Lucas Reeve felt as if he had been given general anesthesia, and his whole being sank completely into chaos.
And as Lucas Reeve's consciousness fell asleep.
Outside.
The surface of the blurry, featureless statue that imprisoned Lucas Reeve's soul also began to faintly glow. Then, the rock on the statue's exterior began to peel off, like shedding skin. After that layer of rock fell away, it revealed a pure golden, humanoid energy body. And on the outside of this humanoid energy body, there were chains of the same golden energy binding it. It seemed these chains were the reason Lucas Reeve's main soul couldn't leave the statue.
However.
As vast amounts of Prayer Power were injected from the inside out.
The golden chains wrapped around the energy body also began to gradually dissolve.
When the last segment of the chain completely melted, the energy body, which had been bound by the golden chains for so long, was like a person trapped in an underground mine for many years who finally saw daylight. It excitedly burst from the ground, surging to the surface. Having lost its restraints, this incomparably pure golden energy body gradually condensed into the shape of an energy sphere and sank back into the ground, beginning a physical reconstruction of unknown duration.
——————
Half a month later.
Jessica's previously good mood gradually became nervous again.
"Miss Nian, why isn't Mr. Reeve back yet... It's already been half a month."
Since the two-year deadline agreed upon with the Grand Tutor was only two months away, Nian had temporarily set aside the script she was researching for the remaining time. She began forging the prototypes for all the equipment the Grand Tutor required, which would save a lot of time. Nian really didn't want to stay in Yumen City for too long. It was much more comfortable here. She had friends, she had movies... this kind of life was a divine-level slacker life.
"What's the rush, Little Jessica?"
Nian said as she hammered away.
"Condensing a physical body isn't that fast."
"I remember, back when the old undying bastard's body was shattered, his soul split into twelve parts. Although we didn't have the relevant techniques back then because our consciousness hadn't formed yet, based on Yan's historical records, we can roughly calculate that it took us a good few thousand years from gaining consciousness to condensing our physical bodies."
"A few... thousand years?!!!"
Hearing Nian's casual remark, Jessica was so scared she almost fainted on the spot.
A few thousand years??
I'll be long gone by then...
Nian suddenly realized she had misspoken and quickly corrected herself, "That's the time *I* experienced. Every god's constitution is different. You can't compare the constitutions of different gods."
"Besides, most of those thousands of years were spent just developing our self-awareness. The actual time it took to condense our bodies wasn't that long. A few hundred years at most!"
"A few hundred years?!!"
Jessica lowered her head, looking crestfallen, as if the sky had fallen.
Nian realized she had misspoken again.
Her concept of time was completely different from a human's. To Nian, a few hundred years was just "a little while." While not short, it definitely wasn't long. But for an ordinary person, it could be several lifetimes. After all, not everyone was a long-lived species these days.
"Miss Nian... is there any way to live longer? I heard Mr. Reeve say that Mr. Patriot of the Reunion Movement seems to have lived for over two hundred years, and his lifespan can easily reach a thousand..."
"Er... that's a pure-blood Wendigo..."
"Sigh..."
Dusk, who was playing her NS nearby, couldn't watch anymore. She lightly tapped Nian on the head.
"Don't talk nonsense..."
"How could Lucas Reeve's characteristics be the same as yours or mine? He can possess two Rules at the same time, can you? Besides, that one time his spiritual power was exhausted, how long would it take you to recover? But he, without Miss Nine-Colored Deer's help, took less than a month at most."
After hearing Dusk's words, Jessica seemed to see hope again. However, Dusk wasn't sure exactly how long Lucas Reeve would need. She only said that to comfort Jessica.
And over the past half month, Jessica had specifically instructed the branch president far away in Kazimierz to provide comprehensive protection for Sona and her family and friends. No problems were allowed. The production of [Purification] 1.0 was also advancing; with the help of Rhodes Island's internal production lines, the efficiency of medicine production had increased significantly.
As for the Doctor's problem.
Before leaving, Lucas Reeve specifically instructed Amiya that he didn't know when he would be back. If no one took care of the Doctor's body, he would have starved to death long ago. So, Amiya, under the pretext of taking Lucas Reeve back to Columbia to visit Jessica, once again took the Doctor's body away from Rhodes Island. With Nian's help, she successfully snuck back into Chernobog and placed the Doctor's body in the Sarcophagus to be nourished.
However, after placing the Doctor's body in the Sarcophagus, Amiya, who knew what Lucas Reeve had gone to do, was also very reluctant. She was worried that after the Doctor had his own body, he wouldn't come back to Rhodes Island to visit her...
And as for the Doctor, how could Kal'tsit not have noticed something was amiss? Amiya and the others' acting skills were nowhere near good enough to fool Kal'tsit's eyes. In fact, Kal'tsit had discovered the truth long ago, but she had never actively exposed it, letting Amiya and the others mistakenly believe they had hidden it well.
After one month of sleep...
Jessica and the others really missed Lucas Reeve. Accompanied by the group, they also called upon the Nine-Colored Deer from Yan to go with them. Finally, under the guidance of the Nine-Colored Deer's perception of causality, they successfully found Lucas Reeve's location. However, the location was drifting indeterminately throughout the desert.
According to the Nine-Colored Deer.
Lucas Reeve's current state was like a developing embryo. He couldn't be disturbed in the slightest. After confirming Lucas Reeve was fine, Jessica and the others returned to Columbia, relieved.
Three months after Lucas Reeve fell asleep...
The 23rd Knight Major Selection Tournament had begun.
