Chapter 687 Gaining Immortality
?Lumian raised his eyebrows and returned Hisoka"s gaze with a radiant smile.
The two individuals in different scenes exchanged glances through the blurry void, each casting their eyes in opposite directions.
Reaza, Iveljsta, and the man and woman who had just arrived in Tizamo had clearly seen the people in the other scene. They were astonished and dumbfounded by this incomprehensible, bizarre situation, but they couldn"t interact with each other.
The gravekeepers in the same scene as Hisoka appeared to be praying, oblivious to the changes in their surroundings or treating them as if nothing unusual had occurred.
Lumian surveyed the area and vaguely comprehended the situation.
Regardless of how real this place seems, various encounters will mirror reality to different degrees. At its core, it remains a dream. And under the influence of the black ancient tomb or the cold corpse within, this area has fragmented into multiple dream shards. Each time a new group arrives, a fresh fragment is generated…
If not for Amandina"s or my arrival triggering some abnormality, it would be impossible for people in different scenes to interact. They wouldn"t be able to attack each other, nor could they see, hear, or detect one another"s presence.
This must be why the gravekeepers vanish every time the Dream Festival commences.
They don"t disappear. They"re simply in different dream fragments from the Dream Festival partic.i.p.ants.
Based on the results of the previous spirit channeling, is this some kind of concealment?
But the black ancient tomb hasn"t been unsealed yet…
As Lumian"s thoughts raced, Amandina"s voice grew increasingly shrill, filled with terror.
"He"s right in front of me! Save me! Save me!"
Lumian stared at Amandina, who was retreating in an attempt to evade the invisible creature, but he couldn"t perceive the figure she described.
In the brief span of more than ten seconds since Amandina"s panic attack, Lumian had used his Spirit Vision, Weakness Investigation, Luck Observation, and other abilities, but he hadn"t detected anything unusual.
He was on the verge of taking out the Mystery Prying Gla.s.ses and the Eye of Truth.
Lumian reached into his Traveler"s Bag. Without a rough grasp of the situation, he didn"t know how to rescue Amandina, who had broken down from fright.
Just as his fingers brushed against the Mystery Prying Gla.s.ses, Amandina was suddenly taken aback.
After a moment, she turned to Lumian and said in bewilderment, "He—he turned and left. He seems to have recognized me…"
"Recognized you?" Lumian felt compelled to confirm Amandina"s mental state.
Amandina replied in confusion, "Yes, he nodded at me and left."
Is this why, after the Dream Festival begins, anyone who wishes to approach the black ancient tomb must be guided by someone who has received the boon of the ancient tomb or the corpse? Robert and Padre Cali likely played the same role in similar scenes, but they don"t belong to the Evernight pathway and lack dream-related abilities, so they didn"t notice… Did the people in the other dream fragments also receive the boon of the black ancient tomb or the cold corpse? Lumian"s heart stirred as he asked Amandina, "Where did he go? Where did that figure go?"
Amandina"s gaze shifted to the periphery of her surroundings.
Her eyes widened with lingering fear and excitement. She raised her palm and pointed at the dream fragment where the man and woman were.
"He went there.
"He"s gone through! He"s gone through!"
Amandina"s explanation made Lumian and the others feel the black ancient tomb solidifying and becoming heavier. The entire area shook even more violently.
Simultaneously, Lumian sensed a familiar burning sensation on his left chest, but he didn"t hear any ravings that seemed to come from an infinite distance.
In a daze, he saw a huge aqua-colored vortex, a dim village shrouded in gray fog, and figures within the village.
Shepherd Pierre Berry, who believed in Inevitability, and Lumian"s friend, Azéma Lizier, raised their pale-white arms, as if silently shouting.
Lumian also spotted his semi-subterranean two-story house and Aurore, sitting quietly on the orange roof with her arms crossed.
Lumian no longer resisted the illusion.
He roughly understood what was happening.
As the figure entered other dream fragments, the black ancient tomb"s abnormality intensified. It contained the power of the Death domain, "awakening" the Cordu villagers within the seal.
These villagers were already deceased, with only soul fragments remaining. Naturally, they would be affected by the power of the Death domain.
This realization made Lumian feel pain, sorrow, and bitterness that he hadn"t experienced in a long time.
He "watched" Aurore, clad in a light-blue dress with thick, long blond hair and light-blue eyes. She didn"t attempt to resist the invisible power of death.
"He walked to that woman," Amandina continued dutifully.
