The wound on the palm can't help but hurt, but this is a necessary step. Pain is the clearest feeling, emotional pain is too abstract. The little lion remembered that when she changed jobs in the forest temple, she cut open the skin with an arrow and entered the dreamland. Mentor Yasukawa presided over the ceremony of lighting the fire.
This time she was not going to a dream, but to the core of the Painful Mystery. She was accompanied by only a drow whom she had just met. He was slightly more trustworthy than the people in the Oath Keepers Alliance, but in Uriel and even Iconi It's far worse than anything in front of me. Nathanael of Dalton Shadowfang may not betray her to the vampires out of fear, but as long as his curse is ineffective or Prince Drablay suddenly returns, Roma cannot ask him to choose to stay for her at the moment of life and death. . Although he had hoped to contact the Secret of Pain on my behalf... But she would not forget Ingrid's death at his hands, and his "heroic deeds" of betraying his lord.
Roma still used that arrow when evoking pain. She thought it would bring her good luck. It's all I have. If the story Sauron told her about the Ice Territory was not exaggerated, even Berti the Broken Moon wouldn't be able to help her.
What's more, even if she successfully gets in touch with the core of the Painful Mystery, she still doesn't know what to do. And getting nothing is not the worst outcome. Roma boasted to the night elves that she would return, but if her plans went a little awry, she would become a part of the Mystery forever. Will I succeed? She found that she couldn't keep her mind clear of distractions...
...until Roma realized the pain was gone.
The little lion opened his eyes, and the bright red Jingcauldron Pool was still in front of him, only the texture of the waves was slightly different. But when she looked carefully, the mysterious place began to emerge: everything suddenly blurred, and followed her mind. At this moment, Roma's senses no longer operate in the way she is most familiar with. Everything is amorphous. They are far and near, big and small, completely losing their proper form. Even dreams are not so weird.
According to Sauron, I am existing in the form of fire, Roma thought. She doesn't know how a fire type should experience the world, no one has taught her this! If Sabina were here, Ms. Astrologer would definitely have started to panic. But Roma is not an excellent apprentice who knows all the test questions. She always surprises her tutor when answering questions.
Roma begins to explore the unknown. She first adjusted her vision. If she couldn't even see, then forget about destroying the core of the secret ritual.
The ring once said that her control of magic power was completely based on instinct, without any skill at all. It's no nonsense. Roma struggled for a long time before barely finding a suitable focal length. She found herself in a pink mist, her consciousness losing gravity and being carried away by the air current.
"Azrubo." The little lion seemed to have seen a familiar enemy, but he was startled when he shouted. When she tried to speak again, her throat didn't work. I kind of understand that once I'm aware of a problem, I can't even think of solving it. This is the case in the world of souls. Living people can never control what they are thinking.
Maybe she could take advantage of that. The core of the mystery, the key to the mystery. Roma thought silently in her mind, hoping to get a response. But the little lion intuitively felt that someone was watching her, which made her very uneasy. "Who?" This sentence came out of his mouth without any hindrance.
The red mist squirmed.
Roma maintained her vision nervously. If she still had a body in this dream, the eyes on her face would be wide open at this moment, unblinking. Azrub died in pain, so I will see him. Could this be the core of the secret ritual? What's next?
However, what emerged from behind the red mist was a stranger. He had only one ear, his cheeks were covered with frostbite, and his body looked like it was made of five or six hemp ropes twisted together. Roma was sure she had never seen this man. The Mystery of Pain absorbs the pain and despair of many people. If she guessed correctly, this face probably belonged to a blood descendant who died tragically.
The soul of the dead man opened his mouth and laughed loudly. His face was torn apart, the muscles rolled, and his eyes and nose were all wrapped in blood-red gashes. The little lion was startled by the horrifying sight and quickly backed away unconsciously. Only then did she realize that she could both see and hear, and the latter actually appeared together with the words she spoke.
"I am..." the face said while smiling, "I am! I am..."
"Who are you?" Roma asked.
The souls of the dead screamed.
"I am! I am! I am!" His remaining ear was also missing. The flesh and blood squeezed through the scar, and black pus leaked out. "I am!" His entire mouth was exposed, and Roma found that there was no tongue in his mouth, and his teeth were sharp thorns. "I am! I am the King! The King of San Carlos!"
At first Roma thought she had heard wrongly. San Carlos?
"Holy, holy, holy, holy..." The cave-like mouth was still roaring, but the words that came out gradually became blurry. Finally he pounced on Roma. "Come here!" This is the clearest sentence. "Come here! Be me!"
