347 Oracle
“Therefore, do whatever you want. No matter what the final outcome is, I’ll begin after you’re done. All of this shall end today.”
Floral and Ebony nodded with complicated expressions and left after hearing the Presiding Judge’s words. Floral used Storm spells to lift the two of them and flew quickly in the direction of White Bone Castle. Soon, they would pass final judgment on the Forest Elves’ original sin, an erroneous timeline that had perpetuated for over 5,000 years.
William felt his heart palpitate as he watched the white gas trails left behind by them.
It was a nervousness that filled his heart, as well as a faint fear.
William had only experienced this feeling twice since he came to this world.
The first time was when he killed someone with his own hands.
William still remembered David Obis. He was a Moon Realm Demon Summoner who used the lives of innocent students as a blood sacrifice to summon a Stumbling Demon. He was a scoundrel with blood on his hands and a sinner who deserved to be killed at all levels.
William didn’t think it was a problem for him to kill such a vile person. That was a judgment that that person deserved. However, what made him nervous and even terrified was that the moment he killed that person, he realized that he had transcendent strength. In this fantasy world that had turned into reality, he really had the power to kill.
Moreover, it was absolute authority.
In this era where Void Sovereigns couldn’t descend into Currere with Their true bodies, he could do almost anything he wanted with his perfect save.
There was almost no power to restrain him from doing anything he wanted.
Although it was legal and morally reasonable to kill such an unpardonable sinner, what identity did he use to carry out the judgment?
To answer this deep-seated question, he made a choice back then.
He used the death of a minor character like David Obis to announce the death of the man named Zhou Mu and the rebirth of the legend, William Kane.
Through his recognition of William Kane’s identity, he kept his erratic mind in check after sensing that he had potent strength.
The other time was when he fought Coles at Black Crow Gaze.
Even though he was facing his former comrade, William didn’t waver.
The other party had done something wrong. No matter how dignified he made it sound, it couldn’t change the fact.
However, Coles’s question back then made him feel uneasy again.
Coles’s idea of leaving a sanctuary for Currere was wrong, but was his own plan necessarily correct?
Or rather, was he qualified to guide the development of this world with his will?
William’s answer was simple. Regardless of whether he was qualified or not, the Moon Realm and the empire were definitely less qualified than him. At the very least, he could kick out those who were even less qualified than him before discussing the future.
This answer didn’t completely answer the other party’s doubts, but before eliminating the empire and the Moon Realm, William could proceed on without any confusion.
This should have been the case, but things never went as planned. Now, a new choice was placed in front of him in Ravenwood.
Was he really qualified to determine the fate of a race’s present, future, and even the past?
This wasn’t a decision between good and evil, nor was it a choice between efficiency and inefficiency.
Countless innocent civilians on a personal level would disappear forever because of his decision. They hadn’t really done anything wrong. Their only fault might be that they were born into this world.
After they disappeared, nobody would even remember that these people had once existed.
Although William wouldn’t hesitate as a result, much less give the higher Moon Realm beings a chance to bargain for his compromise, he had to take responsibility for the choice he made.
Some would weigh on his soul.
The only thing he could do for these people was to tell everyone the truth before everything marched towards destruction—even if this might hinder him.
…
William spread his wide wings and hovered in front of the bloated and rotten World Tree. Beside him, a contracted gargoyle carried Quayle, who had been captured.
“Where is the Oak Council’s headquarters?” William asked calmly.
He wasn’t interested in finding the small fries from the Oak Council, but he had heard Floral say that the core of the World Tree here was guarded by the Oak Council just like the correct world line.
Zamara had previously warned him ‘sternly’ ‘not’ to produce Steelheart Widow’s Origin of the Moon and have it placed together with the Origin of the Moon buried in the World Tree by the Lady of Starvation for resonance. It would briefly cause the two timelines to intertwine.
Therefore, William naturally followed the warning.
Amid the wind, Quayle shakily pointed below the flesh puppet’s body. To be precise, it was in the pregnant abdomen of the fleshy, deformed, female-shaped World Tree.
Just as William had expected, if he wanted to reach the core of Mother Goddess, he had to pass through the other party’s birth canal.
Although it’s only symbolic, this is really…
William sighed with a livid expression and took out an ordinary straight sword from his inventory.
