Echoes of the Past

Chapter 23 Shadows of the Past

Suiyue was completely out of touch with reality. Her brand-new brain was not capable of handling the complex multi-threaded situation, so she chose to process it in a low-power standby mode. It was only when Nan'an suddenly beat someone up that the screen lit up again. Now that she has just been revived, she has learned the good news that she is going to join Erlu.

"Join Erebor? Me?"

Suiyue wasn't being modest. She was an orphan rescued by the Dawn Church. Besides having a big appetite and amazing brute strength, what other special skills did she have?

He stumbled through his magic studies and relied entirely on instinct and Nan'an's guidance in actual combat. How did he suddenly receive an invitation from the Solitz Empire to fight against the top violent organization of the Nightmare God?

It feels like a random stone picked up on the roadside is suddenly declared a national treasure.

Among Arele's companions, someone shouted sharply, trying to steer the conversation back to the "crime" itself.

"She just attacked a knight! In full view of everyone!"

"Arell should have considered the possibility of the summoned creature going out of control when she made the request. She shouldn't feel wronged just because the creature attacked her instead of the summoner herself," Raven added. "I tried to stop it."

"Bewildering Raven, all the nobles present witnessed your and Elu's irrationality. Throughout the entire deliberation process, you have been protecting and shielding Suiyue at every turn. Now, you are openly using Elu as a shield to obstruct the normal deliberation process. I am going to report to the Chief Elder and order a public trial for you and the entire Elu!"

"I'm really looking forward to it."

The elders on the platform seemed to have agreed to ignore the heated exchange below.

After confirming that Arele was only unconscious and not in immediate danger, they all resumed their meditative state, some looking down at the table, others gazing at the murals on the dome, ignoring the barely suppressed whispers and commotion in the audience, purely adopting a silent, spectator-like posture.

Seeing that both sides had fallen silent in this round of exchanges, the elder presiding over the deliberation slowly stood up to take control of the situation.

"Vice Commander of the Bewitching Raven," the elder's gaze fell upon him, and he said cautiously, "you extended an invitation to Suiyue to join the Evil Deer, which means that you have officially recognized that her summoned creatures are not products of the corruption and distortion of the Divine Nightmare, but rather some special ability or talent that can be utilized within a controllable range, right?"

"Yes."

The elders exchanged glances and nodded.

"Then this also means that you will provide a personal guarantee for the judgment that 'Suiyue and her summoned creatures are safe and harmless.'" The elder presiding over the deliberation became serious. "We will truthfully report your judgment and guarantee to the Chief Elder Council and His Majesty."

He paused, then continued, "Are you sure you're willing to bear all the possible consequences of this decision?"

Bewitching Crow turned its head slightly and glanced at Suiyue, who was still blinking blankly beside it, seemingly not having fully digested the series of information.

The pure confusion and blankness on her face looked endearingly silly under the stage lights.

"I swear by my name, yes."

The people in the cubicle had just finished their review, and the clerk whispered the final result to the elders.

The elder listened and nodded slightly, his face expressionless, but his eyes occasionally glanced down at Pirion.

Observing the expressions, almost simultaneously, Pirion casually straightened his back and elegantly and calmly adjusted his neatly starched collar and cuffs.

He turned slightly to the side so that his view could more clearly see across the crowd and appreciate the scene in the distance where the "unlucky" Arele was being carefully carried away from the scene on a makeshift stretcher by several doctors.

It was well worth the trip; it was far more spectacular than any opera performance.

For a long time to come, it will be a delightful pastime for Pirion, something to revisit and immerse himself in before bed, a climax that will linger in his mind.

He has never been aggressive, and he has always adopted only one approach to any attempt to drag him into trouble—defense and counter-attack.

Use the most proper and impeccable methods to build an impenetrable wall, and then watch the attackers crash into it until they are bloodied and bruised.

In other words, sticking to winning is the right thing to do!

The person who had been jumping around had already fainted. The crows showed an unprecedented protectiveness towards their own, and Pirion even buried his head in his tortoise shell. Any connection with Suiyue was cut off.

With no room for further discussion, those who were eager to make a move quickly fell silent.

"Does anyone have any new questions or additional evidence regarding the results of this review?"

"Is there anyone else who needs to ask Hozuki, the person under review, any new questions?"

