Chapter 152 Unavoidable
The rain in Leicester had barely stopped for a moment before it seemed to pour down again.
However, as the continuous raindrops fell to the ground, dyeing the rooftops and the ground a dirty black, it allowed those who saw it to realize that it was not rain, but some kind of eerie, seemingly active black liquid.
“Much faster than I expected,” said a tall and thin figure whose body and voice were equally ambiguous and blurred, like a shadow. “Then let’s start quickly.”
*
It was an entity that could not be called human, its entire body was pitch black, seeming to absorb all light. Its seemingly smooth surface was actually wet, viscous, and fluid, wriggling like a living creature. Just looking directly at it would cause bone-chilling discomfort and fear, piercing malicious desires and timidity; it was an equal resistance and evasion on both physiological and psychological levels.
The black liquid vibrated together, emitting a terrifying sound.
It was speech, but not in any language of this world, yet everyone present instantly understood the meaning conveyed:
“The Mortal Realm, after a long absence.”
Li Wen held her breath, the term “Mortal Realm” belonged to the Golden Age, and just looking at this guy, the mentally polluting influence they were forced to accept, already showed that this existence, which crawled out of the stone egg, possessed some kind of divinity.
Just as she expected.
The liquid vibrated rapidly again, emitting sound, but the frequency of the sound changed several times, roughly changing through four or five ancient and primitive languages, finally becoming the most widely spread Terra language on the Inner Continent.
“What era is it now?” asked the black existence.
No one answered it; everyone was unsure whether this unknown existence was malevolent or benevolent. Even Bati Haruntin, who had the highest combat power, was sweating profusely when facing this entity.
A moment later, Victoria, the princess of Arthur, said softly:
“According to the ancient calendar, it should now be the Black Iron Age.”
The entity looked at the princess. The only organ embedded in its face was more like a void overflowing with heat and sparks than eyes, easily evoking the image of a dying sun or a scorching furnace. It no longer communicated by vibrating, remaining silent and stunned, as if contemplating something.
However, this silence undoubtedly caused people’s fear and suspicion to rise sharply. In most cases, a communicable enemy is much easier to accept than an incommunicable monster.
“May I ask who you are, sir?” Victoria asked boldly. From its previous words, she likely had some guess. Speaking out now was more of a request and inquiry, otherwise she could not easily and frankly express her thoughts.
Sparks flickered in the void. After a long pause, the black liquid vibrated together: “I am Impurities.”
The words were truly difficult to understand, but Victoria instead showed an expression of “as expected.”
Just as Bati and the others were confused, wondering what strange substitute name or meaning this was, or perhaps a long-lost true meaning of a title used by an ancient existence, the entity continued, “I was born in the crucible, the last drop of sediment of the crucible, and I am Impurities and incompleteness itself.”
Li Wen’s eyes moved slightly; she understood.
As expected, this fourth entity, called the Sage Ovum Sheath, was connected to the previous three. They were all related to the origin of Alchemy, the first “Rebirth” in history.
That “Rebirth” or “Miracle” itself is now called the Sage Stone; the object that forged and created the Sage Stone was the Creator’s crucible, also the ovum sheath from which life was born; and the one who led this process, that Sage, was the supreme greatness, the pillar of creation.
The Sage placed dead matter, base metals, incompleteness, and impurities into the crucible, creating living beings, gold, perfection, and all the miracles of the world. However, at the bottom of that crucible, some matter might still exist, just as there is always some liquid residue at the bottom of a bottle that cannot be completely poured out.
That residue is the black existence before them. It remained in the crucible for an immeasurably long time, even its surface was covered with black rock. With the collapse of empires and the disintegration of councils, it drifted and floated until today.
The Sage, the crucible, and gold were all endowed with supreme divinity and greatness, so the residual impurities should also possess such honor, as it was also a witness and participant in the miracle.
It is impurities, it is incompleteness, and it should also be the god of this domain.
But it could never be a god, because that existence, that supreme Sage, still included the authority of “flaw” within its domain.
Therefore, it could only be a mythical life form that approached godhood, not a god.
Facing such an existence, everyone held their breath, not daring to make a sound. Even Bailu, a player who still hadn’t understood what was happening, could see that this was no longer a situation that players could participate in.
The black entity seemed to have finally returned from the distant afterglow of history and the river of fate. Its pupils shone brightly, like the rising sun.
“So, you awakened me because destruction is imminent.”
Upon hearing this, Li Wen was startled. She wasn’t surprised by the “imminent destruction.” She had been told this when facing the Perfect Amber in the Amber Temple. All Saints knew about the coming Doomsday Twilight. Even if this black entity wasn’t a Saint, it wasn’t too far from that realm. What Li Wen truly cared about was that someone deliberately awakened this ancient and terrifying existence.
“What is destruction?” Jeffrey asked with a frown. Compared to someone deliberately planning this event, he was more concerned about the destruction mentioned in the mythical life form’s words, which could not be a minor matter.
“It is an ancient prophecy,” the black entity said slowly. “A dim twilight will enshroud the world, and all life, matter, existence, reason, and laws in the world will usher in their end, just like the scene when the World Tree withered in legends. It is destined, unavoidable, and inescapable. Now that I have awakened, it proves that the doom prophesied is near, imminent.”
These oppressive words plunged everyone into silence. Just before this, they were fighting for legendary divine artifacts, or trying to prevent the escalation of conflict, lest it engulf the entire city. But now, the object they were fighting over had become an ancient life form, telling them in a calm tone that the end of the world was coming, which was truly hard to accept immediately.
The only exceptions were probably Li Wen and Bailu, the two players. The former had already understood and was working towards it. As for the latter…
The end of the world? Main quest! A cliché and classic development. Almost all players had faced this kind of situation before. It was easy, right?
“Is it truly unavoidable?”
Moria asked calmly.
