Chapter 1036: Act 208 – The Dawn Flame IX
Romaine rested her chin on her hand, looking somewhat bored out the window at the hazy night, her lifted cheek making the Merchant Miss appear a little plump, exuding a lazy cuteness. Unlike typical Erluin people, she had deep brown pupils with a hint of purple reflecting the stars, weaving a story filled with youthful dreams.
“So boring, Himelam, do you really like crabs that much?”
The Priestess Maiden standing beside her blushed and shyly responded, “But Miss Romaine, don’t their shells seem lovely? They’re sturdy and thick, just in line with the teachings of our Lady Goddess—”
“Now that you mention it, they do seem a bit cute.”
The Merchant Miss’s eyes lit up, as if she had found something interesting, instinctively turning to look at the crabs that Himelam had kept in her precious fish tank—after the last batch of pets had been killed by the chubby dragon Shi Ta, Himelam had replaced them with these crabs, as they might not die as easily.
But perhaps due to the sudden turn, Romaine leaned back too far and lost her balance.
She screamed in fright, waving her hands, thinking she would fall awkwardly, but suddenly felt someone supporting her from behind, bringing her back to balance.
Startled, Romaine looked back to see who had helped her, only to find the room empty apart from her and Himelam.
The door was open, revealing a dark corridor outside.
“Himelam, did you just support me?”
“Miss Romaine, are you okay?” Himelam seemed to have just realized.
It appeared not to be her, Romaine looked around in confusion.
“Eh, Brendel?”
“White Mist?”
She called out twice with no response, her brows slightly furrowing, seeming puzzled about what had happened. After a moment’s thought, she ran over to close the door.
…
Brendel looked at the broken holy sword Odrefice in his hand, a realization dawning on him: history never simply repeats itself. The Empire may decay, but this time, its people wielded flame and sword—
Prometheus brought fire to humanity, from this moment on, humanity possessed light.
“Rebellion, is this the belief you carry?”
Brendel exhaled gently, tightening his grip on the sword’s hilt.
“Then—”
“Let me inherit your will.”
Suddenly, a sense of resistance emanated from the sword.
Caught off guard, Brendel almost dropped the sword onto the floor.
“What’s wrong?”
“The sword is resisting me…”
“Why?”
The layered illusions in front of him suddenly shifted, like a film reel. In an instant, Brendel saw many people, many scenes, until finally, one figure froze before his eyes.
That was in the royal hall of the Holy Contipal Palace.
The White Silver Queen Constance, wearing a cold smile, looked down at him from her throne.
“This is…”
Arrogance?
Then, the entire illusion disappeared, and the view returned to the cramped room of Cats and Whiskers, the dim candlelight flickering, occasionally bursting with sparks from the wick.
Sidney looked at him with concern.
“What happened?”
“Failed again…” Brendel frowned, shaking his head. He felt he had finally understood the belief carried by the holy sword Odrefice, but why did it ultimately deny him?
This made him feel somewhat discouraged.
“It’s okay, this is not an easy task,” the saintess of the Lion Holy Palace comforted him calmly, her expression serene. “It’s clear that you’ve made much better progress today than before, so don’t take it too hard.”
That was true.
Brendel was not easily disheartened; he had faced much worse failures, in which he and his companions had almost lost everything.
He quickly adjusted his mindset, replying, “Let me check again; I feel like I’ve made some progress.” He was still a bit incredulous about that earlier scene, eager to clarify what had actually happened.
Sidney nodded quietly.
Brendel immediately focused his thoughts and started checking the holy sword Odrefice in his hand. As he did so, he was taken aback.
Because the sword had not changed; he himself had.
The soul of the holy sword Odrefice—namely, the power of the Fire Gem, which he had never felt before, was now clear within him.
The Fire Gem seemed to have transferred a part of its power into his body.
The most direct result of this was that his two fire element pools had expanded by more than a third.
After a series of battles and growth in power, his fire element pools had originally reached thirty-two and eighty-one points, respectively, and now they had further increased to forty-four and one hundred twenty-three points.
The expansion of the element pools also brought a significant rise in his own strength; his peak power on the side of Truth was now subtly crossing into the confines of Law’s pinnacle.
At this moment, he was but a thread away from touching the top of that towering white spire.
But what shocked him the most was that he discovered he had gained another Travelling Mage privilege.
“What’s going on?”
What exactly happened before?
Why did that earlier scene lead to such a change? If it were to say that he had completely gained the recognition of the holy sword Odrefice, then why did the sword resist him at the last moment?
As he was pondering this, he suddenly heard Sidney’s voice sternly asking, “Who’s there!”
Brendel immediately snapped back to reality, looking up to see the saintess of the Lion Holy Palace, her expression serious as she stared at a corner of the room where nothing was present.
No, it was not empty.
Brendel quickly noticed the anomaly— that corner of the room was fading away, the floor and walls appearing to be consumed by an unseen force, crumbling away to reveal nothingness. This void expanded infinitely, soon covering the entire room, creeping over tables, chairs, and desks, until the whole world sank into a boundless, limitless void.
This was the world of dreams.
The eleventh realm, the realm of the formless.
Here lay the world of ‘nothing’, the domain of Casthinia.
From within the void, a figure emerged, ‘she’ donned a deep purple witch’s robe, her face hidden beneath the shadows of her hood, making it impossible to discern her age, only an elegant, youthful chin could be seen beneath the shade.
Brendel instantly saw the destined star of that being glimmering in the void.
The Star of Confession, the main star of the Lyra constellation.
“You are the witch of the Cup Moon, you are Anwei’s successor?”
Sidney was about to make a move, but upon hearing Brendel’s words, she halted, the saintess of the Lion Holy Palace glaring coldly at the lurking woman, as if she would strike her down mercilessly at the slightest movement.
