Sword and Magic and Taxi

Wadsworth had a dream about something very long ago. He had a bricklayer father and a washerwoman mother. From birth, he was destined to serve the lord for life, just like his parents, so from the age of four, he went to the hound house and began to take care of the animals there.

I still remember that one year, the lord was besieged in the castle by the enemy. Eight months later, the cold wind of winter arrived as scheduled with uncontrollable hunger. Despite several attempts to break out and despite sending out several waves of messengers, relief seemed impossible. The lords besieging outside knew that they had a chance to win, and they just waited for the people in the city to starve to death before they could take over the land.

There was nothing to eat anymore, and the falling snowflakes became the only moving things in the wall. Wadsworth was curled up in the arms of his parents, with a faint body temperature behind him, and the heavy snow outside the window. He felt that he was going to freeze to death and starve to death. For the first time, the threat of death appeared so clearly in his mind.

Hey, wake up, it won't be good if you sleep on it!

Wadsworth opened his eyes, looked at the face not far away, and had no intention of saying anything. He was still trapped in the terrible cold, and his strength was constantly being drained away by the cold air. When he raised his hand, the rosy and smooth skin had disappeared, leaving only the old wrinkled skin covered with frost. I believe that my appearance is also getting older, and wrinkles and age spots must be covering my head.

Wadsworth, how are you feeling? Have you calmed down?

I still want to crush you to death. How did I know each other... No, you came to me. I'm so unlucky. Wadsworth spat blood on the ground, and before it hit the ground, it turned into blood. Ice chips. What good will it do you if I die? Don't you want to know my knowledge?

I actually roughly understand that tree escape, soul tearing, fusion and assimilation are nothing more than these things. Zhao Mai shook his head: No, Wadsworth, I don't have any idea of ​​what I was before I became you. Interest. Arrogance to the point of losing oneself, greed without restraint.”

You're right. Wadsworth's teeth trembled, and he hugged his knees tightly and said: I just dreamed about the feeling of death, and I miss it so much... How many years have passed since I merged with the mangrove tree? No more fear and awe of death? It seems that I haven’t had a dream for many years. Mike, thank you, at least in the dream I saw my parents again and felt the warmth of their bodies.

Dreams of death...parents...your parents?

Oh, they have passed away a long time ago, no illness or disaster, but their life span has come to an end. I took care of them until the end. Wadsworth said with a nostalgic expression: I remembered that before my mother died, she blamed me for not getting married and having children. She was worried that I would be alone. That’s when I started to have the idea of ​​a clone, and then there was the tree escape accident.”

Have you regained your memory?

Actually, I have recovered a long time ago. I just don't want to tell you. Wadsworth shook his head and said, Stop this damn cold wind. I have calmed down. If I don't turn it off, I will freeze. dead.

Oh, I think it's almost done. Zhao Mai breathed a sigh of relief, and the power of ice stopped immediately. It would take some time for the temperature to rise, but Wadsworth immediately felt lighter. He looked at the chain on his wrist. It had been frozen into iron knots by the ice, but it still bound him tightly.

Zhao Mai opened his palm to face Wadsworth, closed his eyes and felt it carefully. Your soul is still very strong, and it always exudes influence on others. However, your body's natural force has been restored, and it is slightly higher than the surrounding environment. It is considered the normal level of a druid. He tugged on his left hand. The war shackles shook off the ice, were taken off Wadsworth's wrist and returned to Zhao Mai's palm. I suggest you stay in your current state for a while, rediscover the fulcrum of your past life from your memory, and then consider restoring your natural force level.

You have released the war shackles. Aren't you worried that I will be teleported away in a flash and then never found again?

I told you, I'm not very interested in your knowledge. If you want to say it, just say it. I'll refer to it at most, and I will never go back to your wrong old path. Zhao Mai shrugged: I used to use The fusion method made you look like that, so I have to treat you responsibly and recover. Now that you are almost healed, if you run away, I won't go around looking for you - that's not my responsibility.

Wadsworth nodded: It's fair, I believe you. Now I am all ears, how did the powerful force of nature make me abnormal, Mr. Doctor?

I have a theory about immortality. Zhao Mai said to Wadsworth: You and I are both human beings, born to be restricted by death. Regardless of whether we usually think about this issue or not, the length of life is always changing. It affects our way of thinking all the time. If suddenly one day, life span is no longer a problem, people will not know how to think. Butt determines the head, no longer dead is a big event, people's way of thinking and thinking mode will not change that much Fast. So whether you become a lich, an element, a tree, or drink the potion of eternal life, it will affect people's thinking and gradually drive them crazy. Maybe it's not crazy, but it's just that you can't continue to use the past. If you don’t have your own philosophy of life, you will fall into contradiction.”

This... this is indeed a contradiction. Wadsworth nodded in agreement: You are right, I have not felt the threat of death for a long, long time. To a large extent, I no longer care about time or myself, so It doesn't matter that I just fell into a deep sleep underground. If the biggest clone hadn't been captured, I wouldn't have woken up. But now that I'm immortal, what should I do? This process of mine is irreversible.

Since all immortality may lead to madness, and madness leads to loss of self, and losing self is death? Zhao Mai said with a smile: So, I think immortality just postpones death, and sooner or later it will still reach that point. I don’t know which day I will go crazy, just as I don’t know which day I will die. Keeping this thought can replace the place of death in the thinking pattern and remain normal after immortality.”

Your method is so sophistical... Wadsworth thought for a while, then suddenly burst into laughter. He kept laughing, with a sense of self-deprecation in his laughter.

You just keep yourself like this? Isn't there any difference from before?

Of course, I have to keep looking for things to keep myself busy, keep making progress and maintain interest, because I am more scared than before. Zhao Mai said: I thought about how difficult and difficult it would be to kill me if I went crazy one day. The difficult devil makes me shudder.

Suddenly, Wadsworth also shuddered, seeming to recall the terrible thing that had just happened.