"How is it possible?! The Dream Castle is a space separated from the real world, how could there be sound coming in?"
This was the most surprised Echidna had been in her over 400 years of life; unexpected things were happening one after another.
Actually, Echidna had been planning her resurrection for as early as 400 years ago.
Even Natsuki Subaru's appearance was also part of Echidna's plan.
Although Echidna's soul was trapped in the Dream Castle, she had actually placed a part of her soul in one of her creations long ago.
However, that creation could not break through the barrier of the Sanctuary.
Only if someone completed the Sanctuary trial would this barrier be broken, and the Sanctuary would be freed.
All her plans were to lift the barrier of the Sanctuary.
Including Natsuki Subaru.
According to the normal timeline, Natsuki Subaru should have fought the Sloth Archbishop Petelgeuse not long ago, and successfully killed him.
As a candidate for the Sage, Natsuki Subaru should have successfully absorbed the Sloth Factor.
Echidna was the one who gave people with Witch Factors the permission to enter and exit the Dream Castle.
But at this moment, there was no Sloth Factor on Natsuki Subaru.
And where did this voice come from?!
"Subaru! What are you doing?"
Aqua's voice rang out again.
"Aqua, I'm here!"
Natsuki Subaru shouted loudly at the sky.
"I heard you! Are there other people there?"
"The Witch of Greed, Echidna, is here too!"
Listening to Natsuki Subaru and Aqua talking to each other from afar, Echidna's brain was working fast.
The person called Aqua was definitely not ordinary.
If it was just her...
"Echidna! Are you there? Echidna! My name is Satou Kazuma, nice to meet you!"
Before Echidna could react, another voice she had never heard before rang out again.
"Another one?"
Echidna widened her eyes in disbelief.
"Aqua, can we go in?"
"I think so, I'll try!"
Echidna heard Satou Kazuma and Aqua's conversation clearly.
No, it can't be?
These people can force their way into the Dream Castle?
No, absolutely not!
Echidna thought to herself.
The Dream Castle was the space she created, even if these guys used some strange ability to send sounds in, they could absolutely not force their way into this place—
"Hey, this place is quite a hidden treasure!"
The next moment, Satou Kazuma appeared in front of Echidna.
?
"You, how did you get in?"
Echidna looked at Satou Kazuma with a shocked expression.
"Huh? I just suddenly came in—you're Echidna, right? Nice to meet you!"
Satou Kazuma's gaze swept up and down Echidna's body instantly.
Her looks are totally OK!
Her figure is a little worse than Elsa and Priscilla, but it's still within acceptable limits!
Most importantly, she's not a young girl, not a loli!
She really counts as a beautiful woman who fits my tastes!
Echidna felt a little uneasy under Satou Kazuma's gaze, and could only show a slightly awkward smile on her face.
At the same time, she could also sense the Witch Factor in Satou Kazuma's body.
Greed.
Gluttony.
This guy, has he defeated the Greed and Gluttony?
How did he do it?
No matter how you look at it, this person called Satou Kazuma is very ordinary.
Why didn't the Book of Wisdom predict his existence?
Is everything that's happening now caused by him?
Echidna could already be sure that the development of the current timeline was completely different from the future she had seen before.
However, it was precisely because Satou Kazuma had the Witch Factor in his body that he was qualified to enter the Dream Castle.
The Witch Factor was originally supposed to be Echidna's key to inviting Natsuki Subaru into the Dream Castle, because originally only he would have the Witch Factor.
This also made Echidna breathe a sigh of relief. With the Witch Factor, it was reasonable for Satou Kazuma to enter the Dream Castle.
But at the same time, another question emerged in Echidna's mind—
Then, what about that person called Aqua?
Does she also have the Witch Factor?
"Kazuma! Why did you suddenly come over!!"
Just as Echidna was stunned, Aqua's voice rang out behind her again.
Echidna turned her head to look at the other person, a completely unfamiliar face; she had never seen Aqua before.
Aqua didn't have the Witch Factor on her body, but how was she able to enter this space?
Who exactly are Satou Kazuma and Aqua?
Although Echidna's heart was in a state of shock, her incredibly strong curiosity was magnified even further.
She eagerly wanted to know everything about these two people.
Especially Aqua.
"You, how did you get in?"
Echidna looked at Aqua in disbelief and asked.
"How did I get in? I just came in directly?"
Aqua directly found a chair and sat down, looking at Echidna,
"But I have to say, the environment here feels a bit close to the realm of the gods!"
"The realm of the gods? What are you talking about?"
Echidna was dumbfounded, completely not understanding what Aqua was talking about.
This was the first time Echidna felt so 'ignorant'.
But Echidna knew that she had a way to satisfy her curiosity.
This was a space only for souls, so Echidna could read the memories of anyone who entered this realm.
As long as she could read their memories, Echidna would know all the information about the two of them.
First, let's start with Aqua—
"Ahhhhh!"
Suddenly, Echidna knelt on the ground, her body constantly trembling.
Just like the Gluttony Archbishop before.
She hugged her head, curled up on the ground, as an endless amount of information she couldn't understand instantly flooded her brain.
If it were an ordinary person, their brain would probably burn out like an overloaded electronic device.
Because of her power, Echidna had a brain that surpassed others—but even so, she couldn't digest or understand that kind of information at all.
Her soul was probably seriously injured.
"Hey, hey, hey, Aqua, what did you do?"
Satou Kazuma immediately questioned.
"I, I, I didn't do anything!"
A look of having caused trouble also appeared on Aqua's face, and she quickly rushed up to release healing magic.
Under Aqua's healing, Echidna finally recovered from the extremely painful state just now. Her forehead was covered in sweat, and her pupils were full of lingering fear.
