Endless Debt-Chapter 917 - 41: Umbilical Cord and Entanglement

Is it falling? Or ascending?

Bologue couldn’t distinguish his current state. His consciousness became incredibly vague, as if on the edge of a dream, wandering between wakefulness and oblivion. To maintain his self-awareness, Bologue had exhausted all his energy, let alone observe his surroundings.

Waves of warmth swept over his body. Bologue felt like he was soaking in the ocean, drifting with the tide.

In theory, Bologue’s body remained in the reality dimension, also known as the Material Realm, while his heart and soul leapt into another dimension, ascending into the Ethereal Realm.

Bologue guessed he might be in some spirit body state. In his blurred vision, he vaguely saw his body gradually piecing together.

Rather than piecing together, it’s more like gradually condensing. His lower limbs were a vague black shadow, which gradually took on a distinct outline, like a blurred image becoming clear. The legs condensed, and with Bologue’s subconscious determining his posture, a familiar Order Bureau uniform covered them.

Bologue transformed from a mass of shadows into a tangible individual, condensed within the Ethereal Realm.

"The blessings of the Debtors come from the Devil. Hence, the connection between the Debtor and the Devil is like the umbilical cord connecting a baby to its mother. We call it the ’umbilical link.’

Mamo’s voice sounded in his ear, like chaotic murmurs in a dream.

"The power of the Condenser comes from the Secret Source. Accordingly, there is a mysterious connection between the Condenser and the Secret Source, this resonance in the unseen, we call it the ’entanglement.’

Bologue tried to swim upwards, but he couldn’t muster any strength. Trying to maintain self-will in the Ethereal Realm is a very difficult task.

"The umbilical link allows Debtors to keenly sense all things related to the Devil, and the depth of the entanglement determines whether the Condenser can fully project in the Ethereal Realm.’

The uniqueness of this stage of the Negative Power User lies in that, upon ascending to this tier, your entanglement with the Secret Source reaches a critical point.

"The higher-tier Condensers, the deeper their entanglement, which also determines whether you can maintain the existence of your self-will in the Ethereal Realm, possess a complete projection, and distinguish yourself from the unconscious ghostly figures.’

Bologue looked towards the muddy dark blue darkness below. It truly resembled a deep sea, where countless black shadows resided beneath him, each representing a Condenser connected to the Secret Source.

Not only Condensers.

All humans possessing the Golden Soul seem to have their soul projections here, but their entanglements are too shallow to condense into a real form in the Ethereal Realm.

Bologue’s entanglement with the Secret Source is very deep. When he ascended to Prayer Believer, Bologue could maintain self-awareness in the Ethereal Realm and even perform some actions. Furthermore, Bologue encountered that blazing white storm and obtained someone’s memory within it.

The memory of someone lost to the Secret Source.

Recalling all this, Bologue still felt a deep fear. If it weren’t for the intervention of the Astronaut, Bologue really didn’t think he could have escaped.

One must know, in this higher dimension, an Undying Body is meaningless.

Consciousness gradually cleared up, and Bologue’s murky, distorted form also became closer to a true human. His current appearance and posture are Bologue’s self-awareness in his subconscious.

A work uniform from the Order Bureau, hair tied up, a ponytail, except for the weapons he often carried, Bologue’s spirit body state was no different than his material realm self.

Bologue possessed form and sufficiently clear will, feeling an irresistible sensation of pressure from all directions.

In this murky nurturing sea, Bologue had a complete, actionable projection, substantially different from those blurry, incomplete shadows.

Under heavy pressure, Bologue continually rose, being pushed out of this nurturing sea.

His entire being popped out of the water, without a single splash... Bologue wasn’t sure if this was the sea; he merely used things familiar in his cognition to refer to these unknown existences, to make it easier for himself to understand their existence.

Looking around, familiar scenes came into view. On the vast icefield stood countless frozen figures, the blazing white storm like a scorching sun fallen onto the earth, with rising flames connecting heaven and earth.

Bologue came to this bizarre place again. Relying on Mamo’s special rituals and device operations, this time Bologue actually fully recorded the process of his projection materializing. One should know, last time when he was aware, he was already on the icefield, without any memory of just being in the sea.

Looking down, the surface froze the instant Bologue left the sea. Bologue crouched down, wiping the icy snow dust, and could vaguely see countless shadows in the darkness, like drowned deceased, scrambling to climb out of the water’s surface.

A beam of strong light approached, illuminating the dim seabed and the end of Bologue’s vision, where countless black shadows lay stacked like a sea of sand.

They were densely packed, as numerous as cattle fur, almost filling the seabed. Bologue found it hard to imagine how much they had accumulated. Now, what he could see was only a small surface portion. Under this oppressive array of shadows, they might be piled several thousand meters high.