Shepherd Tantra

Chapter 1342 Preserving the Treasures and Remembering

Just as the amber fell, all the "preservation techniques" that had been established in the entire material world instantly failed—

The ancient buildings in Wanning that have stood for thousands of years, the royal palaces of Avalon and Xingti, and even the giant tree of the Eternal Kingdom, all faded from their old, faded yellow hue at the same moment, losing the protection of the preservation technique.

Under the influence of preservation techniques, these things can resist "change" and thus ignore the decay brought about by long periods of time—whether it is insect infestation, dampness, wind erosion, or the effects of external forces such as scratches and earthquakes, none of these can overcome the preservation techniques to cause damage to the building itself.

This is why the world has so many ancient buildings that remain as new as ever, even after thousands or tens of thousands of years. Long-lived species like dragons and elves are not forced to repeatedly rebuild their cities and houses throughout their lives.

—If all preservation techniques fail, what will be the most significant impact?
There is only one answer.

That is the Spirit Tower.

The former—now the former principal Matthias Grünewald—was the only lich in the world.

His life box was kept in the storage room of the Spirit Tower, where the overflowing power formed a special barrier that could freeze and preserve everything.

Just as the fall of the High Heavens signified the destruction of the warrior's way, the fall of the Silver Crowned Dragon symbolized the loss of power for extraordinary arts centered on law and magic. Without lowering one's energy level by half and joining a new path… one would directly lose all power.

Like the giant prince who was imprisoned in Avalon, or like the sea monsters deep in the ocean.

For ordinary superhumans, this isn't really a problem. After all, it's not just them who dropped half a level of energy; everyone did. Since everyone dropped, it's equivalent to no one dropping—at most, it's just an effect of "the entire path becoming weaker."

It's like a power struggle at the top of a company; it doesn't really matter to the lower-level employees. No matter who wins in the end, they're all just ordinary workers.

—But for liches, the situation is not so simple.

Liches are long-dead souls that can remain in the material world for a long time only through preservation techniques.

The denial of the preservation technique itself means that the very foundation of the lich's existence has also been denied!

At this moment, the preservation room had become a complete mess.

Two petty thieves were squatting next to a huge treasure chest. One of them was flipping through the gold coins with a clattering sound, watching them slip through his fingers with obvious delight; while the other was carefully wiping a pure ruby ​​the size of a quail egg with a handkerchief.

A hooded man, barely noticeable, sensed something was wrong the moment he took a step. In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the shadows, mimicking the Shadow Fiend's Shadow Stealth.

A silver-haired female Child of the Moon, upon appearing, suddenly looked astonished, weakly knelt on the ground, and choked herself.

She felt as if all her strength had vanished into thin air, her blood and energy evaporating and draining away... A strong sense of suffocation enveloped her, making this Moon Child feel as powerless as a fish out of water.

An old mage with white hair was chanting an unknown spell.

The surrounding magic manifested as a physical entity, flowing in the air—the boiling magic was so intense that its color could be seen with the naked eye, and just hearing the incantation would cause burn marks to appear on the skin.

A strong sense of impending death instantly enveloped everyone in the preservation room. Everyone looked at the old mage who was casting a spell; half of them were astonished at when he had appeared, while the other half were amazed at when the stone statue had come to life.

Those who dare to enter the Spirit Tower... especially those who manage to get into the preservation room, are naturally not fools or useless.

They soon realized the truth: the frozen time had been restored.

They themselves may have been frozen in time by the preservation technique, and they didn't even realize that they had once been reduced to larvae within amber—

To stop the old mage's incantation, the assassin appeared behind him in an instant. But then, the assassin was pierced through from behind along with the old mage by a huge arrow of light, like a siege crossbow, and flew towards the wall.

The hunter who fired the arrow was also sent flying by the hammer in the next instant.

These fourth and fifth level powerhouses fought each other without any restraint, plunging the preservation room into chaos.

But at this moment.

An invisible and colorless wave swept across.

—【Exhaustion】!
These once-arrogant and powerful figures now seemed as if their souls had been stolen. Their hair turned white instantly, their faces became covered in wrinkles, and their knees buckled as they knelt on the ground.

When their bodies crashed heavily to the ground, their flesh had already dissipated, turning into withered, yellow skeletons.

Without any ability to resist, their lives were easily taken by this instant-death spell!
"...noisy."

The old lich Grünewald spoke slowly, and with a vortex that spun and twisted like a black hole, he instantly appeared at the door of the preservation room.

His tattered black robe billowed without wind, and his skull, which had been burning with a dim yellow flame, now glowed with a ghostly blue light.

An extremely powerful pressure swept over—Miss Moon could easily feel it; this power was even more powerful than that of the great Crimson Prime Minister!

"Lord Kuroko! That, that's..."

The only survivor, Miss Moon Child, was immune to this instant-death spell thanks to her strong vitality and lifespan.

In extreme terror, she stared in astonishment at the old lich, letting out an indescribable scream: "Sixth level?!"

