Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1353 The Angel of Destiny

"Kordu Village..."

Fors muttered to himself, recalling information about the small village in his mind.

This is a small village located in the remote Reston region of the southern province of Intis, not far from Fenneport and Remburg. There are no detailed population statistics because many adult men here are engaged in the arduous profession of "shepherd" and rarely return home throughout the year, resulting in frequent omissions in official population statistics.

Unlike Sequence 5 of the "Hanged Man" pathway, the shepherds of Cordu are employed by sheep owners to drive dozens or hundreds of sheep back and forth between the plains and alpine meadows south of Intis, herding sheep, making cheese, and working away from home year after year, only returning home at specific times.

Now is the time when sheep migrate back and shepherds return home, but Fors looked around and saw not a single sheep in the pasture, let alone the shepherds.

The intelligence was wrong. In fact, the flock of sheep had already set off for the grasslands on the plains? Or perhaps the flock was on the other side of the village... She was a little confused, but she didn't take it too seriously. Instead, just like when she was wandering in the depths of the starry sky and came to a new planet to encounter an unfamiliar civilization, she used her recorded invisibility ability to conceal her figure. Then, she walked along the dirt road that had been trampled out and walked towards the village at the foot of the hill.

Fors did not directly "teleport" into the unfamiliar village, a good habit she had developed after several reckless actions. Even so, as she approached Kordu Village, she discovered many unusual phenomena.

As dusk approached, not a single light was on in the village. The yellowish glass windows were dimly lit, and the chimneys, of varying heights and shapes, emitted no smoke or steam. The paths along this side of the village, and the village square that Fors could vaguely see, were deserted. The church, representing the "Eternal Sun," was deathly silent. The lingering stench of livestock manure and pungent smoke that usually permeated other remote villages had vanished...

The village appears to have been abandoned.

Amon's prank? He parasitized everyone in this village, even all the sheep, and hid in the shadows, planning to give me a "surprise"?
Fors recalled the past titles such as "blasphemer" and "god of mischief," and the angelic power she had recently gained after her ascension gave her absolutely no sense of security.

Sensing a heightened awareness, Fors stood outside the village for a moment, observing. Her eyes flickered, and a phantom book in front of her flipped through the pages rapidly, releasing a certain ability she had recorded.

Not far in front of her, a figure appeared that looked exactly like her, except that its eyes were somewhat vacant.

The mirror stand, which inherited her will, did not conceal itself, but instead swaggered along the dirt road toward the village. Fors herself observed from the side, ready to launch an attack or teleport away immediately based on the stand's reaction.

A few seconds later, "Fors" suddenly seemed to crash into the water, with ripples spreading and twisting around him. He disappeared into the water.

Immediately afterwards, Fors lost contact with her mirror double.

Although I'm not a genuine "witch" and have limited control over my Stand, I can sense that it's still "alive," just in another dimension... Is some kind of force enveloping the real Kordo Village, isolating it from reality and leaving only a false "image"? In the worst-case scenario, Kordo Village might have been moved entirely to the Spirit World or some other remote location, but that's not a big problem for me...

With her experience in courting death growing, Fors quickly determined that the danger inside the invisible barrier wasn't great. But just to be on the safe side, she first recited the name of the "Goddess of Calamity" to draw the goddess's attention to her. Then she dispelled her invisibility and, mimicking the "Fors," swaggered towards the spot where the other person had disappeared, as if she were a mirror double summoned again using the same trick.

Just as she passed the spot where the water had rippled, the peaceful and serene but deserted village of Cordu before Fors' eyes shattered like a bubble, and another scene instantly came into view.

The most striking feature is a mountain peak made of reddish-brown earth. It is not high, only about thirty meters high, but it appears extremely majestic against the backdrop of the surrounding low buildings.

Above the mountain peaks, the azure sky, tinged with patches of white, was replaced by an ominous crimson. The once dim stars shone with a light almost like the sun, drawing constellations in the blood-red sky.

Around the mountain peak, rings of houses that had completely collapsed or been burned to the point of being ruins were arranged in a somewhat irregular circular pattern.

Between the houses, the once solid dirt roads were cracked as if overturned by a series of earthquakes, with dark red marks spreading in the cracks, like dried blood.

Outside the complex, the dried-up riverbed stretches into the distance. The silt at the bottom of the riverbed has dried completely, resembling wrinkled skin. On both sides are pitted pebbles, devoid of any weeds.

