OBS Chapter 4241 The Help of Desire
Chapter 4241 The Help of Desire
Chapter 4241 The Help of Desire
Yesterday, Vige gave Shad a special coin, which Shad then gave to Luvia after breakfast this morning. Although he has many things to investigate at the moment, Shad hasn't decided what to use the coin for divination, so he's having Luvia keep it as a backup plan.
He then proceeded to Moon Bay as planned. Because Shad possessed the Blessing of Chaos, Luvia and Dorothy weren't worried about him. The girls would stay with Shad that morning, waiting to go with him to the doctor's meeting after lunch.
As for the brand-new Time Key that can be used today, Shad has already obtained one from Danist. He used the key at the Leatherworks last Saturday around 10 AM, and since it wasn't time yet, Shad wasn't in a hurry.
Because Shad didn't want Bella and the others to get too involved with mermaids, he didn't tell the ladies currently in Moon Bay that he was coming here today.
After emerging from the dragon's lair outside the city, he boarded a carriage and headed towards his destination. Along the way, observing the prosperous cityscape of Moon Bay, he even remarked that, in these times of war, Moon Bay was more prosperous than when he first visited.
The impact of last year's Battle of Moon Bay has completely disappeared.
"Desire" seemed to know that Shad was coming today, and Countess Dalmanin was already waiting for the carriage in front of the Earl's manor located at the top of the sea cliff.
The stunningly beautiful countess, who seemed increasingly inhuman, smiled at Shad. Although she said nothing, Shad felt as if her gaze had been licking his skin, a very unpleasant sensation.
He took the elevator deep in the basement alone to the foot of the sea cliff. The weather was nice today, and the view of the sea from the rock jutting out over the ocean was excellent. After waiting a moment amidst the sound of the waves, the familiar woman's head emerged from the water not far from the edge of the rock.
Looking at that alluring face, Xia De secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Last time at the bottom of the artificial lake, "Desire" appeared in the form of a pure mermaid. He thought she would stay that way forever, but thankfully she chose to stay the way she always was.
Why "fortunately"?
She asked with a smile.
"Because by keeping it as it is, it can constantly remind me what it really is."
As Xia De thought to himself, he watched the sunlight spill onto the sea, and his head with its flowing black hair, bearing a gentle smile, stopped at the boundary between light and shadow. At that moment, he felt a sense of relaxation he had never experienced before when facing "desire".
All the previous anxieties and unease seemed to have disappeared.
"Your expression practically screams your thoughts."
The woman smiled and said, her voice as husky as ever, yet captivating:
"You feel relaxed now, and you don't have to be as wary of me as you used to be, right?"
Shad didn't answer, but the head in the water looked up at him with its purple eyes:
"But that doesn't mean anything. When the day comes that you no longer have the blessing of the ancient gods, yet you can still look at me calmly and talk to me with a relaxed mind, that will mean you have truly defeated me and defeated desire."
Shad knew the other person made sense, but the woman's head then spoke again:
"But that also means that I won."
That face, a blend of the charm of countless girls and ladies, held a deep sense of anticipation:
"Because you are finally able to face me with the same attitude you would show to an ordinary woman."
Shad looked at it:
"So it sounds like, no matter how I treat you, you've already won."
"Yes, because I am desire, I am the stirrings and longings deep within the human heart. As long as you retain the thoughts of a human being and an interesting soul, you will never be able to defeat me."
Xia De declined to comment.
“Let’s talk about something else. You got your leather item back, but I noticed you’re not wearing it this time.”
A fair hand emerged from underwater, cradling the left cheek of that beautiful head:
"What, are you looking forward to seeing me like that again?"
"No, I'm just curious how you're going to use that power that you've regained."
The head in the water made a playful, thoughtful gesture, much like Emilia when she was looking at her thesis report with a troubled expression.
"Yes, now that I've regained my former power, what should I do? How about finding a boring city and having my followers lead the entire population in a long and endless feast?"
It smiled and asked Shad, who could tell that the other party was refusing to answer the question.
“I helped you retrieve that leather item, and I also have a responsibility to monitor your behavior. I know it sounds arrogant to say this, and I certainly can't control you, but at least when I hear that you are planning such a large-scale disaster, I will definitely step in to stop you.”
"So, you don't care about small-scale incidents?"
The woman continued to smile, and Shad didn't want to dwell on the matter any longer; he would do whatever he could.
He took out the mask he always carried and bent down to place it on the edge of the reef.
Here, take this back.
