The world has become quiet.

This was the first feeling that Loren had when he fell silent.

In fact, it was only when it was completely quiet that one could deeply feel how noisy and noisy the power of the void that flourished after the first valve was opened, and was no longer limited by any restrictions and the limitations of the material world.

The power of the void, which could have been controlled by one's own consciousness, reason, and calmness, can no longer be suppressed when the valve is opened, and when oneself uses power beyond one's control, it is also drawn by these "uncontrolled forces".

What is the nature of the void?

It is a spiritual world that exists because it does not exist, is composed entirely of information and emotions, and is pure and unjustified.

Messages and emotions are made up, a world of pure and unjustified ......

No matter what level of realm the "Logan with a hat" reached back then, he did penetrate the most true appearance of the void in one sentence.

In this pure and unjustified world, everything is no longer "objectively existent", but a message, a symbol, a set of numbers, a rune...... When you name it and give it meaning, whether it exists or not, it "exists".

Even... The moment you become aware of it, it "exists" – you can think that it was born because you were "aware", or you can think that because you are aware, it exists before you realize it, and it does not appear until this moment.

It has no concept of time or space, and is not limited by objective factors.

Void... It's so unreasonable, because there's no reason to talk about it.

Through a lifetime of continuous study and research, a wizard can gradually grasp and understand a certain amount of "information" and control his emotions, and when he has the opportunity to open the first "valve", he can suddenly grasp and control the information and emotions without any restrictions.

Opening the valve means that you will suddenly no longer be limited in any way, and you can wield ten, hundred, or even a thousand times more power than you can do......

And the consequence is to be eaten by this terrible force and pay the price.

The indescribable volume of information, the extreme and utterly uncontrollable emotion, is enough to become a real force that will destroy everything that is tried to control it.

If you want to wear a crown, bear its weight first;

Those who kill must also have the consciousness of being killed;

Everything comes at a price......

No matter how you attribute or describe it, in essence, you have a power far beyond what you can control, and that's it.

In other words, if you want to truly grasp the power of the next level, the first thing to do is not to experience it again and again, but to really understand what you want to master and have the wisdom to match it.

If you can have such wisdom and ability, then it is a matter of course to have the power that is equal to it;

If it can't, then it can't, and inflated desires can easily exceed the limits of their abilities, just as a wild horse is always unreined with, and it may be able to gallop across the grasslands for a brief break free, but when it wants to fly into the blue sky......

It must, will fall off a cliff - because it doesn't know how to soar, and it doesn't have wings, that's all.

"Smack......

The drops of water that fell from the center of his eyebrows awakened Loren's consciousness, and his dark eyes gradually opened.

It's dark, it's damp, it's dark... Heavy walls, sturdy iron fences, cold, biting water underneath him, and dripping water from overhead.

As if he had just woken up, the black-haired wizard sitting in the icy water looked around, and his slightly frozen thoughts gradually began to become clear.

Here he has been.

It seems like a long time ago... Ancient Wood Forest... Big Tree Wall... Ogre... Elven War Dancer... Leah ......

Asriel.

Shackles at the wrists and ankles, shackles around the neck, cold chains sinking into even colder, pitch-black water—Loren Turin sat there, motionless.

Obviously bound, detained, locked in a narrow world, but still seems to be very comfortable, very relaxed, very indifferent; obviously there are so many constraints, but I don't feel any pressure and shackles.

Loren knows why.

Shackles, chains, and shackles are one's own limitations, one side of heaven and earth is the limit of one's eyes, and the cold water keeps oneself awake at all times.

And if the shackles are broken, the stagnant water is swept away, and the prison is destroyed... The unknown darkness outside is beyond your power - only you know what you will encounter.

That would be extremely costly, and the consequences may not be as rosy as initially imagined.

Even... Maybe I'm just in a bigger, tighter, colder, darker prison, and if so, what's the point of breaking everything in the first place and fighting for freedom?

No, that's not the most terrible thing, the most terrible thing is that once you realize the reality, do you still have the courage and determination to break the cage next time?

"Are you hesitating?"

Outside the cage, Dalton Kander stood with his hands in his hands, looking down at the black-haired wizard from behind with indifference.

Loren, who was expressionless, stared at the pitch-black, without a trace of standing water in front of him, and nodded.

"You're hesitating, as if you have a second option right now. Mentor Dalton's words are always as direct as a spear blade: "But if you appear here, it proves that you have no choice." ”

"There are still... Right?"

Shrugging, the black-haired wizard curled the corners of his mouth jokingly: "It's a big deal to die, so it's nothing." ”

"Really?"

Dalton asked rhetorically, as if mockingly.

"Of course it's true, I said... What's so hard about this, anyone will die, it's just a matter of time - and the biggest difference now is that I have a choice, and most people don't have a choice most of the time. ”

Loren narrowed his eyes and stared at the water, the pitch-black water made him a little restless: "It's just... The price may be too high. ”

"If you choose to die, the price will be heavy. ”

Mentor Dalton, who was standing outside the bars, said coldly: "And in the eyes of many people, you may just be using your death to evade responsibility. ”

"Who cares, do I care?!"

Some hysterical rhetorical questions rolled up on the surface of the water.

After a pause, Mentor Dalton's indifferent voice rang out again:

"So, you don't care what the price is. ”

The dark-haired wizard's heart was getting more and more irritable, and he could already guess what the mentor was going to say next.

"If you don't care, why should you care... The price is heavy?"

As expected.

The corners of Loren's mouth twitched.

