I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 645 - 645 644. Uniqueness_1

Chapter 645: 644. Uniqueness_1 Chapter 645: 644. Uniqueness_1 Stone felt the revolver in his holster.

He saw the séance hall on the other side of the corridor.

To Stone’s surprise, he had passed by here before, but had completely failed to notice that there was a hall at the other end of the corridor.

It seemed that changes in cognition were indeed full of unexpected surprises.

Having prepared for the sealing spell, Stone stood at the entrance of the hall and saw the pitch-black coffin inside with its lid pried open, Bronning’s black and white portrait, and the offerings that were left, reduced to nothing but the bones of a chicken.

Uh, the last one seemed a bit off.

He walked into the room where the candles burned constantly, casting a dim yellow light on the howling evening of the storm, and the flickering candlelight seemed as if it would extinguish at any moment, yet the swaying flames revealed Stone’s deep shadow.

“You’ve come.”

A voice sounded from behind Stone.

He turned around sharply, instinctively drawing his revolver in the direction of the sound, and then he saw Bronning.

He looked like a gentleman in his thirties or forties, sitting in a chair, holding a glass of red wine and apparently savoring the aroma enveloping him.

Stone’s pupils dilated slightly. Although he had heard about it from Lu Ban and Shia, he was still surprised to actually see it, after all, Bronning was sitting there, alive and well—far too bizarre.

Stone had met Bronning before, and the one sitting here now was almost identical to the Bronning he remembered, as if he was simply an old friend he hadn’t seen for a while.

“I’ve heard about your matter,” Stone said, turning toward Bronning.

He needed some time for the seal to take effect and was in no hurry to complete the final step.

Even though he agreed with what Lu Ban said, Stone still harbored a sliver of hope that Taoist Crane Cry could really bring back those he had lost. Since the Taoist here claimed to be the real one, then the real should not be inferior to the counterfeit, and he too should possess the skill of resurrection.

“Did you come back to life, or are you merely occupying Bronning’s body? The Bronning I knew before, was it you or him?” Stone asked.

“You know, resurrection is nothing but a false dream; the dead can never come back to life. This Sludge Monster is merely an imitation of the past,” Bronning answered leisurely.

“As for your second question, I’m sorry, but you may never have known Bronning. Ever since he lived here, he has been me. Does that make you feel a little better?”

“You once merged yourself with the Sludge Monster. How did you do it? If, according to you, the Sludge Monster only mimics other people’s personalities, then how can you be sure that it was really you at that time and not just a simulation?” Stone inquired once more.

Hearing his question, Bronning laughed and took a sip from his glass of wine, then replied.

“That’s the crux of the matter. Although this is my compensation, I’m in a good mood, so I’ll give you some hints. In the Foreign Domain, if you want to sublime into the supreme being, you must first ensure your uniqueness.”

“Uniqueness?” Stone didn’t understand.

“Heh, although you have experienced a lot, it looks like you know nothing about the essence of the Foreign Domain. In the Foreign Domain, you are not unique; anyone can replace you unless you leave your own mark.”

Bronning smiled.

“Imprint?”

Stone vaguely thought of something and pressed on.

“You should have heard from your companions about how to achieve sublimation, haven’t you? The essence of sublimation is to turn oneself into a concept. This concept can be anything, but if it is something very common, then you will have to endure a vast amount of pollution, because the more common the concept, the wider the extent of pollution carried. Furthermore, these concepts generally already have their masters, so you need to contend with its original sovereign to obtain a concept of your own—you must leave behind an imprint.”

“These imprints could be legends, miracles, certain clans, or even a civilization. Only by reaching such a level can you attain the rudiments of the concept, and once you have the imprint, you become a unique existence within the Foreign Domain, and you carry pollution with you.”

Bronning spoke earnestly, downing the red wine from his glass in one gulp and then looked at Stone.

“Hence, the imprint I left behind is that of Taoist Crane Cry; within the Foreign Domain, there will only ever be one Taoist Crane Cry. Everything I’ve left behind testifies to my existence. I am me, not to be usurped by any will, much less have my consciousness taken by lowly existences like the Sludge Monster.”

“If you truly wish to attain immortality, then I advise you to leave behind your own imprint as soon as possible. Otherwise, once you endure too much pollution, the imprint will also end up polluted.”

He looked at Stone with a smirk, as if enticing him.

“As for what you desire, if you can accept that it is merely a shell imitating them, accepting a fake from appearance to soul, then there are a thousand ways I can help you realize it. In fact, at our level, such pursuits are hardly worth mentioning.”

Stone moved to sit across from Bronning, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

“But you still failed. You are trapped here, living a meager existence by usurping the bodies of others, and even the corpse of your past self has become your enemy.”

His words caused Bronning to raise an eyebrow slightly.

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

Along with Bronning’s words, the air began to tremble slightly, and the candlelight flickered as if a giant were about to erupt in anger.

Even the storm paused for a moment, and the lightning spread silently between the clouds, like a grand pantomime.

The next moment, Stone snapped his fingers.

At the moment Bronning realized something was happening, he stood up quickly.

The wine glass in his hand shattered immediately, the glass of the whole spirit hall began to hum, and outside the window, a thunderclap sounded, as if it were about to shatter the windows.

Stone saw countless illusions appear before him, which included his past sins, former joys, and images of potential futures.

In these scenes, Stone was sometimes filled with sorrow, sometimes with pleasure, sometimes with regret, and sometimes with pain. A myriad of emotions surged into Stone’s consciousness in a moment, as authentically as if he had truly experienced them.

It was as though Stone had lived through countless parallel worlds in a brief time, experiencing such diverse lives.

But soon, all those worlds, those that streaked across Stone’s vision like shooting stars, condensed into a single beam.

The seals placed around the room suppressed Taoist Crane Cry’s resistance with a louder hum; in that instant, imperceptible and unseen to Stone, it was as if a hand had pressed down on Bronning’s head, freezing him in place with a vacant gaze.

Thump—

Bronning fell to the ground, his skin rapidly showing signs of livor mortis.

A polyhedron of indescribable shape fell in front of the monument, reflecting Bronning’s black and white photograph.

*

Chapter Two Later