Chapter 537: Half-Sense

"The other half must be that woman, then," Iger said. "Can Sense really be divided between two people?"

"There can only be one Sense in each kingdom. That is an immutable rule," Mercury Trojan Horse replied. "But as the name implies, there are four deities, while there can only be one Sense, so they sometimes disagree.

Despite the Four Pillar Deities favoring you greatly, their favor toward the other candidate is hardly inferior. Since they could not reach a consensus, they made both of you half-Sense until they reach an agreement, or until only one of you remains. Only then will they choose the true Sense.

"So for you, this is still good news. At least that person isn't a complete Sense yet, so she can't command the Four Pillars Cult to protect her."

"The bad news is that we can't command the Four Pillars Cult either," Iger said flatly. "Because Ashe isn't a complete Sense, he can't automatically become the leader of the Four Pillars Cult. That's why you're so happy. Until a true Sense is born, you can still remain in control of the Four Pillars Cult!"

"Exactly," Mercury Trojan Horse said with a smile. "While my abilities as a Sense may gradually deteriorate, the sect I built with my own hands will continue to operate according to my wishes."

For Mercury Trojan Horse, this was indeed the best possible outcome. Whether Ashe or that woman became Sense, it would mean relinquishing control of the Four Pillars Cult. She was clearly intoxicated by power, and the Four Pillars Cult in the Myriad Continent was something she had built from the ground up. How could she willingly surrender the enterprise she had worked so hard to build?

To her, the transfer of Sense was an unforeseen accident. She couldn't have foreseen that she would lose the deities' favor over a massacre that claimed the lives of Their own followers, could she? Mercury Trojan Horse must have been deeply dissatisfied, but to survive, she had no choice but to cut her losses and save herself.

Now, with a true Sense yet to emerge, Mercury Trojan Horse had more time to prepare for her eventual exit. How could she not be pleased? But Iger was certain she wouldn't simply step down when the time came. She wouldn't dare kill Ashe or that woman, because either death would result in the birth of a new Sense, but she would certainly find a way to prolong the standoff.

"Does being half-Sense mean I don't get abilities like the Everlasting Doom or Mercury Trojan Horse?" Ashe asked.

"Being half-Sense is like having a crippled organ. Can you use a crippled organ? Yes, but it takes a great deal of training and luck," Mercury Trojan Horse replied. "But since you don't even know which of your organs is crippled. How are you supposed to train it?"

"Can't you tell?" Iger asked.

Mercury Trojan Horse gave a regretful look. "My abilities are already deteriorating. Sense abilities are deeply hidden secrets. I can't see them."

Ashe, and certainly Tahmas, could tell she was lying. She simply didn't want to reveal anything that might help Ashe develop his Sense abilities.

Shameless, consumed by self-interest, scheming, and utterly unscrupulous. As the leader of the Four Pillars Cult, she unquestionably possessed the qualities of one.

Ashe's tone turned cold. "What else do you have to say?"

"You may have become half-Sense, but your crisis remains unresolved," Mercury Trojan Horse said. "The Blood Seed is still constantly consuming your bodies. I can have people bring you some Gray Fox supplies to replenish some of the life you've lost, but that will only treat the symptoms, not the root cause.

"The Dragonblood Cultivation System is too domineering. Until you eliminate the Blood Core, you will remain Blood Seeds being drained of your vitality. You don't want all the accumulation you've built up over the years to be siphoned away by someone else, do you? So you'll still need to destroy the Blood Core.

"I'll provide you with information on the Blood Core and do my best to help you hunt it down. But once the Blood Core dies, Ashe, you will become a complete Sense. Are you really prepared to devote the rest of your life to serving the Four Pillar Deities?"

Ashe's expression changed slightly. "Even if I become Sense, I won't serve the Four Pillar Deities."

"My apologies. I chose my words poorly and gave you the wrong impression. The word 'serve' makes it sound as though we choose to do so willingly. In truth, the relationship between Sense and the Four Pillar Deities isn't one of master and servant, but one of symbiosis," Mercury Trojan Horse said. "Even if plants abandon the earth, sunlight turns its back on the sun, and direction betrays the bullet, Sense can never defy the Four Pillar Deities.

"When that time comes, your own wishes will be completely irrelevant, because your life itself will be parasitic upon the Four Pillar Deities. No matter how much a finger hates the body, it still has to serve the body."

The expressions of Ashe and the others turned grim. To survive, they had to kill the Blood Core. But killing the Blood Core would make Ashe a complete Sense, and his life would be changed forever.

"Increase what they desire, and grant what they need," Iger suddenly said. "It seems you have a proposal we can't refuse."

"It's very simple," Mercury Trojan Horse said. "You want to kill the Blood Core, while keeping Ashe from becoming Sense. All you have to do is make the Blood Core into a perfect Sense, then kill her immediately afterward. That will solve all your problems."

"Doesn't one Sense have to die before the other can become the perfect Sense?"