But the woman merely bowed humbly to Brendel.
“Lord, we witches inherit the power of the twelve months and constellations; this power does not come from any one person. What you speak of may pertain to my predecessor, but that is of no importance to me.”
The woman’s voice was hoarse yet mature, filled with the charm of a seasoned woman, yet it sounded somewhat familiar. Brendel couldn’t recall where he had heard such a voice before; logically, he should remember a voice with such distinct characteristics.
He shook his head, unsure if this was part of a witch’s magic, frowning as he asked, “Are you clarifying your connection?”
He did not rush to act, for the witch voluntarily revealing her destined star indicated that she bore no malice.
At least, it seemed so on the surface.
“Yes,” the woman stated bluntly. “Witches only serve the true Dark Dragon. Lord, I, the witch of the eleventh month, the believer of Casthinia, come to serve you.”
“However, currently, there are two Dark Dragons.” Brendel replied indifferently.
“As the witch who controls the realms of change and creation, it would be ridiculous not to see the shifting fates. No matter how the Twin Goddesses manipulate the threads of fate, I can clearly see the distinct answer behind the chaos.”
“And that is you, Lord.”
Brendel was tempted to mention her predecessor, the earlier mentioned Lady Anwei—though she too wielded the power of change and creation, her choices were the exact opposite of this witch’s.
Moreover, even he couldn’t firmly declare if he was indeed a Dark Dragon; at least from his perspective, he had never thought of himself that way.
However, after considering it, he decided not to voice that concern.
“What is your name?”
“Tier, that is my true name, named after the Cup Moon.”
Witches voluntarily revealing their true names was not a good habit, but they would never lie about the moon they belonged to. This seemed to convey some goodwill, indicating she truly meant no harm.
Yet, that didn’t reveal much. Brendel knew that at least three witches could change their domains. If she were not a believer of the Cup Moon, then all of this would be meaningless.
Thus, he still dared not to trust her easily.
Perhaps noticing Brendel’s hesitant expression, the woman smiled slightly, saying, “Lord, I do not expect to earn your trust right away, but I bring some rather important news that you might want to hear.”
Brendel considered for a moment and nodded. He certainly would not easily believe the information from an unknown source, but even if it were false, it must reflect some intent behind it.
A saying among Bud’s wizards states: ‘A lie does not lie—’, that was the essence of it.
…
Within the Holy Contipal Palace.
The White Silver Queen stood silently before the large arched window, her gaze fixed on the cold white rose garden, the milky moonlight spilling over the tranquil forest, resembling a dream.
“Is that person still near Rustra?”
She suddenly spoke, her voice cold as if frozen.
Behind her, the witch of the Lonesome Moon, Agathlys, stepped out from the shadows, alongside another tall figure.
If Brendel were present, he would surely recognize that figure to be the long-missing Queen Gwendolyn.
But her current condition was not good; her face and body were covered in bruises. Although dragons were hard to wound, once hurt, recovery was difficult.
A layer of black shadow covered her wounds, the shadows seemingly alive, occasionally causing her to grimace in pain.
Yet, the White Silver Queen appeared oblivious to this strange scene, instead looking at the two witches.
“Yes, Your Majesty, they are still there; both he and that girl remain.” The Witch Queen nodded slightly.
“That’s good,” the White Silver Queen replied, also nodding. “The insider has already communicated the message. He must believe my target is that woman, Sidney, so he will definitely show up in person.”
She tilted her head slightly, “I will give him a pleasant surprise; are you both prepared?”
The Witch Queen and Agathlys exchanged glances and nodded.
“In the city, is there anything unusual?”
Witches could eavesdrop on people’s dreams, stealing the secrets within their hearts. With this means, the White Silver Queen had uncovered many of her potential adversaries in the city of Rustra, as well as those plotting against her.
But this time, the Witch Queen frowned, “There are some anomalies.” She answered.
“What’s going on?”
“Over the past few weeks, many people have disappeared from the dream world, and the number of those disappearing continues to rise…”
“Cultist tricks,” Queen Gwendolyn interrupted disdainfully, “There’s no need to worry about those pests; they can’t stir up any waves. Our main target is that person; do not waste too much energy on this.”
The White Silver Queen glanced at Gwendolyn but said nothing more.
Cultists were indeed not a major problem; just a nuisance.
But just then, the Witch Queen suddenly let out a pained scream, her eyes snapping wide open.
The melting silver hue in her eyes swiftly faded, revealing a pair of beautiful, enchanting ice-blue eyes, yet the expression within was now filled with suspicion, as though she had just awakened from a terrifying nightmare.
Yet this nightmare did not end with her waking; it continued.
“Who, who could have solidified the entire dream world of Rustra, completely severing the connection to Burnoson’s realm? Who possesses such power?”
“What’s wrong?” The White Silver Queen furrowed her brows, staring at her.
It was evident she had never witnessed this woman lose her composure before, which made her feel a bit uneasy.
“Someone forcefully interrupted the connection between Burnoson and the current world, isolating everyone’s dreams. Although it was just for an instant, still…”
“Get to the point.”
“I’ve never felt such immense power; it’s as if the previous generation of witches were still alive, and only they would have had the ability to move Burnoson out of this world.” The Witch Queen gasped, speaking rapidly.
The White Silver Queen frowned. Since the age of the Saintly War, it was an undeniable fact that power in the mortal realm had drastically declined. However, this did not mean she could take such an existence that could disregard the rules of this era lightly.
“Who is she?”
“I don’t know; her power feels strange, and she only isolated the dream world for less than half an hour. I simply can’t trace her…”
“But…”
“But what?”
“But I suspect… I suspect she might be the previous Cup Moon witch, that madwoman, Euphilienne.”
