Chapter 319 - 319 Action from All Sides
The Moon Realm rift was a tricky anomaly, not a typical portal or rift, but a state where the laws of Currere faltered to some extent. Summoning days and traditions like April Fool’s Day fell under the broader category of a Moon Realm rift, governed by its own peculiar laws.
Sealing it off entirely required more than just magic spells. In the past, Judgment had used the Seven Holy Spirits’ divinity manifestation or remnant Moon Realm Elementium left behind after the Void Incarnation’s defeat to close the Moon Realm rifts completely.
But William could temporarily seal a normal-sized rift with his powerful Divine Realm lightning spells. However, without constant magical reinforcement, the seal could only hold for about seven days.
“Seven days…”
He chanted the Morph spell and summoned his wings, which sprouted from his shoulder blades like those of an eagle. He took to the air and surveyed the vast expanse of trees stretching before him.
“That’s enough.”
He even had some time to spare. After all, in myth, seven days had been enough time to create a new world.
William retrieved the Holy Spirit Disc from his inventory and examined it briefly. Satisfied that it could function in this realm, he stowed it away.
Legend had it that Yeats and his Mage Legion had chanted for seven days and nights, using a super-secret ritual capable of setting the entire Ravenwood Forest ablaze. But William believed he could accomplish the same feat in just three days with the aid of the Holy Spirit Disc.
Hence, before everything spiraled into the abyss, William had a small window to salvage the situation and return to the original timeline, saving everyone.
“Wait for me to return…” William muttered under his breath, as the faces of Remides and the rest flashed before his eyes.
The brutal words he had uttered to the three Void Sovereigns were no empty threats. Nevertheless, he trusted his comrades. As long as the Void Sovereigns didn’t show up in person, and the Moon Realm Legions didn’t pour in like a deluge, he doubted that his companions would fall as effortlessly as the Whispering Empress had warned.
Under the sickly moonlight, William’s wings flapped furiously, turning him into a whistling blur as he soared towards the edge of Ravenwood.
Why did he make the edge of Ravenwood his first stop? He needed to confirm something. Was the distortion of history limited to just Ravenwood? What would he find beyond the forest’s edge?
Could he shift through time by altering his position in space?
It was a long shot, but William believed it was worth a shot.
…
“You… trust me so much?”
Ebony asked warily as he saw the Ravenwood tyrant remove all the shackles on his body and lead him out of the Green Prison.
He couldn’t fathom why she was suddenly so amenable to his recount. Just moments ago, she had been deaf to his words, but now, she listened earnestly and asked for many details.
She was like a completely different person.
However, there was no need for that. The living who were struggling to survive in the underground root system had been wiped out. In addition, he didn’t have any secrets to hide. He couldn’t figure out why the other party needed to use tricks to deceive him when she possessed absolute strength.
Floral gently stroked her face and asked solemnly, “Your description has helped me figure out some things. At the same time, I vaguely recall some memories… Am I really a half-decayed undead in your eyes?”
“Absolutely.” Ebony nodded adamantly.
Floral, impatiently waiting at the entrance of Green Prison, cut to the chase. “Then, there’s only one way to confirm the truth… Hey, are you leaving?”
“What about them?” Ebony hesitated, looking over at his companions, hoisted up in midair by tentacles.
“The place I’m going to next has a slim chance of survival. If you want me to bring them all along, I don’t mind letting them down.”
Upon hearing this, Ebony gritted his teeth and asked, “Then, you have to tell me where you’re going, right?”
Floral turned around and started walking out of Green Prison,
“If what you said is true, the place we’re going to next is World’s End.”
“She’s on the other side… Will she be fine?”
Nizemar asked, worry etched on her face as she watched Floral grit her teeth, a ferocious expression on her face. Nizemar knew all too well the horrors of nightmares.
“What do you mean by fine?” Elise, her eyes closed, chimed in.
“It looks like she’s having a nightmare. Is her soul captured by Zamara and imprisoned deep in the Nightmare Swamp?”
Nizemar, who had been imprisoned in the past, asked with lingering fear.
Elise’s white eyes flickered open, her gaze piercing. She surveyed the altar before closing her eyes once more.
“The Holy Tree Duke’s soul is still inside and is very well protected by that spell. Don’t worry.”
Her tone was as if she was confirming that there were no cups on the table.
Seeing that Nizemar didn’t reply, she continued, “You have to understand that this is a defensive spell personally cast by William Kane. As long as the main body of this spell is protected, even the Lord of Nightmare can’t snatch her soul away so easily.”
“Is that so…”
Despite hearing the most authoritative guarantee from the owner of the Eyes of God, Nizemar’s anxiety remained.
As they made their way to the destination, the Presiding Judge had already briefed them on the scale of the illusion that only the Lord of Nightmare, Zamara, could create. Hundreds of thousands of undead believed themselves to be alive, all thanks to Her weaving such a spell.
But swallowing the souls of all the tree elves into the Nightmare Swamp was beyond even Her power. It wasn’t that She couldn’t do it, but the Seven Holy Spirits’ obstruction and the interference of other Void Sovereigns would make it impossible.
No Void Sovereign, especially not Zamara, would take such a risk when the Lady of Starvation would benefit the most.
William speculated that Zamara had connected the Forest Elves’ dreams.
“It’s probably Zamara weaving a large-scale dream that replicates Ravenwood’s scene in the Nightmare Swamp and implanting it into the memories of every Forest Elf. This is equivalent to a large-scale cloud server… Forget it, you won’t understand this example.”
The Presiding Judge had given up on explaining the specific principles to them using theories and analogies that they failed to understand, instead guaranteeing that the spell wouldn’t be breached internally.
They needed to protect the main body of the spell and cooperate with the Holy Tree Duke’s trusted personal guards until they returned.
“To put it simply, don’t let them cut the wires.”
This was the Presiding Judge’s conclusion.
The term was incomprehensible, likely a long-forgotten magic concept.
“So, why is she like this?”
Nizemar asked hesitantly, eyeing Floral’s grimacing expression.
“She probably encountered something terrifying or terrible on the other end,” Elise answered, distractedly staring at her feet.
Then, she added, “But don’t worry too much. No matter what, William Kane is with her on the other side… Compared to us, she’s much safer.”
The girl then lifted her head, opening her eyes to survey the door to the Canopy Temple.
“What we should be worried about now is our own safety,” she said, cowering behind Nizemar.
“There are nine people outside the door, and eight of them have rich Life Creatons. If I’m not wrong, they’re from the Oak Council,” she warned in a soft voice.
“The Oak Council came knocking just after the duke fell asleep,” Floral’s clerk interjected, frowning.
Nizemar didn’t answer but turned to Elise and asked, “Isn’t this too much of a coincidence?”
“Eight of them might be forest druids. What about the remaining person?”
After a moment of hesitation, Elise replied, “His body… emits an extremely strong aura of a Holy Spirit’s blessing, so he’s probably a prophet?”