Forbidden Knowledge and the Son of God

"Clothes slightly dirty?"

Ya was speechless.

"...But you look like you just fled a famine in the western Federation, or fought a battle at the Zenith Barrier in the North Polar Circle."

As she spoke, she glanced at the Black Spear broken in two in Bai Zhou's hand, her gaze lingering on the savage bite marks.

"And I don't recall being able to pick up physical objects in the Knowledge Mist."

With a clack, Bai Zhou placed the broken spear on the table. Several drops of dark green pus and blood conspicuously fell onto its surface.

"It may be hard to believe."

Bai Zhou ruffled his messy hair twice, trying to smooth down the unruly lock sticking up from the top of his head.

"I think I took a trip through the Reflection Ruins Realm."

For some reason, he instinctively concealed the part about the Golden Pass.

"The Reflection Ruins Realm?"

At those words, Ya fell unusually silent for several seconds.

She stepped closer. Her Rainbow Eyes deepened as she silently met Bai Zhou's gaze.

...Only after a long while did she speak again.

"Correct. You do indeed smell of 'contamination.'"

"—This is erosion from the Deceased."

Without a ripple in her eyes, Ya turned and picked up the cup of water on the table.

Under Bai Zhou's puzzled gaze, Ya began circling him while tilting the cup—

"Trickle..." Water droplets splashed as the flowing water poured onto the floor, drawing a circle around Bai Zhou.

Then Ya raised her small hand and sharply swept the sleeve of her trench coat through mid-air—

With a whoosh, a gorgeous line of flame flashed through the air and vanished, leaving only wisps of green smoke rising in place.

Before Bai Zhou's eyes, that hazy wisp of smoke gradually swelled, swelled... then abruptly spread everywhere.

The dreamlike smoke clouds drifted lightly around the circle of water vapor. They carried an indescribably cloying sweetness as thread after thread seeped deep into Bai Zhou's nostrils.

The room was utterly silent. The pure white light overhead hummed as Ya quietly chanted ancient, strange syllables.

She silently walked to the table and used her pale, almost translucent fingers to lightly dip into the clear oil at the bottom of the Beef Ramen bowl.

Then, she reached her hand through the hazy smoke.

The droplet of oil on her slender fingertip touched Bai Zhou's forehead, icy cold.

And she softly chanted:

"Water—"

"Cleanse the unclean."

The next instant—

Bai Zhou shuddered all over as a chill like fresh water flowing down his throat coursed through his body.

He felt the spirituality within him surge.

Abruptly, a wisp of ill-omened Black Qi emerged from Bai Zhou's body.

It seemed to possess some sort of life, writhing and stretching in the air with chaotic, horrifying movements.

Almost at the same time, a cold female voice with a slight rasp recited an awkward incantation beside Bai Zhou's ear:

"Catharsis—"

The instant the incantation fell, the Black Qi buzzed as dazzling white light erupted from within it.

Accompanied by a horrifying scream like an infant's cry, the Black Qi vanished without a trace.

"What was that?!"

Bai Zhou came back to himself, suddenly seized by lingering fear as a chill ran down his spine.

That thing had been on him?

—Had "it" followed him back from the Reflection Ruins Realm?

"The ancient extraordinary one, the exalted physician, Hippocrates of the [Covenant Crown], who dispelled plagues, severed the serpent staff, and ended the rule of the Asclepius Cult, had already concluded thousands of years ago—"

"Every Undead unable to rest carries a contamination similar to resentment, and this contamination clings to people."

Ya's voice remained completely flat, her calm tone making it sound like common sense such as "you need chopsticks to eat."

"When they accumulate in sufficient quantities, they can cause illness at the least, or affect your mind and even your luck at worst!"

"Even if you have high resistance to contamination, you must remain careful."

"—But now, I believe that you really did return from the Reflection Ruins Realm."

As she spoke, Ya slowly frowned and carefully studied Bai Zhou, as though seriously considering something.

But Bai Zhou suddenly shivered.

"Contamination... The Reflection Ruins Realm seems to have contamination too. Is it the same thing?"

After living in Evening City for so many years, how much of this kind of "Dirty Things" had accumulated on him?

