Chapter 1 The Start

Hilda had died nearly a month ago – this shocking fact left both Hao Ren and Izhaks speechless for a long time. No one would have thought that the person who had been with them all this time was merely a shell driven by obsession. Hao Ren recalled Hilda's words and actions in front of him, still finding it hard to believe that she had died just before entering the Dream Plane. But the truth was right in front of them: Hilda's soul had completely left this body just now, and her residual mental imprint showed that the soul had begun to dissipate more than twenty days ago.

It could only be said that her strong obsession produced such an incredible phenomenon. She herself didn't even know she was dead.

Just as Hao Ren's mind was filled with chaotic thoughts, and he didn't know how to face Vimm and the elves outside waiting for the queen to appear, the voice of Raven 12345 suddenly sounded in his mind: "Yo, Hao Ren, if you calculate the time… it should be about right."

Hao Ren immediately perked up. He realized that he had taken Hilda to see Raven, and the latter's sudden remark at this juncture clearly indicated a situation: "You know about Hilda's situation!?"

"Ah, I know. Now her remaining vitality should be completely exhausted, right?" Raven 12345's voice sounded calm, but this calm voice seemed to hide a bit of emotion. "She's an incredible mortal… I noticed it the first time I saw her. She was between the dead and the living. I guess she died when she crossed over to the Dream Plane, but her soul forcibly forgot the fact that she was dead, and persisted until today."

As a goddess, Raven 12345 had indeed seen through everything. Hao Ren couldn't restrain his feelings: "Why didn't you tell me earlier!?"

Raven 12345 was silent for a few seconds before slowly saying, "You know, the words of a god have power."

Hao Ren was a little confused, but Raven 12345 didn't play coy this time: "I did see her condition from the beginning, but she is an afterimage from another world, who crossed into the Dream Plane, whose soul had dissipated, and was driven by obsession. You could say she gathered all the fragile conditions in one body. Her state of existence in the world was more unstable than a candle in the wind. In that case, once the fact that she was dead was spoken from my mouth, no matter which universe or corner of the world her afterimage drifted to, it would be immediately erased by the truth of the world. This is the power of divine words, even if I controlled this power, she couldn't bear that state. And there's another reason why I didn't tell you or the others around you—I was worried that you would accidentally expose her, which would also have a big impact on her. Only now can I tell you the situation: because her vitality has completely dissipated, and a remnant soul that has completely entered a state of chaos will not die a second time."

"Do you have a way to save her?" Hao Ren didn't believe that Raven didn't have this kind of power.

"Oh, of course there's a way, otherwise what do you think I'm contacting you for at this time?" Raven 12345's appearance at this time was indeed not to scare people. "In fact, I have planted a power in her body, just waiting for it to take effect at this time. Now I have to confirm one thing first: are the remnants of the space-time accelerator that those elves made after the explosion still there?"

"Um… some of it should be left," Hao Ren didn't know what the other party was suddenly bringing this up for. "Does this matter?"

"Of course it matters. Another part of Hilda's soul should remain among those remnants," Raven 12345 began to explain the situation. "The first time I saw that elf that day, I noticed that her soul was torn apart—which is also the direct cause of her death. Her body only contained a part of her soul fragments and most of her memories, but the rest was missing. According to my speculation, it should remain at the scene of her death, and since it doesn't have to support the body's consumption, that part of the soul should not have dissipated yet. The reason why I didn't directly save her when I was on Earth was this: her soul was incomplete, and even if I saved her, she would soon become muddled. Now you must take her back to the scene of the space-time accelerator explosion to completely restore her. I left a little power in her body. These powers will allow her soul to remain near the body for a period of time even after it has completely dissipated, and if you find the other part of her spirit that was torn apart, this remaining power will unite all her fragments."

"It's that simple?"

"Nonsense, how could it not be simple when I personally take action?" Even when doing something befitting her identity as a goddess, Raven 12345 was unwilling to maintain her image, and revealed her true nature as soon as she opened her mouth. "Let me tell you, under normal circumstances, I wouldn't specifically pay attention to this kind of trivial matter, but that elf named Hilda has made a feat that mortals can hardly achieve, and I can't treat a good child badly—hurry up and take action, time is limited, if you delay any longer, she will really dissipate completely, and the hard days of those elves are about to end, their queen can't be absent at this good time."

Hao Ren quickly agreed, but at the end, he suddenly remembered something: "Wait… I remember hearing Vimm say that only a fraction of the shattered pieces of the Rainbow Island were preserved. What if Hilda's soul is not on those pieces?"

"Then you can only fly around the orbits of those floating islands in your ship, that's all."

Raven 12345 hung up the communication as simply as ever. Hao Ren was stunned for a while before patting his face and regaining his senses. He turned his head and looked at Hilda's body—whether it was an illusion or the power left by Raven was really taking effect, he seemed to see an extremely thin, faint figure standing beside Hilda, but before he could see the shadow clearly, it disappeared in a flash.

He thought for a while and picked up the communicator first: "Vivian, are you listening?"

After a while, Vivian's somewhat flustered voice suddenly came from the communicator: "Eh, eh… which button should I press… Ah? Landlord, I'm here, can you hear me now?"

"I heard it, I heard it," Hao Ren sighed. "The situation here is a bit complicated. Go find Vimm and ask him to come to the spaceship. Also, it's best to have him come alone. The situation here… might cause chaos."

Vivian heard that Hao Ren's tone was not right and knew that the situation was a bit serious, so she ran to find the regent without asking anything. It didn't take much effort to call Vimm to the spaceship: Although this young elf was the heir to the Erem throne, he trusted these distinguished guests brought by his mother very much, and the latter had just promised the elves a prosperous new home, so when he heard Hao Ren call him, he came immediately, and came alone under Vivian's reminder.

Vimm didn't have much time to sigh at how incredible the interior of this advanced spaceship was. He was directly taken to the medical area by the autonomous machinery, and Vivian and Lily came with him.

As soon as he entered the cabin, the first thing he saw was Hilda lying in the open medical bay, as if she had fallen asleep.

"This…" Vimm was stunned on the spot. Hao Ren was afraid that the other party would misunderstand, so he quickly stepped forward to explain: "Don't worry, don't worry, your mom died…"

As soon as he finished speaking, he wanted to slap himself a hundred and twenty times left and right: when this person is nervous, that mouth is completely not his own. He was still thinking about how to explain the matter to Vimm tactfully, but the effect of this opening was no different from directly telling someone "Your mom exploded"…

"Don't panic, here's what happened," Hao Ren twisted his thigh hard, and then he straightened out his thoughts. "In fact, your mother had already…"

Hao Ren spent a few minutes explaining the matter roughly. The young regent in front of him went from shock at the beginning to excitement in the middle, and finally turned into a strong sense of bewilderment. His expression was constantly changing, but fortunately, he remained calm throughout the process and listened carefully to the whole story.

"Is this… true?" Vimm cautiously came to Hilda's side, reached out and probed her nose and mouth, then retracted his hand as if electrocuted, and turned to look at Hao Ren. "Mother was clearly just now…"

"Whether you believe it or not, take us to the ruins of Rainbow Island immediately," Hao Ren waved his hand to interrupt the other party. "I know this situation is a bit beyond your worldview, but now is not the time to reshape your values. If you have any great doubts, please bear with them for now."

Vimm was stunned for a moment, then nodded heavily.