NOVPUBChapter 133: Chapter 132: The Forgotten Memory
Chapter 133 -132: The Forgotten Memory
“Do you want to go inside the maze?”
“Yes, to be precise, to the central area, where the true self of a person resides.”
“But those vine creatures will attack you, right?” Ailuodi thought for a moment, “How about this, you take my consciousness with you as we go. Can you do that?”
“You are my contractor, so sharing consciousness isn’t difficult; however, if you also delve deep into it, who will break the Dream Entering Technique?” Chaoyang hesitated, “If both of us get trapped inside, it will be troublesome.”
“This is a rescue mission, come on!” Ailuodi grabbed his hand and pressed it against Luowei Siya’s forehead again, “I don’t think anything can trap me now. Don’t worry, I assure you a smooth escape.”
“Alright then, let’s give it a try. But we must retreat immediately if it doesn’t work.”
Chaoyang initiated the Dream Entering Technique once more, and the surrounding environment suddenly turned extremely dark. The next second, the floor and walls of the room vanished, replaced by a turbid sky with enormous cracks splitting it into countless pieces, like a shattered mirror.
“So this is what entering a dream is like… It’s much more shocking to come in person than just seeing through your eyes,” Ailuodi murmured.
“Isn’t that obvious? Watching is only visual, but now you are fully sentient, the pressure is naturally on a different level.”
“Is Luowei Siya’s inner self this dark?”
“Not exactly, but consciousness reflects one’s physical state. She knows her life is nearing its end, thus this place turns fragmented,” Chaoyang stabilized himself midair, “Do you see the stuff below? That is supposed to be the Memory Labyrinth, but now it’s all vines!”
Ailuodi looked in the direction he pointed and, indeed, countless vine creatures entangled with each other, occupying the entire view below, leaving no sight of the labyrinth.
“No worries, I will cut through them—Eh, why can’t I move?” She flapped her open wings but remained motionless.
“Nonsense, this is the Dream Entering Technique I cast, and of course, only I can move freely. To put it professionally, the format is incompatible.” Chaoyang had anticipated this situation, “But since you can manifest wings, it means your abilities are still usable, hold on tight!”
Having said that, he began to dive downwards with her. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓾𝒷.𝒸ℴ𝓂
The vine creatures seemed to react as well, as several thick branches rose up and then lunged towards the sky!
“Gale!”
Ailuodi summoned a whirlwind, enveloping the two of them, and the moment the vines touched the whirlwind, they were instantly torn apart!
“Yes, the attack works!” she exclaimed with excitement, “Just focus on moving forward, I’ll deal with these vines!”
This enviable offensive power…
Chaoyang felt anew the essential difference between Demons and Angels.
But he also knew that this would consume wishing power, and the longer they took, the more disadvantageous the situation would become for the two of them. With that in mind, Chaoyang accelerated their descent as much as possible.
The counterattack of the vines grew increasingly intense, and by the time he entered the lower airspace, the sky was almost invisible, swarmed by encroaching branches from every direction. The continuous crackling sound of the whirlwind around them gave him a sudden illusion of navigating through a primeval forest.
Suddenly, scattered stone walls appeared amidst the pitch-black vines!
This indicated they were now very close to the Memory Labyrinth.
“As expected, the labyrinth is covered by these vines!” Chaoyang’s spirits lifted, “This is the first time I’ve seen such a situation.”
“So the reward at the end of the labyrinth is Luowei Siya?”
“No, the end is just the end, where the most recent memories are located. You can’t possibly see Luowei Siya herself here. Think about it, we’re like bugs invading her subconscious right now, how could we have a conversation with her in person?”
“Eh? Then how do we make a contract?”
“The principle is this, I will create a piece of memory about the contract and graft it onto her most recent memories—in a sense, she will have the impression that she has made a contract with me.”
“Is that even possible?” Angel was astonished.
“I’ve told you, whether a contract takes effect doesn’t depend on verbal promises or a signature, it measures the hearts of both parties. If Luowei Siya acknowledges this memory and also wishes to continue staying by Haiqi’s side, the contract will be established,” Chaoyang added, “Of course, I can’t guarantee it will work because this is also my first time attempting such a thing!”
“Wow!” Ailuodi rarely spoke her most intimate mother tongue.
For Chaoyang, this was a method born out of no other options—he could also bet that when the anesthesia wore off, Luowei Siya would still have a breath of life to wake up, while also having to maintain clear consciousness amid the excruciating pain of a heart being violently gripped. However, according to his medical knowledge, this was a hundred times more difficult than scraping bone to treat an injury, and it was too much to expect Luowei Siya to be able to do it.
As long as the brain died, even if it was just one second ago, consciousness would collapse completely, and by then, it would be too late to transfer to another body.
After passing through layers of vines, Chaoyang finally saw the familiar memory labyrinth.
As for why it was a labyrinth and not something else, he had pondered deeply. The conclusion he arrived at was that the scenes seen by each Demon after employing the Dream Entering Technique might all be different. To him, the grooves that the labyrinth turns into after shrinking greatly resemble the brain’s convolutions. Plus, navigating a labyrinth requires continuous thought, and since he often associated complex labyrinths with the brain as a child, that’s why he shaped such a scene. Whether it’s a gloomy labyrinth stirred by a Gale or a plain children’s labyrinth like a meadow, it depends on the mood of the person being dream-entered.
This time he did not deal with the memory blocks along the way but flew directly to the center of the labyrinth—the longer he stayed, the stronger the resistance would be. This was a self-reaction of the subconscious, so he rushed to the newest memory area as quickly as possible.
Even though it was a labyrinth, for him in flight, there was no sense of being lost. In about half a minute, he and Ailuodi arrived at a place where there was still a hint of light.
The last scene of the memory block was the cathedral forest… he could see Haiqi walking towards the two of them, parting the branches.
“This is the place.”
Chaoyang directly placed his hand on the wall, and began to shape the memory according to past experience—since the purpose of these memories was not to deceive but to convey the content and effects of the contract, there was no need to be very intricate; a rough outline of the signing scene would suffice.
“Done!” He quickly withdrew his hand, and a new piece of wall appeared in the center of the memory labyrinth. If one looked directly at it, one could vaguely see the memory’s content: in a gray room without walls, Mr. Zhao, representing the Paradise Master, was sitting across a low table, flanked by Ailuodi and Haiqi. There was also a hand reaching into view, holding a feather pen and signing a series of names.
Clearly, this perspective belonged to Luowei Siya.
“Hey, your fingers are going right through the model! Are you sure this is okay?” Ailuodi was apparently also looking at the newly added memory block, and she yelled in pain, “And there’s no material on the wall… We’re sitting in the void!”
“I’ve said that as long as the intent is clear, that’s all that matters, a contract measures the heart!” Chaoyang grabbed her and they took off from the ground, “Time to withdraw!”
At that moment, many spikes grew on the vines, slapping at Angel’s barrier from all sides, making a sound like a rainstorm.
Yet at this moment, Chaoyang spotted an unusual memory block—it was half gray stone wall, the other half blank, as if it had been freshly repainted.
He subconsciously slowed down.
“What’s the matter, can’t you fly anymore?”
“No… something about that memory block is off…”
Chaoyang lowered his altitude further, sweeping over that area from a high angle.
