"You're all sweaty, here, wipe your forehead."

"Tired? Want me to carry you for a bit? Have some candy to boost your energy!"

"Need a massage? I've learned muscle relaxation techniques from Harvey—they should work on living people too!"

After a brief inner struggle, Ash accepted the Observer's kindness.

Ash knew that the Phantom Banjee was just a temporarily created clone, and he was ready to kill it without hesitation, never softening because of past memories.

Perhaps it was because he was thrown into Shattered Lake Prison upon arrival, or maybe it was because his companions were always social outcasts like Igula and Harvey, but Ash had unconsciously adapted to the rules of this world—or rather, had flexibly altered his own moral baseline.

He had come to accept the necessity of killing because fate is more enigmatic than drama—even a Mage with Miracle sometimes faces the choice of "harm others or cease to exist."

Now facing merely a clone, Ash hadn't become so weak as to be unable to wield his sword.

However, it was like having a Lahlah pig that you've raised for a long time; you know its purpose is to be turned into delicious food, and you're starving, but if possible, you'd rather not do the dirty deed yourself.

Ash now had a newfound understanding of the saying "the gentleman keeps his distance from the kitchen."

It's even more severe with Trial Clones—they have intelligence, desires, can communicate and are indistinguishable from real people. Yet they are familiar faces to Ash, making it impossible for him to treat them as strangers, not even deceiving himself.

If he had to fight his way through, he would probably need to book a psychological therapy package with Igula when he got back.

A Spirit Mage is indeed an essential team member whether for murder, arson, domestic life, or travel...

Now that the Observer had taken it upon himself to resolve this difficult situation, how could Ash not be willing? However, when the fight broke out, he stayed far away, facing the wall, covering his ears, only following after the trial counter on his wristwatch changed.

But since Observer was doing all the work while he laid back, even Ash felt a bit embarrassed, so he spat inquiries about the cold, the service was attentive—short of waving a support stick—all in an attempt to increase his team contribution.

Even an insightful and stoic person like the Observer was annoyed by him, ending up giving Ash a karate chop to his forehead, and silence was restored to the passage.

When only one minute was left in the trial countdown, Ash said, "You have to remember, the people who are about to appear are just clones of people we know, merely temporary tools created for the trial. They might only live a day or even an hour—like summer cicadas, mayflies in the water, clouds in the sky... but you've never seen the real people anyway, so just treat them like Phantoms."

Before every trial today, Ash said these words, and it's unclear if he was trying to comfort the Observer or himself. It was filled with various assumptions, giving them all kinds of justifications to kill the clones, as if they weren't in a courtroom, yet he tried to persuade fate's judge, all to rid himself of the shackles of guilt.

Naturally, the Observer did not need such weak and foolish self-comfort, but he did not stop Ash from repeating these words.

Long ago, he would often hear similar sayings, with someone always searching for reasons to prove they were right—that all the people they killed deserved it, that all the bad things they did were actually good, that their enemies were despicable beasts—as if they were the absolute righteous and pure good guys... Although he found such argumentation meaningless to this day, maybe he was used to hearing it, so he didn't dislike it.

At that moment, the Observer suddenly froze.

Right.

Those without guilt need not find such excuses. Death Mad, the Lord of Mirrors, Black Demon—they would never say such weak things.

So, is she comforting me, or is she comforting herself?

...

...

Seeing the trial counter +1, Ash hurriedly caught up with the Observer, glancing at the corpse on the ground with the corner of his eye. Like the previous Trial Clones, the body was intact, no visible wounds, and faced down, impossible to identify.

"Remember to leave the last strike for me at the Cicada Transformation Hall; I want to claim the kill," Ash proclaimed confidently. "My sword is thirsty for action!"

"Hmm."

"But it will probably be a fierce fight," Ash looked at his own hands, "The rewards for this trial have become increasingly terrifying. Not only has my physical ability improved, but my senses have become so keen I can sometimes detect traces beyond reality—sometimes I see double images of you, it's like..."

"Premotion."

"That's right," Ash nodded firmly, "you must have felt it in battle too? Time seems as if it has turned into coordinates we can observe, I can even faintly smell the Flowing Gold River... just like the scent of fiery Lahlah pig."

That's just because you're hungry...The Observer silently quickened his pace.

"Silver Lamp and her companions must also be strong; we'll probably have to fight till we're broken to determine the victor," Ash said. "But as long as Silver Lamp is dead, our journey through Senluo can come to an end."

