Chapter 191: The Truth

[Vol-3]

Chapter 191: Truth?

The question remained in his mind. Did he truly transmigrate? According to the words of the Lightless, he had already broken the divination by entering in this body of ’His’ vessel.

His consciousness returned to the underground where he found Aiziq kneeling near the grave.

He found himself staring at the professor, who finally found what he had lost... although Mo Fei never knew that things would go this far, his life that had been simpler — return home — had become more complicated.

If that vessel had been killed, then the Lightless could not return. His core muscle memories had started to form as the terror of that spectacle-wearing man shivered him once again.

Finally, he pushed himself as the mental toll softened. The memories he had witnessed and the truth that he wasn’t in his body were beginning to make him paranoid.

If that was the case, then did other ascenders also transmigrate? And that so-called ’Own’ body wasn’t theirs either?

No... those memories directly stated that the cycle of return would break when the vessel would die and be replaced by someone else... Did that mean it wasn’t necessary that it was all along Mo Fei?

Aiziq’s deep voice finally echoed through the underground graveyard. "You also saw that?"

The memories of that woman, yes, indeed Mo Fei had witnessed them too due to the influence of the spirituality of an Angel and his Apprentice’s Eyes, but the Angel didn’t witness the vision of Lightless.

"Yes..." Mo Fei murmured and looked at his hands that were trembling.

Aiziq clenched the tomb, then slowly moved his hand toward the skeleton’s fingers and held it tightly. He stared at the empty place where the skull could have been. "Who took it?"

"I don’t know, Professor Aiziq... but did you get your memories?"

Aiziq heaved a sigh of sorrow and stood up abruptly. His hand hovered near the skeleton for a few seconds before he moved away and looked at the young man behind, who seemed troubled. "No... Now I only know that I have lost my wife. The City of Light had turned into ruins, but I don’t remember what happened."

Mo Fei squinted his eyes, showing the expression reminiscent of those who had completely lost his mind. An expression of conflict that couldn’t be washed by a simple comfort. The whole perspective of ’Me’ had entirely melted away from his brain, he remembered the moment when he spoke that. ’Maybe I was never me.’ but now those same words seem to work oppositely.

Forcing a smile, Mo Fei finally turned toward the entrance. "Mr. Aiziq, we will find out. Thank you for your support to come here."

Aiziq glanced at the skeleton, then clenched his hand into a fist.

Suddenly, an immense spiritual pressure radiated through the underground. Aiziq’s face twisted into a vengeful expression as he muttered in the deep authoritative voice of an Angel. "Sherlock, I need to find out soon who dared to take away the head of my soul."

Mo Fei stopped in his tracks as the pressure began to suffocate his spirit threads. "Professor, I know that you are upset... so am I. At that time I merely thought that I would get an answer, but now I know that I wasn’t strong enough to truly bear the truth. I need to rest. I need to think first."

Aiziq noticed the young man’s dimming spirituality and realized that his spiritual pressure might make him collapse. The crushing pressure suddenly evaporated instantly, returning the chamber to a stagnant quiet. The Angel of Death closed his eyes behind the blindfold, his dark features softening back into the somber, melancholic mask of the professor.

"Forgive me, Mr. Sherlock." Aiziq said, his voice echoing with the hollow resonance of the underworld. "My ancient nature... it awakens in fragments, and with it, a hunger for retribution I can barely contain. Go. Rest your mind, but tell me first... what did you see? There is an immense conflict on your face."

Mo Fei nodded numbly. He stumbled toward the stone steps, his limbs feeling entirely detached from his will. Every step upward felt like moving a puppet by strings.

A dead vessel. He pondered, staring at his palms in the dim light of the ascending staircase. ’If this body is a husk meant for a Deity, what happened to the soul that was supposed to be inside it? Did I kill it just by waking up here? Or was he already killed?’

As he emerged into the desolate, twilight-drenched ruins of the City of Light, the cool air hit his face, but it brought no clarity.

