"It's a test he's going to have to go through. Kerry replied. Then he saw that Afra's expression changed, she seemed to think of something, and shook her head slightly, as if she didn't believe in what she thought of, but her emotions did suddenly calm down strangely-but Kerry was wary of it, if others might not be able to find out, but Angelis and Su Lun's favor gave him unparalleled senses and sharp thinking- The air around them rippled like a lake swept by a breeze, and even the flowers that did not bloom at night swayed and spread their bodies, and the rich fragrance surrounded them, and from the darkness where the silver moonlight could not reach, the soft and melodious chirping of birds was like feathers gently brushing their ears...... The elf raised a hand, and the sharp gaze was directed at Afra like an arrow, and it was not impossible for him to break free, but in that case, Afra, who was obviously not familiar enough with this power, would be severely wounded.

Afra just pulls the elves into his realm - every god has his own realm, unlike all the demiplanes of demigods or powerful mages, the realm of the gods is almost invincible, they can make any rules in the realm at will, but Afra's realm is still too young, so young that even Kerry could break free - It's not that Kerry is so powerful, but because the realm itself has countless omissions and mistakes, like a castle with an unstable foundation, it only needs a light push to collapse and fall to the ground. Kerry thought he should have talked to Cremar about education, didn't Afra know that if something happened to her, Cremar would be the saddest person on this plane?

But he was also able to taste a little of Afra's solemnity, and there was no doubt that in the very short time that even the incarnation of the conspiracy god Ciric might not be able to overhear their conversations—but when could it be more unknown than the black-haired Dragonborn being a lich of atonement?

"You noticed something unusual," Afra repeated, "but you don't say anything, you don't ask, but from the bottom of your heart, do you really think it's a trial that must be passed by himself?" she looked at the elf and smiled mockingly, "No, maybe it's you who should really probe inside, Lord of the Jungle, though I don't think you can live up to your father—you can't even afford the possible disappointment...... You refuse to face a different Cremar...... You fear that you won't be able to accept him—because of your cowardice, or your hypocrisy......"

"I don't want to interrupt you," Kerry said calmly, "but Afra, I think you seem to have some misunderstanding about me. ”

"You may have been worried," Afra continued, "and if you do ask that question, my guardian will show a side that you cannot tolerate, and you know very well that those who have made deals with demons and demons since their birth, and who have been able to endure the bloody battle between the two for nearly fifty years, can keep their souls and minds undistorted...... I don't have to use almost, Elf, I'll tell you now," she looked deeply at Kerryben, "No. ”

"You notice his confusion and confusion," Afra continued, "but you don't want to interfere, you're like picking up a young wolf that has tasted flesh - you deliberately pretend not to see the blood, its broken teeth, its foul eyes - you just put a collar on him and pull it with a rope into what you think is the right path, because you may be a little fond of it, so you can turn a blind eye and hear it...... It was once sinful. ”

"To be a lich of atonement has proven that he can be saved. Carey couldn't help but say.

"And then?" Afra: "You have given him this task, a difficult but rewarding opportunity to save innocent humans from the evil gods, right," the girl asked, "Do you know what a lich of atonement will have to do if he can do atone?"

Kerry Ben was silent for a moment: "A chance to be redeemed." ”

"To be clear, elf. ”

"He will die as a sinless mortal. ”

Afra couldn't help but let out a sneer.

"This is fate," said Kerryben, "and everything it gives has a price." ”

"But that's not fair. Afra said.

"If you already know so much. "Then you should know that to become a lich, in addition to countless gold coins and spell-casting materials, there is also the flesh and soul of the living...... And that amount can sometimes wipe out an entire village completely—and that's just to keep an evil person alive in a twisted and deformed state...... He had committed such a grave crime, and it was a gift from fate and the gods that Afra was able to redeem this huge debt and die as peacefully as a mortal. ”

"And what do you think?" Afra didn't have the irritation or reluctance that Kerry had expected, "You and my guardian, Cremar first met at Cape Castle more than fifty years ago, tell me, Kerryben, do you think he's an evil man?"

"Nope. "This was something that Carey could have been sure of, not only him, but also Captain Corbert, who was so experienced that he had seen almost as many people as he had ever seen fish, and Mage Alva, who had traveled all his youth and prime of life, did not find anything unsettling about Cremar, even if he revealed something that showed that he could be a dragonborn...... Until now, Kerry still doesn't think that Cremar will be a naturally evil person, he may just be induced and deceived, after all, he has encountered such a terrible and tragic thing, but it belongs to his sins, which the elves can't and won't wash away, all he can do is to help Cremar redeem his sins as much as possible, and then get a calm and gentle kiss of death.

"What if he's an innocent?" Afra asked.

