Chapter 1995: Witch Echo - Isabella

Xia De didn't notice the strangeness on the face of the witch sitting beside him. Since he knew he could leave a small amount of items, he endured the discomfort of his spirit and rummaged through his pockets for some toys:

"Food, drinking water, change of clothes, do you need soap? Leave it first. Oh, I don't have a hobby of women's clothing. Carrying women's clothing is to deal with some awkward occasions."

He stuffed the items that turned from toys into real objects into Miss Isabella's hands. Then he felt that he really couldn't hold on anymore, and finally checked the newly acquired card.

The back of the brand-new card in his hand had the exact same pattern as the "Rhode Card" and "Universal Card". Turning it to the front, he saw the top of the card written in gilded Delarion language:

【Undead Ghost】

On the card face, it was the second-floor window of the house at the edge of St. Deran Square standing in the sky-filled yellow sand. Mr. Armand Bernhardt, with a pale face and blurred appearance, looked out of the card from the window. The composition could not be called stunning, but it was particularly chilling.

At the bottom of the front, three sentences were written, and Xia De read them softly:

【A soul that died in a disaster and returned from death when doomsday arrived.】

【The disaster of life and death reversal originated from Midhillburg.】

【When the final moment arrives, death itself will come to an end. Nothing in this era can die, and there is no life here.】

After reading these sentences, two strange memories appeared in Xia De's head.

The first memory occurred in a city Xia De didn't know.

The scene in the memory seemed to be at night, a blurred city landscape. He only had time to see a huge archway standing in the city area. Then, a dazzling white light rose into the sky, and in that light, the citizens who looked up on the street because of this amazing scene had their bodies melted into light.

And the owner of this memory, Mr. Bernhardt, although he tried to escape into the house to avoid this light, he eventually melted in the light.

The first memory ended here, very short. But Xia De also got important information. In his non-existent past life Sixth Era, Mr. Bernhardt did not die in the undead turmoil in Midhillburg and Mount Sikar, nor was he implicated in Huntington City because of the Battle of Pantanal, but died in a city Xia De didn't know, and the cause of death was melting into light.

"This is not a scene during doomsday, it is a scene before doomsday... Mr. Bernhardt and Mrs. Lemaire both died before doomsday, only Mr. and Mrs. Smith truly lived to the moment doomsday arrived... What is that light that melts people?"

The second scene, even if Xia De was just watching the memory, could feel the coldness of death.

The scene was very familiar. The Underworld Moon was half-sunk in the pitch-black water, and countless dead souls stood on the water, moving toward the Underworld Moon. The perspective at this time was extremely interesting. Mr. Bernhardt, who was dead, was undoubtedly one of the souls, so Xia De at this time had penetrated into the water area of death as never before.

The Underworld Moon seemed within reach. Even during the final battle with Joey Barton, he couldn't penetrate to this position.

But soon the mutation happened, the light of the Underworld Moon dimmed until it was completely extinguished. Those souls that seemed to be able to emit soft white light themselves disappeared into the darkness one after another.

Everything was silent, but Xia De, who was watching this scene, felt his hair stand on end. And Mr. Bernhardt was undoubtedly the lucky one. The light of his soul and a very few others did not go out, but continued to walk in the darkness.

Until yellow sand blew from in front, and dim light appeared above the black. Soon even the feet were illuminated. Footprints of souls could not be left on the gravel, and only the ruins of cities could be seen in all directions. It seemed that even space had mutated. Cities in the normal world would not be so close to each other.

But the unconscious soul ignored these. He just walked forward, kept walking forward, but didn't know that he had no way to reach the end anymore.

These two memories ended, and Xia De, whose soul was a little numb, woke up. He looked at the playing card in his hand:

"When doomsday arrives, even the concept of death itself does not exist. Most souls are instantly annihilated, and 'lucky ones' like Mr. Bernhardt return to 'reality', but still instinctively walk forward, thinking they still have a place to return to... So, his soul is so weird."

He was not summarizing in his heart, but said this passage. The witch holding the sundries beside her nodded gently:

"Such evil things are rare in the 'present', I have never seen them be destroyed."

"So, can death really not be achieved here?"

He silently said that sentence he didn't know how many times in his heart:

"Luweiya, what on earth have you experienced?"

White fog rolled in from all around, covering this space-time that should not exist. Because she also had the power of time, Adele Isabella could also see this white fog.

She knew Xia De was about to leave, and also saw that Xia De was trying to say something to her last. The last Great Witch took a deep breath and made a decision. Before Xia De's figure completely left with the white fog, she pricked her finger and pressed the fingerprint with her blood on Xia De's forehead:

"I will wait for you to come back."

The strange spirit was injected into the soul in such a weird way. While the white fog completely covered his eyes, Xia De clearly heard a "click" sound in his ear.

