Chapter 634: Protagonist Entry
If everything was as Astrid suspected, and the supreme Creator God indeed occupied the seat of honor at the divine banquet, then another question demanded deeper consideration.
Did this entity truly exist at this moment? Or, would It only manifest power commensurate with the inscriptions on the stone tablets when absolutely necessary, capable of manipulating reality across any plane?
Recalling her recent encounter with death, Astrid couldn’t help but ponder, could that force which nearly erased her from waking again have been His doing?
Yet if He truly perceived her as an anomaly from a different era, according to the descriptions in ancient texts, He shouldn’t have struggled to eliminate even a newly ascended early tier Arcanist mage. If He truly was the supreme master who created this world, even if she advanced beyond the Arcanist tier, she would still be regarded as nothing more than an ant or a blade of grass.
Her gaze fixed on the surface of the parchment, Astrid let out a soft sigh and continued reading.
According to the journal’s descriptions, the wine the gods drank was brewed from the elves’ most treasured Fountain of Immortality, their clothing woven from the special essences upon which elemental beings depended for survival, their headdresses crafted from branches of the World Tree, their chairs forged from dragon bones, and even the palace steps meticulously built, stone by stone, by enslaved dwarves.
[Like most deities, the Wind God Veyrith also claimed the title of Eldest Son of the Gods, an immortal being on par with the Sun and the Night.]
[He regards all living beings as dust, tools, or slaves.]
[Any foreign race attempting to grasp the origin of magic would be considered sacred rebellious, punished by having light pierce their bodies, their souls eternally imprisoned within decaying corpses, companions to rot and maggots.]
Viewing all life as slaves, forbidding intelligent races from accessing the source of magic, obstructing their free development of sorcery, and further blocking the Endless Sea while crafting the Gray Mist to restrict their movements.
The phrase "foreign races touching the origin of magic" most likely referred to non-divine beings chanting in the Divine Tongue.
From any perspective, the so-called gods’ actions ran counter to the relationship survival principles of the ancient intelligent races, there was no way they could be anything but hostile.
Given this foundation, what would the Creator God do if He knew?
A slender feather quill gently swayed between her fingers as Astrid crossed her legs, straightened her back slightly, allowing the sunlight streaming through the window to fall on her chest rather than her face.
Was the apocalypse truly a war between the gods and other intelligent races, or was it the wrath of an omniscient, omnipotent master? And could the world’s self-regulating force represent truly His will?
Everything remains uncertain. But judging by the current situation, Ancient Language had nearly disappeared from modern human magic studies, and other intelligent races could no longer chant in it, this clearly favors the gods’ stance. Astrid could only hold a relatively pessimistic view.
The best-case scenario was that the seat of honor was merely symbolic, an empty chair set aside by the gods to show reverence, with the extraordinary entity Himself not actually participating.
As for the other hypothesis... it was even bolder...
When Brennild had attacked her and Lyra in the Monster Beast Mountains, she had been astonished upon sensing the ancient magic Astrid released, momentarily speechless, uttering that particularly puzzling phrase.
Mother’s scent, why would this deity, who harbored such enmity toward humans, feel something like that in her?
Simply being able to use ancient magical incantations shouldn’t have been enough for Brennild to make such a deduction. More likely, she truly possesses some characteristics similar to His mother.
Only one being could be referred to as "mother" by the divine race.
Could it be... that the Creator was actually her unfortunate little sister...
The thought flashed rapidly through Astrid’s mind, then was quickly relegated to the category of extremely low probability.
She was indeed living in a real fantasy world, but that didn’t stop Astrid from using the original plot of "The Innocent Knight of the Stained Light" for logical extrapolation.
Assuming that in the original novel, Lyra was destined to become an unrivaled powerhouse, then the Creator God, who merely exists as background lore, was extremely unlikely to be some author beyond the fourth wall.
He should exist solely within this world’s framework, therefore for readers to understand and recognize.
But then, why did Brennild feel such familiarity?
Astrid, who clearly had no memories of a past life, should have died long ago at this point in time.
