Shadow of the Beautiful World

In the early morning, the lawn was still covered with dew.

In a park in Queens, Raven is sitting on a bench.

This quiet girl is holding a book in her hand, pushing the round glasses on her face from time to time, she seems to be immersed in quiet reading.

A big, lazy orange cat squatted beside her, its tail wagging.

It squinted its eyes and sat on the seat, seemingly not very interested in everything around it.

At Ruiwen's feet, there was a dog in a small blue suit.

Frank was very active.

It sticks out its tongue and looks a little tired.

After all, he had just run around the park and got into a fight with two huskies and won easily.

But shouting all the time is also very tiring.

In the months after Merlin left, it was Raven who took care of the family's two pets.

As long as she doesn't go out, she will take these two live treasures around the house every morning, just like walking the dog to relieve boredom.

When I walk home every day, I will stop by and buy some breakfast for my younger brothers and sisters.

Although the house over Hell's Kitchen has been rebuilt, the kids rarely go back to live there.

After losing the most important member of the family, it's just the house, it's not home anymore.

Raven, Raven

The voice seemed to come from a dream, and Ruiwen couldn't help yawning.

The magic book in her hand was blown by the wind to turn a page, and this movement also made Ruiwen open her eyes in a trance.

In the morning light and shadow dancing in front of her eyes, a layer of mist shrouded the surroundings, and the woman in the windbreaker was standing in the slightly cold mist.

She put her hands in her pockets, and she didn't know when she appeared.

Rui Wen looked left and right, the orange cat Goo Goo beside her and the silly dog ​​Frank under her feet were as dull as sculptures.

This is obviously not normal.

She raised her head and looked at the woman.

she asked.

Is this a dream?

It's just a simple dream spell.

Zatanna wears a hat that often appears in detective movies, and she uses it to cover nearly a third of her face.

She said to Raven:

I'm not malicious, you don't need to be too nervous. I'm here to convey a message.

what news?

Raven reached out to hold the frame of the glasses, and she stared at the woman in front of her, trying to see her identity from the cheeks covered by the hat.

The girl was still sitting steadily on the park bench, with a calm expression on her face, not too flustered.

In the current situation, panic is useless.

For a guy who can dream at will, if she wants to attack you, there's absolutely no way you can dodge it until you get hit.

Your brother is back.

Zatana was standing in front of Ruiwen, the wind in the dream was blowing her clothes and long hair, in the low wind, she said to Ruiwen in a gentle voice:

In 3 days, at Limbo, he will meet you.

Merlin?

Ruiwen's pupils dilated slightly at that moment.

It could be seen that the girl tried her best to maintain her composure, but her clenched fingers and changing expression still revealed her current mood.

But Ruiwen quickly calmed down, as if the incident in front of her had already been expected.

It always happens, it's just sooner or later.

These three days are reserved for you to prepare.

Seconds later, Zatanna said to Riven:

If you are going to bring a few ordinary people into the border of hell, then you have to hurry up and prepare some protective measures for them.

Besides, Merlin's situation is special at this time. It's best not to bring anyone other than your family with you.

Raven nodded, indicating that she understood.

After a few seconds, she asked:

He's seeking some sort of resurrection, isn't he?

You are very smart.

Zatana nodded slightly, she said:

This is the second purpose of my coming, to give me the key to the mysterious house that your brother gave you.

If you are lucky enough, after three days, you will be able to see a truly complete Merlin.

swish

Without any hesitation, Rui Wen threw the simple key hanging from her belt to Zatana.

She stood up and looked at the woman in front of her.

she says:

I can guess that my brother is not dead, but I have a question. He shouldn't have woken up in the past few days. Why hasn't he come to us?

well

Zatana also expected that Riven would definitely ask this question.

She took the key and said to Raven:

Your brother split his soul to protect himself. That ceremony was cruel and painful, and the split soul would have many abnormalities. Some other things happened in it, and his bad situation worsened.

Riwen, you guys have had a hard time these past 7 months, but believe me, your brother's past few months will only be more painful

He didn't see you because he didn't want you to see another him. In his words, he didn't want you to see a sinking monster.

You are the people he cares about and loves the most. You are his pillars. Everything he does is to reunite with you.

Listen, boy, don't hate him.

We don't, don't hold any grudges.

