My Notoriety Spreads Throughout the World-Chapter 424 - 364: Lost in the Maze of Self

As soon as Sevia entered the village, she noticed countless unfriendly gazes. Every household had tightly closed doors and windows, with a few villagers peering through small gaps in the windows with wary eyes.

"Excuse me..."

"Get lost."

"Is there anything I can help with..."

"Why haven't you disappeared yet."

"Sorry, I..."

"Where did this wild girl come from, all clean and tidy, surely one of those bastards, talking sweet but actually here to take things."

"Everyone is nearly dead, there's nothing left for them to steal, a damn bunch of vampires."

When she wanted to speak and seek help, the villagers would curse under their breath and silently lock their doors and windows.

After several setbacks, Sevia remained undeterred. Walking along the small path by the fields, she noticed there weren't many crops growing. The soil in the fields had clumped together in large patches after last night's rainfall; a phenomenon that occurs only when the soil hasn't been tilled for a long time.

Such circumstances revealed,

it seemed labor in this village had been scarce for a considerable period before the new year.

When she reached the center of the village, a statue standing there caught her attention. The statue looked newly restored, indicating someone had recently worked on it; the man depicted was dignified and solemn, with deep and distant eyes, a cloak draped over his shoulders, and the sword in his hand resembling a scepter, poised in front of him. The armor's patterns were intricately carved, resembling an exquisite artwork.

What kind of King would erect his statue in the center of a village suffering so much, and even send someone to repair it regularly?

Sevia was a little lost in thought. When she snapped back to reality, she noticed a large black rat lying in the arms of the King statue. Its small, round black eyes glimmered with a cunning light, and it was even bigger than the one she had seen under the city wall.

As big as two You!

Sevia wasn't particularly afraid of terrifying monsters, but she was quite scared of rodents like this. With dirty and bristly hair, their small, fierce black eyes constantly exuded cunning, like a walking petri dish of bacteria.

She quietly took a step back, and the black rat seemed to sense the girl's repulsion, arching its body as if ready to pounce at any moment.

Until a long wooden stick reached out and struck the back of the black rat, knocking it to the ground.

"Squeak—"

"Shoo! Shoo!" A woman's voice shouted.

The startled black rat twisted its body and ran away from her legs.

Sevia looked up and met the eyes of an elderly woman. The woman was short and hunched over, supporting herself with the cane in her hand.

The woman's head was wrapped in a piece of tattered cloth, covering her hair at the chin and forehead completely.

Compared to the other villagers here, the woman seemed relatively cleaner, yet still her wrinkled skin was covered with a thick layer of grime, obscuring its original color.

"Young lady, where are you from?"

The elderly woman asked softly, taking out a moist cloth from her pocket to wipe the dust from Sevia's cheek. Beneath the gray coarse cloak, as the dust was removed, a clean and delicate face emerged with bright, gentle eyes.

At first, she didn't look stunning, but the more the observer focused, the more they were drawn to the girl's internal resilience, like a winter flower waiting to bloom — perhaps she had already bloomed splendidly.

"Very pretty, you don't look like the Lord's daughter."

Even after a long journey, her charm did not fade with the dust clouding her face. Sevia knew she couldn't hide from her, nor did she try to explain, because she truly didn't know where she came from.

For her, the self was the most unfamiliar yet familiar thing, possessing a complete sense of self, clearly aware that her ultimate goal was to pursue that self, to fulfill unfinished duties, to strive for noble ideals, and to reunite with those who had brought both beauty and hurt into her memories.

But she felt hardly any sense of belonging to this complete self, a gap resulting from the loneliness accumulated during her journey and fragmented memories.

Her mind was filled with a mass of fragmented memories, too many people's recollections surged into her mind at the moment she killed her older self. The joys and sorrows of countless people played out in her mind every day, sometimes she could hardly discern which memories truly belonged to her past self.

Simply put, she only knew what she had to do, but didn't know who she was, or why she needed to do it.

Her past did not belong to her...

Yet she had to embark towards an unknown future for a past that didn't belong to her.

Once such thoughts arise, they rapidly proliferate like a toxic seed, rooting every corner of her consciousness, prompting her to repeatedly question why; what's the purpose of all this?

When she fell into the vortex of self-doubt, the Devil in her heart would seize the opportunity to whisper in her ear, eager to take over everything about her, tearing her consciousness into fragments.

During such times, Sevia would turn to feel the feather in her heart — that warm, precious feather would soothe her restless spirit until she calmed down, picking up the shattered consciousness to rebuild a stronger wall.

Perhaps, before she reached the journey's end, all doubts would find their answers, and she would find her place of belonging.

The old woman, seeing her silent, shook her head and asked, "Young lady, surely you know your name?"

"My name is... Tang..." Sevia opened her mouth, holding her forehead as a sharp, stabbing pain suddenly ached within.

"What's wrong, young lady?"

"My name is..."

Sevia stubbornly bit her lip, trying hard to search through past memories. Just like countless previous attempts, it only brought her more pain, plunging her deeper into the vortex of fragmented memories without any meaning.

"Sevia." she said, her gaze filled with uncertainty.

"My name is Sevia."

"Come with me, young lady." The woman nodded. "I think you need some help."

...

Oasis, Light Chasing Garden address.

Before embarking, Xu Xiaoyou twirled her pen between her fingers, reviewing the players' resumes, electing the ones meeting her criteria into the Guild.

Just then, her inbox received an email from an 'unknown visitor'.

"Sevia."

"My name is Sevia."

Xu Xiaoyou lifted her head, eyes gradually widening, setting all ongoing tasks aside.

Just as Xu Xiaoyou was about to inquire about the situation, the outline of the letter began to turn transparent and phantom-like. Before it completely transformed into scattered light dots drifting in the air, another message from the unknown visitor popped up, causing her eyes to tremble.

"If you see this message, please give me a warm hug. The world is so cold... I'm losing my direction."

"Sevia? I'll be waiting for you at Pangard."

"Unknown visitor logged off."