Chapter 868: Painting (Thank You to 37 Great Demon King for Gold Alliance Donation)

Trier, Botanical Garden, inside that wooden house.

Lu Mi'an and the others were blinded for a full minute by the sudden burst of light from high above.

The first to recover was Ludwig, who ran to the window and gazed out at the plants, as if searching for something.

The second was Lu Mi'an, who frowned and said to Flanca, Jianna, and Anthony:

"Has the Vortex officially begun? The commotion is rather large."

"I wonder if it'll affect us," Fu Lan Ka had just said when she suddenly felt a strong premonition of danger.

In this regard, the "Witches" always had strong spiritual intuition.

Almost simultaneously, Jianna blurted out:

"It definitely will—we've got a premonition. We can't stay here any longer!"

Lu Mi'an paused, then whispered under his breath:

"Thermipolos, you didn't warn us because what's about to happen is exactly what you want to see?"

As he spoke, Lu Mi'an gestured with his eyes for Fu Lan Ka, Jianna, Anthony, and Lu Jianuo to quickly gather close, each grabbing his arm, shoulder, or vest.

The only one without the unspoken understanding was Ludwig.

Lu Mi'an looked at the boy and said sternly:

"Do you want to be punished with extra homework? Come here now!"

Ludwig's face twisted with fear; instinctively he turned back toward his body, but the next second he glanced longingly out the window again.

He didn't know what he was waiting for—he only felt he should wait here, for something very important.

"Hmm?" Lu Mi'an urged again.

Ludwig's expression shifted, but finally he couldn't resist his godfather's authority or his fear of study, homework, and exams—he scampered forward on his short legs, grabbed hold of his godfather's black vest.

The unspoken understanding still wasn't enough—the ritual wasn't yet complete… Lu Mi'an sighed inwardly and activated the black sigil on his right shoulder.

He was going to "teleport" this entire group to New Silver City—to the headquarters of the "Fool" Church!

Lu Mi'an immediately saw layered, dense patches of color and countless translucent, strange figures, and the seven pure, bright beams always hovering far above his head.

He was about to navigate the familiar Spirit World toward the coordinates representing New Silver City when his body suddenly grew heavy, slipping out of this fantastical, mysterious, mad, and insubstantial world.

Lu Mi'an found himself and the others back inside the wooden house of the Botanical Garden, exactly as they had been when Ludwig had just grabbed his vest.

Having experienced this before, his gaze sharpened as he warned Fu Lan Ka, Jianna, and the others:

"The 'Man in the Ring'!"

…………

On the original island where Emperor Luo Saier's final tomb lay, within the misty area before the grave.

Three pieces of information, flown out from the light point where the Fateservant Helos resided, landed on three separate light points.

One was where Higton of the "Church of Final Annihilation" resided; another seemed located within a tunnel beneath Trier; the figure holding the carbide lamp wore a long black robe and had features unlike those of people from the North or South Continents—he was Harrison, a visitor from the Isle of Resurrection.

Another light point first glowed dimly, then outlined a figure: a man in his fifties, with thick, slightly streaked golden hair and clear, deep lake-blue eyes.

He was male, his beard neatly trimmed, his features deeply carved—even in age, he remained handsome.

Vazan Sansong!

Vazan Sansong, the "Man in the Ring" of the "Sinners" Organization!

Loxi. Louise Sansong—the father of Aurora's original body, a believer in Fate, Vazan Sansong!

Dressed in a black formal suit, Vazan Sansong vanished instantly into the darkness reflected by the expanding light point the moment he received the information on Lu Mi'an and Ludwig's location.

Higton of the "Church of Final Annihilation" also quickly left his room, no longer participating in this real-time, distanceless complex transaction.

The "Overseer" Perle felt no surprise at this, and in her ethereal, drifting voice announced the progress of the transaction:

"Vazan Sansong of the 'Sinners' Organization has obtained the key intelligence to recover the Fate Angel. The corresponding payment will be made by the Great 'Circle of Fate'."

"Mr. Higton of the 'Church of Final Annihilation' has begun his action. His reward will be paid by Loki of the 'Fool's Day' after he completes the recovery of the Angel of 'Primordial Hunger' and provides minor assistance to Vazan Sansong…"

As Perle's words echoed and the sacred names were recited, the white mist around them darkened irregularly, shadows stirred, as if a terrifying will was about to descend.

Normally, Perle should not have known or spoken of information regarding the Great Ones—that would bring terrible, grave consequences. After all, having persuaded the Gray-leaning "Mystic Queen" Bernadette through prior events, she had only gained a new blessing through a significant sacrifice, becoming a true "Vortex Weaver," still far from the Angelic Rank.