Raven pursed her lips, and she said to Zatanna:

3 days, right?

We'll be patient.

Um.

Zatana nodded, she waved her hand, and the dream in front of Ruiwen shattered.

Zatana waved to Ruiwen, then turned around and disappeared into the light and shadow that danced like glass.

The next moment, Ruiwen, who was leaning on the bench, opened her eyes.

She ignored the pages of the book that were constantly being moved by the wind in her hand, then took a deep breath, stood up, put away the book, and stretched her arms again.

The wind blew Ruiwen's long hair, and the naughty hair patted her cheek.

The quiet girl reached out to brush her hair away, then bent down, hugging the drowsy Gu Gu in her arms.

She said to Frank at her feet:

Come on, Frank, go home.

Ruiwen, you are laughing!

The silly dog ​​moved its short legs and chased after Ruiwen. It raised its head, looked at Ruiwen, and said:

I haven't seen you smile for a long time. Is there something good?

It's a good thing.

Raven looked down at Frank, with one of those rare bright smiles on her face, and said:

Don't ask, you'll find out soon.

—

boom

The sound of the door being pushed open resounded in the hall of the mysterious house, and Xuan Lan, who was fixing the murals on the wall, turned her head in surprise.

She saw a female angel she had never seen before push open the door and wander in.

That angel has a pair of black wings, looks neutral, and wears a pair of black-rimmed glasses on his face.

With a cold face, she put her hands in the trouser pockets of her suit.

Zatanna followed her.

Under Xuanlan's gaze, a shadow floated away from the angel's body, floating in the air like a ghost.

The darkness rolled, like water gathered by a vortex, and between the swaying, a thin, ghost-like body was outlined.

Eyes in the shadows opened.

The next moment, the four eyes met.

Snapped

The broom in Xuanlan's hand fell to the ground.

Her eyes flickered, her fingers trembled, as if she had seen something incredible.

She took a few steps forward and stretched out her fingers, wanting to touch the swaying ghost. The latter also raised her hand, and the fingertips of the two touched together.

Like the spark of an electric shock.

In that cold perception, Xuanlan couldn't help herself anymore, she opened her arms and threw herself into the arms of the ghost.

I'm back.

Merlin patted Xuanlan on the back.

He looked at the familiar hall in front of him with emotion, which hadn't changed at all.

He said softly:

Turn up the concentration of magic power, Lan, low magic power makes me very uncomfortable.

So the next moment, several magic circles in the entire mysterious house were activated at the same time.

Heavy magic power gathered like a storm, and under Xuanlan's control, it gathered in the hall, causing the concentration of magic power on the ground to rise rapidly.

Merlin's illusory soul body also became solid.

It made Xuanlan feel as if she was embracing a living thing.

As a newly promoted hell lord, the concentration of magic power in the real world is not even enough to support the manifestation of his soul, and as a split soul body that has not yet been resurrected, shining the sun will make him very uncomfortable.

He definitely did not use the body of the angel Luther to move around the world out of some evil intentions.

He had to do it.

Well

In the environment of extremely high concentration of magic power, Merlin let out a comfortable moan. He stroked Xuanlan's long hair and said:

It's been a lot of hard work for you these past few months.

I knew you'd be back.

Xuanlan hugged Meilin, she said:

You promised me, and you didn't let me down.

I have broken your hearts

Merlin took a step back, kissed Xuanlan lightly on the cheek, and said:

How can I be willing to let you down again?

Xuan Lan chuckled lightly.

She pursed her lips, put her hand on Merlin's cheek, pulled that face towards hers, and kissed it.

Merlin didn't refuse.

Behind him, Zatana curled her lips and turned her face away, not to watch the scene.

Xuanlan is a spirit body.

They can't think of doing anything else besides kissing.

But as a woman with an intimate relationship with Merlin, this scene always made her a little uncomfortable.

After a few minutes, Zatanna looked at the watch on her wrist, coughed and said:

Is the welcome ceremony over? Can we get down to business?

certainly.

Mei Lin blinked at Xuan Lan, who was also a little embarrassed, she took a step back, turned around, and tidied up her messy hair and makeup.

After a while, Xuanlan turned her head to look at Meilin behind her, a very decent smile appeared on her face, her eyes were full of tenderness, she said:

What do you need me to do?

