Chapter 297: The Witch (2 in 1) |
In the wilderness church, atop heaps of white bone, a red-haired girl swirled a wooden bowl in her hand.
The grey-white liquid within the bowl emitted a distressing aura. Holding the bowl in her right hand, the girl used her left to subtly brush back the hair on the side of her head. She lowered her head slightly, brought the bowl to her lips, and took a small sip.
Almost instantly, the veins at the girl’s temples bulged. She slowly raised her head and looked toward the giant, obese subhuman monster at the front of the church.
Under the influence of the drug, the whites of the girl’s eyes became almost entirely bloodshot, continuing until her eyeballs were completely covered in black blood, leaving only scarlet, crystalline pupils. Only then did the girl speak slowly:
"The toxicity is sufficient. After drinking this, you should die painlessly within three days. Although it will contaminate your flesh and fat, burning it will not cause the poison to evaporate into the air."
Ciel slowly raised her hand, handing over the wooden bowl. She continued, "As for when to drink it, that is up to you."
The God of the Dead Star had personally witnessed how the girl utilized corpses and limited flesh to create this lethal toxin… He had also seen her ever-changing paths and abilities…
"Do the gods above… all possess multiple paths like Your Excellency?" the God of the Dead Star asked, looking at Ciel.
He seemed to believe that everyone above was like the girl before Him—after all, He possessed no knowledge of the world outside the Abyssal Ruins.
The God of the Dead Star slowly reached out, pinched the wooden bowl from the girl’s hand, and placed it directly into His mouth as if it were a piece of candy, crushing and swallowing the bowl along with the poison.
Death was a release for Him. He had almost forgotten why He had persevered until now, but at this moment, the God of the Dead Star only wished to escape the increasingly maddened whispers in His mind.
"When does Your Excellency plan to depart?" the God of the Dead Star asked, looking at the girl.
"Now."
"I shall escort You. Before we reach the boundary of the darkness, allow me to give You something."
Ciel did not refuse His company. She watched the God of the Dead Star struggle to move His massive frame, trailing His messy, branch-like hair as He walked before her. It seemed to be the direction of the village, and Ciel followed behind Him.
The candlelight on the God of the Dead Star’s body illuminated a larger area, allowing Ciel to see scenes she had missed upon her arrival.
Aside from the bone fragments beneath her feet, the areas further out were piled high with decaying, grotesque remains—none of which were human. Ciel, possessing a clear understanding of human anatomy, instantly made that judgment.
Are these the monsters that lurk in the darkness…?
The quantity was enough to form a small mountain range. There was no telling how many dark creatures had been killed over how many years to accumulate such a mass. The bones she had seen previously were merely the tip of the iceberg.
"Can their corpses not be used to make 'wax'?" Ciel couldn't help but ask as she passed the remains.
"They can," the God of the Dead Star’s voice drifted back from the front, "but it is not enough. Most of the 'wax' must be made into food."
No wonder Heini said the interval between blood sacrifices varied… it seemed to depend on whether the number of monsters caught was sufficient.
And… the "wax" on the God of the Dead Star’s body could not only be used to dispel the eternal darkness but could actually serve as food…
This was an absolute specialized path born of this extreme environment, a path evolved entirely for survival within this silent darkness.
The "Source of Cholera" potion faded from Ciel’s body, and her pupils turned pink once more—for the road in the darkness, the "Subverter" would find travel easier.
Soon, Ciel saw the village she had first arrived at once again.
Under the green firelight of the God of the Dead Star, Ciel could finally see the general appearance of the settlement. The buildings were mostly the simplest square houses rammed from earth, grouped closely together like a primitive earthen wall.
The villagers were all kneeling devoutly in the direction of the God of the Dead Star, but a small figure ran toward Ciel and knelt before her.
"I must trouble you to instruct the others to take more care of this child." As Ciel passed Heini, she reached out her right hand and lightly tapped the girl’s head twice.
Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. She half-knelt beside Heini and said, "Look up at me."
Heini slowly raised her head, her eyes filled with adoration and respect.
The fact that Ciel had descended to "save" her seemed to have had a profound impact on the girl.
Ciel could not take her to the Mountains of Eternal Silence; the journey was treacherous, and they might encounter the maddened Moros. If a battle truly broke out, Ciel would be unable to look after her.
Instead, by leaving her in the village, Heini still had a chance to survive.
If Ciel truly succeeded in opening the path to the outside world, this village, along with any others potentially alive in the Abyssal Ruins, would have a chance at survival. But if she failed, nothing would change, and the Abyssal Ruins would remain buried in history, without even dust left behind.
But if this child named Heini truly survived…
She would treat it as an experiment.
"If you can survive," Ciel said, placing her hand on Heini’s head and smiling, "remember my words."
"Mm-hmm…" Heini nodded repeatedly.
"Collect all the literature you can find, record everything you can, and witness the history you are able to… To do this, you will need your own organization. Let me think…"
Ciel narrowed her eyes slightly. She… couldn't think of a good name for a moment.
Ciel’s own name would be censored. If the title of Time-Binder truly were passed down, certain Other Side creatures might react violently upon hearing it.
Just then, the middle-aged man who had first come carrying a candle to find the divine envoy, crawled on his knees to the side of the God of the Dead Star.
"O, Great God of the Dead Star… it was this heretic… this witch who should be taken by the darkness that killed the Lord Divine Servant!"
"She destroyed the blood sacrifice!"
"Kill her!"
"She is a toady of the Eternal Silence!"
The scrawny commoners, backed by the God of the Dead Star, suddenly seemed to grow bold and began to 'denounce' Ciel to her face.
However, at that moment, one specific word caught Ciel’s interest.
"A witch? That works. It’s much better than the names I come up with." A smile appeared on Ciel’s face. She rubbed Heini’s messy hair and said, "Then it shall be 'Witch.' A Council of Witches, a School of Witches… call it whatever you like, as long as it includes the word 'Witch.'"
To Ciel, who could only come up with names like "Little Left" or "Little Black," Witch was indeed a decent title. Especially now, under the influence of the "Subverter" potion, she felt a particular fondness for the term.
Buzz——
The candlelight on the God of the Dead Star’s body flickered slightly. The instantaneous pressure caused all the cursing voices to vanish.
"Your Excellency." The God of the Dead Star turned to look at Ciel. He slowly reached out and thrust His hand into His own abdomen.
Rip——
His hand churned within the fatty layers beneath the parched skin. Soon, He pulled something out and held it before Ciel.
The God of the Dead Star lightly released His grip, and a spherical crystal floated directly beside Ciel. The green orb emitted a faint, pale green light, bringing with it a bizarre sense of warmth.
"This item can help Your Excellency dispel the darkness," the God of the Dead Star said. "Please forgive me; I cannot stray too far from this place."
"It's fine. I'm going." Ciel simply removed her hand from Heini’s head, waved, and then rose and walked into the darkness that teemed with murmurs.
Heini turned to watch Ciel’s back. She wanted to say something more and stood up to chase after her, but the rope binding her clothes was caught gently by the God of the Dead Star.
"O, Great God of the Dead Star… that woman, what exactly is she…?" The middle-aged man who had spoken first seemed to realize his mistake from the God’s attitude toward the woman. He asked in a trembling voice.
"I do not know…" the God of the Dead Star’s whisper echoed in everyone’s ears.
"But she intends to pierce the sky…"
Pierce… the sky?
Heini watched the figure that had already vanished into the darkness. The sphere emitting a warm green light was moving further and further away into the gloom.
Not until that point of green light had completely disappeared did anyone recover. They pondered the meaning of the God of the Dead Star’s words, feeling terror at their previous insults.
