Chapter 1340: Garden of Seclusion (1)

"I finally get to see you two."

Gazing at the two smiling young ladies in front of him, Rhode let out a long breath. That wasn't sarcasm, but the truth instead. He had pursued their shadows for an unknown amount of time before finally succeeded in luring them out. Honestly, it was a bit of a lucky break for him. After all, elves were born singers; they started singing from birth until their death. With that, it wasn't surprising that Gracier and Madaras could sing and also loved singing... But as Rhode thought about it, he turned around and gave a hard stare at his other mental projection who shook his head beside him. Even though Gracier and Madaras restored their original form, Rhode still needed to get rid of his other self. He forbade his other self to sing and dance in his mental world...

"We're the same, Master. Thanks to you, we finally remember the past once again... Treasures that we had forgotten, treasures that we once thought would never come back to us. We thought we had lost them forever, but never expected to recall them again."

The two young ladies smiled and spoke with one voice. Soon after, like reflections in a mirror, they placed their outstretched hands on their chests and closed their eyes as if reminiscing about the past. Along with this action, the lights shining from above the stage became increasingly dazzling, where even the ground trembled slightly. And just as Rhode was being illuminated by the blinding lights, he couldn't help but squint and a voice he hated so much rang in his ears again.

"Oh-no-no, it seems like the curtains have come down on my show. Now that the superstars are here, this little idol concert of mine has also come to an end. Goodbye...!"

"Hey, you bast*rd...!"

Upon hearing his remark, Rhode turned around hurriedly. However, dazzling light enfolded his vision and at the next moment, the splendid stage and tall concert hall disappeared along with the city. Not only that, but the azure sky, warm sunshine, and turquoise grasslands also showed up in front of him. But unlike before, what originally looked like a humble bridge turned into a gorgeous and exquisite elven structure. A lovely carpet of flowers stretched out into the distance, while birds soared in the air, chirping pleasantly as if they were singing.

"Synapse, our homeland; land of the elves. We still remember the wonderful chirping, the refreshing air, and the sea of flowers like a picture..."

Looking at the scene in front of them, Gracier and Madaras showed a nostalgic expression, looking with a broken-hearted gaze at the elven city formed by a sea of flowers. Although this elven city was similar to Rhode's city where there was no one except for them, compared to his city that looked as if it suffered from an outbreak of biological crisis, this place felt more tranquil and peaceful.

But... Synapse?

Upon hearing the name, Rhode knitted his brows. If he recalled correctly, Synapse was the home of the first generation of elves, as well as the place where the first elves lived. At that time, the elves were still united as one race. But after the war broke out, most of them either fled or died, and it was said that Synapse was completely demolished in the process. According to the historical records dug up by players on Rhode's side, Synapse wasn't originally a city on the surface, but rather a floating island that got caught up in a three-way scuffle during the Creation War and ended up disappearing into a crack of void. Of course, with the devastation of the void storm, perhaps Synapse was entirely done for after being swallowed by it.

Rhode knew that these two white elves were definitely extraordinary, but didn't expect them to be natives of Synapse. Synapse was the ideal nation for all elves, and those who lived here were elves with the highest status. Moreover, with Gracier's and Madaras's identity as royal white elves, it wasn't all that surprising that they once resided here.

"Thank you, Master."

After quietly admiring the scenery around them for a while, Gracier and Madaras turned around and gazed at Rhode who stood before them. Soon after, the two of them smiled softly at him, and along with some gentle laughter, their beautiful gowns dissipated and metamorphosed into white religious robes that wrapped their bodies. And at the same time, the scenery around Synapse also vanished, reverting to the bland woods that Rhode witnessed when he first arrived here.

"Sigh..."

Looking at this scene, Rhode let out a sigh. He supposed he figured out the situation already. After all, the agreement signed between Gracier and Madaras and the world couldn't be erased. The reason why they were able to restore themselves earlier wasn't that the stage and concert awakened their memories, but because at that time, they entered Rhode's mental world and briefly left theirs. As a result, the contract they made with the world became temporarily ineffective. With these two forces in effect together, it restored Gracier's and Madaras's memories of the past.