That woman? Camus, Rhea, and Lugano turned their attention to the corresponding dream fragment.
Having just arrived in Tizamo that night, the lady in the light-colored dress didn"t hear Amandina"s words. She only knew that the patrol team was looking at her.
Her spirituality gave her a sense of foreboding. She hurriedly turned to her companion and asked, "Devajo, do you sense any malice?"
The man named Devajo, dressed in a dark gray suit, slowly shook his head and said, "Nothing."
In the dream fragment where Lumian and the others were, Amandina explained in high spirits, "He… The figure… extended his hand! He pressed his hand… on that woman"s head!"
Just as Amandina finished speaking, Devajo saw his companion, the lady in the light-colored dress, suddenly collapse to her knees. Her expression was stiff, and her face was abnormally pale-white.
Ooo!
In all the dream fragments, an ice-cold wind howled.
Lumian "saw" Aurore standing up on the orange roof, her expression dazed as she gazed into the sky, as if sensing something.
She opened her mouth and spoke almost instinctively.
Lumian didn"t know the corresponding language, but he had heard something similar before.
It was the language used by Armored Shadow Chen Tu, a language that Franca occasionally uttered a word or two of!
Although he couldn"t understand, Lumian vaguely grasped what his sister was talking about, perhaps due to the connection between them at the soul level.
She muttered to herself, "An immortal blessed my crown, bestowing upon me the gift of eternal life.
In the dream fragment where Devajo was, the light-colored lady"s hat, which had unconsciously fallen to her knees, suddenly flew off.
On her neck, the backs of her hands, and the surface of her face, pores opened one by one, producing white feathers tainted with faint yellow stains.
Devajo observed this scene with a solemn expression. He didn"t attempt to interrupt his companion"s abnormality and instead took a few cautious steps back.
He couldn"t comprehend what was happening. Although he hadn"t sensed any malice directed at him, he prudently distanced himself from the anomaly.
The lady in the light-colored dress"s azure eyes had lost focus, appearing abnormally vacant and lifeless.
In the blink of an eye, the white feathers, tainted with light-
yellow oil stains, seemed to possess a consciousness and life of their own. They frantically emerged from the gaps in the fabric of the dress.
Within moments, the lady in the light-colored dress was enveloped by white feathers tainted with light-yellow oil stains.
Her body grew light and gradually floated, becoming increasingly illusory.
Her azure eyes fixed on Devajo as she shouted in a hollow and agitated voice, "I"ve become a G.o.d! I"ve achieved immortality!"
The white-feathered monster hovered above the black ancient tomb, incessantly shouting, "I"ve become a G.o.d! I"ve achieved immortality!"
In another dream fragment, Lumian heard Aurore change her words.
With a fearful expression, she whispered, "Immortal Ascension…"
In the next instant, the ethereal monster, covered in white feathers, flew towards the black ancient tomb in the dream fragment.
She pa.s.sed through the stone wall on the tomb"s surface and vanished.
Suddenly, the frigid wind ceased, freezing.
The black ancient tomb shook visibly, and the tomb door, outlined by hair-like cracks, emitted the sound of dull rubbing, as if someone was trying to push it open from within.
Aurore, "in front" of Lumian and the "surrounding" Cordu began to fade, as if erased by an eraser.
Lumian glanced at the slowly opening tomb door and turned to "Hisoka" Twanaku, who was in another dream fragment.
The dream projection wasn"t surprised by the abnormality, nor did he show any fear. Instead, the silent gravekeepers around him rose to their feet.
Amidst the illusory sound of water, the tomb door of the black ancient tomb opened completely.
Accompanied by this change, all the dream fragments that appeared in the blur seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, fusing together.
Devajo, Reaza, Iveljsta, Hisoka Twanaku, and the gravekeepers materialized in front of the black ancient tomb, near Lumian and the others.
"Hisoka" Twanaku smiled, as if he had antic.i.p.ated that one of the outsiders would transform into a "G.o.d" and that the ancient tomb"s door would open at this very moment.
He retrieved a golden mask from his black robe.
The mask appeared to be crafted from pure gold, its eyes and face smeared with white and black paint, giving it an unsettling appearance.
Twanaku donned the golden mask and, unlike the other gravekeepers, didn"t retreat. Instead, he sprinted towards the black ancient tomb and the open tomb door.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Lumian heard a distinct heartbeat.
It emanated from within the black ancient tomb.