Inside the Synesthesia Dreamscape, the Rose of Decay lay on a soft velvet chaise lounge, listening to Anbaixiu read a chivalric romance beside her.
"'I, Lancelot, am a knight who fights only for the Queen. Only Queen Guinevere has the right to decide whether you live or die. If your submission is true, then go and beg for her mercy...'"
Anbaixiu spoke with rich emotion, wearing a thoroughly earnest expression.
Yet halfway through, the Rose of Decay interrupted. "I don't hate Ryan anymore, so there's really no need to invent a story specifically about King Arthur's queen having an affair. Honestly, that ancestor of mine is still quite worthy of respect."
"It's just a coincidence of names," Anbaixiu replied earnestly. "Since you don't like King Arthur's story, I'll tell you about Artoria, the female version of King Arthur, next time."
The Rose of Decay chuckled. "All right, but people's tastes change. Stop making up stories based on my childhood memories—I've grown up."
Back when she was young, the princess of Ryan had loved reading tragic tales where knights and princesses fell head over heels in love only to be kept apart in the end. No matter how many tears she shed, she simply couldn't resist such heart-wrenching stories.
Once she grew up, however, genuine heartbreak accumulated until she wished only to forget it. The current Rose of Decay preferred stories with happy endings instead.
Anbaixiu felt no embarrassment. He simply shut the book and snapped his fingers.
The cozy little garden meant for two swiftly transformed into a grand round-table conference chamber.
The Rose of Decay rose from the lounge and stretched her flawless waist. Even within the dreamscape, she could still feel the sensation of muscle fatigue.
"Looks like time is almost up. Have they all arrived?" she asked.
Anbaixiu nodded. Time had indeed flown by. Why hadn't he realized how enjoyable spending time alone together could be earlier? Had he known, he would have scheduled the meeting later.
Just as he was musing over this, a cloaked, dark silhouette over two meters tall materialized in the room.
The figure approached the round table, swept back the robe to reveal a tall, burly physique, and sat down with imposing grandeur, like a coiled dragon or crouching tiger.
The moment Anbaixiu saw who it was, he couldn't help saying, "Herki Stone, aren't you deluding yourself a bit too much? It's not like we haven't met in reality. Who are you trying to impress by turning into a giant?"
The newcomer was none other than the dwarf vampire Herki Stone. At this moment, however, he towered over Anbaixiu, sitting a full head higher.
Herki Stone scoffed disdainfully. "Mind your own business! Do I need your permission to choose what I look like in a dream?! Aren't you a bag of bones yourself? How did you turn into a human in the dream?!"
Anbaixiu chuckled, saying with confidence, "I actually am a living human now."
Herki Stone cast him a contemptuous look and sneered, "You can't even jump out of the mirror, and you call that human?"
Anbaixiu shot back mercilessly, "Still better than you not being able to see yourself if the mirror tilts even slightly. Do you install all the mirrors in your house angled downward?"
"Damn lich!"
"You want to fight, you dead dwarf who gets horny over food?!"
...
Watching the two bicker, the Rose of Decay couldn't help the smile rising at the corners of her lips. Both were ancient geezers who had lived for countless years, yet they were acting as childish as youngsters. Watching them, though, she found it surprisingly entertaining.
Perhaps life needed to be so vibrant to have meaning.
However, the moment Aige appeared in the conference room, both instantly shut their mouths and sat bolt upright in their chairs.
Aige looked at the two of them, puzzled. "What? Did I come at a bad time?"
The Rose of Decay stepped forward and took Aige's arm. "I think you came at the perfect time. We were just waiting for you, Sister."
Once all four were seated, all of today's guests were present.
Since they were all familiar friends, Anbaixiu dispensed with useless pleasantries and got straight to the point. "Everyone, I asked you here today to explain a few things. First, I have successfully revived. However, within the Elegy Poetry Society, only you three know. I hope this news won't be spread for the time being."
Herki Stone asked, perplexed, "You're not even telling Gareth? I thought the two of you were on great terms."
Anbaixiu explained, "Precisely because he's a friend, I don't want to burden him. Keeping a secret is stressful, after all."
"Heh, aren't you a considerate friend... Wait, what do you mean by that?" Herki Stone caught the strange implication. What did he mean by not wanting to burden a friend? What did that make him?
