The Witcher: Start with the Lord Marrying a Wife.

Chapter 431 Heart of Shadows
“We must find a way to strengthen the seal,” Liana said, clenching her fist. “Otherwise, once the seal breaks, that ancient evil power will once again sweep across the dark world.”

Therefore, David's team and scholars from the Star-Eyed Clan began to study the records in ancient books together, looking for clues to strengthen the seal.

To strengthen the seal, a rare material called "Shadow Heart" needs to be collected and fused with the Divine Remains Crystal.

However, the "Heart of Shadow" exists only in the most dangerous area of ​​the dark world—the Shadow Abyss.

Upon learning the whereabouts of the "Heart of Shadows," David's team and the scholars of the Star-Eyed Clan did not hesitate at all and resolutely embarked on a journey to the Shadow Abyss.

The Shadow Abyss, a place shrouded in endless darkness and terror, is a forbidden land for countless adventurers.

But for them, this is the only way to find the key materials to save the dark world.

In the Shadow Abyss, they encountered unprecedented challenges. Not only was the environment harsh and fraught with danger, but it was also inhabited by various ferocious dark creatures.

Every battle was a test of life and death, but David's team and the scholars of the Star-Eyed Clan, with their unwavering faith and tacit cooperation, turned danger into safety time and time again.

After several days of arduous trekking and fierce fighting, they finally arrived at the deepest part of the Shadow Abyss.

There, they discovered traces of the "Heart of Shadows"—guarded by a powerful dark creature.

In order to obtain the "Heart of Shadow," they had no choice but to engage in a life-or-death battle with this creature.

The battle was extremely fierce, with both sides exchanging blows and refusing to give an inch.

However, David's team and the Star-Eyed Clan scholars gradually gained the upper hand thanks to their excellent combat skills and teamwork.

Finally, after a hard-fought battle, they successfully defeated the dark creatures and obtained the "Heart of Shadow".

With the hard-won "Heart of Shadow," David's team and the scholars of the Star-Eyed Clan returned to the library.

Here, they began preparations for the ritual to strengthen the seal.

This ritual is complex and intricate, requiring them to precisely control various materials and magical powers to ensure the seal is strengthened successfully.

Before the ceremony began, the leader of the Star-Eyed Clan explained the importance and risks of the ritual to everyone: "Strengthening the seal is not only a test of our wisdom and courage, but also a responsibility and commitment to the future of the Dark World. We must complete this ritual with full concentration and meticulous attention to detail, otherwise the consequences of failure will be unimaginable."

Thus, in a tense and solemn atmosphere, the ceremony officially began.

David's team and the scholars of the Star-Eyed Clan each performed their duties and worked closely together to fuse the "Heart of Shadow" with the Divine Remains Crystal and release powerful magical energy to strengthen the seal.

As time went on, the ceremony gradually reached its climax. Suddenly, a dazzling light burst forth from the divine crystal, instantly illuminating the entire library.

As the light gradually faded, they discovered that the seal had been significantly strengthened.

The originally faint fluctuations of power became stable and strong, as if an invisible force was protecting the dark world from the invasion of evil forces.

"We did it!" Liana shouted excitedly. "We have successfully strengthened the seal, bringing peace and tranquility to the dark world!"

After successfully strengthening the seal, the new alliance, including David's team and the Star-Eyed Clan scholars, became highly respected heroes in the dark world.

They not only exposed the Night Council's conspiracy but also saved the Dark World from peril.

More importantly, they established a new alliance—an alliance of forces of good aimed at jointly maintaining peace and stability in the dark world.

This alliance has attracted righteous individuals from various races and factions to join.

Some of them were brave warriors, some were wise magicians, and some were kind-hearted civilians...

But regardless of their identities, they all harbored a beautiful vision for the future of the dark world and a firm belief in the cause of justice.

