Someone Else Was Here
Someone Else Was Here
But one thing was beyond doubt; Vivian was not merely a Blood Clan member as she had always assumed. There was a shadow behind her, and the remnant of the goddess of creation's power was caught in this shadow. Nonetheless, there had been no tangible evidence so far.
The mysterious planet of Inferno could be the key to uncover the secrets.
Vivian was optimistic so far. She sometimes even laughed at herself. "It doesn't matter if I'm part of the Blood Clan or not. There are many strange races in the world. And, they all have their place in the universe."
Hao Ren smiled and said, "You sound positive."
Vivian spread out her hand. "Don't forget there's still a husky who once thought that she was a werewolf. But Lily didn't lose her heart when the truth came out. She opened up a new chapter in her life, so I can do better than her."
Hao Ren was speechless and quickly swayed the conversation away. "Speaking of which, the people in Gezel's tribe are the first to associate you with the goddess of creation. Don't you think there's something more than meets the eye?"
Vivian arched her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"The belief in the goddess of creation exists in more than one planet." Hao Ren stared into Vivian's eyes with a serious look on his face. "Holletta also believes in the goddess, but they think the goddess is a messy dark-red mist. The belief in the goddess also existed on the rogue planet, but the goddess recorded in the database appeared to be some sort of chaotic spiritual symbol. Those on planet Zorm also believe in the goddess; they knew who their creator was even before disaster struck the planet, but they had no established image of the goddess in their minds. So think about what all of this means."
Vivian frowned as she suddenly recalled Gezer's reaction when he first "recognized" her. "The people here seem to recognize me by my appearance!"
"Yes, they first recognized you by your appearance, though they also used stuff like the holy blade." Hao Ren nodded. "When you were in Holletta, no devout priest from the Disciples of Glory ever mistook you as the goddess. Even Muru, the guardian giant did not. Only here with the locals. They bowed when they saw your face. Don't you find it strange?"
Vivian stomped on Hao Ren's foot and said, "Damn you. What do you mean 'they bowed when they saw my face'?"
It was only then that she gave the question some thought. "Well, I feel relieved when I think of Muru; he didn't mistake me for his mother. So there's no worry about me being a vessel of the goddess of creation's resurrection. As for the locals here, there's only one explanation. Their ancestors must have seen the 'goddess' personally. And, the goddess was impersonating me..."
As soon as Vivian's voice trailed off, they both involuntarily fell into silence. Finally, Hao Ren said, "That's telling."
Vivian let out a long sigh. "Which part of the discussion for the past half an hour ago wasn't telling?"
At this time, Lily's loud voice suddenly rang from the side, interrupting their conversation. "What are you guys doing here?" Lily asked.
Hao Ren turned his head around and saw Lily standing behind him, appearing spirited. She was holding a large bag of Spicy Sticks in her hand, and there was a stain of oil on the corner of her mouth. Hao Ren could not help but tell her, "This stuff isn't healthy. Please cut down on your consumption."
Lily peered down at the pack of Spicy Sticks in her hand and looked away. "No, it's a necessity."
Hao Ren was at a lost for words.
It was the first time in his life that he heard someone say Spicy Sticks were a necessity.
"Alright, call it whatever you like." Hao Ren waved his hand as if to say, "You're a freaking spoiled child."
"So what's up?" he asked.
"Oh yeah." Lily smacked on her forehead. "I almost forgot what I came here for. Gezer's looking for the both of you. It seems like he's got something to report."
"Report?" Hao Ren and Vivian exchanged a clueless look, wondering what the tribal warrior had up his sleeve. Vivian pulled her face, feeling a little annoyed. "To tell you the truth, I don't want to meet him. Pretending to be a goddess is already hard enough, let alone someone else's goddess. What should I say if he asks about Genesis?"
Hao Ren never thought about this. He could only imagine what Raven 12345 would do if she were in a similar situation. Why don't you f*cking Baidu it yourself? he said in his mind. This reply did not suit Vivian's style so he could only shake his head. "You can tell him that you created the heavens and the earth with the swing of your giant ax. Anyway, they don't seem to know who Pangu is. But I guess Gezer isn't going to ask about Genesis. Judging from the level of enlightenment these indigenous people are at, they haven't come to the point where they'd be concerned with how the universe came into being."
Vivian nodded with a forced smile. It seemed that she did not have much choice other than getting along with the locals to ensure that their future exploration could go on smoothly.
Lily immediately beckoned Gezer to come to them as she held her pack of Spicy Sticks. She then stepped aside and watched.
As expected, when Gezer saw Vivian, he bowed before her on the ground. Unlike the first time, Gezer was fully prepared for the customary greeting this time. Vivian could only accept Gezer's salute reluctantly while she worked hard to tune her mindset back to when she was enshrined in the temple thousands of years ago on Earth. She nodded solemnly and said, "Arise. I was told that you have something to report to me?"
"Yes." Gezer stood up in reverence. "I have heard that you are tracking down some foreigner..."
It turned out that Hessiana, Nangong Sanba, and the others had mentioned Baptiste to several tribal warriors while they were hanging out in the settlement. Perhaps they never expected the tribal people to have information about a missing wizard in that vast space. However, Gezer heard it and came to Vivian. It seemed like he knew something.
"Your people have met the wizard?" Hao Ren looked at Gezer in surprise.
"I don't know what wizard you're talking about." Gezer shook his head. "Our warriors have never seen any stranger while they were out hunting. What I do remember is, a foreigner has been here before, but that was like a few hundred years ago."
"A few hundred years ago?" Hao Ren appeared to have thought of something. "Tell me!"
"The old folks would occasionally talk about her," Gezer said, nodding his head. "It is said that she was a woman who fell from the Pillar of Eternity. She claimed to be a witch, a woman who knew magic; she could fly. She created a piece of paper that used symbols and words to produce power, and she used magic as well as ointment to treat diseases. Four hundred years ago, she fell out of the Pillar of Eternity, which the Fire tribe was guarding at the time. She was badly injured, and the Virgin of Fire used the power of the totem to cure her. The woman said that she came from another world, hence I figured she could be the foreigner you are looking for."
"Four hundred years ago in this world should correspond to about eight hundred years ago on Earth," Hao Ren quickly said to Vivian. "The wizard called Baptiste has been active from about the same time?"
"It should be a little later, but not by much." Vivian nodded. "So we can say that these two incidents are connected."
"What happened to the witch? Is she still alive?" Hao Ren looked at him anxiously, awaiting his reply.
"She died a long time ago," Gezer replied truthfully. "According to the old folks, the Virgin of Fire had extended the life of the witch by seventeen years. Despite that, she had inhaled too much vapor and toxins above the Pillar of Eternity when she fell from above. Therefore, she did not make it very long."
Vivian became very curious. "Where was she buried? Did she leave anything behind?"