Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 556: Chapter 555: Meeting in a Dream

Upon hearing this voice, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but startle, then he instantly reacted.

”Fire Girl? Am I dreaming? No... it seems like I am dreaming...”

”Precisely, Lord of Ash.”

As the voice approached, Fang Zheng saw a figure slowly moving to his side.

”This is your dreamscape...”

”So I really am dreaming? I never expected to dream about you...”

Looking at the Fire Keeper in front of him, Fang Zheng couldn’t help joking. Back in the Black Soul World, he had suffered a great deal, finding respite only when he chatted and joked with the Fire Keeper by the bonfire—a moment that allowed him to relax. The Fire Keeper, on her part, was an excellent listener who would occasionally let out a soft chuckle. It was Fire Girl’s tender and cute demeanor that let Fang Zheng vent much of his frustration. Otherwise, a person who died hundreds or thousands of times in that kind of hellish place would have long since exploded mentally, right?

”However, this is not merely a dream.”

To Fang Zheng’s surprise, the Fire Keeper shook her head.

”This is your heart, as well as your soul...”

”...So, this is not just a dream?”

Hearing this, Fang Zheng was taken aback, then he looked around.

”This is my soul? Why is it as black as gutter oil?”

”I sense your soul is incredibly weak, your power is slipping away... Lord of Ash...”

The Fire Keeper whispered softly, and Fang Zheng nodded in agreement.

”Right, I was ambushed by a bastard. Luckily, I had a battle resurrection tied to me, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to revive this time, since my current body isn’t that of an Undead, you know...”

The Fire Keeper then stood quietly beside Fang Zheng, smiling as she listened to his complaints before speaking again.

”Lord of Ash, do you remember?”

”Hmm? Remember what?”

”Back when we ended the Primordial Fire, I had said... The fire of the beginning is gradually fading away, and I believe that soon, darkness will descend. But one day, within the darkness, there will surely be a little spark of fire—the lingering embers passed on by kings...”

”Uh... you’re not telling me to help you with the fire transmission in my dream, are you?”

Fang Zheng was somewhat averse to this idea, as the outside world was already too much for him to handle. Being put through it again in his dream would be too much to bear.

But before he could say anything more, Fang Zheng felt the Fire Keeper reach out and grasp his hand. At the same time, he could sense a strange power leaving his body—the power he had obtained from slaying the berserk Hunter.

”Of course not, Lord of Ash... This is not the flame of inheritance, but the flame of protection.”

The Fire Keeper murmured softly, then she brought her hands together, and when she opened them again, a small flame appeared in the palm of her hand.

”This is your soul, your heart, your flame...”

As the Fire Keeper spoke, Fang Zheng saw the small flame whoosh onto the ground beside him and quickly begin to burn, turning into a small bonfire that lit up the surroundings. It wasn’t until then that Fang Zheng could clearly see everything around him. The place looked somewhat like the Firelink Altar he once visited in the Black Soul World, but it was much larger and seemed more ornate.

However...

”What the hell is this that looks like Man’s Pus?”

Using the light from the fire, Fang Zheng was surprised to find that the walls and ground were coated with something that resembled dark, rotten sludge, even sealing the doors around them. These substances were wriggling incessantly, as if alive.

”These are the creatures of the Abyss that suddenly appeared inside you, Lord of Ash... It is they who have devoured your flame...”

...Could it be that these damn things are the reason my system shut down when I was offline?

At this thought, Fang Zheng was filled with rage.

”What do we do next? Do we burn this bunch of Man’s Pus to ash?”

”No, Lord of Ash.”

Just as Fang Zheng was itching to join the battle with these creatures that had tainted his own soul, the Fire Keeper blocked his path.

”The flame within your soul is too weak right now, not strong enough to deter and destroy these creatures. You need to obtain more power, turning them into firewood to be thrown into it, so that your flame may grow stronger...”

...So it’s still about passing on the fire.

But this time the fire was his own. Fang Zheng thought for a moment... It seemed that he really had no choice but to pass it on. And this so-called firewood, was it the power he had gained from killing that Hunter before? But it seemed not everyone possessed such power...

”Lord of Ash, please remember...”

At the same time, Fang Zheng felt the Fire Keeper’s soft hands holding his once again.

”I am your Fire Keeper; I will protect your flame until the very last moment... This is the only thing I can do for you now.”

With these words, Fang Zheng felt a searing pain on the back of his hand. Then suddenly, two flashes of light emerged from his body and floated in front of him. When the light dissipated, Fang Zheng saw that the two flashes of light... were his weapons!

The Sky-Cleaving Sword and Vampire!

”Soul of departure, diverse and multifarious. Purified by Primordial Fire, enter into my body. For the darkness within me, spared from the flame. Serve your new master, rest in the ashes, and reshape into a new form...”

As the Fire Keeper chanted, Fang Zheng saw two forces separate from the burning flame, each twining around Vampire and Sky-Cleaving Sword. Meanwhile, the sound of a ’ding’ suddenly reached Fang Zheng’s ears, instantly invigorating his spirit!

Because it was the system notification sound!

Before Fang Zheng could take further action, a radiant stone shot out from his body and floated beside him. It was an oddly shaped Soulstone... half black, half white, with the symbol of a sword in its center. It was the Equipment Soulstone that Fang Zheng had previously drawn!

”Shua!”

Under Fang Zheng’s gaze, the Soulstone turned into two rays of light, one black and one white, each entering into Vampire and Sky-Cleaving Sword. Then followed an explosion of flames, which enveloped both swords.

”Please hold your weapons, Lord of Ash, and envision what they should look like... They will respond to your summons and fight anew for you.”

Hearing the Fire Keeper’s words, Fang Zheng stepped forward. Looking at the weapons wrapped in flames before him, he didn’t hesitate to stretch out both hands and firmly grasp the hilts of the two swords.

”Boom!”

The moment he gripped the hilts, the flames violently burst, and Fang Zheng felt a warm current entering his body through the hilts, dispelling the chill in his soul. The black, mud-like substance seemed to fear the flames and began to retreat backwards.

When the flames cleared, the two swords in Fang Zheng’s hands had completely changed their appearance.

In Fang Zheng’s right hand, the Vampire had become even more gigantic and sharp; the length of its blade was now nearly as long as Fang Zheng himself, with an austere, unadorned black blade and hilt.

In Fang Zheng’s left hand, the Sky-Cleaving Sword had shrunk considerably, transformed from a longsword into a dagger. Unlike the simple Vampire, the Sky-Cleaving Sword now appeared much more ornate. As a dagger, it was engraved with exquisite patterns all over, and the tip of the blade curled like the fangs of a wolf.

At the same time, in Fang Zheng’s eyes, the names of the two swords had changed.

[Noble Phantasm Information Update]

[Noble Phantasm: Vampire → Sword of Piercing Truth]

[Rank: S]

[Effect: Can inflict damage upon contact with enemies (Absolute Destiny), summon Lightning of Death (Special Skill)]

[Noble Phantasm: Sky-Cleaving Sword → Demon-Slaying Sword]

[Rank: S]

[Effect: Can devour all curses (Absolute Destiny), blade that breaks all defenses (Special Skill)]

”May you attain victory, Lord of Ash.”

The Fire Keeper’s voice rang out by his ear again, but this time, there was a hint of joy in her voice.

”I will always be here, protecting your flame...”

This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.