Book of Life and Death

Deep within the Mausoleum, the pervasive black mist slowly dispersed, revealing Feathered Serpent coiled at its base.

It was enormous, almost occupying an entire island, yet its form appeared ethereal, as if separated by an invisible membrane.

It possessed enormous, dark green scales, with feathers tinged with a Butter growing from the gaps between them. From each feather extended ethereal, thin black tubes.

It even had faintly visible runes; a single glance brought a flood of knowledge and chaotic information from the realm of death. Neph used her Spirituality to cover her head and avert her gaze.

--It wasn't because she was afraid of that, but because this Feathered Serpent clearly had human faces!

That face was identical to Azik's; this was only natural, for it was Azik's missing half of his soul. Neph stared intently at Azik.

The "Death Archon," missing half his soul, had a Distortion face. He raised his hand to cover his head, his knees buckled, and he collapsed to his knees on the steps.

Saying he was kneeling isn't quite accurate, because Azik couldn't maintain the kneeling position well; he was half-paralyzed, his hands, weakened by exhaustion, supporting his head on the ground, while inhuman growls escaped his throat.

Beads of sweat slid down his forehead, landing on the stone slab and staining it with a pale yellow sheen, Accelerated Growth to fine, white downy hairs.

"No..." Azik whispered in Affliction, his head struggling to rise, his hands reaching out uncontrollably, about to lunge at the Feathered Serpent.

His soul yearned for merging, but his will refused.

So... what about the Feathered Serpent?

Neph frowned.

In the darkness, the Feathered Serpent's emotions were difficult to discern, but Neph felt that something was lurking in the Feathered Serpent behind it, as if something was watching everything from within. This feeling reminded her of the description of the "True Creator"—one version of whom is an eye behind a veil of shadow!

Should I do something? No, I should definitely do something, but not now... wait for that piece of jewelry...

Neph's gaze was fixed on Azik, ready to step forward at any moment.

After the "Lord of Storms" failed to appear at George III's coronation Ritual, Neph didn't place her hopes on the "Evernight Goddess" this time when she went to the Mausoleum.

This was partly due to lessons learned from previous experiences, but more importantly, Neph believed she was different from Klein. Her relationship with the Goddess was not only not close enough, but she was also not someone the goddess needed to protect—she had a "True Creator" behind her. Unless she happened to be in a place like the Holy Cathedral as before, it was simply not her turn to be with the "Evernight Goddess."

Neph was fairly certain that only the other party knew they were heading to the Mausoleum; after all, even if the "Evernight Goddess" didn't intend to forcibly seize the "Death God's " Uniqueness, she wouldn't have allowed Azik to leave her sight.

Azik's resistance was futile; his neck involuntarily lifted little by little, revealing a few dark, cold scales. Neph finally couldn't resist stepping forward and gently raising her hand.

Having foreseen his own end, Death God, unwilling to die in this way, split the soul of his offspring in two, sewing an object as a substitute between them.

The other half of the soul, which was taken away, merged with the Uniqueness "Death God" after the Death God's death, thanks to the efforts of the "Artificial Death God Faction," becoming the "Artificial God of Death" we know today.

As an external entity not belonging to the soul itself, Neph could actually separate the item, but the outcome would be almost identical to the current situation, because the item had been bound to Azik's soul for too long and too deeply; the two had almost merged into one, practically equivalent to tearing the soul apart.

And most importantly, Neph didn't think Azik would let her tear his soul apart so easily—this man didn't trust her that much.

However, at this moment, during the close encounter with the "Artificial God of Death," the rift reopened, and Azik lost his ability to resist. Neph thought she could speed up the process a bit, while also adding some insurance.

After all, this was Klein's father, to whom he had no blood relation...

Thinking this, Neph placed her hand on Azik's forehead.

A bump appeared in her hand, then split open, revealing a gold ornament.

>p/<. A large, illusory, and mysterious fan-shaped structure had taken shape, layer upon layer of light, with a bronze-blue color inside. White flames, resembling wings, filled the surrounding area. This was merely a decorative object resembling a long, slender bird.

>p/<. Two white balls of fireworks burst into flame, one after another. The other, with its deep, weathered eyes, raised its head and let out a low, painful roar. It had just appeared.

