Pokémon: From Magikarp

Chapter 868 After Death

Lin Shi's voice drifted away with the wind. His somewhat presumptuous words did not receive any rebuttal from the girl, only endless silence.

"I noticed from the moment we met that you cared so much about the baby, but even when you asked me for help, you didn't take the initiative to pick it up. This made me wonder if it was a trap."

"And just now when I faced that foreign man, you were standing right next to me, yet he didn't react to your presence at all. That can't be explained simply by his arrogance."

Having said that, Lin Shi paused slightly and looked at her with complicated eyes.

"Your existence seems to be incompatible with this world. Apart from me, you seem to be invisible and intangible to other people or elves, even if you are right in front of them."

"So I want to know, what is your current state? Are you still human?"

During this period, Lin Shi has been observing Rena Mizuno. The other party's condition made him think of the legendary "ghost". He really felt like he had seen a ghost.

As for why he could see and even touch her, it was most likely because of his identity as a gatekeeper and the power of super-overcoming. These were the only two powers that reached the origin, and Lin Shi himself could not fully understand them.

"Hmm... huh."

Sitting on the swing, Reina Mizuno pondered for a moment, then stood up with a sigh and turned to look at Lin Shi.

"Well, in that case, let me introduce myself. Yes, I am Reina Mizuno, the daughter of the chief priest of Ryugu Shrine and the next goddess. Of course, this was my previous identity. As for my current situation, I actually don't know myself."

"This is a long story..."

Then Reina slowly recounted her memories, telling Lin Shi about her family's special physique and the curse that caused them to suddenly disappear. Finally, she said that their physique was accidentally activated because they were targeted by the people from Polaris.

"At that moment, I felt a black screen before my eyes, and the space around me began to twist and spin. Then the world turned black and white, and the sky pressed down directly."

"When I woke up again, I was in a white world. There was nothing there, but for some reason, there were some memories in my mind that didn't belong to me."

"That was a memory about the Xiyi people, a race from the ancient elven world. That memory told me that I was a member of the Xiyi people, with a special mission, and I had to shoulder the responsibility of reviving the Xiyi people."

Reina pressed her temples with her hands, sat on the swing again, and continued while thinking carefully.

"I groped around in that white world for a long time, constantly digesting the memories in my mind, trying to figure out where I was and what my situation was."

"Gradually, I found that the world before my eyes became clearer and clearer. A road suddenly appeared in the originally white world. After I set foot on that road, I saw many memories of the past on both sides of the road."

"But just as I was about to reach the end of the road, an explosion suddenly sounded, followed by a dazzling golden light descending from the sky. I, who had been lost in thought, was pulled out of that world."

"It turns out I was asleep the entire time. When I woke up, there was no road ahead. I was standing on a huge altar made of strange stones. The world before me was a terrifying world I had never seen before."

After listening to her words, Lin Shi fell silent for a while. This process had a strong sense of déjà vu, somewhat similar to the "ascension" process mentioned by Su Qimeng. It seemed that she, like Su Qimeng, also failed at the last moment.

"Then how did you become like this?"

Lin Shi continued to ask, Su Qimeng had also experienced this process but nothing unusual seemed to have happened.

"I don't know either. In fact, I don't even know how long I stayed in that white world. It felt like a moment, but also like a long time. I think my body problems started around that time."

"When I woke up, I found myself disconnected from the world. The ghost-type elves I encountered seemed to be completely unable to see or hear me, and I no longer felt hungry."

"However, as the memory slowly digested, I did have a guess about my current situation. Do you know why the Xiyi people are called the Xiyi people?"

As she spoke, Reina held her chin and looked at Lin Shi and asked.

"Why?" Lin Shi subconsciously took over the conversation.

"Well, I don't know if you've heard of this rumor. According to legend, death is not the true end of life. When humans die, they become ghosts. When ghosts die, they become genies. When genies die, they become xi. When xi die, they become barbarians. When barbarians die, they become nothingness."

"You should know that ghosts are souls, tangible but not substantial, similar to spirits. A ghost's existence is invisible but audible. Xi is the next stage, the sound disappears, and the invisible is called Yi. When you reach Yi, you are completely invisible."

Reina spoke like she knew everything, then stood up and walked around in front of Lin Shi.

"Look, isn't this very similar to my current situation? Except for you, no one else, whether human or elf, can see, hear, or sense my existence. I guess perhaps my current state should be called 'Xiyi'."

"Xiyi... tribe."

Lin Shi muttered to himself, never expecting that there were so many secrets hidden behind these two words.

"Then how did you get here?"

"I don't know. Ever since I woke up, I've been wandering in that world. The elves can't see me anyway, so it's safe. Around that time, a passage suddenly appeared in front of me, and before I could react, it sucked me in."

"By the time I realized what was happening, I found myself back, and this place had become like this. What's even more distressing is that people still can't see me, and I can't seem to have any impact on the real world. I even need your help to save that child."

Having said that, Reina looked at Lin Shi with a gleam in her eyes.

"But to be honest, after I found out that you could see me, I was so happy. However, since I didn't understand everything myself, I had to hide my true identity from you. I'm sorry."

Reina stuck out her tongue at Lin Shi. She naturally knew how important Lin Shi was to her. He was the only creature she could communicate with normally in such a long time. It was after meeting Lin Shi that she felt that there was a ray of light in the dark world.

"Forget it. I've been hiding something from you, so we're even. But I still have a question for you. How much do you know about your father, Mizunoto Palace Master..."

Lin Shi shrugged and continued to ask after a brief silence.

……