Chapter 73
Chapter 73. Am I Fighting a Divine Projection? Seriously?
The moment that craving appeared, Luo Nan recognized in an instant what it was — the last time it had happened was at the emergency auction in the Whisper Market, when he had encountered that piece of "Saint's Blood." The same sensation had come over him then.
This was the Infinite Tree's signal to him whenever he encountered a "Primal Essence."
He needed to help the Infinite Tree obtain the Primal Essence.
"That's it exactly," Luo Nan said, scrutinizing the already-cracked, dark-crimson core left behind where it had died. "This is a Primal Essence?"
Almost involuntarily, Luo Nan walked to the side of that still-writhing dark-crimson core on the ground, about to bend down and pick it up.
[Fall back!]
Luo Nan's heart lurched. Upon hearing the Cheat Device Miss's warning, he immediately leapt backward — and as he did, grabbed Anya, who had walked up to his side and was still persistently asking "can I get a refund."
"Hey, Luo Nan, what's gotten into you now......"
"That thing isn't fully dead yet — get away from here fast!"
Luo Nan's heart clenched. Through the Infinite Tree's warning, he seemed to sense that some manner of unspeakable great existence was about to arrive!
With that thought, no longer caring about the gnawing, ten-thousand-ants-devouring-his-heart craving in his chest, he grabbed Anya, spun around, and ran.
'What the f***, don't tell me I've actually run into one?'
Luo Nan instantly recalled a certain category of Boss that only appeared in the late game of The Shining Myriad Trails — a Divine Projection.
'That's clearly an opponent prepared for the heroines who've obtained their divine equipment and whose strength has already peaked — what virtue or ability do I have to be facing a Divine Projection's head-on manifestation......'
'Luo Nan von Medillion...... I sense your bewilderment......'
A twisted, barely distinguishable consciousness surged into Luo Nan's mind, making his skin crawl in an instant.
And this consciousness felt even more "intimate" than the last time — when he had encountered that "Nature" statue in the basement hovel near Apartment No. 23.
Right now there was only one word in his mind: run!
"Anya, no time to explain — use your fastest martial technique, and run with me!!!"
"What on earth is happening?!"
"Something unspeakable is about to descend...... just run, that's all you need to know!"
Snap—
Before Luo Nan could even finish speaking, the entire world seemed to have had its pause button pressed — all color was slowly draining away.
He felt everything about himself beginning to freeze — his heartbeat, his pulse, his breathing, even his thoughts.
'Luo Nan von Medillion...... I understand your every craving......'
That voice flooded his mind once more. Luo Nan felt exactly like a traveler mired deep in a pitch-black swamp — no matter how he struggled, he could only watch himself sink ever further down.
'I...... right now...... should......'
[Luo Nan, contact Infinity at once — seek strength from It!]
Just as Luo Nan's thoughts were on the verge of freezing over completely, the Cheat Device Miss's voice suddenly rang out, pouring just enough lubricating oil into his rusted-solid mind.
With no time to think further, he immediately returned to that starfield.
'Cheat Device Miss, didn't you forbid me from making contact with Mr. Tree?'
Luo Nan suddenly recalled the warning the Cheat Device Miss had given him when he first met the Infinite Tree.
[That is the case under normal circumstances — but the present situation is anything but normal.]
'Is that...... a Divine Projection out there?'
Luo Nan touched his mouth — the sensation of everything about himself being frozen and paused still lingered in his heart, unsettling him.
Unlike the "cold" of having his chest pierced through before, this freeze was something he had been completely unaware of — like the very instant before falling asleep, when one's self-awareness is stripped away.
[It is "Nature." Its gaze has fallen upon you.]
'Hss...... so it really is that one. Why has Its gaze fallen on me?'
[When Infinity reversed your life and death, the dispersed power was captured by "Nature."]
'Is that so?'
[Just as Infinity requires Primal Essence to complete itself, "Nature" also requires power from other existences of equal standing to repair itself.]
