An Qingyu waved his hand, and a terrifying pressure suddenly descended. The surging time around him pulled Wang Mian's body like waves, sweeping him backwards rapidly!
Just as Wang Mian was about to be swallowed into the vortex of time, An Qingyu flicked his finger.
A white chess piece crossed the long river of time, crashed into the king's body, and disappeared without a trace as time rushed by.
The long river of time fell into silence again.
After doing all this, An Qingyu retracted his gaze, and his figure gradually disappeared in the long river of time...
…
"Mr. Merlin?!"
In the boundless deep sky, Lin Qiye suddenly woke up from his sleep!
Dense beads of sweat oozed from his forehead, and he immediately began to search around like a madman. In the vast and dark universe, apart from countless stars twinkling silently, there was no other figure...
No…
Lin Qiye stood there in a daze, then came to his senses, rubbed his bloodshot eyes, and a hint of bitterness emerged in his expression.
"Is this a dream..."
The fire of hope that ignited in Lin Qiye's heart was mercilessly extinguished... He had a dream. He dreamed that the Donghuang Bell was struck, and then Merlin traveled through countless time and space and came to his side... He thought he had finally found that ray of hope, but he didn't expect that it was just a fantasy after all.
Lin Qiye sighed and could only force himself to cheer up, preparing to continue using the [Hand of Royal Power] to fuse the Ame-no-Murasakumo sword and head towards the depths of the universe.
Just as he was about to open the forbidden area, he suddenly froze in place.
"etc… "
Lin Qiye seemed to realize something, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, and he immediately closed his eyes and immersed his thoughts in the mental hospital of the gods in his mind...
Asylum of the Gods.
The hospital, which was originally dead silent and empty, is now bustling with activity.
Those caregivers who were left on Earth by Lin Qiye before departure were forcibly teleported back to the hospital following the death of Seraphim Lin Qiye.
At this time, hundreds of figures wearing dark blue nursing uniforms were surrounding the courtyard, chattering about something to the figure in the center. The noise almost blew the roof of the entire hospital off!
"Oh, really?"
"… "
"It turns out that the patient in the last ward was Chaos in disguise... That's really bad news."
"… "
"Imprisoning all of you in an underground cage and taking away the hospital? Is that too much?"
"… "
"Mr. Li Yifei, I was right about you. If it weren't for you, it would have been difficult for the dean to turn the tables..."
"… "
"Millions of dark young? Is the situation on Earth that serious?"
"… "
"Oh, what bad news..."
"… "
Lin Qiye stood in the corridor on the first floor, staring blankly at the kind figure surrounded by caregivers, motionless like a sculpture.
At the same time, the amiable figure also noticed Lin Qiye standing beside him. The corners of his mouth rose, and he took off his big hood with one hand, revealing his sparsely haired forehead. He bowed slightly to him like a gentleman:
"Long time no see, my Lord Dean."
Lin Qiye opened his mouth. After struggling in the hopeless deep space for a long time, a flame of hope finally ignited in his eyes, and his voice trembled a little:
"Merlin... Your Excellency!"
Room 2 of the Gods' Mental Hospital, Merlin, the god of prophecy and magic.
Merlin had been by Lin Qiye's side since he was a night watchman. If Nyx was half his mother, then Merlin was undoubtedly the knowledgeable, peaceful and gentle father... It could even be said that Merlin witnessed Lin Qiye's initial growth.
The feeling that Nyx and Merlin gave to Lin Qiye was completely different from that of Bragi, Sun Wukong, and Gilgamesh... The latter three were more like solid and reliable brothers of the same generation, but Nyx and Merlin would always be his elders. As long as the two of them were around, Lin Qiye would have an inexplicable sense of security.
And at this moment, with the appearance of Merlin, Lin Qiye's loneliness, anxiety, and despair in the deep space of the universe disappeared... It was like a wanderer who had found the support of home.
Seeing this, the nurses immediately made way for a wide path. Merlin held his staff in one hand, put on his hood again with the other, and walked up to Lin Qiye with a smile.
"Mr. Dean, I have understood the general situation... It seems that a lot of things happened during the time I was away."
Lin Qiye smiled bitterly, his eyes swept across the six closed wards.
“…Yeah, a lot happened.”
He looked at Merlin again and said sincerely, "It's great that you can come back."
"I didn't expect it. I was just on my way back when I suddenly saw a life form floating in the universe. I stopped to take a look and saw you... This is too much of a coincidence."
“No, this shouldn’t be a coincidence.” Lin Qiye said seriously, “The Donghuang Bell sounded, the covenant came into being, we returned, and survived… It was the Third Covenant that led us to meet.”
"The Third Covenant? What is that?" Merlin blinked and smiled, "It seems there are still many things I don't know. Your Excellency, Dean, it's time for us to find a place to have a good chat..."
"no problem."
Lin Qiye and the other person returned to the lounge, closed the door, and blocked out the noise of the nurses... To be honest, this hospital hasn't been so lively for a long time since Gilgamesh and the others left.
Merlin skillfully took out a teacup from the cupboard and made himself a pot of hot tea.
"So, where do we start?"
"Let's start from the time you left the hospital." Lin Qiye paused, "At that time... Yes, at that time in Takama-ga-hara, you left the hospital and went to kill Susanoo alone, and I fled to the outside of Takama-ga-hara in a carriage, and then... then..."
"Afterwards, I managed to escape with great effort... and I also managed to snatch the Ame-no-Kurosakumo sword..."
"I stole the Kusanagi sword..."
As Lin Qiye was speaking, a look of confusion suddenly appeared in his eyes, and his voice became smaller and smaller.
"The Murasaki Sword... No... How did I escape? The Murasaki Sword... How did it end up in my hands... Strange... I don't remember..."
Lin Qiye felt his head begin to swell. He frowned and tried hard to recall the original scene, but he couldn't remember it no matter what. It was as if that memory was missing a very important part...
At this moment, Merlin, who was sipping tea and waiting for Lin Qiye to narrate, seemed to have discovered something, and his deep eyes narrowed slightly.
"I... I don't seem to remember..."
"Your Excellency, Dean..."
"Wait a minute, I will definitely remember it. At that time..."
"Mr. Dean!" Merlin's voice became unusually serious. He interrupted Lin Qiye's recollections and spoke seriously:
"Have you used the [King's Star Coin] recently?"