Embers of Embers

Chapter 729 Duel of Destiny
The vague chants seemed to penetrate the illusion and reality and came here, and the fireworks burst forth, completely illuminating the gloomy stagnant temple.
It's like a grand performance. With the exit of the characters, everything finally reaches the climax of the finale. The protagonist and the villain engage in a final fight, bringing the final performance to the audience.
Lorenzo's consciousness began to sink, and his body continued to stab the new pope, but his eyes were captured by the dark abyss.
He was caught, captured by the blurred illusion. Under the pressure of many erosions, Lorenzo did not feel that he had the ability to escape from this illusion. He could only rely on his last strength to push the new pope and try He shouted loudly as he drove him back to the Well of Ascension.
Before his consciousness completely fell into darkness and he lost all ability to move, Lorenzo hoped and called with a bit of prayer.
"Watson!"
It's time for the ultimate assassin hiding in the darkness to swing out that fatal sword and slit the enemy's throat.
If Lawrence's death is to pave the way for Lorenzo, then Lorenzo's death is for Watson, like a baton, one after another, until the enemies are wiped out.
At the end of his consciousness, Lorenzo heard a loud noise from behind. He didn't know what happened, but what he knew was that Watson would never let him down, even if she had Lorenzo Shang hidden in her heart. He didn't know the secret, but he also stubbornly believed that Watson would not deceive him.
Then, leave the rest to her.
Lorenzo used up his last strength to push the new pope to the edge of the Well of Sublimation. He no longer had the strength or consciousness to do all this. At the same time, the branches protruding from the ground also fell heavily. It wrapped around his legs, stopping his progress.
Sharp barbs spread from the branches and pierced into Lorenzo's flesh like thorns. Soon, as the blood soaked through, the withered white branches turned red, like mosquitoes sucking blood.
The new pope's eyes stared at Lorenzo, trapping him in an illusion. As long as he had a little more time, he could kill Lorenzo and completely eliminate all threats. But from behind Lorenzo In the distant darkness, there was the sound of breaking ice.
Something collapsed, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps. In the deep darkness, there was a vague outline. It was hideous and terrifying, as if it was a demon crawling out of hell.
The new Pope suddenly realized that he seemed to have forgotten something, but he couldn't figure out why after thinking about it deliberately. He just vaguely felt that he seemed to have overlooked something extremely threatening.
Then... what is that?
panic.
This is the first time that the new pope feels panic. Logically speaking, he should not have such negative emotions. His essence is the hateful darkness under the well of sublimation.
It sounds so ridiculous that fear itself feels fear, but this is what is really happening.
He began to panic, feeling doubts he had never had before about the unknown unknown parts of his cognition. He was such a powerful being, could there be anything beyond his cognition?
Familiar fluctuations came from the darkness. This power was so impressive that even after so many years, he still remembered it fresh.
"So [Final Echo] can indeed have an impact on you. Under its protection, you can't even detect my existence."
Leng Che's voice sounded, and a fire passed by, burning the ferocious figure out of the darkness.
The flame bearer broke through the obstacles of the branches and strode forward. It could be seen that the originally bound flesh and blood had long since withered. For this reason, it picked up Lawrence's corpses, assimilated them, and turned them into a twisted and weird combination of steel and flesh. .
One iron mask after another hung on the chest, and a hoarse and cold voice came from it. Compared with the new pope, it seemed that the flame bearer was the real evil ghost.
"Who are you?"
The new pope is ready.
"I am your nightmare, the flaming sword that ends it all!"
Watson's voice was sonorous and powerful, overlapping together like a rolling tsunami.
The reason why she didn't respond to Lorenzo's call was because of the killing at this moment. Lorenzo and Lawrence had pushed him into a desperate situation, and now it was up to Watson to end it all.
The erosion has long been released from her consciousness, and it contains the aftermath of [Final Echo]. The invisible antimeme has long enveloped this stasis temple, completely isolated from the outside world.
No one knows what they have forgotten, not even the unspeakable.