That's a sublime energy level that only an eternal pope can reach!

It was the ultimate goal that her "father" pursued throughout his life!
Reaching this level undoubtedly means becoming the king of the world.

But for some reason, the old lich seemed somewhat annoyed when he heard her shouting.

"Dust from the past... let's return to an era when miracles did not exist."

He raised his bony fingers and gently touched the Moon Child with long, silvery-white curly hair.

No chanting was required, and no runes appeared.

A jet-black, greenish-black beam of light, about the thickness of a willow branch, struck the Son of the Moon instantly without making a sound.

She vanished into thin air without even uttering a single word!

Like a stick of incense burning out at hundreds of times the speed, turning into countless snow-white ash.

A thick aura of death spread out, turning the surrounding floor black, just like the walls after a fire.

"...You have every reason to be proud."

The old lich murmured, slowly withdrawing his fingers: "A soul fallen behind the times..."

That is the annihilation of all things.

This is Matthias Grünewald's most powerful spell.

With the boost from the Spirit Tower, this attack was even able to break through the Fallen Angels' defenses and severely injure them instantly!
When this spell was cast by Grünewald, a fifth-level being, it could punch a hole the size of a volleyball in the chest of a fallen celestial being... But when it was used against this mere fourth-level Moon Child, she didn't even feel any pain before turning into ashes.

Even if the Moon Child has an extremely strong resistance to instant-death spells, it is meaningless under absolute power.

Now, with the changes in the rules of the Equilibrium Veil, Grünewald has broken through to the sixth energy level.

Spells that used to require long incantations can now be activated with just a flick of his finger.

Apart from a few owners of the Celestial Division fragments, no one else in this world could withstand his casual pointing.

From this perspective, Grünewald has indeed become the king of the world.

only……

The old skeleton beckoned, and his life box flew over.

It was a small box made of emeralds. It had three keyholes, corresponding to the three keys hanging on the old skeleton.

He gently touched the life box with his fingertips, which were turning yellow and withering at a visible rate, and fell into a long silence... or perhaps he was lost in memories.

Now, the journey at dusk has come to an end.

Instead, the path of winter has taken its place.

Winter's principles are silence and stillness, but also remembrance and end. It is quite similar to the concept of dusk, only slightly less grand, becoming more direct and superficial.

The Ninth Source River used to be the route with the most Celestial Offices, but now only the Winter Office and the Rock Office remain.

Iwatenji's mission is to be the ultimate weapon of this world. Or rather, the self-destruct switch.

If all efforts fail, then Iwatenji, as the "anti-civilization," will be responsible for "restoring this world to its factory settings." He will kill all order, all truth, all civilization, and all difference, completely reducing this world to a barren wasteland devoid of wisdom and life.

—Just like the Earth, which once had no life at all.

—Just like countless ordinary planets in the vast universe.

At the very least, we must not allow nothingness to devour and assimilate this world—if the end is inevitable, then this world will choose to die rather than submit.

It's better to perish together than to become a puppet!
Therefore, since Iwatenji cannot take the position, the only choice for the Pillar God is Fuyuji.

However... Tsukasa Tsukasa ultimately lacked the merit to become a pillar god.

This means that even if she is promoted to the position of Pillar God as a Celestial (Pillar God candidate), without any other Celestial competing with her, she will still need a relatively long process as a transition to gradually master the power of the Ninth Source River.

It's like the long transition from the path of beasts to the path of love in the past.

As the former master of the Spirit Tower, Grünewald knew long ago that the Winter Maiden, as Amber's chosen successor and having received both the "Remembering" and "Treasure-Digging Technique" from the Spirit Tower, would eventually become the new "Pillar".

That's why they chose the Winter Division and had their students gradually replace the foundation of their necromancy with the Winter Division system.

Everyone had made preparations in advance.

Grünewald was the only exception—

He was the only one who couldn't make preparations.

As a "lich" who relies on the power of amber to sustain his life, Grünewald will also meet his end along with the amber.

The technology of the "Life Box" originated from the Star Crystal People created by the Scaled Ones; and the Star Crystal People were able to live forever because Ai Shiping borrowed power from "Amber" and created a preservation technique that could preserve the soul in a gemstone.

Now, with the foundation of his preservation technique crumbling, his power will gradually dissipate as well.

"The era of preservation techniques... is over." Grünewald sighed silently, pulling keys from his chest and inserting them one by one into the casket: "We have left too much legacy for future generations... After the era of legacy ends..."

"...It is the era of exploration and discovery."

It means... the era of us old folks is over.

With all three keys inserted, Grünewald opened the box.

Inside the emerald green box, a small pomegranate was placed neatly.

It was neither made into a specimen nor preserved in crystal, yet it remains vivid.

It smells as if it had just been picked, with a refreshing fragrance.

However, after the box was opened, it began to shrink and turn yellow at a visible rate.

Grünewald held the pomegranate in its skeletal hand.

This was a gift from his son... and also his keepsake.

He didn't even dare to touch it, because a slight touch would destroy it.

