Chapter 22: A Strange World and Stranger Incidents!
After Sayru obtained his herbs—leaving the receptionist trembling in fear for reasons only the two of them knew—he left the capital in search of the missing fifty-year-old Healing Fire Lotus.
His search eventually brought him to a natural mana-gathering lake, a place where countless medicinal herbs thrived.
Sayru began his search slowly, almost leisurely enjoying the task—until suddenly…
A black sheet of paper appeared in front of his face!
He tried to touch it, but his hand passed right through. Extending his divine sense, Sayru felt a link binding him to this intangible paper.
The same link that connected him to the Stone of Fate.
"I suppose I should start calling it the Page of Fate now…"
Sayru smirked bitterly at the absurdity of his situation.
He sat down and tried to communicate with the Page, channeling both his spiritual and mental energy. Finally, words began to surface across its surface.
But the writing was incomplete:
[He who was cursed by ??? became ???'s own!]
Even with his vast knowledge of languages and runes, Sayru couldn't understand the cryptic script. It felt as though the words had been made to resist comprehension.
When he finally gave up, the writing shifted into something new:
---
⁂--
[⟦Fate Convergence⟧]
[Ananova – 9%]
[??? – 1.2%]
[??? – 23%]
[??? – 0%]
[??? – 55%]
[??? – 0%]
[??? – 0%]
[??? – 5%]
[??? – 1%]
[??? – 99%]
⁂--
---
"What the hell is this…?" Sayru muttered, shocked.
The Page vanished as his concentration faltered, but his mind was still racing.
"Why is Ananova's name there? And what exactly does Fate Convergence mean?
…Wait. No—hold on. I think I'm starting to understand."
He refocused his link to the Page, and it appeared once more.
This time, it displayed his status:
---
⁂--
[⟦About the Owner⟧]
[Name: Sayru Ei]
[Rank: Ninth-Stage Master mage]
[Body: Sacred Divine (Incomplete)]
[Soul: Crimson-Golden Sacred Soul]
[Fate Convergence: Unknown (0/3)]
⁂--
---
Sayru knew of countless treasures capable of gauging cultivation levels, soul grades, or sometimes both.
But this was the first time he had seen a treasure capable of describing everything about a person in such painstaking detail.
Looking again, his eyes narrowed. The mysterious Fate Convergence still remained.
He experimented—moving from place to place, expecting the Page's content to change. Yet no matter where he went, the text remained the same.
---
⁂--
[⟦About the Owner⟧]
[Name: Sayru Ei]
[Rank: Ninth-Stage Master mage]
[Body: Sacred Divine (Incomplete)]
[Soul: Crimson-Golden Sacred Soul]
[Fate Convergence: Unknown (0/3)]
⁂--
---
Growing impatient, Sayru unleashed his divine sense, even draining his mana to force some change. But nothing shifted.
Until finally, the writing disappeared—replaced by a chilling message:
[First Trial Initiated – Trial of Death]
[Void Gate Unlocked]
At once, a void gate formed before him out of nothingness. This time, however, Sayru was not surprised. It was as though part of him had expected this—another step of the test.
As the Page faded once more, Sayru stepped forward and entered the gate.
Inside the void tunnel, he slipped into meditation, attuning himself to the laws of void and darkness. It felt almost natural, as if recalling fragments of a training he had undergone long ago.
Time became meaningless.
When at last he awoke, Sayru found himself standing in the middle of an endless green field, stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Strange…" he murmured, astonished.
He began walking east, toward the rising sun.
Hours passed. Then more hours. Yet despite walking continuously, it felt as if he hadn't advanced at all.
He decided to take flight instead—yet when he tried, he discovered to his shock that his connection to his spiritual space had been severed. Mana refused to answer his call.
Disappointment struck him, but his composure never wavered. He simply kept walking.
Days passed.
Eventually, Sayru realized something was wrong: the sun never set. It hadn't moved a single inch in all this time.
Then, without warning, when he finally paused his march—night fell instantly. Darkness swallowed everything, absolute and merciless. Not even the faintest glimmer of light remained.
Sayru's astonishment deepened, but he pressed on, relying solely on his spiritual senses to move eastward.
On his third attempt, he noticed a difference.
The void around him twisted, shifting his location until suddenly—he stood at the edge of a small village.
Though the world was shrouded in pitch black, warm lights glowed from the village, like tiny orbs of radiance in an infinite abyss.
Drawn to it, Sayru approached. He reached one of the lit houses and knocked twice.
The door opened, and what he saw surprised him even more.
A little girl stood there—yet there wasn't a single drop of mana in her body. Sayru had noticed immediately.
"Uncle? Who are you? Do you need something?"
Sayru thought to himself: So many questions…
But he answered gently,
"Little one, do you know where we are? I lost my way and somehow ended up in your village."
The girl's face brightened instantly, joy lighting her expression.
"Really?! Then you must be the hero Father spoke about! You've really come!!"
Sayru raised an eyebrow at her sudden excitement.
"Hero?" he echoed.
At that moment, a man stepped out from behind the girl—a burly figure with a thick black beard and a bald head.
"Father! Look, the hero you talked about has arrived!" the girl said eagerly.
The man's expression froze as he stared at Sayru. Then, in an instant, his face twisted into fear.
"Th-the… hero?"
Dropping to his knees, he pulled his daughter down with him and cried out,
"O Hero! Please, have mercy!"
For the first time, Sayru was truly stunned by what unfolded before him.