Chapter 87 City of Sin (Part 2)
“Goddess Averia said that what Iris summoned from the Abyss was not the complete Chaos. What allows her to present the Abyss before us is the endless sin merged into it,” Verafia said softly.
Iris was once a holy maiden of light. Jealousy, greed, sloth, wrath… These sins, as defined by the light, were not denied in the Abyssal Church founded by Iris, who still regarded them as original sins of the world.
However, the followers of the Abyss were also pursuing such defiled sins, which was the source of all power in the Abyss.
Verafia had encountered the Abyssal Church more than once, and had even fought with their “original sins,” knowing very well how they drew strength from sin.
And now, the Queen of the Abyss, the Holy Maiden, resided there, the dark heart that eroded the kingdom, and now Lichen himself, entangled with terrifying, endless sins, as if they had become substantial, with dirty, turbid qi spreading wantonly, eroding every corner of this city.
It was as if all the sins born in the world, and even throughout history, had converged in this city of sin.
Verafia suddenly thought that when she awoke from the flames, this city was intended to be the end point of her life – it was once the sacred ground of Lancaster, and she merely wanted to burn it to ashes with the red flames of revenge, even burning herself, and the hatred that constituted her life, within it.
But she eventually left, with a yearning for the future, and also a meaning in life beyond hatred… until she looked back again, and arrived before Lichen again, before the end of this journey.
It seemed they had reached the same destination by different paths.
“But it’s not the same. The Lichen of today is a city of sin.”
“Lichen,” that was the original meaning of the land of morning emergence and holy light, and in history, it even had the beautiful reputation of “City of White Irises.”
Verafia still remembered that when she and Ig came to this city, it was during the blooming season. Pure white irises had turned the city into a sea of flowers, a scene like a fleeting illusion where fairy tales and reality intersected.
And when she chose to leave, a wisp of golden flame burned the delicate petals, countless falling petals ignited into bright gold, and thousands of bright golden cups illuminated the darkness that lingered in the night sky.
And now, only a decaying, pitch-black city, entangled by endless original sins, remained.
Her golden eyes lifted slightly, and Verafia raised her veiled face. In her eyes, it was not merely a pitch-black city; the entire Abyssal Cult had gathered here, like an army staking everything. Beneath the infinite darkness that shrouded them, there were countless residents.
Lichen was the royal city of Peka, prosperous and wealthy, ranking among the foremost on the entire continent. But since the end of the civil war, when the Queen no longer concealed herself and the Abyss descended, the hundreds of thousands of residents of this city, with their different professions and aspirations, were henceforth shrouded in this endless darkness.
The only fortunate thing was that the concentration of the Abyss in this area far surpassed that of other regions of Peka. The residents of Lichen had long been submerged by the concept of the Abyss. Perhaps for them, it was merely a never-ending dark dream, without having to face pain and hardship.
“When did this become something to be fortunate about?” Verafia suddenly pursed her lips and smiled.
But, with the residents of Lichen shrouded in darkness, did Iris regard them as prisoners, or as sacrifices to the Abyss?
Her pupils gradually lifted, “Moreover, at present, Iris and Filir are not coming out to see me.”
“But you have already come before them,” Ig’s voice sounded, with a smile. He held the girl’s small hand, looking at her gorgeous golden eyes, “And it wasn’t just Veer who came before Lichen.”
“Yes. It wasn’t just me. There was Ig, Little Fei, Flarn, and Sister Herafir, Miss Siya…” Verafia squeezed Ig’s fingers slightly. A gentle breeze softly caressed her golden hair, and a smile couldn’t help but appear on her exquisite jade face.
Her gaze lifted gently. Beneath the dark city walls, on the vast plains of Lichen, the armies of the Abyss were gathered.
They had followers of the Abyss, and more were the kingdom’s armies corrupted by the Abyss. This was the combined strength of the Abyssal Church after abandoning all territories, forming a combined formation that stretched for dozens of miles across the land, truly vast.
However, the armies of the Abyss were instead suppressed here. The allied forces, with their even more imposing momentum, seemed to have trapped them as prisoners beneath the city walls.
Verafia’s gaze shifted slightly.
Beside her, there was the elven army brought by Serathys, as well as the legions promised by the imperial vassals; Marquis Mays Shiel, and Princess Misela, they represented the “Public Welfare Alliance” and the remnants of Peka, arriving before the Abyss with the fury of revenge.
And Siya, as the Holy Maiden of Light, along with Andes, had brought almost all the remaining strength of the Church of Light before this city, which was eroded by Iris.
In addition, Ophi’s sister, Fraria, the Red Dragon Queen who inherited the Undying Black Dragon, along with the armies of the dwarf kingdom, and the strength of the Holy See of Magic, promised by Fatter, Verafia suddenly realized that this seemed to be a repeat of a hundred years ago, when the entire continent fought against the Demon King’s invasion.
Perhaps, due to the elven civil strife and the internal wars of different empires and kingdoms, the power displayed by the Agrand continent today was not as great as the war a hundred years ago that resisted the Demon King. However, those standing with her were not just allies from a hundred years ago.
Friends from the north, the “North Wind Witch” Caslaita, brought the allied forces of Ail to her side; the Orc Royal Court, revering the goddess Herafir, and according to the transaction between the goddess and the Monarch of Magic, in order to reclaim their ancestral land, offered their swords and claws as promised.
There were even incarnations of ancient deities, and the remnants of the Shattered Demon Realm, represented by the two Demon Monarchs, Anjiel and Medanjou.
Verafia smiled gently at Ig, “Perhaps, this is the largest scale war since the Demon Race War a hundred years ago.”
Whether it was the Demon King or the Abyss… this was also a war that would decide the fate of the world.
“I didn’t experience what happened a hundred years ago. For me, those are just legends related to Veer,” Ig smiled, holding the girl’s tender hand. He also picked up the End, the weapon that had accompanied Verafia throughout the entire Demon Race War… now held in his own hands.
Ig looked at the girl’s exquisite, flawless face, slightly caressed beneath her delicate, soft hair, and suddenly smiled, “However, I am very fortunate. At least now, I can be by Veer’s side.”
—
When writing this section, I suddenly thought of the part where allies were summoned at the end of playing Baldur’s Gate 3.
(But I feel it’s too sentimental lol)
