## Chapter 134: Terror – Illusory Reality
Sister Sharna's hands gently wrapped around my neck. Just as I thought she had finally quieted down, the next moment, she suddenly tightened her grip, making it almost impossible for me to breathe.
"You thought I was talking about what just happened?"
Sister Sharna lifted her head from my cheek and faced me closely, her delicate nose almost touching the tip of mine. Her slightly exhaled breath, noble, fragrant, and moist like roses, continuously entered my nose. Our eyes met. At this moment, her eyebrows were furrowed, and her gaze was fierce. However, coupled with the two tear stains that hadn't yet dried on her pretty face, it almost made me entranced again.
"You idiot, you just ran out without a word! Couldn't you have discussed it with your Older Sister first? Do you even have a Brain? You idiot, you fool..."
She looked at me reproachfully, blaming me for repeatedly failing to understand her meaning.
I smiled bitterly in my heart. It wasn't that I was showing off; I was eager to save people at the time, and I didn't even know where you were! How could I find you?
But I didn't Refute. I nodded obediently, putting on a penitent expression, then stretched out my hands and gently wiped her face. My always strong Older Sister, I didn't know how many years it had been since she shed tears. Those cold tear stains made my heart ache and filled me with regret, but at the same time, I couldn't help but feel a little happy – did this mean my Status in Older Sister's heart was very important?
"So beautiful!!"
My hand gently slid across her face, and I couldn't help but exclaim. A pair of eyes so close, as deep and captivating as the Ocean, were now calm after experiencing storms and waves. Those deep blue eyes were so beautiful they could almost Hook a person's Soul away.
Sister Sharna was clearly not the shy type of girl. Hearing my heartfelt praise, her eyes became even brighter and more captivating. She seemed to become quite happy. Not only that, but to let me see more clearly, more deeply, she moved her face even closer, her forehead almost touching mine. From her silky golden hair, a fresh and elegant scent immediately wafted out.
"Cough cough..."
An untimely cough sounded. Without turning my Head to look, just by hearing that strange tone, I knew it was Kashya. It was no wonder; at this moment, Sister Sharna's soft and hot Body was pressed tightly against me, her face almost touching mine. Anyone who saw this would misunderstand.
"..."
However, Older Sister didn't seem to realize how ambiguous her current posture looked to others, or rather, even if she was Conscious of it, she wouldn't care. Most of the time, her personality was like this: she acted as she pleased and never bothered to care about others' Vision/Insight.
With a "Swish—", she maintained this posture, her hands leaving my neck. With a gentle spread, instantly, her two hands each held a Long Bow and Arrow. Then she nocked the bow and fired behind her. In one smooth motion, the sharp Arrow shot towards the place where the sound came from with a "whoosh".
In this Act, firing backwards is not a Difficult Matter for an Archer, but the Difficulty lies in such Speed. Moreover, I, who was pressed tightly against Sister Sharna, didn't feel the slightest bit of shaking from the soft Body above me when she Attacked. This single arrow was completely accomplished by her relying on her dexterous control of her shoulders, arms, and wrists. To be able to do this, even I, this Archery idiot, could somewhat see the Difficulty.
However, no matter how powerful Sister Sharna was, to perform this Movement, she must have a fulcrum. It can be imagined that when her hands left my neck and she drew her bow and shot the arrow, that entire exquisite Jade Body naturally couldn't help but press against my Body.
Sister Sharna's Figure was quite fiery. This could be understood just by looking at her Appearance, and it was impossible for her to wear that sturdy Equipment indoors. One can imagine what kind of Situation I was currently facing – that hot Body pressed against my Body, especially the two soft Existences on her chest. I could even slightly feel two points protruding, making me, who was both her Younger Brother and a Man, deeply Experience the Feeling of pain and happiness.
"You ungrateful little girl, don't you remember how I raised you into someone capable?"
I turned my Head with Difficulty, seeing Kashya leaning against the doorway on one leg, gently holding an Arrow between two fingers, and said, scratching her fiery red short hair with Helplessness.
"Hmph—"
Sister Sharna's eyes that had just calmed down had a tendency to become stormy again, but she did get off me eventually. As if Kashya didn't Exist, she didn't even look her in the eye and left angrily.
"Oh dear, pity this old woman, I probably won't have anyone to care for me in my old age."
Kashya put on a heartbroken Appearance.
"Lady Kashya, Older Sister is angry because she cares about you. Not many people are qualified to make her lose her temper."
