Chapter 466: Nature's Gift

Heh, today's harvest was pretty good!

After a pause, A Meng spoke in the ancient Gufusak language, forcing out a clumsily translated sentence:

There seems to be a saying for this kind of thing, called "Nature's Gift".

That fellow is indeed amusing, but unfortunately the betraying dragon watches too closely, so my clone can't stay by his side often.

A Meng's expression curled at the corners of his mouth, revealing a strange grin, as if he recalled something amusing.

He lazily straightened his posture, waved lightly, then, like a magician, produced a palm-sized ring forged from mercury, etched with bizarre symbols representing fate and destiny.

The predetermined fate, destiny, it seems someone wants to join the Great Serpent's cat‑and‑mouse game.

The Seven Gods are rather ineffective; the primordial barrier is clearly still there, yet they can't stop those beings from the starry sky from seeping power into this world.

As he spoke, A Meng lifted his hand and pinched the monocle over his right eye; the mercury ring in his right hand vanished in an instant.

Then he turned his gaze to the frog corpse at his feet; time around it seemed to accelerate severalfold, and in a single breath the swirling gray‑white specks merged entirely into the frog's body.

As the final glimmer of luminous white faded, the frog corpse finally revealed its current form:

A pale‑green frog puppet, its body covered in bizarre twisted tree‑like patterns, its mouth tightly sewn with strands of silver‑white metallic wire, both hands pressed firmly over its exaggerated large eyes, as if terrified of something and unwilling to open them.

A Meng raised an eyebrow slightly, then bent down and picked up the puppet from the ground.

He casually examined the frog puppet in his hand for a moment, tugged at the corner of his mouth and laughed, saying:

Interesting stuff, perfect for that game called 123 Wooden Man.

As he spoke, his figure twisted and blurred for an instant; when it cleared, he had become a black crow flapping its wings toward the window, a distinctive white ring around its right eye.

With the crow's departure, the room's light suddenly brightened, as if much of the dust in the air had vanished; crimson moonlight streamed through the glassless window, draping everything inside with a thin veil of deep red.

In the central part of Pa Si He Gu, on the dead‑silent river surface, a heavy shadow surged like water, sweeping the headless knight, clad only in rusted iron armor, toward the riverbank.

Specks of deep red, teal, brass, and pallid light peeled off the knight's armor like layers of rust, coalescing on the surrounding ground into glowing orbs.

In the next instant, an invisible radiance born of tangled knowledge surged forth, rapidly gathering around and reforming the figure of Beiernadai.

Beiernadai's gaze swept over the headless knight and the scattered luminous orbs of extraordinary traits, then they withdrew their gaze and looked ahead.

Fragments of brilliant starlight surged from the depths of the Star Realm, converging to form a series of ethereal blue gates covered with numerous mysterious symbols.

The ethereal blue glow flickered, and Lei Ke Dun and Pu La Ke's figures instantly appeared here.

Long time no see, Ms. Beiernadai!

Thank you very much for your help just now.

Lei Ke Dun chuckled, nodded at Beiernadai in greeting, and thanked her for her earlier intervention.

The mysterious queen of the sea? You've already ascended to angel? Tonight's events will surely draw the attention of the major churches; news of your angelic promotion might spread across the Five Seas by tomorrow.

Pu La Ke looked at Beiernadai with surprise; he hadn't expected that the lady who intervened was the mysterious queen of the sea, and that she had clearly ascended to angel, becoming a true apex being of this world.

It makes no difference; my ascension couldn't stay hidden for long.

Beiernadai whispered a reply, then turned their head toward Lei Ke Dun, their gaze slightly solemn, and said in an unusually calm voice:

I received the letter, and that "Witch" card.

She deliberately emphasized the word "Witch", her eyes fixed unblinking on Lei Ke Dun, as if trying to discern whether he had intentionally given her this profane card.

The only Fate Wheel card she possessed was the sole one among the twenty‑two profane cards lacking a portrait; until now she hadn't known that each profane card bore an image of her father in a different guise, and seeing Emperor Roselle on the Witch card left her feeling conflicted.

She paused briefly, then continued:

I hadn't originally intended to come, but not long ago I received some revelation and obtained a prophecy.

I'm curious why the Hidden Sage would proactively influence the extraordinary beings of this path; aside from the moments of imparting knowledge, it rarely makes its presence felt.

"What did you gain?" Lei Ke Dun tried to control his expression as best as possible, asking calmly and curiously.

