It was pitch black, yet a strange, illuminated space existed within the darkness.
Ed looked around the dark void, his feet resting on the surface of the silent water. At some point, his shoes had disappeared, leaving him barefoot on the water. While standing on water might sound impressive, the reality was unnerving; the abyss beneath his feet was a monster's maw of unknown depth, promising to devour him at any moment. It was not a pleasant feeling.
A hint of coldness, seemingly not from the water itself, seeped into his soles. By now, Ed's heart was beating so loudly he could hear it perfectly in the stillness.
An inexplicable feeling, very close to fear, clenched his heart. But the next moment, it mysteriously transformed into a peacefulness as gentle as a summer wind.
Although Ed had never been to such a weird place before, nor would he have come even if paid, after that mysterious feeling washed over him, his apprehension vanished. He felt no curiosity about its origin; it felt completely natural. He simply wanted to remain where he was, untouched by the passage of time.
Ding Dong!
A sound, like a water droplet hitting a surface, echoed through the void.
The water in front of him rippled. Circles spread outwards until they faded into the bright darkness. As the ripples subsided, something emerged from the water.
Ed watched this breathtaking scene with an unusual calm, a soft smile on his face. His heart held no fear or curiosity, only a frightening serenity.
A female figure slowly rose from the water, her eyes full of love and an unknown, possessive desire as she looked at him. Her face was both slightly blurry and perfectly clear. This was his mother.
She reached out towards him, her eyes overflowing with love, but then let her hands drop helplessly. The smile on her face held a hint of reluctance, but also relief. She wanted to walk over, to grab his hand.
The moment the thought formed, she stepped forward. Memories surfaced in Ed's mind, some of his and some of his body's original owner. The face of Ed's mother began to blur again. Her steps quickened, yet the distance between them did not change at all.
She broke into a wild run, her feet creating ripples on the water's surface. Still, the distance remained immutable.
A canoe appeared beside her, as if it had always been there. A wooden paddle lay inside, and a small lantern hung from the bow. His mother stepped gently into the canoe, sat down, picked up the paddle, and slid silently across the water.
Finally, she turned her head. Her face became clear once more, her eyes full of profound reluctance. The last thing Ed saw was her back as she receded into the darkness, a lone figure in a small boat, holding a lantern and heading into the abyss.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Only then did he kneel weakly on the water, gasping for breath. A certain thought in his mind had completely vanished. Tears that were not his own suddenly streamed from his eyes for no reason.
Like a rising dam, ripples continuously appeared on the water in front of him. Though there was no major change, a new feeling settled in his mind. Ed had truly merged with this body. The original owner's memories were no longer unfamiliar and slow as before. His body felt lighter, and his mind seemed much clearer.
The scene suddenly changed.
Light shone down from above. He opened his eyes abruptly and found himself back in reality, still maintaining his previous posture with his hands crossed over his shoulders.
"What was that just now? Was I hallucinating?" Ed couldn't help but ask the priest in front of him.
The priest shook his head, his expression unreadable. "That is the river leading to the world of the dead. With the Stone Mother's blessing, her family, you, were able to see her off to the final place," He paused, then added, "Do not worry. The Stone Mother will protect her, and she will reach the other side."
Only then did Ed see that the pile of bones beneath the Stone Mother's statue had completely dissipated, turned into a pile of bone ash. A cloth bag had been placed underneath it.
The priest turned, picked up the cloth bag, and the bone powder slipped inside. After receiving the bag containing the ashes, Ed bowed again in gratitude, though his mind was now racing, trying to digest the vision.
After a moment's thought, he asked hesitantly, "Priest Pakchi, why did you conclude my mother was dead years ago when you never saw her body?"
"I thought you would keep that to yourself until the end," Pakchi said with a smile that was not at all pleasant, giving off a creepy feeling.
He then led Ed outside to the adjacent cemetery and found his mother's grave from his memory. Only then did Ed notice the tombstones, made of cylindrical wood piles, were strange. Each had a very obvious circular pit in the middle, containing a half-broken stone. His mother's tombstone had one too.
"See these stones? They represent every resident on the island. When they die, their stone cracks," Priest Pakchi explained as he picked up a shovel and began digging a pit behind the tombstone.
A few minutes later, he turned to Ed. "Come and scatter your mother's ashes here."
Ed nodded like an obedient child. As he did so, he asked, "What about my father? There was no funeral for him. Was it because his stone didn't crack?"
"No, that's not the case. Your father was not a resident of the island. Outsiders don't have life stones," Priest Pakchi replied without hesitation, a hint of hostility creeping into his tone when speaking of Ed's father.
Ed raised an eyebrow at the priest's weird reaction but, unfamiliar enough to press the topic, asked something more general. "What about me? Do I have one?"
"Of course you do. Your mother was a resident blessed by the Stone Mother, and you were born on the island. Of course, you have your own stone."
Hearing this, Ed nodded with an understanding look and silently filled the hole, burying the ashes.
At least if I die silently at sea one day, Raila won't have to wait for me until her death, staring at the sea, hoping I'll return. This is quite a nice spell the Stone Mother goddess left. I'm impressed; she seems like a good goddess, Ed thought, deciding to pay more attention to this deity.
After a simple recollection and memorial service, Ed was about to leave when Priest Pakchi stopped him. "Do you really want to be a treasure hunter?"
"Of course! And I will be the world's greatest treasure hunter, you can write that down," Ed replied with a confident smile, thumping his chest and giving the poker-faced priest a playful wink.
If not for his system, Ed would have had no intention of being a treasure hunter; it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. With his future knowledge, he'd have become a merchant or a pirate boss from the shadows.