On the bright side, he was acting alone. At the very least, no living person would learn of this.
William turned to look at Quayle, who shivered for some reason.
Before the other party could inquire, William said, “Lead the way.”
…
The tree spirits among the dozen or so subtrees in Holy Tree City also showed signs of pregnancy after devouring their children.
It was an echo left behind by the origins of ancient myths. It imitated Earth Mother’s actions, causing them to also possess a portion of Earth Mother’s divinity.
If this had happened in the distant Bronze Age, these tree spirits could be considered Authority holders with relatively weak resonance.
As for why the resonance was weak, it was partly because the ritual’s reenactment was relatively weak, and partly because too many individuals completed the same ritual, causing a single authority to be scattered.
However, even though their authority was weaker, their true strength could reach the Legendary realm. It was even to the extent that with the augmentation of the territory, their combat strength could compete with a Divine Realm magic chanter.
The tree spirits of more than ten trees in Holy Tree City completed their rituals one after another.
At this moment, in the middle of the Oak Council Hall, a few respected Druid Elders were discussing the current situation.
“We’ve lost contact with the people we sent out. What’s going on? Could it be that the person who destroyed the subtree was really Floral who lost her mind?” an aged elder asked.
Floral Kane was the only person in Ravenwood who could make such a mixed unit disappear without a sound.
“That’s impossible. The great Mother has already informed us through an oracle that She has retracted all the blessings of that unfilial child. Floral is only an ordinary person now. She can’t even deal with the ‘dogs’ she raised, let alone the empire’s ambassador…”
Before another druid in his prime could finish speaking, a fly that flickered with a sparkling green light buzzed in.
He curled his index finger and made the fly stop at his knuckles. Then, he stared at the fly that kept rubbing its head, and his expression gradually turned ugly.
Finally, the fly twisted its head off from all the rubbing. The man swung his hand and shouted in disbelief, “That’s impossible!”
The surrounding people cast their gazes over. “What’s wrong?”
“Floral has returned to White Bone Castle. She and Ebony, who was imprisoned previously, killed everyone who stopped them along the way and she’s sitting on the Withering Throne again. Now, she has used the spell array on the Withering Throne to complete her control over all of White Bone Castle.”
With that said, everyone immediately broke out into a flurry of discussion.
Enso, the leader, coughed lightly and quietened the discussion before asking, “Other than controlling White Bone Castle, did she do anything else?”
“I don’t know. What we can confirm at the moment is that she’s gathering massive amounts of mana through the magic nexuses that cover White Bone Castle. Moreover, she’s constantly releasing demon spirits to send orders to densely populated places near the subtrees.”
“What is she trying to do?” Enso frowned when he heard that.
By sending herald demon spirits to densely populated areas—was she trying to win the support of the citizens?
A tyrant ruling arbitrarily with her own strength wanted to win the support of the citizens at this time?
Although he found this idea ridiculous, Enso didn’t dare be careless at all.
The Oak Council only dared to take action after learning from Mother Goddess that Floral was about to lose her blessing. But now that the other party had recovered the ability to cast spells, didn’t this mean that Earth Mother had changed her mind?
With this uneasiness in mind, he didn’t dare speculate too much about Earth Mother’s thoughts. Therefore, he walked to the end of the hall and stood in front of a stillborn held up by two branches—one withering and one flourishing.
The dead infant’s entire body was covered in psoriasis, festering, and rot, but the area above its neck was intact and fair. A pair of blue glass beads-like eyes stared blankly into the void.
This was the core of the World Tree, the Unborn Fetus.
Enso prayed in front of the dead infant and conveyed his doubts.
He was so pious and focused that he didn’t even hear the continuous explosions and screams outside.
After a pious prayer, he quickly obtained an answer like someone favored by Earth Mother.
Earth Mother’s oracle echoed in his soul.
When your blood dyes the newborn’s delivery room and two different fates intertwine, the destined arrow will definitely pierce Floral’s throat and start a new era.
However, before he could think carefully about what it meant, the door to the hall behind him exploded from a huge force. The few guards guarding the door flew in and crashed into the walls.
A gray-haired human holding Quayle, who had been dispatched by Enso, walked in with a livid expression.
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