Chapter 867: The Traders

As each gray-white crystal cluster was shrouded in mist and spontaneously shattered, dissolving into it, Perle's white mist rapidly swelled into a vast, strange vortex.

Within the vortex, the face of this "Supervisor" flickered in and out, sometimes twisted, sometimes normal.

She gazed at the sky, her voice becoming ethereal, speaking in the "Words of Order":

"Bernadette has provided the location of the original island where Rosel's tomb lies, the site of the vortex ritual, and some materials, requesting a gray transaction; her desired reward is for the Great 'Indefinite Mist' to bestow upon Rosel a blessing, bringing true balance to the corruption within His body."

No sooner had Perle finished speaking than a pinpoint of light flared within the white vortex.

Inside the point lay a deep, dark void, at its center a solid, heavy planet, its surface veiled in layers of shifting white mist.

Suddenly, a tendril of the white mist that could engulf the planet split off and drifted toward the edge of the point, where an invisible barrier seemed to exist.

That tendril of white mist spread, becoming insubstantial, then, through the power of the ritual, through the dark chest holding truth, and through cracks on the surface of the invisible barrier, it slipped deftly through and landed upon the white mist that Perle had become, upon the blurred face that alternated between grotesque and smiling.

The two merged as one.

Immediately afterward, a large portion of Perle's white mist split off, flowing slowly like a river toward the "Black Emperor" tomb carved into the hollowed mountain interior, seeping inside, ceaselessly.

The "Mystic Queen" Bernadette turned her body, facing away from the tomb.

Her chestnut hair abruptly parted, and two cold, emotionless transparent eyes grew from the back of her head, while her other features blurred and slowly formed around them.

It was as if another version of her was growing.

Through this, Bernadette glimpsed several scenes within the black tomb, confirming that her sleeping father, Rosel, was now enveloped by the surging white mist.

This tiny intrusion had penetrated Rosel's body, beginning to twist the newly emerging corruption, slowing its pace.

Similarly, it twisted the force that caused the new corruption to die swiftly.

Due to the disparity in quantity between the white mist's corruption and the original corruption, maintaining the ritual for some time would be needed to achieve true balance.

At this moment, the blue sky dotted with white clouds suddenly blazed with blinding sunlight, as if sensing that an abnormal, dangerous gray transaction was unfolding on this primal island.

Perle's face, strengthened by the tendril of white mist from the point, grew even more blurred and abstract; correspondingly, the mist expanded to completely shroud the treeless area, yet stopped short of approaching Bernadette and the "Black Emperor" tomb.

One by one, points of light emerged within this mist.

Perle's distorted face turned toward one of these points, speaking in a more illusory, distant voice:

"The Great 'Supernova Sovereign' agrees to act fully, suppressing the barrier so that all true gods within the Star Realm become powerless to interfere with events inside the barrier..."

As Perle spoke these words, a blinding burst of light erupted within the point she stared at — light so intense it could devour all darkness and blind the eyes of angels.

With this change, the high sky was instantly illuminated, as if a flash grenade had been thrown into a sealed room.

Even Perle, protected by the ritual, had to shut her eyes.

Neither she nor the "Mystic Queen" Bernadette saw the high heavens turn void, where deep within seemed to hang a transparent, heavily cracked barrier.

Within that void floated a sun drawn as if by hand, a colossal entity shrouded in dense darkness, a terrifying figure surrounded by lightning storms, a pair of brass-colored eyes opening within the cracks, seemingly connected to a long body, a corner filled with ears of grain, flowers, and springs, faint glimmers showing blurred scenes of civilizations...

A massive, heavy, densely packed "fireball" crashed onto the cracked invisible barrier, exploding in radiant light that fully illuminated the void and rendered the abstract, concept-like patterns nearly transparent.

This did not trigger earthquakes across the world within the barrier, only briefly blinding those who looked upward.

Perle's face within the white mist, eyes closed, continued speaking in the "Words of Order":

"His requested reward is the breaking of the seal upon the spaceship buried beneath the seabed of Sangtagang."

No sooner had Perle finished than one of the points grew slightly larger, revealing within it a scene of blue ocean.

Finally, the piercing light piercing the barrier no longer blinded; Perle opened her eyes, gazed into the blue ocean within the corresponding point, and spoke in a distant voice:

"The 'Gourmet School's' Topsey is willing to pay this price..."

As Perle spoke, a terrifying vortex suddenly formed upon the blue sea.

From within the vortex rose a monster, dozens or even hundreds of meters tall, its lower body resembling a giant serpent covered in shark-like skin etched with sinister patterns, its upper body splitting into nine necks, each bearing a different head — some serpentine, some resembling giant shark heads, some covered in wet, black-wolf-like fur, others resembling legendary dragons...

