Chapter 403: Chapter 403
The sun had vanished completely, leaving the land in darkness, punctuated only by intermittent flashes of light that appeared and then were gone.
To the east of the valley, in the very instant the sun vanished, restless shadows converged from all directions. The Shadow Realm briefly bled into the material world, and at that moment, a deep, untraceable roar echoed in the ears of every Enchanter in the area.
In the depths of darkness lay a more profound blackness, and in the heart of the Shadow Realm lurked shadows deeper still.
A silhouette materialized on the horizon, its form so monstrous it shattered the will of half who witnessed it in a single instant. An ancient being from the Shadow Realm had revealed its true form.
Bevanna stood on the plain, the frigid wind whipping around her, her brow furrowed as she gazed at the colossal figure on the distant horizon.
It was unmistakably an inverted woman, her form sharpening as the shadows coalesced. The dark lines of her body stood out with unnatural clarity against the black world. Even for an eighth-level Enchanter, the sight of that immense form sent a bone-chilling fear through her—a primal dread of a higher form of life, a sixth sense screaming of imminent danger.
Behind Bevanna stood Mr. Smith, the Keeper of Secrets. He held a faintly glowing feather in both hands—the very gift bestowed upon the Nolan diocese by the Sage during the Reading Festival. The soft motes of light emanating from the feather shielded the members of the Church of Knowledge and Books. That small beacon was like an ark in a world-ending flood: fragile yet resolute, a solitary point of light adrift in the encroaching darkness.
"How are the preparations coming along?"
The woman asked, her voice raspy.
Behind the Keeper of Secrets, a massive ritual circle had materialized on the ground. Nine nested rings, representing the nine divine offices of the Moon of No Light, glowed faintly as golden light seeped up from the earth. Follow current novᴇls on novel✶fire.net
After dealing with the followers of the Undying King, most of the Enchanters from the five Orthodox Churches in the Nolan diocese had gathered here. The feather's power protected them as well.
"And what about the people from the Church of the Sun?"
Even in this dire situation, Bevanna couldn't suppress a surge of anger at the mention of them.
"They were too close to the phenomenon. I fear they've likely been assimilated by the Hanging Shadow..."
The Keeper of Secrets answered, his gaze fixed on the ground.
"Hmph. They got off easy," she snarled. "After this is over, I'm going to have a serious talk with those empty-headed fools and find out exactly how they managed to create this mess. This city is not the domain of the Sun. By stirring up this kind of trouble, they've violated the High Tower Accord!"
She turned away, trying to calm herself as she allowed the golden holy emblem to manifest between her brows.
Believers of every Righteous God present had already dropped to one knee. A nun in the robes of the Church of the Unlit Moon removed her hood and slowly walked to the very center of the circle...
Just then, a disturbance erupted from the distant valley. Seven twisting columns of light burst through the canopy of the great tree, soaring into the heavens. The colossal tree itself radiated an astonishing white brilliance, a shockwave of light against the darkened world.
"That's the location of—oh no, Jenkins!"
Bevanna shot to her feet in alarm. "What's happening? Where is the rearguard?"
Forgetting even the ancient being from the Shadow Realm, she was about to take flight toward the valley, but the Keeper of Secrets quickly intercepted her.
"Please, calm yourself! Oh, my God!"
The seven beams of light fused into a single column of pure white, which then began to contract, ultimately leaving only a massive Ankh cross floating in the sky.
"Did the cultists succeed?"
That was Smith's first thought, but he immediately shook his head. "No, that's impossible. Their ritual was fundamentally flawed! How could this happen?"
The gloomy sky was thick with storm clouds, but as the cross appeared, a single ray of purple light pierced the oppressive gloom. Behind the clouds, the sky was utterly empty, save for a single, resolute star hanging in the void—the Star of Destiny, symbol of the New God.
The figure emerging from the depths of the Shadow Realm froze the moment the Star of Destiny appeared, its advance halting. As the star began to resonate faintly with the white cross of eternal life, a pure white radiance began to spread out from it.
The inverted shadow convulsed. A roar that seemed to echo from primordial times sounded once more as the creature recoiled. Its form grew fainter and fainter, finally dissolving into the boundless darkness.
A single beam of light broke through the clouds, and as if on cue, the sun itself reappeared in the sky. The restless shadows receded, and in less time than it takes to smoke a cigarette, everything returned to normal, leaving only the circle of kneeling figures behind.
Without a moment's hesitation, the Church's Enchanters charged toward the spot where the inverted figure had vanished, while Bevanna flew off in the opposite direction.
At the entrance to the valley, familiar figures lay strewn across the ground, nearly half of them no longer breathing. With no time to spare for the fallen, she raced toward the giant tree at the heart of the forest.
The white radiance had not yet fully dissipated. Beneath the great tree, hanging silently over the pool, was the afterimage of a man, inverted and rendered in pure white light.
But Bevanna could see it was merely an empty shell woven from light. The massive burst of spirit had permanently imprinted that single moment onto the very fabric of space. Such phenomena were rare, but not unheard of; more than a dozen so-called "Saint's Shadows" and "God's Shadows" were known to exist across the continent.
She searched frantically, until her attention was finally caught by the mewling of a kitten.
Jenkins lay unconscious on the grass not far from the pool. Beside him was a corpse with a bullet hole in its forehead.
Chocolate stood protectively over Jenkins, hissing and arching its back at Bevanna.
Murmuring softly for the kitten to move, she knelt and checked his breathing. Then, pressing her long, slender fingers to the artery in his neck, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
She glanced around, bewildered, and sank to the ground.
"This is a disaster. Another candidate for Savior... gone..."
Muttering to herself, she looked up at the white, inverted figure hanging over the pool, momentarily at a loss for what to do next.
The recent tremors had toppled several nearby trees, one of which had nearly crushed Jenkins. Its deep roots had been torn from the ground, churning up fresh earth and exposing something that had been buried within.
Bevanna spotted it almost immediately. With a flick of her wrist, the stone slate flew into her hand.
Compelled by an urge she couldn't understand, she began to read the words carved into the square stone slate aloud:
"The bell tolls for the end of days, The second act is now revealed;
Beneath the great tree, a figure in black hangs, The one who holds the key laughs once more;
O Death, have mercy on the world!
O Blossoms, bloom for eternity!
The source of calamity has been shown, Yet pitiful mortals do not yet know;
A god looks down upon you, Shaking his head with a sigh;
A master spies upon you, Quietly awaiting a similar tragedy.
The New God walks at the forefront, Calamity walks by his side;
Yet Fate has blessed him once again."