No wonder the Special Management Department had treated him and everyone from Evening City that way...

"The essence is the same, but the amount differs greatly. Most contamination in the Ruins Realm comes from the natural metabolism of these Undead upon their environment."

Ya shook her head. "The contamination you acquired from over a decade in Evening City is not even as much as what you would pick up from encountering a single Undead."

Bai Zhou began to mull it over.

So the contamination in Evening City was equivalent to what Undead released into the world's atmospheric circulation...

Diluted countless times over...

Farts?

"But there is no need to worry. SCE is a compulsory lesson for extraordinary ones."

Ya continued, "If you wish to go far in the Mystic World, you must develop the habit of regularly purifying your own contamination."

Bai Zhou was confused. "SCE?"

"Purification, sanctification, and enhancement against contamination. Occultists of the Western Federation collectively call these three Rituals SCE."

Ya explained, "Water, oil, and smoke are the key elements of such Rituals."

"Lower-ranking extraordinary ones may require more precise and demanding Ritual conditions to conduct SCE, but as I said—"

"A qualified Occultist should always adapt their methods to the materials at hand and remain flexible."

"Just like what I did just now."

As she spoke, Ya pointed toward the beef at the bottom of the ramen bowl, then casually pulled out a tissue and wiped her fingers.

Hearing this, Bai Zhou touched his cool forehead and indeed caught the oily aroma of meat broth on his fingertips.

Cooking oil was also "oil."

—What a miraculous "Ritual"!

"You will encounter all this later," Ya explained. "As long as you study properly, I have plenty of secret Rituals to teach you."

Bai Zhou blinked.

Sensing Ya's utter lack of reservation toward him, his feelings became somewhat complicated.

"—But that is all for later."

Ya continued, "Right now, there is something extremely important that we must clarify."

"What?" Bai Zhou turned and met Ya's gaze.

There was still not the slightest ripple in those eyes, only pure focus.

Without saying a word, she stared intently at Bai Zhou as though she had only just met him.

Only after Bai Zhou had been made thoroughly uncomfortable by her stare did she seriously ask:

"Why did you fall into the Reflection Ruins Realm?"

"—How could it have been the Reflection Ruins Realm?"

The same question had been asked twice in different tones.

It was clear Ya was not as calm as she appeared.

"This... is that bad?" Bai Zhou asked tentatively.

"Although the Knowledge Mist lies in the gap between the Reflection Ruins Realm and the Present World, that 'gap' actually has no boundaries."

Ya shook her head, giving Bai Zhou in his "slightly dirty clothes" a strange look.

"At the very least, I have never heard of anyone exploring to the end of the mist."

"—Which means no one would fall from the Knowledge Mist into the Reflection Ruins Realm while awakening their Destiny."

"This..." Bai Zhou did not know how to explain, yet he was also somewhat surprised by Ya's words.

All he could say was that it was all the Golden Pass's fault.

"What a pity..."

"You accidentally fell into the Reflection Ruins Realm halfway through, so I presume you failed to awaken your Destiny."

Ya gently shook her head, then suddenly took the initiative to comfort Bai Zhou.

"But it is alright. You still have me."

"It is good enough that you came back alive. As for Destiny and such—"

Ya lightly furrowed her brow. "It may be somewhat troublesome, but if I think about it for a few days, I should still be able to find another remedy..."

Seeing Ya frown as she thought of ways to help him, Bai Zhou could not help feeling touched.

"It's fine, Ya. Don't worry, I..."

Halfway through his sentence, a sharp pain suddenly shot through Bai Zhou's forehead.

The pain came violently, making his head feel as though it would split apart, as if a nail had been driven straight into his skull and stirred his brain.

It resembled the pain he had felt in the Knowledge Mist before, only far more intense.

But with his prior experience, Bai Zhou immediately identified the source of the pain—

The half Ancient Character branded deep in his mind, impossible to dispel.

More precisely, it was the faint scarlet light that had appeared at the edge of the Ancient Character at some unknown time.

The Red Light resembled a worm, eroding and gnawing at the Ancient Character. It looked profoundly ill-omened.

—Yet the Ancient Character did not react at all.

