Divine Fire Trial

Yaxiu felt as though he were looking into a mirror. The same feather stole just like Slay All Crows', the same Distortion Mask, the same hairstyle, the same steel-soled boots, the same Fishcleaver Dragon undershirt, and even the identical god-hosting belt—could this guy also transform into the Transcendent Prison Dragon Knight? The only difference was in his gaze, which held a complex yet familiar mix of emotion. It looked like something Yaxiu had seen in Igola's eyes, in Harry's eyes, in the Yisu Empress's eyes, and... in the Silver Lantern's eyes. "You've already reached a conclusion," he said calmly. "Why do you still need an answer from me?" "The origin of the Twin Cult, the starting point of a perfect destiny, plus their treating this abyss as an exclusive domain..." Yaxiu said. "You're my Fate Twin? My other half?" "Just someone who happens to share the exact same memories and appearance as you," he replied. "When you fell, I was born here as well." "Then we're not completely identical," Yaxiu said. "At least our birthdays are different." "Still, if I'm Yaxiu and you're Yaxiu, how do we address each other?" "There's no need for special titles. You don't have split personality, and neither do I. As long as you speak loud enough, I'll naturally know whether you're talking to me or being sarcastic." "That won't do. Even though names are used by others rather than ourselves, without a name, we truly possess nothing of our own." Yaxiu counted on his fingers. "Our corpses will enter the cycle of the world, our souls will become legacies within the Void Realm, and countless years from now all traces of us will be erased. Only our names have a chance of enduring into the future." "A necromancer's philosophy of corpses? A mind sorcerer's nihilism? Or the influence of the Dramatic Poet and Slay All Crows?" he said. "So you've been harboring thoughts like that?" "Nope, I just made that up to convince you to take a name." Yaxiu beamed with interest. "Who hasn't thought about giving themselves a new name? Let's keep it simple: Yaxiu Heath. Should I just call you Heath? No, no, using that name feels like a bad omen... Do you remember the names we came up with when we were kids? Ya Soul, Ya Mourn, Ya—" "Call me Watcher," Watcher interrupted. "How about Ya Weeping Fate? I still feel like three characters sound better—" "My name is Watcher. Yours is Yaxiu." Yaxiu threw up his hands in helpless disappointment, walked over to sit on the steps, and pondered his phrasing before asking, "You said you have all my memories—" "Aurora's Sorcerer Handbook, Sword Princess, Witch, Weise, before transmigrating, after transmigrating." Watcher said, "I know every single one of your secrets clearly. In my eyes... you are transparent." By the end, Watcher's voice turned low and deep, like a demonic whisper squeezed out of the darkness, dripping with inexplicable coldness. The next second, his shoulders were seized, and he was shoved hard against the wall. Watcher felt no panic at all, perhaps even a trace of relief. But when he looked up, he saw Yaxiu's face beaming with uncontrollable joy and agitation. "Did I actually die of sudden death? Are my parents all right? Did the insurance policy I bought pay out? Did they go through the files on my computer? And... and..." Watching him fire off questions like a broken dam, Watcher was momentarily stunned before regaining his composure. "If you don't even know the answers, how could I?" "However, with your older brother, sister-in-law, and nephew around, your parents will recover quickly even if they grieve for a while. You always worked away from home and never visited except during the Spring Festival, nor did you call home often... They're already used to you not being around." "It's us!" Yaxiu corrected. "What was the point of calling? It wasn't like there was good news. Was I supposed to tell Mom and Dad that I worked overtime again crunching on a project and didn't even get four hours of sleep? Still, I never expected that working away from home had this advantage. At least dying was clean and neat..." Watcher said, "There shouldn't be any problem with the insurance payout. You bought it specifically with sudden death in mind. As for your computer files, they'll almost certainly go through them." "Sigh..." Still, so much time had passed since his transmigration, and Yaxiu quickly pulled himself out of the emotional quagmire. Looking at Watcher, he smiled. "Fate Twins are said to come in three types: similar, complementary, and opposite. You don't seem very similar to me, so..." Yaxiu chuckled and slung an arm around Watcher's shoulders. "That makes you the complementary type, right? Please look after me from now on!" "I won't take care of you." Watcher gave a frosty response. "Look out for yourself." "Alright, what should we do next?" Yaxiu glanced around and finally looked up toward the giant circular shaft he had fallen from. "How are we going to escape from here? Could there be an elevator or something?" Watcher pointed toward a section of the opposite wall. Yaxiu blinked, inspected it again, and quickly spotted a clue. In this circular underground hall, passages branched off at regular intervals. There should have been a passage where Watcher was pointing, but it was currently blocked off by a solid wall. Watcher said, "There should be sixteen passages here, but now only fifteen remain. The Silver Lantern and her companion must have chosen this passage to venture deeper." Yaxiu asked, "Them? Just like us?" A single Silver Lantern had already turned the Senluo Wasteland upside down; Yaxiu didn't even dare imagine what two Silver Lanterns could pull off. "Since they chose to go deeper, it means the way out can only be found by continuing onward." Watcher looked at him. "Are you picking, or am I?" Yaxiu glanced at the identical passages. "They all look the same anyway. You choose." Watcher nodded and took the lead, stepping into the nearest passage. The light source within the passage came from nowhere visible, and far in the distance shone a dazzling beam of brightness. As Yaxiu followed him inside and walked for a bit, a rumbling crash echoed behind them. Turning back, he