Chapter 31: Whispers

The air in the room had, unbeknownst to me, become somewhat thick.

Something was whispering, murmurings of incomprehensible notes rising from the depths of the deep sea, as if pulling one into the abyss, transforming into a shadowy presence akin to itself.

It seemed that only in such a state could one truly understand 【His】 voice, wiping away the fog that obscured reality and glimpsing the highest truths and realities.

【He】 was calling for those who were submerged…

Submerged… submerged…

From that state of submersion, gaining redemption…

“Ding-a-ling ~”

Suddenly, a clear bell tone rang out in the darkness, like the morning bells driving away evil.

“!!!”

Hong Yan, who had gradually lost her luster, had her beautiful eyes that had sunk into the depths of the ocean suddenly clear, her entire being shivered as if awakening from a dream, and then, like a drowning person just pulled from the water, she gasped for air anxiously.

“Guha! Ha! Ha… Haha…”

That invisible, sticky feeling that lingered in the air, the dark whispers disappeared without a trace.

Her unfocused pupils gradually refocused, her consciousness resurfacing on the shore.

“Just now, that was…?”

Vilyric gently placed the small silver bell down, patted the still-shaken girl’s shoulder, and nodded calmly.

“It seems the earlier training indeed had some effect. You now understand how to unconsciously utilize the power derived from the essence of virtual profundities to strengthen and expand your spiritual awareness. Perhaps it’s because of this that you could fortuitously connect with certain things and be influenced to some extent as you just were.”

“Fortuitous… connect with? What exactly was that?”

Hong Yan frowned slightly. Although her breath was still somewhat chaotic and her face pale, her emotions seemed to have largely stabilized.

The bell sound that Priestess had rung, along with some sort of special soul-level power controlled by the Spiritual Fox Priestess, not only helped the Swordsman Girl forcibly break free from that eerie state but also directly erased the shadow that clung to her soul, completely severing the connection with the unknown corruption.

It even stabilized and adjusted her spirit, compelling Hong Yan to calm down.

That feeling was probably akin to being abruptly doused with cold water while in a half-asleep state—a bit uncomfortable, yet definitely an effective way to wake someone up.

Fortunately, Hong Yan had just begun to encounter those things and immediately recognized the issue, actively seeking Vilyric’s help. Otherwise, if her soul had become more severely tainted, handling it might have become quite troublesome.

“Well, this should just be a mere coincidence, possibly related to the characteristics of your breathing techniques and the fact that you happened to come in contact with that summoned entity today. As for what it actually is, I can’t fully confirm for now, so let’s not dwell on that…”

“How are you feeling now? Do you still experience that kind of sensation of sinking into the deep sea, or hear those indescribable whispers?”

“Does Miss Vilyric know what I just experienced?”

Surprised, she tilted her head, but soon seemed to understand something, nodding helplessly.

“That’s right, after all, you are the inheritor of the Spiritual Fox Priestess, a real immortal; it seems you’ve saved me once again…”

Taking a few deep breaths, the Swordsman Girl quickly began to show a mix of relief and new confusion.

“It’s gone now. My spiritual awareness during breathing has returned to that initial pitch black state, but that sort of… whisper has completely disappeared. What could this mean? Do I still not completely escape the control of that illusion?”

Vilyric merely shook her head, non-committal.

“Hong Yan, learn to doubt, learn to think, but more importantly, learn to believe in what you know and perceive. When you can be certain that you are completely normal, then no matter how absurd or bizarre the sights you see are, the issue can only lie with the other party.”

“Do you mean…?”

“This archipelago… no, I should say that this entire Emerald Sea Region is quite problematic. The sights you saw with your spiritual awareness, though merely an immature hazy signal, are… not illusions.”

Not delving more into that topic, Vilyric quickly changed the subject.

“You just said that you saw an island submerged in the deep sea and even began to doubt the reality of the world you are in. So… can you identify which island that is?”

After a moment of silence, the Gray-haired Girl finally nodded, affirming the Priestess’s speculation.

“It’s… Parut Island. Not just it, but the entire East Sea Pearl archipelago. The contours of the buildings there are entirely consistent with reality, but they seem to have decayed and crumbled as if eroded by seawater for hundreds of years. I was seated in the remnants of this room, the cold, heavy seawater enveloping my body, along with those incomprehensible whispers…”

“Miss Vilyric, what do these illusions actually mean? Are they some kind of prophecy for the future? Who is speaking, and what exactly are they trying to convey?”

With her clear silver-blue eyes slightly turning, meeting Hong Yan’s gaze filled with inquiry and confusion, the Priestess merely smiled.

“You ask well, but I also don’t know. While I sense some peculiar aspects of this marine environment and space, on certain micro levels, I actually can’t see clearly as you do. The weak cannot perceive, the strong are unaffected; it is precisely your current stage that might be most likely to capture and attempt to understand those whispers.”

“In that case, can I…?”

“However, I would advise you not to do that just yet.”

Before Hong Yan could voice her bold thought, Vilyric actively shook her head to deny it.

“Have you thought about why the defenses on me automatically shield and erase those whispers? For taboo information, the act of 【understanding】 itself is a form of harm. With your strength and soul intensity, even with my help to interpret it, you would inevitably be unable to bear the weight it carries.”

“If I possessed a Pseudo-God… even just at the threshold of the fourth realm of soul, I might consider supporting you to attempt it, but at your current state, you are still too insignificant and fragile in the face of that power. You wouldn’t want to turn into some inexplicable entity because of information pollution, would you?”

“I…”

The girl instinctively pressed her lips together.

After the unbelievable experience she just had, Hong Yan certainly understood that Vilyric was not deceiving or scaring her. In reality, those whispers were not an attack but merely conveying some information to her. Even so, it had already caused her visions to frequently manifest, nearly collapsing her mind.

If she truly comprehended the meanings behind those whispers, she feared she would no longer be her original self.

Suddenly, Hong Yan let out a small gasp.

“Wait, if that’s the case, could it be that those merfolk who were driven mad or fell into a coma due to spiritual pollution were actually all because of…?”

Before Vilyric could respond, Hong Yan realized the unreasonable nature of this speculation.

“No, those pollutants clearly came from the ghosts attacking this sea region, said to be empowered by the 【Ghost Ship】. But I encountered those whispers that seem to come from the deep sea at the East Sea Pearl. Could the 【Ghost Ship】 also be related to the true origin of these whispers?”

“Moreover, what about the sea goddess who displayed miracles during the day and healed those who were polluted?”

Seeing the Gray-haired Girl becoming more confused as she pondered, completely entangled in her thoughts, the Priestess simply smiled and patted her shoulder.

“Don’t rush. We are drawing closer to the truth now. The intricate causal relationships within this matter cannot be clarified in just a few words. What you need to do now is to preserve your strength and prepare for tomorrow’s actions.”

“Hold off on using that breathing meditation technique until after we leave the Emerald Sea Region. Get a good night’s sleep; sometimes, getting in touch with too much and understanding too much… isn’t necessarily a good thing.”

   

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