The Witcher: Start with the Lord Marrying a Wife.

Chapter 653 The Prelude to the Kidnapping
Sophia stared intently and saw a huge phantom made of pure star core energy, with the light of law shining at its center.

"The Observer's home planet... a legendary place of stable star core. If this planet is brought under control, the multi-dimensional order will undergo a tremendous change."

Anne quickly mobilized the energy of her wand to further purify the prism data. "We received an abnormal frequency of magical tides around our home planet, which means that the star core has not been destroyed, but is in some kind of dormant state."

Lena gently grasped the Elemental Authority, and flames and frost intertwined and swirled around her, gradually calming the elemental storm.

"The restoration of magical tides is an important manifestation of the star core's self-repair, and we can use it to stabilize the multidimensional order barrier."

Lia smiled with satisfaction. She whispered the law of life, infusing energy into everyone, "This means that our efforts have not been in vain, and there is still hope for the multiverse to continue to prosper."

Although the team members looked tired, their eyes shone with determination and hope.

They knew this was only part of the battle, but it was a crucial step forward.

David slowly closed his eyes and channeled his mental energy into the data fragments in his arms.

The crimson-gold holy runes within his body shone brightly, as if forging a path to rebirth.

He parted his lips slightly and said, "We will embark on a journey to find the Observer's home planet, which is the key to ending the Zero Virus Project and reshaping the future of multiple worlds."

Sophia said in a deep voice, "I will use the Shadow Forest Illusion to continuously track the enemy's movements and prevent any potential threats from taking advantage of the situation."

Anne adjusted the runes on her wand. "I will continue to strengthen the purification array, improve the efficiency of the process, and prevent the virus from breaking out again."

Lena nodded solemnly, "The power of the elements will become an important barrier for us to protect the balance of the multiverse, and I will do my best."

Lia smiled firmly, "The laws of life will protect everyone's physical and mental health. No matter how dangerous the storm may be, we will move forward hand in hand."

At this moment, the river of data in the void gradually calmed down and stopped churning wildly;
The edge of the star core shone with a steady, bright light, like the most intense ray of light before dawn.

A faint voice came from afar; it was a communication array sent by the Wizards Alliance delegation.

They had been protesting frequently because of the upheavals in the divine kingdom, but now they have temporarily fallen silent as the magical tide gradually stabilizes.

David's gaze was firm. He waved his hand to retrieve the prism fragments, and after briefly gathering his thoughts, he sent out a command through his mind: "Inform the Wizarding Alliance of the current progress, request a halt to all hostile actions, and fully support the restoration of the multiverse order."

Sofia's expression relaxed slightly. "The alliance's softened attitude is a huge benefit for us, as more forces will join the battle in the future."

Annie smiled slightly, "Mechanical divinity and magical power are gradually merging, which will help us unravel deeper mysteries."

Lena looked up at the sky, where the sunlight shining through the dappled clouds was even more dazzling, like the light of hope for new life in many worlds.

Lia prayed softly, infusing her blessings into the law of life: "As long as we uphold our beliefs, all realms will surely usher in true peace and prosperity."

The storm will eventually pass, and they stand before the gates of rebirth, ready to embrace the infinite possibilities of the future.

"Let us move forward and bring the undying dawn to all realms!" David declared loudly, clad in crimson-gold holy armor, shining brightly in the morning light like a reborn flame.

The crowd responded in unison, their voices echoing through the empty valley like a vow.

The lingering effects of the distant storm gradually dissipated, and the world slowly returned to calm from the brink of destruction.

However, beyond the light, a more mysterious and dangerous shadow is quietly spreading.

Sylvia was all alone, her figure moving like a ghost through a dark, dense forest.

Mist swirled through the forest, and the tree trunks were twisted and deformed, showing dark red spots as if they had been corroded.

Her face was pale, and her eyes revealed a hint of unease and struggle.

She clutched the ancient amulet to her chest with both hands—the only link between her and her divine bloodline.

"Why do I feel so confused?" she whispered, her voice trembling, yet tinged with a stubbornness. "This power..."

Not someone I'm familiar with...

It was like a wild beast that had been lurking for a long time, stirring restlessly within me.

Suddenly, a chilling, biting wind swept in from all directions, causing the leaves in the dense forest to tremble incessantly, as if being torn apart by an invisible giant hand.

