Pillars of Ita

Chapter 1243: Ripples on the Sea of ​​Light I

Dusk at Giant Tree Hill turns the treetops a honey-colored color.

The dusk wove a golden and red brocade above the giant tree. The rays of light flowed along the ends of Alsana's hair, leaving a dim shadow on her sacrificial robe. She twirled the elven holy sword. Her snow-white fingertips reflected the fiery gem on the sword. The tip of the sword glowed faintly, and she pointed it at the door of the ancient tree.

"The portal will be closed before the moon rises, Mr. Eddard," the Elf Princess said, "I have not yet received the true recognition of the White Tree, so the passage will not last long, but I will try my best to maintain it."

Not far away, Ferger watched as Zuliana dropped her weapon and handed over the communication crystal. He took the crystal and sealed it in a sheepskin bag.

Fang Plover nodded slightly.

Alindor unfolded the scroll handed to him by Lilithel. The emerald deer head of the Lord of the Sun Shadow Land shone faintly on his sword. "If the people of the guild find the divine fire of Lady of Withering first..."

"That's not the purpose of the guild," Fang He turned the brass compass on his gloves, and the gears coupled to the nearby etheric veins. "The Council of Linoril is still dreaming of controlling the Blightbranch, immersed in the fantasies of the past, until they find that the plan is completely beyond their control. In panic, they will definitely make wrong judgments-"

"Are you so sure?"

"Because Atumas did not tell them the whole truth, the Dark Saints often only tell mortals part of the truth when they make promises. Their real purpose is to let the 'star of disaster' fly in the sky and make the end of the world come early."

He raised his head, his eyes seemed certain, like he had watched the sunset in the forest countless times, but caught the only certain moment. "There are definitely Atumas's minions among the guild allies, but not all of them. The Dark Saints will not easily promise eternal life to anyone."

"When the two goals conflict and most people realize the true purpose of the Dark Saints, what do you think they will do?"

"Will they try their best to regain control of the Gray Branch?" Elindor put down the scroll in his hand, a gleam in his eyes.

"Yes, Mr. Elindor," Fang He nodded, "but Atumas will not let them do that. The servants it has planted in the upper echelons of the Linoril Council are for this moment. They will definitely cut off the Council's control over the Gray Branch."

Through the investigation reports brought by Lilithel from the Disaster Investigation Department and Elwood, they were fully aware of the sacrificial ceremony of the Linorel Council.

Their control over the gray branches essentially comes from their control over the sacrificial ritual and the soul of the innocent unicorn girl bound in the ritual.

Once they lose control of the ritual, the soul of the Unicorn Girl will be briefly free.

And that was their chance.

"But Ed, have you forgotten one thing? The projection of the holy relic that the Council retrieved from the Empire has not been used yet. What is it used for?"

Fang He smiled. He had roughly guessed it, but fate had obscured the most important branches of the white tree, making him unable to speak.

In order for the seed of divinity to give birth to a god from the laws, specific conditions must be met. They knew this, and the Dark Saints naturally knew this as well.

"Don't worry, Mr. Elindor, I think I have found the opportunity. This time we are actually ahead of them."

Dusk flowed in Elindor's emerald pupils. His gaze was like finding a gem in the dust, repeatedly describing the young man in front of him - in this short day, the surprise he brought to him even exceeded the sum of his long life.

If it were someone else, the Sun Shadow Land Lord would not have believed this simple promise so easily, but the things they had experienced before were very convincing...

He, Juliana, and another dragon knight of Narotao were all defeated by each other. Sometimes it was strength, sometimes it was wisdom. It is easy for a person to make a correct judgment once, but it is difficult to bet right every time.

However, this young man simply resolved them one by one with simple, precise and even direct means, as if the numerous dragon knights, the Linorel Council and the Guild Alliance were not anything insignificant in his eyes.

He tried to guess the deep meaning contained in the other person's calm eyes, and always felt that there was unspeakable wisdom hidden in them.

The outside world calls this young man the Dragon Alchemist, but this description still underestimates him.

Elindor looked at Alsana beside him.

He always felt that the little princess was too naive, but the eldest princess was perfectly suitable. They were the same type of people, and their union would definitely bring a different future to the Autumn Woods.

But can the oath between mortals and elves be eternal?

Miss Nightingale was unaware that the serious-looking Elf Lord was targeting her leader. She looked at Zuliana beside Ferger from a distance:

"Is she so obedient?"

"She stopped at this step, and it can be said that she was following the club's orders. But if she wants to move forward, it will be her own will."

"Do you believe?"

Sylvie smiled and shook her head. "The key is not whether I believe it or not, but whether Ms. Ming believes it or not. She should trust her friend very much."

"Friends turn against each other, superiors and subordinates become enemies. This is very common in big clubs. Ms. Ming may be sad, but she should be able to accept it quickly."

Elisa thought back to the days when she and her sister were listening to the rain.

"After all, we are connected by interests. It is normal to use interests to poison each other. Everyone has understood this since we were in the youth training camp."

"That's in the past."

"Yes, the captain is a fool, that's different. You have to take care of him, Sylvie, don't let him be sold out."