"What really makes you hesitate is not the price. Mentor Dalton said lightly:

"The real key is that after taking this step, you really connect with the world and you can't leave it again. ”

"You will completely become the person you are now, become 'Loren Turin', become a 'being' belonging to this world - all traces of the past will be erased!"

"So, now is the time to decide who 'you' are. ”

Who am I... The black-haired wizard muttered in his mind.

Am I a traverser?

I'm a person who has nothing to do with the world... Outlander?

Am I an "adventurer" who makes a deal with evil gods and treats the world as a playground, as a game and an exciting performance?

In my eyes, the people around me, those who shout all kinds of slogans, have their own emotions and awareness, can make rational judgments and make choices that are in line with their personal thinking... Are they just particularly smart NPCs?

Their presence, their lives, their bodies and everything that they bring to feel ... Is it just complex data, textures, and models?

Even... Is it just a few lines?

All this... Is it just a dream that my previous life had after I died, or at the moment of death?

The black-haired wizard's breathing began to become rapid, and his agitation caused the cold stagnant water around him to seem to become unstable and begin to "boil".

He gritted his teeth and tugged at the chains on his body.

"No... Be. ”

Two voices, one in front of the other, whispered at the same time.

He remembered the look on the little wizard's face when they first met, and remembered Isaac's self-righteousness.

He remembered the dean's concerns, Freswalk's ease, Corona's plans, Asreel's "innocence", Brandon's no limits, Eckhart's foresight, and Salica's uninhibitedness......

He also remembered Al Yin and Charlotte, the touch and temperature when they touched......

It is by no means a symbol, not a few lines of words, not even a few words that can be described and described.

"Tell me, then,......" Mentor Dalton whispered again:

"Who are you?"

The black-haired wizard slowly raised his head, his breathing gradually subsided, and his expression became less agitated.

Who am I?

I'm a time-traveler, an orphan picked up by Knight Leonardo, a wandering knight and a wizard, a wizard advisor to Brandon, and an impostor but co-elected Duke of Byrne.

I am a friend of many beings, but also an enemy of many beings, I am their companion, a mortal enemy, an adversary, a follower, a vassal, a leader and collaborator of them, a sight to them... A unique "existence".

And most importantly... All the connections, shackles, symbols and labels in me have become inseparable from the world, and I am no longer a "passerby" or a "bystander".

This world has deeply carved traces that belong to me.

Am I making a choice right now, fighting for a world that has nothing to do with me?

No, even if I do not intervene, the world will not be destroyed;

I'm fighting for my traces in this world, for protecting what I care about;

I... It's fighting for me!

So what's there to hesitate about?!

....................................

“...... Impossible?"

A strange smile hung on the corner of Asrael's mouth, and his scarlet eyes shimmered with playfulness: "My dear Diabo, do you know what you're talking about?"

"And you... Traitors and cowards, do you know what you're doing?"

The blonde boy laughed very happily, especially happy, as if he had seen an interesting play, a wonderful scene, a funny accident.

"Of course I do. ”

The mean "Ender" Diabo said coldly: "You... Asrael, as much as you hate us so much, it is because you are so disgusted that it proves that you are no different from us at all. ”

"You hate us because you see yourself in us – your relationship with Loren Turin is only a relationship of exploitation and being used. ”

"So this time... You lose. ”

"Well, you're right. The blonde boy nodded seriously: "I hate you because I see my shadow in you." ”

"Perhaps it is more accurate... It should be a shadow of 'once'. ”

Once......

Diabo, who realized something, looked at Asriel sharply, and looked at him with a pair of extremely playful eyes.

"Guessed?" the corners of the blonde boy's mouth curled into Half Moon with a smile.

"You madman, do you know what you do?!"

The atmosphere changed all at once.

"What you did, it's very simple. Asrael grinned and smiled innocently, "I'm just giving the power to make decisions to the person I trust the most." ”

"So I'm sorry, I lost... You are despicable, shameless, and selfish!"

..............................

"Smack!"

The drops of water fell, setting off faint ripples on the cold and dark water, and the black-haired wizard slowly lowered his left hand into the water.

"So... So be it. ”

Muttering to himself, Loren Turin turned his gaze to the bars behind him.

Standing outside the bars, Mentor Dalton's figure and face gradually changed, becoming another "self".

Messy black hair, tattered squire clothes, and an old dagger on his back... Under his obsidian pupils, he was smiling at himself.

"Boom ......"

Suddenly, the water in the cage gushed out of the iron window, and the pitch-black water gradually sank until it dried up, exposing the cold floor beneath the water, locking the chains of Loren's body......

There is also a huge, complex magic array.

The black-haired wizard was sitting in the center of the magic circle.

The twisted shapes, the strange runes, the inexplicable meaning... Almost every part of it is pouring out what a terrifying and terrifying power it is.

Without the slightest hesitation, Loren pressed his left hand completely on the center of the magic circle, and turned his palm in the center of the magic circle like twisting a turntable.

Phew————

Suddenly a dark blue flame appeared, burning with the chains and shackles that bound Loren's body, and all but the shackles were "cleverly" avoided by the flames.

"Goodbye. ”

Loren, who bowed his head, stared at the magic array below him and whispered behind him.

"Nope. ”

The "black-haired wizard" outside the cell smiled and shook his head: "We... There will be no goodbye. ”

The black-haired wizard closed his eyes.

The magic array of blue light first illuminated the entire cell, and then the irrepressible light engulfed everything, swallowing all the darkness.

"At this moment, it is goodbye. ”