Justyna also participated in the selections. Although several months had passed, and the Chamber of Commerce was deliberately promoting other Knights to try and dilute the Flametail Knight's importance in the minds of the citizens, it might have worked before the finals.
But after the finals.
Many spectators had seen god-like combat. These scenes were far more exciting than any previous Knight Major finals and were deeply imprinted in the minds of many citizens. It was impossible to gradually forget. Moreover, while the Chamber of Commerce wanted to erase Sona's presence, Raythean Industries was desperately boosting Sona's presence.
The Chamber of Commerce frantically promoted the Blood Knight, while Raythean Industries frantically promoted the Flametail Knight.
As a result, the many Knight Major spectators in Kazimierz, under waves of media bombardment, split into two fan factions: those who liked the Flametail Knight, and those who liked the Blood Knight. After them came the fans of other Knights.
And some of the more extremist fans on both sides earned the "toxic" label from other normal fans and bystanders.
The Chamber of Commerce's excavation of the Knight King's Tomb was not going smoothly.
The Knight King's Tomb was like a giant underground labyrinth filled with traps. The Chamber of Commerce had lost countless excellent explorers inside. And, unfortunately, word of the Knight King's Tomb still leaked out and was learned by the Supervisory Commission. In the struggle for the Holy Sword, the Supervisory Commission and the Chamber of Commerce once again clashed fiercely in the shadows. They didn't even care about Raythean Industries anymore.
Previously, the Chamber of Commerce wanted to ally with the Supervisory Commission to deal with Raythean Industries. Now that their interests collided, they immediately turned hostile and ignored Raythean Industries, aiming their spears directly at the Supervisory Commission. This was the true nature of merchants. With a common enemy, they could unite even if they had a mortal feud. But with the slightest conflict of interest, even blood brothers could turn on each other.
Since the Knight Major had begun.
The four cities of Kazimierz had merged once again, unifying into the Grand Knight Territory. The Supervisory Commission and the Chamber of Commerce were fighting tooth and nail. The arrival of a large number of foreign tourists also made the Grand Knight Territory bustling. The entire Kazimierz was in a state of fiery excitement.
And over in Ursus, after a long period of silence, there was some movement. The Reunion Movement received the news immediately and instructed their people to be ready to evacuate at any time. As for a new preparatory camp, they had sent people to look for one as soon as they arrived. It was just that they had finally settled down, and many Reunion Movement members were reluctant to leave such a place, silently hoping that Ursus wasn't heading for them.
———————
*Thump thump...*
*Thump thump...*
Lucas Reeve felt as if he was sleeping in water. It was very warm all around, and he didn't even need to breathe, just floating silently.
He could feel the existence of his consciousness, but he just couldn't wake up and couldn't move his body. He was unaware of the passage of time. It was a half-asleep, half-awake state.
Suddenly…
The feeling of floating in water disappeared.
Lucas Reeve felt as though he was falling. The feeling of weightlessness was intense.
Although he hadn't opened his eyes, Lucas Reeve seemed to be able to suddenly see an abrupt light in the boundless void. As his body fell, this light grew larger and larger. And when Lucas Reeve drilled into the brilliance, he could finally see other light and shadows besides the void.
This is?
Lucas Reeve seemed to be floating high above the dome of the sky.
Below his eyes was a massive landmass. The shape of the land before him felt somewhat familiar to Lucas Reeve.
Terra?
A word flashed through Lucas Reeve's mind.
Lucas Reeve suddenly remembered seeing a similar vision when he was comprehending the Rule.
That is…
It was the Ancient God of Flame again, its massive body holding up the heavens. It wielded a greatsword and roared at the sky. And in various parts of the world, there were many other gods, as powerful as the Ancient God of Flame but never seen before, also roaring at the sky. However, in the sky, there seemed to be an even more powerful will. Even a being as strong as the Ancient God of Flame had no chance to resist...
This seemed to be a new scene.
Because when he awakened the Rule, Lucas Reeve only saw the Ancient God of Flame roar at the sky, and then it disappeared. He didn't know why it disappeared. However, this time Lucas Reeve sensed an even stronger will above the sky, and even more gods...
They seemed to be resisting?
Resisting what?
Something seemed to be hidden above the sky.
When Lucas Reeve tried to look deeper.
A sharp pain suddenly shot through his head, as if he was about to glimpse some kind of taboo. And Lucas Reeve's consciousness was expelled by this dreamscape, returning once more to the void and falling back into slumber.
———————
"Mmm..."
Lucas Reeve felt like he had slept for a very long time. He didn't know exactly how long, but it felt long.
After his consciousness fully recovered, Lucas Reeve slowly opened his eyes.
What met his eyes was an earth-yellow roof.
Where is this?
Lucas Reeve was a bit confused, as if muddled from sleep, his mind a chaotic blank.
After he fully awoke, the large volume of memories in his mind finally rearranged themselves. Only then did he recall that he had saved up two million Prayer Power to reconstruct his physical body. And now...
Lucas Reeve lowered his head, lifted the thin blanket, and looked at his body, which was dressed in a white robe. He was a bit stunned.
This is the body condensed from two million Prayer Power?
Why does it feel so... unremarkable?
Just then, the door next to him was pushed open, and a clear voice rang out.
"Ah! You're awake!!"
"Grandpa Chief! This person is awake!!"
Lucas Reeve turned his head.
Outside the door of the small house stood a cute girl with brown skin, snow-white hair, and a pair of huge, curved goat horns.