Chapter 1150: Chapter 110: Iterations of Reincarnation (Part 2)
Watson didn’t say anything, just nodded to Lorenzo. She was an incorporeal existence, and the harsh environment posed no threat to her, not to mention she was already on Lorenzo’s side.
Froki was silent for a few seconds, finally nodding in agreement with everything.
"Then let’s get ready. This is our last time on the ship."
Lorenzo said to the others, and the meeting ended calmly like this.
Froki stood up and brushed past Bola in the wheelchair. Then he stopped, turned his head, and looked at the man in the wheelchair whose features were difficult to distinguish.
"You’ve done well, Bola. You’ve shown your worth."
Froki smiled, recognizing Bola.
Bola’s figure in the wheelchair trembled, his eyes red. In the raging flames, Lancelot’s pale face flickered, and the hand that once pulled the trigger couldn’t stop trembling.
{"Kill him."}
{"Kill him."}
{"Kill him."}
Dead souls whispered in his ears, their voices getting louder.
Froki didn’t move but stayed still. He knew the inner struggle within Bola, watching expectantly his back, waiting for Bola’s madness and rage.
But nothing happened eventually, and Bola calmed down, saying softly.
"Get lost."
Froki froze, wanting to say something, but he found that whatever he said would sound absurd.
He deeply looked at Bola’s back, unable to imagine the enraged man he once knew had turned into this form. He turned and silently disappeared into the darkness.
Bola then took a long breath as if exhaling all the resentment and anger of the past decade, coughing a few times, his breath becoming even more wilted.
"I’m alright, not disappointed, right?"
Lorenzo walked to Bola’s side, hearing Bola weakly say.
"Those voices... those voices never stop, they’re really annoying."
Bola reluctantly lifted his head and gave Lorenzo a wry smile.
Bola had always adhered to his principles. He was a soldier, an Upper-Rank Knight of the Purification Mechanism, obeying orders to the point of forsaking the raging fire of wrath.
This wasn’t an easy choice, but amidst erosion and hatred, Bola managed to regain clarity.
Lorenzo nodded, complimenting.
"You are the only one among us who is selfless, Bola."
This was sincere.
Lorenzo had long sensed Bola’s fluctuations. If he really listened to those dark voices, perhaps in that very moment, Bola’s body would have started to transform, attempting to kill Froki.
Reaching out his hand, Lorenzo comforted Bola.
They were all obsessive selfish fiends, Plague Doctor for his Truth, Froki for his Nautical Chart, as for Lorenzo...
He wasn’t sure if his reason was for letting the crew survive or letting Selyu survive. Sometimes, Lorenzo also reflected on these things, wondering if he wanted to save the mortal world or a world where his friends could live.
Lorenzo felt it should be the latter. What he wished to save was a world where Selyu and others existed. It sounded selfish, but Lorenzo thought it wasn’t bad.
He never considered himself a good person. To save the world was far too sacred and distant; such a selfish motive was more aligned with his inner desires.
Yes, that’s it.
"You’re also my friend, Bola."
Lorenzo said, somewhat inexplicably, making Bola unsure what he meant. Then he felt a cool touch on his head.
The crown of Holy Silver was placed on Bola’s head. It could block the invasion of the Gap, but whether it could block erosion, Lorenzo was still unclear. There was no time to test it; this seemed more like psychological comfort and a blessing for his friend.
A ship doctor came over; they pushed the wheelchair, taking Bola back to the medical cabin. Within a few minutes, only Lorenzo, Watson, and the Plague Doctor remained here.
"If the ice continues to thicken, our speed will soon slow down. Then we’ll have to disembark and walk."
Lorenzo said to the Plague Doctor.
"Do you have anything you need to handle? Quickly sort it out, we might never come back."
The Plague Doctor thought for a moment, leisurely coming over. After this period of rest and recovery, thanks to Authority Yanar, the wounds caused by the Sea Serpent were almost completely healed. This was the Plague Doctor’s support to move forward; monsters like him were rarely killed by anything.
"I do have some matters to handle."
The Plague Doctor said, looking towards the bow, where bursts of snow-dust were stirred up.
"How much longer can we advance?"
"A few hours, or a few days, who knows? If possible, I’d like to stop soon and depart. The deeper we go, the harder it is for mortals to resist... they don’t need to risk their lives with us," Lorenzo said.
"Alright."
The Plague Doctor nodded, then walked into the darkness.
Lorenzo and Watson exchanged a glance, left with only each other, they gradually leaned together.
"What do you think is ahead, Watson?"
Lorenzo asked, his mood heavy.
This journey was almost too burdensome. Lorenzo’s friends kept falling one after another, and now Lorenzo only had Watson left. Only she, surpassing mortals, could accompany Lorenzo through this final journey, which made Lorenzo’s heart less fearful.
"Truth, all the truth."
Watson took Lorenzo’s hand, encouraging this old friend.
They had traveled a long distance, from the Night of the Holy Arrival to the World’s End. It had been an incredibly long journey.
Lorenzo took a deep breath, lowered his head; the cold arrived quicker than he imagined. The deck was already covered with a thin layer of frost, entwined with metal growth, freezing everything.
He was ready to continue the conversation that had been interrupted before.
"Watson, what’s under the Well of Ascension?"
Earlier when others were around, Lorenzo hadn’t continued the talk. Now only the two of them were left; Lorenzo wanted to know the answer.
"Us, or should I say, our former selves."
Watson didn’t hide anything but directly answered Lorenzo’s question.
"Lorenzo, everything about the Divine Favor Baptism truly existed; it wasn’t some illusory dream. It was actually..."
"It was the Gap, a massive Gap, an extremely complete Gap, almost like another real world. Countless people used their memories to construct that great place together."
Lorenzo spoke ahead of Watson, narrating these things, Watson’s expression showing some surprise.
"Some saw a short story within it, some saw volumes of books, some knew bits of knowledge, others browsed the sceneries of an entire world... this is the source of dreams."
Lorenzo continued.
"When I invaded it, I saw the former Static Holy Temple. Since then, I’ve had such thoughts; it turns out to be true, doesn’t it?"
Lorenzo’s mood was very calm. This outcome, in his view, seemed pretty normal and reasonable. After all, all Demon Hunters initially linked to that Gap, which was the root source of all Demon Hunters, the source of Secret Blood.
"That Gap recorded our past, our age, an era before the cycles and iterations."
Thinking he would be emotional, but now as the moment came, Watson’s mood turned as peaceful as Lorenzo’s.
"Then why did it become like this?"
Lorenzo mumbled to himself, recalling the magnificent world he had seen; it was so strong and great, but in the end, it perished, repeatedly cycled and iterated into the world Lorenzo knew.
Watson didn’t answer, and after a brief silence, she said.
"You’ll find out... go say your farewells."