"Is there anyone else who would like to make a statement here regarding matters related to this review?"

The elder asked three times in a row, but no one stepped forward to continue the debate.

"clatter!"

"clatter!"

"clatter!"

With three hammer blows, the elder announced: "The results of the review regarding the 'Suiyue Abnormal Summoning Item' and the 'Compliance of Operations Related to the E'lu' are now announced..."

He paused briefly, his gaze sweeping over the three people below.

"The ad hoc tribunal finds that the existing procedures and handling...are appropriate."

"The Senate reserves the right to reopen the deliberations when new evidence is obtained in the future, and the parties concerned may also submit new written objections within the prescribed time limit."

"This review is now concluded."

……

……

Late at night, in the basement of the Karen governor's residence.

Some time had passed since the midday deliberations ended, and Suiyue still didn't quite grasp the reality of her almost certain identity as Erlu.

After finishing his deliberations, the crow took her to an uninhabited area not far from Windgrass Prison and disappeared, only to reappear late at night.

"This prison area has been vacant for a while, and Pirion has temporarily lent it to me, setting up soundproofing and anti-spy arrays." The Raven's voice was particularly clear in the empty basement. "It's safe enough to talk here, and we can discuss some... topics that are not suitable for public discussion."

Knowing that Suiyue loved to eat, even though the timing wasn't ideal, Huoya still brought her two grilled fish.

Suiyue's eyes lit up instantly.

She took it, not caring about her image, cut off the head and tail, ignored the small fish bones, and began to slurp and slurp the tender fish meat, her eyes squinting into crescents with happiness as she ate.

"Grandpa," she mumbled, her lips still glistening with oil, "with the addition of the deer... will we be able to have meat at every meal?"

The crow discovers that the talkative Suiyue possesses a strange ability that makes people smile uncontrollably.

Seeing her undisguised satisfaction, a rare gentle helplessness appeared on his face.

"Under normal circumstances, it's not a problem. Given the dangerous nature of our work, the Senate's financial planning has always allowed for a certain degree of redundancy. After all, being well-fed is one of the quickest ways to increase satisfaction." He paused, then added, "Even I often feel that I only feel truly alive when I'm well-fed, so you don't need to worry about that."

For Suiyue, the "salary consultation" process before joining the company is basically over at this point.

Upon hearing questions like "there's meat to eat," "I'm full," salary, and career advancement opportunities, she immediately forgot all about them.

Nan An thought to herself that she was too easy to take care of, perfectly meeting the standards of a qualified pet.

"Now, can you summon your 'Nan'an'?"

Suiyue stopped chewing, listened intently, and only nodded gently after receiving an affirmative reply from Nan'an.

He's a bit slow-witted, but he's obedient.

She could almost instinctively trust and resolutely carry out Nan'an's instructions, even though she couldn't understand the logic or risks behind them at all.

Compared to those teammates in my past life who couldn't even lie down properly while playing games and always thought they were being clever, this is a far cry from the way they were in my previous life.

Or perhaps it's the kind of ingenious person you encounter when teaming up after time travel, someone who always has their own little tricks up their sleeve, always thinks their flash of inspiration is better than the insightful advice of experienced teammates, and insists on showing off their godlike skills...

Nan'an loved this kind of pure, unpretentious nature; Suiyue was simply the best teammate.

A faint blue light quietly emerged, swirled, and coalesced in front of Suiyue.

Nan'an's figure gradually became clearer, as if emerging from the bottom of the water, and finally landed lightly on the ground, standing a few steps away from Huoya, calmly facing each other.

The air in the basement seemed to freeze for a moment.

The bewitching raven carefully examined the peculiar being before it, which glowed faintly, had a clear outline, but lacked a complete sense of solidity.

He could clearly feel the magical aura that lingered in the air after the summoning ritual ended, yet remained exceptionally pure, completely devoid of the nauseating distortion of the Nightmare God.

They can unleash combat power far exceeding their own limits by relying on the summoner's limited mana supply.

It possesses a complete intelligent life form and a clear self-awareness.

Allows and enables smooth communication with the Summoner.

A distinct and unique personality—summoners need to appease him, otherwise he'll just end up getting punched.