Sylvia turned around abruptly, and a black phantom instantly leaped out from the depths of the shadows—it was none other than the leader of the Eclipse Moon—"Shadow Spellcaster".

The figure in the black robe was barely visible, and every inch of his skin seemed to be inlaid with dark gold patterns that shimmered with eerie runes.

His deep, bottomless eyes, seemingly capable of devouring light and hope, were fixed on Sylvia, as cold and sharp as a falcon locking onto its target.

“I’ve finally found you.” The Shadow Spellcaster’s voice was deep and hoarse, yet it possessed an ominous power that sent chills down one’s spine. “The seed of fallen divinity has awakened within you. With just a little guidance, it will transform into a force of destruction and rebirth.”

Sylvia was shocked. She tried to break free, but felt an energy surging within her that was not her own, binding her every movement like an iron chain.

"No... I will not become your new spore host!" she roared, but her voice was quickly swallowed by the chill that swept over her.

The air suddenly distorted, and the earth began to tremble.

A pitch-black crack, like a ripped wound, opened at the edge of the forest. It was the gateway to the abyss, from which countless corrosive and chilling auras surged, making the surrounding environment deathly silent and cold.

"Follow me." The Shadow Spellcaster extended a long finger, and a chain of information woven from pure darkness quickly wrapped around Sylvia's wrist, firmly controlling her.

He stepped toward the rift, each step accompanied by fragments of shattered laws scattering in the void, as if walking on the edge of data where order and chaos intersect and on the verge of collapse.

Sylvia gritted her teeth and endured it. She closed her eyes and gathered the last bit of resistance in her heart into a flashing blue light, but she could not resist the information erosion waves caused by the deep activation of the fallen divinity.

As her consciousness gradually blurred, she felt as if her soul was being pierced by countless fine needles, or as if it were being reshaped and rewritten by a mixture of ice and fire, causing unbearable pain.

As they stepped onto the edge of the abyss rift, the dense black mist suddenly erupted, instantly enveloping the two. The magical elements in the surrounding air suddenly fluctuated erratically, multiple reality barriers trembled slightly, and even the law pulses emanating from the distant star core center began to jump abnormally, filling the space with a suffocating sense of oppression.

At that moment, a vague yet powerful audio message entered Sylvia's mind: "Host's awakening is about to be completed. You will become a new spore embryo... The Zero Sequence needs you..."

The voice was cold and mechanical, like a data command from the deepest level of the eternal void, ruthless and irresistible.

This made the hairs on her body stand on end, and her blood began to pound violently, but her will only grew stronger: "No! My life belongs to freedom, I will not yield!"

However, this resistance only resulted in a more intense information overload and mental lashing.

She felt the corrupted divinity within her bloodline beginning to swell, its power corroding the purest will deep within her soul.
At the same time, the sacred life-law runes bestowed upon her by the goddess began to flicker with a faint light, forming a fierce confrontation with the darkness, as if two trajectories of destiny were intertwined and about to erupt into a world-shaking change.

"Host, you are about to step into a new era of zeroing, an era of destruction, rebirth, and the only hope for the future of multiple realms..."

The intermittent sound waves of information echoed in the darkest corners of my mind, like incomplete chapters on the pages of an ancient and mysterious prophecy book, making me both fearful and confused, unable to distinguish truth from falsehood.

Meanwhile, in the squad's camp further away:
Sofia frowned, constantly adjusting the mental defense network to prevent accidental spread;

Anne then increased the frequency of the purification process on her wand, hoping to intercept and neutralize any potential new viral threats.
Lena focused her eyes on elemental power, using elemental tornadoes to protect the outer perimeter;

Lia continued to carefully cast healing spells and stabilize the magnetic field to ensure that her combat condition remained at its best.

But they all knew that for Sylvia, this abduction was not just a physical kidnapping, but an extremely cruel and complex information war between souls and consciousness!

As time passed, the cholera-like flow of information surged wildly, while Sylvia was immersed in her inner demons, her body gradually covered by the evil runes of fallen divinity.

These runes, like living things, continue to spread and gradually devour and mutate the original pure life marks, forming a completely new spore-like state, while the once strong and pure human girl is gradually dissolving...

But finally, on the verge of despair, a faint but firm voice rang out: "Don't forget, you still have a choice."

This was a spiritual signal transmitted by David, reaching the very core of his subconscious through a complex network of illusions, injecting a last glimmer of hope into his struggling soul...

