nucmednet Chapter 142 Your Name
Chapter 142 Your Name
On the mountaintop, the lantern that was originally just a small flame now glows with will-o'-the-wisps.
The pale light stretched the shadow of the Shadow Apostle across the snow into a monster ready to devour its prey.
The atmosphere plummeted to freezing point.
However, Chen You felt none of the tension that a player should have.
"No, I just accidentally skipped a scene, why are you getting so worked up?" he muttered to himself.
Chen You's mind raced.
Fight them? The opponent's strength is unknown, and judging from their stance, they are clearly a key character in the story. Killing them might break the questline.
The key point is that it's a friendly unit, so we can't attack it even if we want to!
Got it!
He instantly put on what he thought was a friendly smile, trying to use the social rules of modern society to defuse this inexplicable conflict.
"Big brother, don't get agitated, don't get agitated."
As Chen You spoke, he waved his hand to indicate that he meant no harm.
"Look at this late at night, freezing cold. Standing here in the cold wind won't solve anything, right?"
The chill emanating from the Shadow Apostle did not diminish in the slightest, and the shadow beneath the hood seemed even deeper.
Chen You seemed completely oblivious to the other party's anger and continued his "ice-breaking" operation on his own.
He skillfully opened the system inventory and began rummaging through it.
"How about... we light a fire, grab something to eat, and chat while we eat?"
He rummaged through a pile of pills and talismans and found a piece of relatively fresh hind leg meat that he didn't know where it came from.
Chen You weighed the decent-looking piece of raw meat in his hand and offered his sincere advice.
"Have you ever tried barbecue? Sprinkle some cumin and chili powder on it, and it's incredibly delicious!"
"What problem can't be solved with a barbecue?"
After saying that, he was stumped again and looked around.
This barren mountaintop has not a single blade of grass, let alone firewood.
The air was deathly silent.
The howling wind seemed to pause for a moment because of this outrageous suggestion.
The Shadow Apostle's body, hidden beneath its hood, seemed to stiffen.
After a long while, a sigh that seemed to come from the deepest hell resounded.
There was even a hint of... pity in that hoarse voice?
"Mortal flesh and blood... cannot awaken the sleeping gods."
Ok?
Chen You was taken aback.
These lines... why do they sound like they're back on the plot again?
Is it really that silky smooth?
Before he could react!
With a soft "whoosh," the Shadow Apostle produced a gleaming sacrificial dagger from who-knows-where.
Then, to Chen You's astonishment, he raised his left hand without hesitation and gripped the dagger.
He slashed his right wrist sharply!
puff!
No blood gushed out.
Instead, a thick, black liquid, as sticky as ink, gushed out from his severed wrist!
"Holy crap!"
Startled by this sudden action, Chen You took a step back, his eyes twitching wildly.
Dude, was this all so sudden?
You're really pushing yourself too hard!
Is this task really that difficult?
"Clang!"
The lantern, burning with a ghastly white flame, fell to the ground in the snow.
The black liquid splashed onto it, but instead of extinguishing the flames, it made the ghost fire burn even more fiercely with a "boom"!
The eerie flames ignited the black ink sprayed on the snow, causing the snowflakes to melt and evaporate rapidly.
A huge and complex black magic circle slowly emerged from the ground.
The lines of the formation were made of burning ink, filled with an ominous and blasphemous aura, like a crack leading to an abyss.
At the very center of that enormous magic array was a groove that was exactly the same shape and size as the [Shadow Contract Emblem] in Chen You's hand!
Right.
Everything matches up!
So this is the correct way to do it!
Chen You looked at the Shadow Apostle who was clutching his severed wrist and swaying precariously.
The other person didn't say another word, just stood there quietly, as if waiting for something.
Chen You tentatively took out the cold emblem from his backpack and pointed with his eyes to the groove in the center of the platform.
The Shadow Apostle slowly raised its severed wrist, which was still dripping with black liquid, and waved it in Chen You's direction.
That was as if to say: Are you asking me, a disabled person, to pass through?
Got it!
Tonight, we're both just tools!