>p/<. The flames, which had been flickering and slowly stopping, began to solidify. The temperature in the mausoleum plummeted, and the frost spread rapidly. There was no chance for Funa to rise from her body.

>p/<: The mouth opened and it was determined, how could it not be? The Ming and Qing dynasties had seen a significant recovery, seemingly like the restoration of Kezia. The pause was temporary, a light and relaxed process compared to this.

wt. poo is saying in the final chapter that Shin-chan is the most

>p/<"?... you"

>p/<. He pulled out the old artifact from the torn forehead of the object, then pulled it back, pointing it towards his arm. He tightly gripped the golden bird-shaped ornament, holding it in one hand, and then, without giving her a choice, presented her with "Goddess of the Night." He ignored Funa.

>p/<. The image of suffering is hard to bear, seemingly like a twisted and contorted expression of emotion.

>p/<. For the sake of a clear and transparent body and soul, a little bit of spiritual fluid seeped out from each muscle mass, and each drop of blood was contained within him.

>p/<. The ancient and beautiful style is like this, from the limbs to the eyes and eyebrows, it is half golden in color, but it is not harmonious and full, it looks like the soul is not incomplete.

>p/<. The skin was peeled off with a small knife, and the person was being imitated by a Buddha. The skin was split open inch by inch, and the opening was made from the spirit's half-transparent skin. The golden bird ornaments were drawn out.

>p/<. The tormented soul was torn apart, and she could not bear the burden of it all. She looked at Jing'an, but it was only Funa who was truly present. Her voice, like a strange, inhuman sound, echoed in his throat once more.

Its half-two components of the complete spirit of Kezia disappeared in a few seconds.

One half transformed into a golden stream of light, entering the bird-shaped ornament's eye; the other half returned to his body, merging with his flesh and blood.

The two pale flames in Azik's eyes extinguished, the white feathers and black scales that had grown on his body receded, and the Distortion in his expression eased, no longer so ferocious.

His face turned slightly pale and translucent, and his forehead twitched intermittently, clearly enduring Affliction originating from the depths of his Spirit Body.

But his mind finally cleared, and recalling what had just happened, Azik had countless questions. However, he first stood up, preparing to bow and express his gratitude.

In that brief moment, Neph had already turned to look at another Feathered Serpent.

The "Artificial God of Death" remained completely unmoved, seemingly unaffected by the aggregation. Neph recalled a past conjecture, hesitated for less than half a second, then turned and knelt before Azik.

"Master...?" she whispered.

"...?" The Affliction hadn't completely subsided; Azik stared blankly at the scene, unable to think clearly.

The scene fell silent instantly. The "Artificial God of Death" nodded very slowly, then something solidified from the illusory Feathered Serpent and fell to the ground with a soft thud.

The gaze from the darkness vanished in an instant, and the once-solid soul instantly became shaky and on the verge of collapse. Without needing any prompting, the Authority she held told Neph that if she didn't do something, the half of her soul that had lost its support would simply dissipate on the spot!

Once her half-soul was still, Neph had the mind to look at the object lying on the ground. It was a phantom book, seemingly woven from Feathered Serpent, its touch icy cold, causing her to hallucinate in Pure White Space.

However, the coldness had little effect on her; what was truly fatal was a sense of sluggishness. Neph could feel this sluggish influence rushing towards her the moment she touched the illusory book, trying to envelop her, yet being blocked by Divinity.

--If it were a being devoid of Divinity, it would likely be reduced to a skeleton the instant it grasped this thing!

No, you don't need to hold it, you just need to enter a certain area... This pollution is still territorial...

The power of Forgetting enveloped the outermost edge of this area, seeping inward little by little. The two forces eventually reached a fragile balance, confining the area to these steps. Neph breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at Azik.

"I have no Authority over spirits," she said, picking up the Book of Feathered Serpent and standing up. "Your other half of your soul is there. You already know the truth. Whether you take it or leave it is up to you. All I can tell you is... well, the Church of the Earth Mother a way to mend souls."

She paused, then continued:

"Regarding the memory part, my promise remains valid. If you decide to take that part of your soul and find a way to merge with it, I can erase the unfamiliar memories from it."

