Chapter 693

The statue of the Old God, the 【Lord of Slumber】, was in the image of a faceless, obese man maintaining a posture of either lifting something or stretching. The holy emblem was an indescribable spiral like a crawling snake; Xia De felt drowsiness surge the moment he glanced at it, and he couldn't help but yawn.

This caused Mr. Bernhardt, who was beside him, to yawn as well.

Xia De held his breath and extended his right hand. As his fingers crossed a certain boundary, the skin on his fingertips peeled away, revealing non-dazzling golden traces within the cracks.

After withdrawing his hand and squinting slightly, he saw the others looking at him. He hesitated, then used his left arm in an awkward posture to block their view. However, considering that Sister Daelin's "sight" did not rely on vision, it was hard to say whether this action was of any use.

He extended his right hand and grasped both the statue and the holy emblem. Immediately, an irresistible drowsiness surged into his heart. Amidst "her" laughter, Xia De slumped onto the tabletop:

"As expected of the Slumber..."

"Then let us continue."

The master of the mansion withdrew his gaze from Xia De.

"What will happen to him?"

Bernhardt asked in a low voice, pointing at Xia De, who was slumped on the table.

"If he can wake from his slumber, he may naturally leave. But if he remains in eternal sleep, he must stay here."

"Can we not take him away?"

Sister Daelin also asked.

The wrinkles on the old man's face piled together, and he grinned, revealing a toothless mouth:

"The first card of the second round, my opening bet is..."

(Little Mia is running...)

Xia De had psychological expectations for what would happen after touching the evil god statue. Since this Old God was known as the 【Father of Slumber】, it was understandable to fall into a slumber after coming into contact with its power.

In that endless void, his feet touched solid ground. With the green land beneath his feet as the center, the wilderness under the endless night sky spread in all directions. The sea of stars hung upside down overhead, and the massive silver moon shone upon Xia De.

He knew this was his own dream; after all, since arriving in this world, this was the scene he saw most often in his dreams. Only this time, the wilderness under the silver moon seemed unstable. Xia De could feel that he was falling into a deeper layer of the dream.

That was the void dream, a dream without consciousness or any thoughts.

【Then to whom will you seek help?】

Xia De looked up at the moon, while "she" whispered softly in Xia De's ear.

【The desire in the pool? She is looking forward to your call.】

"She" asked with a smile.

Xia De shook his head and looked down slightly at the collapsing scenery around him:

"Sister Daelin has already said that when encountering danger, one can proceed in the direction where the flame exists (Chapter 637)."

The solid dream earth collapsed, turning into points of light drifting toward the starry sky above. The starry sky scroll gradually closed, with only that silver moon remaining so real.

"Flame, is it..."

He looked at his hand. The red stone he had once obtained from Mr. Thales at the Sikar Hotel—the stone where one could see a giant bird when observing it against the sun—appeared in his hand through imagination.

【Outlander, you are about to fall into slumber.】

"She" reminded him softly.

Xia De nodded and looked at the silver moon overhead:

"I need guidance."

He said softly.

The silver moonlight was quiet and serene, and following Xia De's words, a phantom yellow moon appeared behind the silver moon. The earth beneath his feet collapsed completely, and Xia De closed his eyes and fell into a deeper dream. And that silver moonlight, together with the yellow moonlight, shone upon him and upon his hands.

"What a pity, you still did not seek my help."

In a trance, he seemed to hear the voice of 【Desire】, but then his thoughts ceased completely, and he fell into eternal sleep...

Consciousness fell into the deepest dark void, where one second felt like eternity. And in that profound darkness, the red stone in Xia De's hand abruptly flashed with red light.

The stone left his hand and drifted in front of him.

With a crisp bird cry, the stone ignited into flames. The flames spread in all directions, illuminating the darkness. Light red, deep red, fiery red, orange-red... the illusory flame colors presented hazy light and shadows in the dark void.

Chaotic yet gorgeous, the indescribable light illuminated the deepest void of consciousness. While being illuminated by that red light, Xia De, whose consciousness had fallen into silence, heard the most real voice:

"Xia De Suren Hamilton, open your eyes quickly..."

"Again?"

The fatigue made Xia De, who had regained consciousness, unwilling to even open his eyes.