I sat up from behind and said with a light Smile. Although telling her to hurry up and get married and have a child is also a fair answer, I think that's not called comfort, but provocation...
"Damn it, don't pretend to understand that girl so well. It's precisely because of you, this kid, ever since you appeared, she ignores me even more." Kashya rolled her eyes and said enviously.
"Before I appeared, was Sister Sharna's relationship with you good?"
I looked at Kashya curiously, because I really couldn't imagine these two women who in some aspects of their personality were almost completely printed from the same mold getting Along harmoniously. Just imagining the Scene of them sitting together happily, laughing and chatting or eating, for some reason, I got a creepy Feeling.
"Huh? How is that possible? But before, she at most didn't care about me, now she completely ignores me, it's even worse. Pity me, who worked so hard for over a decade..." Kashya said with continuous sighs.
Isn't that the same? What does that have to do with me? I shrugged dismissively.
"Forget it, let's not talk about that heartless brat. How do you Feel now?"
Kashya looked at me and changed the subject.
"Uh, it seems very bad..."
When she asked this, I remembered my current Situation. Just now, when Sister Sharna was lying on me, I felt like I didn't have the strength to hold her up. Even just getting up now was quite difficult. To describe it in one sentence, I am now so Weak that even walking is difficult.
"How could this be..."
Noticing my own Situation, I murmured to myself in a daze. For a moment, the plots from Wuxia novels where martial arts are lost due to injury kept swelling in my Brain. If someone could Experience the importance of Strength in the Diablo World, then they could understand how panicked and helpless I was at this moment. It seemed like everything was leaving me. Losing Strength, to me, meant losing everything.
"Don't worry, it's just the Weakened State after Overdrawing in Battle."
Seeing the confusion in my heart, Kashya said with a Smile from the side.
So that's how it is. I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Right. Sha La is really okay, right?"
Although I got the answer before losing Consciousness, thinking about it afterwards, I also felt it was unlikely, but I still couldn't help but ask again.
"Why would I lie to you?"
Kashya was a little annoyed and embarrassed by my distrust. "Only you, this idiot, would fall for Belial's Illusion so easily."
"Illusion?"
"That's right. After you went into that Lake, everything you saw was just a 'Scene' set up by Belial!"
Kashya looked at me with the Gaze one would use for an idiot, gave me a look as if it were obvious, and untied that characteristic Wine Pot from her waist.
"What about the other Villagers?"
I suddenly remembered the ultimate goal of this action that almost cost me my life.
"Most of them were rescued by me and Fara. Of course, there were also a few... After all, Fara and my Ability is also limited... Alas!" Kashya took a big drink of wine with a slight melancholy.
"Most of the Villagers were rescued, that means the blood Lake I saw at the very beginning was already fake, and everything I saw afterwards was just Belial's Illusion, that is to say..." I murmured to myself with both shock and joy.
"That is to say, the part with Velas was also fake?"
"..."
Kashya didn't respond to my Expectation filled Gaze, but silently drank her wine there. Until I was about to lose patience, she coldly raised her Head and asked, "Do you really think so?"
Her words instantly made me feel as if I had fallen into an ice cellar. I couldn't help but recall again that Scene that filled me with endless regret, that tragic yet beautiful blooming Smile, that gentle and firm Gaze, that blind trust that never wavered in the slightest. Even in death, it didn't...
Scene after Scene of profound images surfaced in my Brain, shattering the last shred of Hope in my heart. No, it couldn't be an Illusion. Even Belial's true Entity probably couldn't simulate human emotions to this Degree. Everything was just my self-deceiving Idea/Thought. I was still that useless me.
Seeing me sitting there dejected and silent, Kashya also became quiet, which was rare. For a moment, the Atmosphere in the House fell silent, until...
"L-Lord...!!"
A Figure in black and white rushed over from a Distance. Soon, she rushed to the doorway, and then...
Then caught her foot on the threshold, her entire Body fell straight down, landing face down on the Ground, making an unusually loud "thump" that made others feel Pain for her. The long black skirt with white Lace trim on her leg lifted high with her fall, and then, as if in mourning, slowly drifted down, turning over to cover her small and exquisite upper Body that lay motionless on the Ground, while her lower Body revealed half of her slender and long legs.
"It hurts..."
After a while, she finally moved a few times, climbed up from the Ground, and rubbed her cute nose, which was red from the fall, with a Wronged expression. Her large, dark, and bright eyes were filled with sparkling tears.