These characteristics, based on his long experience and extensive knowledge, subtly point to a summoning school that exists almost exclusively in ancient texts and taboo legends.

【Summoning Heroic Spirits】is one of the most mysterious and difficult schools of thought in the era before the summoning magic was distorted by the black mist and when magical theories were still brilliant.

Summoners of Heroic Spirits attempt to resonate with the powerful souls who have left an immortal mark in the long river of history, praying that a projection of their power will transcend time and space to descend upon the present world.

Since the black mist spread and the summoning ritual became generally distorted and unstable, its core techniques and ritual details have been gradually lost.

Perhaps not, but even the crow cannot guarantee whether the existing classics and documents can be interpreted and utilized.

In short, this was the first time in his life that Raven had witnessed a Heroic Spirit appear.

He suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

Faced with a legend who has traversed the thick dust of history and descended upon the land of Nora once again, he, as a descendant, and the entire Solize, and even Onze, have probably long forgotten the other's great deeds and real name.

The black fog not only eroded the land, but also destroyed the lineage of civilization. Today, Solize and Onze are nothing more than rootless trees, floating on the broken torrent of history.

All the beautiful memories of the past have become blurred.

"Who are you, this legendary figure from history? Is Nan'an your real name?"

Just by listening to the question, Nan'an knew that this was a huge misunderstanding.

To be chosen as a "Heroic Spirit" and respond to the summoning ritual, one must at least be a being who has left behind a distinguished legend in history.

They are either heroes with outstanding achievements or notorious tyrants.

In short, it has to be a character whose name could be written into an epic or horror story.

As for Southampton, his six years in Nora were simply unremarkable!

Hunting, carrying out commissions, shipping goods, and going to the tavern—that's all there is to life in Nan'an.

Of course, the other members of the Red Rat Adventurers might have more experiences. They would go to the casino to have a few rounds of gambling, and if they lost, they would mutter "a little gambling is harmless fun" and ask Nan'an, who had the nickname "The Pure One," for two copper coins to drink.

After making a profit, he would head over to the neighboring Little Head Happy Zone to treat Little Head to some fun, and incidentally, he would get some strange and wonderful magic from the belly of some down-on-her-luck witch for Nan'an to try out.

Nan'an still doesn't understand where they got that team-enhancing magic that requires an entire dance to activate.

Which genius magician created magic that only cared about creation and not about practical application?

In short, his six years of time travel in Nan'an were quite unremarkable from a historical perspective. His greatest personal hobby was collecting the horns and skulls of his prey. He gradually understood why some people in ancient times would carve their opponents' skulls into wine vessels. The process of personally polishing and gazing at the "trophies" could indeed bring him back to his senses...hehe!

Such a hurried and unremarkable life trajectory makes it impossible for any of its deeds to be celebrated or even elevated to the level of "heroic spirits."

This is like a shut-in who has never been in a relationship, lives a monotonous life going back and forth between home and the office, and then spends all his time playing games on the computer. How could he possibly meet a beautiful girl in a reasonable way?

It can't be that one day, a beautiful girl, wielding a long sword, kicks open the door to his meticulously decorated gaming room, and amidst the hum of the PC fans and the glow of the RGB lighting, slices through the network cable and then commands him:

Stop playing games! I like you!

This kind of plot would make even the most outrageous third-rate light novel authors think twice.

Nan'an's mind raced faster than ever before, countless thoughts flashing through his mind. In the end, he chose the safest, yet most ambiguous, course of action, letting out a long, story-laden sigh.

Have you already forgotten my name?

The crow explained, "The black mist changed everything... Our history, from the first year of the black mist, has been cut off from those beautiful old days. To this day, we can only try to piece together the lost Gray Star era from broken books."

"I am very grateful for your protection of Suiyue. So far, she is probably the only one who can summon me," Nan'an urged. "Perhaps you could try to replicate the summoning ritual and see if I can be of use to you."

Nan'an had always been curious whether he was truly bound to Suiyue and had become her exclusive summon. Now that he had a suitable candidate for testing, this was a rare opportunity.

To everyone's surprise, the crow quickly shook its head.

"The fact that Suiyue was able to successfully summon you is perhaps an extremely special and unrepeatable miracle in itself. Before fully understanding the reasons behind it, Erlu will avoid any risks."