Chen You mentally complained, but didn't care about anything else. He quickly ran to the center of the magic circle and squatted down.
With a careful "click," the Shadow Pact Insignia was perfectly embedded into the groove.
He stood up and waited.
one second.
two seconds.
Five seconds.
...There was no sound at all.
The magic circle was still burning, but there was no further change.
"What's going on?" Chen You asked, puzzled, and instinctively turned around.
A face hidden in a deep hood was almost pressed against his back!
Holy crap!
Chen You was so frightened that his soul almost flew out of his body, and he suddenly jumped several meters away.
He turned around and looked at the Shadow Apostle who had silently appeared behind him, his face still showing signs of shock.
"Brother, you can scare someone to death!"
However, the Shadow Apostle completely ignored his complaints.
He simply knelt down slowly and devoutly before the emblem, prostrating himself as if worshipping the supreme deity.
The hoarse voice rang out again, carrying a sense of sacrificial resolve.
"It seems... the offerings are still not enough."
Having said that, he slowly raised his head, the shadow of his hood pointing directly at Chen You.
"Adventurer... remember my words..."
"Remember my name."
"I don't want to be forgotten by this world."
The moment he finished speaking, he stretched out his bloodied and mangled severed wrist.
With unwavering resolve, he pressed it heavily onto the cold [Shadow Contract Insignia]!
"ah--!"
A piercing scream, unlike any human voice, suddenly echoed throughout the entire mountaintop!
The moment the emblem touched the wound of the Guardian Corpse, it suddenly burst forth with a blinding crimson light!
The burning black magic circle seemed to be infused with a soul, and instantly boiled over!
The Shadow Apostle's entire body, starting from the severed wrist he pressed against the emblem, was engulfed in a raging, pale white ghost fire!
His flesh, his bones, everything about him, melted away rapidly in the flames.
It transformed into the purest energy, surging wildly into the magic circle beneath their feet!
Chen You stared blankly at the shocking and terrifying scene before him.
Your name?
Brother, the wind is too strong, could you say it again?
His mind was in a mess, and he didn't know how to handle the situation.
Just as the Shadow Apostle's figure was about to be completely engulfed by the flames, the entire snow mountain...
No, the whole world seemed to tremble violently!
An indescribable, terrifying pressure from the ancient past descended from the center of the magic array!
That is an absolute will that transcends all living beings and regards all things as straw dogs!
Immediately afterwards, a grand, cold voice, seemingly capable of freezing the soul, resounded throughout the heavens and earth, and also echoed deep within Chen You's mind.
"Who...is calling for me?"
As the sound was heard, the enormous magic circle burning with black flames suddenly shone brightly!
A thick, ink-like shadow shot into the sky from the groove in the center of the magic circle where the emblem was embedded!
What began as a mere black line instantly expanded into a colossal, sky-covering silhouette atop the Snow Mountain.
It was a phantom that could not be described in any specific form.
It is a kilometer tall, seemingly composed of the purest darkness and nothingness, with blurred outlines and a slightly distorted space.
It had no facial features, but in the place where the head should have been, Chen You could clearly feel a pair of indifferent eyes looking down at him.
The stars in the sky lost their luster the moment they appeared.
The entire world seemed to consist only of this lonely snow-capped mountain and the shadowy deity atop it, representing ultimate terror.
"Your name..."
"I...remember you..."
The deity's "gaze" fell upon Chen You, and the voice no longer resounded throughout the heavens and earth, but echoed directly in his mind.
Chen You's heart clenched suddenly.
What is that? Have we seen it before?
Just as he was about to say something, a blinding golden light suddenly flashed before his eyes!
The next second, not only Chen You, but all the players in the entire Origin Realm simultaneously heard a solemn and chilling bell ringing in their ears!
A golden scroll, covering everyone's vision, slowly unfurled between heaven and earth!
[World Announcement]
The forbidden existence has been awakened! Ancient gods are about to return to the world!
The countdown to the arrival of the world's boss, the Shadow King, has begun!
[Location of Arrival: Summit of the Snow-Covered Sacred Mountain]
[Countdown: 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds]