LotM: Surviving as a Marionette

Where was this?

In Don's memory, he had never been to such a place.

The cold wind howled mournfully, bringing a chilling, suffocating sensation. Even though this was an image from the historical pores, a scene from some past moment, it still made Don's entire being radiate with cold.

This was feedback from his spirituality, yet his current sequence level had long surpassed Sequence 5, far exceeding the general level of demigods and angels.

There were things of equivalent level here, and their power was quite formidable.

Within the gloomy mausoleum lay countless coffins.

Inside the coffins were highly decomposed corpses.

They had wings growing from their backs, but the feathers that should have been pure white were coated with layers upon layers of yellow grease, oily and evil, fused together with the rotting flesh on their bodies.

The surfaces of those corpses had oil seeping from the feathers, and after long accumulation, it had formed amber-like substances in the coffins, causing the corpses and feathers to stick together inseparably, creating a bizarre appearance within the coffins.

Unsurprisingly, these corpses sealed in the coffins were still 'alive,' but countless Spirit Body Threads rose from their bodies, flying toward somewhere deep within the mausoleum.

Someone was manipulating these corpses, transforming them into Marionette.

The scene within the historical pores kept flashing, following layer upon layer of steps, pursuing those countless Spirit Threads as they spread toward the depths of the mausoleum.

The surrounding cold and darkness felt almost tangible. Don began to hear illusory sounds of flowing water in his ears. At some point, a thin layer of grayish-white mist had appeared on the ground, spreading across the floor, calm and distant, like mysterious objects that had remained unchanged since ancient times.

Together, they sealed and suppressed the terrible things beneath the stone tiles.

"Gray Fog?"

Don's pupils contracted slightly.

This color... The Celestial Worthy's seal? Mausoleum? River of Eternal Darkness?!

No, charm daddy, what the hell have you dragged me into?!

He had never been here before!

Don's hair stood on end. He wanted to immediately end the charm's power and leave the historical pores, but just as he was about to act, the scene in front of him suddenly zoomed in.

It was the historical pores—someone was manipulating the historical pores? Affecting the charm's ability?

Who?! Antigonus?! Or someone else?!

The scene spun wildly, and a massive feathered serpent that seemed capable of occupying an entire island suddenly appeared before him!

Illusory river water flowed endlessly—it was dark, insubstantial water.

It gathered and coiled beneath the feathered serpent. Without the suppression of the grayish-white mist, on the surface of the water where even light could not exist, one figure after another was reflected.

They had the same bronze skin, medium build, black hair and brown eyes, gentle features, yet numb and deathly silent, like ghosts.

They were—Azik Eggers!

The massive feathered serpent, covered in huge dark green scales tinged with black, with pale flames burning in its eye sockets but bearing a human face, stood there quietly. Along with countless suspended black tubes were millions upon millions of densely packed Spirit Body Threads.

Spirit Body Threads surged from the island-like body of the feathered serpent. Someone was manipulating this giant feathered serpent like a Marionette. Beneath the feathered serpent, illusory river water intertwined and entangled with it, yet they existed in completely different worlds, unable to affect each other.

Those seemingly endless Spirit Body Threads crossed the illusory river, passed through layer upon layer of folded ripples, connecting to the heights above. At the other end of countless Spirit Body Threads, in the center, sitting on something invisible in mid-air, was a slender figure holding a dark gold three-meter-long Sun Scepter in one hand and a tome composed of thin brass sheets in the other.

He wore a white, loose woolen sweater, had slightly short hair, looked very young yet carried an indescribable sense of vicissitudes, with his eyes closed—

Myself?

In the next instant, Don received the borrowed power.

The charm's power carried him away from the historical pores.

The 'Don' who had been sitting with closed eyes opened them when that figure left, gazing toward the empty darkness in the depths.

As if something should have existed there.

"What's wrong?"

A voice came from nearby.

'Don' pondered for a few seconds, then shook his head, "Nothing."

---

The historical pores shattered. If Don still had a body, he would probably be drenched in cold sweat right now.

He hurriedly examined himself, and only then did his heart settle slightly.

He hadn't been contaminated, hadn't brought anything back from the historical pores—only the normal effect of the charm, which had given him abundant spiritual power.

[Host?]

The system sensed its host's abnormality and was somewhat puzzled.

Don calmed the fluctuations in his spirituality. "System, did you notice any problems?"

[Problems?] The system scanned the host's body and hesitated. "The body's condition hasn't changed... but host, did you have this much spirituality before?"

The system could display its host's various indicators in numerical form. Although it was currently bound to the host's body, based on years of understanding its host, it keenly sensed that something was off with its host's spirit body state.

Yes, spirituality.

Don could feel the spiritual power within his spirit body that exceeded his own original amount.

The 'Yesterday Once More' charm borrowed spirituality and power from his past self. His past self would certainly be weaker than his current self—beings like the Mercury Snake who liked to play with fate restarts and Beyonders who had suffered severe injuries were exceptions.

He was certain he had never possessed such strong spiritual power in the past. Add to that the feathered serpent, the River of Eternal Darkness...

That couldn't be...

Ah no, charm daddy, have you really mutated?

In that case, the Yesterday Once More charm would need a name change—Tomorrow in Advance charm?

Don pulled out another Yesterday Once More charm from his spirit body, somewhat hesitant about whether to try again.

"Using the Yesterday Once More charm in the real world might not produce this effect. If that's the case, then it should represent—this space, Euclidean space itself has some special properties."

This place wasn't just about 'observation'—it might also involve supernatural powers in the temporal domain.

Returning his thoughts, Don suppressed his inner speculation and stuffed the charm back into his spirit body.

"First solve the current trouble. Yesterday Once More charms aren't easy to make. Even if I want to experiment, it must be done safely and with maximum benefit."

This borrowed spirituality should be enough for him to observe who exactly that parasite was.

"It's nothing, we'll talk about it when we get back." Don said to the system.

The system also sensed Don's emotions and closed its mouth.

Don looked into the distance, where there was a small town.

At this moment, a boyish-faced knight in armor was following behind a middle-aged knight. They were on their way to the church.

The scene zoomed in according to Don's will. Compared to the 'Astronomical Telescope for Stargazing.' in this state, Don could see more clearly what exactly was the wraith-like life that had appeared beside that boyish-faced knight.

It was a middle-aged man with deep brown eyes, hair neatly combed back, who looked quite aristocratic and gave off an aura of natural authority without anger.

(End of Chapter)