Chapter 249
The Three-Legged Crow
Even though Little Viviane, who was in charge of cooking, had returned, Eivass wisely took his birdcage and went home.
Since Teacher Maya said she usually cooked, Eivass decided to believe her for now… there was no need to argue with her about it. Otherwise, if Maya became enraged, it would be impolite.
However, because Eivass’s own dormitory was still under repair, he brought the book directly back to the Silver and Tin Hall.
While grimoires were dangerous and, in principle, like firearms and daggers, they were not allowed in the Silver and Tin Hall. But Eivass’s status was different now. After explaining clearly, he was allowed to bring the book in.
There were no classes this afternoon anyway, as the original Elven Language course had already been tested last week.
So, Eivass casually found some snacks to fill his stomach and excitedly began to flip through the Grimoire of the Morning Crow.
Perhaps it was because of the birdcage, or perhaps because it had a high degree of recognition for Eivass… Or maybe it was simply playing dead, preparing to escape. In any case, while Eivass was flipping through the book, it did not turn into a flying crow, but remained obediently in its book form.
As Eivass diligently flipped through the pages, Lily suddenly smelled a strange scent.
It smelled like burning wood, or like something had been scorched.
Upon closer inspection, she discovered that Eivass’s head was emitting smoke. This startled Lily. She cautiously moved closer, only to find that Eivass was unharmed. His hair was emitting a large amount of visible white smoke from its gaps, like the tip of a smoldering torch. He radiated intense heat; Lily felt her body become scorching hot just by standing about two meters away from him. It was like standing in front of a fireplace, the heat making her eyes water.
…But on the other hand, it was quite warm.
“Is something the matter?” Eivass asked casually while flipping through the grimoire.
“…Huh?” Lily was surprised. “You can speak?”
“I’m already at the Third Tier. My willpower is still considerable,” Eivass replied without looking up. “Of course, it might be that I haven’t reached the crucial plot points yet. Or maybe I’ll fall into a hallucination in a while.”
“…In that case, I’ll prepare some water for you. Remember to drink if you get thirsty.” Lily poured a glass of honey water and placed it behind Eivass. For some reason, she felt very sleepy… Perhaps it was because the Advancement Ritual last night had consumed a lot of her energy, or perhaps she had talked with Isabel until very late last night and hadn’t slept enough. It was also possible that the heat emanating from Eivass was making her drowsy.
So, enveloped by the intense heat radiating from Eivass, Lily curled up and fell into a deep slumber on the small bed next to the desk.
Eivass looked up and glanced sideways. He noticed that Lily had fallen asleep almost instantly. For a personal maid who basically never had a good night’s sleep, Lily slept surprisingly quickly and deeply.
According to her Path Adaptation’s senses, when Lily was asleep, if Eivass just looked at her for a while, she would usually open her eyes and ask him what he needed. Perhaps the effect of the Spider Silk Grimoire had transformed her into a spider on the web. She was even sensitive enough to sense other people’s gazes in her dreams! Lily could even vaguely sense who was looking at her and their current emotions. Yet, now Lily had advanced further on the Path of Love. By rights, her perception should have become stronger… but at this moment, her senses seemed confused, and she showed no reaction to Eivass’s gaze.
…Is this the power of the Grimoire of the Morning Crow?
Eivass mused, then turned back to his book.
The Grimoire of the Morning Crow spoke of secrets related to the “Xi Tian Si” of the Path of Devotion—secrets about the sun in this World. The book mentioned the ownership of the sun and the rituals of ancient people who worshipped the true sun.
— This book mentioned legends about the sun.
The Grimoire of the Morning Crow posited that this World had three suns. The first sun had already fallen before life was born and no longer rose; the second sun was killed and shattered by sacrifice and language, scattering into countless stars in the silent night sky; and the third sun was born from a three-legged crow. It was Hengwo and her child.
Hengwo was usually a solitary and exquisitely beautiful goddess, but occasionally, during a lunar eclipse, she would transform into a male. In an era when only the moon eternally hung high in the sky, a lunar eclipse symbolized complete darkness. In that mirror-like night sky, Hengwo saw her past and future selves. She fell in love with herself and eventually gave birth to the “Morning Crow.”
Persuaded by the Hourglass (Deity), the Morning Crow ignited itself, transforming into the third sun. Thus, the sun and moon began to rotate. Day and night alternated like an hourglass, and time began to flow.
After the birth of the sun, light illuminated the Earth. Hengwo could no longer see the pure, flawless darkness. She could no longer see her lover, her other self. Therefore, she eternally danced in sorrow in her moon dwelling, never meeting her son, who had transformed into the sun.
Her meritorious deed of burning herself to become the sun made her the Xi Tian Si. She did not enter the Dream Realm… or rather, she ignited herself in the Dream Realm as well. With the Xi Tian Si burning in two worlds simultaneously, a balance of power was achieved, eternally rotating like an hourglass.
To this day, the Morning Crow in the Material Realm still slumbers at the center of the sun, its body burning fiercely, emitting almost eternal light and heat, providing the entire World with an inexhaustible Life force. And sometimes, it occasionally dreams. In its dreams, it transforms into a three-legged crow and flies through the Material Realm. Where it passes, the moon will not appear, and the eternal sunlight will be abnormally intense, eventually leading to a great drought. At such times, a warrior would shoot down the three-legged crow—once it was shot down, the sun and moon in that area would rotate again.
Eivass did not know whether the contents of this book were true or false.
— But this was undoubtedly the disaster described as being caused by the descent of a High-level Phantom Demon. Just as the Shadow Heavenly Envoy turned Avalon into a Shadow Domain where plants could not grow and mortals turned into Und when they died, this kind of Domain effect, capable of changing the World merely by its birth, was precisely the Authority held by Heavenly Envoys.
…In other words, did the “Morning Crow” occasionally descend on its own without being pulled down by the Ouroboros Ring Ritual? A… volatile Heavenly Envoy.
Eivass marveled.
After he had finished reading two-thirds of the book, his vision suddenly began to blur with faint illusions—a fleeting hallucination of a three-legged crow radiating golden-red light flying across the sky. It was not the true sun, but it radiated a sun-like heat, scorching the Earth. In the next moment, Eivass saw it flying towards him… getting closer and closer… When that sun struck Eivass like a burning meteorite, Eivass let out a sudden scream, his skin and flesh cracking, and golden-red flames erupted from his body!
