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Chapter 7: The Voice in the Stone Statue

“Now this is…”

“Master, what’s wrong with this thing? Do you need me to smash it?”

Seeing Miss Vilyric’s unusual expression, Little Dragon Daughter hurriedly leaned in with concern.

“It’s nothing… let’s not rush.”

The black-haired girl curiously glanced at her fair fingers that had just made contact with the stone statue. This ability, which resembled telepathic communication, also existed in [Fantasy World], with various tiers depending on effectiveness, typically belonging to the psychic system.

However, this one seemed to require physical contact for transmission, clearly falling short.

Logically, such a mysterious item shouldn’t be limited to this level, right?

Let’s try communicating a bit.

Reapplying her finger to the top of the statue, the faint azure glow indeed brightened again, and the enigmatic feminine voice echoed back in Vilyric’s mind.

But this time, it was tinged with a bit of anger.

【You little girl! Don’t you know it’s very rude to interrupt when others are speaking?!】

Huh?

This thing… has an unexpectedly down-to-earth way of speaking—much better than that cryptic Death Star from the Beast Kingdom.

【Uh, sorry about that?】

Miss Vilyric attempted to express similar information in her mind. Although she didn’t know any psychic magic, this level of communication wasn’t too difficult for her with her vast sp power.

I wonder if this fellow can hear me?

【It feels like your sincerity is lacking… fine, considering you provided such a pure soul power to aid my awakening, I’ll forgive you. Now, tell me, why did you wake me?】

Oh, so you heard me!

However, it seemed she could only read surface-level thoughts because the last comment seemed unnoticed.

And I don’t know if it’s just Vilyric’s imagination, but it felt like the tone of this being completely shifted when she spoke that last line—suddenly exuding an air of arrogance.

It felt just like in anime when the character says,【Mortal! Why have you awakened me?!】

But even if she says that…

【So, who are you?】

【？】

【？】

After exchanging question marks to show friendliness, it was ultimately the voice from the statue that couldn’t hold back any longer.

【You don’t know who I am? Then why did you pay such a hefty price to awaken me? As my… wait, on closer inspection, you are indeed not one of my descendants, just someone who bears a similar aura. Has your perception weakened so much…?】

“Huh?”

With the sheer number of points in the other party’s statements, Vilyric momentarily forgot to communicate mentally and instinctively blurted out a bewildered question from her lips.

But the other party had no reaction. Sure enough, physical voices couldn’t be heard by the owner of that feminine voice.

This entity likely could only communicate mentally with beings in direct contact with it and perform shallow information gathering.

Based on the strength of the soul power, it should be capable of more than this…

“Master?”

“It’s nothing, I’ll explain in a moment.”

After reassuring her confused pet, Vilyric continued her communication with the voice from within the statue.

【So, who are you? The consciousness of the God of Sky?】

After all, this was a statue of the God of Sky, and with the occasional arrogance in the other party’s choice of words, it was a normal guess for Vilyric to make.

【God of Sky? Which God of Sky?】

Eh? She doesn’t even know the God of Sky?

Hmm… upon reflection, the other party did mention words like “thousand years” earlier, perhaps their awareness is quite disconnected from the present…

【The God of Sky and Freedom, named Minerva.】

【Minerva… Haha! Minerva, so she now calls herself the God of Sky and Freedom… Haha, this is just… Hahaha!!】

Due to the loud laughter, Vilyric opted to remove her hand from the statue and waited a moment before reestablishing contact.

This time, the voice in the statue seemed not angry with Miss Vilyric’s abrupt action, but rather murmured in a somewhat low tone, layered with a unique emotion.

【Little girl, what era is it outside? Can you tell me what you know, especially regarding Minerva?】

This tone… seems there’s a story there.

Miss Vilyric loves stories most.

【That’s not difficult.】

However, she actually knew very little about the deity worshipped in the Kingdom of Azure, so she could only share some relatively reliable myths and tales gathered from books and hearsay for the other party to read at the surface of her consciousness.

The voice within the statue fell into a long silence.

After a while, a somewhat wistful tone finally broke the silence.

【Is that so…】

【Yeah, but I’m not from the Kingdom of Azure, so there might be some discrepancies. Also, you still haven’t told me who you are.】

【To be honest… I don’t really remember my specific identity anymore.】

【？】

【My soul has been shattered into hundreds of pieces, sealed and suppressed in different places. This form is merely one of them, with limited memories and origins, and in the span of a thousand years, has been worn down severely.】

【Then if you don’t even remember who you are, how do you remember Minerva?】

The feminine voice from within the statue snorted coldly, not concealing the hatred in her words.

【Of course I remember, because she personally used forbidden techniques to tear my eternally indestructible soul apart and seal it in a vessel. If I’m not mistaken, the shell of this body carries the mark of Minerva, doesn’t it?】

Oh…

Casting a glance at the God of Sky statue which was roughly the size of her palm, Vilyric suddenly understood.

So this thing isn’t just a vessel containing consciousness, but a seal. Then…

“If I smash this thing, will it free you?”

Originally, Vilyric intended to say this, but she reconsidered. The God of Sky is the rightful deity worshipped by the Winged People; whatever was sealed by the deity can’t be of lower caliber and likely involves a lot of secrets.

Though the voice in the statue claimed she was merely one percent of the original soul, even the majority of her memories were mostly incomplete, it seemed there was more to the story.

But in the end, it was merely one side of the story.

Regardless of whether those previous words were lies or not, Vilyric could feel that this being definitely had secrets it wasn’t fully disclosing, at least it wouldn’t be as clueless as it claimed.

She didn’t fully trust Vilyric, just as Miss Vilyric was the same.

Since that’s the case, there’s no need to rush—let’s try to interact more and then make judgments.

After all, they hadn’t even reached the borders of the Kingdom of Azure yet. Who knows what might happen next?

【I understand. Let’s call it a day for now; your emotions seem unstable. Take a moment to calm down, we’ll chat again when the opportunity arises.】

【…Indeed, with the soul split, it seems I can’t even control my emotions well. What a headache. I will now drift into slumber for rest, and if you’re interested, you can pour soul power into me as before, and I will awaken.】

【Got it.】

After that, Vilyric withdrew her hand from the stone statue.

But just before parting, she heard one last phrase.

【My name is Xi Fu, do not forget.】