This is… Fors instinctively wanted to teleport away from this place, use her spatial awareness to go to any righteous god's church, and then think about what to do next, but her inner rationality stopped her.

You are already an angel, Fors, one of the strongest beings in the Tarot Society and the Fool's Church besides the two gods. "The Queen" is still watching... She quickly calmed down, her gaze sweeping over the eerie and terrifying ruins.

Having entered the "abnormal" state, Fors no longer held back her power. Her figure flickered rapidly, as if she had disappeared into the spirit world, while more of her illusory figures appeared in different locations in the ruins.

With the help of high-speed "teleportation", she quickly discovered the similarities and differences between this place and the fake "Kordu Village" she had just seen.

The river has dried up and changed course, but its source and destination remain the same; the locations of the buildings have also changed. The mountain peak, seemingly cast from flesh and mud, is now located in the village's central square, along with the only church of the "Eternal Sun." The outlines of the other villagers' houses are still discernible, but they are intentionally arranged in a circular pattern, as if part of some kind of ritual. The ruins contain the corpses of some mutated monsters, but no living people. The constellations in the sky are the same as those seen elsewhere, but having explored the cosmos, I know that this star system has no other planets besides ours; they have all been destroyed and occupied by the "Old Ones"...

With this information, even inexperienced official extraordinary individuals can make accurate judgments:

This was the original village of Kordu, but it was destroyed after a grand sacrificial ceremony. Most, if not all, of the villagers became victims, and the overflowing power of the ceremony changed the village, turning it into ruins surrounding the center of the ceremony.

And the center point is, without a doubt, that towering mountain peak.

This judgment was not based solely on the state of the village ruins. As Fors's flickering figure approached the mountain peak surrounded by twisted thorns formed by destroyed buildings, he could also sense a familiar yet unfamiliar power. This was not the authority of a deity within the barrier, but rather the terrifying aura of the "Outer God," a twisted, evil force that seemed to be a collection of all evil things.

If Fors hadn't spent some time traveling through the stars and come into contact with many civilizations that believed in those "great beings," he probably would never have thought of this.

Undoubtedly, this was a large-scale ritual to invoke the power and blessings of some kind of outer god. Given the problems with the "Eternal Sun" faith and the fact that Mr. Fool and Miss Queen's followers had not yet penetrated into the remote villages of Intis, this was not surprising... But where were these evil god followers? What blessings did they receive for sacrificing an entire village and hundreds of innocent people?
Thoughts flashed through Fors' mind. He prepared his final defenses, transforming his body into a self-symbol that was only an outline, filled with different abstract symbols, before teleporting to the mountain peak in the center of the village. Here, he could barely make out the outline of the square where Fors had looked out at Kordu Village before. All around were withered human skeletons that looked like they had been left behind many years ago, with dark red flesh and blood scattered everywhere as if they had been mopped up... In the middle of these remains, a stone altar about half a person's height was in a state of melting and then solidifying, its surface forming a smooth glass, and its top was charred black.

Above the altar, a figure draped in a black robe and wearing a hood stood with his back to Fors, staring motionlessly in the direction the dried-up riverbed had receded into the distance.

He exuded an eerie aura that Fors had previously found both strange and familiar, as if it came from some great being.

Fors's symbolic, unharmable body immediately became blurred, and he was about to launch nine different attacks from nine directions at the same time to directly eliminate this being who was clearly a follower of an evil god.

As for asking questions, you can talk to his spirit.

Suddenly, the hooded man turned around, revealing a young man's face with short black hair, a broad forehead, and a thin face beneath the brim of his hood.

Amon… Fors, who had seen Mr. “The Sun” describe the appearance of the “blasphemer” at a Tarot meeting, immediately realized what was happening, and his inner tension dissipated.

Compared to the believers or benefactors of the Outer Gods, this former dual-path true god, now the "Trojan Horse of Destiny," seems quite handsome in her eyes.

Of course, to be on the safe side, Fors did not truly let his guard down. Whether it was the twenty-two pathways on this planet or the many more unfamiliar pathways in the starry sky, there were quite a few that could change appearances and interfere with the perceptions of others.

Especially since the person before him, though bearing the appearance of Amon, possessed power that did not belong to this planet…

"Are you Amon?"

she asked tentatively.