However, soon, she recovered, even faster than drinking a full recovery Potion. A joyful Smile bloomed again on her pretty face. She stood up, looked at me with tearful eyes, and then rushed towards me, shouting with her soft and clear Throat.
"Wuwu~~ Lord..."
The expected embrace didn't come. Halfway there, her reckless Brain, dizzy with excitement, seemed to have sobered up quite a bit. Her Footsteps naturally slowed down, then she walked over, rubbing her hands vigorously, as if suppressing her Emotion. Only those dark and beautiful eyes sparkled with increasing excitement.
Finally, she walked with small steps In Front of me, looking at me with tears in her eyes.
"Lord, you're awake, that's great. I was so worried I almost died..."
After saying that, her pretty face blushed, then she lowered her Head timidly.
"Right, Lord just woke up, you must be very hungry. I'll go get something good to eat. Please don't worry, it will be ready soon..."
After saying that, without waiting for my answer, after giving me a deep look, she immediately turned around and lightly ran out. As she passed the doorway, she crossed the threshold with a graceful and cute little jump. What a nimble and good child...
From beginning to end, that girl was directing and acting by herself. I was stunned on the side, unable to speak. Kashya silently drank her wine, looking as if she wanted to use the Wine Pot to hide her face.
"Kashya, what is going on..." I said through clenched teeth.
"Yes, what exactly is going on?" Kashya echoed.
"Don't play dumb, didn't you just say..."
"What did I just say? I didn't say anything, did I?" Kashya tilted her Brain, put on a thoughtful Expression, and then asked in return.
"..."
Bastard, you were clearly deliberately misleading me...
"However, why does your Expression still show a hint of disappointment?" Kashya looked at me playfully and asked.
This guy's nerves are always particularly sharp when they shouldn't be...
Velas didn't die, of course I was happy in my heart. But thinking of that Scene before her death that deeply moved me was just an Illusion. It's like a girl telling you all my previous Feelings/Emotions for you were actually just acting. I think any Man would inevitably feel a hint of loss.
"Oh, could it be that in Belial's Illusion, something happened between the two of you, and now that you are Conscious that it was just an Illusion, you've become so disappointed..."
I really suspect this perverted old woman can read minds!
"However..."
Kashya chuckled a few times before stopping. This time her Expression was very calm. I, who had dealt with her several times, knew she was about to say something serious.
"If something really happened between you two in Belial's Illusion, I advise you to take Responsibility for it..."
"What, didn't you just say that was an Illusion?"
I suspected Kashya's Brain was fried.
"Do you know what Belial's Illusion is called?" Kashya didn't answer me, but spoke sentence after sentence.
"Its Illusion is also called Illusory Reality. Just like its Name, it is a terrifying Skill that is both real and fake."
"What do you mean by both real and fake?" I looked at her curiously.
"The so-called Illusory Reality, its greatest effect is actually not Illusion, but stealing hearts."
Without waiting for me to ask, Kashya continued.
"Don't misunderstand, the so-called stealing hearts, of course, cannot be reading people's minds, but merely copying. Belial will copy people's inner hearts and then manifest them through the form of Illusion. During the entire process of casting the Illusion, it is only Responsible for utilizing these stolen hearts to arrange a 'Scene'. After arranging the Scene, the subsequent events are not controlled by it, but continue to develop based on the inner hearts of the people it copied."
I understood Kashya's previous words. After all, mind-reading belongs to the realm of Soul Magic. If even Belial's Projection could use it, that would be terrible! The meaning of 'stealing' is like comparing a person's heart to packaged Stats, and Belial can only copy, but doesn't know what the content is.
But how to explain the latter part? Belial's stealing of hearts must also have a range! For example, Strength/Power. It absolutely cannot steal Experts like Kashya and Fara. Furthermore, Distance. Velas was fine, she might have been nearby at the time, so Belial used her to deal with me. But what about Sha La? Could it even 'copy' Sha La, who was far away in the Rogue Encampment?
"Of course not!" Kashya immediately replied.
"It merely extracted the Image of the person most important in your heart."
"Therefore, everyone in the Illusion it cast are the true manifestation of their own inner hearts, or how you believe he/she should behave. Therefore, if you didn't know this was an Illusion, it would be impossible to discern any truth or falsehood from the actions of the people in the Illusion, because their behavior is 'real', while Belial uses the Advantage of 'arranging the Scene' to toy with your Feelings/Emotions. This is the most terrifying aspect of Illusory Reality..."