Beiernadai calmly stared at Lei Ke Dun for a moment, then looked away toward the crimson moon hanging high in the sky, speaking leisurely:

Both, and not.

Since becoming an angel, I've constantly sensed the Hidden Sage's subtle shifts; when I grasp those changes, they only bring more questions.

She paused briefly, then said:

Just now, by noticing subtle changes, I sensed some movement in the Star Realm; the Seven Gods are far less united than the major churches appear, and certainly not as hostile toward each other. They endure and restrain one another, like a delicate chess game maintaining a clever yet fragile balance.

Tonight's events should be deeply connected to you, right? Yet the subsequent developments clearly exceeded your expectations, especially those things that burst from the anomalous "Summoning Gate" at the end.

What do you know about it?

As she spoke, Beiernadai slightly raised her left hand, and a transparent amber flecked with sparkling points hovered silently in her palm; within the amber, gray‑black mist continuously flowed, resembling both order and shadow, indescribable.

Uncertain mist? Upon seeing the thing in Beiernadai's palm, Lei Ke Dun's mind involuntarily sprang up a name.

It feels to me much like the Lamp God, given your displayed insight; you should know something about the wishing lamp, even if that knowledge is considered secret.

Perhaps that's the privilege of those favored by "Knowledge".

Beiernadai muttered to herself as if sighing, her gaze not lingering on Lei Ke Dun, as if indifferent to his reaction; she had already formed her own conjecture.

After a brief silence, Lei Ke Dun lifted his mouth slightly, ready to answer Beiernadai's question, but before he could speak, she abruptly changed the subject:

That Witch card was deliberately given to me, wasn't it? For what reason? Is it related to the primordial witch? Or just, um, malicious amusement?

My father used to have this habit, before he became estranged.

You share many similarities; is this him, or perhaps some shared secret between you?

"—" Lei Ke Dun swallowed the words he had been about to say, not knowing what expression to make in response to Beiernadai's question.

I get the feeling she's uncovered a lot during this time; I thought she'd be eager to search for the original island where Roselle's final tomb lies.

Beiernadai withdrew their distant gaze, their expression tinged with amusement and curiosity as they said to Lei Ke Dun:

You seem to prefer that I find the answers to these questions myself, or wait until the right moment for me to ask him personally?

It would be more appropriate for him to tell you directly; while I don't mind sharing, if I actually did, your old father would probably crawl out of his grave in a fury and beat me up!

Lei Ke Dun replied with a joking tone and a light laugh, then shifted his gaze to the gray‑black mist sealed within the transparent amber in Beiernadai's hand.

Heh, sensing Lei Ke Dun's gaze, Beiernadai let out a light laugh; in the surrounding air, countless cold, indifferent eyes formed from condensed starlight emerged, varying in size, dense and merging into a dazzling, eerie sea of stars.

The deep red moonlight instantly dimmed, the originally slight cold wind that had risen also disappeared, and a dim, deep mist spread around, like a frozen picture, appearing unusually quiet and unusually serene.

Lei Kedun gazed solemnly at his surroundings, discovering that all connections between this space and the Star Realm, the Spirit Realm, and even reality itself had been severed.

Such profundity of secrecy, she should have analyzed the extraordinary abilities of the high sequence of the Night Path, sighing in her heart; he turned his head to look at the object in Bernadette's hand, speaking in a solemn tone:

"It comes from the starry sky; it should be the power of the Indeterminate Mist, namely the remaining part of the Lamp Deity."

"The streams of light rushing out from the Summoning Gate should all be the power of the Outer Gods of the starry sky poured into this world; they differ from the existing twenty-two divine paths, and should still be relatively easy to discern."

"My intuition tells me they haven't been completely intercepted; if possible, please also help pay attention to unusual powers and events later, for if we let these fellows run wild, the destined doom might therefore arrive ahead of schedule."

"Yes." Bernadette lightly nodded in response.

That single brilliant yet indifferent eye around them suddenly retracted; the originally dim deep red moonlight became clear again, and the stalled cold wind began to blow once more.

"Have you finished chatting?" Prak looked at the reappearing figures of Lei Kedun and Bernadette, chuckling as he asked, completely unmindful of having just been isolated outside.

Lei Kedun turned his head to give Prak a slight nod, then looked toward Bernadette, only to see her eyes become extremely deep and vast, obviously losing focus.

A prophecy? An active prophecy? Or did they sense something?

As his thoughts drifted, he heard Bernadette's calm voice:

"Change will begin here; light and shadow will shroud the north and south continents, this is the transformation of the age, a history etched into the future!"

(End of chapter)