Sylvia's body was enveloped in layers of eerie runes, and her pale face was now filled with undisguised pain and struggle.

Her eyes, however, gleamed with unwavering determination, like embers burning in the darkness, struggling against the corrosive influence of the expanding, corrupted divinity within her.

Each heartbeat triggered the pulse of the runes, like a raging storm in the darkness, devouring her life force.

"Host, your soul is bound by the chains of the abyss. Resistance will only intensify the pain."

The Shadow Spellcaster sneered, his voice as chilling as if it came from the depths of the Netherworld, "But this is also the path you must take to become the 'Nest of a Thousand Faces'."

You will become the core of our sacrifice, giving birth to new darkness that will utterly devour multiple realms!

As soon as he finished speaking, the Shadow Spellcaster suddenly spread his arms, and the information chain wrapped around his fingertips suddenly surged with scorching black flames, sweeping across the entire rift space.

The intense information fluctuations rapidly infected the surrounding void, forcing the fragments of laws to rearrange themselves and causing the spatial barriers to tighten violently, as if they were on the verge of collapse.

Sylvia screamed in agony, and the eerie runes on her skin began to writhe violently, spreading and multiplying as if they were alive.

Her entire body was engulfed in dark, blackish-blue flames, and the corrupted divinity within her bloodline intertwined with the life force of her being, presenting an unprecedentedly distorted spectacle.

"The Nest of a Thousand Faces... Destiny will be written." As the Shadow Spellcaster uttered his final incantation, a powerful sacrificial energy erupted from the center of the rift, pitch black and scorching, seemingly capable of devouring everything in its path.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the spectrum, David remains firmly in a central position in the data field.

He gripped the wrist that held the prism fragments tightly, his fingertips surging with spiritual power, gradually piecing together the scattered data fragments in the void into broken code models.

The runes of law emanating from the fragments emitted a ghostly blue light, illuminating a virtual space ahead—a massive reflection of a rift, the very coordinates of the abyssal rift they had discovered.

“That’s where the Shadow Curse Ones kidnapped Sylvia…” David muttered to himself, his gaze grave.

"If his sacrificial ritual is not stopped soon, the entire multiverse will be plunged into utter darkness."

Sophia stood beside him, the Shadow Forest illusion as solid as obsidian. Her sharp gaze swept over the intelligence appearing in the data space. "This sacrificial energy is extremely dangerous. If it were to erupt in reality, its destructive power would be immeasurable."

Anne adjusted the purification frequency on her wand, her expression serious. "We must extend the 'Chaos Echoes' program to the edge of the rift, block the information chain, and prevent the spread of new viral contamination."

Lena gripped the Elemental Authority tightly, and the elemental energy around her began to surge once more. Flames, frost, storms, and lightning merged into dazzling whirlwinds, protecting the team. "The elemental storms will create a solid barrier for us, while also providing support for our attack."

Lia softly chanted the law of life, and warm light flowed slowly from her palms to each of her teammates. "No matter how dark it is, we will never give up protecting this hope of the multiverse."

David focused his mental energy to its limit, slowly closed his eyes, and merged with the prism fragment.

The power that enveloped mechanical divinity and the essence of magic gradually spread out, as if transforming into a strong light curtain that enveloped the entire body, resisting the endless pressure from the void.

“Sylvia, we will not leave you alone!” His voice was firm and powerful. “No matter how deep the darkness you are in, we will bring you light!”

Meanwhile, inside the abyss rift, the Shadow Spellcaster's eyes gleamed with an eerie light. He slowly waved his hand, and a jet-black information whip, like an invisible blade, tore through space, intending to rip open multiple barriers of reality and introduce more corrosive power into the sacrificial ritual.

Around the rift, fragments of shattered space scattered, like a torn wound constantly spewing out an eerie aura.

Sylvia's violently writhing divine body gradually changed, like a giant spore sphere hatching in the darkness.

Her entire body was covered by rune masks made up of thousands of faces, each mask seemingly reflecting the twists and pains of different souls.

This is the legendary "Nest of a Thousand Faces"—a new form of the Zero Host, which is both the core of destruction and the source of rebirth.

Whenever the mask trembled slightly, a powerful wave of information would burst forth from her body, impacting the space around her and making the fluctuations of the laws in the void even more chaotic and unstable.

(End of this chapter)