Ferryman

Lumian nodded, his right hand hanging down naturally, resting on the "Traveler’s Bag".

He then walked to the dilapidated, gloomy little boat and saw the highly decomposed Ferryman step aside to make way for him, as if gesturing for him to hurry up and get on the boat.

"Could you take me across the River of the Underworld?" Lumian asked "politely" in Dutanian.

He felt that since the former "Death God" was from the Southern Continent, speaking the Dutanian in the Underworld would be more easily accepted by "all parties".

After all, in an environment where the aura of death is so thick that it is almost tangible, and a living person cannot even endure it for a second, using Ancient Hermetic or other Mysticism languages that can manipulate the forces of nature could produce unexpected results. For example, the Vocabulary "River of the Underworld" might create a close connection between Lumian and the dark, illusory river before him, causing it to stir up huge waves and sweep him directly into it.

The "Ferryman," whose eyes were Cavern and filled with large blood vessels and yellow pus, stared blankly at the river so wide that the opposite bank was invisible, and remained motionless.

He seemed to be answering Lumian with his actions:

Why would you want to communicate with a Corpse?

I can't hear what you're saying, and I can't make a sound.

"It seems ordinary language won't work... I've heard that the ' Death God ' Pathway has a ' Language of the Dead,' but unfortunately I don't know it..." Lumian muttered silently, letting his Eyes turn silvery-black as he slowly walked onto the dilapidated, gloomy little boat.

In his "Eye of Calamity," the "Ferryman's " Destiny was utterly black, lifeless and empty, with nothing to Change.

"This means that no matter how much the ' Ferryman ' struggles, it cannot change its Corpse state; the only outcome is that it will completely perish with the passage of time, disappearing without a trace."

"But this doesn't mean that the ' Ferryman ' couldn't do anything during the time before its demise. Its actions could still affect the Destiny of others, including me and other Undead. From this perspective, the ' Ferryman,' or rather the Undead that was awakened and associated with the 'Book,' should still have Destiny, only its ending cannot be changed..."

"They do have Destiny, but I'm not high enough rank to see them yet? Hmm, that's possible, after all, objects can have Destiny, but I can't see them right now..."

"It's also possible that the deceased's Destiny needs to interact with others in order to be reflected in the Destiny of others..."

Perhaps because he himself had temporarily become Undead, Lumian couldn't help but ponder the Destiny of these "residents" of the Underworld.

With his current knowledge of Mysticism, he could not give an accurate definition of Destiny, nor did he know how much that Mercury-Colored River of Destiny contained, or whether there were Dark Side or Concealment aspects that he could not yet see.

He felt it should exist, based on a few very simple questions:

Does it mean that once I put on the Golden Mask of the Aegis Family and become Undead, the River of Fate that previously existed corresponding to me will disappear, leaving only pure blackness and nothingness?

When I take off my mask, will the River of Destiny instantly return to its original course?

What is this River of Destiny? A plaything we can arbitrarily manipulate?

Although the Golden Mask of the Aegis Family was made by the Death God, it does not possess Beyonder Characteristic. It merely indicates a higher status, but it is not something that can easily manipulate the River of Destiny!

"Later, if I have the chance, I'll find Beyonder has passed through the ' Monster ' Pathway to observe my Destiny and see the Change before and after I put on the Golden Mask..."

"Uh... never mind, unless I find Half-God- level ' Monster ' Pathway Beyonder, I'll only harm them. When I only had the seal of Mr. The Fool, the False Angel-Level, and the Residual Aura of the ' Blood Emperor,' the ' Machine ' Kolobo of the Port Pylos Patrol Team was already afraid to look at me, believing that I would bring him great danger. Now I also have the seal of the ' Underworld Daoist ' and the Ombella's Bloodline..."

Lumian stood in the middle of the wrecked boat, turning his eyes, hidden beneath the Golden Mask, into an iron-black color.

He wanted to observe the Ferryman's weaknesses in advance and make adequate preparations for any possible accidents.

At this moment, the highly decomposed "Ferryman" started rowing, slowly steering the gloomy little boat toward the other side of the illusory, dark river.

Its entire body was a somber black, and Lumian searched for a long time but couldn't find Pale White that represented its weakness.

Of course, this blackness also signifies that the "Ferryman" is completely subdued by Sunlight and Lightning.

The next second, Lumian heard the voice of "Knight of Swords" Maric in his ear:

Its weakness may not lie here.

Not here? What do you mean, not here? Can a weakness be separated from the person? Just as strong doubts welled up in Lumian's mind, she remembered a few stories her Older Sister had told her.

In those stories, there is a Monster called Lich that makes Phylactery and hides them in a well-protected Concealment place. As long as the Phylactery is not discovered and destroyed, the Lich will not truly die, which is equivalent to the fatal weakness being separated from the lich.

And among the twenty-two Divine Pathway, it is not too surprising that something similar has happened.

The Knight of Swords continued, "Were you trying to observe its Destiny before?"