The ship's daughter couldn't help laughing and covered her mouth with her hands.

But that was just a small interlude.

As Alsana began to preside over the ceremony, the atmosphere in the forest gradually became solemn.

The clock turned twelve scales, and the light of the holy sword in the hands of the elven princess suddenly became brighter, and the runes on the ancient tree door began to wake up one by one.

There was a bronze luster in Arsana's silver hair - the dusk had not yet dissipated, and all the shadows in the forest were gnawing at the last bit of time.

The setting sun cut through the thorns, and the elf princess's silver eyes were filled with cold light. The dust was boiling under her feet, and the thorns tore at the cloak decorated with star patterns, and the gray branches climbed up. The girl opened her mouth, and a series of ancient tones came out of her throat -

The ancient language pierced the night, each syllable like a piece of bone torn from flesh and blood.

Alisa frowned and looked in that direction.

"Don't worry..." Alsana's voice was like a weak nightingale. "The sacred unicorn has not shed its holy blood to me, and has not received the necessary recognition from the White Tree. This is a necessary measure."

And follow her words.

The gray vines withered, revealing the crystal white core of the tree. The roots trembled and fell to the ground, turning into ashes.

Unicorn-shaped spots of light flowed over the roots, weaving a pattern of intertwined stars and moons. At that moment, a vortex of magical power appeared above the open door.

The Elf Princess turned around and looked at everyone with a firm gaze, "I can't hold on for much longer, Mr. Ed, please don't let it down."

Fang He nodded. He had already reviewed the plan with Mia and Sylvie. At this moment, he stretched out his hand and placed it on the hand of Mia, the Witch of the Sea.

With the other hand, he was holding his ship's officer.

The three of them looked at each other, took a step forward together, and turned into a stream of light in the twilight, and were drawn into the vortex of magic.

The three people suddenly disappeared from the forbidden square. Lilithel couldn't help but take a step forward when she saw this, but Elindor stopped her:

"Don't worry. Master Ailin has left a complete response method in that ceremony. Trust them."

Lilithel looked at the Lord of the Sun Shadow Land and nodded slightly.

One world is welcoming the sunrise, and the other world is sinking into darkness. As for many creatures in this world, they are either falling asleep or waking up from their dreams.

Some people opened their doors and welcomed a busy day; while hurried messengers were delivering news of the disaster from one place to another.

The women were waiting for their men to return victoriously from the front lines, bringing the news that the Gray Plague was over; the congressmen filed out of the hall, looking back at the last sunset of the day, sinking under the clouds over the harbor.

But few people know that someone is embarking on a journey for the fate of this world.

In the darkness, two wooden doors wrapped in copper were opened, and monks in sacrificial robes were lined up in the hall. The fire representing the golden flame was burning in the iron basin, casting strange shadows on the branches of the white trees.

The man who pushed open the door looked up at one of the three ash branches planted, one in the sacred forest, one in Ninimere, and the remaining one was here. "Mr. Speaker," the officials below looked at the visitor, "the alliance has agreed to launch the final plan."

"That woman Selina hasn't come back yet," the speaker's voice was as cold as ice, "Is the holy relic ready?"

"The relic has been in Ravenril until the White Tree Society brought it back from Oshur," the officials replied, "but Aimaya appointed that young man to guard it. That young man..."

"Don't worry about him."

The Speaker shook his head and walked to the brazier. His gray fingertips scraped off a layer of ash on it. He gently brushed off the dust and said, "When the time comes, they will activate the holy object."

“What really matters is the medium.”

He walked past the crowd, his robes trailing over the deep obsidian, until he stopped in front of a woman.

The bishop knelt in the center of the altar, each of her light golden hairs was connected to a bloody thread, the other end of which was embedded in the pattern on the wall.

Half of the elf's pointed ears were cut off, and brown blood scabs were coagulated on the broken ends, but the most deadly restraint was the circle of thorny iron rings around the neck. Every time the breathing pulled the throat, the barbs would carve new blood marks on the collarbone.

Twelve iron chains engraved with spells hung down from the dome, the ends of which passed through the blood-stained holy robe. Black water seeped from the gaps between the floor tiles and flooded over her ankles. The water reflected the hourglass between her wrists - a glass vessel polished by Atumas using green fragments.

She knew that when the crescent moon climbed up to the palm-sized air vent above her head, her heart and blood would become a channel connecting her to the demon.

"One hundred and seventy years ago, on the night of the twin new moons, a twin soul fetus was born in Silverwind Harbor," the Speaker said. "Ms. Selina, you and your twin sister are two completely different types of people. If you were like her, perhaps you wouldn't have to suffer so much."

The bishop's lips moved, and the Speaker barely heard her weak voice. She did not have such a sister, that sister was just a demon who returned from the abyss.

The minions of the saints.

The Speaker smiled coldly, pulled her hair and made the female bishop look up at him.

The woman's right eye suddenly glowed with the color of molten gold, and the Soul-Erosion Seal on her collarbone began to burn. Then a completely different expression appeared on her face. In contrast to the pain on her left side, a strange smile appeared on her right face.