"I have another way," Mercury Trojan Horse said with a smile. "Just bring her to the Four Pillars Cult. I'll take care of everything for you."

Ashe's lips quivered, verging on saying something, but when he saw that Iger remained silent, he swallowed his words.

Mercury Trojan Horse's proposal sounded good on the surface, but the murderous intent behind it was unmistakable. If they brought the Blood Core to the Four Pillars Cult while both half-Senses were present, Mercury Trojan Horse could simply kill them both. Then the Four Pillar Deities would have no other choice but to continue favoring her!

Even without Tahmas and his testimony, Ashe had never doubted Mercury Trojan Horse and her evil nature. If anything, she made no attempt to hide it, brazenly laying her malicious intentions bare.

Because what Mercury Trojan Horse had offered was not a suggestion at all. It was a challenge.

She would help Ashe survive. She would help him capture the Blood Core. In the meantime, she would prepare an exquisite trap for Ashe and the others. If Ashe and the Blood Core both died inside it, she would remain Mercury Trojan Horse, triumphant as ever. If Ashe managed to make it through, she would help them resolve their problems.

And most importantly, if Ashe did not want to become Sense, he had no choice but to accept the challenge.

"Even without Sense abilities, I am sure you could still run the Four Pillars Cult quite successfully," Iger said. "Seizing every opportunity and seeing through every nuance of human nature. The success of the Four Pillars Cult is certainly no coincidence."

"Likewise," Mercury Trojan Horse replied. "Oh, there is one more thing I should tell you, Ashe. While you haven't enjoyed the benefits of being Sense yet, you still have to pay the price."

"What price? Do we have to thank them for blessing us with Lala Fat before every meal?"

"It is actually nothing particularly important," Mercury Trojan Horse said with a smile. "From the third layer onward, Sense will be despised by the Virtual World."

Despised by the Virtual World?

"Wait!" Ashe spotted a loophole. "Didn't you just say the Four Pillar Deities are the masters of the Virtual World? I'm their Sense. So why would it despise me?"

"Because the Virtual World was stolen by those other thugs, so it turned against its former masters. It's like how, if the Blood Core became Sense, the Four Pillars Cult that I built with my own hands would become my enemy."

Harvey interrupted, "Come to think of it, it's understandable that we don't know that woman's name, but why don't you call her by her name either?"

"Because she used a Miracle to conceal her true name, and I've never actually met her, so I don't know it either. She once went by the title Silver Lamp Holy Maiden of the Dust Calamity Fire. She seemed quite fond of the name Silver Lamp."

Silver Lamp...

Ashe and the others were still turning the name over in their minds when Tahmas suddenly asked enthusiastically, "Tahnom, do you have any other suggestions?"

"No. All that's left is to discuss how the Four Pillars Cult will support you—"

Slash.

Tahmas cleanly chopped off Mercury Trojan Horse's head and tossed it into the campfire. As if that still wasn't enough to vent his anger, he threw the rest of her body in after it.

He dusted off his hands, apparently feeling a little awkward, then turned to Ashe and the others.

"I'll go get you something to eat. What do you want?"

"...Red-Flame Lala Fat."

***

In the darkness of night, a streak of red light raced across the wilderness.

Despite the darkness, the Five-Tailed Blazing White Tiger moved effortlessly through the wasteland. Silver Lamp sat astride its back with a ring of thick, vivid fluorescent green encircling her neck, resembling a noose that might tighten at any moment.

"Ah, I almost forgot. There's one more thing I should tell you."

Silver Lamp glanced over her shoulder and found the soft-spoken young woman the Phantom Mirror Dragon had summoned still there, happily wrapping her arms around Silver Lamp's waist.

The woman said, "As I mentioned before, our timelines are quite similar, so it reminded me of what happened to me back then. You might encounter something similar soon."

Silver Lamp said, "If it has anything to do with the Four Pillars Cult, then it has nothing to do with me."

"I wouldn't say it has nothing to do with you, but the connection isn't that strong," the young woman said casually. "There's a group of sorcerers who can form parties in the Virtual World and explore it together. You might very well be pulled into that group."

Sorcerers forming parties to explore the Virtual World?

Even knowing the other woman had no reason to deceive her, Silver Lamp couldn't help giving her a look that seemed to ask if she was messing with her.

Still, she nodded. "I'll remember that."

"I believe you'll know what to do when the time comes, even without me telling you what to expect," the young woman said. "I should be leaving now. May you glimpse the truth before you awaken from your dream."

"Thank you," Silver Lamp replied. "I hope you have a beautiful dream in your world, too."

"My dream has already ended."

The young woman smiled as her figure gradually faded into wisps of smoke.

Just as Silver Lamp turned her head and continued forward, the final echo of her other self's words reached her ears. "Oh, right. The captain of that sorcerer party is called the Watcher of Doomsday. His real name is Ashe Heath."