As soon as they sat down, Ham slapped the table and spoke without riddles. She said she had come to ask them for a small favor, because a major event was about to happen and she needed a bit of help. The directness left no room for misunderstanding.
"Who are you, exactly, and why should we help you?" Icelis shot back. She could not see through this person at all, and being asked for help right away was far too suspicious.
Nefit shared the same thought, but her mouth was full of grilled meat, so she temporarily gave up on speaking. Luna was not eating, just watching with interest. She clearly enjoyed the scene.
"Relax, I know how this sounds," Ham said with a helpless shrug. "That is why I will give you a reason you cannot refuse."
She thought about how things would have been easier if Belial had not been restricted, since that would have solved everything directly. Now she had to deal with repairs alongside Bella while still handling this mess. In the end, she could only turn to old friends for help.
This path was a trial she had to walk herself, one meant for a single person, but outside assistance was never forbidden. Since cheats were already in play, adding a few more did not matter. As long as she did not touch her own side and instead made life miserable for the enemy, it was fine.
Her mood visibly lightened as she reached this conclusion. Even if using people over and over was not very moral, she had gone through the same thing herself. Besides, they were qualified to participate in this ritual, so it was perfect timing.
"First, you, Luna. I will convince you to help willingly," she said. "Care to hear it?"
"Oh? Go on," Luna replied. She sensed a faint similarity between this girl and someone of her own kind, and although she did not fully trust her, she felt no malice.
"We are going to gang up and beat to death an old man who should have died long ago," Ham said bluntly. She explained that this man was tied to Evil God, had caused countless deaths, and planned to cause more.
She added that this same man was one of those who released the green monster into Elven Homeland when Luna was a child. They would also borrow the power of her black counterpart to do it. "So, do you agree?"
"I agree," Luna answered without hesitation. The speed of her reply surprised even Ham.
Nefit looked at her friend and saw a cold expression she had never seen before. She swallowed and did not ask about the past, because it was obvious that Luna was genuinely furious and intent on killing someone.
"Good. Next is you, Nefit," Ham said. She explained that the same old man had deceived her in childhood, destroyed her home, harmed her family, and caused the great battle back then.
She added that the thousand-year blood and tears of her family were also his doing. This time, they would give her enough power to beat him down and kill him completely. "How about it?"
"I agree. You must take me," Nefit said. Her hand slammed down and tore a chunk out of the table, her eyes turning into vertical Dragon pupils as dark lines appeared on her cheeks.
Her rage needed no explanation. That childhood experience of having her heart torn out had been a nightmare, and the near destruction of her family was something she could never forgive. Being able to personally kill the enemy was more than enough reason.
"Very good," Ham said with satisfaction. She then noticed Icelis staring at her and hesitated slightly, considering whether to include her as well.
"What about my reason?" Icelis demanded. She already knew that if the others were involved, she would not be able to stay out of it anyway.
"Your opinion is not that important," Ham replied. "Your caretaker will have to get involved regardless, since this concerns her too."
She stood up and pointed at Icelis with an even more arrogant tone. "Everyone else gets invited to a huge party where they can borrow the power of that Dragon who once treated you like ice cream and beat up a nasty old man. But guess who does not get a special invitation?"
"You," she said in English.
"I am going," Icelis snapped instantly. At this point, refusing would mean losing outright.
She wanted to attack and force out the secrets clearly being hidden, but reason told her she would just get pinned down instead. Reluctantly, she held back.
"Then I am off," Ham said with a nod. "You do not need to prepare anything special. When the time comes, you will know."
She casually ate the last piece of grilled meat and set the plate aside. Only then did the others realize the plates were piled high, and none of them had seen her eating while she talked.
"Here is your bill," the server said. The long receipt slid across the floor, and the number on the phone screen left the three of them silent.
After that, Ham needed to keep persuading others, so appearances mattered. She grabbed a strand of sunlight from Sun, kneaded it into a cheap halo, and placed it behind her head.
Satisfied, she flew into the clouds. For an instant, a towering Great Dragon Void silhouette gleaming with White Tier gold flashed and vanished like a bubble under a rainbow. No one saw it, and those who chased after her only noticed a brief glare of sunlight.
That Dragon did not travel on the surface of World, but went deeper into a dreamlike layer. For ordinary people, dreams were only fragments stitched together from memory. For some, however, they were not.
Fei'er Li had almost no need for sleep after reaching Gold, resting only when mental strain became too heavy. The advancement brought by Gold Rank nearly removed the need for sleep entirely. At that level, cultivation was considered near the peak, with the next step involving full mastery of Laws.
Many believed there was nothing beyond Gold, and that the only remaining path was perfecting Laws to become a true God. After the extinction of Demonkind, this belief became even more common. Yet Fei'er Li had doubts sparked by what she saw in Book.
In the past, in the Northlands, the lowest tier corresponded to Black Iron. Later came Silver, though the rank shown in Book was actually White Tier. Then came Gold, which seemed to return to the standard path.
These three tiers reminded her of another rank that existed only in old memories of the World. She murmured about Crimson Ascension, the philosopher's stone, and whether this was a real concept or just overlapping terms. Neither Pure White Book nor Otherworld offered clear answers.
Alchemy did exist, but it was more about making Potion and materials, closer to chemistry and material science. Her suspicion grew because after reaching Gold, she could still cultivate smoothly, and the experience bar in Book kept increasing.
After witnessing countless cult sacrifice sites and seeing innocent souls burned into red ash, she began to wonder if Crimson Ascension was the answer to becoming a god. She recalled the repeated hints of crimson and Crimson God in novels, and whether this term came from there.
Before she could finish the thought, her vision darkened. Overwhelming drowsiness hit her, and she collapsed forward. Just before losing consciousness, she vaguely heard hurried footsteps approaching.
Fei'er Li felt as if she had returned to the day she was sent to her grave by the Rite of Aramisaiah. That night she had drunk too much at a work gathering, and the headache now felt very similar. No, there was still a difference, because this pain was focused on the back of her head, as if someone had struck her from behind with a blunt object.
…How strange. Why would she even think that? Her head felt dizzy, and she wondered where she was. Had she fallen asleep from exhaustion? That did not make sense, since she knew her body well and would never just drop her phone and pass out like that.
Fei'er Li forced her eyes open and realized she was lying somewhere. Everything around her felt unfamiliar yet oddly familiar, and from this angle she could see her own hand. It was a familiar hand dressed in a suit sleeve.
The texture beneath her was familiar as well, rough cement road with gritty sand, flickering lights overhead, and she was still lying in the street. Oh, so that was it. It was nighttime.
She could hear car horns, the noise of a crowd, and even the ringing of mobile phones. The pain in her body seemed to come only from a few scrapes. Her body did not feel seriously injured. Had she just been hit by a truck and knocked out without dying, only passing out and having a long and absurd dream?
"Are you okay…?" Someone seemed to come over and help her up, but for some reason she still felt extremely Void weak, barely able to open her eyes, completely unable to move.
It seemed like there were two people. One of them leaned closer, and Fei'er Li struggled to lift her eyelids. When she saw that face, her already unclear thoughts became even more muddled. Alba?