Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 2402: Chapter 2397: The Prophet Is Dead (8)

Strange bones.

The darkness was of no consequence to Fu Qian; apart from sensing the slick touch, Catherine slowly extracted herself and stood somewhat steadily beside him. In his view, only ’exposed in intricate detail’ could describe her.

As a flesh and blood expert, it was natural for him to judge easily. Due to being rushed, Catherine’s process of transformation was far from complete.

Aside from her upper body’s partial transformation, the rest was merely a layer of human skin holding together a jumble of things.

Even under scrutiny, as she gritted her teeth and quickly adjusted, she resembled an inflatable doll without a skeletal frame.

The only reason she could stand there was primarily thanks to her one strong hand for support.

But never mind, there’s a term ’soft as if boneless,’ after all.

For Fu Qian, who always had a strong sense of inclusivity, he didn’t find this form too distorted, and after a couple of glances, he withdrew his gaze.

”What do you hope I will do, my lord?”

Women are always sensitive to gazes, especially given her professional experience.

Of course, she realized the moment he scrutinized her, and after the ’Grand Fate Ming Emperor’ finished his assessment, Catherine’s emotions were somewhat complex. After hesitating a moment, she asked.

Normally, she should feel more relaxed, but precisely because of her sensitivity to scrutiny, it was easier to sense the peculiarity in it.

Although she couldn’t see the face and expression beneath the mask, she could feel a nonhuman kind of appreciation.

It’s even more awkward than some lustful scrutiny.

Under intense unease, Catherine’s intellect clearly recovered quickly, realizing it was best to quickly find her value.

”No rush, focus on healing your body first.”

However, Fu Qian expressed graciousness, casually signaling her to focus on recovery and not to remain in a strange form.

...

No room for bargaining, nor even the privilege of being physically strong but disabled.

Catherine quickly realized this, parted her lips but did not insist, and the next moment truly closed her eyes, focusing on her task.

Fu Qian also adhered to his words, the entire process remained undisturbed, casually inspecting the surroundings, immersed in a sense of nostalgia.

Even the tables and chairs retained their former style, as if his last visit was just yesterday.

Scenes of long talks with the old man seemed vivid, yet the new era had arrived.

To Fu Qian, the Lord’s reaction wasn’t truly abstract.

A world with and without a Prophet indeed possesses fundamental differences.

Evoking an enormous psychological contrast is enough to leave one briefly puzzled, even committing some abstract actions.

But is that all it is?

As mentioned before, if it’s just a beautiful new world, why is the warehouse sending oneself here?

Hoping old friends will strive a bit more and help quickly find the answer to this question.

”My lord...I feel much better now.”

Amidst his contemplation, Catherine’s voice appropriately sounded.

Strictly speaking, this process wasn’t long, pressured clearly, she didn’t dare slack.

Fu Qian turned his head, once again observing Catherine across.

No bragging, in a blink she was standing steadily there, with two hands, two feet, and one head, neither adding nor subtracting anything extra.

As if professional habits had been recalled, even though the seat beside her was vacant, Catherine still stood erect and dared not sit down—

Of course this wasn’t a professional habit, merely a survival instinct, and her statement now was of the same nature.

Facing the erratic Grand Fate Ming Emperor, Catherine no longer questioned what he hoped she would do, only stating her situation for review, completely surrendering the initiative.

”I can see that, first tell me about your own situation.”

Fu Qian unceremoniously confirmed some information casually.

”How long has it been from death to rebirth?”

...

How long...

Fu Qian’s question seemed a bit too formal, Catherine paused before starting to ponder.

”Two or three months? I’m not particularly sure. For a long time, my consciousness was in a state of chaos.”

Without much delay, she tentatively offered an answer, though not very confidently.

”Understood, do you remember how you died?”

Fu Qian didn’t mind, directly continuing his inquiry.

”I remember—but also...”

This time Catherine’s hesitation was shorter, though she stumbled right after speaking.

”It was here, some conflict happened, and then... almost instantaneously I seemed destroyed, and even the specifics and the person who acted, I have no impression...”

With more painful contemplation, Catherine eventually shook her head, abandoning the effort.

Of course you have no impression because Elder Ballard made the ultimate sacrifice.

Fu Qian wasn’t displeased by this, only inwardly sighed.

It appeared he guessed correctly; in real history, Catherine hadn’t waited for him to arrive before being directly taken down by Ballard.

And considering how the latter died under his Visceral Critical Strike, even Akasha and the others forgot their existence; it’s completely normal for Catherine to not remember who it was.

”My lord... may I change clothes?”

Watching Fu Qian silently contemplating without exploding into intense emotions, Catherine seemed to finally relax a bit.

Briefly hesitating, she still didn’t sit down but instead tentatively expressed her desire to put on some clothes.

”Of course you can.”

Knowing Catherine’s reason for hesitation was worrying he might think she was feigning cooperation but actually planning to escape or perform malicious actions, Fu Qian casually assured her not to worry.

If she were standing there as the Clown, there might be such possibilities, but Catherine’s survival instincts were obviously strong, and her cooperative stance very sincere.

Aside from the matter about Ballard aligning, Fu Qian even found a calendar-like item in the hall while she was quietly practicing.

The two to three months Catherine mentioned was actually closer to external time.

Evidence shows it’s been nearly four months since his last visit here.

The difference isn’t much, considering unclear consciousness and not necessarily rebirthing immediately, Catherine’s answer is quite reasonable.

In other words, her attitude during communication was honest.

Ah—

Unfortunately, just as Catherine got permission and could breathe a sigh of relief, she let out a scream.

As if encountering something horrific, at that moment even her newly stabilized form was under pressure, her lips torn, leaking threads of black fluid.

Unfortunately, further transformation didn’t occur; the latter along with her entire body had already solidified there.