“You seem to have a slight stutter, Ms. ‘Magician’.” The dark-haired youth chuckled, exposing Fors’s trap. “I didn’t expect you to be the first to arrive. I thought it would be that violent woman who would smash a flag over my head.”

He knows me, and he also knows the Queen... Fors was taken aback, realizing that the man in front of her might really be "Mistake" Amon.

As for the "violent woman" label, she pretended not to hear it and dared not take it to heart.

“Hehe, I was planning to take over the Tarot Society for a while and give each of you members a monocle, but unfortunately your ‘Fool’ disagreed and even stole my glasses…” Seeing that Fors’ expression was a little strange, Amon continued, “Otherwise, your process of becoming angels would have been quite easy.”

Could He mean to directly parasitize us and turn all the Tarot Club members into his clones? Thankfully, Mr. Fool won… Fors couldn't help but picture herself, Hugh, Audrey, and the others sitting at a long table, all wearing monocles and looking at “The Fool” Amon with identical expressions. She couldn't help but ask:
"What's going on here?"

Amon lowered his hood, his right hand seemingly rummaging unconsciously inside his black robe for a moment, then gave an awkward laugh, winked at his right eye, and said:

“Isn’t it obvious? The village of Kordu has been infiltrated by followers of an evil god. They have joined forces with the corrupt priest of the ‘Eternal Sun’ to deceive all the villagers and hold a grand sacrificial ceremony.”

"The flesh and blood of most of the villagers formed a vessel to contain the power of the Outer God, while a small number turned into monsters. The overflowing power changed the structure of the village and formed a barrier around it to prevent others from prying into it. Then, taking advantage of a moment when the barrier had a hole, the Outer God sent one of His angels into this planet."

It was indeed a sacrificial ceremony to an Outer God. Such a massive ceremony must have required a long period of preparation. If the "Eternal Sun" hadn't fallen and the priests here hadn't betrayed their faith, the cultists couldn't have accomplished this so quietly... Moreover, this not only required the Outer God and their followers to work together, but also a problem with the barrier itself... Fors analyzed, then suddenly realized a possibility and asked:
"Was the breach in the barrier caused by my return?"

The "original creator" barrier that envelops the entire planet and the corresponding spirit and astral realms is an external protection measure that does not protect the interior. It is extremely difficult for outward gods to send their power into it. In recorded history, angelic beings have only entered the barrier a handful of times, and each time they were discovered and dealt with by the gods inside. However, it is relatively easy for beings inside to leave.

After becoming a "Wanderer", Fors was able to "teleport" away from the planet using his own power. All he needed was the protection and secrecy of the gods to prevent himself from being discovered by the Outer Gods. As for physical means of leaving the planet's surface, such as the "Duke of Entropy" enhancing his own jumping ability, or the "Emperor of Knowledge" transforming into an information flow, he could break through the barrier and enter the starry sky.

Fors, who was marked by the barrier, found it easier to return to the inside of the barrier than outsiders who directly invaded. Although it required some additional means, after becoming a "Planetary Planeswalker", he was able to open a crack in the barrier of the spirit world and return home.

Of course, this wouldn't have been possible without internal help, such as the cooperation of a certain deity who sealed the barrier. Perhaps it was because of this that the barrier developed a loophole the moment Fors returned, giving the Outer God an opportunity to exploit it.

Sure enough, Amon nodded slightly and replied:
"Your departure from the planet to roam the stars was anticipated by the Outer Gods. Don't forget, there is more than one great being among them who possesses the symbol of 'destiny.' Although you will not reveal your exact location under the protection of the Fool, it is not difficult for them to make some arrangements by taking advantage of the tributary of destiny that you 'inevitably return to the barrier.'"

So my return led to the destruction of Kordu Village? Fors was taken aback, his gaze instinctively drifting to the ruins surrounding the towering mountains.

Fortunately, having wandered the starry sky and witnessed the rise and fall of countless civilizations, she did not wallow in self-pity. She quickly turned her gaze to Amon and guessed:
"Did you disrupt their ceremony?"

Amon's lips curled slightly, and he said with a smile:

"Of course not, the ceremony was a great success, and I am now an angel of the 'Ring of Destiny'."

P.S.: There's been a bit less today, and I'm posting late too, I really didn't have any ideas...

(End of this chapter)