Chapter 599
Sādànà did not return to her seat; she remained standing behind Léimèidàis, occasionally glancing in Xià'ěr's direction, still shaken by the sudden murderous intent he had displayed moments ago.
One moment, a person is smiling and chatting with you, and the next, they draw a weapon and aim it at your forehead, ready to strike... In the past, Sādànà would have called such a person a "madman."
But now, it seemed that the "witch" was not like those madmen. Yet Sādànà could sense that the red-haired girl was suppressing something deep within...
Perhaps only Xià'ěr himself understood the emotions he had been holding back...
Twice he had entered the Old Days, and thrice he had been trapped in that endless darkness. It was only through the continuous operation of his "calm thinking" that he had not been driven mad by the overwhelming sense of solitude.
Compared to the endless darkness Xià'ěr found himself in, the beings of the Otherworld at least had something to see, making their suffering feel less unbearable.
Moreover, the immense pressure Sādànà exerted in reality forced Xià'ěr to make significant changes during this encounter with the Old Days.
At the very least, Sādànà's problem had to be resolved...
"Ah... I'm full."
Léimèidàis rubbed her slightly rounded belly, leaning back against Sādànà, and remarked critically at the plate in front of her, "The orange bugs are a no-go. I thought they would taste like oranges, but they turned out to be lemon..."
"Those bugs shouldn't be mixed with the others; they should be served separately as an appetizer."
As Léimèidàis leaned closer, Sādànà snapped back to reality, listening to her sharp critique, feeling as if something was churning in her throat.
"Léimèidàis... can we not talk about what's on the table..." Sādànà suppressed the rising bile, unwilling even to utter the word "bugs."
"Sure," Léimèidàis nodded, smiling, "I feel like there's something crawling in my stomach. Want to feel?"
Léimèidàis surely knew how much Sādànà detested bugs, yet she kept bringing it up, like a little devil deliberately teasing her.
But her eyes were so clear and pure, looking as if she had no ill intentions—Léimèidàis's innocent and adorable appearance was far too deceptive.
"I... excuse me for a moment." Sādànà took a step back and turned to leave, rushing toward the restroom.
Without her support, Léimèidàis fell backward, but just before she hit the ground, a shadow beneath her reached out with a burning black hand to support her back, gently pushing her back into a sitting position.
Once settled, she smiled at Xià'ěr, who was lost in thought.
"Your abilities are a bit strange," Léimèidàis observed, suddenly speaking up. "You don't have a faith."
"But ultimately, our powers all come from 'seeds'; it's just the way we use them that differs."
Before Xià'ěr could respond, Léimèidàis began to answer her own question, as if she had never expected a reply from him.
"When I first met you, your aura was very similar to those from the Nature Academy... but when you drew your gun just now, your ability changed..." Léimèidàis looked at Xià'ěr, deep in thought. "How did you manage that...?"
After pondering for a moment, Léimèidàis seemed to give up on her thoughts entirely. She looked at Xià'ěr and said, "There's something inside me that compels me to protect you... what is it? I'm really curious."
The shadow within Léimèidàis, both in power and aura, was too similar to her own... it was almost as if...
Following the shadow's guidance to this place, Léimèidàis was also searching for this answer.
And this woman called the "witch" should know something.
"It is you," Xià'ěr said slowly, "more precisely, it is your future self."
Xià'ěr's answer made Léimèidàis pause slightly.
This answer matched Léimèidàis's own guess perfectly, but knowing the truth did not bring her joy.
"Did I fail...?" Léimèidàis's right hand under the table clenched slightly, her tone tinged with faint disappointment.
She believed Xià'ěr's words without question, as she had only come to the same conclusion herself.
"What failed?" Xià'ěr asked.
"My potion," Léimèidàis shook her head and replied, "a more scientific way to achieve divinity."
"Doesn't anyone else use potions?" Xià'ěr inquired.
So far, in the Old Days, Xià'ěr had not seen anyone consuming anything resembling magical potions.
As for the Abyss below, it was even more dire; there, one could only rely on gnawing on corpses to obtain extraordinary materials. Thanks to the fact that all power in the Abyss came from the "Cocoon of Light," they would have lost even that means of advancement otherwise.
"This is my research achievement; it took me about sixty or seventy years," Léimèidàis said, shaking her head. "I had the people from the Nature Academy restore my body, personally used the potions I created, and gained these abilities."
The creator of the magical potion?
Is it the Anworm? Léimèidàis?
No wonder the Anworm was different from others in the Otherworld; when it saw her, it even complained to Xià'ěr about those "kindred" who were busy with religion.
"So, you have the power of an 'Ascendant' but cannot absorb faith, right?" Xià'ěr asked, looking at Léimèidàis.
"I am not affected by the seed at all, so naturally, I lack the faith power granted by it," Léimèidàis replied, looking at Xià'ěr. "Of course, the side effects are quite obvious; excessive use of the potion can cause me to experience hallucinations and auditory delusions, severely affecting my mental state."
"And if the 'seed' is controlled or contaminated, or if I form a contract with other Ascendants, I will be severely impacted... the whispers of the 'seed' and the murmurs of the 'God' will echo in my mind."
Watching Léimèidàis, who seemed to grow increasingly low-spirited as she spoke, Xià'ěr thought for a moment and said, "Actually... it's not a failure."
The "Physician" potion rapidly faded within Xià'ěr, while the "Judicator" potion began to manifest within him, even causing his long hair to curl slightly as if scorched by a heatwave.
Xià'ěr slowly raised his hand, and a shadow surged from behind him, burning with shadow flames, quietly watching Léimèidàis.
Léimèidàis stared blankly at the scene before her, murmuring, "You too..."
Suddenly, she recalled the girl's earlier words about the future and asked, "Is this... what my potion looks like in the future?"
"Yes," Xià'ěr nodded.
When she mentioned that the Anworm came from the future, there had been no system warning, suggesting that in the Old Days, this was something that could be disclosed. Thus, Xià'ěr chose not to hide anything further.
Having the opportunity to meet the creator of the magical potion, Xià'ěr had to seize this chance to converse.
Perhaps... through their communication, Léimèidàis, the creator of the potion, could further improve it, making it even more effective...
"Can you tell me the material ratios for the potion?" Léimèidàis, shedding her previous nonchalance, stood up, leaning over the table with her hands, speaking earnestly, "Miss Witch."
Material ratios... Xià'ěr could indeed share them, even detailing how to perfectly replicate the process.
But Xià'ěr had one condition.
That was, this information had to remain confidential.
After all, the Anworm Léimèidàis before him was the creator of the magical potion. If she were gone, the development of the potion might stagnate or even cease to exist...
Conversely, if she truly made any improvements to the potion, the impact on the future would be immense... perhaps even more significant than the butterfly effect caused by killing Sādànà.
Thus, Xià'ěr needed to ensure that Léimèidàis would fully adhere to his confidentiality principles before he could share the material ratios and replication rituals with her, minimizing the potential impact.
If only Xià'ěr knew this alone, that would be ideal, but that was impossible; he couldn't stay in the Old Days forever.
Now, Xià'ěr wanted to know how far the magical potion had developed in the Old Days at this very moment.
Only by understanding this could Xià'ěr better judge the differences between the current "potion" and the future magical potion.
"I'm sorry, but I can't answer that question for now," Xià'ěr said, lowering his hand as the shadow slipped back into his own.
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