"Afra," the elf explained with a sneer, "all that is that he was once an undead, and if he wasn't a lich, he would never have become a lich of atonement." ”

"But he's not. Afra said, staring into the elves' eyes, knowing that the elves didn't believe in her, but all she had to do was forcibly tear open the barrier that the elves had set up to avoid harming herself, which was not strong and even crumbling, "How can a lich become a lich of atonement," she repeated, " He had to do a selfless act without any selfish reason, and in short, even if a lich knew how to become a lich of atonement, all his actions for that purpose would still be judged to be out of his own selfish desires - because he did it in order to become a lich of atonement. She made a gesture: "That is, his good deeds need to happen without his intention before he can become a lich of atonement." ”

"This condition has been ridiculed by many people because it is simply impossible. "Because being a lich makes it impossible for him to act selflessly, a mage in the camp of the evil and orderly is destined to never act in a way that is purely beneficial to others without thinking about it - but my guardian did, have you ever wondered why?" You may have thought about it, but you probably didn't think about it deeply, because you are an elf, destined to be mortal enemies of the undead, but you love my guardian, and you want to be able to maintain the status quo, even if it is ambiguous. ”

Kerry suddenly realized that he was about to hear a secret, a secret that he could have discovered before everyone else, but he only closed his eyes and blindfolded his ears, and when his father, the former king of the jungle, Ingway, meaningfully allowed him to take Cremar into Valelien, he only remembered that he was full of joy, but did not want to further investigate the reason, perhaps as Afra said, he was indeed a cowardly and hypocritical fellow, he could not face the dark side of Cremar, and his heart ached as if it were torn apart when he thought that everything Cremar revealed could be lies and falsehoods。

"Please tell me," said the elf with difficulty, "I'm listening." ”

"He's been lying to you all along—" Afra said, laughing out loud at the sight of the elf's prepared but still pain-stricken blue eyes, "Of course, it can't be, or rather, your Cremar doesn't." ”

"What do you mean?" the elf caught the key word accurately: "Mine?"

"Yours, and the one I love. Speaking of that person, Afra's tone became softer and softer: "You should guess, another soul, an innocent, pure, soul full of tenderness and love for this world and humanity. ”

Kerry couldn't believe it, but if it was as Afra said, then some of the questions that could not be answered before would be solved.

"He ......"

"Another soul in this body," Afra said, "comes from another plane, his memories are shattered, but his essence has not changed. ”

Kerry looked at Afra.

"One, a bit of a dull fool," said Afra, "I don't know much, but it's enough—he comes from a, well, a plane with no magic, no dragons, no gods, and that plane is so peaceful, that there haven't been any major wars for hundreds of years, and though there are only ordinary humans there, they have also created a civilization beyond the reach of our continent with their minds and hands— He's one of those humans, and he doesn't know how he got here, and how he shared a body with a lich, but he ...... Afra pondered his words, "I mean, his soul hasn't changed, you know?"

Kerry nodded, so he, to be precise, the body that originally belonged to the lich would be reinvigorated, and Cremar was able to alternately appear as a warlock and a mage, also because he was originally composed of two souls - there was a difference between a warlock and a mage, and the connection between souls and magic, which had been studied in detail for a long time. In fact, the easiest thing to do is to look at the undead spellcasters, even if they don't have the fingers to make casting gestures and the tongue to chant spells, they can still cast spells, which means that the magic is not entirely dependent on the body. But if another soul comes from another plane, if the lich doesn't want him to let this body disappear when he is "on duty", then he must also become a spellcaster, and it may take ten or twenty years of hard study to become a mage, but a warlock does not have to at all, a warlock who casts spells on the power of the bloodline can control fire and water from a baby, but he can become a psychic warlock may also be unexpected by the lich.

Unbeknownst to the elf, there was already a slight smile in his eyes, and he remembered how clumsy Cremar had been, and that every combat instruction in Grey Ridge had been painful for a long time, but he was indeed a good student—which almost made him ignore Afra's words.

"So," said Afra, her eyes gleaming in the dim light, "Kerryben, do you still think you're doing it fair?" she opened her fingers, "he didn't do anything wrong, he didn't enjoy the pleasure of crime, he hated senseless death and sacrifice even more, he saved tens of thousands of humans even when he had to face conspiracy and assassination, but what did he get?" Suspicion, neglect, and inevitable death, yes, death is a compliment for an evil lich, but for a good mortal, since he came to this plane, he has to face endless battles, and the day when the battle finally subsides, he will not even have a chance to see the world that has finally been peaceful, why? because he is so unlucky?!"

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

The lich was hovering in the sea of consciousness, staring at the more and more contoured and colored souls, and he knew that this change meant that the other party's soul was finally beginning to stabilize, and on the other hand, the memories that had become thousands of fragments were constantly merging, which showed that the other party could remember more and more, and the education and norms it had received in the other plane were correcting its soul that had been distorted by the lich.

After they had escaped the Sea of Chaos and left the Zen monastery of the Seris, it didn't take much effort for the lich to teach it how to kill in dangerous places to keep the body intact - at that time, the soul was like an ignorant child, and although it still maintained that inexplicable innocence, at least it did not hesitate to deal with the enemy.

But as its soul solidified, things that should have been forgotten began to harass his cohabitants again, which is why, before going to the abyss, another soul asked for the help of their mentor, Ederna - a very dangerous act, and no one knew the madness of the Mentor better than the Lich, everything he gave was poisonous.

But to return to their plane in fifty years, this may be the only way.

It turned Ederna into a monster.