Grünewald could only remain motionless, quietly watching it.

Watching it go from vibrant to dry, from dry to withered, and finally turn into powder.

A day and a night had passed outside by then.

He just stood there... motionless, for the entire day.

Then, Grünewald slowly walked to the window.

He didn't teleport or float. Instead, he walked over clumsily, like a skeleton soldier.

At his command, the window opened by itself. And he raised his hand, letting the wind carry the pomegranate powder into the dark night sky.

"If only there were sunshine."

Grünewald stared at the dark sky and suddenly spoke.

Alone, talking to himself.

By this time, the Spirit Tower had long been emptied by him. Apart from him, there was no living being in the tower—if he could even be considered a living being.

At that moment, the energy core of the Spirit Tower... that is, the massive spine of the Yuan Tian Si and Ling Po Tian Si, began to glow with a dawn-like light.

The Ouroboros ritual array, which he had already carved on the wall of the Spirit Tower, roared into action at this moment.

"I wonder if the conditions can be met..."

Grünewald murmured, "The way of stillness..."

"...Can I, who have always lived in the past, become the greatest sacrifice?"

I was on the verge of death.

I am collapsing and disintegrating.

Could it also... become part of a greater destiny?

Necromancy, in essence, is the art of excavation. It is precisely the art of making use of waste.

And now, without a doubt, he belongs to that "useless" category.

...If only he could become the vessel for the Celestial Bureau.

With this decaying, dying body... bear all the evil in this world.

That is the greatest treasure-hunting technique.

However... the ritual of the Ouroboros could not be performed.

"...Did it fail?"

Grünewald whispered.

Because he lacked "love"... Even though dusk and stillness are very similar, he still lacked that little bit of motivation to move forward.

But at that moment, a voice echoed in Grünewald's mind:
"—Do you plan to become a Celestial Priest in the future, Aiwass? I mean, after you've become a Celestial Priest, and after you've done everything you've ever wanted to do… do you plan to become a Celestial Priest, or a Pillar God?"

The words he had once asked Aiwass suddenly echoed in his heart.

"I don't know. Because from the very beginning, I didn't think becoming a Celestial Chief was a good way out. It's fine after death... but if I can live, I think I'd rather live and enjoy life."

At the time, Aiwass replied in this way.

[If this world needed you to become the Celestial Chief, would you be willing to give up everything in the material world?]

"That's natural."

Aiwass replied without hesitation, "At most, it's just death. I've even prepared for death, so why would I be afraid of entering the Dream Realm prematurely? These two things are essentially the same... But why do you ask that?"

[Someone asked me to get an answer from you.]

The old lich Grünewald answered in this way.

That person was Grünewald himself.

[If you were to become the Chief of the Celestials, what do you think your title would be?]

"...[Radiance]...right, Radiant Heaven. Light, brilliance, radiance...it must be brighter than all the surrounding light, more dazzling than the sunlight that people are used to, so that people can see the radiant light."

“I…want people’s attention. I want people to see that I’m shining.”

That's how Iwass answered.

Grünewald sighed.

He was so envious of the energy of young people.

Such envy for these fresh souls who harbor hope and ideals.

Such jealousy... can become so dazzling.

Despite such envy, Aiwass was able to walk on a path recognized by everyone.

“I believe that He is also jealous of you.”

Grünewald murmured, "I believe... he'll be jealous of you too."

"So bright...it shines like the sun..."

—The Grünewald family is a clan that inherits forbidden magic.

That's why he was able to become the only necromancer in the world to master the Lich's phylactery.

The surname means "green forest".

Because their ancestors were elves who lived in the region of the giant trees during a time of war.

In search of more forbidden magic, these elven mages traveled to the ancient kingdom of Parthia and settled there, adopting this surname to commemorate their noble lineage.

And later.

The owner of this surname committed an unforgivable crime.

That was Grünewald's youngest son.

Of course, Grünewald doesn't remember exactly what he did.

All he knew was that he was ultimately and completely erased from existence.

No one knows what he looks like, and no one remembers his name.

Even his surname, his voice, his creations, and the words he left behind are gradually disappearing...

In order to combat the White Punishment, Grünewald began researching the "Amber Condensation Technique," trying his best to remember the erased memories.

He succeeded.

With the boundless power of death, Grünewald successfully engraved the information that should have been annihilated into the depths of his bloodline. In this way, each generation of his descendants would be remarkably similar to him, inheriting his talents and abilities.

Grünewald is willing to go to any lengths to resurrect his erased son.

Fortunately or unfortunately... his descendants managed to escape their mad ancestor before the experiment succeeded, fleeing to Hellas and changing their surname to match the local language. Although Grünewald later pursued them, he found no trace of their hiding place.

It has transformed from a "green forest" into a "white fortress".

And this new surname is still used in the Iris region, called...

—Vandern Nym.

"And if we add this jealousy—"

The old lich raised his head, remaining motionless as the purple sacrificial circle engulfed him.

—Could it be enough for me to fall into nothingness?

(End of this chapter)