Hearing the Cheat Device Miss's explanation, Luo Nan let out a helpless laugh. 'What a thoroughly sufficient reason that is!'
'But as I recall, Deities cannot descend in their true form into the Material Plane, can they? Even a Projection requires a sufficiently powerful Saint to serve as a vessel — how did It just appear here like that?'
Luo Nan felt that the Abyssal Great Lord "Nature" was cheating — there was clearly nothing at the scene, only a single Abyssal creature that had been cut to pieces, and yet that had been enough for a Projection to descend?
[If sufficient price is paid, it is possible.]
'Then what should I do now?'
[Contact Infinity — seek strength from It.]
'Does the Cheat Device Miss mean...... I have to fight a round with "Nature's" Projection?' Luo Nan licked the corner of his mouth.
He was stunned.
He was nothing more than a minor clown-villain — what virtue or ability did he have to go and face an Evil God's Projection head-on?!
'Say, Cheat Device Miss — is there another possibility: that Anya and I just run directly, and let other stronger people come deal with this problem?'
That saying holds true: the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility.
He, Luo Nan, was a Tier One little shrimp — how could this responsibility possibly fall on his shoulders?
[......]
[Do you think...... you still have any possibility of escape right now?]
'What do you mean?'
[You and Anya Sivans are currently at the site where "Nature's" Projection is descending, and furthermore Its purpose in descending is you — do you think you can get away?]
'Haha...... so that's how it is.' After receiving the Cheat Device Miss's reply, the last sliver of lucky hope in Luo Nan's heart dissolved completely.
[Contact Infinity, seek strength from It — this is your only hope of survival.]
[Luo Nan, you can do it.]
'......'
Luo Nan drew a deep breath and forced out a smile. 'Since the Cheat Device Miss believes in me, then I...... will give it a try. After all, you've never deceived me before, have you?'
[Act fast and finish this — without the support of Primal Essence, you cannot hold on for long.]
'What's the maximum time limit?'
[Ten seconds in the real world.]
'Ten seconds? That's cutting it a bit close...... I'll give it a try!'
With that thought settled, Luo Nan closed both eyes, and in his mind arose the intention of 'embracing the Infinite Tree.'
Splash—
The Infinite Tree was moving toward Luo Nan.
Luo Nan was moving toward the Infinite Tree.
Beneath the eternal, unchanging starfield, man and tree gradually converged in a spacetime that had never been observed before.
The concepts of the universe, the world, time, and fate all transformed into "knowledge" comprehensible to Luo Nan, and poured in one torrent into his thoughts.
His figure was gradually enveloped by the Infinite Tree's iridescent radiance.
At this moment and in this instant, beneath the entire starfield, there was only one center, one protagonist.
Luo Nan von Medillion.
When Luo Nan opened his eyes once more, he had already returned to the real world.
The black of his pupils had long since been covered over by the Infinite Tree's iridescent colors — flowing, hundred-hued light crystallized into threads, spreading across his entire body.
Luo Nan's black hair stirred without wind; the spacetime around him was gathered and condensed into a Phantom Feather Robe that settled lightly against him, and behind him rose the Infinite Ring.
"Is this...... me?"
Luo Nan's voice pierced through time, layered across the three boundaries of past, present, and future.
Feeling the power surging within his body — power that originated from the "Infinite Tree" — Luo Nan felt as though he had lost all interest in everything in the mortal world.
Right now...... he only wanted to dissolve into ten thousand forms, to fuse completely with the entire universe.
[Luo Nan — maintain the primacy of your self!]
'Luo Nan? Right...... I am Luo Nan. I am Luo Nan von Medillion.'
Wrenching himself sharply out of that 'I am all things' state from just moments before, Luo Nan, guided by the Cheat Device Miss's prompt, temporarily reclaimed his sense of self.
'Right now I should deal with "Nature's" Projection.'
With that thought, Luo Nan fixed his gaze on the mass of pitch-black darkness that was about to descend.
[Ten.]