"By the way, do you have any plans after you get out?" Ash asked. "I plan to find a way back to Gospel first, after all, I promised them, I definitely have to go back. Then... no matter what, I have to visit the Kingdom of Stars at least once."

If I'm lucky, perhaps I can settle down in reality. If not so lucky, then I'll aim to become legendary, continuing the pursuit until I find a kind of..." He spread his palm and then clenched it, "… miracle that allows us to meet again in reality."

"But it's easier said than done, the mere inter-realm travel is troublesome enough," Ash scratched his head. "Traveling from Gospel to Dazzling Star might be easier, after all, Liss has become Empress Yisu. Should be no problem to ask Gospel for a one-time passage through, right?"

"But how do we get back to Gospel from Senluo? A Void Realm passage? The Gray Fox legacy?"

Ash fretted for a while but then shook these troubles from his mind and looked at the Observer, asking, "That's my plan, do you want to follow me, or do you have other ideas?"

"I'll follow you," The Observer responded perfunctorily.

"Great!" Ash happily clapped the Observer on the shoulder. "I can't wait to see the looks on Igula and the rest when they see you—it's going to be very interesting!"

"Igula will most likely try to distinguish us by asking various questions, then pull me aside to warn me to be cautious of you. It will probably take a while for him to accept you. As for Harvey, he should be able to tell us apart at a glance; I always feel like he can see some unclean things..."

"And then we'll search in Senluo for a Gray Fox legacy that can traverse realms, and if we can, extinguish the Four Pillars God Sect as well. The best way to not be a regional dealer is to shut down its branches..."

"Feels like I still can't rest," Ash sighed: "I really want to go home quickly."

Hearing this term not belonging to a transcender, the Observer couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "Home?"

"Yeah, the Imperial Palace of Yisu?" Ash blinked. "Even if I can't stay in the Imperial Palace, at least I could live in Nabistin, right?"

"Have you ever thought—"

"That Liss, having become the Empress, won't recognize a companion of hardship and when I return, I'll be treated as a poor relative and chased out with a stick? Of course, I've thought about it," Ash said with a smile. "But home is about more than the other person missing you; what's more important is that you miss them."

"At least at this moment, I really miss Liss, so wherever she is, that's the home I want to return to."

Ash looked at him. "It's the same for you; you're completely different from me. You'll definitely have your own path and goals in the future, not like me who thinks all day about how to make a Substitute work better... But whenever you miss me, you can always come home."

With that, a smile couldn't help but spread across Ash's lips. "Just like how my big brother stays back home to take care of our parents, if I ever get fired, I'll have a place to go back to."

The Observer did not respond to him, simply brushing off Ash's hand from his shoulder and continuing to walk silently ahead. Ash was accustomed to his reticence and while walking, contemplated his life plans after the trials were over.

After several trials, they arrived at the Light Gate earlier than before. Ash drew out his 'sweet words and a hidden dagger' in advance, while the Observer simply rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, and without saying another word, they stepped through the Light Gate together.

In the Cicada Transformation Hall, Weiser and Yooran had long been waiting.

This was normal, after all, they were fighting as a pair, whereas Ash had only the Observer to duel, naturally being a bit less efficient.

In the instant the Trialists were assembled, the lights in the hall flickered, and then steam sprouted from the circular patterns on both sides of the room, giving rise to strange, one-person elevating chambers.

At the same time, their wristwatches popped up with detailed information about the trial:

"Hibernation: Trialists can only enter the Divine Fire Abyss through the individual Cicada Transformation Chambers to inherit the Divine Fire. Once a Cicada Transformation chamber is activated, both chambers will close completely and descend within 30 seconds."

"Cicada Transformation: Trialists will complete the final Cicada Transformation evolution in the chambers, but there must remain in the hall a Trial Body of the same level of evolution to serve as the final consumable for the Cicada Transformation evolution."

After the information flashed through his mind and understanding the true nature of the Cicada Transformation, Ash's face went pale. However, when he raised his head, he saw Silver Lamp had already rushed into the chamber closest to them, hitting the close button—the door shut, and a red light came on.

Through the glass, he could see the cold pupils beneath the fox mask.

Sometimes, to keep living, one must not hurt others.

She had made her choice.

It was as if Ash could hear Silver Lamp's whisper: 'Now, it's your turn to choose.'

The countdown popped up on his wristwatch, 29 seconds remaining.

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