Chapter Eighty-Four: Your Name

Catherine cracked immediately: she pleaded, begged for mercy, and shifted the blame, all in one breath.

The trifecta of composure had been completed in one smooth motion, and the sight of her utterly undignified behavior made Lin Mo puff up with pride as he said to Antuin in his mind, "Well? Told you my disciple was pretty good, didn't I?"

Antuin let out a sly chuckle, its voice echoing in Lin Mo's mind. "Your disciple is interesting. She never wastes even one second on pointless stubbornness. I like that temperament very much."

As it spoke, both of Antuin's colossal eyes suddenly blazed. From each eye shot a beam of blackish-red light, crossing in an X over Catherine's body. The instant that crimson radiance touched her, Catherine was horrified to find that every part of her body had been locked in place. Not even a fingertip, not even a single strand of hair, could move.

Within that red light, an unknown force lifted her up and slowly drew her toward Antuin. Lin Mo's figure was nowhere to be seen in her field of vision. Antuin's terrifying maw drew ever closer, and she could even feel the furnace heat of the magma within its mouth. What on earth was happening? Where was Master? Could the worst have truly come to pass, that the theft of the Source Water had been discovered by Antuin, that Master had been unable to defeat it and fled, leaving her behind to be swallowed in his stead as a vent for its rage?

No, no, Master was absolutely not the sort to abandon her in the face of danger! How could she think such a thing of him? If she were to think on the bright side, perhaps Master had already died, reduced to ashes by the flames until nothing remained?

Just as Catherine was drowning in chaotic thoughts and tangled worries, a peal of laughter suddenly rang in her ears and mind. The voice was very old, but the emotion behind it was bright and delighted. "You, little human girl, are unexpectedly very much to my liking!"

Whose voice was that? Antuin's? But wasn't this exactly the same aged voice she had heard when it unleashed the Heavenly Spear Cannon? Could it be that the Heavenly Spear Cannon had been fired by Antuin? That would be colossal news. And thinking about what that implied, wasn't it a little terrifying? Did humanity still have any hope? What was this magical sky net even up to? Damn it, why was she thinking about all this now? She was about to die, so why was her mind wandering to such nonsense? Then again, for a creature as huge as Antuin, wasn't this almost too frugal? It even refused to let go of a scrap of meat like hers, thin as a toothpick? Didn't they say that before a person died, they would see the scenes of their entire life flash before their eyes? Why hadn't she seen anything? Was it because she was dying too quickly? Huh? When had she regained the ability to move?

Catherine suddenly realized that ever since that voice had sounded in her mind, control of her body had returned to her. Though she was still floating in midair, she could at least move her limbs and speak again.

She was just about to say something when she remembered those words from earlier and was startled. "Lord Antuin, you can actually tell what I'm thinking? Can you read my mind?!"

"Under ordinary circumstances, no," came Antuin's aged voice again, simultaneously in her ear and in her mind. "But you have just entered my Lake of Origin, and the link between us is rather close now. For a short while, I can vaguely sense what you are thinking. You are very good. Quite to my taste!"

Catherine panicked. "N-no, I'm not to your taste at all. My meat is really sour!"

"Ha, ha, ha." Antuin laughed three times. Feeling the other party's goodwill in succession, Catherine suddenly came to her senses and finally understood that it bore no malice toward her. She said cautiously, "Lord Antuin, um... where is my master?"

"Right here!" Lin Mo's voice came from beside her, startling Catherine so badly that she whirled around. There, less than five meters behind her, Lin Mo hovered in the air, looking at her with an expression that seemed half-smiling, half-gritting his teeth. "Lately, it seems you've grown quite capable, haven't you? What do you mean, 'think on the bright side, perhaps I've already died'?"

Master, can you read my thoughts too? Catherine very much wanted to ask that question, but at this moment she did not quite dare. Her face burned red, and after a long, awkward silence, she finally stammered, "Master, what exactly is going on? How did I wake up from my cultivation to find everything like this?"

"Let Antuin explain it to you," Lin Mo said irritably.

At that, Catherine hurriedly looked over. Antuin's enormous head gave a slight nod, and its eyes fixed tightly on her. Being stared at by an eighth-tier magical beast, Catherine felt enormous pressure and had no idea what it intended to do.

Just as her thoughts were about to run wild again, Antuin opened its mouth and said, "Hello, Miss Catherine. I am... hmm, Old Turtle."

She had never expected that when it opened its mouth, this would be the first thing it said. Although its tone sounded as though it were introducing itself in all seriousness, or perhaps telling a dry joke in all seriousness, Catherine's face instantly went pale. She began to hate her own loose mouth with unprecedented intensity. So this was it—Master's words had come true. Antuin really had heard her call it an old turtle!

From now on, I must be a proper, well-behaved child! While Catherine's heart was weeping and she was vowing to mend her ways, she timidly said, "I-I didn't mean it that way, Lord Antuin. My reverence for you is like..."

"No, little girl, you've misunderstood me," Antuin said warmly. "I am not blaming you. In truth, I am a turtle by race. In the eyes of many, 'old turtle' and 'turtle' amount to the same thing, so calling me that is not wrong."

It gave a self-mocking smile. "It has probably been nearly twenty thousand years. The people here all call me Antuin now, so much so that even my original race has been forgotten."

Twenty thousand years!

That was an unimaginably long span of time. The entirety of humanity's recorded history, counted generously, was only about four thousand years. This behemoth before her had lived four times longer than human history itself. Catherine felt a strange emotion welling up in her chest. Softly, she asked, "Then, Lord Antuin, may I ask your name?"

"My name? Ha, ha! What a good question!" Antuin said, laughing heartily again, a look of reminiscence crossing its face. "Let me think. It has been far too long since I last used a name. I need a moment... Ah, yes, I remember now, I remember! Before I became Antuin, I was not a lava giant turtle, but the thirty-sixth clan leader of the famous Water Cannon Turtle clan! You may call me—Squirtle!"

"...All right."

The force of those two words was too great. Catherine opened her mouth several times but still could not force the name out. Seeing her difficulty, Antuin did not press the matter. Its expression gradually turned serious as it spoke slowly. "Little girl, first I must congratulate you. Your power is highly compatible with mine. While cultivating in the lake, by chance and by fate, you have already transformed into a pure Fire Spirit Body!"

You old turtle, you can really talk nonsense! Lin Mo curled his lip, but did not interrupt. He quietly waited for Antuin to continue. He was calm enough; Catherine was not nearly so composed.

Fire Spirit Body! She was first stunned, then overjoyed. She knew that term! In this world, there were always some people who were extraordinarily close to magical elements. Those with the highest affinity for each element were known as possessing an elemental spirit body. Aside from the one drawback of only being able to command a single element, the advantages were too numerous to count. At the very least, spellcasting would consume at least half as much mana, and its power would increase by at least one fold!

Just as she was delighted, Antuin's voice sounded again, and this time its tone carried a heavy sense of pressure. "Don't get too happy. I do rather like your temperament, but surely you don't think that stealing my things can simply be written off, do you?"