Azik gazed at his other half, silent, and Neph couldn't help but remind him:

"In my current state, I cannot completely eliminate the external erosion caused by ' Death God's' Uniqueness. If you think for too long, I cannot guarantee your safety."

This warning was only directed at Azik. Neph didn't actually bring Ais with her; this wasn't a well-thought-out decision. After being forced to become a pigeon, whenever she decided to go elsewhere, she would leave Ais in the square of Backlund, letting her compete with other pigeons for pigeon feed and learn how to be a proper pigeon.

Therefore, Ais wasn't brought to the Death God's Mausoleum by Neph, but this was only temporary. Once Ais had fully mastered how to be a good pigeon, Neph would continue to carry her with her.

Azik looked away, his voice weak. "I want to take it with me."

Neph gave an "OK" sign.

Compared to Saint, Angel' greatest advantage is that they do not need to expend Spirituality when exercising their Authority. (Note 1)

This allowed Neph to use her Authority to seal off the Uniqueness "Death God" while erasing the memories from the remaining souls, without worrying about the loss of Spirituality —in fact, Neph seriously doubted whether she would have enough Spirituality to sustain such a depletion.

The Uniqueness is different from separating the instinctive convergence between Azik's two halves of his soul. Moreover, Neph suspects the latter has the support of a "True Creator," while the former not only has nothing but also faces an insurmountable gap in their social standing.

As the "True Creator" warned, Uniqueness is actually very dangerous for ordinary Angel; after all, even "0-08" has killed Angel, so Uniqueness is even more of a concern.

>p/<. The seal is in effect, and the only way to deal with the truth is to punish her later. She can only use the seal temporarily, and it's not safe to go anywhere. Even if Funa can resist the power of the seal, it's still not safe.

>p/<... Before that, but not

>p/<. Thank you for listening to my decision first, Funa, and I will take back my own spiritual essence. (The rest of the text appears to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated gibberish.)

>p/<. The fake is not weak and false, but the golden bird ornament was drawn out, but the other half of his soul was not affected, and the soul that was gathered from the soul was obviously not the way to restore it.

>p/<". Thank you for your help": He bowed firmly, though weary, and took off his hat.

>p/<. Sentence one question, controlled by the difficult-to-control Funa"? Thank you for saying it with your mouth only"

>p/<: The words were straightforward, and there was no sign of confusion or doubt. There was no question raised by Kezia.

"... And, although I don't know what I can do, I would like to express my gratitude to you as the user or to the product provider."

>p/<: He opened his mouth, seemingly apologetic, but paused a few seconds later.

>p/<"... It's possible that I won't be able to maintain a deep sleep for a long time, and it may take some time to recover from a deep sleep, especially when I'm in a very weak and abnormal state."

>p/<. The mouth is smooth, it's just me, actually,", lips covered with hands, Funa, cough"

>p/<. She seemed to recognize him, and looked up at him, her eyes fixed on him. "?..."

"... Enlake told me that he was about to fall into a deep sleep, and asked me to please tell him that he would thank me and wait for me to wake up," he said, bowing his head again. "I don't care what he says."

"I want to take you to the two legal departments to handle this matter. If you don't have any other issues," Funai shook her head. "You don't need to say that."

."

She pointed to the Feathered Serpent book and the bird-shaped gold ornament in her arms. Azik bowed again and left the Mausoleum. Neph frowned, looked down at the Feathered Serpent book in her arms, and muttered to herself:

"When I first saw the name ' The Ashen Ledger,' I felt it was somewhat similar to the Book of Life and Death... and according to the lore, the Book of Life and Death might actually exist and correspond to a certain item..."

But now it seems...

"In terms of actual Authority and its holder, perhaps you are closer to the ' Book of Life and Death '?"

Neph touched the book in her arms and decisively gave it a name.

>p/<. The great shadow of the sound is too big to be reversed, the living spirit leaps and the situation is worrying, the change of the great sky and sea is limited to the actual shadow, the "book of life and death" seal does not count as her, the space is completely isolated from the outside world, even if it is the death tomb of the god, this tomb is not hers to leave.

>p/<--Go out and bring "book of life and death" to dare to be as she is, but

>p/<. The first point is to never again mention the phrase "life and death are not to be taken lightly," and to avoid mentioning the "book of life and death" in terms of words and attitudes.