Three Crises

Touch. This was not the first time Yaxiu had heard the term, and it certainly would not be the last. Ever since he had arrived in this world, no matter which realm he traveled to, the gaze of the Four Pillar Gods followed him like a shadow—much like a stalker who reappeared every time you moved, or a welcome text from a network carrier every time you set foot in a new region. And so, from the bottom of his heart, Yaxiu asked the very question that troubled every cancer patient: "Why me?" Mercury Trojan replied, "You carry the scent of a Touch on you." "That's just a little parting gift from Everlasting Presence, the local distributor for the Four Pillar Gods back in Gospel." Yaxiu could not help venting his pent-up grievance at the mention of it. "It deserves plenty of credit for reducing me to this sorry state." It was worth mentioning that, as time went on, the class 'Everlasting Walker' had not been nerfed at all; rather, it had received buff after buff along with each version update. Back when Yaxiu was a Two Wings sorcerer, its effect was a +5 luck roll under normal conditions and a -50 luck roll at critical moments. After he climbed into the Distant Sky Realm, it was upgraded to a +10 luck roll under normal conditions and a -100 luck roll at critical moments. Without a doubt, his current misery was the result of triggering that -100 penalty. As for where the +10 went, it was probably funneled entirely into his gacha pulls—all that good fortune had been spent on rolling 'Moon Phase Swimsuit · Sword Princess' and 'Queen in the Rain · Witch.' "Not her." Mercury Trojan crouched down and reached out a finger toward Yaxiu, but Tamaxi seized her wrist. Unbothered, she continued, "The difference between her scent and your own is as vast as that between this campfire and the night. Bright though the flames may be, the dark night runs far deeper." Her words made Yaxiu so suspicious that he sniffed the back of his hand, then thrust it toward Igola between them. "How come I can't smell anything? Do you think I have a scent on me?" Igola did not bother humoring him. Staring at Mercury Trojan, he asked, "You glanced at me just now. Don't tell me I have the scent of a Touch too?" "You do not, but you have the potential to become one," Mercury Trojan said. "Every Touch perceives the world differently. That Everlasting Presence you mentioned can probably perceive the threads of fate, which is how she managed to leave behind such a curse. What I can perceive, however, is truth. "Nothing in this world can hide from my eyes. I can discern everyone's talents, activate their latent gifts, and guide their paths. That is why the Four Pillar Cult was able to crush and absorb countless sects in just a few short years, rising to become the premier power in Senluo." At these words, Harvey and Igola could not help glancing at Yaxiu. Though Everlasting Presence in Gospel had ultimately been wiped out by the Red Hats, running a cult in Gospel was practically playing on infernal difficulty, yet Everlasting Presence had still managed to walk away unscathed while throwing Yaxiu under the bus along the way. Meanwhile, Mercury Trojan here in Senluo had built the Four Pillar Cult into the land's greatest superpower, practically the ace distributor of the entire religion. Among the three cult leaders they had encountered, it was hard to say whether Everlasting Presence or Mercury Trojan was more capable, given how heavily their environments influenced their success. But Yaxiu was indisputably the most pathetic of the bunch—they even suspected he held dead-last in performance among cult leaders across all realms! The pillar of shame of cult leadership bristled at their pitying stares. "What are you looking at me for?! I'll beat you both up!" Igola withdrew his gaze, turned toward Mercury Trojan, and smiled faintly. "Aside from activating other people's talents, you can also parasitize them, can't you?" "It's merely an insurance policy." Mercury Trojan touched her mercury-coated neck. "For the elite talents I value, I leave a trace of mercury in their bodies. The moment they suffer fatal harm, the mercury repairs their flesh, and I take over their bodies to help them escape danger—" *Crack!