The white fog dissipated, revealing the scene of the study at home with gas lamps on. And "she" in his ear continued to tell what gift the last witch gave Xia De:

【Outsider, you have felt miracles and enlightenment, and you have gained insights into 'frozen time'.】

【Outsider, you have obtained the miracle - Adele's Time Stop. Activated by staring at the target, it takes effect on a single individual, completely freezing their time, with huge consumption. Corresponds to the space-time spirit rune.】

Another slight pause, allowing Xia De to feel the witch's last voice still echoing in his heart:

【Outsider, you have obtained 'Witch Echo - Last Speaker - Isabella'. This echo has special properties, and your low-tier sublimation words are ineffective against it.】

Xia De stood at the door looking at the scene in front of him. Outside the window was the night view of Tobesk city dotted with street lamps and the lights of every household. The cat lay on the desk and lazily meowed at Xia De, hoping that Xia De would return to the desk and sit down to stroke it as soon as possible.

"She" finished the last sentence:

【Outsider, you have returned to the present time.】

【Next time to open time, Present Life · Sixth Era, Common Calendar 1854, Moon of Thunder.】

Xia De responded with a soft "Hmm~", looked down at the playing card in his hand, and then took out a small mirror, watching the bloodstain on his brow disappear little by little like weathered water stains.

But that power had already settled in his soul:

"Time stop miracle that takes effect on a single individual, the eighth witch echo... Miss Isabella... This gift is really too generous."

It was Tuesday, the 24th of the Moon of Sunshine. He would see this witch again in a week. Xia De decided that he must thank her properly.

As for the information obtained this time, besides knowing the cause of Mr. Bernhardt's past death, he also knew what happened to death in the doomsday era.

All this was more terrifying than he thought. Time and space were confused, and life and death no longer had meaning. He even doubted at this time whether the City of the End, Tobesk, really existed. If everything had entered the end, then the scenery of the city in the yellow sand was the remains of the world, or just a conceptual scene turned into by someone's loneliness.

He shook his head abruptly, forgetting this weird thought. He threw the hand card into the air, and while it rotated along the axis in front of him, his fingers attached with flames tapped on the playing card:

"【Calamity Card · Undead Ghost】."

The initial fire suppressed the power of the calamity, allowing part of its power to be displayed in front of Xia De. The cat suddenly stood up, meowing crazily at Xia De, and then actually rushed directly toward Xia De.

Xia De, who felt cold all over, hurriedly lifted the power of the playing card, and then hugged the anxious cat that jumped at him.

"Don't worry, don't worry, I'm fine."

Hugging Little Mia in his arms and stroking it, the cat with its fur standing on end gradually returned to normal, but it just clung to Xia De's arms and refused to leave.

Xia De also knew the use of 【Calamity Card · Undead Ghost】. Under the suppression of the initial fire, it could allow Xia De to briefly transform into a dead person. The blood in the body stopped flowing, the heart stopped beating, the body temperature dropped, and corpse spots appeared. After lifting the effect, he could immediately return to normal.

"Corpse transformation technique?"

He put 【Undead Ghost】 together with 【Twin Lovers】 and 【Shadow of the Deep Sea】 and sent them back to the basement. These cards might be of great use in the future, but at least tonight, Xia De didn't need them.

Hugging the cat that was scared and therefore kept acting like a spoiled child, he read for a while. Luweiya didn't open the door downstairs with a key until after eight o'clock.

The purple-eyed girl who had worked all day looked a bit tired. After washing up, when she hugged Xia De and prepared to rest in the bedroom, she still wanted to kiss him, but was rejected by Xia De:

"Rest quickly. Look at you, you can hardly open your eyes now. Doesn't Miss Miss Jia Lin Na often say that lack of sleep is the greatest enemy of young ladies?"

The gas lamp in the bedroom had been turned off. The cat curled up into a cat ball beside the pillow, determined not to stay in the closet tonight. The purple-eyed girl looked at Xia De in the dark and asked hesitantly:

"But you let me come here tonight..."

"Luweiya, what kind of person do you think I am? Your birthday gifts are enough. I let you come to me, just for that?"

He lay down holding Luweiya:

"Just want to sleep with you, and then watch tomorrow's sun."

There was a smile in the purple eyes:

"Those witches were tricked by you, now it seems there is a reason."

"Luweiya~"

"Yes, yes, rest. Good night then, Xia De, see you tomorrow morning."

"Good night, Luweiya, have a good dream, see you tomorrow morning."

"Meow~"

"Good night to you too, Mia."

The cat, the Outsider, and the Diviner lady closed their eyes, each having their own different dreams. And when Xia De's consciousness fell in the dream, when he stood firm, he saw that he had returned to the dilapidated home at No. 6 St. Deran Square again. ===== CHAPTER 1996 =====