Selina smiled charmingly, "You are torturing my sister again, my Lord."

"I thought you were dead," the Speaker did not appreciate the woman's kindness. He knew that this was only her appearance. She was just a shadow underneath her flesh and blood. "Is your plan to make a fool of yourself in front of the whole world?"

"At least I proved that the three women still have a backup plan. Ah, the Libra lady is really not so quiet," Selina said, "That little girl will reveal the final picture on the branches of fate for us. The last hand left by Elaine is really tricky-"

"It could also become the knife that cuts our throats," the Speaker said coldly, "You'd better be serious. He has ruined every one of our plans and forced us to this point. Everything we are doing now is not planned, but forced."

"But the result will not change. Ah, my lord, I warned you that from the moment the situation changed you could attack the Elven Court and the Sacred Forest, but you were greedy and wanted more."

"We just want to gain control of the Giant Tree Hill legitimately," the Speaker said angrily, and then explained: "This will also be beneficial for the implementation of your plan in the future. The Saints of Orin are extremely hypocritical, but for so many years you still dare to do things in shady places because you are unwilling to do some superficial work like them-"

"But you've seen the result," Selina smiled. "Be careful. They are not pawns that can be manipulated by mortals. All they need to do is send out a small agent to make all your efforts go to waste. And I'm not just standing by and watching all this happen. It's just that you still don't trust us enough."

"What now?" the Speaker asked. "What should we do? Open the gate to the Gray Forest directly? But I feel like you are hiding something from me."

Selina smiled slightly, "We have been hiding things from each other, but being open and honest has never been the basis for our cooperation. Instead, we each take what we need. They need a new throne to rise from the darkness, and I need to ascend to the throne. My sister can help me..."

"As for you, you will also gain everything you deserve from it, including power, strength, and even the life they promised you, where you can enjoy all of this forever, until the end of time."

“Isn’t that enough?” She stretched out a finger, dragging the chain and making a clanking sound. “You have experienced that power yourself.”

The old and frail man looked at the woman with suspicion. He certainly knew that the Dark Saints could not be trusted, but the time left for him was too short for him to consider.

Besides, he has come this far.

"Don't worry," Selina continued, "I need to go to the gods myself. If you don't trust me, I can let one of your own people cooperate with you."

She looked to one side and saw the man standing silently by the gate. The Speaker also looked in that direction. He knew that the man was from the Guild Alliance and had no real name.

He heard those people calling each other K. He was the Chosen One and was indeed much more trustworthy than these sweet-mouthed but treacherous demons.

The Speaker nodded silently.

"Well then," said Serena, "you go and open the door to the Gray Forest, and let the spirit of the unicorn girl lead the way for us."

"They will lift the last fog leading to the branches of the white tree, lead us to the dying divine fire, and help us ascend to the true throne of God."

"And you," she looked at the old man charmingly, "will be chosen by God. You should understand that I did not lie to you. There will be two people chosen by God for the Gemini."

Her right eye turned into a ball of fire, and the female bishop screamed. The strange smile on her face disappeared, leaving only an expression of unbearable pain.

But the Speaker did not even look at the other party. He let go of the other party's long golden hair, looked up at the twisted gray branch, and ordered:

"Start the ceremony, connect all the gray branches to each other, and let our saints control the power of the main trunk. This farce should end now."

The acolytes raised their hands high, and the flames in the brazier suddenly burst into flames.

……

"Ed."

In a void of space, Fang He suddenly heard a voice coming from the depths of his soul. That voice belonged to only one person.

His fairy lady.

"Ms. Tata, you are here indeed."

Another voice sounded beside him. It was the voice of the ship's officer. Fang He couldn't see the other person's appearance, but he could feel a hint of gentleness from her words.

"Ed is right. The situation here is very similar to what we saw in the Sea of ​​Aether..."

Although Sylvie had no image, Fang He could feel that she seemed to be looking around - the space where the three of them were seemed to be located in a criss-crossing root network.

Looking up, endless roots extend from the end of the field of vision and disappear at the other end, as if they are under the root system of a giant tree, or like a neural network.

Apart from this, the torrents of ether flowing around them were exactly the same as what they had seen in the sea of ​​light.

In order to cure the curse/blessing on Sylvie, Mia had taken them to the etheric layer more than once to search for the remaining divinity of Narsu's.

That special experience actually made them familiar with this place faster at this moment - the laws of the gray forest seemed to be not much different from those in the etheric layer.

However, the Kingdom of the Gods was originally built on the Sea of ​​Light, so this situation was within their expectations.

"Ed?" Sylvie asked, "Do you feel it?"

Fang Plover nodded.

In fact, he had been waiting for that opportunity since he entered this space, and it was at the moment when Miss Tata reminded him just now.

He finally sensed that something else had entered this kingdom of God.

As he expected—

As expected, the Linoril Council became desperate and began to send the soul of the unicorn girl into this world. They hoped to use the gray branches connected to the white tree to completely control the trunk of the Giant Tree Hill.

But soon, the other party will realize the real problem.

……