Chapter 44 : The Perfect Amber

The Amber Maidens would kill all intruders.

The moment one of them detected an intruder, all the others would awaken through a chain reaction.

Li Wen didn’t even dare to breathe.

She could feel the gaze of an Amber Maiden fixed squarely on her—despite the fact that the creature had no eyes, and Li Wen herself, in her shadow state, had no physical body.

That cold, sticky sensation, like the tongue of a reptile dragging across her skin, was enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.

She wasn’t sure whether this awakened Amber Maiden had truly spotted her.

If it had, losing her own life would be a small price to pay—but if all the Amber Maidens were to awaken because of her, then everything she had worked for would be in vain.

She would be forced to search for another way.

Fortunately, the Amber Maiden soon turned its face away.

It seemed to be only puzzled by the shadow on the ground, not fully aware of Li Wen’s presence.

Li Wen didn’t act rashly.

She remained frozen in place for a full half an hour, not moving until she was certain the Amber Maiden had truly dismissed her.

Then, step by step, pausing after each movement, she carefully crept toward the gates of the inner sanctum.

But then, for some unknown reason, the already-awakened Amber Maiden stirred.

Alarmed, Li Wen froze.

She watched as the creature’s cloak slid off, revealing a smooth back etched with strange, glowing markings—root-like patterns that shimmered with an unnamable color and slowly spread outward from her spine.

The glowing lines twisted and branched like tree roots, ultimately forming the shape of massive wings.

With a beat of those radiant wings, the Amber Maiden lifted into the air and vanished from sight in an instant—without a trace.

Where had it gone?

Li Wen didn’t dare imagine.

She didn’t want to know.

Now, with the entrance to the inner sanctum unguarded, the Endbringer Codex lay only a few paces away.

All she had to do was walk up and push open the door.

Everything she had endured would finally be worth it.

But first, her gaze fell on the cloak left behind on the ground.

It had belonged to the Amber Maiden.

This was the Amber Temple—no one had stepped foot here since the Golden Age.

That cloak couldn’t possibly be from the outside.

It had to be something precious.

Should she pick it up?

The thought flashed across Li Wen’s mind.

In her current shadow state, she couldn’t touch anything physical.

She existed only as a shadow.

Which meant that if she wanted to retrieve the cloak, she would have to cancel her Shadow Deepwalker state.

It was an extremely risky move—but one worth taking.

Amber Maidens did not awaken instantly.

Their revival was a process.

It took time for them to shake off the slumber and shed the dusk-hued amber essence clinging to their bodies.

That gave her a window—just enough to grab the cloak and rush into the inner sanctum.

The sanctum was a safe zone, protected by the Endbringer Codex.

Any unauthorized dusk cultist who dared intrude upon it would face the full wrath of the Witches’ Tribunal.

Li Wen wasn’t one to hesitate.

Her former raid leader had once said that Li Wen didn’t believe in probability.

That was why, when no one knew if Urd’s Thorn could truly rewrite fate, she had still plunged the divine weapon into her own chest without flinching.

So she acted.

She canceled her shadow state and leapt forward.

Already, she could hear the sound of shattering ice—countless Amber Maidens breaking free from their amber bindings.

She snatched up the cloak.

At that moment, a terrifying pressure spread throughout the temple.

For ages, this place had been shrouded in deathly stillness, but now it stirred to life.

Amber dust swirled through the air as the Amber Maidens stretched their graceful bodies.

The glowing root-like patterns on their backs pulsed with a dreadful radiance.

With no time to spare, Li Wen dove and rolled through the sanctum doors.

Her former position was instantly surrounded by countless figures.

Peering back through the doors, she saw the entire corridor filled with them—beautiful young women with alabaster skin and seductive forms, each exuding a terrifying pressure.

But not one dared step through the threshold.

They simply stood there, silently threatening her from beyond the boundary.

Li Wen remained unfazed.

She stood up and shut the massive door behind her.

Out of sight, out of mind.

“No wonder it’s so noisy outside. Someone’s broken in.”

A cold, unfamiliar voice slipped into her ears.

Li Wen’s scalp prickled.

The strategy guides had said nothing about this—there was someone alive inside the inner sanctum!

She forced herself to turn around calmly.

The sanctum’s decor was steeped in religious symbolism.

Overhead, a massive skylight let in the light of a red-orange sunset, its hues casting dying rays over a withered, towering tree.

At the center of the sanctum was a vast stained-glass mural shaped like an eye, its iris the same amber hue that blended red and gold.

Across from the door, where the altar should have been, hung a heavy gray curtain.

The voice she had heard came from beyond that veil.

“Who are you?”

Li Wen asked, hoping to gather information through conversation.

But the figure behind the curtain had no interest in talking.

“That in your hand…”

“A trophy,” Li Wen replied without hesitation, glancing at the cloak she held.

“That was Livia’s favorite cloak. Even during the Endbringer Rite, she refused to part with it…”

Li Wen fell silent.

So the Amber Maiden who had guarded the gate… must have been “Livia,” as this mysterious person called her.

Judging from the tone, the two had likely shared a close bond.

Great.

Just her luck.

She had claimed a dearly beloved item as a trophy right in front of someone who cared about its owner.

“I heard Livia’s departure. She must have gone off to destroy some bothersome insects. Strange… This lonely city hasn’t had visitors in a long time. Tell me—what’s going on out there?”

What was going on?

Player invasion, the end of the world, the collapse of reality—take your pick.

“I see. That’s why you’ve come for the Endbringer Codex, isn’t it?”

The voice seemed to pierce straight into Li Wen’s mind, as if reading her thoughts.

For any player, this was something beyond comprehension.

“No. I can’t see anything at all. But you… Stranger who has come here uninvited… you’ve told me everything yourself.”

“As if a mirror were placed before you—your reflection converses with me, while you stand outside the glass.”

Li Wen was speechless.

She had never heard of such an ability.

Even the Arcane Path, famed for its limitless magic, had no record of such a spell.

It didn’t seem to belong to any known discipline or system.

“What are you, exactly?” she asked.

After a long silence, the voice replied, deep and distant:

“I am the First Witch. The Dawn’s original blessing.

The last tombkeeper of Grelyon. They call me… the Perfect Amber.”