Chapter 704: Hunter of Fate (Second Update—Requesting Base Monthly Votes)

Franca rushed ahead of Lumian, rapidly recounting the parts of the "Dream Festival" concerning the Mingdaoren.

She said with obvious excitement:

"The interaction between the two worlds is far closer than I imagined!"

"I never expected that besides the 'Well of the Samaritan Woman,' there are other similar interdimensional nodes—all tied to that illusory river."

As she spoke, Franca muttered inwardly:

Too bad the man from our world, seen in the fourth layer of the underground crypt, hasn't been found yet… "007"—no, why is the Eternal Sun Church so inefficient? And the mole cooperating with the Fool's Day cult hasn't been uncovered either…

After Franca finished, Lumian briefly added details about the origin of the black tomb and the condition of the ancient corpse.

"Hela," still dressed as a Black Widow, listened in silence, then nodded slightly:

"What we can confirm now is that the illusory river is not the River Styx of the Underworld—it is something higher in hierarchy."

"Exactly." Lumian was unsurprised by Hela's words. "The black tomb doesn't just manifest the power of the Death Path—it also carries traces of the Night and Warrior Paths."

And in this world, all legends of the River Styx are tied to death.

Lumian suspected this might involve beings like the "Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun," the "Tree of Desire," and the "Great Mother," who occupy multiple Paths and divine seats.

Hela glanced at Franca, fell silent for a moment, then said:

"If the Armor Shadow's account is accurate, the state of the Mingdaoren is abnormal. If you wish to contact Him, you must be extremely cautious—ensure you have a way to escape the relevant area."

The Armor Shadow's description of the Mingdaoren was "sacrificing oneself into the river"—meaning abandoning one's body or life.

"Understood." Franca sighed. "I plan to consider this only after reaching Sequence 5."

As she sighed, she gloated inwardly:

The Joy Elixir has been largely digested recently; even without other opportunities, in two or three months I'll be ready for the Ascension Ritual of the Pain Witch… I should start gathering the required alchemical ingredients now…

Can't tell, can't tell, can't tell Lumian—showing off like this makes me seem vulgar and disrespects Jianna…

Lumian glanced back and forth between Hela and Franca, puzzled.

He felt Hela had wanted to say something important to Franca just now—but ultimately held back.

Lumian rarely sensed "having something on her mind" from Hela; that glance and those few seconds of silence had revealed hesitation.

Too bad Franca is often careless and oblivious to details—if she'd asked directly, she might've gotten something out of her… As Lumian's thoughts swirled, he decided that since Hela hadn't spoken now, there must be her own reason—he suppressed his curiosity and pointed to the far end of the ruined palace:

"I'm going to prepare the ritual."

"Alright," Franca replied with keen interest.

She had witnessed Lumian obtaining the Ascetic's power before—but that was in the Fourth Era's Trill, amid intertwined dangers, forcing her to remain tense and vigilant, unable to relax and simply "observe" as she could now.

Lumian paused, then pulled a small metal vial from a hidden pocket in his vest and tossed it to Franca:

"If I become severely unwell, smash the 'Wall of Spirituality' and throw this in front of me or onto me."

"Do I need to unscrew the cap?" Franca asked with a smile.

"What do you think?" Lumian raised an eyebrow.

"Of course you do," Franca laughed. "Just joking—I wanted to lighten the mood."

"Thanks," Lumian said, turning and walking to the massive stone chair at the deepest part of the ancient palace.

His intuition told him this weathered, colossal chair might be connected to the "Fool."

That would help his ritual better attract the Fool's attention.

Seeing Lumian arrange the ritual items on the chair as an altar, and solemnly place a Ruin gold coin before the gray-white candle representing the deity, Hela said calmly:

"Don't worry about no response.

"What is meant to be hidden will be hidden; what is not meant to be hidden won't be."

Lumian relaxed, sanctified his silver dagger, and created the "Wall of Spirituality."

The voices of Franca and Hela instantly grew faint, as if coming from far away.

Lumian didn't rush the ritual. Lowering his voice, he deliberately provoked Thelmiporos:

"I'm going to draw your power again. What do you think?"

He hoped to provoke Thelmiporos enough to expose hidden flaws in his response—letting him detect whether the Fate Angel was secretly plotting, and what that plot might be.

Discover early, treat early, resolve early!

