I have a long-lived pawn shop.

In the deepest darkness, someone sings.

Uriel Kaorish staggered towards the end of the song, his feet were rugged black rocks washed by the tide, he knew he was in a dream, he was very sleepy, he wanted to close his eyes and fall asleep, but he couldn't do it, the song was so soft and so familiar, like a hand waving at him from afar.

Then the darkness faded.

At the end of the light is a young girl. The girl is wearing a silk dress embroidered with acacia flowers. Her ankles are soaked in cold water, showing a light red color. She is looking at the rising sun with a smile on her lips and humming softly. In the sunlight, she looks slender and transparent, like a carefully carved crystal statue, with an unreal fragility.

"Why are you here again?" The girl heard footsteps. She stopped singing, turned around and looked at Uriel, and said softly, "Haven't you given up yet? I can't go back to the human world with you, Uriel."

Her hair is purple, her skirt is purple, the irises in her hair are also purple, and her pupils are deep and rosy, as if hiding the last moment of the afterglow before sunset. Her purple is layered from new to old, rolling like a newly blooming Roland.

Uriel shook his head. His chest was clearly filled with complex emotions, like fire, like sea water, cold and hot being injected into the mold, bursting out a violent reaction close to explosion, but... so dark, so deep, like a ghost wandering in the world who was unwilling to return to the six feet below.

I should be the one who died! It would be great if you had never met me! Uriel looked at the girl in front of him, feeling that the abyss in his heart was swallowing him up. A voice was quietly stopping him, telling him that he should approach her, this was the last chance. But the abyss of sadness told him to say something else.

"I will bring you back." He whispered, and took a step forward to hold the girl's hand. He held it so tightly, as if it was his life... If he let go, he would die. "I made a deal with the people of the Tree Cult. I fully cooperated with them to fulfill the Federation's requirements and ambitions and destroy the Silver Moon Empire. They wanted to use the saint who controlled the relics of the gods as the material for the ritual to replace your flesh and blood and wake you up from your slumber."

He honestly became the son of the Treeborn Cult not for any faith, their agreement was just that Uriel would help in the war, and the people of the cult would bring the dead back to the world. The nature of the world is that when you gain something, you are invisibly sacrificing something else. He sold himself for a hope... In fact, if it weren't for this hope, he would have been tired of the world long ago.

"I went to see Troisi later. It's beautiful, but the sun is too strong and you won't like it, so I chose a lakeside town in a neutral country with beautiful meadows and horse chestnuts. We will live there peacefully and make up for the time we lost before..."

Uriel said a lot, but he did not look the girl in the eye. The life had long left the girl's body, but the pale face as white as paper in the dream still had a faint luster. She looked fragile, but in fact she was much stronger than Uriel. This crystal and strong girl stood there, looking at Caesar silently, with a sad and pitying expression.

"We never have a future, Uriel. From the moment I opened my eyes, I saw the family emblem. What I wear, eat, learn and do all come from the support of my family. Everything I have is given to me by my family. The name 'Lister' is my bones and blood. Since I accepted the gift from my family, I must take responsibility for the fate of my family, so I came to you." The girl said word by word.

"I am a Lister! Uriel, you don't have to feel sad for me. Don't you understand the meaning of me being sent to you? I am regarded as your reins, your cage, and the nightmare you can't get out of; but I am also your shield, your hidden blade, and your harbor for resting at will. Don't try to wake me up again. I saved you and died for you, all for the benefit of the family..."

As the girl spoke, the atmosphere around them changed subtly. The clear sky was gradually stained with the dark color of dark clouds. The sea of ​​clouds surged, and the cold rain formed a silver line. The boundary between light and shadow kept changing. The icy rain, accompanied by the flash of swords and shadows, swept in all directions like a storm.

The strong wind threw Uriel Kaorish hard, smashing her into the barnacle-covered reefs. The next moment, a bullet flew from an infinite distance and hit the girl in the center of the storm. The huge impact pushed her into the depths of the sea.

She fell with the wind and rain, like a sun that was extinguished, and below was the turbulent sea. The girl's wound did not bleed, and countless cracks spread from the wound, as if she was not a human being, but a portrait carved out of crystal. In the storm, her beauty was like a thorn bird pierced by thorns. On her earlobes hung earrings with the family crest of the Liszt family, which shone like water waves when she fell.

Crystal fragments flew from the air. Uriel stumbled over and pounced on the fragments that were about to fly away, as if those fragments were his lover, and he wanted to forcibly take her back from the hands of death. Those cold stone objects turned into quicksand in his palms, and there was nothing between his arms.

……

The sound of water gurgling was heard as the boat broke through the cold and clear surface of the underground river and moved forward. A lamp burning with a purple flame was hung on the bow, and the light enveloped the small boat. The faint sound of wind blew out from the wide corridor, like the wailing from hell.

