Otto looked at Xin Yu standing outside the orphanage, gazing at the starry sky. It was already one or two in the morning; the children had long fallen fast asleep.
Otto slowly walked over to Xin Yu's side. Like him, he looked up at the rare clear night sky and asked.
"Yeah. My countdown started ticking again. This means my time has started flowing once more. I estimate I'll return to my original world soon... Though I don't know why, the frozen time didn't have much left, but after it started flowing again, it suddenly increased significantly."
"I always feel like my time increases after each transmigration."
Xin Yu didn't know why he was looking up at the starry sky either. If he initially found this sky beautiful and brilliant, after looking for a long time, the fondness faded, leaving only blandness and boredom.
"Mm, that can be considered a good thing. At least you know how to extend your life now... Aren't you going to say goodbye to everyone?"
"No need. I said I hate partings. I hate partings where we might never meet again... Father, I've always been very confused because I don't know what kind of dreams or goals I should have. My past is scattered and fragmented, impossible to piece together."
"I lived each day just getting by. Even with the death countdown chasing me relentlessly, I still felt no urgency... But now, after experiencing the lesson you taught me, I suddenly have a deeper understanding of death."
"It turns out dying doesn't just mean nothing exists anymore, knowing nothing anymore; it also represents a final farewell to everyone, forever."
"I really hate this feeling. So I want to try and see if it's possible to never have partings again."
Never having partings again. That truly sounded like the ignorant and naive dream of a child. How could such a thing exist? Being human means being destined to experience various separations. The most direct separation, life and death, is a mountain no one can cross.
"That... is almost impossible." Otto neither mocked nor dissuaded, merely stating the fact.
"I know. This dream is like the distant stars in the sky; we can see them but can never touch them."
Xin Yu raised his hand, trying to touch the starry sky above, but we all know he would touch nothing.
"But," Otto continued in his usual calm and soothing tone, "when the first human looked up at the starry sky, people developed an endless longing for those distant stars."
"If, long ago, someone claimed they could fly into the sky, almost everyone would have thought them mad. But in this current age, people have already conquered the skies. People have used things invented by their own hands to break free from the shackles of gravity."
"Later, people invented rockets, using those technological creations to escape the bonds of gravity, allowing our souls, yearning for the stars, to truly step into the world of stars for the first time."
"Even though we are still countless distances away from those faraway stars, even though we can still only see and not touch... we have already taken the first step."
"Distant dreams are never worthy of mockery, never worthy of belittlement. Only those who cannot even take the first step will belittle and mock those who hold such dreams..."
"Congratulations, child. You have once again found the direction your life should move forward in. Even if this path is fraught with thorns, even if perhaps no one will walk alongside you..."
"But at least the fog before your eyes has finally dispersed somewhat, revealing the path ahead in your life."
"...Teacher Otto, thank you."
"Teacher, hm... It's been quite a long time since I heard that title. I remember the last person who called me that, hmm, seems to have passed away about 100 years ago... Take this."
Otto took out a rather magnificent golden cross pendant from his pocket.
"This is a Replica Oath of Judah, specially constructed from Soulium. The true Oath of Judah contains a Herrscher Core, possessing the power of Constraint, known as a Divine Key. This replica, lacking a Herrscher Core for energy drive, doesn't possess the extremely strong constraint ability of the original, merely its versatility and functionality."
"Our meeting was a strange twist of fate. Coupled with you calling me 'Teacher,' I ought to give you a parting gift this time."
Otto took Xin Yu's hand and placed the pendant in his palm.
Xin Yu looked at the magnificent golden cross pendant in his hand. He didn't refuse or demur but solemnly hung the pendant around his neck.
"Goodbye, my last student."
"Goodbye, my teacher."
Then, after a flash of extremely blurry images, Xin Yu left that world.
Otto watched as the person he was speaking to just a second ago abruptly disappeared. No surprise showed on his face. He simply maintained his previous posture for a long time, then let out a slow sigh, and continued gazing up at the starry sky.
In the lonely dead of night, only his solitary figure stood there.
Just as he had for the past 500 years.
[345:25:08] Thıs content belongs to 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⚫𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⚫𝔫𝔢𝔱
Xin Yu stood on the balcony of his room, looking at the cross pendant in his hand. Regarding the Taixu Sword Qi cultivation method obtained from his master, Xin Yu felt something was oddly off, as if he had practiced it incorrectly. Anyway, ever since completing the lesson Otto taught him, although his cultivation progress had accelerated rapidly again, he felt it seemed somewhat different from what his master had explained before.
But he didn't quite understand what exactly was different.
"Can't just get by day by day anymore. I need to understand this world better to move forward more effectively. Tomorrow, I'll find some places to walk around and see more. Or maybe become a courier or delivery driver? They say those kinds of jobs let you meet many people. I should grow somewhat then."
Xin Yu put away the pendant. He didn't need instructions; when he circulated his "Taixu Sword Qi" and used his internal energy to refine it, he naturally grasped how to use this Replica Oath of Judah.
Although his teacher never taught him to use it this way, nor said he could, he figured that in his fragmented memories, it was said that those Immortals, Cultivators, and such, often used their spiritual energy, mana, or whatever, to refine magical artifacts and spirit tools for their own use. He reasoned that the master he bowed to was indeed an Immortal Master! So, doing this was definitely feasible and shouldn't be a problem. Sure enough, he succeeded just by trying.
So, although I might be practicing it a bit wrong, overall, it's probably not a big issue!