"So heavy, can you cut the waist first?"

On the tenth level of the Silent Spiral, Harvey lay on the edge of the crevice, holding on to the Beastman with his only right hand. Logically, without other limbs to hold onto the ground, he should be dragged down by the Beastman. However, behind Harvey was a corpse hugging him; though the corpse wasn't very strong, its overall mass was at least greater than the Beastman.

The Beastman smiled bitterly, "Even if I wanted to, I don't have hands to cut the waist. Besides, Master, you can't pull me up; it's probably not a weight issue."

Qikara's condition was only slightly better than Harvey's; his left hand had regenerated to the elbow, but his legs were still empty.

At the moment Qikara was rushed into the crevice, Harvey immediately spread his Void Wings and flew over, grabbing Qikara's wrist at the last second. However, not only could the Void Wings not lift them up, but Harvey was nearly dragged down by Qikara; fortunately, Harvey could still control Alice, and the three formed a chain, barely stopping the fall.

Yet three minutes passed, and not only did Harvey fail to pull Qikara up, he even fell slightly. Though it was authentic, this body of Harvey's was just produced, even lacking complete limb parts; his muscles, veins, and skin were too delicate—in simple terms, not tough enough.

After three minutes of exertion, Harvey's right hand began to feel sore and weak, and he couldn't even lift his elbow. The Necromancer thought for a moment, and his arm suddenly turned grayish-black and withered like a Corpse Ghost's arm.

"It's not a strength issue." Qikara shook his head, "If strength worked, you would have already pulled me up."

Harvey didn't answer, but the gray-black on his arm spread to Qikara's hand. The Beastman was startled, then understood the Necromancer's intention, "You're trying to turn me into a corpse, see if you can resolve my special status, and then find a way to turn me back into a normal person?"

However, as the Corpse Energy spread over half of Qikara's body, the Beastman gasped in horror, shivering, "M-Master, stop it. I-I can't bear it... it's so scary, so uncomfortable, I don't want it..."

"So Master, you've been enduring this kind of torment all along?" Qikara's teeth chattered, but it didn't affect his chatter at all, "The parts infected by Corpse Energy feel like they're all stuffed into a box only the size of a fingertip, can't move, can't turn, can't touch. The suppression makes me want to cut these parts off directly."

"When you used Ice Cold Flowing Fire, your entire body was infected with Corpse Energy, so wouldn't it be..."

"That's the feeling closest to death," Harvey said, "Being trapped in a box, unable to think, unable to move, unable to do anything, forever trapped."

Qikara couldn't help but ask, "Then Master, you should be very afraid of death, right?"

"That's just close to death, not true death," Harvey said, "According to Hagen Dazs' records, death has no pleasure, no discomfort, no movement, nor stillness. Death is nothingness, the ultimate of all things—death is not a feeling, but a state. Just like growing up, falling asleep, it's not worth fearing, nor is it worth yearning."

"When you first come into contact with Corpse Energy, you might feel fear and disgust, but as you contact Corpse Energy longer, you'll start to seek deeper death. For instance, when I smoke sugar and then experience Corpse Energy, I feel like I'm truly dead."

Qikara smiled bitterly, "Master, your tastes are too... sophisticated."

The Beastman turned his head to look at the people falling from the crevice, then turned to Harvey, muttering, "Master, why... haven't you fallen down?"

"I thought it might be because of your strength, but I just saw even Forest Keeper Harp fall down. Even Legendary Mages can't cope with this disaster, so it shouldn't be a matter of strength, especially as you're just recovering from a severe injury."

"If it's due to race, that isn't right either; most of the people falling down are from the Human Race, yet I'm still a Beastman. Age? Gender? Magic Faction? None seem to be deciding factors."

Harvey said, "There's only one difference between you and me."

"Yes," Qikara said, "I am Senluoian, and Master you are not."

"To describe roughly, I feel like I'm in a torrent, subjected to downward force. All my struggles are offset by the torrent, so the Void Wings are useless, Technique Spirit is useless, Miracle is useless," said the Beastman, "If this is a disaster only effective on Senluoians, then all Senluoians are being swept into the Silent Spiral, and neither Mages nor non-Mages can escape death."

"Then, only you outsiders will survive; all Senluoians will die."

Harvey quietly watched Qikara, amid the drizzling human rain, Master and Apprentice enjoyed a rare serenity.

After a long time, Qikara finally spoke slowly:

"Damn!"

The Beastman trembled all over, gripping the Necromancer's arm tightly, almost crushing his silver teeth, shouting angrily, "Why must we all die! And you, just because you are not Senluoian, can live?! Why! Why! Why!"

