Chapter 589
Xia'er took one last glance at Ai Wei Na before heading toward the door, when suddenly, Ai Wei Na's voice called out from behind.
“Xia'er.”
Ai Wei Na watched as Xia'er paused, then spoke slowly yet firmly.
“I will find you in my dreams... together with you.”
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**Chapter 302: The Pact of Companions (8025 words)**
“I will find you in my dreams... together with you.”
Ai Wei Na's words echoed in Xia'er’s mind.
At that moment, Xia'er had returned home. Using the **Quanzhizhe** (Omniscient), she contacted Tara, who had been praying for her, and brought both Tara and Perci, who had been searching for her, to her side.
By around six-thirty in the morning, Tara, with faint dark circles under her eyes, rushed into the villa with Perci.
As they walked toward the study, Tara kept her lips pressed together, but when she opened the door and saw the figure of the red-haired girl, her expression finally broke free.
“Lady Xia'er! You’re back!” Upon seeing Xia'er, Tara's demeanor shifted to one of excitement, her cheeks flushed with a rosy hue from the rush of blood.
“I’m sorry for leaving without explaining and making you worry,” Xia'er said, realizing how her sudden disappearance must have troubled those around her.
Just looking at the dark circles under Tara's eyes told her that Tara had likely been searching all night.
“You don’t need to apologize to anyone, Lady Xia'er!” Tara quickly replied, “I was just praying for you, something I do every day. It’s nothing special...”
Seeing Xia'er apologize seemed to fluster Tara, who appeared unable to bear the gratitude Xia'er expressed.
Perci, standing nearby, cast a sidelong glance at Tara after hearing her words.
Yesterday, after Lady Xia'er vanished, Perci had watched as Tara transitioned from calmly comforting everyone to praying in silence, then pacing anxiously, and finally turning into a headless fly, frantically searching for Xia'er, until she wandered the streets like a lost soul...
Though it had only been less than a day since they parted, Tara's emotional journey during those hours felt as if Xia'er had been gone for decades.
Perhaps it was the fear of unanswered prayers that weighed heavily on her... and the manner of Xia'er’s disappearance made it hard not to suspect that her physical form had simply vanished from this world...
“I might have to leave again soon... I need you to ensure that Ke Lei Si doesn’t come near this house,” Xia'er said, looking at Tara and the others.
Xia'er had to enter the Old Days once more... and this time, she needed to resolve the issue with Sa Da Na.
The last time she survived in the Old Days, over ten hours had passed in reality. If she returned from the Old Days again, it would likely be close to the time of her destined death...
Though she had the experience from her previous venture into the Old Days, most of that knowledge was confined to the Abyss... and it was far from sufficient.
The entire Abyss was a trivial region compared to the Old Days; Xia'er had yet to see the world above ground...
She needed to establish a powerful organization on the surface, one that could influence the barriers from the Chaos Era to the Holy War Era, while ensuring it didn’t have too much impact...
If the influence became too strong, and a powerful organization that thrived on war emerged, the history of the Holy War Era could be drastically rewritten...
The Church of the Savior Goddess might not emerge victorious from the Holy War Era, and such an organization would undoubtedly lead to more deaths during the Holy War. With the flutter of a butterfly's wings, reality could undergo a cataclysmic change.
This could not prevent Sa Da Na, who had been in the other realm since the Holy War Era, and might even cause familiar faces in reality to vanish... something Xia'er could not accept.
An organization that adhered to a principle of non-interference—this was Xia'er’s most fundamental vision and requirement for the organization.
Furthermore, the organization must strive to document as much as possible and have a fundamental program to regulate its members...
Because in the memories of her previous prayers, the unknown organization left by Hei Ni had already begun to see individuals maliciously altering history, which was the origin of the “Fictioners” pathway.
Xia'er pondered, beginning to draft the notes and guidelines for the organization on the notepad in front of her.
As she wrote, she encountered a problem.
After the Holy War Era, all churches could no longer direct prayers to their deities, which was normal for those in the later stages of the Holy War Era and the Holy Era.
However, the ineffectiveness of prayers was unusual in the Old Days... After leaving the Old Days, until her awakening in the Holy Era, the prayers of believers had not received any response from Xia'er.
This was likely one of the reasons Hei Ni could not expand the organization in the Old Days; who would want to convert to a faith that even the “deity” wouldn’t respond to?
Soon, two solutions formed in Xia'er’s mind.
One was to find a Proxy, and the other was to distort the church’s “deity” into a symbol.
Both ideas were inspired by real-world religions.
For the Holy Order, Sa Da Na was that Proxy, while the Order of the God of Order had twisted their deity into a concrete symbol and ideology.
Cultivating a Proxy or creating a symbol... both would significantly increase the chances of believers remaining loyal to the organization or religion even when the deity did not respond.
As for how to implement these two plans... it would depend on the situation above the Abyss, requiring a specific analysis of the issues at hand.
While Xia'er was writing quickly, suddenly, a disturbance in her mind made her stop.
One of the flame altars in her mind extinguished, and a corrupted believer ceased their prayers.
Meanwhile, the remaining altar, which had previously flickered with a weak red flame, transformed into a brilliant silver, burning fiercely...
When the silver flame had appeared before, the system had given Xia'er ten minutes to respond, or she wouldn’t know when the next opportunity would arise.
After responding to the red flame, Xia'er had seen Hei Ni hiding in the wardrobe, praying for her. If she didn’t respond to this altar, Hei Ni could very well be executed as a heretic by an unaware divine messenger.
If Hei Ni died, the only thing left of the corrupted believer would be a runestone, and Xia'er would effectively lose that altar.
Even if someone in the Abyss managed to obtain the runestone, they wouldn’t know how to direct their prayers to Xia'er.
If time were stretched infinitely, it was possible that someone might accidentally summon Xia'er with the right prayer... but that was impossible, as it was the Abyss.
If Xia'er didn’t go, the civilization of the Abyss would be buried underground, and no one would ever know of this lost civilization.
In other words, if Xia'er hadn’t responded last time, that runestone would likely never light up again.
She had to respond... within ten minutes...
Xia'er took a deep breath, slowly closed her eyes, and asked in her heart.
“System?” Xia'er called out internally.
“What is it, my dear host? ^^_”
Xia'er ignored the overly affectionate address from the system and directly asked in her mind, “What are the conditions for a Companion?”
Yes... Xia'er planned to use a function the system had mentioned before, “Companion.”
This time in the Old Days might very well be Xia'er’s last chance. If she couldn’t achieve anything this time, she would have to simulate her future in reality, using “earthly methods” to combat Sa Da Na in the other realm...
Sa Da Na could even hunt down the Dark Worm; Xia'er didn’t believe she could escape, so this time she had to go all in, like a gambler.
With the presence of a Companion, Xia'er would undoubtedly fare better in the Old Days.
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