* Just as Tamaxi threw a punch straight at Mercury Trojan, Alice caught his wrist from the side. The combat gauntlet stopped right before Mercury Trojan's eyes, detonating a sonic boom of thunder in empty air. Mercury Trojan grunted, stumbling back a step as blood seeped from her nostrils, eyes, ears, and mouth. Yet she paid it no mind, wiping away the blood with a light laugh. "You see? Unless one is a Sanctuary Sorcerer, no matter how gifted a talent may be, their life can be snatched away in an instant. Death is the harshest merchant of all. The mercury I leave behind gives them the capital to bargain with it." "Liar!" Tamaxi's distorted voice verged on a shriek. "You treacherous crow who betrayed everyone, you greedy, monstrous creature of power! You only want to dominate everyone and manipulate everything! You despicable beast, how dare you act as if you're innocent?! If not for you, if not for you...!" Mercury Trojan remained silent, calmly watching Yaxiu. Igola let out a soft sigh. "The ring of light from the campfire is shrinking." The dark night was drawing closer. Tamaxi was not someone who lost sight of priorities. Taking a deep breath, he turned his back, sat cross-legged facing the fire, and adopted a meditative posture, though his trembling shoulders betrayed that his turmoil had far from settled. "What exactly is a Touch?" Yaxiu asked the question on everyone's mind. "A touch is a sense of touch, nothing more," Mercury Trojan answered, regarding Yaxiu with a strange look. "Don't you know? Aren't you a Touch yourself?" Yaxiu knew she was referring to Heath, but now was hardly the time to unravel that history. He stated plainly, "I forgot. Could you be more specific?" Mercury Trojan raised an eyebrow. "There isn't much more to specify, because it isn't complicated. A Touch is simply the sense of touch of the Four Pillar Gods." "You mean," Harvey spoke up suddenly, "the Four Pillar Gods rely on you to perceive this world?" "Precisely." Mercury Trojan nodded. "However, because each person's aptitude differs, the world the Four Pillar Gods perceive through each of us is different as well. In my case, They can only perceive truth through me, which is why everything in my eyes is clearly organized and every scrap of information is laid bare before me. "I didn't ask for your names because I already know you are Yaxiu Heath, Igola Bogin, and Archibald Harvey. Your ages, personalities, preferences, sorcery factions, and sorcery spirit configurations are entirely clear to me. When I look at you, what I see is a résumé." *A Touch is merely a sensory organ the Four Pillar Gods use to perceive the world?* Yaxiu found it difficult to grasp. "Why would the Four Pillar Gods go to such trouble? Aren't They gods?" "They are not gods," Mercury Trojan said placidly. "The gods are merely a band of thieves who stole the Void Realm. The Four Pillar Gods are the true masters of the Void Realm. Long before sorcerers ever scaled the sixth layer of the Void Realm, the Four Pillar Gods had already existed from eternity." Yaxiu and the others held their tongues, their eyes reflecting the universal sentiment of: *She's already this far gone as a fanatic, best to just humor her.* "Is this really the time to discuss what foul filth is rattling around inside this cultist crow's head?" Tamaxi muttered coldly. Yaxiu asked, "How does becoming a Touch save us?" Mercury Trojan replied, "Right now, you face three crises. First, your bodies have been parasitized by the miracle 'Blood Seed.' The Blood Seed corresponds to the Blood Core; it continually siphons your vitality and funnels it into the river of blood. Even though the Blood Core is far from you now, it is only a matter of time before you are completely drained dry. "Dispelling the Blood Seed is exceedingly difficult. It is a miracle sealed by a Legendary Sorcerer. Unless you possess the proper countermeasure, only another Legendary Sorcerer can brute-force a dispel." Though Yaxiu and his companions had never heard the term 'Blood Seed' before, the ritual sounded strikingly familiar. "The second crisis is the Strangling Green lurking in the night. However, this is not an urgent issue, as all three of you are Candle Counts capable of enduring the Strangling Green." Before Yaxiu and the others could breathe a sigh of relief, Mercury Trojan added, "Yet you are not perfect Candle Counts, so enduring the night will inevitably leave you tainted. If you spend the night out in the dark, you will each be afflicted with a negative trait: 'Indulgence,' 'Fear of Corpses,' and 'Callousness.' You can only endure up to fifteen, thirty, and eight nights respectively. Any more, and you will burn out entirely, degenerating into Strangling Green creatures." Yaxiu asked, puzzled, "Is callousness a negative trait?" Igola pointed at Harvey. "Fear of corpses definitely is." Yaxiu started, then immediately grasped Igola's meaning. Just as gamer fatigue was a devastating trait for someone who lived to play games, it meant nothing to someone who never played at all. Traits worked the same way; there was no absolute good or bad, only differing impacts on different people. "Aside from these two crises, do we have a third?" Igola inquired. "Yes," Mercury Trojan said. "The woman who is about to become a Touch, the Blood Core that is draining your life force—she is currently searching for the divine treasury of the Fire Cat Divine Era."