Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 2519: Chapter 2514: Ignition Point

"I hadn’t planned on letting anyone see this scene, but you’ve found yourself a very decent helper."

Yes—former dean of the Benevolence Institute, former backbone of the Native Council, forerunner on the Miracle Road: Lady Nepheli.

And even after clearly recognizing who Fu Qian was, even with such a dangerous figure stepping up behind her, she didn’t so much as turn her head—just tossed off a casual sigh.

Besides, her outfit was no longer the familiar one; the fitted white shirt had been replaced with solid black.

Whether in severity or splendor, it was on an entirely different level, even bearing dark patterns reminiscent of star charts, plainly some kind of overly classical Scholar’s formalwear.

And like the brown hair beneath her wide-brimmed hat, it remained utterly untouched even while bathed in the blinding flames.

"I just felt how much he loved his work."

With only the final few minutes of the countdown left, facing the ultimate harvest of this long pursuit, Fu Qian still didn’t hurry; he gave the Tower Guard’s performance a high evaluation.

It was the truth. The whole preceding process might not have looked all that intense, but once Lady Nepheli’s true body was revealed, the weight behind the label "cunning rat" became absurdly high.

Perhaps the layered spaces behind the door were part of this place’s basic attributes, but how could someone so adept at hiding her tracks possibly not make use of that to conceal herself?

There was even reason to suspect that some Miracle had all along been sheltering this Lighthouse truly set ablaze, so that it would never be found no matter what.

Which meant that the Tower Guard’s final, seemingly abstract actions had forcibly broken a Protective Array laid down by a Second Phase—"very good" was a well-deserved verdict.

It was not only a victory for kindness toward others, but also a victory for trusting professionals.

"He really is a special character. I just didn’t expect you not to puncture him... Is that a terrifying Intuition, or have you learned to be respectful?"

Nepheli finally turned her head, gaze fixing on Fu Qian from under the brim of her hat; she even made a slight inviting gesture.

Though this highest point of the Moore was bare and slick everywhere, not even a seat to be found.

"I’ve learned to respect other people’s delusions."

Fu Qian didn’t mind such details; he simply sat down on the ground, adding a slight correction to her phrasing.

"...You still think my ideas are delusions?"

Such a simple line nevertheless left Lady Nepheli silent for a long time. Only when she turned away again and wrapped her arms around her knees did she let out a long sigh.

...

The situation was already obvious: the source of the flames that had plagued this Prison of the Dead for so long had been found—it was the person in front of him.

Even that one question which had never been fully answered now had its final piece slotted in.

Namely, why was it that he, lacking Extraordinary Perception, had found this place so easily? Hadn’t it come a bit too easy?

Relying on Selana’s guidance alone was still too thin an explanation; it didn’t seem enough to let him break through that illiterate barrier.

Now there was another reason: because there had been an "illiterate" component here from the start—the Fire of Madness.

Nepheli had once asked him for a wisp of flame; now it seemed it might have been one of the kindling sparks that ignited this Domain of the Dead.

Perhaps it had been layered over with disguises and concealment, perhaps steeped in death’s saturation until it was utterly unrecognizable.

But once it had permeated the entire Storm Moore, the essential link between the flames and himself had finally helped him cross the barrier and discover the traces Selana left behind.

That’s the thing: the Demon hides in the details; the question he’d raised earlier had never been pointless.

In that moment, Fu Qian was thoroughly satisfied with how his chain of inferences along the way had been confirmed.

If he extended that line of thought, didn’t it mean that as long as he used the Fire of Madness to set the whole world alight, it wouldn’t matter whether his perception ever came back?

Not only that, he pushed on to an even wilder hypothesis.

It was perhaps a bit too wild; testing it would be troublesome.

Besides, Nepheli’s identity was clearly far from being just a Lighthouse Arsonist.

Her description of the Tower Guard alone showed that she still perceived quite a lot of what went on here, and her level of understanding ran deep.

For instance, the phrase "puncture him" definitely didn’t mean telling that man the truth—that he was the one who was truly dead, while everyone else was normal, separated only by life and death and so on.

If he truly believed he wasn’t dead, why would he need the Tower Guard identity so badly to anchor his sense of self?

Paranoia is so often rooted in guilt; the greatest pain of self-deception lies in knowing, always, that you are deceiving yourself.

And once it’s punctured, that paranoia tends to collapse into utter ruin.

This, too, should be why Nepheli, knowing about such a figure long ago, still hadn’t resorted to drastic measures.

A guide that fragile, that brittle at a touch, had a very low probability of successfully being put to use.

It was just a pity he hadn’t done as she suggested, choosing instead "tolerance and encouragement."

"Dead Men like him, the clear-headed ones, are bound too deeply to this place. If you really take them out, the commotion is too big, so I thought it over and decided to leave him there."

Receiving no response, Nepheli spoke again, explaining why she’d clung to that bit of wishful thinking.

"Wise Dead."

Fu Qian supplied a term.

"...That really is a good description, for people like them."

No wonder she’d once been an elite of the Academy; for such an academically flavored designation, Nepheli expressed immediate approval.

"Not them. This place."

But Fu Qian shook his head and pointed at the ground beneath their feet.

...

If the Storm Moore could be alive, then calling it a Dead Man wasn’t all that much of a stretch, was it?

"So you knew... Of course you did, otherwise it wouldn’t have been so easy to find this place so quickly.

"Miracle Creatures—looks like you and the Benevolence Institute really have been doing quite a bit of exchange."

Nepheli even helped him confirm it, letting out another sigh.

"Naturally. Under the cross-department collaboration I helped push through, Professor Ah Kai has even officially become a newly promoted High Tier of the Benevolence Institute."

Professor Fu let out a proud laugh at this, unabashedly showcasing his recent string of achievements.

"Really? That is rather good..."

Though it was "just" a Demigod, it seemed to touch Nepheli somewhat; she even took her hands off her knees, sitting a bit more upright.

"Of course it’s true. Heaven’s Commencement Institute and the Benevolence Institute jointly built a Melia project."

Meeting Nepheli’s gaze, Fu Qian casually dropped a name wrapped in all manner of secrets.

"Ha... Snow Tree..."

She froze for a moment at that, her tone half sigh, half lament.

"The storm’s about to end. You don’t have much time; if you’re going to do anything, you’d better hurry."

But for that name tied so closely to her nineteen-year-old Doomsday, Nepheli didn’t say more; she simply shifted the topic to remind Fu Qian.