Chapter 189: Taking the Divine Tree Fruit
The previously calm Kaguya Ōtsutsuki now couldn't quite figure out what Franklin was planning. She looked at him in confusion, hoping for an answer.
Just then, a light tap landed on her shoulder. Kaguya froze for a moment, and in the next instant her figure vanished from where she stood.
When she reappeared dozens of meters away, she stared at the empty spot she had just occupied, feeling the lingering presence of the hand that had rested on her shoulder.
Kaguya sensibly chose to behave, silently turning back—only to see a woman with the same long white hair as her, but with red eyes and adorable elf-like ears, smiling at her.
Kaguya had planned to counterattack, but after sensing the woman's mountain-like mental pressure, she immediately became obedient.
Seeing this, Franklin gave a faint smile and waved his hand at the two of them.
"You two get along. I won't interfere. Just make sure you don't disturb me."
You Wange beckoned to him, making Franklin stop just as he was about to withdraw.
The next moment, You Wange appeared right beside him, raising a hand to tap him on the forehead of his consciousness.
"Remember, awareness and physical form are different. Over time, it slowly spreads. Next time someone else needs to enter your body, tell me beforehand. I'll make preparations for you.
Otherwise, consciousnesses will contaminate each other. Now I need to deal with her. Be careful when you take the fruit, and remember—endure with everything you have."
Though Franklin didn't fully understand, he could feel her concern—warm like family. He smiled and nodded.
"Got it. If something like this happens again, I'll tell you in advance. Since it's already done this time, I'll trouble you to take care of the rest."
You Wange flicked his forehead lightly, then waved her hand with a smile, sending him out of his spiritual sea.
Now the vast inner space was empty except for You Wange and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. The smile that had lingered on You Wange's face faded into a complex expression as she turned toward Kaguya.
"Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, right? You carry the aura of someone I once knew. Looks like she's no longer around. Truly… everything changes."
Her tone sounded like a question, a sigh, and self-murmur all at once. Quietly drifting to Kaguya's side, she placed a hand on Kaguya's consciousness-projection before the latter could react.
Eyes closed, You Wange silently perceived something, while Kaguya could only stand still.
After a long time, You Wange lowered her hand. Her expression shifted from complexity to disbelief, then from disbelief to amazement.
"How interesting. Very interesting… so she even left behind a contingency for resurrection…"
When Franklin returned to his body, he exhaled softly. The three girls surrounding him stared curiously.
He cleared his throat and explained, "Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's consciousness appeared inside me just now, so I was communicating with her.
Nymph, you can enter my body now. Block whatever subtle modifications that wedge is trying to make. Change it so I can use its power, but it can't influence me at all."
Hearing his instructions, Nymph nodded obediently. She held his right hand, and within only a minute, she released it.
"Master, it's done. Do you want the memories and special bloodline inside? There are all kinds of ninjutsu, and something called Bloodline Encompassing."
Franklin frowned. "Are you sure you didn't sense wrong? It's Bloodline Encompassing, not Bloodline Limit?"
Nymph closed her eyes again. After a moment, she looked back at him. "It really is Bloodline Encompassing. It's something similar to your bloodline. It seems to share the same origin as the Divine Tree Fruit's energy."
Listening to her explanation, Franklin thought for a long while before shaking his head.
"Seal it inside the wedge for now. I'll decide after I take the Divine Tree Fruit."
With that, he didn't waste any more time. He flew upward toward the enormous red fruit at the top of the Divine Tree.
Only when he reached it did he realize how massive it was. Forget eating it—it was dozens of times larger than he was.
After brief thought, Franklin decided to pluck it first. As soon as his palm touched the fruit, the red mass instantly began shrinking before his eyes. It shrank until it was only half the size of his palm, then finally stopped.
Just as Kaguya had said, the Divine Tree withered completely at that moment, turning into a lifeless trunk that crumbled and collapsed.
Holding the red fruit, Franklin descended and tossed it into his mouth, swallowing it whole.
"Keep me safe. I don't know what'll happen after I take it. But if something goes wrong, don't worry about me—put your own safety first."
No sooner had he spoken than he suddenly sat cross-legged, faint light radiating from his body.
After losing consciousness and then regaining it, Franklin found himself in a silent, pitch-black space where he couldn't see his own hand.
Aside from sensing his own existence, he couldn't perceive anything else. At first, he could still think calmly and try to understand why he was here.
But as time dragged on, boredom and loneliness slowly swallowed his mind.
He tried to cultivate, tried to speak, tried to activate his arts, tried to summon the Dimensional Heavenly Tome—all without any response.
Only his increasingly chaotic thoughts remained.
To keep himself from going mad, he forced himself to stay calm and began counting silently.
From one to one hundred, to one thousand, to ten thousand, one hundred thousand, a million… Numbers flooded his mind until he finally lost patience.
He wanted to vent, to scream, to return to the warm and joyful world he knew—but he couldn't.
He recalled his childhood, the moment he ate the fruit, memories from his past life, memories from after reincarnation. The more he thought, the more his mind spiraled.
He even began doubting whether his reincarnation was nothing more than a dying hallucination.
Then he suddenly remembered—You Wange had warned him before he took the fruit: endure.
This became his final lifeline.
Endurance meant survival, and she had told him so.
Grasping that thread of hope, Franklin gradually calmed again. Time passed—he did not know how long.
He clung to that final lifeline, but eventually he lost all sense of time and space.
He didn't know how many sets of a million he had counted—perhaps tens of millions—but the world around him remained exactly the same:
Darkness.
Darkness.
And soundless darkness.