Kashya finished speaking in one breath. Seeing my still foolish Appearance, she sighed with Helplessness. It seems she has completely come to an Epiphany about my intelligence.
"To put it simply, within Illusory Reality, everything that happens can be understood as real, it just didn't actually happen. You should understand now, right?"
"No need to specifically emphasize that, I'm not as stupid as you think." Seeing Kashya's Helplessness Expression, I shouted angrily out of embarrassment.
"Hehe, that's why I said you'd better take Responsibility for it. That little girl named Velas who appeared in the Illusion, all of her behavior came from her true inner heart. Moreover, maybe because Belial copied her inner heart at that time, the Illusion you experienced might even appear in her dreams while she was unconscious, leading to a spiritual connection. Alas, what a beautiful Love story."
"Don't talk about Responsibility or not, I didn't do anything to her..." I glared at the extremely disappointed Kashya. This bastard really just wanted to watch a Good Show.
"Is that so? That's a real pity. However, for an idiot like you who falls for Illusions so easily, it's indeed unlikely that anything significant happened."
"Stop calling me an idiot! If it weren't for too many unfavorable factors, I wouldn't have fallen for Belial's Illusion so easily?" I said indignantly.
"Oh, tell me, what were the unfavorable factors?" Kashya asked indifferently.
"First, the fog, a fog so thick you couldn't see your hand. Belial first used that fog to confuse me, making my Emotion unstable." Yes, under such heavy fog, anyone would become anxious and uneasy.
"Second, at that time, I was eager to save people, and Belial exploited this very point, creating a large blood Lake, making me think all the Villagers had been cruelly murdered by it. My Mood naturally became more Painful and restless. Then came the appearance of Velas, which made me see a shred of Hope. But then Belial used the Advantage of 'arranging the Scene' and killed her, completely confusing my Brain." There is nothing more Painful than first giving a desperate person a shred of Hope and then cruelly shattering it.
"So at that time, even though Sha La's appearance was so unnatural, I had no Method to discern it. This was clearly a series of schemes, something I, as I am now, simply couldn't Resist."
After saying this, I couldn't help but shiver in my heart. Upon careful analysis, Belial's Conspiracy could be said to be linked ring after ring, making it impossible for people to Resist. If the Projection was already like this, then what about its true Entity? I truly didn't dare to imagine. It truly lives up to its Name as the "Demon King of Illusion and Lies" that made the Three Realms Fear it with its Wisdom and Conspiracy. People from the Other World are one thing, why can't even Monsters be a bit stupider so I could be a Hero for once?
"Unqualified, completely unqualified..."
Kashya completely Refuted my explanation.
"First, just because you were in the fog and couldn't see, you became anxious. This Single Point is already completely unqualified. Furthermore, after seeing the blood Lake, even if you couldn't see through it as an Illusion, you shouldn't have been confused by those Corpses and skeletons. You should know, since they were killed there, it's highly likely the Enemy was lurking nearby. You should have realized this Single Point at that time. If you could have suppressed the inner Sorrow and explored the entire blood Lake, then even if you couldn't discover Belial's Existence, at least the subsequent appearance of Velas could somewhat make you feel a sense of inconsistency, thus seeing through this Illusion."
The Experienced Kashya found a Loophole in my explanation with a single glance.
"Ultimately, your will is still too weak. You must strengthen your Training in this area in the future."
What else could I say? I could only smile bitterly. What Kashya said was right, my will was indeed below average, but I wasn't wrong either, because Kashya didn't know I had transmigrated. I hadn't experienced any hardships before. To be able to grow so quickly was already rapid progress.
Seeing me lower my Head and remain silent, Kashya walked over and gently patted my shoulder.
"Wu, the words I said were not meant to discourage you, but to make you understand where your shortcomings lie. Remember what I once talked to you about, those fallen Adventurers? Think carefully about your Friends, and your most beloved Sha La. Perhaps one day, you, having fallen, will use your own hands to personally kill them. How tragic would that Matter be? And this Scene, which is highly likely to occur for you, can you Accept it?"
Speaking of this, Kashya seemed to recall something, her eyes flashed with shocking Sorrow. That Sorrow was so intense it even made me think she must have had a similar tragic Experience.
"I understand. Even for them, I will definitely work hard."
I looked at Kashya gratefully. All along, this Experienced Warrior has always used her most valuable Experience to guide and teach me towards the right direction.
"Alright, although there are still many questions, what you need most now is rest. After you can stand up, let's have a good chat." Kashya spoke a great truth. I currently lack the strength to even walk.