…
Buzz——
Clip-clop— Clip-clop—
Noisy whispers buzzed in Ciel’s ears.
A black shadow horse was carrying Ciel up a mountain range.
Her face was covered in scars, but her gaze was as calm as still water, even somewhat numb.
She did not know how long she had been galloping. The treasure orb beside her continued to emit green light as it followed her. Along the way, she had encountered four or five different settlements of rational creatures, which allowed her to see the different intelligent life of the Abyssal Ruins.
But compared to these settlements, the probability of Ciel encountering monsters was far greater—she had lost count of how many battles she had endured, fighting until she felt numb.
During this time, Ciel’s combat techniques had been honed by a massive amount of practical experience.
Facing maddened Transformed Ones of the "Darkness" path, she could now almost kill them in a single strike, and she had gained extensive experience in fleeing from the crazed Ascended Ones of the same path.
Carrying the light orb meant Ciel would inevitably be pursued, but without it, her sanity would continuously drop at a rapid rate.
For Ciel, the only benefit was that she seemed to have completely lost the need for food or sleep, which allowed her to gallop day and night—though, of course, there was no day or night here to distinguish.
And now, Ciel had finally entered an area that could be called a "mountain range"—a barren range echoing with deranged whispers. She was galloping toward the source of all those maddened voices.
Compared to Ciel’s long journey, this bit of distance through the mountains was nothing to her now. Even so, she felt as if she had spent untold days reaching the summit.
As she reached the top, the frenzied whispers in her mind were almost exploding. Every moment, she endured mental corruption as if she were physically within the Other Side.
The top of the mountain range was a spacious flat area. Ciel slowly raised her hand, pushing upward.
The orb seemed to heed Ciel’s call, flying upward under her control, but it soon struck something. Green light erupted violently, like a firework bursting in the night sky.
With the aid of this momentary light source, the summit was laid bare before Ciel.
The ceiling the luminous orb had struck was less than a meter above Ciel.
And before her, a cold, terrifying skeleton emanating deranged whispers sat leaning against the cliffside edge of the mountain platform.
Fragments bearing strange runes were scattered all around Him. Upon receiving the green light from the orb, those fragments seemed to absorb part of the brightness and began to emit a faint yellow-white halo—this was the first time Ciel had seen this color in the Abyssal Ruins. It was like sunlight she hadn't seen in a long time.
This was the corpse of an Ascended One.
This was Moros’s corpse.
Ciel was almost certain of it.
This entity, which had brought untold generations of terror to the Abyssal Ruins, lay motionless on the summit platform.
The "Cocoon of Light" He had torn apart had nearly destroyed all hope for the Abyssal Ruins, and His crazed remains were now polluting everyone who stepped onto this path or similar paths through the fragments of the "Cocoon of Light." Like a roadblock, He had choked off everyone’s path to advancement, using madness to seal off the Mountains of Eternal Silence that linked the Abyssal Ruins to the outside world.
The fragments of the "Cocoon of Light" emitted a faint shimmer, illuminating the surroundings and a clear depression in the dome.
That seemed to be the place where the "Cocoon of Light" had originally been placed.
The frenzied whispers had begun to cause hallucinations before Ciel’s eyes. In her vision, those whispers seemed to take physical form.
A figure almost entirely covered in mosaic patterns removed a light orb embedded in the dome. The dome vibrated and shattered, revealing a tiny fissure.
The image flickered. A distorted phantom covered in messy lines was frantically tearing flesh and blood from its own body to fill the gap in the fissure.
Various disordered images began to flash before Ciel’s eyes. She moved her feet, arriving directly beneath the dome.
Buzz——
Silver light flashed in Ciel’s hand. A black-red gun blade appeared, and silver cracks began to spread across the barrel.
She slowly raised her right hand, aimed at the flesh and bone attached to the dome that emitted a faint luminescence, and pulled the trigger.
"Boom——!"