"I'm a Holy Domain Mage! A Holy Domain Mage above all life! How can I die so collectively, so insignificantly, so... suffocatingly!"

Qikara cried tears and snot, even bawling like a child. This versatile, adaptable, and accepting Beastman finally showed his most genuine side, with no technique, only emotional outpour.

This is the charm of death, facing the most fair death, all beings can reveal their true hearts.

"Sorry, Master," Qikara sobbed, squeezing his eyes shut hard, seemingly trying to drain the tears dry, "Showing you my ugliness."

"Not ugly," Harvey said, "I used to never distinguish between the Beastmen's differences, but just now, I've remembered you. No matter who, in the moment they charge towards death, they will show the most genuine beauty."

The Beastman sniffed and smiled bitterly, "I really don't know if you're mocking me... I wish I could greet death as calmly and even joyously as you, Master, but I really can't. Actually, most people in this world can't, that's why there's a position like End-of-Life Caregiver."

"You won't die," Harvey said, "Whether an hour, a day, or a year, I will always hold onto you."

"I promised to train you into a qualified Necromancer. At least, until I teach you the most basic knowledge, I won't let you die."

Qikara asked, "What are the basic knowledge for a necromancer?"

"How to become a qualified corpse," Harvey replied.

"Quickly teach me," the Beastman urged.

"Actually, there's not much to teach," Harvey said. "We cannot choose our birth, cannot choose our fortunes, and cannot even choose our death. So a corpse's value reflects on whether they lived earnestly before death."

"Earnestly doesn't mean positivity, success, or smooth sailing, but whether there's hope in the heart. As long as there's still a place you wish to go, even living under a bridge and eating garbage makes one an upper-grade corpse; if living without goals, even a legendary mage is just subpar material."

Qikara listened very seriously, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"What's the matter?"

"I realized I used to be subpar material, but just now, I've turned into upper-grade."

Harvey was a bit puzzled, "What do you mean?"

"In the Tribulation Fire Temple and the Four Pillars God Sect, I never had much of a goal. Until just now, I had the thought to learn necromancy and become a great necromancer," Qikara laughed. "Am I qualified now?"

"Qualified," Harvey nodded. "Whether as a corpse or as a necromancer."

"That's great," the Beastman sighed with relief, but then shook his head, "It's a pity it's also useless."

"Then let me teach you how to provide end-of-life care," Qikara lifted his head and said, "Master, you really don't know how to talk. In the future, when you encounter someone who is about to die, be a bit nicer to them, after all, they're about to become your material."

"Makes sense." Harvey nodded, "How should I do it?"

"Actually, it's quite complicated, with many tricks and taboos, but I don't have much time, so I'll teach you the funeral poem, and you'll sing this poem directly to the dying in the future." Qikara said, "I'll sing a line, you sing a line."

"When I see all things that grow, can only be perfect in an instant."

"On the world stage there's nothing, only flames pulling in secret."

"I see humans growing like grass and trees, given rises and falls by the same sky."

"Flourishing in youth, declining at midday, all beauty is erased from memory!"

"So this trick of the moment stays, letting your youthful visage appear before me."

"While cruel time and decay conspire to turn your youthful day into dim night,"

"To love you, I will fight against time,"

"What it takes from you, I will reignite."

After chanting the last line, Qikara's body had already transformed into transparent liquid, flowing through Harvey's fingers. A dozen Flame Technique Spirits climbed up along Harvey's withered arm, silently watching the beings plummet into the cleft with the necromancer.

...

...

Ka!

The Gray Fox Blade pinned between the rocks, Black Crow gazed upward, through over a dozen layers of silent spirals, directly seeing Senluo's sky.

People fell like rain, making Black Crow feel as if he too had become a raindrop. He tried to climb up, but his body didn't budge, all strength wasted on empty space, as if he was holding not a person, but Hell itself.

Despite this, Black Crow revealed no anxiety, calmly asking, "Are you okay?"

He looked down at the person he was holding.

When the cleft appeared earlier, Black Crow had no way to avoid it and fell directly into the massive fissure, simultaneously someone fell from above, Black Crow instinctively reached out and grabbed them, then swiftly drew the Gray Fox Blade to dig into the wall to stop the fall.

After that appeared an unsettling and mesmerizing rain of people, along with the rescued person being silent all the while, which is why Black Crow hadn't paid attention to them.

Until now, he saw the person wearing cat-ear pajamas, sweet-looking, petite, and tightly gripping Black Crow's wrist with both hands. Her right palm also had a fresh blood hole.

"I'm fine, Tamasi." She lifted her head, calmly said.

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