Amid the wailing, the boatman sang an ancient hymn, a famous song of the Tree-Born Sect that eulogized death. As he sang, the originally vague sounds in the corridor gradually became clearer, as if someone was whispering in an incomprehensible language. A mysterious fog slowly swam in from the darkness and filled the brick and stone alley.

"As the sun sets, the glory is gone, and the wandering souls in the ruthless division sing a song of praise for death..."

The boatman was wearing a black robe with a giant tree embroidered in gold thread on the collar, which was the attire only for priests in the Arboreal Sect. An inverted elder cross dangled in front of his chest, with the scorch marks on it extending all the way to the back of his hands. Apart from his clothing, he looked nothing like a priest. Even his figure was as tall as a demon, and even when he was half bent over, he still looked like a towering shadow.

The priest's new assistant looked around. This was his first time in the holy land of the Tree-Born Sect. Every brick, every stone pillar, and every wall he saw were several times larger than what he saw outside. This gave him an illusion, as if he was an ant that accidentally broke into a human palace.

The assistant couldn't help but look down at this unknown underground river. Under the dim light, his face was reflected on it, and it seemed a little distorted after a long time. In a trance, all kinds of hallucinations appeared in front of his eyes, as if countless evil ghosts with swollen bellies and bulging eyes emerged from under the river, trying to pull him into the darkness and coldness to keep them company. After a while, those evil ghosts disappeared, and a giant tree replaced it. It was not so tall that it blocked out the sky, but it was tall enough. Black fire burned all over its body, and its branches were covered with protruding thorns, as rugged as a ridge. There were countless eyeball-like things growing on the vines and the tree, and countless tentacles were wriggling in the shadows. It was clearly extremely fierce and evil, but the assistant felt the kind of peace of mind and warmth he felt when he saw his mother's smiling face, as if a tired bird had returned to the forest and a young swallow had returned to its nest.

He even smelled the fragrance. Today's refining technology is advanced enough, and the nobles are keen on buying all kinds of expensive perfumes. The assistant is also someone who has participated in many noble dinners. If he hadn't been this kind of person, he wouldn't have become the assistant of the priest at such a young age. He is familiar with the smell of ambergris, musk, sandalwood and various expensive plant essential oils, but none of them can match this fragrance. It is gentle and calm. The moment it enters the nose, it flows over the limbs and bones like warm water, making people involuntarily open their nostrils.

In the mist of fragrance, the giant tree looked even more approachable. The young man began to review his life in the reflection of the giant tree. He suddenly found that he had nothing, so he tried desperately to feel for something in the air. He stretched his hand into the river, and the river water suddenly became warm, just like the amniotic fluid before birth. It turned out that it was the place where he could feel at ease.

The assistant's expression was unpredictable, sometimes hazy as if filled with mist, and sometimes clear as polished crystal, as if he had just woken up from a dream. His body gradually lost balance, and he fell to the river involuntarily, wanting to throw himself into the arms of death.

The boatman suddenly noticed the abnormality, and with his eagle-claw-like strong hands he grabbed his assistant's collar and pulled him back. The assistant staggered and fell into the cabin. A sinister chill instantly invaded his body from his fingers, as if frost had sealed his soul, and even his blood vessels seemed to be frozen by the cold.

"You'd better get closer to the light if you want to keep your hand." The boatman said calmly, "For ordinary people, this water flowing with divine power is extremely poisonous. It will make you recall the misfortunes in your life, and then use illusions to construct the scene you most desire, where your anxiety is vented, as if a small hole is opened in a bucket full of emotions, and the torrents that have been accumulated for a long time are desperate to pour out from this outlet, and finally the pressure is too strong and the bucket bursts."

"Divine power?" The assistant came back to his senses from his stiffness, and shuddered quietly as he crawled towards the light. He was already very close to the core of this sect, but he had never heard of such a place.

"Yes, divine power... Fanatical believers offer countless sacrifices to their gods, eager to reach a place without desires, worries, lust, and karma. The gods then cast down their roots to become river water, accepting the sacrifices and fulfilling the wishes of the saints. This is not a simple prayer hall, it was originally... an altar." The priest said softly, as if he was afraid to disturb the souls that had accumulated in the river for thousands of years.

"Don't make any noise when you reach your destination," the priest reminded him. "The Son of God should not have woken up yet, but if he does, don't try to resist. Just run away. You can't resist him now. I will save you."

The assistant felt his body regain some warmth, and his fingers were able to move. He finally got up, but he didn't dare look at the river again. Instead, he looked around. They had already crossed the new river channel, and suddenly the light was very bright. The passage was almost six or seven stories high. The candles on the walls were burning with warm yellow flames. The candlelight formed a long band of light, extending to the door in the distance. The pillars supported the dome covered with murals, which flickered in the halo of the candle flames.

