"John, are we leaving now?"
Returning to Ad Vige after such a long time, the rare, tranquil, and peaceful atmosphere made Exiled Immortal and the others reluctant to leave.
In Calia, they spent most of their time fighting, always thinking about how to get stronger, how to be the first to clear thetest dungeon, and how to advance the main storyline.
But here, all their anxiety suddenly disappeared.
They no longer had to worry about theirbat power and could enjoy the moment.
These were things they could never experience in Calia.
"Leaving is necessary, but before we go, I want to prepare some gifts for the vige chief."
Since he had given arge amount of materials to the cksmith Ferris, naturally, he couldn''t forget Grandpa Chief. It had to be fair.
"How about this: give me half an hour to brew some potions for Grandpa Chief, just in case. After all, once we leave, we can''t ensure his safety."
Hearing this, Lily''s eyes lit up. "That''s a great idea! Although Grandpa Chief can''t use our equipment, he can still use consumables like these."
It was understandable since, among the four of them, Lily had received the most care from Grandpa Chief.
Those early simple quests were all assigned to her by the chief, who also introduced her to John.
She had always wanted to repay him but hadn''t found the opportunity.
Now that John was willing to brew some potions for Grandpa Chief, Lily was naturally overjoyed.
"Johnny, do you need us to prepare anything for you? Materials?"
"No need, I have all the materials I need. I''ll head back to my house first and find you in half an hour."
John smiled and waved, bidding farewell to Lily and the others before returning to his small wooden house.
In the safety of his hideout, John didn''t have to worry about being disturbed or ambushed while practicing alchemy.
Besides, he also wanted to store away some materials he didn''t need at the moment.
Meanwhile, at Vige Chief Haren''s house, Lily nced at the time, growing a bit anxious.
"Johnny said it would only take half an hour, but it''s been forty minutes now. Do you think something happened to him?"
"It shouldn''t be. John went back to his own ce, right? No one can get in without his permission. He''s probably just having some trouble with the crafting. Let''s wait a bit longer."
Helena''s rationality led her tofort Lily, though she too felt a twinge of unease.
She knew John had a strong sense of time.
If he said thirty minutes, it was because he had ounted for unexpected dys.
"Should we... go check on him?"
Exiled Immortal rubbed his palms on his thighs, feeling the same unease.
"I know where Johnny''s house is. I''ll go check on him. Maybe I''ll meet him on the way."
Lily volunteered, and after a moment of thought, Helena didn''t object.
"If anything seems off,e back and inform us immediately."
"Don''t worry, Sister Helena."
Lily nodded slightly, then hurriedly left Vige Chief Haren''s house and jogged towards John''s ce.
When Lily arrived, she found the door tightly closed.
She knocked gently, calling out, "Johnny, are you in there? You''ve been gone a while, and everyone''s a bit worried. Are you okay?"
"..."
There was no response from inside.
Lily, unwilling to give up, asked a few more times, but still received no answer.
"Johnny! Can Ie in? Why aren''t you responding?"
Lily''s voice grew increasingly anxious, but John, inside the room, remained oblivious.
"Where am I?"
Gazing at the endless expanse of chaos around him, John furrowed his brow, puzzled.
"Where am I?"
He only remembered that after failing to craft the magical item, he wanted to rest for a bit and then rejoin Lily and the others. Suddenly, he found himself here.
In this empty world, the only thing visible was a faint, star-like light flickering in the distance, seemingly guiding John forward.
The only certainty was that this ce didn''t seem dangerous.
After all, inside his small wooden house, it was unlikely anyone could ambush him.
"This means it must be connected to me somehow. Is it the work of that [Deception Apostle], or something else? It has to be the [Deception Apostle]."
As his thoughts raced, John noticed the distant light seemed to grow brighter. He instinctively moved towards it.
"A new face."
"No, it''s your body..."
"Who''s speaking? Hello?"
"Come towards the light. I''m waiting for you here!"
After saying this, the voice seemed to run out of strength.
No matter how much John called out, there was no further response.
Helpless, John could only race towards the light.
Here, time and space seemed infinitely stretched.
John couldn''t tell how far or how long he had been walking, but the light never got any closer, always hanging distantly on the horizon.
"Damn it! What do I do now?"
Unable to approach or leave, John stood frozen, frowning deeply.
"What, you can''t keep up after just a few steps?"
"Can we drop the riddles? I can''t walk over to you, and you refuse to appear. What am I supposed to do?"
John scratched his head, exhaled deeply, and continued towards the light. This time, it seemed the distance was shorter.
He could vaguely make out a figure, but it was too ethereal, barely visible.
"As long as you keep walking, I''ll be here waiting for you!"
"I wish you coulde and get me! It''s easy for you to say, standing there. While I don''t feel tired, endlessly walking is really frustrating, you know?"
"I... I can''t."
"Who exactly are you? And where am I now?"
"When you meet me, you''ll know."
John: "..."
Though it was incredibly annoying, this seemed like an opportunity, so John had to keep his patience and continue forward.
To John, it felt like he had been walking for nearly four hours before he finally reached the edge of the light.
A long shadow gradually emerged behind him.
And that voice grew closer, as if right next to John''s ear.
"I''ve finally met you, my destined one."
"You better be stuck here, or you can forget about me forgiving you!"