The central head was the most peculiar — it looked like a human face, yet bore only a mouth, its teeth sharp enough to crush anything.

This head lunged at the invisible force sealing the sea, frantically gnawing; other heads devoured schools of fish, spat venom toward the seal, or attempted to influence the seal with their own abilities...

"What he demands is..." Perle's voice, carried through the white mist, reached Bernadette's ears, "the return of the angel of the Great 'Primordial Hunger'!"

Outside the white mist, Bernadette had somehow already condensed an ancient, ornate spear — one that had appeared in an unfathomable ancient age, stained with the blood of some great being, its entire body speckled and blotched with dark red blood, seemingly capable of harming true gods.

"Mystic Manifestation" — the "Spear of Longinus"!

Bernadette hurled this ancient spear, radiating destruction, toward the white mist — but not at the "Supervisor" Perle; rather, at the point that had just enlarged.

She intended to halt the upcoming gray transaction, to prevent the vortex from continuing its rotation and bringing true harm — for her goal had already been achieved; maintaining it for a while longer would suffice!

The "Spear of Longinus" pierced the white mist and struck the point showing the blue ocean.

Yet it failed to dim or extinguish the point, as if it had struck a phantom.

As the ancient spear dissolved, Perle's face, wearing an exaggerated smile, turned toward Bernadette:

"The vortex has already formed. Unless you kill me, it will not stop.

"And if I die now, Rosel will never attain true balance, and the fragile equilibrium already shattered cannot be restored."

Bernadette froze.

Immediately afterward, Perle turned toward another point, speaking in an illusory, distant voice:

"The one willing to assist the 'Gourmet School's' Topsey is Mr. Highton of the 'End of All Things Society.'"

The point Perle gazed upon quickly grew slightly larger, revealing a lavishly furnished room.

Inside the room, an elderly man with hair already gray but neatly combed sat quietly upon an antique armchair.

He wore a crisp white shirt, a black suit, and a gray tie; his features were sharply handsome, yet patches of his exposed skin, in various locations, intermittently ulcerated and oozed pus, occasionally crawling with maggots found only in decaying corpses.

His deep, resonant voice passed through the point, entering the white mist, reaching Perle's face:

"But I do not know where the target is in Triel."

Perle twisted into a grin, tilted her head slightly, and shifted her gaze to one of the points above and to the side.

That point enlarged in turn, revealing another room — one without lights, doors and windows tightly shut.

Sunlight streamed through the glass windows into the dim room, making countless dust motes dancing in the air clearly visible.

Beneath those dust motes lay an ancient wooden loom, beside which sat a woman with black hair flowing to her waist.

The woman had an ethereal aura and exquisite features, yet her eyes were tightly shut as she continuously plucked out her own hair and wove it into the loom's dense threads.

Pus-tinged blood streamed from her tear ducts; her left arm had been severed at the midpoint and lay on the ground; her legs, hidden beneath her white dress, were hollow; behind her stood a graceful female statue, originally faceless, but now gradually growing facial features resembling the woman's.

Each hair thread on the loom shimmered faintly, containing vast amounts of information.

As if hearing the "Supervisor" Perle's unspoken question, the woman traced her right hand across several black hair threads entwined on the loom.

The threads she touched glowed, revealing corresponding information:

"The 'Rose School's' Hedonist faction brought the 'Shadow of the Goddess of Beauty' to Triel, to get as close as possible to the Triel of the Fourth Era; they acted with extreme secrecy, undetected by Triel's demigods..."

"The Moderation faction of the 'Fool's Church' discovered the Hedonists' movements and the presence of the key artifact earlier, but, burdened by too many concerns, they delayed action, waiting for the right opportunity to complete their investigation — and thus missed their chance..."

"Lu Mi, accompanied by Ludwig and others, relocated to a safehouse within the botanical garden in Triel's District 14. Had he known this vortex would grow so vast, he would surely regret not having directly 'teleported' his companions to New Baiyin City — but how could he have foreseen it?"

These strands of fate intertwined, forming a foreseeable future.

The illusory, distant voice of the "Supervisor" Perle echoed within the room:

"Heros, the initiator of the 'Dream Seeker' and the Servant of Fate, is responsible for weaving this entire affair, ensuring certain parts proceed smoothly without alerting higher beings; she will also provide the locations of two angels..."

As Perle spoke, the woman named Heros flicked her finger against the fate threads representing Lu Mi and Ludwig's transfer to the new safehouse.

A speck of light leapt out, splitting into three fragments, entering Perle's white mist and flying toward different directions.

(End of Chapter)