found that the entrance had already been sealed shut. "Now, even if Igola and the others come down, they won't be able to find us..." Yaxiu said. "Speaking of which, Igola and the others won't be in danger, will they?" "Now that the Twins have freed their hands, what follows will be the Nature Cult's rout," Watcher said. "The Twin Cult attaches supreme importance to this abyss, and the Twins saw you fall in with their own eyes. If only to stay in your good graces, they won't harm your companions." "Our companions," Yaxiu said. "You're talking as if you never went on adventures with Igola and the rest." "The definition of a companion does not lie in shared experiences in the past, but in whether your interests align in the future." "It's precisely because of those past shared experiences that our interests will align in the future." Watcher did not continue debating the point, whether because he had no interest or because a door had appeared in the passage ahead. When the two of them stopped before the door, a crystal block above flared with green light. The alloy gate slid open automatically, and a high-spirited female voice resounded from within: "Welcome, Trial Challenger Twins No. 2. Please select appropriate equipment as soon as possible. The Rebirth Passage will close in 8 minutes and 36 seconds. The trial will officially commence in 18 minutes and 36 seconds." Trial challengers, Rebirth Passage, selecting equipment? The room inside was divided into three sections: a weapons area, an equipment area, and an appearance area. In the equipment area rested sets of combat suits of various styles, each undeniably crafted with aesthetic flair. The weapons area was packed with sharpened cold weapons; although firearms were present, they were limited to long rifles—specifically, bolt-action manual rifles. Against those, Yaxiu was confident he could be faster and more accurate within seven paces. While Yaxiu was observing, Watcher had already changed into a combat suit and equipped himself with a pair of longswords. "You know dual swordsmanship too?" "Gold-rank swordsmanship grants mastery and synthesis over all basic sword arts," Watcher said flatly. "Never mind dual swords; even if you tried three swords or eight swords, you'd pick them up quickly. Dual wielding is simply better suited for rapid assault." Yaxiu also changed into a combat suit, but he didn't take any weapons, pulling the Sword of Honeyed Words and Belly Dagger directly out of his mouth instead. A single glance was enough for Watcher to know what he wanted to ask. "I have nothing you gained from Aurora's Sorcerer Handbook. All I possess are memories and techniques." "And here I thought I could exploit a bug in the game system with you..." The two walked over to the appearance area. Unlike the equipment area, this section was stocked with cloaks, masks, capes, accessories, cosmetics, and even hair dyes—tools for changing one's appearance that seemed purely decorative, serving no purpose other than enhancing looks. Yaxiu naturally stuck with his dark-red trench coat and Distortion Mask, while Watcher casually threw on a black trench coat. When they returned to the door, they saw a counter rise from the floor, bearing two wristwatches. In this unfamiliar place, with their sorcery power suppressed, even Yaxiu knew enough to obediently follow instructions. After strapping on the watches, the LCD screens lit up with a countdown: 14 minutes and 12 seconds. "What now?" Yaxiu asked. "Do we wait here until the countdown finishes?" "Trial." Spitting out that single word, Watcher continued along the passage. Since it was a trial, it couldn't possibly be testing their aptitude for playing hide-and-seek inside a room. If Yaxiu had guessed correctly, they were supposed to advance as far as possible before the timer ran out. If they dared lurk inside the room, some form of punishment would likely descend upon them—much like the Expulsion Secret Poison in the Sea of Knowledge. "You really are complementary to me," Yaxiu sighed as he kept pace alongside Watcher. "You prefer dual swords, while I'm good with a single blade. You act decisively, while I'm skilled at contemplation. You..." As Yaxiu chattered on, analyzing their respective strengths and weaknesses, time slipped away rapidly. When the countdown reached ten seconds, Yaxiu instinctively picked up his pace, half-expecting rolling boulders or a swarm of Fishcleaver Dragons to spawn behind them. Yet when the countdown hit zero, a new thirty-minute timer popped up, alongside a small indicator: "Trial: 1." Yaxiu glanced backward, detecting no movement at all. Watcher also came to a halt. "Up ahead." Yaxiu turned around and discovered a figure slowly emerging within the bright light of the passage ahead. The figure's shadow stretched out long across the floor, extending all the way to their feet. As Watcher rested his hands on the hilts of his dual swords, Yaxiu stared in disbelief at what stood before them. "Could you be—" Accompanied by a Mind Shriek that surpassed the range of human hearing echoing through the corridor, the trial began! *** Meanwhile, in the underground metropolis of Nightfall. Hearing footsteps behind him, Igola turned his head to see the Twin god-hosters of the Twin Cult walking over. He asked, "The sounds of fighting outside have died down. Have you dealt with the Nature Cult?" "A small remnant is still stubbornly resisting, but since their grand law is not here, dying in battle is their inevitable fate," the Twins said. "I heard an anomaly occurred here—" The Twins froze. The change to the circular shaft was visible from afar. It was sealed. What had been a deep pit had now become smooth, solid ground. The Twins rushed forward immediately, stroking the patterns on the ground with trembling voices. "Will... will it ever change back?" Harvey said, "It should revert once the trial concludes." "What trial?" Harvey pointed, and the Twins noticed several lines of text in the area Black Crow was gazing down upon. When they went over to read it, their faces filled with incredulous shock, and then... wild ecstasy. "The Divine Fire Trial?" they murmured. "Beneath Nightfall, the Divine Fire system actually exists?"