But now she was under the protection of the Vortex Ritual and had just received a wisp of mist from her faith's truth—the "Indefinite Mist"—so she was naturally unaffected. Her knowledge of those Great Ones came entirely from that wisp; previously, she had merely contacted corresponding secret organizations and underground cults to establish somewhat certain agreements.

At this moment, Bernadette dissolved herself into streams of information, surging like a vast, overwhelming flood toward Perle's face composed of mist.

She hoped to influence the other, halting the subsequent transaction without destroying the current ritual.

Perle's mist-formed face instantly scattered and vanished from Bernadette's perception.

The torrent of information surged forward but seemed lost within the white mist, unable to locate the true position of its target.

Soon, the information stream broke free of the white mist and reformed into Bernadette's body, while Perle's face reappeared in different places within the white mist—smiling, cursing, feigning friendliness, chattering endlessly.

These faces converged inward, once again forming within the depths of the white mist Perle's blurred visage—sometimes twisted, sometimes normal.

Perle continued speaking in "Words of Order":

"Harrison from the Isle of Resurrection has obtained Lu Mi'an Li's location and will, after the Vortex Ritual ends, use a special mirror world to travel to Fourth Era Trier. He will pay as compensation a unique item from the 'Fate' Path."

"This is the item the Fateservant Helos wishes to obtain…"

As Perle announced the new transaction, a translucent, phantom figure—only the upper body—grew from behind Bernadette.

The figure looked exactly like Bernadette, even in clothing, and held a pale mask with only eye holes, glowing with metallic sheen, swiftly pressing it to her face.

"The Pale Death!"

Bernadette's other "0"-class sealed item: "The Pale Death!"

She intended to use it to control Perle.

At that moment, Bernadette's vision suddenly blurred, and the surrounding environment and distances became wildly chaotic.

She was passively shifted in position; a deeply familiar low voice echoed in her ears:

"Bernadette…"

…………

Outside the "Black Emperor's" tomb, within the increasingly dense and ever-changing white mist.

Harrison, in a location beneath Trier, within his own light point, pulled out an object.

The object was a bead, the size of a thumb, multicolored, with a glass-like texture, radiating a calming aura.

Harrison immediately tossed the bead into the white mist surrounding him.

Under the gaze of the "Overseer" Perle, the bead passed through Harrison's light point, pierced the thick white mist, and flew into the light point where the initiator of the "Dream Seeker," Helos, resided.

The beautiful woman weaving fate caught the multicolored, glass-like bead with her single remaining hand.

Her tightly closed eyes suddenly saw a vision:

A bald man, dressed in a yellow robe and an odd cloak, sat cross-legged on his bed; behind his head glowed a pure light, its depths seemingly leading to the unknown, filled with hidden things.

Helos set down the bead, plucked a strand of hair, and completed the final step of what she needed to do.

It was a blessing.

A blessing from Fate!

"The Vortex Plan will proceed smoothly."

Helos's black hair, carrying this message, was woven into the previously spun threads.

In a flash, an invisible force tore away a large chunk of skin from the right half of Helos's face, revealing bloody, still-wriggling flesh.

She had not yet become an Angel and could not normally weave fate so profoundly; she could only force it through the goddess's statue, but each segment woven brought severe injury—her eyes had gone blind during this process, her feet, legs, left arm, and fingers broken as well.

Of course, as long as she didn't die on the spot, she could trade with "Brokers" for special remedies to receive corresponding healing.

The "Overseer" Perle's face within the white mist turned its gaze toward another light point.

The scene corresponding to that light point appeared to be an altar inside a castle, surrounded by the mutilated corpses of the sacrificed, their flesh and bones crafted into brushes and pigments.

A man with long hair, vacant eyes, and a mad expression had already completed the preliminary preparations at the altar's center.

It was an eerie oil painting, just two strokes away from completion.

The painting depicted endless, dark starry skies—but on the left, concentric rings of crimson blood, resembling either a special tunnel or the mouth of some creature; on the right, vast quantities of silver-white, black-speckled bone powder, barely missing connection into a complete ring.

The voice of the "Overseer" Perle rang out:

"The follower of the String, Mr. Saeqi of the 'Fantasy Society,' has sacrificed numerous Blesseds and followers, and is about to complete a magnificent and outstanding painting!"

"Next, we shall witness the revelation of that painting. Mr. Saeqi's reward will be granted personally by the Great 'Indefinite Mist' at the end of the Vortex Ritual—the very thing his patroned Great One wishes to see."

ps: Thank you to 37 Great Demon King for the Gold Alliance donation~

I'll complete the bonus update within this week!

(End of Chapter)