"Aren't you going to leave it behind? You've already learned how to use it to construct conceptual leather objects. Wearing it, even without using illusions, you won't have to worry about anyone discovering your true identity."
Shade shook his head:
"Your little pink perfume bottle is enough as a gift. I haven't done anything to warrant another gift, so please take this mask back."
"What a boring man, but you're really attractive when you say those things. Is that why those witches are attracted to you?"
The tide washed over the rocks, and when it receded, the mask was gone, but in its place appeared a key that looked very familiar to Shad—the Time Key.
“Then accept this as a gift. I found it at the bottom of the lake where we last met. This key should be useful to you.”
It reiterated that this time Shad did not refuse; the Tree Father would decide what kind of task the Time Key corresponded to, and that even the most powerful "desire" could not interfere with the Time Key.
“Then I will accept it, and thank you for your generosity. But there are actually some things I want to discuss with you today. They are not related to what you are doing, nor are they related to our relationship of mutual exploitation and cooperation.”
Shad put the brand-new key in his pocket, intending to put it under his pillow tonight to test its corresponding time, and then unlock it tomorrow. He could easily wait a day:
"I want to talk to you about the inevitable end of the world."
The expression on her beautiful face remained unchanged:
"What's there to talk about? It's something that's bound to happen. Even if you do very well and you choose what seems to be the best path in your destiny, the destination will still not change."
"The end of the world will eventually come, and the world will eventually reach that moment, but whether the concept of life should end at that moment is still undecided."
Shad said to it:
“You are something born from the heart of intelligent life, and I don’t think you would expect life to become extinct. So are you willing to cooperate? In order to fight against the inevitable end, we can continue to cooperate.”
The woman looked at him, her purple eyes, so similar to Luvia's, fixed on him, and Shad saw curiosity in them:
Do you understand what you want to do?
"Actually, I don't understand. I don't know what will happen in the end. I'm not even sure if there really is such a 'enemy' in the end."
Shad gazed into those eyes, and perhaps because of the blessing of Chaos, or perhaps because of his current state of mind, he was no longer afraid to meet their gaze:
"But I must prepare in advance, be prepared for all possibilities. The Chosen Ones, the Ringwitch faction, and even beings like you—I need more power to unite around me, I need more beings to bring me more possibilities."
The woman's head didn't respond immediately; it just looked at him, and for a moment, Shad actually saw pity in her expression.
However, that might just be an illusion, or it might just be a performance.
"Perhaps I will help you, just as I have in the past; perhaps I will only indulge in the last revelry before all life is about to perish—that is also a possibility."
However, I did admire your expression just now. It was very charming, very attractive; for girls, that's probably the most lethal poison and the best aphrodisiac.
It sighed:
“I won’t agree to cooperate until you understand what you’re trying to do. Cooperation without a goal will only lead to a more tragic end. But I’ll help you this once, just this once. Ask me one question, but it can only be related to ‘creation.’ If I can answer it, I will tell you the answer.”
Shad suspected it was a trap, but he also felt that the other party was genuinely willing to help him this time.
He listened to the sound of the waves and quickly made a decision:
“I want to know about the ‘First Child’. I dreamed of the First Child in the Red Ocean.”
He recounted his nightmare, focusing on the description of the large, silver-headed monster:
"I want to know, if I really have to face this, how can I overcome it?"
The woman's head laughed:
"You dreamt about it? Yes, you should have dreamt about it. The First Children, the first creations of the Old Gods. In the most ancient times, when the thirteen Ancient Ones were still alive, and I was very young, I didn't like them back then."
Compared to mortal races, these first life forms created by the Creator possessed demigod power from birth. They were demigods of the Mythical Era, not the demigods of the Fifth Era.
They were fearless, their minds empty, only knowing to obey 'Father's' orders to transform that desolate world. Although they were also intelligent beings, they were too noble and selfless, or rather, their minds were different from those of normal beings. Even though they had their own desires, they were not easily influenced by me.
Compared to interesting races like humans and elves, they are more like cold, impersonal machines. No, that description is no longer appropriate, since even mechanical races understand love and hate, and have desires, but they mostly only know how to fulfill their duties.
The earliest story of the material world was written by them and their ancestors. Looking at your expression, you already know what those ancestors were.
"All I know is that it was life that existed before the ancient gods created the first life."
Xia De nodded, not asking about the ancestors, knowing they certainly wouldn't answer:
"Do the First Children truly possess the emotions of races like humans and elves?"