Chapter 00084: Old Times
# Old Times
Chapter 84
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 84: Old Times
Mercury? You mean to tell me that's mercury?
Ji Jue's mind buzzed as he turned stiffly, suddenly wanting to ask the prophet: why didn't you say I am mercury too?
But the truth was right in front of him, undeniable.
"What exactly has happened to her?"
Ji Jue asked in a hoarse voice, "What has she turned herself into…?"
"I don't know."
The prophet sighed silently, "Don’t you understand the matters surrounding your kind? No one can clearly say what remains after a sage dies. How much less can we explain regarding someone like her, who was so stubborn until the very end?"
Ji Jue found himself speechless.
He couldn’t help but gaze in the direction where that figure had disappeared.
One day... after he was gone, would he end up like that? No, if he were to transform into something like that, he might actually consider it a blessing.
The remnants of those beyond the heavens, the essence left behind by the sages.
Such a concept was far beyond the reach of someone like Ji Jue, who was merely an untested chosen one…
Even though that entity had done nothing apart from touching its own face before leaving, who knew what strange changes would transpire if they foolishly resisted or revealed their outsider identity?
When a whale falls, everything comes to life.
A chosen one, who spent his entire life dealing with the highest order, was destined to be influenced and transformed by that same order, leaving an array of effects due to his very transcendence.
Even ordinary folk, before they passed, could indulge in corn, and afterward, their ashes might pop like popcorn in a furnace…
A craftsman who toiled all his life with a furnace and alchemy would leave marks and sediment in his soul and body with every creation, extraction, and every guiding blessing…
Every day accumulates…
So much so that even the most notorious symptoms of the aftermath became tangible.
Those chosen ones who could not control the uncontrolled blessings within them or were tainted by dark foolishness would gradually morph into bizarre alchemical objects amidst the fading of their humanity and soul, sparking unending disasters.
One could only fear the scale of the changes that would come after the fall of those beyond.
If it were just a single creature, Ji Jue could worship his ancestors, grateful for finally striking a bit of good fortune.
But alas, that was impossible…
Who knows how many uncontrolled monsters lurked in this deep underworld?
"Don't worry, you bear the marks of fluid alchemy and have the permissions of the old furnace. They’re not interested in you. Besides, there are so many chaotic intruders out there."
The prophet, with a stoic expression, glanced outside before her gaze fell upon the depths ahead, a well that seemed to lead straight to hell.
"We're almost there."
She said, "The Non-Aggression is just below."
Ji Jue stood at the edge of the immense well, peering down and feeling the icy wind blow against his face.
In the darkness at the very end, there seemed to be a faint glimmer.
When he realized, he instinctively stepped back—usually in scenarios like this, as per the RPG game rules, an NPC would deliver a kick into one's rear, followed by the usual line of “jumping here is effective.”
But behind him was only emptiness, with the little ox cart confusedly lighting up its lights, and Xiao An, who had stopped mid-chip, hesitating with his chewing after sensing Ji Jue wasn't here to catch him, before he lowered his head to munch away.
The sound was crisp.
Hmm, he suddenly felt a surge of safety.
He measured the depth below with his eyes, then glanced at the narrow spiral stairs winding down.
He truly couldn't fathom what mercury was thinking.
"The Non-Aggression is an important thing, right?" Ji Jue asked.
"Why keep it here? Like it's been tossed to the side... like it’s unwanted?"
"The beings beyond no longer require the matrix to bind and suppress blessings within themselves. Losing the matrix isn’t as dire as you seem to think.”
The prophet replied, with a hint of mockery, “Besides, doesn’t she wish that thing would disappear quickly? If it wasn't of great significance, it might have been discarded long ago.”
“Why?” Ji Jue was perplexed.
"One could say she simply doesn’t want to see it again, right?"
The prophet sighed lightly, “Perhaps she fears remembering the past, recalling who she once was… How could she face the person she became after turning away from the remnants path?”
“…”
After a long silence, Ji Jue finally couldn’t help but ask again, “Prophet, who exactly are you?”
“A guide, a head, a remnant that shouldn't even exist now?” The prophet chuckled bitterly, “A tool too burdened to continue."
She said, "That's all."
And so they walked into the darkness.
Disappearing into the pitch-black depths of the abyss.
Beyond the darkness, a haze churned and spread silently.
From the gradually echoing song.
"Longing for home... longing for home... as a lonely guest in a foreign land, lonely and desolate, I wish to return home, back to my old garden…”
Those were the hoarse hymns sung by wandering souls lost in darkness.
Thus, from the pools of blood, from their wails of lament, from the fallout of collapse, one by one, blurred figures slowly appeared from the darkness, confusedly wandering through the labyrinthine core.
Just like prisoners meandering in prisons they could never escape.
