【Crown of Thorns】
【Glorious echoes traverse thousands of years.】
【From distant, other realms, the light of souls singing in unison has completely vanished.】
【After the stars that sheltered the long night fell,】
【The children of this world emerged from the forest, inheriting the last starlight from the eve of the Night Kingdom’s collapse.】
【She is the traveler who treads upon destiny.】
【The progenitor of the Forest Children.】
【The fated master who disturbs the causality of all phenomena.】
【Golden branches form the bow, and threads of destiny weave the string.】
【The lingering stars in her hand transform into arrows bringing forth dawn.】
【Using eighteen pillars of heaven and earth as a cage.】
【Crafting the locks of this world with destiny.】
【The black bird, carrying the coveted golden branch, desiring to rush into the universe and escape,】
【Was choked by destiny.】
The black earth stretches for hundreds of miles.
In this land, known to the world as the boundary of the world, everything seems to have lost its color.
It’s almost like a black and white sketch…
But this painting is different from the masterpieces painters painstakingly create, meticulously outlining the shapes and colors of the soul with their brushes…
Here, the only lasting impression is one of absurdity and emptiness.
Not a single shred of soul can remain in this place.
It’s as if the entire world has become a hollow shell of an illusion.
The husks left behind after life’s collapse wander across the dark earth.
The elemental forces are chaotic and impure; time, space, and all the fundamental elements that constitute the world have been stripped away and extracted from this place.
Incorrect spaces and times overlap, forming massive voids leading to unknown, strange realms, like twisting scars left on the world.
This is the forbidden zone that strikes terror into the hearts of all.
For a thousand years, countless heroes’ remains have been buried here.
The terminus of the Age of Radiance.
And also, the place where the enemy of all beings, suspended in the sky for a millennium, was sealed.
Yet, right on this absurd and treacherous edge of the world, a light of life, starkly contrasting with the darkness, stands unyielding.
The lush forest, extending from beyond this place and reaching into the black earth, is like a sharp sword plunged into the black heart. Its unyielding branches and the greenness symbolizing life form an arrow speeding towards its prey.
This sacred land, representing all beings ending the long night and embracing the Age of Dawn,
Now once again calls upon the heroes of this era.
They will once again protect what the heroes of the past secured from those villains who held up ideals and reclaim the dawn.
Now, Seraphiel, who is about to meet the legendary figure who upholds this place, is ascending the staircase formed by tree trunks.
The gentle breeze, stirred by the Saintess’s movement, rustles the green leaves on either side of the path, as if life itself is waving and cheering for this pure white Saintess.
This is the heart of the forest, where several colossal trees, existing since the dawn of this age, are intertwined, together forming this castle that seems to touch the sky.
The legendary Elven Progenitor, a hero from the Age of Radiance, resides within the canopy.
To be honest, Seraphiel hadn’t expected to be personally requested for a meeting by such a revered being.
After all, the matters concerning the Ideal Kingdom affect all living beings in the world.
Everyone living on this continent, regardless of their nation, federation, or strange organizations, will spare no effort to contribute when something goes wrong in the Sealed Land.
Even factions that are usually at odds, even nations actively at war,
Must, under the call of the [Myriad Phenomena], reluctantly sit at the negotiating table and discuss plans to combat the Ideal Nation with everyone else.
This is the great cause universally recognized and upheld by everyone in this world for over eight hundred years.
If anyone were to cause trouble at this crucial moment, they would face the wrath of all.
So, even Seraphiel, the Saintess of the East, could only barely rank among the assembled heroes.
After all, there were well over a hundred powerhouses here, combining quasi-saint and saint-level individuals.
Seven terrifying, legendary beings even reigned over this place.
As for the Chosen Ones like Selunia, they only had some say due to special circumstances that allowed them to touch upon the threshold of legend.
She truly didn’t know why she, specifically, was invited for a private meeting with a legendary hero like [Myriad Phenomena].
If it concerned important matters to be discussed privately with the Church of Creation, they should surely be meeting with their Pope, the venerable old man, instead.
It would be normal for the leaders of two major factions, both in the legendary realm, to have a private meeting to discuss things.
Why involve her?
She was merely a minor Saintess from the Eastern region; major decisions in this territory weren’t her call at all.
It couldn’t possibly be because she could, to some extent, mobilize two of the world pillars, could it?
But if that were the case, the other three Chosen Ones should also be present. The four Chosen Ones of the Church of Creation collectively possessed the foundations of eight world pillars.
Moreover, it was less about “possessing” them and more about “borrowing” them.
Their divine magic originated from the elemental lords they served; those deities were actually the true controllers of the world pillars.
The Chosen Ones merely had a certain degree of authority to mobilize the deities’ power.
Indeed, they would bear significant responsibilities in the upcoming battle against the Ideal Kingdom.
But compared to [Myriad Phenomena]… that legendary being who completely controls all eighteen pillars… their own meager resources simply don’t compare.
Seraphiel climbed higher, following the steps of the elven priestess.
Standing atop this colossal tree, looking outward, she could now clearly survey the entire Sealed Land.
The combined armies from various regions were stationed at the forest’s edge.
And it seemed there was some commotion in the allied camp again… likely those descendants of heroes with radiant bloodlines causing more trouble.
Those hero descendants who constantly wield golden light swords and act as if they’ve consumed an excitement potion – as Lilith would say, are they called “Chūnibyō?”
A group of easily excitable yet very strong individuals.
Fortunately, they were all generally upright people.
Oh, right… Lilith…
Could it be that [Myriad Phenomena] invited her for a private meeting because they knew about Lilith?
But how would they know?
Could it be that Lilith left some unique aura within her when she was inside her?
Allowing [Myriad Phenomena]… a presumed comrade from Lilith’s era, to discover something?
Well, it doesn’t matter. If that truly is the reason, she could use this opportunity to ask about Lilith’s past.
“Oh, and another thing…”
“Revered Priestess, may I ask a presumptuous question?”
“Saintess Isis, please do.”
“The Elven technique of dulling the senses to maintain humanity through long ages… I wonder if you are able to share it?”
“…Saintess… you are human, not a long-lived race. This technique would be of no help to you. On the contrary, it would cause you to lose your emotions and dull your physical sensations in a short amount of time.”
“I have a great need for this technique. I wonder if there’s any way I could obtain it.”
“…”
At this moment, even the perpetually stoic Elven High Priestess didn’t know what to say.
But Selunia was thinking that she absolutely had to learn this technique quickly.
Otherwise, she couldn’t imagine how Lilith would treat her once she returned to the monastery.
She figured that by then, no matter how stubborn she was, she wouldn’t be able to physically resist Lilith’s affections…
She would only be bullied by Lilith until she called her “big sister.”
So, the sensitivity reduction technique!
She absolutely had to get her hands on it.
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