Her thoughts grew chaotic, lacking clear structure, possibilities entangled in confusion. Astrid had to accept one fact.
The current information was insufficient for a complete deduction. She needed more information from the pre-human era.
For instance, other similar ancient texts, the wreckage of the fallen Sky City, existing evidence, or the original Holy Scripture obtained by the first Pope of the Lorraine Empire.
The first exists only within spatial magical circles, with all traces erased from the present world. The Sky City was under continuous exploration by Amalia’s orders, but so far yielded no clues.
The closest thing to her right now was probably that original Holy Scripture.
Once she settled accounts with the Kingdom of Velys, she could easily obtain the Old Scripture from Monica under the title of God’s Proxy.
After all, this, who gave off the first impression of a succubus rather than a clergywoman, held an extraordinary amount of confidence in her ability to redeem all of humanity.
..................
Meanwhile, high above the land not far from Capital City, Lyra felt the cold wind continuously brushing past her ears, watching as the tiny speck of the city gradually grew larger. She turned her head and spoke to the blue-haired girl flying beside her.
"Your identity... is rather special. For now, don’t enter the city with me."
"Alright, little sister Lyra."
Understanding the human girl’s high affinity for light, the blue-haired girl, Theresa, gave a slight nod.
"It’s been thousands of years since our last contact with humans. Back then, there was no so-called Valeria Empire, Kingdom of Velys, or Pan-Human Alliance, only the Lorraine Empire."
"A certain degree of caution is good for both of us."
Hearing Theresa’s response, Lyra nodded gently and replied softly.
"Mm, before I leave, I’ll help you arrange lodging in the nearest town. Please stay there for now, Theresa. Once I report to the Regent, I’ll send someone to notify you immediately."
Although the blue-haired, blue-eyed girl appears petite in appearance, but her real apperance, she might not be smaller than a royal palace.
It would be better to settle her down early, rather than letting her fly randomly across the entire empire.
Theresa replied with another soft "alright," then followed Lyra toward Capital City.
"By the way, there’s something I’m curious about..."
As their destination drew closer, Lyra spoke softly.
"Miss Theresa said you haven’t interacted with humans for a long time... how do you speak such fluent Common Tongue?"
"..."
After a brief silence, Theresa replied in a low voice.
"I am from the most learned lineage of my kind. Unlike the arrogance of silver dragons, or the laziness of emerald dragons, I’ve studied the languages of many continental races."
"I was worried the knowledge I learned might be outdated, but now it seems Common Tongue hasn’t changed much over these thousands of years."
Thus, she was able to communicate with Lyra using the language she had learned long ago.
Hearing this, as they approached the town, Lyra rapidly flapped her psychic wings to slow down for landing.
"It’s probably due to the modern magical language system..." Lyra explained gently.
Casting modern spells required mages to chant incantations in standardized Common Tongue, highlighting its importance. It wasn’t surprising then, that it had endured the corrosion of time and remained unchanged until today.
"Though... speaking of being learned, the Regent is also a scholar well-versed in the languages of many intelligent races..."
Her small leather shoes touching the ground, her two silk-clad legs standing straight to steady her body, Lyra gazed at the small town before her and turned to look at Theresa.
"...Perhaps the two of you might have some common topics."
Noticing the subtle sense of pride Lyra carried in her words about the Regent, Theresa felt a bit puzzled, but still nodded.
"I hope so."
The two entered the town. Lyra first arranged for Theresa to stay at the, instructing her not to reveal her identity easily, then withdrew.
The imperial capital was right before her eyes. She wasn’t far from Astrid’s location.
Winds gathered at Lyra’s sides. This wasn’t the royal city, so there were no flight bans, she could return at maximum speed.
Her mental-force materialized wings vibrated the air, lifting her body rapidly into the sky. Lyra activated her psychic energy and advanced towards Capital City.
A few minutes later, at the western gate of the imperial city, watching nobles dressed in fine garments passing by, Lyra waited briefly, showed her noble Marquis badge of honeysuckle to the guards, and entered the inner city.