Even if this is the core of the secret ritual, Roma doesn't want to touch it now. This thing doesn't look like something a normal person would want to come into contact with. It nakedly shows its desire to assimilate souls, and it doesn't even think about who it can deceive. Didn’t the adventurer say that danger would be hidden under the appearance of friendliness? The methods of the Mystery of Pain are simply unattainable.
The red mist came towards her in an enveloping manner. Before Roma could realize how the fire should move, her body drifted backwards on its own. But as soon as she started to move, her vision and hearing became confused. The terrifying stranger and his call disappeared, and Roma could only feel the light, moist pink mist swirling around her. Suddenly, a bone-chilling chill crept into his soul, and the little lion seemed to be standing in a frozen pool with its hair shaved off. She frantically waved her hands and feet, only to get a spasm of muscles.
The cold lifted her spirits and froze her chaotic and heightened emotions. Roma stopped and found herself treading water. She turned her vision and looked back, vaguely seeing a bloody slaughterhouse.
The people in the red mist chasing after him became clear again. "Come here!" it screamed, but the distance was still not significantly shortened. To be honest, that face was indeed intimidating, but Roma was not afraid of it. When it opened its mouth and shouted, the fear caused by the unknown disappeared. The little lion is only worried about being assimilated by the core and losing its physical form.
"I am the king!" the man with one ear roared, and the voice suddenly became louder, startling her. "You...betrayed...Mist City"
The San Carlos he was talking about, Roma confirmed, was Croita's vassal country, San Carlos, the city of fog. Was this soul a native of San Carlos? Or an official from the Affairs Department? Did the vampires capture him? Anyway, I have to figure out its purpose...
"Roma." She saw a man standing in the middle of the pool, and his voice was very familiar. "Run quickly, stay away from that madman." His words were very clear.
"Who are you calling crazy?"
"Sylvanus, he is the leader of the rebels in San Carlos, a dark wizard and a damn liar. He fantasizes about replacing the ruler within the Red Wall and becoming the king of the Mist City, and he does not hesitate to cooperate with the devil. When the tower commander countered the rebellion Kill him, and his collaborators will abide by the contract and save his soul, and then throw it to the secret ritual for digestion."
Roma knew where the frostbite on his face came from. "Digestion?"
"You have found the core of the mystery, Roma. Those smokes are the pain caused by the dead during their lifetime. As long as it touches you, you will stay forever, and your soul will be decomposed and digested, and eventually become part of those collective consciousnesses. So listen to me Yes, kid, stay as far away from those things as possible."
Listen to you. "Who are you?" She knew the answer in her mind, but she wasn't sure.
"Roma." The figure came closer and came into her focus. "Don't stay there in a daze. You've troubled us too much, and Helen is waiting for you too."
"Larsen?" Roma saw his glasses and pencils on his ears, and the hem of the great astrologer's robe was soaked in the pool water. It seems that the secret ritual's methods have been upgraded. "Why are you here?"
"I entered your dreams through astrology."
"Uriel said you were hurt."
"Fate always hurts. Come on, you little naughty boy, come back with me."
"I will go back, but not with you." Roma told it, "You are not Teacher Larson. You are the soul of the Painful Mystery, using my memory to deceive me. The core is in the pool, right?"
"Stop being ridiculous," the man scolded. But even if it was really Larsen, Roma hadn't obeyed him honestly a few times, let alone it couldn't be. She was sure it was a trap, trying to lure her soul closer.
The figure suddenly disintegrated. "Individual souls are too fragile. If we want to avoid being digested by the mystery, we must act collectively."
Being touched by you is also digesting. Roma didn't want to become food scraps in anyone's belly. "Go away."
"You can't escape." Larson's voice was also distorted and hoarse, becoming a mixture of men, women, old and young. "You break in on your own, and you can only stay."
I can't deal with so many people. Roma is self-aware, not to mention that now that she has no weapons in her hand, she must escape. The "King" in the red mist is still approaching. Although the figure in the pool says that he is the leader of the rebels in San Carlos, if it lies, Roma bets that it is not telling the truth, then the red mist is not the core of the mystery. Didn't Sauron say that the secret ritual has no form? The fog is also touchable... No, that's not right.
"You don't want me to come in?" She took a step toward the pool, or rather took a step forward. "You want me to see through your lies and hide in the red mist?" The king's danger is easy to see. No one here will believe in rhetoric, but they will weigh the risks and think about the differences. This way you will be fooled. But is it safe in the pool? She wasn't sure. There's something else here, too, and it's good at deception.
