Chapter 788 The Hermit

 Facing [Mountain Hermit] in person, the feeling is completely different from the pixel projection of the simulator.

It is more than two meters high, in the shape of a mummy wrapped in strips of cloth, but it does not have the proud posture of opening its arms to welcome worship like the previous [Guanling Immortal Platform].

This [hermit] was sitting quietly on a stone, playing a bowed harp, holding a stone wine glass in his third hand, with his arms drooping, as if toasting to the visitor Lu Yao.

It also has a ring behind it.

It was only then that Lu Yao saw clearly that the hermit's ring was an exoskeleton growing out of his back, perhaps similar to horns and armor. The bones form a wide-rimmed ring that looks like the divine light behind the Buddha.

The face of the stone statue is also wrapped in bandages, and the outline of the nose, eyes, mouth and ears can be vaguely seen, similar to that of humans.

Its arms are long and thin, with broad palms and five long and powerful fingers. One hand is enough to wrap its own head.

Lu Yao touched the hermit's forearm.

 It feels rough and cold to the touch, no different from ordinary stone, and there is really no sign that it has the power to destroy the world.

Lu Yao looked at the scarab on the body of the Pharaoh: "You said, Anubis's godhood comes from it?"

The scarab replied: "Yes, Lord Yao. Lord [The Hidden One] is a very special and ancient existence. He has given Lord Anubis divine power and wisdom. In the eyes of Lord Anubis, [The Hidden One] The Lord is like a father."

“But Lord Anubis also said that [The Hidden One] is not a god, but a false person, who looks like a human but not a human.”

 Not a holder of the godhead?

Lu Yao asked it: "Is it the Spirit Clan?"

"I don't know. [The Hermit] has existed for a long time, and all I know are the fragments of words Lord Anubis once said."

The scarab thought for a while, and its whiskers quivered: "The most well-known elves are the dragons and giants... maybe the [hermits] are one of the minorities."

Lu Yao stared at the three-armed man playing the harp in front of him and activated his [Yesterday Reappearance] ability.

 …

 In a daze, he suddenly found himself inside the stone statue.

 【Hermit】plays the harp, and the gentle sound of the harp is right next to my ears.

 Lu Yao gained the perspective of a recluse.

 But this is just a kind of possession. It can only see and sense, but cannot control.

At the time of the Hermit, Dog City was not full of yellow sand. Dense flowers and plants grew in the soil, and various birds jumped and circled on the towering trees.

 There is a vibrant scene all around.

[The Hermit] looked at a small black jackal at his feet and said in a relaxed tone: "Anubis, I have been targeted by them, and they will find it soon... so let me Let me tell you something.”

 He raised his third hand and tapped the jackal's forehead with his index finger.

A trace of confusion flashed in Jackal's eyes, and then he seemed to understand something again, and his eyes became much smarter.

“Death sometimes does not mean the end. Some people live to complete the moment of death.”

“You don’t need to understand these things, just remember them. If you still can’t understand them, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It means you will have a lot less troubles.”

 【Hermit】talking to himself.

 “Want this?”

His third hand grasped the air as if by magic, and held a shiny transparent gem between his index finger and thumb.

Lu Yao could see clearly that it was a godhead.

The jackal suddenly became energetic and looked forward to it. It rubbed around the hermit's bandaged legs, hoping to be fed.

 “This is fake, just a trick.”

 【Hermit】The godhead in his hand disappeared without a trace.

 The Jackal's ears suddenly drooped and he looked a little listless.

"be patient."

He said: "Patience is a virtue, that's why companionship is so expensive and luxurious... There is probably nothing eternal in this world. Everything will disappear, the stars in the sky will fall, and the rivers on the earth will dry up."

 The Jackal licked his third hand.

 “It’s okay, I’m not sad.”

The Hermit said softly: "I raised a dragon. Did you know? Dragons cannot be raised. They are a strictly regulated species and are very dangerous in themselves."

“I secretly raised dragons for many years. One day, I was caught by them, and they banished me for many years.”

Lu Yao immediately thought of hell. Another name for the demons is "Exiles".

 It seems that [The Hidden One] is most likely an Eldar. Dare to raise a dragon as a pet, which shows that he ranks very high among the spiritual clan.

"What saddens me most is not that I was banished, but that I was punished because of my dragon, which deliberately attracted others. It hates me."

"It has been with me for many years. According to the rules of this world, it is about five epochs. From the initial wariness and hostility, to the gradual indifference, to the ability to talk and recognize..."

“It’s a pity that even these are fake.”

 The sound of the piano of "The Hidden One" is a little faster.

"The dragon has been waiting, waiting for the most critical moment, to give me the most fatal blow... I captured it on the battlefield, and it has been holding on to its revenge. Even if it is strangled and thrown into a cage, it will Make me pay the price.”

"Actually, I should have known all this. But there is still a sense of luck in my heart. What if, what if it is special, what if I am lucky, what if we are all willing to make some concessions and attempts?"

“Unfortunately, luck did not come to me.”

He looked at the jackal at his feet: "After being exiled, I left my hometown and fell into the world here. It doesn't matter if I am missing anyway."