Under the guidance of David's team and the Star-Eyed Clan scholars, they began to work together to develop strategies and coordinate actions to address various threats and challenges from the Dark World.

Over time, this alliance gradually became a force to be reckoned with in the underworld.

They not only successfully resisted the repeated attacks of the Night Council, but also actively participated in the construction and development of the Dark World, bringing unprecedented prosperity and flourishing to it.

As peace and prosperity gradually returned to the dark world, Arya began to experience an unprecedented change.

At first, she only occasionally heard some vague and distant whispers in the dead of night, as if some ancient and powerful force was calling to her.

But as time went on, these whispers became clearer and more frequent, and even began to affect her daily behavior and decision-making.

David was the first to notice Arya's unusual behavior.

He noticed that Arya's eyes had become increasingly deep, as if they were hiding endless secrets and power.

At the same time, her emotions became extremely volatile, sometimes ecstatic and sometimes desperate.

David knew this was not normal, so he began to observe Arya secretly, trying to find out the reason behind it.

Finally, by chance, David discovered the secret behind Arya.

As Arya fell into a deep sleep, a set of incomplete divine runes appeared on her back.

These divine runes emitted a dim light, echoing the dark aura emanating from Arya.

David realized that these runes were likely related to the whispers Arya had heard, and were manifestations of some ancient, dark divinity.

To verify his hypothesis, David began to try to contact the divine runes with the power of light.

To his surprise, when the power of light touched the divine runes, Arya's emotions immediately stabilized, and the divine runes on her back gradually dimmed until they disappeared.

This discovery further convinced David of his hypothesis.

Arya is unconsciously releasing whispers of dark divinity, and these runes are the source of this power.

David felt both worried and helpless in the face of Arya's unusual condition.

He knew that he couldn't solve this problem completely on his own.

Therefore, he decided to seek help from the Star-Eyed Clan scholars.

The scholars of the Star-Eyed Clan have a deep understanding of dark divinity, and they may be able to find a solution to Arya's problem.

With the assistance of the Star-Eyed Clan scholars, David began to gain a deeper understanding of the nature and influence of Dark Divinity.

Dark divinity is an ancient and powerful force in the dark world; it can be a weapon of the guardians or a tool of the destroyers.

The divine markings on Arya's body are likely because she accidentally touched the core of the dark divinity during one of her adventures, thus being chosen by it to become its host.

To solve this problem, a way must be found to balance the light and dark forces within Arya, preventing the dark divinity from affecting her further. After a long period of discussion and research, the scholars of the Star-Eyed Clan finally proposed a possible solution: periodically suppressing the dark divinity within Arya with the power of light.

While this method cannot completely eliminate the influence of the dark divinity, it can control it to some extent, allowing Arya to return to a normal life.

Under the guidance of the Star-Eyed Clan scholars, David began to learn how to use the power of light to suppress the dark divinity within Arya.

This is a challenging and complex task that requires a high degree of focus and skill.

But David did not give up; he firmly believed that he could successfully help Arya out of her predicament.

After months of hard work and practice, David finally mastered the skills to use the power of light.

He began to give Arya regular suppression therapy, and after each therapy session, Arya would feel an unprecedented sense of ease and peace.

As time went on, Arya's condition gradually improved.

She was no longer troubled by the whispers of the dark divinity, and her emotions became much more stable.

More importantly, she rediscovered her love for life and her desire for adventure.

David felt incredibly gratified to see Arya gradually returning to her normal life.

He knew that all of this was inseparable from the help and support of the Star-Eyed Clan scholars.

Therefore, he decided to keep this kindness in mind and continue to contribute his efforts to protecting the peace and stability of the dark world.

After experiencing this event, Arya gained a deeper understanding and knowledge of the forces of light and darkness.

She began to realize that both light and darkness are an indispensable part of the universe.

They are both opposed to and interdependent, together constituting the diversity and complexity of this world.

As a guardian, she should learn how to balance these two forces and make them her weapons to protect the dark world.

