Chapter 190: Karen and Pu'er

Chapter 190: Karen and Purr

Purr pouted, staring at Karen.

Then,

she silently raised her feline paw and placed it upon Karen's palm.

She did not utter her assent, yet untethered from her prior emotions, she let out occasional sobs that resembled a nod.

Karen reached out to scoop Purr up, seating himself upon the bed and resting her upon his lap.

Purr crouched there, averting her gaze, occasionally extending a paw to swat away the hand he placed on her head, yet she made no move to leap from his knees.

Having spent over a century as a cat without shedding her highborn lady's temperament only proved just how willful the Purr of old truly was.

Yet, this was fine; had she conversed with him from the start in the manner of an old crone, he would have woken each morning to the sight of a dreary black cat nagging at his bedside, casting a shroud of gloom over his life.

"So, what must we do next?" Karen inquired.

"Call the Radio Sprite in to help spread out the scroll," Purr replied, for despite her lingering petulance, she dared not throw a tantrum over a matter of such gravity.

Karen looked at Kevin, who understood instantly and darted out of the study;

before long, Kevin returned leading Alfred, who held a scroll in his hand, evidently prepared long in advance.

"Master, are you ready?" Alfred inquired with deep deference.

"Yes."

"Master, perhaps you should..."

By the tone of his voice, he seemed about to say, "Should you not reconsider?"

But catching the sharp glare Purr directed at him as she suddenly turned her head, Alfred ceased his jesting: "Master, please take a seat upon the carpet."

"Very well."

Cradling Purr, Karen stepped down from the bed and sat upon the carpet.

Alfred produced a snow-white scroll and unfurled it before Karen, its surface etched with intricate runes.

Purr climbed down from Karen and crouched opposite him, pressing her feline paw against the scroll.

"Master, please place your hand upon the scroll as well. When I activate it, do not resist the pull it exerts upon your soul. The symbiotic covenant is not an overly difficult ritual, but it requires mutual willingness and zero resistance."

"And after that?" Karen asked.

Purr spoke up: "Then, you must enter the soul space to find me. Once you do, take your soul power..."

Here, Purr paused, organizing her words before continuing:

"Once you find me, slice your finger open and let a few drops of blood fall into my mouth. In the soul space, this should serve as the transference of soul power."

Alfred remarked, "Master, this implies that this symbiosis will be dominated by you; it is Purr acknowledging you as her master."

"Radio Sprite, you need not be quite so blunt."

Alfred smiled and said, "The reasons for your agreement are but two. First, this is your only path to break the current impasse and reclaim your former might; second, you know full well that entering a symbiotic covenant with Master, even if he takes the dominant role, is by no means a loss for you."

"Woof!" Kevin offered an amendment.

"What did Kevin say?" Karen inquired.

Purr did not translate.

Alfred spoke up, "I venture to guess Kevin said that the third point is Mandarin Fish in Squirrel Shape."

Kevin nodded his canine head with a grin.

"Through the scroll, I enter the soul space, find her, and drip three drops of my blood into her mouth—what follows?"

Karen possessed a cautious nature; it was not that he distrusted Purr, but rather that he refused to be caught unprepared should any unforeseen circumstances arise.

"Thereafter, we merely await the outcome," Alfred replied. "The symbiotic ritual carries a modicum of danger, but given your soul and body, Master, as well as Purr's, such concerns are practically negligible. However..."

"However what?"

"However, I fear that with the influx of so much Light-attributed power, whether you can maintain the balance between Light and Order within your body, Master. Should that balance falter, it might bring about trouble and uncertainty."

"I waited until he became an Inquisitor before beginning; he has already anchored his path, so it matters not," Purr explained. "Furthermore, his foundation as an Inquisitor is rock-solid, there will be no issues. Had there truly been a problem, it would have manifested during the purification."

Ignoring Purr's explanation, Alfred looked toward Karen. "Therefore, I still await your decision, Master."

"There is no issue here. If it is merely power being channeled, this body of mine can certainly endure it. If it is faith being channeled, then it matters even less, for I do not believe in gods at all."

At this stage of the Divine Herdsman, Karen placed himself where a god ought to be. Since his path was dominated by his own will and it was he who steered the carriage, there was naturally no room for the faith of other paths to contend for the reins.

"Then all is well. I look forward to your successful completion of the symbiotic covenant, Master."

Alfred felt that Master was moving toward the same realm as Lord Diss—a state where, though technically an Inquisitor, the title could no longer properly define him.

Master's true strength at present already far exceeded that of an ordinary Inquisitor; once the symbiotic covenant succeeded, then Master...