However, after they came out of Rhode's mental world, they reconnected with their original world, which was why they reverted to their current appearance. Looking at this scene, Rhode felt somewhat melancholic for no apparent reason. After all, he believed that memories were the most important existence of a person. But now, in order to fight, Gracier and Madaras abandoned their past and even themselves. Judging from the way they looked at Synapse earlier, he unmistakably sensed their attachment and sadness. But even so, they still chose to accept their mission and destiny.

At this thought, Rhode reached out his hands and caressed their heads. Upon feeling his touch, neither Gracier nor Madaras avoided him anymore. Instead, they let out a string of crisp, bell-like chuckles, before reaching out their hands and tugging his sleeves from the left and right. Soon after, along with this action, a wooden door appeared above the grass in front of him. It opened slowly, revealing a deep and dark tunnel behind it. Looking at this scene, Rhode knew that his days in their metal world were over. And although this mental world gave him a headache at first, it was nice seeing how things unfolded in the end. To a certain degree... It wasn't actually too bad.

But...

Shira should be next.

At this thought, Rhode couldn't help but gnash his teeth. If his trip into the mental world of Gracier and Madaras could be said to be a bit of a surprise, Shira's mental world would surely turn out to be absolutely abnormal. Honestly, he couldn't even imagine what her mental world would be like because she was such a crazy psychopath. Frankly, out of all the women he had been in an intimate relationship with, Shira was the one he was most hesitant about because he just couldn't handle her sick plays.

On several occasions, she had even asked him to play some extremely violent 'games' with her, such as looking into her eyes before cutting off her head and so on. Even though she was excited about her sick plays, Rhode decisively rejected her absolutely unreasonable requests after considering his personal sexual proclivities. After all, she wasn't the only woman around him. In case he went too far and took a liking to her sick plays, which other women could handle him? Of course, even if he refused, it didn't seem to matter to Shira. To her, as long as he could ejaculate inside her until her bottom was full, that would be supreme pleasure for her. Of course, Rhode could never understand how Shira managed to put up that expression when she was clearly in pain and yet, looked as if she were so aroused.

That was why Rhode only summoned Shira a handful of times. Her mental health was also clearly abnormal to the point where she could barely communicate properly. Usually, even someone like Celestina would say something personal to him after spending an intimate night together. But Shira simply raved and her response to him was completely bullheaded. Although she said a lot of things, Rhode wasn't able to find any clues about her identity and past from her words. The only thing he confirmed was that she was an undead puppet and that was about it.

And now, the thought of entering Shira's mental world made him flinch. He was almost angered to death by the previous mental worlds, so how would Shira's mental world turn out for him?

The mental world of a madwoman...

Rhode didn't even dare to think about it. The scenery would be so 'beautiful' that he couldn't bear to look at it directly. But now, with Gracier and Madaras watching from the back, he had no choice but to move forward. As he looked into the tunnel in front of him, he shrugged, calmed his nerves, and reached out his hands again to pat their heads. Then, he turned around and sauntered into the tunnel.

Thud... Thud... Thud...

Unlike before, this time, Rhode didn't feel the same dizziness from the teleportation. On the contrary, he strolled down the tunnel and soon, along with his progress, the glow above him disappeared without a trace. But despite that, the tunnel wasn't in complete darkness as the icy-blue spiritual fires suspended on the sides of the walls brought an incomparably bizarre atmosphere. He felt as if he were heading deeper into a graveyard and would eventually be buried alive there.

Undead creature, huh... Could Shira's mental world be in a graveyard?

At this thought, Rhode forced a helpless smile. If it were really a graveyard, it would be a good match for her, wouldn't it?

But it was a pity that even though he had prepared himself to see a graveyard full of corpses or an exit-less labyrinth like Celestina's in Shira's mental world, after he exited the tunnel, lifted his head, and looked at the surroundings, the scenery made him stare in amazement. It left him utterly speechless.