"It's a dangerous act, given its high status."

Not low-ranking? Lumian glanced at the "Ferryman" covered in tattered clothes and with highly rotten flesh, and couldn't see anything special about him.

However, since they can cross the River of the Underworld, which represents death, without sinking, it must mean that they are extremely special.

Lumian withdrew his gaze, closely observing the "Ferryman's" every move, patiently waiting for the gloomy little boat to cross the River of the Underworld and reach the other side.

The dilapidated little boat rocked slowly, seemingly on the verge of falling apart, and it took an unknown amount of time to reach the middle of the River of the Underworld.

Suddenly, the highly decomposed "Ferryman" lifted his long oar and turned his body toward Lumian.

As the gloomy little boat came to a stop, the "Ferryman's" mouth suddenly opened wide, splitting open towards his rotting chest, towards his gouged-out navel, and towards his groin.

The Ferryman's body was like a garment with all its buttons undone, stretching out to both sides. His chest and abdomen contained no blackened internal organs or his own bones, but rather a pile of half-melted, half-rotten severed hands and feet.

Lumian once again felt a fear that made him tremble both physically and mentally, and dared not even entertain the thought of resistance.

Having anticipated this, he clenched his right hand tightly with difficulty.

He grasped the "Sword of Courage" from the "Traveler's Bag," gripping the hilt of this Iron-Black Straight Sword.

Courage quickly filled Lumian's entire body, giving him a maniacal grin.

What's there to be afraid of in a Ferryman?

Even if Death God stood before me, I would still strike it down with my sword!

Lumian drew his Straight Sword, which Burning with Blazing White and blue Flames, and slashed fiercely at the "Ferryman" who was spreading his membrane and lunging at him.

With a soft "plop," the "Sword of Courage" cleaved through the half-melted limbs inside the "Ferryman's " stomach and struck the rotting, riddled-with-holes skin behind his chest cavity.

But the Straight Sword failed to cut through the seemingly fragile, rotting skin.

Just as Lumian was about to unleash his second sword strike, accompanied by a massive explosion, the "Ferryman" abruptly pulled back, slowly closing his opened chest and abdominal cavities.

At the same time, Lumian heard the voice of the "Knight of Swords":

"Stop.

"We have it under control."

"Then we can take this opportunity to kill it!" Lumian replied without hesitation.

He communicated with the "Knight of Swords" in Intis language.

The Knight of Swords paused for a second before saying, "I know you're not afraid of it and you can kill it, but if it dies, we won't be able to cross the River of the Underworld."

Seeing that Lumian a bit, the "Knight of Swords" added, "Besides, you won't gain Beyonder Characteristic from killing it. It's just the skin of a true ' Ferryman.' It seems to be constantly eating other Corpse, as if it wants to regain its body but has never succeeded."

Lumian accepted the "Knight of Swords" interpretation.

Courage doesn't mean being deaf to others' opinions; it simply means selectively ignoring warnings of danger.

He then placed the "Sword of Courage" back into the pile of ordinary Straight Sword in the "Traveler's Bag".

This time, he felt no lingering fear, because this was precisely the purpose he wanted to achieve by using the "Sword of Courage." His only fear was:

"The skin of a Half-God has been peeled off?"

What Mutation occurred in the Underworld back then?

Lumian watched as the "Ferryman" slowly and laboriously kneaded the torn skin and rotting flesh of his chest back together, as if he were buttoning a shirt.

Immediately afterwards, the "Ferryman" plunged his long, blackened, and decaying oar into the illusory, dark River of the Underworld, moving at an even slower pace as if he were resisting something.

That One Half-God of the Temperance Faction possessed the "Ferryman," forcibly controlling him and forcing him to continue rowing? It seems this control has met with strong resistance... Lumian is always ready to draw the "Sword of Courage" again to deal with any possible unexpected events.

As the gloomy little boat rocked and swayed towards the opposite bank of the River of the Underworld, Lumian, having nothing better to do, asked the "Knight of Swords":

"I previously saw that the entire Underworld was arranged in layers that spiraled downwards. Crossing the River of the Underworld should only mean reaching the other side of this world. Why did you just say it was equivalent to entering the Depths the Underworld?"

The Knight of Swords simply replied, "The geography of the Underworld cannot be entirely compared to the real world."

According to numerous notes from the Aegis Family, there are two ways to enter the Depths the Underworld: one is to descend layer by layer along the River of the Underworld, the world used to punish Sinners, until finally reaching the realm inhabited by the 'favored Attendant ' of Death God; the other is to cross the River of the Underworld and enter directly.

"I see..." Lumian asked thoughtfully, "So, our destination is the kingdom that was once inhabited by the ' Death God's' Attendant?"

The Knight of Swords paused for a second before saying, "' Death God's' Palace should be there too."

The Palace of That One former "Death God"? Lumian's eyelids twitched at the thought.

As he and the "Knight of Swords" sometimes fell silent and sometimes communicated, the boundary on the other side of the River of the Underworld finally became apparent.