As the Six-faced Elephant Deer uttered its sorrowful last words and fell down motionless, the vast world of death seemed to receive some signal, plunging entirely into an extremely eerie "stillness."
The gray mist outside the Gate of the Deceased stopped drifting, the crows rising from the Nest of Crows of Death were frozen in mid-air, the constantly churning River of Yellow Springs ceased flowing completely, and on the No Return Path winding toward the deepest part of the Dead Realm, countless deceased also froze in place.
In Leon's perception, death, which was infinitely more stubborn than time and never stopped for anyone, suddenly halted for an extremely brief moment, then graciously lowered its massive body and cast a scrutinizing gaze upon him.
Is this what it feels like to be chosen by the authority of death...
Unconsciously raising his head to the sky, after a "glance" with the majestic figure that didn't actually exist, Leon vaguely felt an incomparably wonderful illusion.
At this moment, his soul seemed to fall to the bottom of the Dead Realm, becoming the eye of a gigantic funnel, and the already frozen Dead Realm was beginning to "collapse" entirely towards him under some kind of will.
"Sizzle..."
Accompanied by a familiar, piercing noise, the [Materialism], which had been quietly lying in the emblem panel and firmly occupying the first slot, suddenly radiated an incomparably dazzling crimson light.
[The current Contamination Value has exceeded 60 points, granting the ability to come into contact with and initially grasp rules, the hidden trait of the iridescent emblem "Materialist Soul" is activated]
[Materialist Soul (Crimson): As a staunch materialist, you firmly believe that matter is the fundamental basis of objective existence, and phenomena of spirit and consciousness are all products of matter. Things that cannot be understood are due to an inaccurate and shallow understanding of the world itself...]
[Wearing Effect: ...]
[Advancement Path: Reached highest level, cannot advance further]
[Hidden Trait: Whenever your understanding of a core rule of the world reaches a certain level, you will acquire the ability to modify it to a corresponding degree.
Current Parsing Progress (listed by understanding level): Present World (15%), Realm of the Dead (12%), Dream World (9%), Abyss (1.5%)... Star Realm (0.1%), Old Soil (0.1%)]
"Sizzle..."
[You have passively accepted an injection from the authority of death, enhancing your understanding of the Realm of the Dead...]
[You are gradually understanding death...]
"Sizzle..."
[Due to a lack of understanding of death by the living, parsing progress is paused, current parsing progress of the Realm of the Dead is 49.9%]
[The authority of death continues to lean towards you]
[Your "living" portion derived from the present world is being covered by the authority of death. Once the coverage is complete, fully transforming you into deceased... an anomaly occurs, the authority of death is diverting, and the coverage speed is continuously decreasing]
"?!"
Upon hearing the prompt that the coverage stoped, Leon, who was closing his eyes and raising his head to receive the "baptism," ready to temporarily take over this mess of a Dead Realm, was momentarily stunned, then as if thinking of something, instinctively turned back sharply.
In Leon's astonished gaze, a figure very familiar to him was at this moment standing next to the Gate of the Deceased, actively taking on that majestic "gaze."
"Wait!!!"
Feeling the authority of death tilting towards Emma, Leon couldn't help but feel a sharp pang of anxiety, wanting to interrupt her behavior of stepping into death voluntarily to prevent her from being left in the Dead Realm.
However, without an Overlord of the Dead Realm, the realm had already entered a complete suspension state, almost a giant amber before the appearance of a new overlord. As a mosquito frozen inside, even moving became a luxury for Leon.
And what was even more deadly was that although Leon had swallowed almost all the Overlords of the Dead Realm, as a living being who hadn't truly experienced death, his understanding of the power of death really wasn't profound.
But Emma, not only possessing the bloodline that blurs the lines of life and death, was also a once-returned deceased from the No Return Path. Having successfully comprehended the power of death while "alive," she was much closer to death than Leon ever was.
If she hadn't stepped forward, Leon, who had swallowed the most "death," would smoothly take over the authority of death by sheer "quantity" attraction. But now that she had stepped out, death would naturally start to instinctively tilt toward a true deceased.
Damn it! Had I known, I would have sent her back first!
Realizing that he probably couldn't compete with Emma, Leon's face turned pale, and a heavy sense of regret welled up in his heart.
Despite mocking the Six-faced Elephant Deer just now, pretending not to care and declaring he wouldn't mind a shot to himself, it didn't mean he could casually take that shot.
Not to mention, "killing" a deceased requires using the same level of "ammunition" and can't be resurrected at will. Just looking at the chaotic state of the Dead Realm right now, the one who takes over the authority of death will be firmly anchored in the realm.
All the Overlords of the Dead Realm had been dealt with by him, and who knows when the next existence capable of understanding death might emerge, yet the Dead Realm must have someone overseeing the authority of death to avoid ending up in its current complete suspension.
This means that even with means to return to the present world, the first shot might take a very long time before it could be fired. With poor luck, waiting hundreds or even thousands of years wouldn't be impossible.
If he took on this role, he might still find a way to make an early return to the present world through the emblems obtained in the future, but if Emma took over from him, who knows how long she'd have to wait here.
"Emma!"
Furious, he glared at the old loaf who was shrinking back his neck, knowing that this must be his instigation, Leon's face turned fierce as he gritted his teeth and shouted remotely:
"Don't listen to that old fool's nonsense! I have a way to return to the present world early, you don't need to replace me! Stop!"
Hearing Leon's cry, Emma's figure at a distance slightly wavered, then stopped her "stare" with death itself and looked down gently towards his side.
Receiving that still gentle gaze, Leon immediately understood her meaning, that Emma was telling him that taking over the authority of death and presiding over the Dead Realm on his behalf was a willing choice of hers, he shouldn't feel guilty, nor should he obstruct.
And for Emma, who seemed gentle and elegant on the outside but was extremely tenacious within, once she truly made a choice, no matter how much he might persuade, it would probably be of no use.
Damn it! That damned old third-generation head!
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