The Secret Cult Chronicles of the Decaying Lake Manor

Chapter 114 The 'Image' Left Behind by Mother

The old lady did not elaborate on the origin of the box, nor did she reveal any other information in response to George's subtle hints.

A moment later, George returned to his room and placed the walnut box on his desk to examine it closely.

The keyhole embedded in the box looked quite familiar. He quickly took out the small silver key he had found in the chapel and compared it to the keyhole on the front of the box.

The key size and the shape of the keyhole match perfectly.

"Click".

The spring snapped open, and George held his breath as he slowly lifted the lid of the box.

The box is lined with deep blue velvet, and a crystal ball is quietly set in the center.

The sphere was about the size of a fist, pure and flawless, and milky white in color.

Below the sphere is a circular silver base with three small grooves evenly spaced on it.

George studied the crystal ball for a while, but couldn't figure out how to use it.

He simply immersed himself in the card table of his mind.

The Forgotten Crystal Ball

[Sexual aspects: mirror, string, candle, utensils, medium]

"Atlas has been forgotten, Atlas will be remembered forever, Atlas will rise again." This crystal ball came from a lost city and was purified by seven fairies, thus escaping its original tragic fate.

[Note: Activation requires three specially crafted "Fairy Hill Diamonds"]

"Atlas—" George muttered to himself.

But the "Senchiu Diamonds" immediately reminded him of the three diamonds he had found among his mother's belongings.

He left the card table and found the three dazzling diamonds.

George picked up one of them and carefully inserted it into the groove in the base of the crystal ball.

The diamonds fit together perfectly, as if the base was made specifically for them.

The second one, the third one.

When the last diamond was put back in place, a sudden change occurred inside the crystal ball.

The milky white mist receded like the tide, and the sphere instantly became transparent and crystal clear.

Immediately afterwards, an invisible point appeared at the center of the sphere, where fine arcs of electricity suddenly burst forth.

The pale blue electric arcs were bright and clear, like tiny, living snakes wriggling and coiling inside the crystal ball.

George instinctively took a step back, his hand already reaching for the amulet in his pocket.

But it was too late.

The next moment, a bright blue-white bolt of lightning shot out directly from inside the crystal ball and struck George precisely between the eyebrows.

George felt as if he had been violently ripped from between his eyebrows by a hook, instantly detached from his physical body, and plunged into a pure and bright space.

There is no up or down, no boundaries, only a soft, golden-white light that permeates the air like a light veil.

He stood there—or rather, hovered—and realized he wasn't alone.

A few steps away from him, a woman stood quietly.

Her long red hair was styled into an exquisite and intricate hairpin on top of her head, and she wore a bright yellow silk dress.

Her face was gentle and intelligent, with faint smile lines at the corners of her eyes, but at this moment, her light blue eyes were surging with complex emotions.

George's heart clenched violently.

"—Mother?" he asked with difficulty.

Edrina de la Porte, his mother, the one who "died of a sudden illness" five years ago, was standing in front of him.

His mother approached and hugged him, revealing a gentle smile.

"My dear George. If you have seen this, it means you have embarked on that path and encountered some difficulties that I cannot foresee and cannot help you with in reality."

Her voice was familiar and soft, but George could hear a kind of inhuman echo in it.

"I sense that my true self still exists in the real world, but its state is chaotic."

The reason my consciousness within this image remains so clear is because of you, George. Your presence has stabilized this memory, preventing it from being affected by my true self.

The mother's voice lowered: "We have very limited time to talk."

George suppressed the turmoil surging within him and quickly organized his thoughts.

The most crucial issue must be clarified now.

"It is now October 1859, five years since you died of a sudden illness." He spoke very quickly.

"I was summoned back by my father's letter after half a month, and my father is now—very strange."

Edlina's eyes showed doubt, and perhaps even wariness: "Something's not right?"

"Before he fell into a coma, he told me some things about his family's heritage, the seal at the bottom of the lake, and the path to transcendence."

"I have also observed him in the spirit world—his image is a humanoid flame that burns fiercely and shines brightly, with countless ice-blue wisps inside and black shadows constantly eroding the light."

George paused for a moment before stating the most crucial details.

"Moreover, I saw him remove two cubes from his body. One was pure black, and the other was azure blue. He used them in Frederick's purification ritual."

"Pure black, deep blue—Edward, your pure nature—" The mother was stunned into silence.

She was silent for a moment, and George sensed that this respectable, often serene and resilient woman seemed to be shrouded in the shadows of the past, appearing somewhat depressed.

After a short while, the mother slowly spoke, breaking the silence.

"Well then, there are some things you need to know."

Her gaze toward George was quite complex.

"Five years ago, before I left this memory, your father and I were preparing for an extremely important ceremony. It concerned the fate of the family, and even the situation of the Kingdom of Britta and the entire Old World."

"The purpose of this ritual is to complete the ascension process of your father's candle," the final step in the ascension—the symbolic "reddening" stage, corresponding to spiritual transcendence and the ultimate pursuit of truth. In the correspondence of the Light Source Siwei, this is the "blazing sun."

"At that time, your father had only recently completed the third stage of alchemy, the 'Yellowing,' a feat represented by the 'Winged Eye' Siwei, and had just condensed that azure cube as proof of his achievement."

George's heart skipped a beat.

Azure cube — Winged Eyes —

The father's previous card, "Achievements - Albinism," mentioned "the crescent moon wields the secret of albino."

And the azure cube comes from "Winged Eyes"?

"At that time, a spiritual riot broke out in London due to the machinations of some cultists, causing chaos in the kingdom's capital and having a wide impact in the spiritual realm," Edlina continued.

"This also caused the seal at the bottom of the Decaying Lake to become unstable. Your father—he decided to take advantage of this opportunity and use the power of the seal to advance his advancement."

"Using the power of the seal?" George frowned. "How can that be done? It's not what's sealed at the bottom of the lake—"

Evil forces?

"Is that so?" the mother asked, then inquired, "How did he describe it to you?"

After George briefly recounted the Wars of the Roses and the deeds of the Earl of Lincoln, Edlina smiled calmly.

Her smile held a hint of indulgence, but George tasted bitterness in it: "What your father told you was only a very limited part of the truth."

She sighed softly, leaning forward slightly, as if to reveal a long-buried secret.

"The dark power at the bottom of the Decaying Lake and the origin of its seal are much older than your father said. They can be traced back to the fifth century—yes, long before the War of the Roses."

With George looking at him intently, his mother revealed the secret.

"Back then, this place wasn't called Paradise Island," nor was it known as the Decaying Lake. Its real name was Glass Island."

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