What he heard was a hoarse woman's voice calling to him. He could feel an additional grand and beautiful figure in his consciousness.

The body that had been "lying" in the void of consciousness gradually turned to face the hazy red light and shadow. Amidst the repeated calls of "Open your eyes quickly, Xia De Suren Hamilton...", Xia De struggled to overcome the influence of the evil god's power on him and "looked" at the existence calling to him in the void of consciousness.

The firelight illuminated his eyes, and what he saw was the blurred figure within the firelight. It accompanied the flames, and the flames accompanied it. His pupils reflected that beautiful and crazy figure. Gorgeous flames, in the deepest part of the red light, wrapped around a beautiful creature, and around that creature were piled burning human bones.

"Phoenix..."

"Xia De Suren Hamilton."

The voice seemed to come from all directions, but it was not grand; rather, it was somewhat gentle. Yet within the gentleness, there was madness and restlessness. It might have long since gone mad, but it still followed the call to come here and awaken the sleeping Xia De.

But Xia De was not satisfied with this; he needed the help of this Ancient One. The moonlight stone ring appeared in his consciousness, and he kissed the ring gently:

"May the Yellow Moon guide you—Confusion."

The silver and yellow moons appeared in the surrounding illusory firelight. While the cold light stabilized Xia De's spirit, it made the restless flames become gentle:

"Outlander beyond fate, I see new possibilities in you."

The beautiful figure in the firelight seemed truly awake. A bit of firelight from the figure at the center of the radiance flowed bit by bit into Xia De's body. He felt power, felt satisfaction; he realized he was devouring the Phoenix's flames.

His soul rejoiced because of this, but it thirsted for more due to greed and gluttony. The sin of 【Sloth】 truly became his power the moment Xia De regained consciousness, and the new sin was gradually becoming stable in his soul.

"The problem of the gap between life and death is imminent. I awakened at your call, but I cannot maintain it for too long."

This was the ancient language, spoken in a gentle tone:

"The gap is on the verge of collapse, and death is about to descend upon the city at the foot of the mountain. Go, traveler from another land, and remove the four nails sent from the land of death to the real world; those are four people who have returned from the dead. This cannot stop the disaster, but at least it can buy you more time."

"I understand."

Xia De did not open his mouth, but the voice naturally appeared in this void space.

"Traveler connecting the present and the past, the Red Butterfly Twins, the Ash Nun, the Death Angel, the Blood Duke, the Witch's successor, the Chosen One—the strong of the material world gather here, and even the gaze of the Great Ones is cast upon this place. Go, Xia De Suren Hamilton, I will give you power to let you overcome the difficulties before you, using sin to fight sin. But you must remember..."

Xia De felt he was waking up, and the Ancient One who had been here since ancient times also spoke the final warning:

"... Only death can fight death. Mortals are destined to die... all things have an end."

Xia De was about to wake up, and he asked his final question:

"May I ask, for what purpose do you use your own body to suppress the passage at the summit of the mountain gap?"

The Witch Empress probably sealed the passage at the mountainside in passing; after all, they were the true mortal managers of the material world in the Fifth Era. And the Orthodox Church only took action after discovering the problem; they were the guardians of the extraordinary order of the Sixth Era to begin with.

Only the Ancient One at the summit seemed to have nothing to do with anything, yet it sealed the most critical passage. This responsibility, in Xia De's view, was unimaginable.

"Because, I have always been here."

"What..."

"Humans worship the mountains and forests, that is me. Humans worship fire, that is me. Everything of this great mountain that humans worship, that is all me. I have been here since my birth, from the Third Era until now. I am the Son of Sikar Mountain. I am one with the mountains, with the earth, and with all things."

The firelight submerged Xia De. That endless power was like the mountains, like the earth. In this firelight, he saw the phantom representing everything of Sikar Mountain, and saw the story of man and the mountains.

【Outlander, you have touched the Phoenix's fire, you have obtained the spell "Flame Shaping".】

【Outlander, you have touched the Phoenix's fire, your body has acquired stronger self-healing abilities.】

The Phoenix suppressing the gap was the original guardian of Sikar Mountain. It was not a god, but the mountains were with it; it was the Son of the Mountains.