Sorcerer's Handbook-Chapter 663: Ash as the Hostage

“Who’s staying behind?”

Ash casually pulled his teammates aside, asking the question as if he were merely deciding who would stay to watch the luggage while the others went to the restroom.

Deya had tried to speak up several times, only to be hushed by Sonya and Vesser.

Everyone knew what she wanted to say because they all shared the same thought-run away!

The vision the nightmare offered was indeed enticing, a double harvest of divine status and a celestial realm, seemingly allowing them, a group of sanctuary sorcerers, to ascend in one leap. But with a moment of calm reflection, they all realized a pressing issue-could they truly hold onto this adventure?

The Nightmare Angel once sought to create a Nightmare Deity, to rule over the Dreaming Celestium and become a new Divine Sovereign, only to have everything fall apart spectacularly.

Not only was the Dreaming Celestium, which it cherished and protected, ruined, but it also changed hands through thirteen owners. It even had to hide its Inheritance in the rat holes of the Dreaming Celestium, fearing discovery by new masters.

If they did manage to obtain the complete Dreaming Celestium, could the four of them, mere sanctuary sorcerers, really withstand the covetous eyes of Divine Sovereigns, the envy of Demigods, and the onslaught of countless peers?

And that’s assuming everything goes smoothly. The more likely scenario is a complete failure.

After all, the Specter’s Inheritance could be breached at any time. The Virtual Divinity might be destroyed halfway through its creation, exposing them to the eyes of other sorcerers, and in the next moment, they’d be drowned in a sea of spellcasting.

In fact, failure might be the better outcome. If they actually succeeded, they’d likely be hunted down by Divine Sovereigns both online and offline.

The risks were too high, the rewards too intangible. No matter how they looked at it, staying out of this was the wise choice.

But did they even have the right to refuse?

Setting aside the “Oneiric Schism” curse hanging over their heads, just from the nightmare’s behavioral logic, if Ash and his team said, “I don’t want to do this,” would the nightmare politely see them off, perhaps with a parting gift as an apology?

Impossible!

Ash and the others even suspected that if they showed any hint of ‘resistance,’ ‘disgust,’ or ‘giving up,’ they would instantly fall from the status of ‘inheritors’ to ‘disposable assets.’

Whether as the Nightmare Angel in life or the Devil nightmare in death, it never cared about the lives of others.

Among the four of them, only Vesser was irreplaceable. Or rather, the other three were brought here as hostages to bind Vesser to the Inheritance.

Forget about backing out; they were even careful with their words during discussions, fearing the nightmare might detect their reluctance.

So when Ash posed his question, the three of them exchanged peculiar looks.

Ash had used “you,” clearly excluding himself-he didn’t want to stay as a hostage.

Yet no one thought he was being cowardly.

“Witch, you stay,” Sonya suggested.

“No way! If you two are going, then I must go too!” Deya shook her head. “Vesser, you stay!”

“That makes sense,” Ash added. “Given the circumstances, Vesser, you should stay behind. It’s not that we’re excluding you, but you know our relationship is unique. We might need to engage in some close interactions to relieve stress, and having you around might make things awkward for you, even turning into a source of stress.”

“Besides, you’re the newest member of the team. You’ve been with us for two months and haven’t caused any trouble, always stepping back and quietly doing your part. I’ve always appreciated that. Now that we have the chance, let us three veterans handle the troublesome matters, and you can enjoy the benefits of being the newbie.”

“What do you mean ‘haven’t caused any trouble’?” Sonya’s eyes widened. “Did I cause you trouble before?”

“Yeah!” Deya chimed in. “Did I cause you trouble?”

Ash and Sonya exchanged a glance with Deya, words hanging in the air, unspoken yet understood.

This was the first time Ash openly acknowledged in front of Vesser the not-so-innocent relationship between him and the sword Princess Witch. Yet neither Sonya, Deya, nor Vesser seemed shocked or bothered by it.

“I disagree with your decision,” Vesser stated calmly. “I think the Observer should stay.”

Sonya was slightly taken aback, but quickly changed her stance. “I agree, the Observer should stay!”

Though Deya was inclined to act alongside Ash, she found herself torn between Ash and the sword Princess and Vesser. She promptly switched sides. “I… I also think the Observer should stay.”

Ash’s mouth twitched. “You guys…”

“Have you decided?” The nightmare appeared silently beside them. “Then let’s begin.”

Six spirits and three Source Crystals floated towards the female sorcerers, and the nightmare spoke. “I will transport you into the Specter’s Inheritance, lifting the restrictions on your spellforce and spirits, and adjust the routes of other sorcerers so they will encounter you. Of course, others will still have their spellforce and spirits sealed.”

“I have one more question,” Ash seized the opportunity to ask. “Even if we can’t reach the fifth layer of the Virtual Realm, if we create a deity, shouldn’t we be able to reach Ruby Mountain through the deity’s Gate of Truth?”

Unexpectedly, the nightmare fell silent at this question.