It seemed the Red Light could do nothing but drool all over it.

...However, while it could not do anything to the Ancient Character, it could easily threaten Bai Zhou.

The instant Bai Zhou noticed the Red Light, the familiar but even fiercer pain surged forth again.

It was accompanied by chaotic, vague murmurs that seemed to come from some distant place.

"When did it appear..." Bai Zhou was deeply unsettled.

When had this ill-omened Red Light appeared?

He had not seen this thing at all in the Knowledge Mist.

Could it... also have followed him from the Reflection Ruins Realm?

"What happened?"

A blurry figure appeared against the Incandescent Lamp's light.

Ya drew closer, her cool slender hand resting on Bai Zhou's forehead.

Her fingertips moved as she wrote several strange strokes on his forehead.

A cool, clear current poured into his brain, soothing Bai Zhou.

"Your spirituality has been awakened?"

Ya suddenly cried out in surprise. "You awakened your Destiny?"

"Yes... I was just about to tell you."

Bai Zhou finally let out a long breath and realized that his forehead was drenched in sweat.

"—But now, I may have run into a bit of trouble."

As he spoke, he summarized his situation in the briefest terms while concealing everything about the Golden Pass.

"Half an Ancient Character? There is knowledge like that in the mist?"

Surprise rarely appeared on Ya's face.

"Just how deep into the mist did you go? How did you get there?"

Everyone else explored the Reflection Ruins Realm on foot.

But you drove a drilling machine and dug straight downward?

"Without a doubt, that Red Light is eroding your body."

"Even the purification Ritual could not remove it... It appears to be quite significant."

Ya added, "But I think it is not from the Reflection Ruins Realm. Rather, it is closely connected to the Ancient Character itself."

"How should I deal with it, then?" Bai Zhou asked weakly.

"How about this? I'll write it out for you to see..."

As he spoke, he forced himself to move, turning to find a sheet of White Paper and a True Color black gel pen on the desk.

Following the obscure Ancient Character deep within his memory, he slowly drew the first stroke on the White Paper, forming a curved vertical line.

But in the blink of an eye—

A familiar Red Light flashed at the pen tip.

Blood as fine as silk flowed densely from the ink strokes, winding across the entire sheet of White Paper!

Bai Zhou: "?"

Ya's expression changed. The Crow on her shoulder snapped open its wings, and the dense mysterious symbols upon its feathers lit up one after another.

An invisible field instantly spread like a great net, enveloping the room.

"Buzz—"

Almost at the same time,

With a whoosh, the Incandescent Lamp flickered. Wind rose from nowhere, and a gust of black wind carrying a Bloody Scent suddenly appeared inside the room.

Within the black wind, pale lightning danced and crackled wildly.

It was as if ferocious souls of the dead had been disturbed. From some unseen depth came ghostly wails and howls, enough to make one's hair stand on end.

"...Enough!"

Her robes fluttering, Ya appeared beside Bai Zhou and pressed down on his hand—

"You can't write anymore!"

Even without Ya saying so, Bai Zhou had already planned to stop.

He immediately flung the pen away.

"Rumble..."

The ballpoint pen rolled across the floor.

—The strange phenomenon vanished at once.

The wind stopped, and the lightning faded away.

The incandescent lamp returned to normal, and the ghostly cries disappeared without a trace.

The writing on the paper surged like boiling ink. The strokes erased themselves, and the paper combusted seamlessly, turning to ash and scattering away.

The pen stopped, and the words vanished.

The world returned to peaceful silence.

"I can't say whether this is good or bad."

In the silent dormitory, Ya's cold voice rang out.

She slowly released Bai Zhou's arm. The domain spread around her, sending layer upon layer of translucent ripples through the air.

"—But if I'm not mistaken, this may be Forbidden Knowledge that the world does not accept!"

"Ancient, powerful, mysterious, unknowable... those are its hallmarks."

"I've only ever seen a few vague mentions of it in ancient tomes."

With two creaks beneath her feet as she stepped over the mess on the floor, Ya slowly walked aside, her voice low.

"Perhaps it once had an earth-shattering origin in the era of the Previous Civilization, recording secrets beyond description..."

