In the void, time seemed not to exist, and he didn't know how long had passed.

He only felt that as the 'Self' plan progressed, his doubts grew, and he began to feel bored, questioning the purpose of the 'Self' plan.

He didn't understand what meaning there was in mechanically repeating the process of repairing his memory and emotions.

Anyway, everything would eventually lead to nothingness.

At times, he would stop to ponder his inner doubts, but soon after, he would continue with the plan, because he felt it was the only thing that might have some meaning in the void.

Gradually, the many doubts in his heart converged into one question: Who am I?

"This question should have an answer now."

Liens slowly opened his eyes and gazed at the world before him.

With the completion of the second step of the 'Self' plan, he emerged from the void. Looking at his surroundings, he felt both familiar and strange.

It was familiar because his memories clearly recorded every table and chair in the room; it was strange because it felt like the first time he had ever stepped into it.

He didn't know if he was still his former self, but that wasn't a very important question.

People change, and his past self was bound to be different from his present self. As long as his consciousness remained unchanged, the present was a continuation of the past, and the future was the path he was about to embark on.

However, before starting the third, and final, step of the 'Self' plan, he needed to go out and explain the situation to the others.

Liens took a deep look at the 'Oak Amulet', which no longer glowed, then put it and the dim life gem away, stood up, and walked out of the house.

Creak—

The door opened, and Liens looked at the two beautiful women, one tall and one small, standing in the corridor. At the same time, their gazes also fell on him, one calm, the other serious.

"How was it?"

Lucrezia smiled and asked Liens.

"It should be considered a success."

Liens's lips curved into a faint smile as he responded.

Seeing that smile, Lucrezia was momentarily stunned.

Even Isabelle, standing beside her, was a little dazed. She suddenly felt that her sexual orientation, which Lucrezia had bent, seemed to show signs of turning back.

However, being an 'old hand' proficient in various ways, although momentarily dazzled by Liens's pure smile, Lucrezia quickly recovered:

"You look very different. The former you would never show such a smile."

Liens knew Lucrezia was confirming whether he was still his former self.

"After all, with that method, some changes are inevitable."

"If you ask what's different about me from before, it's probably that I clearly know how I came to be, and I also know what I should do."

Liens responded calmly.

This was 'Self'.

After re-understanding himself, Liens had a clear Sense of his past and present, and had even chosen his future path.

Therefore, he would not dwell on the philosophical question of "Am I still myself?".

Because he had already answered this question once—

I am Liens.

"Congratulations."

Lucrezia understood what Liens was expressing, so she congratulated him, congratulating him on passing an important hurdle and getting closer to the Legend realm.

"Thank you."

Liens accepted Lucrezia's congratulations, then continued:

"Next, I will continue to seclude myself for some time, but I won't need anyone to protect me. Please convey my thanks to Balder and the others."

"After this, there shouldn't be any more big commotions here."

After speaking, Liens was about to turn and return to his room, but as he was about to turn, Isabelle stopped him:

"Although you seem fine on the surface, your aura is clearly much weaker than before... Do you need me to treat you with divine magic?"

This was her purpose for staying here; she had to at least ask the 'patient' if treatment was needed.

Moreover, she could tell that Liens's condition was indeed not very good.

"Oh, that... Because of what happened before, my consumption was indeed very high. Although I indirectly replenished some through a large amount of Life force, the strain on my body was still very severe."

"However, the problem isn't too big; it's just that some of my Life origin was extracted, and my lifespan was affected."

Liens briefly explained his current physical condition.

Neither Heaven and Man as One nor Sword Heart were ordinary techniques. Continuously maintaining these two techniques naturally resulted in immense consumption.

When his mental energy was over-consumed, he could only forcibly extract his Life origin to offset the consumption.

Although he had taken water of Life in advance and almost drained the life gem, it only partially filled the deficit; the main burden was still on himself.

Roughly estimated, this time he had lost at least twenty years of his lifespan.

Originally, after recovering in Hughes Town, he could have lived to fifty, but now, whether he could even live to thirty was a question.

However, Liens's mindset was quite good, and he didn't feel worried because of this.

After all, he was only sixteen years old now, with over a decade of lifespan left. He would always have a chance to find a way to replenish the deficit in his Life origin.

Moreover, didn't he still have his agreement with God of Absolute Fairness Elthorp?

So, when the boat comes to the bridge, it will straighten itself. There will always be a way, no need to be overly troubled by this.

"That serious."

Hearing that Liens had even lost lifespan, Isabelle couldn't help but frown and quickly stepped forward to treat Liens with divine magic.

As the pale white light permeated his body, Liens felt a slight boost in his spirit, and the Life force within him became more active.

Although Isabelle's divine magic could not directly replenish the deficit from his excessive mental consumption, it could, to some extent, prevent his condition from worsening due to his physical deficit.

"While I can't directly replenish your body's deficit, I can prevent it from causing chain negative effects."

"However, I just took a look at the condition of your Life origin. I hope it didn't offend you."

Isabelle withdrew her divine magic and spoke.

"It's fine, this doesn't need to be kept particularly secret."

Liens shook his head slightly, indicating he didn't mind.

Life information was actually quite important and private, but Isabelle had only roughly observed the 'liquid in the bottle' from the outer layer, without truly delving deep.

This much information didn't require strict secrecy.

Of course, wanting to deeply investigate someone's Life information was not something that could be done casually.

This aspect was always the specialty of Life priests, and whether Isabelle had the ability to do so was still unknown.

"Your Life deficit is already very serious. I suggest you go find those people from the Life Truth Society. They might have a way to help you."

Isabelle offered Liens her suggestion.

"Thank you for your treatment and suggestion, but don't worry about me. I'll always find a solution... Hmm, look, isn't the 'tonic' here?"

Liens took the life gem that Lucrezia threw to him and said with a smile.

"This can't make up for your deficit; at most, it only serves as a health supplement."

"There is some water of Life in the royal capital, but unfortunately, things that can directly increase lifespan are too important. The royal family keeps a tight watch on them, and I couldn't bring any out."

Lucrezia's words carried a hint of regret, as if regretting that she hadn't been able to empty the royal treasury before her rebellion.

"Having this is good enough... Then I thank our Princess again for her bestowal."

Liens smiled again and expressed his gratitude to Lucrezia.

"You are much more interesting now than your previous indifferent self."

Lucrezia looked at Liens, her eyes somewhat profound. She could faintly sense the 'stillness' in Liens's heart, a kind of detachment that was neither pleased by external things nor saddened by personal misfortunes.

This was different from Liens's previous emotional apathy.

His emotions and even his outward emotional fluctuations were very active, which could be seen from his very natural smile, but these emotional fluctuations seemed unable to shake the deepest tranquility.

As if he had seen through everything, embracing all like the void.

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