“…Is that so, Gwen and Chikara…” At the very bottom of the Silent Spiral, rubble collapsed everywhere and seas of blood overturned, as if even the world itself was beginning to fall. Yet in this dim chaos, there remained a safe haven under the protection of the Silver Lantern, like a lone boat floating on a raging sea-weak, but stubbornly resisting the tides of fate. Green light flickered across Ashe’s palm, slowly regenerating Harvey’s limbs bit by bit. His self-positioning had always been as a “battlefield commander” balancing attack/defense/movement/healing, possessing the powerful healing Miracle “Joy Sword,” and with the thousand changes spirit able to transform into a Hydrotherapy spirit, flesh regeneration was not difficult for him. After hearing their experiences, Ashe’s eyes once again conjured the silent Star sorcerer and the slick, clever orc. He sighed softly, “The people waiting for us in hell are getting more and more…” “Death is a veil, stretched between the living and the dead,” said the necromancer. “So there’s no need to suppress your feelings. Even if death can sever everything, love, longing, and respect can still pierce the veil of death and connect us. No matter how powerful death is, it cannot diminish these emotions.” Everyone looked at Harvey in surprise. Ashe gave a bitter smile, “Living long really does bring good things. I never thought I’d be comforted one day by your words, Harvey.” “That’s just professional conduct for a necromancer,” Harvey said calmly. “The dead must serve the living.” Ashe asked, “So when someone you know dies, Harvey, do you… feel the same as I do…?” “Of course I do,” Harvey said. “You’re treating me right now-do you think the blood in my veins isn’t warm, or the thing beating in my chest isn’t a heart? I’m certainly proud of Chikara-he was my first student, and my best student. But death needs no embellishment; of course I’m sad for him too.” Harvey reached out both hands to Ashe, who was slightly startled, then hugged him. In that slight trembling, he realized the necromancer wasn’t as calm as he seemed. “If you’re doing end-of-life care, you should probably hug the other person more, right?” “Mm.” Ashe nodded. “Nothing lets you feel each other’s existence more than a hug.” “But it’s not all bad news.” Igor sat leaning against the coffin and said, “For example, the Mercury Trojan Horse, the root of all evil in Senlo that’s been entangling us from the start, is finally dead.” “Yes.” Tamashi nodded. “The Mercury Trojan Horse, whose evil deeds are countless, is dead.” From these words, Ashe realized not only was the Mercury Trojan Horse dead, but the heavy shackles she’d placed on Tamashi were completely broken. This was the first time Tamashi called her “Mercury Trojan Horse” instead of “Tanomoo.” “That really is good news,” Ashe said in a low voice. “But aside from that, it’s all bad news.” After finishing with Harvey, who now had only one hand left, next was to adjust Igor’s internal structure. Ashe checked Igor’s injuries and found that even with Joy Sword’s healing, the Con Artist’s body was still riddled with wounds, like a battered doll, ugly scars everywhere from repeated injuries. It was his first time seeing these two so down and out. Igor’s wounds would take time to heal, and getting rid of the scars would be a real effort; Harvey seemed easier to treat, but this kind of rapid regeneration was basically borrowing from his lifespan. Even optimistically, he probably only had twenty or thirty years left. Ashe’s slightly improved mood sank again, just like today-he felt a bit sad: “If I’d known things would end up , if I’d known it would turn out this way, I would have…” “If I’d known, I should have stayed in Shattered Lake Prison.” Igor sneered. “No, you forced me to break out-I couldn’t have stayed even if I wanted to. It’s all your fault I ended up , time trave Gospel, Weaving Festival, time trave Senlo, near death again and again… It’s all your fault, damn it. Let’s go our separate ways now. If I go on another adventure with you, I’ll be Lala Fatty.” No matter how heavy the mood, Ashe couldn’t help but retort, “Who told you to try conning the new guy in prison?” “So it’s just my bad luck?” “So,” Igor said calmly, “you’re unlucky too. We’re all unlucky.” “If you