It is really strange. It has not been repaired for more than a hundred years. Everything that should have decayed has been reduced to ashes, but the murals are still as bright as new. The painter used solemn brushwork to depict the story of the gods of the Shusheng Sect appearing in the world. There were patients with serious illnesses who experienced the pain of scraping bones and their souls ascended to heaven; there were grand festivals, and the high priests and priests selected the most devout believers and sent them to the side of the gods. Death was a common and warm thing in that era. People believed that the ultimate value of life did not depend on the way of winning, but on the form of destruction.

“Those paintings…?” the assistant asked with some doubt in his tone.

“Very beautiful, right? But these things cannot appear in front of people. They can only be buried deep in tombs and can never be seen by ordinary people. Did you see the colors of those paints? They are so bright and lasting because they are a mixture of divine blood, gold, silver and tung oil. Only the most pious people in the sect will be safe when touching them, so most of these murals were completed by generations of high priests and saints.” The priest rowed the boat into the firelight and explained lightly.

But it is no longer like this. People dig into the burial sites of gods, eat the remains of gods, and covet the heritage of gods. These murals are like the starlight people see when they look up at the sky. The stars as the main bodies may have been destroyed for one reason or another. Now the colors of the divine age revealed in this holy place are more like the light projected by the destroyed stars.

The assistant was so absorbed in the paintings that he didn't notice when the boat came to shore. The bow of the boat hit the rocky shore, and the boatman in a black cloak threw away his long pole and went ashore, removing his hood. He was wearing a deer skull mask on his head, which completely covered his face, revealing only his lips and chin. The antlers were pale and slender, like lush branches under the sun.

The assistant followed the priest breathlessly, his heart beating violently. When he looked up, he could only see the priest's black back walking in the flame-colored passage, like a lonely soul walking into hell.

Finally, they came to the door at the end of the road. This door was four or five meters high, as if it was specially built for giants. The door was not closed, and the priest and his assistant could see that there was an open hall behind the door. There was a pool in the middle of the hall, and the steps beside the pool were filled with candles, high and low. At this moment, all the candles were burning, and the candlelight in the hall became a sea.

The pool was very large, and the candlelight only covered the edge. The center was still shrouded in darkness, and it was unclear what was there. It was vaguely a square object. The priest put his hands on his waist and told his assistant to stay by the pool and not get close. Then he walked towards the darkness that could not be penetrated by the candlelight as if he was facing a great enemy. His steps became slower and slower, and his vigilance increased to the extreme, preparing for possible attacks.

The sea of ​​candlelight flickered in the darkness. The assistant looked around but still found nothing unusual. The water in the pool was just ordinary water, neither hot nor cold, and it did not have the magical power of the river outside.

The bottom of the pool was engraved with words that the assistant could not understand. They were entwined in circles like some mysterious pattern. A circulation system was also set up next to it. The pool water flowed out from the outlet, circulated in the canal dug out on the floor of the hall, and flowed back into the pool. The gurgling sound of the water was like a set white noise. After listening to it for a long time, people's consciousness could not help but become fuzzy.

The assistant looked at the candlelight reflected on the water and himself in the candlelight, and slowly fell into deep thought. Then he leaned towards the pool, trying to see clearly the mysterious patterns.

Just then, the assistant accidentally caught a glimpse of the reflection in the pool.

——A pale face appeared behind him.

In nature, animals always choose weaker prey when hunting, because it is easier to kill them and there is less chance of them getting hurt.

The assistant also came from a large family, and was trained according to the most standard procedures for a nobleman. He was proficient in equestrianism, painting, and music. He had been quite confident before coming to the Holy Land, and after being chosen as the priest's assistant, he could see a bright future.

But now he felt a surging and violent breath coming towards him, with a strong smell of blood, destroying his confidence. At this moment, the breath coming from the pale figure was as breathtaking as on the battlefield. A straight sharp blade slid out of the figure's sleeve. There was no doubt that his next move would be to cut the assistant's throat.

"Uriel! Stop!" The priest roared loudly and swooped down like an eagle. The hand that had been at his waist pulled out a heavy sword, which suddenly came out of the sheath and chopped at the back of the figure. This move was an absolute killing move. If Uriel did not want to be chopped in half, he had to give up killing his assistant and go back to defend or dodge.

The figure really retreated, and the priest took the opportunity to yell, "Quickly retreat, he hasn't fully awakened yet, and now both of us are prey to this beast!"

The assistant rolled and crawled to hide behind a stone pillar. From afar, he could see splashes in the pool and two figures standing in the water, separated by darkness that the candlelight could not illuminate. Their shadows were reflected in the sparkling water, as if they were burning.