Just now...
What happened?
Was my soul seriously injured?
Echidna looked at Aqua in disbelief. At this time, the latter saw that she had recovered and went back to sit in the chair.
This was a realm of souls, and no physical means could take effect.
How, how did she do it, to directly attack the soul?!
And then...
She could completely restore it?
Echidna felt like her soul was about to be torn apart just now.
If it weren't for Aqua, she would probably have lost her soul completely, and the great plan for resurrection would have failed.
What... what kind of existence is she?
With a nervous heart, Echidna also sat back in the pavilion, her eyes moving back and forth between Satou Kazuma and Aqua.
"Aqua, you said this place is very similar to the realm of the gods?"
"Yes, if you want to say it, it's quite similar to a place where souls gather."
"Wait, wait, if this is the same as the realm of the gods, isn't it also the afterlife? Did I die again?!"
"Don't worry, it's still a little different! After you came in, your physical body stayed in reality, safe and sound! As for this goddess, I can of course come and go freely in this kind of place! After all, I am also responsible for reincarnation work!"
"Ah, too bad, I thought I could see Eris again!"
"It's not too late for me to send you to see her now!"
"That... is unnecessary, is it only my consciousness that has entered this world?"
Natsuki Subaru raised his hand, hesitantly inserting himself into the conversation after a long time.
He originally thought his body had also been transported away; so it seems only his consciousness was transmitted to this place.
"That's right, you fell straight to the ground just now. Kazuma thought you had fainted! He slapped your face hard a few times."
"Isn't that caring for the people around you!"
"..."
Natsuki Subaru pursed his lips.
He already realized how dangerous it was to leave his body in front of these two guys.
"Hey? Subaru, how do you have tea to drink?"
Satou Kazuma saw that there was a teacup in front of Natsuki Subaru's table, with a half-drunk liquid in it, and asked.
"Oh! You can have as much as you want if you want to drink!"
Echidna said with a smile, snapped her fingers, and a cup of tea appeared in front of Satou Kazuma.
"Hey, hey, wait Kazuma!"
Without waiting for Natsuki Subaru to stop him, Satou Kazuma didn't hesitate, picked up the cup and poured it into his mouth.
He had to finish drinking before Aqua touched his cup.
Since Aqua came to his side, he hadn't tasted tea for a long time.
The last time he drank tea was when he splashed it on Russell a few weeks ago.
Echidna's tea surged down his tongue and into his throat, Satou Kazuma felt that the taste of the tea was a little strange.
If you say it has a taste, it's not in the sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, or salty range.
If you say it doesn't have a taste, it has a very obvious difference from ordinary plain water.
"Hey, hey, Kazuma! This, this is... this is tea made by Echidna with her own body fluids!!!!!"
"Oh."
Satou Kazuma lowered his head and looked at the empty cup in his hand, seeming a little stunned.
Echidna looked at Satou Kazuma with great interest, anticipating what kind of reaction he would have next.
"Another cup!"
"?"
A trace of surprise flashed in the eyes of both Echidna and Natsuki Subaru; there was even a hint of horror in the latter's eyes.
Echidna focused her gaze on Satou Kazuma. She also wanted to try to see Satou Kazuma's memories, but because of the almost losing her soul experience just now, she didn't do so.
All she could do was use Natsuki Subaru's memory to indirectly know what Aqua and Satou Kazuma did.
Using Natsuki Subaru's memory, Echidna also knew about Return by Death, and this was a space independent of the real world, so the Witch of Envy's claws could not reach this place.
Satou Kazuma also seemed to be from another world, like Natsuki Subaru.
But...
Normally speaking, apart from the copy of Natsuki Subaru that she created, there shouldn't be anyone like this.
And there's also Aqua, who calls herself a goddess...
The two of them are not affected by Return by Death...
Participating in the Royal Selection, purifying Geuse, destroying the White Whale.
All of this left Echidna dumbfounded.
Completely different from the future she saw from the Book of Wisdom!
This is...
Too great!
Echidna enjoyed this unknown feeling.
Excitement, anticipation, curiosity!
Satou Kazuma and Aqua, both of them radiated an attraction that Echidna couldn't control herself from.
"Hey, although this is a spiritual space, the sensory experience is no different from the real world! If you need anything, I can also show it to you in this world! For example, all kinds of delicious food and wine. Though it may not truly fill you, you can still taste it—"
"Then let's have some sparkling wine! I haven't had sparkling wine in this world yet!"
Aqua said impatiently.
"Sparkling wine?"
A trace of confusion flashed across Echidna's face. This was a term she had never heard, but she soon captured relevant information from Natsuki Subaru's memory.
Several bottles of wine instantly appeared in front of Aqua.
"Great! Echidna! If you're willing to join my Axis Order, I'll give you a High Priest position!"
Aqua skillfully opened a bottle of wine with her bare hands and began to drink heartily.
Natsuki Subaru looked at the other person with some embarrassment. Shouldn't most people be a little cautious when they come to an unknown place?
Aqua seemed to be here as a guest.
Echidna's gaze moved to Satou Kazuma, and the curiosity in her eyes became more and more obvious:
"That Kazuma, how exactly did you guys do it, to purify Sloth?"
The questions in her heart were countless, and this was just one of them.
Geuse's mind should have been completely polluted by Pandora and the Sloth Factor, and it was impossible to recover.
But in Natsuki Subaru's memory, he found himself.
How did they do it?
But at this time, Satou Kazuma, who had also picked up a bottle of wine, suddenly stopped his movements, looked at Echidna with a frown.
"What's wrong? Is there something on my face—"
"Who are you? You're not the Echidna I know."