"But now, countless years later, the world no longer permits its existence."

"Once it appears, or is used, it will be erased by the world itself!"

"As for the red light, it's the world naturally wearing it away..."

As she spoke, Ya raised a fingertip and drew several strokes across Bai Zhou's forehead.

After a few simple lines, Bai Zhou felt a wave of coolness.

A while later, when the red light seeped out again and began eroding Bai Zhou, an icy current surged forth and canceled out the corrosion.

"I can't do anything about them. I can only protect your body."

"...But this ritual needs to be rebuilt regularly to maintain it."

As she spoke, Ya looked at Bai Zhou, who was still shaken by the close call. Her expression was especially complicated.

At that moment, she suddenly found Bai Zhou somewhat unfamiliar.

Who would have believed that just a minute ago,

this man had produced a piece of legendary Forbidden Knowledge?

Even she had never encountered anything like it before.

—Yet only a few hours ago, Bai Zhou had merely been an utterly ordinary person.

Though she had long felt that Bai Zhou was special.

—She believed in Bai Zhou's uniqueness even more than Bai Zhou himself did.

The very first second she discovered that Bai Zhou could see her, she knew that he possessed some special talent he might not even have realized himself.

But even so, she had never imagined that Bai Zhou would drink her "Handmade Special Magic Potion," go out for a trip—

and then return in the blink of an eye with something this huge!

Beneath the upright, blade-like collar of her trench coat, Ya's chest rose and fell unevenly.

"Bai Zhou, I'm very curious."

"What?"

"I did mention that you should look for Golden Firefly Light... but I never expected what you found to be half of a Forbidden Ancient Script."

Ya looked at Bai Zhou thoughtfully. "—When it was in the mist, did it also look like Golden Firefly Light?"

"Not really." Bai Zhou shook his head.

"When I saw it, it was a spark."

"A spark?"

"Yes, like a fire burning in the air, except it had seven colors, like a rainbow."

Bai Zhou settled the turmoil in his heart and let out a breath.

"Catching it took quite a bit of effort."

But after he finished speaking, Bai Zhou realized that Ya seemed to be staring blankly into space.

"Ya, Ya? Say something."

"What is it?"

"Nothing..."

Ya looked somewhat dazed. She merely shook her head, murmuring "spark" twice under her breath.

"...It just reminded me of an old rumor, one I don't know is true or false."

"What?"

"A long time ago, by chance, I obtained a fragment from an ancient tome. It recorded an ancient story full of mysterious metaphors."

"—It was about an ordinary man who crossed through a mist and found a spark within a shattered Sacred Altar."

Mist, spark.

Both Ya and Bai Zhou had to admit that it was a story highly similar to his own.

So Bai Zhou could not help asking, "And then?"

"At the end of the mist, he saw a Sacred Altar from the Divine Era Shattered. From it, he stole a spark containing boundless wisdom."

Ya said, "No one knew what that spark truly looked like... People only knew that the man was never ordinary again."

"He brought the spark back and enlightened and baptized each of those who followed him."

"From then on, an age of ignorance ended in that western land."

"A new era was opened, and extraordinary people, once rarer than legends, gradually spread like a prairie fire."

"—Until they finally walked upon the earth."

After saying that, Ya's expression remained complicated, but she said no more.

"...You really are special, Bai Zhou."

After a moment of silence, Ya suddenly spoke again with a sigh.

"—More special than I thought."

Ya, who always seemed like an iceberg, looked at Bai Zhou in front of her, dirty-faced and absentmindedly smoothing down the stray hair atop his head. Her gaze beneath the lamplight was somewhat unfocused.

Special mist, a forbidden spark unlike anything she had ever heard of.

At this very moment,

it was just like that moment back then.

...However, there was another part to this "blasphemous" story that she had not told him.

—Later, that "ordinary man" in the story gradually gained many followers, even believers.

Later still,

he was reverently called by devout believers of later generations Immanuel, Son of God, Son of Man, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Bright Morning Star...

—His name was Jesus Christ.

A faint sigh, carrying a probing doubt, slowly emerged from the depths of Ya's throat.

"Jesus..."

How could they... be so alike?