“I don’t know,” it replied. “The originals have never heard of sanctuary sorcerers creating deities, so there’s no precedent for what might happen. Moreover, whether deities possess a Gate of Truth is also unclear to the originals.”

“The difference between spirits and deities is vast. While a spirit’s knowledge can entirely originate from a sorcerer, a deity’s concept must come from external sources. Thus, while sorcerers can create deities, whether the deity ‘fully belongs’ to the sorcerer, and whether the Gate of Truth opens for the sorcerer, I do not know.”

Sonya was somewhat surprised. “The Nightmare Angel never created other deities?”

“The originals never nurtured any deities during their lifetime,” the nightmare provided an unexpected answer. “In fact, due to the uniqueness of deities, they are not only rare but no Divine Sovereign would mind having an additional deity join the Celestium. Therefore, Demigods seeking to claim natural deities must not only compete with other Demigods but also snatch them from the mouths of Divine Sovereigns.”

“Many Demigods spend their entire lives without ever possessing a deity. Once you step into the Divine Dominion, you’ll often find that all deities are already claimed.”

Ash nodded thoughtfully.

He recalled the ancestor of the Belldate family in the Gospel Kingdom, the Necromancy Angel. At that time, he merely seemed like an ancient tomb remnant beaten by Harvey. But looking back now, Ash realized he was a remarkable figure, capable of arranging resurrection rituals and possessing a deity at such a young age!

This also showed how bold the Nightmare Angel was.

He dared to reach for the Dreaming Celestium without even a single deity, aiming directly for the Divine Sovereign’s rank. No wonder he got his head blown off.

But this means that even if they succeed in Godsmithing, they likely won’t be able to sneak into Ruby Mountain…

“Since you don’t have a deity, how do you perform divine interventions?” Ash pressed on, “Even if all are Four-winged Spirits, they can only be called miracles, right? Like longing for used six Four-winged Spirits, why is it also called a divine intervention?”

At this moment, the nightmare gently waved its arm, and the sword Princess, Witch, and Vesser vanished from the golden hall.

Then it answered Ash, “The difference between divine intervention and miracle lies in whether world laws are invoked. Deities are manifestations of laws; any spellcasting involving deities is naturally a divine intervention. But even without deities, if you can leverage world laws through other means, miracles can transform into divine interventions.”

“In other places, those six spirits would at most form a miracle. Only in the Dreaming Celestium, only in the Distant Sky Domain, can their miracle tap into the residual laws of the Celestium and take effect through the Distant Sky Domain’s operational mechanism.”

“At this moment, the power of the miracle includes not only the spirits but also the Distant Sky Domain and the support of related laws. In other words, if the target wishes to resist, they must possess the power to counter the Distant Sky Domain, or they will be crushed by its laws.”

“A miracle is using one’s will to sketch the reality of the world.”

“A divine intervention is transforming one’s will into the world’s will.”

“This is the difference in their manifestations.”

Ash watched the spot where the sword Princess and others disappeared, his eyes flickering with emotion.

He wasn’t sure if the nightmare had seen through his intention to delay with questions, but the nightmare’s actions had already proven it could distinguish between priorities. Those tricks to deceive artificial intelligence likely wouldn’t stop the Nightmare deity’s plan.

Now, he could only trust the sword Princess and the others.

Ash asked, “If I say to switch places with them, is it possible?”

“Transporting you and controlling the Specter’s Inheritance both consume Source Crystals,” the nightmare refused. “Source Crystal reserves are tight, and creating a deity later will require many Source Crystals, so we can’t waste them here.”

“Besides, you give me a very unsettling feeling. No matter how you arrange it, I’ll keep you as a hostage.”

Ash was taken aback, “How do I make you uneasy?”

“I don’t know,” the nightmare replied, “but I don’t need to know. Keeping an unstable factor close is enough.”

Damn!

It was Ash’s first time encountering such blatant, baseless appearance discrimination!

He didn’t continue discussing with the nightmare but instead sat down to rest, preparing by bonding with the spirits. The nightmare watched his back, pondering the source of its unease.

Having a feeling but not recalling it meant it wasn’t something recorded in the Sorcerer’s Handbook but rather a faint memory of the Devil nightmare.

After a while, the nightmare finally remembered.

It was the Specter Seer.

It had once glimpsed the Specter Seer in the Dreaming Celestium.

At that time, the Specter Seer had slain the twelfth owner and seized the Dreaming Celestium.

The Specter Seer possessed a million Human Souls, a realm even the Nightmare Angel hadn’t reached in life. But while the Nightmare Angel’s ten thousand Human Souls were gained through pure, clean cultivation, the Specter Seer’s million Human Souls were murky and foul, evidently cultivated through murder and aggregation. During the Specter Seer’s residence in the Dreaming Celestium, the wails of vengeful spirits permeated every corner, leaving a deep impression on the nightmare.

The man in front of it, wearing a black silver-chained trench coat, gave the nightmare the feeling of being the Specter Seer’s successor.

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