The infiltration of antimemetics was more terrifying than Watson imagined. It was not until Watson was exposed at this moment that the new pope suddenly realized all this.
She became the carrier of [Final Echo] and was also endowed with antimemetic qualities. In the new Pope's understanding, it was even difficult for him to search for Watson's information from his own memory.
The earth bulges, and thorns break out of the ground, like a dead soul waving a sword, the sharp spikes scrape against the metal armor, bursting out dazzling sparks.
Overlapping together, they tightly bound the limbs of the flame bearer, sinking deeply into the gaps between the joints and the armor, trying to restrict all its movements. Under the huge twist, the sound of metal tearing could even be heard. , the limbs of the flame bearer were decomposed and twisted bit by bit, like an insect being disassembled.
The blazing white fireworks swayed, and Watson had no extra strength to deal with these thorns. Her power came from the nightmare under the Well of Sublimation, and the sharp blade she held was the only weapon that could kill the nightmare.
Just like the mingling of water and fire, making a sharp bubble sound, the antimeme becomes more powerful, and Watson, as the carrier, is also corroded by this power.
But don’t worry too much, Lorenzo and Lawrence have opened the way for Watson to assassinate, and she doesn’t need to use more power from sublimation.
Just move forward.
The flame bearer moved forward stubbornly, pulling all the thorns extremely straight, and the ground beneath his feet began to collapse, cracking one after another.
The new pope tried to control all this, but once he focused too much on Watson, he could feel the power coming from in front of him, as if death was approaching.
It was him, Lorenzo Holmes, the man who should have been swallowed by hallucinations. He did not fall completely, but struggled in the mire of darkness. His eyes fell into the same darkness, but in the dark abyss, There was a little bit of firelight lingering, as if the sun was about to rise.
"why?"
he screamed.
I don’t understand, the new pope doesn’t understand, I don’t understand why these guys insist on resisting him.
These guys in front of you are like this, and those guys from a long time ago are also like this, even those people from a long time ago, it seems that human beings are like this, they are obviously full of many bad qualities, but when you try to drive them out, they will explode. Unimaginable resilience.
Just like alchemy, no matter how many times you purify metal, there will always be a trace of impurities that cannot be completely removed. This is not only the bad nature of human beings, but also the mark of human beings.
Lorenzo's body trembled slightly, like a stone statue carved by mud and stone. Now he is coming to life, the stone is shattered, and he can no longer be restrained.
"Stop for me!"
The new pope ordered, and the harsh metal sounds continued one after another, high and sharp.
The body of the flame bearer was torn apart. As it continued to advance, it was not so much pulling the thorns forward, but rather it was slamming into thousands of knives made of thorns, and the sharp tips sank into the armor. In the middle, the sparks aroused ripped the steel into pieces.
The armor collapsed and the iron feathers shattered.
It was like a knight at the end of his life, teetering on the edge, his feathers falling continuously, and fell to the ground with a dull sound.
But it is still moving forward, its withered skeleton supporting its body, and white will-o'-the-wisps floating under its visor, as if there are angry dead souls residing in it.
[Lorenzo, I have always felt that I am out of tune with all this. 】
Watson contacted Lorenzo's consciousness. She was not sure whether Lorenzo could hear her voice, which was like speaking to the silent sea.
[I am an invisible ghost, and I no longer have the slightest connection with this world... except for the current mission. 】
The flame bearer raised his arm high. Under the strangulation of thorns, the arm completely lost its original appearance, like a twisted and broken iron sword. It was raised high and reflected bright light.
The light fell on Lorenzo's face, and he still maintained his stiff posture, entangled in thorns just like the flame bearer.
His face twitched slightly, as if Lorenzo was experiencing some kind of terrible nightmare, while Watson was shouting at this moment, [gap] connecting them together.
【Wake up!Lorenzo! 】
"Stupid decision!"
The new pope laughed. Since entering the Stasis Temple, these invaders have not activated the [Gap]. Now the physical barrier is almost collapsed. Watson's behavior made the new pope aware of the existence of the gap.