With the Great Magical Mechanism Exhibition approaching, Capital City was far livelier than usual. Even in the depths of winter, many noble ladies can be seen traveling in small groups. The crowd density rivaled that of the annual Isabelle Magic Academy enrollment ceremony or the New Year’s Eve lantern.
Walking along streets both unfamiliar and familiar, noting that many buildings in the west district had been renovated, and new street lamps installed in several places, Lyra walked with gentle steps, her clear blue eyes scanning the surroundings.
It must have been Amalia’s order... for the upcoming exhibition...
Smelling the faint floral fragrance in the air, politely greeting a few noble ladies she vaguely recognized from passing encounters, Lyra, revisiting old grounds, walked straight through Elizabeth Academy of Magic to the palace’s main gate.
The guards stationed at the palace met many nobles daily and naturally recognized the pink-haired girl’s extraordinary status. She wasn’t just the empire’s brightest rising star, but also the Regent’s favorite.
"No need to send someone to announce it to me. I’ll find Lady A... the Regent myself..."
After informing the gatekeepers, Lyra turned toward the main hall. Her skirt fluttered slightly in the wind as she followed the garden path paved with smooth pebbles straight to the Regent’s chambers.
Along the way, after asking a maid and confirming that Astrid was indeed in her chambers, Lyra’s heartbeat quickened. Her hand gently touched the scarf wrapped around her neck, her blood circulated gradually.
Finally... she will be back by her beloved’s side again...
The high-altitude cold wind that had continuously brushed her cheeks now seemed meaningful, making her footsteps even lighter. Gazing at the magnificent palace before her, she silently counted down the moments, guessing that Astrid was either reading or helping Amalia with state affairs.
Knocking directly might lack a bit of surprise.
After a moment’s thought, she came up with a more romantic entrance. Lyra used the minimal amount of psychic energy to lift her body off the ground.
Meanwhile, Astrid was still reading the translated ancient human travelogue. Evelyn, as the translator, was deeply shocked by the information recorded in the book and insisted on having a serious discussion with her later.
Astrid naturally didn’t refuse the invitation. She also had some doubts she wanted to clarify with the translator, but had been too busy these days. Their reunion will have to wait until after the Great Magical Mechanism Exhibition.
For now, she had to ask Evelyn to temporarily suppress her curiosity and urge to confide, not revealing any information about the book to outsiders, not a personal request from Astrid Calliste, but an order from the Regent.
She trusted this linguistics professor knew the gravity of such a command.
Feeling her eyes growing a bit tired, Astrid sat up straight, switching the order of her crossed black-stockinged legs beneath the desk. Her soft slippers rested to the sides, one delicate, smooth foot with a tempting dark chocolate hue stepping gently on the carpet, the other relaxed and dangling slightly before her straight calf, like a graceful, silken crescent moon.
Just after sipping some tea to ease her mood, allowing her previous thoughts a brief pause, savoring the milky richness and faint bitterness of black tea dancing on her tongue, Astrid propped her arm on the table and faintly felt something amiss.
Mages differ from knights. They didn’t have strong danger premonitions or feelings of killing intent. Instead, they were more attracted to the surrounding elements.
The previously still air had shifted slightly, like a normally soothing melody gaining a faint, discordant note. Not suddenly jarring, but undeniably present.
Above the room... If an assassin managed to sneak in from that position, the entire palace’s guards might as well be fired and enjoy royal prison rations.
Gently blowing across the tea’s surface, letting the rising steam dissolve, Astrid slowly stood and walked to the window, about to look up.
A pair of small, pitch-black leather shoes came into view first, followed by two snow-white, silk-clad legs, smooth and flawless. The pale pink pleated skirt was tightly pressed by the wind, clinging to the girl’s soft, perky curves and slender waist.
"I’m back, Astrid."
The petite figure blocked the sun behind her, creating a lighting angle that could almost be called deadly, yet still couldn’t hide the radiant youth and beauty of the visitor.
With this kind of entrance... wouldn’t Lyra fall through the window in the next second?
Comments