Chapter 199: Methods
The matters aboard the ship have temporarily concluded. Joseph and his remnants have vanished. It’s presumed they were so terrified by Moria’s move that they dared not show themselves again.
Taking advantage of this period of stability, Li Wen planned to undertake something she had been meaning to do but which was exceptionally crucial. She left another note in her room, lest others assume she had disappeared when they discovered it.
Finally, she took out the Shattered Eye of the Transcendent and whispered, “Eternal City.”
A profound power, transcending comprehension, suddenly descended. The scene before her began to disintegrate—walls peeled away like faded oil paintings, the air cracked like shattered glass, and the entire world was deconstructing into fragmented blocks of color.
Vertigo and suffocation descended together, but were quickly replaced by a deeper tremor that suddenly welled up. It felt like walking alone through a dark, dense forest when, from behind, the crisp snap of a breaking dead branch suddenly rings out, startled birds flutter past the treetops, and some unspeakable predator silently closes in from the shadows.
She desperately covered her ears, but the eerie sounds, not belonging to the material world, still pierced through her fingers, transforming into distorted, invisible worms that burrowed into her ear canals. Those sounds churned madly within her skull, injecting vile desires and tearing pain into every nerve until the sea of her consciousness boiled over.
As the sickening cramps and dizziness gradually cooled, Li Wen’s consciousness slowly returned to clarity. The shattered world before her began to stabilize, finally freezing into a silent, black city.
This was the Witch’s dwelling in the human world, the realm of eternity and twilight—”Amber City.”
“You’re still alive,” a thunderous, guttural voice boomed as the withered, ancient Giant looked down at her. “The Master’s power flows through you. It seems… you succeeded, didn’t you?”
“Barely,” Li Wen replied casually. She didn’t wish to discuss the Path of Ending too much with such an ancient existence. Although it had once been a servant of that deity and, with its experience, might know more about the Original Texts, who could be certain what was brewing beneath its placid expression? After all, it had been commanded to guard the Bell Tower for countless days. In all that extraordinarily long time, had it truly never harbored any ill intentions?
She looked up at the summit of the towering Bell Tower. The Giant’s gaunt face appeared particularly somber under the dim, yellow sky. An indescribable emotion flickered in its cloudy eyes, like anticipation, or perhaps a more complex scrutiny.
“You don’t appear to have obtained the power you should have,” the Giant said slowly, its voice like rolling thunder. “The wielder of an Original Text should not be so… weak.”
Li Wen subconsciously clutched The Primordial Codex of Ending beneath her cloak. Indeed, by all accounts, after obtaining the Original Text of a lineage, her strength shouldn’t have remained at Stage One, let alone shown no significant increase. But the ascension requirements for the Path of Ending were far too harsh—requiring the Original Texts of other Pillars as materials. It was practically a malicious joke.
“What I need is time,” she replied calmly. “The power of the Path of Ending cannot be achieved overnight.”
The Giant let out a low laugh, the sound causing the surrounding air to tremble. “Time…” it repeated the word with a hint of mockery. “In this Eternal City, time is the least valuable commodity.”
Li Wen did not respond. Everything in this city was unchanging, including the tombstone-like black buildings, including this Bell Tower, and naturally, including the bell-keeper before her. While eternity was a lifelong pursuit and desire for some, for others, it had become a form of torment.
“Then, have you returned to fulfill our agreement?” the Giant suddenly asked, a trace of subtle urgency in its voice, despite its earlier claim of having ample time.
Li Wen shook her head. “I need to confirm some things first.” She looked directly into the Giant’s eyes. “Do you know the whereabouts of the Abyss of Dettor?”
According to “Impurities,” only an existence more ancient than Itself still knew the path to the Abyss of Dettor, and the Giant was precisely such an ancient being. It had to be more ancient than “Impurities,” who was sealed within the ovum during the Silver Age, because the Giant was a Long-lived being, born only during the Golden Age.
The Giant’s expression changed noticeably for the first time. Its withered face contorted for a moment, then returned to calm. “That is not a realm mortals can enter,” it said slowly. “Do you know how that Sage became a Pillar?”
This question was rather difficult, but fortunately, Li Wen happened to know about it. “I know a little. He became a Pillar deity by being placed within an ovum, achieving rebirth.”
“Yes, but not entirely…” the Giant’s voice suddenly became very soft, as if afraid of being overheard by some entity. “That existence was reborn within the ovum, thereby stripping away the authority and status of a certain light… it was the authority of creation and dominion, which rightfully belonged to the Offspring of the Sun.”
Li Wen’s heart skipped a beat, her pupils contracting. She had never heard such a claim. The birth of Pillar deities had always been unexamined, and no one dared to examine it. According to the Giant, the Sage who created the lineages, that supremely great Sage, seemed not to be an original Pillar deity but an usurper? Of course, such words could never be uttered aloud. Even in the Witch’s dwelling, it was difficult to guarantee that the Sage wouldn’t learn of it.
“The Offspring of the Sun whose authority was stripped was…” Li Wen pondered. Since its status and authority had been revoked, it should be safe to mention, so she asked.
In fact, there was no need to think too hard, as there were only three Offspring of the Sun.
After a long silence, the Giant finally uttered the title.
“The Sun of Tranquility, the Crown of the Crimson.”
As expected, Li Wen showed an unsurprised expression.
“The fallen Offspring of the Sun, its corpse drifts in the void, and no one dares to approach it, no one can approach it. Later, that region completely separated from the void, becoming an independent world. That is the Abyss of Dettor.”
Was “Impurities” asking her to retrieve The Emerald Tablet from the corpse of an Offspring of the Sun, a former deity?
For a moment, Li Wen didn’t know if she had gone mad or if that mythical being had gone mad from staying in the Stone Egg for too long.
The Giant paid no attention to Li Wen’s expression and continued, “And to reach there, there is a way. However, compared to the method I propose, you should really ask others. After all, as I said, I will not offer you any help until you help me complete that matter.”