Arya then began to actively learn how to combine dark and light powers to create more powerful and stable magic.

Under the guidance of David and the Star-Eyed Clan scholars, she gradually mastered this skill and became a unique messenger of light and darkness in the dark world.

Arya's new abilities quickly attracted the attention of the Night Council.

They viewed Arya as a thorn in their side, considering her the biggest obstacle to their rule.

So the Council of Night began to send a more powerful army and assassins to hunt down Arya in an attempt to eliminate her completely.

However, Arya is no longer the weakling who can be easily defeated.

With the combined power of light and darkness, and the support of David and the Star-Eyed Clan scholars, she successfully repelled multiple attacks from the Council of Eternal Night.

Each battle made her stronger and more confident, and also gave hope and light to the creatures in the dark world.

As time went on, Arya's status in the dark world gradually rose.

She became not only a highly respected guardian but also a symbol of the harmonious coexistence of light and darkness.

Under her influence, more and more creatures began to try to understand and accept the existence of the two forces of light and darkness, no longer regarding them as opposing forces, but as partners that can merge and complement each other.

This change also influenced the attitude of the Eternal Night Council.

They began to realize that simply suppressing and rejecting dark forces would not maintain their rule.

Therefore, the Council of Eternal Night began to try to engage in dialogue and cooperation with other forces in the dark world to jointly explore how to achieve harmonious coexistence between light and darkness.

This change brought unprecedented peace and prosperity to the dark world.

Instead of hating and fighting each other because of differences in faith or race, living beings have begun to work together to create a better future.

All of this began with Arya's unconscious release of the Dark Divine Whisper and the efforts and perseverance of David and the Star-Eyed Scholars.

They proved with their actions that even the darkest forces can be transformed into a source of light and hope, as long as we dare to face them, dare to explore, and dare to change.

After countless adventures and challenges, Arya, David, and the scholars of the Star-Eyed Clan became even more determined to protect the Dark World.

As peace in the dark world became increasingly secure, David began to tackle a more profound problem—how to safely control the dark crystals that contained immense power.

These crystals are a source of power left behind by the God of Darkness. If they are used properly, they will bring unprecedented prosperity to the dark world.
However, if it falls into the wrong hands, it could also lead to disastrous consequences.

During a late-night meditation, David suddenly recalled the "Stairway to Chaos" trial that the God of Darkness had mentioned before his death.

It is said that this is a series of extreme tests set up by the God of Darkness to select a successor. Only those who pass all the trials can be qualified to control the power of darkness.

David realized that if he could recreate this trial, he might be able to find a way to safely control the crystals.

David immediately set about designing a trial system that simulated the "Stairway to Chaos".

He knew that this required not only profound magical knowledge, but also a deep understanding of humanity, courage, wisdom, and many other aspects.

Therefore, he invited scholars from the Star-Eyed Clan and experienced guardians such as Arya to participate in this project.

After months of discussion and experimentation, they finally drew up a detailed blueprint for the trial.

This blueprint contains seven different levels of trials, ranging from the most basic magical control to complex psychological challenges, each designed to test different aspects of the trial participants.

The ultimate goal is to enable the trial participants to confront and control the darkness within themselves, achieving a true balance between light and darkness.

With the blueprint in place, the next step is to construct the actual trials.

David and his team traversed every corner of the dark world, searching for suitable locations and materials to construct the trial grounds.

They meticulously crafted seven unique trial spaces using ancient magic circles, intricate mechanisms, and challenging elements from the natural environment.

During the construction process, they also encountered many unexpected difficulties.

For example, a magic circle in a certain trial space suddenly went out of control, triggering a small-scale magical storm;
For example, the design of a certain mechanism is so complex that even they themselves find it difficult to solve.

But it was precisely these challenges that led them to continuously adjust and improve the design of the trials, making them closer to the original intent of the God of Darkness.

(End of this chapter)