Finally, as they got out, he answered Aiziq. "Mr. Aiziq... I saw something, if I’m being honest. I have a few questions."

Aiziq looked back once at the graveyard, then came out of the house he had lived in once. "Continue."

"Is there a possibility for an Ascender who had lived in world 0 to transmigrate in the body of a man in these Eleven Worlds?"

Heading into the biting chill of the twilight, the shadows stretched across the shattered columns of the ancient city like elongated, grasping fingers. Mo Fei adjusted his collar, a habitual action that now felt strangely alien, as if his fingers belonged to someone else.

Aiziq stopped, the faint scent of withered white roses and damp earth trailing around him, a signature of the Death Authority. The blindfolded professor turned his head slightly toward Mo Fei, his ears twitching as if listening to the whispers of the hidden spirits that lingered in the ruins.

"Transmigration...?" Aiziq repeated the word. His expression grew profoundly solemn. "The transition of a soul across the boundaries of worlds is not entirely impossible, but it requires authority. The authority over Astral Worlds, or the deep mysteries of the Spirit World. However, to occupy a body that already possessed a destiny... that is not transmigration, Mr. Sherlock. Can you describe it in a better sense?"

"If someone was killed by an Ancient being or Ascended... then is it possible for that body to reawaken with a different soul, like the identity taking over the dead? "

Hearing that, Aiziq tried to remember something and finally spoke. "Ah, I see... that is rare, but it’s entirely possible, but it still needs an anchor, it could be the Astral world, a will of Cosmos, or... a performance."

Performance... The phrase struck Mo Fei. The image of the spectacle-wearing man flashed across his mind; his one hand held a monocle and the other a long golden watch, reflecting a terrifying, knowing smile. A chill crept down his spine, threatening to freeze his very thoughts.

"Performance? Like a ritual?" Mo Fei’s voice came out as a whisper as they reached the entrance of the dead city.

Aiziq didn’t answer immediately. He looked up at the blood-red twilight sky, where the illusory moon was beginning to show its faint outline. "In the history of the Eleven Worlds, many Orthodox Gods have tried to anchor themselves through vessels. If a soul from World 0 occupies a vessel meant for a Higher Being, there are only two possibilities. Either you are the ultimate variable that broke the divine calculus... or your arrival is the calculus itself. I have seen transmigraters in the past, but they all had one thing in common. They had the face of the dead men."

"I need to rest." Mo Fei said, his breathing finally stabilizing as he suppressed the paranoia threatening to trigger a loss of control. "I need to perform a self-divination to understand the person whose body I’m in."

"Go then." Aiziq replied softly, his figure beginning to blur into a swarm of translucent, shadowy illusory creatures. "I will seek the traces of the one who stole my wife’s skull. When you have calmed your spirit, meet me at the old library of the institute. Remember, Mr. Sherlock... the more you know, the closer you draw to ’Them’. Maintain your rationality and do not attempt to pry into the mysteries of the world top deeply."

He took a deep breath, checked his top hat, and pulled out a tarnished silver pocket watch. He snapped it open, noted the time, and closed it with a crisp click.

Turning back toward Ciradyl City, he muttered to himself in a voice that sounded almost hollow: "Whether I am a vessel, a corpse, or a traveler... I am the one holding the cards right now. I cannot afford to think of it longer."

Both of them stepped into the fog, their figures gradually dissolving into the gathering darkness of the night, leaving the mysteries of the City of Light buried deep beneath the earth.

After reaching the Lakeview Institute of Arts, he gave Mr. Aiziq a farewell before returning to his rented apartment.

He landed heavy on the bed of his room. Now that he thought about it deeply, he found himself staring at the ceiling. His mind was still occupied by the thoughts of his previous life, where he was a student.

"Divine Serpent... answer me. Did you know this? Vennisa, answer me, did you know this? Spirit World, answer me... Did you know this?"