Alfred could no longer calculate it precisely, for that power had long since overflowed the boundaries of the Inquisitor rank, leaving behind any concrete unit of measurement.

"Very well, let us begin then," Karen said.

Next,

Karen and Purr each placed their hand and paw upon the scroll;

Kevin squatted nearby, his mouth agape, watching with great anticipation.

First would be Purr forming the symbiotic bond, and then Karen would help undo a portion of his own seal;

he would not contend with Purr,

for he knew that one who slept in a kennel had no right to supplant one who slept in a bed.

Alfred began to chant the incantation. He spoke not in Maclai, but in Gersa, a language handed down from bygone eras, rumored to be the tongue of the race that pioneered spell arrays; though that race had long since perished, their language endured as the dedicated incantations for certain spells, passed down through generations of sorcery.

Once the chanting ceased,

Alfred's eyes flushed crimson as he gazed upon the scroll.

The scroll radiated a violet luminescence that gradually enveloped both Purr and Karen.

Karen sensed a pulling force tugging at his soul, and casting aside all resistance, he willingly leaned into its embrace.

...

Hum!

When Karen opened his eyes, he found himself standing before the old castle of the Allen Manor; he was entirely alone, not a servant in sight, wrapped in absolute silence.

Was this Purr's soul world?

Without hesitation, Karen stepped into the castle, yet the moment he crossed the threshold, the furnishings shifted—or rather, though the exterior bore the likeness of the Allen Manor castle, the interior was unmistakably the first-floor living room of the Inmemrats home at 13 Mink Street.

It was a scene deeply familiar to Karen;

nevertheless, he did not linger long, turning instead to ascend the stairs.

The second floor was utterly still;

Karen reached the third floor, his gaze drifting first toward the windowsill—the very spot where Purr most loved to curl up back home, basking in the warmth of the sun.

Yet now, the windowsill was empty, and Purr was nowhere to be seen.

Is she in the room?

Karen opened the doors to the rooms one by one. First, he opened his grandfather's bedroom. It was completely empty, yet his gaze lingered a bit longer on the bed. He believed that back home in reality, his grandfather should be lying in that very spot right now.

Next, Karen opened his grandfather's study, but there was no sign of Purr inside either.

Finally, Karen opened his own bedroom.

Because the bed in Karen's bedroom directly faced the door, the moment he opened it, he saw a figure lying on his bed. Before he could get a clear look, his bedroom door and the space within the room suddenly began to expand rapidly.

Then,

A sweeping expanse of white replaced the entire environment. Karen had to close his eyes to let himself adjust for a good while.

He knew this was not a true "blinding light," but rather his soul needing to readjust to the surroundings here.

At last, Karen opened his eyes again and found himself standing at the bottom of a flight of steps. Right in front of him was a white, crystalline dais.

Taking a step forward, Karen began to walk upward.

The dais was massive, but the steps were few. Karen reached the top in no time and beheld a white, holy bed. Lying upon it was a...

Not a cat, but a person—a woman.

Karen walked to the bedside and looked down at the young woman.

She wore a red hood, a pearl necklace hung around her neck, her body was clad in a long black dress, and brown leather boots were on her feet. A wand was clasped tightly in her hand.

Her features were delicate, with a touch of just the right amount of baby fat. She was beautiful, and exceedingly languid.

Karen finally understood now why that young clan master of Dark Moon Island had been infatuated with Purr to such an extent. Even leaving everything else aside, Purr's looks were indeed incredibly striking.

Moreover, combined with an understanding of her personality, one could even imagine her movements and expressions driven by her young-miss temper after waking up. It felt highly charming, and exactly as it should be.

The greatest genius in the history of the Allen family, Purr Allen.

A willful young miss who had reached level 9 of the family’s faith system early on, only to complain that the first ancestor, Allen, was too weak, leaving her with no joy in scaling the peaks of faith from an early age, even uttering lines like, "If I had known, I would have joined a church instead of believing in some first ancestor."

Karen suddenly felt an impulse to reach out and pinch her nose.

He thought it, and so he did it. However, he didn't pinch; instead, he gently scraped his finger across her nose.

Heh, that damn feeling—both unfamiliar and yet so familiar.

He could confirm that since leaving Ruilan for Wayne, she had basically slept in the same bed as him, yet it was hard for him to imagine that she truly had been sleeping in the same bed all this time.

Karen bit into his left index finger, drawing blood until it began to seep from his fingertip.

Then, Karen placed his finger right above Purr’s mouth.

Reaching out with his right hand, he gently helped Purr purse her lips.

Fast asleep, Purr seemed unaware of what was happening outside. She did not wake up, but her brow furrowed slightly at this disturbance to her slumber.

One drop,

Two drops,

Three drops.