The things I left behind before I left.

With his hands behind his back, Merlin landed on the sofa by the fireplace in the form of a ghost levitating, and he said to Xuan Lan:

You should still keep it?

Well, it's all here.

Xuanlan said:

It's all in the storage room. I repaired a few that can be repaired, and those that can't be repaired, and I didn't throw them away.

Bring them here.

After Merlin said something, Xuan Lan immediately turned and went to the storage room.

In the hall, the angel Luther took off the black-rimmed glasses on his face and put them on the table. The blue light shone brightly, projecting the new image of Icarus in front of everyone.

The converging projection nodded to Merlin, and then sat beside Zatana in an elegant posture.

The issue of the ritual container has been resolved, but you seem to have encountered some problems regarding the materials.

Merlin leaned on the sofa, and said to the two ladies in front of him who had been in charge of finding the materials for the blood bone ceremony:

Tell me.

Follow the steps you told me to revive the Horcrux, not to mention the auxiliary materials, they are easy to find, but the three most important ones.

Zatanna held out three fingers, and she said:

There is something wrong with the three things, the father's bone, the servant's flesh, and the enemy's blood.

Father's bone first.

If you take it literally, we might be going to Buffalo County, Wisconsin, to be a grave robber.

Miss Magician made a nasty joke. He looked at the Machina beside him, and she said:

Icarus has locked Wilton Riley, the cemetery of your biological father, just behind the ruins of your family manor.

The glasses girl sitting next to Zatanna also said:

But even if I don't know anything about magic, I still think these three things are definitely not as simple as the literal meaning seems. I think the remains of a mortal are useless to you, right?

Well, it really can't be taken literally.

Merlin nodded, he looked at the map projected by Xuanlan.

He shook his head:

My biological father has already rested in peace, so don't bother him and my mother. Their bones really don't meet my requirements.

He motioned Zatana to continue with his eyes.

Secondly, the servant's meat.

Miss Magician frowned and said:

You have only two real servants in name, Xuanlan and Icarus, but neither of them has 'meat' in the physical sense, so they can't be part of the ceremony at all.

That's not a problem.

Merlin waved his fingers. He glanced at the angel Luther who was standing aside with an indifferent face. He said:

She can do it for you.

Um?

Zatana looked at Luther in surprise.

The latter parted his hair with great reluctance, revealing the magic mark on his neck that belonged to the wasteland hell.

Merlin has become the majesty of the wasteland hell. In theory, all the creatures in that hell are his servants.

And the flesh and blood of a high-level angel barely meets the requirements.

Okay, the meat problem is solved.

Zatana spread her hands, and she said helplessly:

The last is the blood of the enemy, which seems to be the easiest, but in fact it is the most troublesome

Icarus also sighed, and she said:

You have quite a lot of enemies, but most of them don't meet your requirements. What you need to revive is a body that can carry the soul of the Lord of Hell. The requirements for the ritual materials are very strict.

Zatana and I designed an energy level conversion formula. After my repeated calculations, there are only 3 people who meet your requirements.

Mephisto, the lord of hell, Romulus, the ancestor wolf, and Dracula, the undead king in a complete state.

However, not to mention how to get blood from them, just how to find them is a big problem. It is almost impossible to do it in three days.

Merlin rubbed his forehead, he said softly:

About the blood issue, I think you have overlooked a person.

who?

Zatanna asked in surprise.

Merlin opened his eyes and said:

Odin!

That's even more impossible.

Projection of Icarus says:

Odin is quite easy to find. The God King is in the Golden Palace in Asgard.

But even if we gather everyone who can come to help, it is estimated that it will be difficult to break through the defenses of Asgard, not to mention, as long as they close the Rainbow Bridge, how we will get there is a problem.

You don't have to worry about that.

Merlin says:

I have my own way.

boom

Xuanlan put a square box full of various things in front of Meilin, and she said:

Here's everything you left behind.

While the others watched, Merlin's fingers searched in the box.

Finally, he took something out of it.

That thing shone with a deep light, like a jewel held in Merlin's hand.

The seed of power from the Sangong Demon left behind when he died.

Father's Bones

Merlin stared at the power seed that had completed its final transformation.

He said:

Just use it!

Some conflicts can never be avoided. It's time to put the grievances between me and Sangong on the agenda.