Chapter 27: Memories
Linley watched carefully.
This beautiful brown-haired angel, in terms of appearance alone, bore some resemblance to him.
"Mother?" Linley sensed a tremor in his heart.
"Master."
But the moment this twelve-winged seraphim descended, her first reaction was to kneel.
"Hmph." With a thought, Linley used a surge of divine power to hold the brown-haired angel up, preventing her from kneeling.
Linley felt a surge of anger and couldn't help glancing at the nearby Augusta, thinking to himself, "This Augusta definitely knew the angel would kneel before him, yet he showed no reaction earlier." It was one thing if an ordinary angel knelt, but this woman before him was very likely his mother!
Linley would not allow such a scene to occur.
The nearby Sovereign of Light, Augusta, chuckled and said, "Haha, alright, just stand to the side."
"Yes." The twelve-winged seraphim was extremely respectful, standing to one side without uttering a word. Occasionally, she would glance at Linley with curiosity.
"Is she my mother?" Linley couldn't help but look at her a few more times.
When his mother died, he was only four or five years old. He had no memory of her now. Yet, as Linley gazed at this fair-skinned, beautiful woman, he felt… a tremor in his soul. "To be truly certain, I need my father! My father and mother were inseparable in life and death; he can definitely identify her clearly," Linley thought to himself. In the high skies of the plane, Linley's wind-type Sovereign clone was bringing his father, Hogg, here.
"Father, Augusta has brought the angel who might be mother," Linley suddenly said.
"Brought her?" Hogg's face flushed with excitement.
"But I can't be completely sure," Linley said, looking at his father. "Later, Father, you take a careful look and see if she's mother."
"I'll be able to tell at a glance," Hogg said with certainty.
Just then, within Linley and Hogg's field of vision, that dazzling, luxurious island appeared. A flash of green light enveloped the two, and Linley and Hogg had already entered the island.
"Whoosh." Two figures descended from the sky—Linley with his light cyan hair and Hogg. The light cyan-haired Linley walked toward Linley's main body, and the two merged into one.
The moment they landed—
Hogg's eyes were fixed on only one person: the brown-haired angel standing alone.
Hogg opened his mouth, but no sound came out. His eyes instantly reddened.
"Lena, Linna!" Hogg called out, his voice trembling.
The twelve-winged seraphim turned her gaze to Hogg, looking at him with confusion. She furrowed her brows slightly.
"Linna, don't you recognize me?" Hogg rushed forward, reaching out to grab the twelve-winged seraphim's hands. The angel, not daring to act rashly here, dodged to the side with a flicker of movement.
"Father, don't rush," Linley quickly stopped him.
"What's going on?" Hogg turned to look at Linley.
"Father, tell me, is she mother?" Linley asked urgently.
"Yes! Absolutely!" Hogg was utterly certain. "Her appearance is exactly the same as back then, and that aura… I'll never forget it in my life!" Hogg still clearly remembered leaning close to his wife Linna, breathing in her scent. The moment he saw this brown-haired angel, he confirmed—
She was his wife!
"Haha, Linley, so you were looking for your mother," Augusta laughed. "No wonder you took it so seriously. I told you, no need to doubt! According to the intelligence I just received from my subordinates, in the past ten thousand years or so, only three divine angel souls have been offered from the Yulan Plane. Two men and one woman. And only one twelve-winged seraphim soul—the female! It's a coincidence, really. About ten thousand years ago, the Yulan Plane's Church once offered a soul, but they haven't offered any since."
Linley knew why.
It was because… the Church of Light had been destroyed. Of course, they wouldn't offer any more souls.
"Your mother and son reuniting today is a joyous occasion," Augusta said cheerfully.
The Sovereign of Fate, Oufa, also nodded with a faint smile.
"Yes, she is my mother," Linley said without any concealment, then looked at Augusta and said calmly, "Augusta, let's get this over with quickly. You free my mother, and I'll give you the Four Divine Beasts' blood essence. Oh, and by the way, of the Four Divine Beasts' blood essence, the Black Tortoise blood essence only has twenty-eight drops, two short. So I'll add two extra drops of Vermillion Bird blood essence to make up for it. Is that alright?"
"That's not a big problem."
Augusta looked at Linley and said slowly, "Linley, I must tell you something. After you hear this, you can decide whether we proceed with the trade."
Linley's heart trembled. He sensed that something might have changed.
"Speak," Linley said.
Augusta began to explain, "This angel was a soul offered from a material plane, then transformed in the Angel Rebirth Pool into an angel. There's also a saying that the angel race is essentially a humanoid weapon. They can no longer be considered living beings. Do you understand what that means?"
Linley frowned.
Not considered living beings? What did that mean?
Augusta continued, "A mortal soul suddenly becomes a twelve-winged seraphim, gaining such immense power. If they were still living beings, would that be possible?"
"When they undergo transformation in the Angel Rebirth Pool, even their souls change. Their souls are no longer in their minds but in their Angelic Hearts. The Angelic Heart is their core!" Augusta explained. "And during the transformation, the soul accepts the change, and all past memories are wiped clean. In their hearts, there is only absolute loyalty to the Sovereigns of Light!"
Linley's heart trembled.
"Augusta, what are you saying?" Linley had a bad feeling.