Three drops of fresh blood dripped into Purr's mouth.

At that moment, Karen suddenly sensed his eyelids growing heavier and heavier, while his soul sank lower and lower. This terrifying drowsiness came so abruptly that his instinct was to resist, and he did manage to hold it back.

But just then, a faint tearing sound echoed in his ears.

Karen suddenly realized that he could not resist or fight it, otherwise it would cause the symbiosis ritual to fail.

Thus, Karen abandoned his resistance and let the drowsiness engulf him.

Then, he collapsed onto the bed and fell fast asleep.

Once Karen fell asleep, the young girl who had been lying on the bed trembled her long eyelashes and opened her eyes. She sat up from the bed, turned her head, and saw Karen sleeping beside her.

A mischievous grin appeared at the corner of Purr's mouth. She reached out and pinched Karen’s ear.

"That's for teasing me, that's for teasing me, that's for teasing me!"

"Let's see if you dare to enter symbiosis with Loya, let's see if you dare to enter symbiosis with Loya! Clearly I came first, and Diss must have arranged it this way too, hmph!"

"That's for not making fish for me every day, that's for not making fish for me every day!"

Originally, Purr intended to yank his ear a bit, but seeing his tightly furrowed brow even in deep sleep, she suddenly lost her heart to do it.

She knew that his pressure had always

The bedroom.

Alfred squatted upon the floor, bringing himself down to Kevin’s level, as they observed the young master together.

The radiance of the scroll dissolved into nothingness at that exact moment.

"Has the ritual concluded successfully?"

"Woof."

"So now, the young master begins to partake in the benefits of symbiosis?"

"Woof."

Before Karen, a ball of fire suddenly materialized, dancing as though possessed of its own distinct vitality.

"The fire attribute of the Allen family?"

"Woof."

Within the neighboring study, the Sword of Arius inside its scabbard began to tremble, as if responding to a hidden resonance.

Upon the backs of Karen’s hands, two crimson silhouettes of light manifested, and the fire that had appeared earlier began to fuse with them; the pure red, which had resembled the shape of whips, gradually evolved into something akin to two streams of flowing lava.

"Woof."

"The fire attribute power of the Allen family has begun to merge with the Dark Moon Blades?"

Immediately following this, a mist of water emerged before Karen.

"The water attribute power of the Allen family? I recall Pu'er walked the path of the fire attribute."

"Woof."

"You mean the young master shared Pu'er’s bloodline, and from the foundation of that lineage, a dual power of fire and water was born?"

"Woof."

"So, this is what a genius is; regardless of whether the young master walks the path of the Church or the family faith, he remains at the level of a genius?"

"Woof."

"You mean, the very meaning of genius lies in the ability to adapt to any environment with the utmost speed?"

Kevin raised his canine paw, and Alfred extended his hand, completing a high-five with the beast.

After the slap of their paws, Kevin suddenly froze; how was it that this man seemed to comprehend his words perfectly?

Could it be that, from constantly pondering and listening to Karen, Alfred had evolved to the point where he could listen to other entities entirely?

Kevin could not help but turn his canine head, scrutinizing Alfred with profound seriousness; he and Pu'er were still waiting for Karen to advance to the rank of Inquisitor for a fleeting chance at freedom, yet there was one here who had been quietly making a fortune all along?

The Sea God’s Armor manifested upon Karen's body, and soon, the water mist melted into it; in an instant, the armor became far more defined, every single inscription upon it seemingly reorganized anew, with certain spots freezing over and thawing away of their own accord... this defensive capability had been elevated by far more than just a single grade!

Kevin let his tongue hang out; this was no longer a mere "inheritance of bloodline," nor was it a "fusion of bloodline"; the young man before him, whom he had once chosen, had completely bypassed those two preliminary steps and entered straight into the "utilization of bloodline."

Whether it was the Dark Moon Blades or the Sea God’s Armor, he had already used the Allen bloodline to achieve a self-elevation.

At that moment, a piercing white light erupted from Karen’s body.

This was the power of Light!

Kevin sank down to his knees, just as he had during the last purification, feeling once more the aura stemming from the God of Light; then, white foam began to froth from his canine mouth.

Alfred likewise fell to his knees, yet within his eyes there was no dread, only an absolute fanatical fervor!

Finally,

The white light dissipated, and everything returned once more from serenity to serenity.

Slowly,

Karen opened his eyes.

His right eye swirled with a holy, gentle white; immediately following, his left eye revealed a profound, deep black.

—

"The Light of Order—An Overview of Mythology (Original Unabridged Edition)": [The God of Light awakened the God of Order. Thenceforth, wherever the Light shines, Order shall exist.]