Thelmiporos's grand, layered voice echoed:

"The further forward you go, the closer you draw to the end—that is fate, unchangeable."

"Is that your self-consolation?" Lumian mocked Thelmiporos's riddling behavior.

Thelmiporos's voice reverberated in layers within Lumian's body:

"The gift draws the recipient closer to the giver. You think you're drawing my power, but in truth, you're constantly pushing your fate toward me, making yourself increasingly like me.

"Through your eyes and your fate, I've glimpsed certain things.

"You and I are the same—both insects trapped in fate. All living beings are, save the great ones.

"Soon, you will realize:

"Death is the end of all things; madness is the eternal melody."

Saying nothing… Thelmiporos implied I'll suffer a blow soon? Lumian laughed and said:

"Are you saying this on purpose, hoping I'll take the Hunter of Fate's power burdened by dread and fear, then die here?

"Don't worry—death and madness won't stop me."

Without waiting for Thelmiporos's reply, Lumian gazed at the candle flame and chanted softly:

"Power of Fate!

"You are the past, the present, and the future;

"You are the cause, the result, and the process;

"..."

As the ritual progressed, Franca and Hela saw every item on the altar transform: stones softened, candles swelled, the ground rotted into swamp, and countless strange insects flickered in and out of the void.

The darkness beyond the ruined palace grew deeper and more profound; silver-black fluid oozed from Lumian's chest, enveloping him entirely, as if he had become a statue of contaminated mercury.

Lumian writhed in agony, his body twisting, folding backward, contorting into postures violating human anatomy—as if he had no bones, his skin and flesh filled with mercury.

Franca stared, stunned, feeling phantom pain.

Amid extreme, familiar agony, Lumian saw Aurora.

Aurora, with her long, thick golden hair, was attempting the "Soul Summoning" ritual!

Lumian stepped forward and stopped her.

Just as he rejoiced that the problem had been nipped in the bud—that Aurora would no longer split into the evil persona of Loche Louise Sanson—he was stunned to see her body rapidly mutate, swelling into a bloody, three-headed, six-armed monster seated in lotus position.

Lumian then saw Aurora trying to call out to Hela for help; he unwillingly intervened, ensuring his sister didn't forget this event—but when Hela arrived, Aurora, still having not performed the final ritual, had already become the massive three-headed, six-armed monster.

Lumian's vision then showed multiple Auroras at different stages of life, each poised to make crucial choices.

Lumian desperately tried to save their fates, to halt their slide into the abyss—but each time he succeeded in redirecting fate down another branch, the final outcome remained: Aurora's soul and body shattered, becoming the three-headed, six-armed monster.

Is this fate? Is this the unchangeable result? Lumian's eyes turned bloodshot; he redoubled his futile efforts in madness.

At that moment, he smelled a faint, sweet, fragrant scent, and heard a soothing chant in his ears.

Lumian swiftly regained his thoughts, his reason, his clarity.

The Auroras before him vanished instantly; only the still-burning candle remained.

Lumian instinctively turned to look behind him and saw Franca and Hela had drawn near—the "Wall of Spirituality" had been shattered.

At the same time, Franca saw silver and iron-black colors flickering rapidly in Lumian's eyes, alternating, then merging into a single silver-black hue.

Lumian exhaled, knowing he had escaped danger and successfully obtained the Hunter of Fate's power.

Yet deep inside, he still felt strong sorrow and loss.

The events of the hallucination seemed to foreshadow the ultimate fate of his wish to resurrect Aurora.

After ten or twenty seconds, Lumian finally broke free from that emotion and grew resolute again.

Who gives up before even trying?

Seeing this, Franca sighed in relief, tightened the vial's cap, and asked with a smile:

"How was it? What new abilities?"

You really don't treat yourself as an outsider, do you? Who just casually asks someone about their newly acquired supernatural abilities? Lumian mentally scolded Franca, then seriously examined his own changes.

His eyes, just returned to normal, once again glowed silver-black, reflecting the images of Franca and Hela.

He immediately saw the silver-mercury illusory rivers corresponding to the two women—their main river flows representing past and present, shimmering with ripples, and countless branches diverging from the present moment.

The illusory river slowly flowed forward, swallowing all branches, leaving only one to become the main stream, which then branched anew…

Lumian noticed that for both Franca and Hela, one of the branches carried a faint black hue.

ps: Second update—requesting base monthly votes~

(End of chapter)