Chapter 553
A Threatening Letter to Grey
“…I initially thought Miss Freya was here to study in the Church.”
After a long silence, Sherlock spoke, “I didn’t expect you to stir up so much trouble.”
While Freya didn’t further explain the relationship between the Wine of Eternity and the Tears of Time, everyone had clearly understood.
If the elves’ immortality came from the blessing of the Amber Heavenly Envoy, then longevity methods like the Wine of Eternity essentially involved obtaining a portion of the Amber Heavenly Envoy’s power. But such longevity methods came with a price.
The side effect of the longevity potion from Star Antinomy was that it only extended the body’s lifespan, not the soul’s. Thus, living too long would lead to a disconnect between the body and soul, making them easily slain by necromancers.
The elves’ longevity, however, evidently extended the soul as well.
—Its side effect was “Amber Compaction.”
Elves had thousands of years of history and glorious generations of civilization. But Amber Compaction had never been cured.
The fundamental reason was likely because… Amber Compaction was not a disease at all. Like Petrify, it was a malformation caused by the erosion of Path powers.
Elves were children of giant trees; the blood of giant trees flowed within them. Because of this, the purer the bloodline, the easier it was to petrify. Similarly, the more blessings from the Amber Heavenly Envoy they received, the more likely they were to suffer from Amber Compaction.
That was why half-elves born elsewhere did not petrify or suffer from Amber Compaction!
It was because their bloodline was too impure that they did not petrify; it was also because their lifespan had decreased that they did not suffer from Amber Compaction!
“Therefore, if we want to cure Amber Compaction, we can only disperse or neutralize the blessings from the Amber Heavenly Envoy. But that might cause elves to age rapidly… My research is currently stuck here.”
Freya held the bottle of “Tears of Time,” gazed at it, and said softly, “The active ingredient of the Wine of Eternity was the blessing I extracted from an ‘Elf Jewel’ that had already undergone Amber Compaction. Its effect is to grant a small amount of elven bloodline—this portion of bloodline does not cause Amber Compaction, but it does increase lifespan slightly.
“I have already taken it myself and verified its safety. It can effectively extend my youth… There’s nothing wrong with drinking it.
“As for the ‘Tears of Time’… it is the result of further purifying and condensing the active ingredient of the Wine of Eternity, followed by aggressive catalysis to manifest its symbolism excessively. It can be used as a material for the Preservation Technique to greatly enhance its effect.
“According to my calculations, if taken in small amounts, ‘Tears of Time’ can also permanently provide a portion of the Earth-attribute Mana Pool upper limit to those with no elven bloodline at all. For half-elves with some elven bloodline, taking Tears of Time should purify their bloodline, but it might also be fatal. For pure-blooded elves, it is a deadly poison. Since I have taken the Wine of Eternity, I have not taken it myself.”
“…I have a question, Freya.”
Janis gently raised her hand and asked dryly, “I heard that you Alchemists… encrypt your formulas. So that even if your finished products are analyzed, the true formula cannot be found…”
If it were only a dozen or so people, or even thirty to forty people… it might cause unrest, but the impact would not be too great.
But if the formula for “Tears of Time” were cracked and reverse-engineered…
The entire elven race would face utter annihilation!
“–I know, and I do it too.”
Freya interrupted.
“That means—”
Janis’s eyes lit up.
But Freya quickly refuted it, “But I cannot encrypt a semi-finished product. That would only cause trouble for myself, and I wouldn’t be able to distinguish the active ingredients.”
“…In other words?”
Janis asked with desperate hope.
“I know what you’re going to ask,”
Freya pondered for a moment and replied, “Fourth Tier… may be a little difficult.
“At least Fifth Tier would be required to stably reverse-engineer and analyze my formula from the finished product—provided that the person who stole my medicine can preserve it correctly:
“It must be stored in a brown bottle, protected from direct sunlight, and without vigorous shaking. The temperature cannot exceed 150 degrees Celsius or go below 6 degrees Celsius. It cannot be in prolonged contact with oxygen and water simultaneously. At night, it must be covered with a black cloth to avoid exposure to the light of Venus, otherwise, its effect will rapidly decline. I have not sent it into the Dream Realm, so I am unsure if its properties would change there, but I suspect they would. Therefore, it cannot be transmitted via an altar.”