have time to reflect, you might as well blame fate more. You’re quick to shirk responsibility for small things, but when it comes to big things, you get all muddled? This survivor’s guilt is just your pride with nowhere to go-so proud you think you can see through fate and stop everything.” “It’s my fault.” Tamashi stood at the edge of the Silver Lantern’s domain, gazing into the distant chaos. “I dragged you all into this.” “It’s not about you,” Ashe said. “If anything, I’m glad you told me to find Ve… the Silver Lantern. If I hadn’t come down, the Senlo people would have faced the cruelest ending. Now, at least they can choose death.” “Are you serious? Planning to sort out right and wrong and assign blame here?” Igor said. “If you want to slap each other somewhere else, I’d love to watch.” “We’ll leave,” Ashe finished treating all of Igor’s major injuries, “but not yet.” Seeing Ashe spread his arms, Igor immediately lifted his leg to kick him away. “What are you doing? Have you noticed Alice is lonely? She must be missing your hugs…” But the Cult Leader still easily hugged the Con Artist and whispered in his ear, “Sorry to trouble you with emotional support even at a time .” Igor said, “You could use a little less strength-I’m injured, not hallucinating.” Ashe walked up to Tamashi. Even though he’d sneaked glances several times before, seeing his up close was still stunning. His randomly cut, jet-black long hair hung down both sides, cherry lips serene, nose high and straight, delicate brows, skin flawless, and under his bright eyes a natural reddish shadow. If Ashe looked , he wouldn’t have gotten into so many fights with his desk mate in elementary school. If it weren’t for Tamashi’s clothing style being a Senlo intangible cultural heritage, plus his near-monstrous physical abilities, Ashe wouldn’t dare recognize he. He spread his arms, but stopped in midair without reaching out. Instead, Tamashi graciously hugged him and said, “It’s not like I wanted to look . To me, this face is the mask-when I wear the raven mask, that’s when I take the mask off.” Ashe thought, true enough. If Tamashi used this face to hunt criminals, he’d probably have them turning themselves in, maybe even more people committing crimes just to be chased by Tamashi’s warriors… “By the way, is this really the bottom of the Silent Spiral?” He looked around. “Weird, I couldn’t have been here before, but why does it feel kind of familiar…” “Because this is the lower level of Dream closest to reality. For Senlo people, it might feel a bit off.” Ashe said casually. “So, do you think you’re not good-looking?” “I know beauty from ugly,” Tamashi said. “Especially since Tanomoo always tells me.” “If you’re not afraid to show your face, why hide it from us?” Ashe complained. “I thought if you took off the mask, you’d enter your second form, power up, and it’d be a special trump card-so I never dared to probe your true face.” “I told you before, didn’t I?” Tamashi said. “It’s a religious thing. For outsiders, the Raven must always wear the mask, so outsiders won’t fear any one Raven Annihilation, but all who wear the raven mask.” Ashe raised his eyebrows. “We’re outsiders?” Tamashi pulled out a second raven mask from his waist, but then put it back without wearing it. Ashe nodded in satisfaction, but after looking at Tamashi, a trace of hesitation appeared on his face as he carefully chose his words: “So… I don’t mean anything by this, just curious-Tamashi, are you actually…” Crack! Fresh chapters posted on N0velFire.ɴet A thunderous boom in the sky, the fissure widened again. More and more rubble fell, as if the whole sky was about to collapse. “Save the chit-chat for when we’re safe!” Igor said. “Ashe, it’s time to go-use the Void Gate Spirit!” Ashe nodded and asked, “You guys can move now, right? Let’s tally up our Void Gate Spirits.” After gathering all the Void Gate Spirits, Ashe and Tamashi exchanged a glance, then looked at the little Silver Lantern nearby. He no longer hesitated and took out the Heart of Wishes Command. “This is the key to Wishflux Celestium. Even without Void Gate Spirits, I can take you all to the absolutely safe Wishflux Celestium at any time.” “So, I hope we can try to save others,” Ashe said. “Even if we can only save one life.”