"Are you some sensitive little boy from a trashy novel? Stop interrupting, will you?" Anbaixiu mocked Herki Stone before continuing, "Though I said to keep it a secret, it probably can't be hidden for long. After all, news from Hell will eventually leak out, and I suspect the President and the Poet already know about this."
Aige asked, "I understand keeping a secret, but why do we need to keep this secret? Aren't we all friends in the Elegy Poetry Society?"
"We were in the past, but after my rebirth, I felt something was off. Furthermore, I am no longer a member of the Elegy Poetry Society. After my rebirth, the Necrotic Codex that originally belonged to me vanished."
Anbaixiu dropped this bombshell, giving both Herki Stone and Aige a fright.
"How could that happen?" Herki Stone said agitatedly.
He had joined the Elegy Poetry Society far earlier than Anbaixiu, and he had never seen the society expel anyone. With a first, who knew if there would be a second?
Anbaixiu reassured him, "Don't worry, it makes some sense. I can no longer be considered a lich, nor even undead. Being expelled from the Elegy Poetry Society is reasonable enough. It's just that the President didn't say a single word to me and simply took back my Necrotic Codex directly. I have no complaints, only some doubts."
"Doubts about what?" Herki Stone asked.
"I doubt the true reason behind the founding of the Elegy Poetry Society." Anbaixiu tried his best to maintain his composure as he said, "Both of you joined the Elegy Poetry Society earlier than I did, and every single member was personally handpicked by the President. What do we have in common? With this secret organization possessing such immense power, what is the purpose of its existence?"
These were questions neither Aige nor Herki Stone could answer; in fact, they had rarely even thought about them.
Because it hadn't mattered.
Every single member of the Elegy Poetry Society was a formidable power in their own right, with their own lives and careers. The most enigmatic President had brought them together, allowing them to freely interact and cooperate without ever making a single demand. Over the years, everyone had grown accustomed to this state of affairs.
Anbaixiu had joined later; back then, he merely thought that as a newcomer, he wasn't qualified to inquire about such deep secrets.
Yet after the Necrotic Codex was revoked, the God of Alchemy shared a piece of information with Anbaixiu:
The Elegy Poetry Society was very likely founded to select a successor for the God of Death.
The only reason the God of Alchemy dared mention this to Anbaixiu was that Anbaixiu had already lost his eligibility; otherwise, even the God of Alchemy wouldn't want to interfere with Jergal's grand plan.
Yet Anbaixiu didn't view it that way, so after his resurrection, he began using the magic mirror to inquire about information from his "friends."
To his surprise, he found that none of the Elegy Poetry Society members present knew this secret.
This made no sense.
Jergal was choosing a successor for the God of Death, yet never gave these candidates any criteria or requirements. He merely gathered them together and waited for hundreds or thousands of years, as if watching a play.
There was no such logic in the world.
What annoyed Anbaixiu most was the so-called test of human nature. How could something so fickle, swayed by emotion and circumstance, serve as an evaluation criterion? A starving man might endure hunger and refrain from stealing bread, but does enduring it for a day mean he can endure it for a lifetime? If he resists stealing bread, does that mean he can resist sneaking a couple of sips of water?
To Anbaixiu, such tests were utterly meaningless.
If you looked only at the highest peaks and lowest troughs of a fluctuating curve without considering the average, the analysis was entirely pointless.
The logic governing the world ought to be rules—sinners go to Hell, the devout ascend to divine realms, and under Ao's decrees, deities are forbidden from meddling in the mortal realm at will... These were the things that held meaning. Tests of human nature were merely little parables used in stories to preach personal viewpoints; they were fine to embellish a dull life, but using them as a standard was a recipe for disaster.
Anbaixiu didn't know what Jergal was thinking, but since this concerned the Rose of Decay, he couldn't help investigating further.
Anbaixiu said to the two, "Both of you have been members of the Elegy Poetry Society for a long time. I want to ask: have there ever been members who vanished just like me? And if so, what were the reasons for their disappearance?"
The expressions of Aige and Herki Stone grew solemn. Herki Stone asked nervously, "What are you implying?"
Anbaixiu did not mince words, speaking frankly: "What I'm saying is, if the Elegy Poetry Society truly has some grand plan brewing, did those vanished members really die by accident? Are all the members truly just friends, free of any competition?
"The President and the Poet definitely know something. If competition exists within the Elegy Poetry Society and you know nothing about it, then you are prey being watched in the dark. I am safe now, but my friends, what about your safety?"
Chapter 542