“Sounds manageable…”
Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Just avoiding vigorous shaking, humidity, and maintaining a seal was difficult enough. Transporting it by water to Star Antinomy for analysis was practically impossible. And in the Church, there were no Alchemists at Freya’s level.
…Unless it was Professor Moriarty.
Eivass added in his mind.
He was unsure of Freya’s attitude towards her biological father, so he didn’t dare to say it directly.
Although Eivass had never met the man since arriving in the Church… he had a feeling that he was always lurking, appearing in every event.
“Wait, Sister Freya, you just said… semi-finished product?”
Eivass suddenly realized something, “Then what were you originally planning to do with the Tears of Time?”
“It’s not difficult to simply dissolve the blessings—it’s like if a person’s liver is diseased, you cut it out and replace it with a new one. But you can’t just remove it without replacement; that’s equivalent to murder.”
Freya crossed her arms and replied, “The grace of the Heavenly Envoys and Pillar Gods can be neutralized by committing ‘sins’ of equal weight on the corresponding Path. So I believe—or at least, I currently believe—that active elves do not easily suffer from Amber Compaction because they have neutralized some of the blessings, which is why the phenomenon of Amber Compaction is reversible. If it were truly a pathological change, then the compacted areas should not revert.
“But the problem is, once the blessing is completely dissolved, lifespan will also shorten. I must find a longevity method that does not cause Amber Compaction to serve as a supplement to the treatment. Tears of Time is my ‘artificial liver’.”
Hearing this, Eivass’s heart stirred.
—He thought of his own “jujubes.”
They seemed capable of dissolving Amber Compaction.
The Fruit of Sin Thorns… could it contain “sins”?
He wanted to propose this possibility to Freya, but he didn’t have those fruits on hand. He would bring them to show Freya next time his eyes bore fruit.
“Why don’t you destroy them first?”
Janis looked at the bottle of Tears of Time with apprehension, “I feel uneasy looking at it… What if the remaining amount is also stolen? Compared to the progression of Amber Compaction Syndrome, I think preventing its further spread is more important… You remember the formula anyway, right? Perhaps the other party preserved it improperly, it got damaged, and then they came looking for more?”
Knowing that Freya was synthesizing this lethal substance with no antidote, Janis couldn’t possibly watch by her side constantly.
And Freya, being deaf to everything while working, was easily susceptible to theft.
The other party only took one-third last time, but perhaps they would take it all next time?
“…Sigh.”
Freya sighed, “This little bit I extracted over three months…”
She felt a pang of heartache but knew Janis was right.
She casually placed it on a nearby heating container, her face contorted in pain as it rapidly turned cloudy—she looked like she was about to cry.
The liquid, originally viscous like oil, became increasingly clear and transparent under the heat.
“My biggest worry now is whether the person who stole this medicine will harm Grey…”
Janis frowned, “There are two weeks left… March 3rd is Pope Election Day. If those lunatics from Controlled Fire cause Grey to suffer from Amber Compaction on the spot, it will be a huge problem… Is there any concrete evidence to report Cardinal Loki to His Majesty the Pope?”
“…The bad news is, there isn’t. Because it’s not necessarily him—the clues related to him are too numerous, and this could very well be a misdirection.”
Eivass replied, “The worse news is, the other party does harbor malice towards Her Highness the Saintess.
“Because Gloria was a friend of Her Highness the Saintess, and Bishop Mercedes was too—one of them killed the other, and the body is in my closet. If not for an unexpected incident that day, this body should have been discovered by Her Highness the Saintess herself.”
At the time, Eivass had only thought that it might be intended to stimulate Grey’s spirit and exacerbate her Amber Compaction.
But now, with the intelligence that “Tears of Time,” a poison that would 100% kill elves, especially those already suffering from Amber Compaction, had emerged, this incident took on a completely different meaning.
This was a “threatening letter.”
The meaning was simple.
—You are next.
(End of Chapter)