But with a system that made treasure hunting like picking money off the street, and since it fit his personality of doing less work for more gain perfectly, why not? Not to mention these treasures hid extraordinary powers, and he had already experienced one.
For someone who had been an ordinary person all his life and died from a knife to the chest... how could he not be tempted by the allure of extraordinary power, especially when he had dreamed of being a wizard since he was ten? Now he had the chance to achieve his greatest dream from his last life; naturally, he would pursue it.
While thinking, Ed subconsciously touched the ring on his left little finger with a greedy smile. He was only one step away from being a wizard... well, maybe not.
Hearing Ed's confident answer, Priest Pakchi nodded with an understanding look. "You are a talented child. Yesterday's success proved that. But you know too little about this world... Alright, you know nothing about this world. It's too dangerous to let you go out to sea like this. I have some old friends outside our island; one is a treasure hunter, a good one, and his character is also very good. Do you want to board his ship?"
Hearing the creepy priest, who had been looking at him with ulterior motives the entire time, now behaving like a novice village chief giving him a push toward his dream, Ed couldn't help but frown deeply. He took a few steps back and pondered seriously, seeing the other party maintain a natural look.
Why is this creepy priest helping me for no reason? As far as I know, he's an introverted old man who rarely meets anyone and has no relationship with my parents... He doesn't have some ulterior motive, right? Ed thought, covering his chest with his arms.
Before dying, Ed had nothing better to do in the hospital, so he passed the time on the internet. After an accident, he got interested in the dark web, and the experience wasn't good. He saw some... things he shouldn't have, which left a deep shadow on his heart. Seeing someone offering him a free gift for no reason, those unhealthy memories naturally surfaced, making him more vigilant.
However, after a few seconds of silence, some of the original owner's memories appeared in his mind, providing an answer. But it was still hard for Ed, who had suffered from scammers in his past life, to believe it: There is no reason. Helping each other on this island is a matter of course.
As a priest of the Stone Mother, although Priest Pakchi looked creepy, he was equivalent to the island's owner, which Ed had thought was that old man from before, to whom Aunt Marcy had brought him to deal with Raila's ex-husband.
Of course, the owner was elected by the people, or in this island's case, by the Stone Mother herself. This goddess seems a bit too free, even giving a thumbs-up to the winning candidate for such an insignificant thing.
This left Ed conflicted. Following Priest Pakchi's arrangements might help him understand the world faster and could be safer. But it could also be more dangerous if Priest Pakchi's so-called "old friend" wasn't the good person he claimed to be, then he would be in big trouble.
"You have experienced the power of the ring, right? Aren't you curious about the magical powers you've experienced these days? This isn't like your usual casual and brave character. Did what you experienced make you afraid of others' ulterior motives? Are you hesitant because of this?"
Priest Pakchi, though he had metaphorical black lines all over his forehead and veins bulging on his neck, his nails digging into his palms behind his back out of anger, observed Ed's behavior, especially his look as if he were a young girl staring at a monster (a rapist). It literally made him want to smash the stone beside him on Ed's stupid head.
After all, he was a priest with a good reputation. He might look a bit creepy because he couldn't smile and liked to be alone, but that didn't mean he was some kind of monster like Raila's ex-husband.
But thinking of all Ed had been through these past few days, he took a deep breath to calm down and said with a forced smile, though the murderous intent leaking from his body was so strong that Ed broke out in a cold sweat all over.
Though Ed was under the overwhelming pressure of the other party's killing intent, when the priest mentioned his magic ring, it was like thunder in his heart. He took a few more steps back, hiding both his chest and his ring, looking at Priest Pakchi with a shocked expression.
It was obvious this world had magical powers, and this island was hiding many of them, especially since it received special treatment from the goddess herself. As a priest who had likely seen many magical things, it wasn't surprising he possessed extraordinary powers, probably related to the Stone Mother. The hallucination Ed had just entered, where he met his mother, was obviously not normal, and there was a 99.9% chance Priest Pakchi had a hand in it.
Ed's concealment was as conspicuous as a student cheating under a teacher's nose during an exam, thinking the teacher wouldn't notice, when in reality, the teacher knew everything.
Even with the help of memory, Ed was too cautious when he first came to this world. It could be said he didn't trust anyone at all... Well, except Aunt Marcy and Raila, though it had taken him a few days to verify they were truly the most trustworthy people to him, at least for now.
Priest Pakchi seemed to see Ed's troubles and spoke with a cold voice, his anger still rising without any sign of calming down. "If you want to obtain this extraordinary power, you can't do it without channels and some reliable friends. And it just so happens that the treasure hunter I recommend to you has such a channel, and they are reliable too. As long as you show your talent, you will have a chance to see the real world."
Hearing this, Ed, who felt he had no other option, took a deep breath and no longer hesitated. He nodded and said, "No problem, I'm willing."
"Others may not be willing to take you just because you are, but I will send them a message. They seem to be active in this sea area during this period."
After finishing speaking, Priest Pakchi came in front of Ed, grabbed his shoulders with trembling hands, and spoke through gritted teeth, "Okay, boy, it's time for you to go. I will notify you when they come. Exercise well. You can't go to sea without a good body."
Saying that, under Ed's horrified gaze, Priest Pakchi, who looked like an old man with one foot in the grave, lifted him as if he were made of feathers and, with a loud curse, threw him like a spear with his full strength.
"AHHHH!!"
Ed's loud scream echoed across the entire island as he flew through the air like a cannonball, landing hundreds of meters from the beach in the sea.
"May the Stone Mother not bless you, you shameless brat. I hope you get eaten by a shark," Priest Pakchi said, a satisfied smile finally appearing on his face. He nodded to himself before walking back to his place.