When pale mist began to rise from the air, the once-clear sea of spirit quality gradually tainted with a madness of deep red.
In the prolonged passage of time, countless despairs accumulated, rising like rain towards the sky.
Boom!
Above the heavens, the sight of a cracked tower blazed with light again.
From its crevice, strings of crimson spilled out, raining down upon the earth.
Like blood.
In that instant, deep within the darkness, Ji Jue heard that hallucinatory voice once more.
So soft.
"Mommy..."
The little ox cart halted abruptly, its engine trembling.
Ji Jue turned back warily, as if someone was speaking.
As he glanced over, in the shadows, a presence seemed to flit by like a shadow.
But when he abruptly turned around, he couldn’t see anything clearly.
Footsteps echoed unexpectedly somewhere, along with sounds of breathing, noise, whispers…
It felt as though he had intruded into the realm of the dead.
The further he went, the closer he moved to another world…
A distant world.
The little ox cart shivered sadly; if Ji Jue wasn’t pulling it along with all his strength, it would have refused to move forward.
Xiao An slowly surveyed the surroundings, sniffing at something, but found no trace of life or death.
Until the soft giggles of a girl echoed before him once more.
In the profound darkness beyond the narrow stairs, rainbow light danced, and a small tender figure dashed past Ji Jue, leaping into another's embrace: “Mommy! You’re back?!”
“Did you miss me?”
A gentle voice rang out, freezing Ji Jue in place.
Slowly, he turned back.
Through the blurred illusion, he couldn’t make out her face, but that voice and the figure were recognizable to him beyond the fear of ash.
Mercury!!!
In the darkness, four hundred years ago, the sage gently held his daughter’s hand, speaking softly as they laughed and walked away.
But the cacophony continued, coming from all directions, as though they had finally crossed an invisible boundary, with indistinct silhouettes appearing one after another.
"One kilogram for sixteen and a half, you can’t get any less, but what about a good brand from the Southern Lands? Old acquaintance, I might throw in a little extra garlic."
"Wow, come quick, I heard those Mo people are causing a stir in the Central Capital."
"They're all mad, what does it matter? Have you gathered enough business tax this year?"
“It’s four in the afternoon; shall we praise the emperor and go pay our respects together?”
“Gloria must stay here; you can take the money. You don’t need so many things to raise a child. Rest assured, she’s just like my own daughter.”
"It’s my fault, big brother, but I..."
“Enough of that, I don’t want to hear any more of your nonsense. Let’s not speak of saving the world and all the people anymore…” The man, shrouded in smoke, sighed in the dimly lit living room, “You’ve only been back for a few days, and you’re leaving again. Have you told her?”
The figure facing away from Ji Jue fell silent.
“Mommy?”
At the staircase’s edge, a timid little girl peered out, clutching her plush toy: “You don’t want me anymore?”
Mercury fell silent, bowing her head, no longer speaking.
"I’m sorry."
She said softly, "I'm sorry, Gloria."
“Mommy, where did you go?”
The morning girl cried, “I want Mommy! I want Mommy!”
“Someone is ill, Mommy went out for an emergency; don’t worry, Mommy will come back.” An elderly lady stroked the child’s hair, “How could Mommy forget Gloria?”
But soon, such illusions vanished without a trace.
More complex and chaotic fragments rose from the darkness alongside the rainbow light, swirling like a kaleidoscope, overwhelming and dizzying.
As Ji Jue advanced, he couldn’t help but stop for the crying girl, sighing softly.
But separated by four hundred years, that distant sigh seemed to resonate on the other side, causing the tearful girl to lift her head and curiously look at him:
“Who are you?”
Ji Jue’s hairs stood on end.
He staggered back.
But that sight quickly dissipated, vanishing away.
"Has the Ether record overflowed so severely?" The prophet sighed, "After so many years without maintenance, it’s likely lost the capacity to contain past events."
"What exactly is that?"
Ji Jue couldn't help but ask again.
He lowered his head, looking down.
At the bottom of the deep well, a shimmering light seemed to wave, as if it were a doorway to the past, filled with the images of days gone by.
"That’s old times, Mr. Ji Jue, the fragmented remnants and dissipated time painstakingly pieced together, collected by the power of ether.”
The prophet said, “Four hundred years ago, a town in the remote corner of some empire.”
This was Mercury’s hometown.
Her gaze lowered, her pupils illuminated by the light from yesteryears, appearing so clear and bright, free from the haze: “What a… long and distant dream it has been.”
In that moment, time surged unfathomably, rising from the darkness.
A flood.
Engulfing them completely!
(Currently recovering physically, my reactions are still somewhat slow, but I should be fine after a while.
Gradually returning to a writing state.
Seeking monthly tickets~)
(End of chapter)