spirit‑worm on its body.

Ignoring Lei Ke Dun's rather impolite stare, Charatu said evenly, "What do you wish to obtain from me? I am merely a historical projection left here, possessing no real traits and no great power."

Not paying attention to the errors in Zarathustra's words, Leton let out a hey and bluntly stated his purpose: "Pay me three wishes, and I will take you out of this hidden world, how about that?"

Zarathustra's deep dark eyes showed some surprise as he looked at Leton, and he explained in a calm tone: "You are already an angel; the wish of a Miracle Master has limited effect when used on you."

"Moreover, I am merely a historical projection; this place is isolated from the outside world, and I cannot draw power from the spirit realm or from history."

Leton smiled and said, using the words he had prepared earlier: "I can first release your historical projection; then, when your true form waiting outside awakens from madness, you will pay me compensation."

"I will tell you in advance what kind of wish I need; you can accumulate it bit by bit until you can create the corresponding miracle."

(End of chapter)