Chapter 63: Dream Paradise

Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Dream Paradise

The moment his consciousness returned, Chen Shang’s first reaction was to confirm his location. He was surrounded by a gray gravel beach, a black river, and a mountain ridge faintly visible through the thick fog in the distance. And, beside him, Ella.

Ella had adapted much faster than him; she was already examining a three-meter-tall stone stele. Seeing that Chen Shang’s consciousness had stabilized, she pointed at the stele and asked, "Who is Sisyphus?"

Chen Shang paused, looking up at the stele. Several large words were carved into it in the Wizard Common Language.

"Welcome to Sisyphus’s Reincarnation Paradise!"

Below it was a string of broken and blurry text.

"Rules... carry the boulder... struggle toward the heights..."

"Three-headed Dog Cerberus..."

"King of the Gods Zeus often transforms into Hades in autumn to have an affair with Netherworld Queen Persephone.

"River God Isopus... Hades... Libra Judgment."

Chen Shang let out a heavy breath. So it was here. Fortunately, it wasn’t something as profoundly abstract as Zhuangzi dreaming of a butterfly. He then explained to Ella, "This is a myth from my homeland. Sisyphus was a mortal king—clever, cunning, and lacking reverence for the Deities. He deceived the God of death and escaped death twice. In the end, the Gods punished him, condemning him to push a boulder up a mountain in the Netherworld. But every time he neared the peak, the stone would roll back down to the foot of the mountain. He must repeat this action for eternity, never able to reach the top."

"Pushing a stone up a mountain, yet never reaching the destination? Sounds boring," Ella commented. After a few seconds of silence, she added, "A bit like a Wizard."

Chen Shang nodded. "Perhaps. The Gods considered it an eternal punishment."

"Gods? What tier of Divine Spirits are they? To actually dare speak of eternity?" Ella’s interest was piqued.

"It’s a story, Ella. A myth," Chen Shang corrected.

"Alright. So this is the scenario of absolute failure you preset? Because the goal can never be completed? I didn’t expect the first step of your ritual to actually be pushing a stone."

"It should be... right?" Chen Shang was a little uncertain.

"Then why are the rules below so blurry?" Ella asked, pointing at the stele.

"This is a story I read when I was a child. A child’s understanding of myths is absurd and amusing." Chen Shang spread his hands. "I know the Netherworld has a watchdog named Cerberus, as well as Hades and Netherworld Queen Persephone... but how am I supposed to know exactly what they do there?"

"Then why is this line so clear?" Ella pointed to the line about Zeus.

"Hmm... probably because he leaves a deep impression on people." Chen Shang shrugged.

It couldn’t be helped. That guy Zeus really was... uniquely colorful. He often roamed around disguised as men, women, or even non-human entities. Then, he would engage in many bizarre affairs with various women, men, or even non-human entities. Following that, he would sire all sorts of men, women, or even non-human descendants. If one tried to use permutations and combinations to calculate it, they wouldn’t even know how to select the variables. After all, even Mendel only dared to use peas.

"Which way should we go now?" Ella asked.

"Probably toward that mountain peak over there." Chen Shang was somewhat unsure.

The goal of the ritual was to face failure head-on and banish fear. It didn’t grab onto the existence of those Gods and ghosts in his mind, but instead chose Sisyphus, a symbolic representation of absolute failure. So what was his fear? Was he afraid of never reaching the end? Or... was it loneliness?

The two walked forward, and Chen Shang took the opportunity to introduce Ella to more related myths, such as Pandora’s Magic Box, the Sphinx’s riddle labyrinth, Prometheus’s suffering cliff, Achilles’s weak heel, Damocles’s suspended sword, and Theseus’s floating ship.

Although it was very fragmented and unsystematic, Ella listened with great relish and even offered her own insight. "It sounds like this Divine King named Zeus copulated with various pure-blooded creatures to maintain the purity of the Divine Blood within the Pantheon?"

"No, Ella, it’s not that complicated. I think he was just purely lustful."

Above the Nether River, the thick fog hung like a heavy curtain. The two walked and chatted until they finally reached the riverbank. Beneath their feet was fine black gravel, and the river Water itself was a grayish-black, showing no visible signs of flowing. The fog rolled over the surface of the river, as if something were performing Underwater Breathing beneath.

"How do we cross?" Ella picked up a pebble and tossed it into the river. The stone sank slowly, as if falling into thick mud.

Chen Shang habitually reached for his neck, only to realize he hadn’t brought the Space Book in with him. He shook his head. "I don’t know."

"It’s your Dream World and you don’t know?"

"Ella, it’s a nightmare."

Just then, the sound of rowing emerged from the thick fog. A narrow, long black boat sailed out of the mist, resembling a willow leaf floating on the river. A figure stood at the bow. His facial features were indistinguishable, and his body was shrouded in a black robe. In his hands, he gripped a bone-white oar that looked suspiciously like a human femur.

The boat docked at the shore. The figure spoke, his voice hollow and distant, seeming to echo from all directions at once. "If you two wish to cross the river, please board the boat."

Chen Shang and Ella exchanged a glance. Without wasting any words, they boarded the boat together.

The small boat sailed into the thick fog. Upon reaching the middle of the river, the ferryman suddenly stopped moving forward. He reached out a hand toward Chen Shang and Ella, holding a small scale in his palm.

"You need to pay the fare." He raised the scale before the two and enunciated clearly, "Use your Hearts to weigh the four ultimate existences: Justice, Truth, Destiny, and Future. After weighing, you will use one of them as the price to cross the river."

"Then I’ll go first." Ella stepped forward and pressed her hand onto the left tray.

Chen Shang saw her chest light up. A semi-transparent mass was drawn out of her body and landed on the tray. The scale began to tilt, and four points of light emerged on the right tray: White Justice, Gold Truth, Silver Destiny, and Purple Future.

Ella reached out, picked up the Purple speck of light, and placed it into her own tray. The scale dipped sharply before stabilizing. She turned to look at Chen Shang. "An interesting design. I’ll wait for you on the opposite shore." Then, her body slowly faded away, vanishing into thin air.

The ferryman’s eyes, like two clusters of spectral Fire, turned to look at Chen Shang.

Chen Shang remained silent for a moment. He walked up to the scale, reached out, and pressed his hand onto the left tray. His chest also lit up, and a faint Gold mass was drawn out and placed on the tray. That was his Heart.

The scale began to shake violently, nearly tipping over.

The ferryman presented the four options once again: Justice, Truth, Destiny, and Future.

Chen Shang hesitated for a second, then chose the Gold Truth.

The scale tilted once more. The side with his Heart grew lighter—so light that it almost popped up entirely. The Truth was too heavy; his Heart couldn’t bear it.