"I'm tired of endless construction and expansion. Everyone is full of unstoppable enthusiasm and ambition. Maybe it's because I was born with a disability. Without one hand, I always get tired and give up easily. Sometimes I always think, forget it, just live casually.”

 “Then I...are you tired? Then go to sleep.”

 The screen is interrupted at this point.   …

 【Hermit】Opened his eyes again, Lu Yao found that the scene around him suddenly changed.

 He is in a city.

There are huge buildings in this city. They are all made of square stone bricks of equal size, tightly connected and integrated into one piece.

 Look carefully and you will find that these buildings are an imitation or tribute to nature.

 The most numerous ones are tree-shaped pillars and towers, and then there are buildings that resemble various types of flowers and plants, either curled, or bifurcated, or winding and spiraling, or with flower buds on the top... There are also some crawling animal-like buildings.

　　It is like a real-life version of the pixel grid world, but it retains the geometric aesthetics of pyramid-like boulders.

 In this deserted stone city, the [Hermit] walks with the black jackal.

 “What do you think of this?”

The Hermit said quite proudly: "I give every dead life a new life. If someone finds them, they should be able to save them. This is what I am best at."

Lu Yao glanced at the stone buildings around him - these things are all wonders.

　　　　　　　　It is as if he has reproduced everything he has experienced in the past. This ability to "reappear yesterday" is really incredible.

But he believed that he was only good at building spectacles.

"not good."

 【Hermit】suddenly whispered, and with a touch of his palm, the jackal disappeared without a trace under his feet.

At the same time, dense black whirlpools appeared in the sky, and black human figures sank out of those whirlpools.

Lu Yao recognized it at a glance.

 It is the spirit of soldiers.

 It’s all over the sky.

 Lu Yao glanced over and found that most of them were elite first-class soldiers, and there were also a large number of non-commissioned officers and lieutenants.

The leader is a bald giant with four eyes on his face, and he is followed by four school-level soldiers.

Thousands of soldiers and spirits came for the [Hermit].

 The two sides started fighting directly without any dialogue.

 【Hermit】raised his hand, and the wonders on the ground formed a special resonance with him. Wisps of light criss-crossed among the wonders on the ground, forming geometric circuits like circuit board wires, and finally converged on the [Hermit].

Three-dimensional power grids rose from the ground, restraining and blocking the soldiers descending from the sky one by one. The vanguard of hundreds of soldiers suddenly fell into a quagmire of force and could not continue to approach the core target.

At this moment, shining black cross stars lit up in the sky.

 The psychic bombing begins.

In the sky, a huge slowly rotating light wheel appeared behind the four-eyed giant. As the light wheel rotated, circles of red halo oozed out, dyeing the entire sky with blood.

 This memory ends in a violent flash of light.

 …

After Lu Yao regained his vision again, he found himself - or the "hermit" - sitting on a big rock with black smoke coming out of his body.

 He played the harp again, but this time the sound was a little out of tune and slow.

There are rubble and sand everywhere, and all the ingenious and majestic stone buildings have been reduced to ruins. There are many large impact craters with circular edges on the ground. The entire earth seems to have been roasted by fire. There are charred debris and stones melted into glass everywhere.

 The land has been stripped away, and the edge is endless darkness.

There are irregular tear-shaped cracks in the sky, and there are red and white flashes from time to time in the cracks.

The jackal pushed his head against the bandaged leg of [The Hermit] and howled uneasily.

"it's okay no problem."

[The Hermit] said tiredly: "I cut this place out and sent it into the void turbulence. They can't find it. But it's so tiring. I have to deal with them while completing the transformation and separation... This is what it means to be alone. There’s a price to pay.”

He touched the Jackal's head: "Many years ago, I discovered a secret. After people gather together, the more people come together, the more powerful they become, and the more incredible things they can do."

"But at this time, we have become no longer ourselves, but we think we want to do that...In fact, we are just driven by some subtle instinct to build, move, fight, and cooperate with each other .”

“Only by leaving the group can we return to the state of ‘me’. That is the truest appearance of each of us, and we can know what we really want.”

 “Living in isolation from others shows one’s sharpness, drifts with the tide, and cannot help oneself.”

[The Hermit] fiddled with the strings in his hand and said softly: "Many people know this, but everyone will still survive in our way, because it is the safest and most powerful. It will not be like me now, in such a mess It’s unbearable and difficult to survive.”

 “But I don’t regret my choice.”

“I’m tired of being silently controlled by instinct, I’m tired of war and endless confrontation, I’m tired of taking everything for granted. I just want to hide in a hole where no one will come, and stay alone.”

He smiled: "But this is actually a luxury wish, and it's not that good, otherwise I won't try to let you stay with me. Many years later, you may be grateful to me, or you may hate me, Because I broke your simple life... for better or worse, no one can tell."

“[Death Word]… I hope you won’t use it.”

 “May you have a regret-free and wonderful life course, then goodbye, Anubis, my friend.”

 【Hermit】The third hand raised the wine glass.

The sound of the piano stopped suddenly.

His body seemed to be enveloped by some kind of power, quickly petrified and solidified, and settled into its final appearance.

 In the wine glass, several gods were shining brightly.

 (End of this chapter)