It was an incomparably magnificent and elegant Gothic three-story building with dense creepers climbing all over the walls and windows that reflected soft light. Illuminated by the bright, full moon, the entire building emanated a dark and decadent beauty. It felt more like the kind of dark and elegant structures that vampires lived in, and if it weren't for the fact that he was certain that Shira's mental world was next, he would have thought that he had entered Angelina's.

"Then again, how are things so illogical? I didn't expect Shira's mental world to look like this..."

Looking at the small building in the middle of the lake, Rhode couldn't help but criticize. At a glance, green fields and a dense forest could be seen under the illumination of the moonlight. It was apparent that there was nothing else in front of him except for this three-story building. In that case, the building must be where Shira resided.

But how can I get over there?

As soon as this thought cropped up in Rhode's mind, all of a sudden, a mysterious, gentle black light shone before his eyes. Soon, a silhouette of a man whose entire body was shrouded in a black robe appeared in front of him. The man held a long bamboo pole in his hand and stood at the end of a tiny boat; rather similar to those ferrymen on the River Styx. Not only that, but the man in a black robe also rowed the boat toward Rhode, bent over, and made a gesture of invitation.

"... Is that an invitation to go aboard?"

Glancing at the man in the black robe in front of him, Rhode didn't hesitate the slightest and stepped onto the boat. Shortly after, the man in the black robe held up the bamboo pole in his hand, turned the boat around, and rowed toward the island in the center of the lake. Looking at this scene, Rhode became increasingly curious. Frankly, he was even prepared to face zombies and sicker stuff in this mental world. But now, it seemed like... This place was more serene and peaceful than Celestina's mental world.

Did I really enter Shira's mental world? I didn't head down the wrong path and enter Little Five's, did I? Little Five's a specter and isn't considered an undead creature. In that case, it isn't surprising for such a scenery to appear...

While Rhode was imagining things, the boat docked at the island in the lake. Rhode stepped out of the boat and went up the stairs in front of him. Soon after, he arrived at the entrance of this small building. And at that moment, a soft and lovely voice sounded in his ears all of a sudden.

"Greetings, my guest. May I ask what you are doing here?"

"This voice is..."

Upon hearing this voice, Rhode was stunned. He turned around and the next thing he saw was a young lady sitting quietly on a chair in a nearby garden. She wore a dark, luxurious dress with a long skirt, and her hair, which looked like she spent a lot of time taking care of, hung down to her waist. The young lady lifted the teacup and placed it by her mouth elegantly. Her pair of bright eyes remained motionless, curiously examining the uninvited guest in front of her. She looked just like a quiet and aristocratic young lady, where even Rhode, after looking at this odd and unfamiliar young lady, was stunned. He stretched out his hand and bowed to the girl.

"Greetings, Miss. My name is Rhode; I'm a traveler from the outside world."

"A traveler from the outside world? That's rare. I never thought we'd have guests here... Ah, how rude of me."

The young lady responded. She placed the teacup on the table, stood up, lifted the hem of her skirt, and gave a slight bow.

"Nice to meet you, I am Shira, the owner of this manor... Welcome."

"... Huh?"

Upon hearing her introduction, Rhode was flabbergasted. He lifted his head and sized up the young lady in front of him carefully. But even so, he couldn't believe what he just heard.

She's Shira? The undead puppet who wears rags and goes crazy all the time?

But upon closer inspection, the young lady in front of him did bear some resemblance to Shira. Her dress was indeed the same one that Shira wore; it was just that the one on the latter was so tattered and stained with blood that it was almost unrecognizable. Shira also didn't seem to care about her hair in the slightest, so her clothes were riddled with holes and her hair looked disheveled all day long.

However, not only was this young lady before him dressed cleanly, but she was also attentive to her own maintenance. She looked completely like a well-bred, aristocratic lady with etiquette that was more perfect than Marlene. Besides, she also didn't put up that crazy grin, but had a calm, soft, knowing, and gentle smile full of intellectual beauty instead.

Is she actually so girlish on the inside despite her behavior as a lunatic?

At that moment, Rhode was utterly confused.