"Exactly. The Angel Rebirth Pool was born from the universe itself, not created by us. Its transformation of the soul is irreversible! Your mother is currently under my control. Even if I free her, she will only become a free divine angel. But she still won't have any memories from before becoming an angel," Augusta said, looking at Linley.
For a moment, Linley felt a sense of emptiness.
He had originally thought that if his mother were freed, she would regain her past memories.
But now, it seemed impossible.
Augusta's explanation made sense. It was the Angel Rebirth Pool that had changed her. All Augusta could do now was free her, but he couldn't reverse the changes to her soul.
"Father," Linley turned to look at Hogg.
Hogg had heard everything clearly. He knew that his wife Linna couldn't regain her past memories, and his face turned pale. Seeing Linley look at him, Hogg forced a faint smile and sent a mental message: "Linley, if she can't regain her memories, then so be it. I'll just get to know your mother all over again."
"Mm," Linley nodded slightly.
"Linley, if you can't accept this, our agreement can be called off," the Sovereign of Light said, looking at Linley.
"No need. Just free my mother," Linley said, looking at the Sovereign of Light.
Augusta nodded, then gritted his teeth and closed his eyes.
"Hm?" Linley's fused divine sense clearly detected Augusta extending a strand of divine sense into his mother's mind. Gradually, Augusta's face turned slightly pale.
"Hmph." Augusta let out a low grunt.
In an instant, Augusta's face turned deathly white, and his entire body uncontrollably swayed. The nearby Sovereign of Fate, Oufa, waved a hand, using a surge of divine power to steady Augusta and prevent him from falling.
"Wait a moment, let me rest first," Augusta said, then immediately closed his eyes to recuperate.
"This Augusta seems to have suffered some soul damage," Linley observed. He didn't fully understand how much it cost Augusta to free his mother, but based on what the Sovereign of Death and others had said, he knew that freeing an angel was an extremely costly endeavor.
Augusta didn't even rush to ask Linley for the Four Divine Beasts' blood essence; he was too busy recovering.
Meanwhile, Linley turned to look at his mother, Linna.
Linna had been frowning, but then a hint of surprise appeared on her face. She looked at Hogg and asked with slight confusion, "From what you said earlier, you… were my husband before I became an angel?" Every angel still had logical thinking, and they understood certain things.
They were angels, without potential, but they were absolutely loyal to the Sovereigns.
"Linna, I'm Hogg. Do you have any memories?" Hogg walked up to her, his eyes shining. "Do you remember that stormy night on Mount Wu? Do you remember our home, Wushan Town? Do you remember the night you were taken from the hotel in Fenlai City?"
Linna was momentarily stunned, a look of confusion in her eyes. She shook her head slightly. "I… I don't know."
Hogg's eyes dimmed, but he quickly said, "It's okay. You'll know later. I'll take you back to the Yulan Plane."
"I know. I've only been a twelve-winged seraphim for less than ten thousand years," Linna said with a bright smile. "And I can feel… your aura is so familiar. Even though I can't find the reason in my memories."
Even after the transformation in the Angel Rebirth Pool, there was still a faint, subconscious recognition of a past love.
"Really?" Hogg was overjoyed.
"Mm," Linna nodded slightly.
Seeing this scene, Linley felt a sense of satisfaction. Although his mother, now an angel, had no past memories, perhaps because of her past life, she still had a special feeling for his father.
"What rotten luck," Augusta said, opening his eyes. His gaze was somewhat dim, and he glanced at Linley. "I knew freeing a divine angel would be costly. But I've never done this before. The price was beyond my imagination."
The nearby Sovereign of Fate, Oufa, smiled. "Augusta, since you've already done it, why regret it?"
"Give me the Four Divine Beasts' blood essence," Augusta said, looking at Linley.
Linley wouldn't go back on his word. He flipped his hand and produced four small jade bottles. "Eleven drops of Azure Dragon blood essence, twenty-eight drops of Black Tortoise blood essence, thirty drops of White Tiger blood essence, and thirty-two drops of Vermillion Bird blood essence."
Augusta swept his divine sense over them, and a smile finally appeared on his face.
"I hope this doesn't disappoint me," Augusta murmured, putting away the four bottles. The nearby Sovereign of Fate, Oufa, also brightened at the sight of the bottles. He wanted them badly. With his strength, he could easily snatch them, and neither Linley nor Augusta could resist.
But pride kept the Sovereign of Fate calm as he simply watched everything unfold.
"Augusta, since everything is settled, I'll take my leave," Linley said.
Augusta didn't try to stop him. Linley then led his father Hogg and mother Linna, transforming into a streak of green light that vanished into the horizon.
Watching his mother Linna and father Hogg talk, Linley breathed a sigh of relief. "At least mother still has some vague recognition of father. Otherwise, she probably wouldn't have come with us. Memories… sigh, that Angel Rebirth Pool is really something."
Linley had no other solution.
When ordinary people die and become undead, the weak become weak undead, and the strong become powerful undead. The soul itself doesn't change. Once they reach the divine level, they can even regain their past memories.
But angels were completely different. Even though his mother was an ordinary mortal before, after the transformation in the Rebirth Pool, she became a twelve-winged seraphim comparable to a Seven-Star Demon. With such a massive increase in power, Linley didn't believe her soul was unaffected.
"For now, all I can do is let time help mother gradually get to know us and accept us." Although Linley felt a slight disappointment, seeing the smile on his father's face, he couldn't help but feel a sense of contentment.