The billowing black mist overflowed from the well of sublimation behind him, and in a blink of an eye the darkness swallowed up everything, leaving only the blazing white fireworks swaying in it, as if monsters were fighting each other.
This is a duel of fate, a fight to the death, and among the endless blood and tears, and the noisy sword sounds, there is finally a peaceful place, which is hidden deep in the soul.
"Wake up!"
The sound echoed, and it was unknown how long it had been floating around. It passed through all the obstacles and fell into this hidden corner.
Someone heard such a sound, woke up leisurely, opened his tired eyes, and everything in his sight was blurred into large spots of light.
He stared blankly ahead, his eyes a little confused.
Thin footsteps stepped on the stones, making soft sounds. The sound came closer to him, and then a shadow fell down, covering his face.
"What are you doing in a daze? Aren't you awake?"
A gentle female voice sounded, inquiring, but he seemed a little dull. He paused for a long time before he came back to his senses. His stiff expression softened, and he rubbed his face vigorously, feeling the real touch. He was not sure said.
"I seem to have a dream."
"Huh? What dream?"
When the girl heard this, she asked extremely curiously.
"I...I'm not too good at saying..."
Thinking of this, he felt a stabbing pain in his mind, and vaguely remembered some fragments.
"I seemed to be fighting with someone...The fight was very bad, my eyes were red and bleeding."
A bad dream, a real and long nightmare. Even now, I am still in a daze, not sure whether it is a dream or another real reality.
"Do you boys like to have such dreams?"
The girl said in confusion. She looked at the boy in front of her who was a head shorter than her, and flicked his forehead with a smile.
"You are so annoying!"
Being teased like this, the boy resisted irritably, and even the nightmare just now was forgotten.
"Let's go, it's time to go home. If you sleep here, you will catch a cold."
"I know, I know, Watson, don't rush me."
The boy stood up from the wooden bench, and suddenly a chaotic scene flashed before his eyes. The glistening green grass was replaced by the cold ice field, and the warmth of the setting sun turned into a bone-chilling cold.
He shuddered, and after a moment, the scene in front of him returned to normal. His eyes looked around in panic, but he couldn't find any flaws.
The sky was clear, and there were dense clouds at the end of the distant horizon. Under the reflection of the setting sun, they seemed to be burning, and the golden light spread down, covering the grass fields, gravel roads, and woods.
Everything looks warm and beautiful in gold.
Watson walked in front, and the boy followed her, walking along the gravel road and looking into the distance. He could see the cabin in the woods. There were bursts of smoke overflowing from the chimney, and it seemed that someone was moving there. Cooking in the room.
"Hurry up, there will be guests coming today, we have to prepare in advance."
Watson continued to urge, the boy nodded tirelessly and followed.
Before marching, he looked around, feeling the gentle breeze blowing, and his heart fell into a peaceful tranquility.
It felt really good, his body and mind were warmed from the inside out. It was such a common feeling, but the boy felt that he had not experienced it for many years.
many years?
He suddenly noticed this. For some reason, he was only a teenager, but he felt an inexplicable gratitude for the ordinary life now, as if this ordinary thing was extremely precious.
He didn't understand, and he was too lazy to figure it out. He was very hungry and just wanted to go home and have a big meal, then lie lazily on the bed and spend this beautiful day.
He knew that he would sleep soundly at night until noon the next day, and then be full of energy to face a beautiful new day.
but……
The boy stopped halfway. He turned around and looked at the bench hidden in the shade of the tree. Weeds were growing wildly under the bench, almost wrapping it up.
"what happened?"
Watson smiled at him.
"I...I seem to have forgotten something," the boy muttered, "Some...something very important."
His hands hugged the boy from behind, and Watson rubbed his head affectionately.
"People can't remember dreams, especially nightmares. Don't think about them."
This time the boy did not push her away angrily, but looked at the bench absently for a while. After a brief silence, he nodded in agreement.
"Well... let's go."
He said, turned around and walked towards the golden cabin shrouded in the setting sun.
(End of this chapter)