【Perished?】
Violet didn’t quite understand.
【What do you mean by “perished”? Does it mean the consciousness dwelling inside dissipated? Like the one I smashed underground in the Forest of Calamity before...】
【No, it’s a difficult situation to explain. It lost its origin, its existence fundamentally stripped away from the Goddess of Earth. If we have to make a comparison, it’s like a magical beast losing its magic core, where most things are still preserved.】
【Uh, so the resonance you sensed...】
【Yes, to be precise, what this form sensed should be the “corpse” of the fragments. This subtle difference is something I only noticed when attempting to connect my thoughts and communicate with it.】
【We, these fragments, aside from the fundamental divine source, each carry a part of Seth’s memories. This book should have recorded it in written form, but due to losing its origin, it has become what it is now.】
【Wait, hold on a moment. What is this so-called undying soul source you keep talking about?】
Sethlin’s weak voice paused for a while, seemingly pondering how to explain.
【You can understand it as divinity, or call it a divine rank. It is the fundamental entity that carries the power of the Goddess of Earth and qualifies one to be a “god.” Does that make sense?】
【Divinity... rank?】
Wait a minute, this divinity Sethlin mentioned, does it have anything to do with the divine rank, something like the bound special equipment divine rank “Radiance” that I currently possess from the “Illusory World”?
No, no, no, thinking about it is too far-fetched. Even though there is a name like the divine race, I am a player from the game, and I have no connection with the native gods of this world.
It’s probably just a coincidence.
Seeing Violet remaining silent for a while, Sethlin likely thought she was contemplating and continued to explain with an increasingly weak voice.
【Originally, I wanted to try to reclaim the memories and power remaining in this “corpse,” but it far exceeded the carrying capacity estimated for this form. This fragment... may have been tampered with by someone.】
【Pfft, so you ate too much and burst your stomach before?】
【...What a strange analogy is that?】
Sethlin and Violet both fell into silence. Even though the priestess deliberately used a light tone to ease the atmosphere, it couldn’t change the fact that the former had been severely damaged.
After a while, Violet tried to convey her thoughts.
【Could it be the work of the Winged Ones?】
【I don’t know, but an entity capable of taking away the origin must also possess a part of the divinity itself, just like when this form absorbed another fragment before.】
【Alright, then I’ll provide you with more soul power. Can’t it recover quickly?】
【I’m afraid not. Your soul power is indeed pure and powerful, but it ultimately belongs to Violet and is an external force. You should have heard the term “inability to fill the void.” This form is like that now.】
The priestess fell silent again. If it were a living being, she would have countless means to facilitate recovery, but at the soul level, Violet was still a novice.
【Violet, I’m so tired... This form will soon fall into a deep sleep, and maybe... I won’t be able to communicate with you again for a while. I’m sorry... Even though you’re trying so hard to help, I...】
【It’s okay. You rest. It was indeed my carelessness this time. I will investigate as much as possible about the clues of the person who took away the fragment’s origin. This matter is probably not simple.】
【Hmm... Take care of yourself. From the residual memories of this fragment, I saw some things... Be cautious... Underneath the abyss...】
Sethlin’s voice gradually lowered until it vanished completely, and the faint blue light lingering on the statue also completely faded away.
After a while, the black-haired girl removed her fingers from the sculpture.
“Underneath the abyss...”
“Master, have you finished? What’s the situation now?”
Seeing Violet looking serious all of a sudden, the little dragon girl didn’t dare to disturb her until the radiance subsided. She blinked her eyes and spoke.
“Let’s consider it finished for now. But this matter is probably much more complicated than I imagined... It’s interesting, the soul source of the Goddess of Earth... the divinity. Who would need such a thing?”
Then, Violet briefly recounted what had just happened to Xiao Guang, stowed away the wordless book and the now motionless stone statue back into her inventory, and sighed in relief.
“Alright, alright. When we get to the mountain, there will be a way. It’s useless to think too much now. After all, it’s not my duty or responsibility. Even if the sky falls... even if something comes out of the abyss, we still have the Feathered Emperor and the Wings of Freedom to rely on~”
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The little dragon girl looked at her master with a strange expression.
“Is that so? I feel that with your personality, when it comes to such ‘interesting’ matters, you would be the first one to get involved.”
“Cough... What nonsense are you talking? Sleep, sleep!”
Then, nothing happened throughout the night.
In the following three days, the delegation from afar stayed on the Spryce Island, taking a good rest.
During this time, Violet gained a deeper understanding of the local customs and practices.
The Winged People were simple in character, and there were rarely thefts or raids in the city. Even if they did happen, it was mostly caused by outsiders, with humans and human hybrids being the most common. No wonder Hilda had suspicions about the winged sisters accompanying Violet initially.
Certainly, this doesn’t imply that there are especially many bad people among humans. However, the largest settlement of the pure human race, the Human United Kingdom, is located southwest on the continent, just one barren belt away from the Azure Sky Kingdom.
To the west of the Human United Kingdom lies the primitive and backward Beastman Kingdom, bordered by the continuous Demon Mountains to the north. To the east is the vast and sacred Holy Empire in the central part of the continent, which upholds justice and order.
Every year, a large number of lawbreakers are either expelled or flee the Human United Kingdom for various reasons. Compared to the other three directions, the chaotic barren belt undoubtedly serves as the most suitable refuge for them. It can even be said that this is one of the significant reasons for the formation of this region.
A portion of these individuals, due to being wanted and unable to return to the Human United Kingdom but reluctant to stay permanently in the barren belt, coupled with the generally kind-hearted and hospitable nature of the Winged People, who are easy to trust others, naturally flowed toward the more southern Azure Sky Kingdom.
The same method that captured Leila and Rene’s trafficking group three days ago may have been used in the past.
Nevertheless, even with such a situation, most Winged People still did not particularly discriminate against or reject humans. Violet enjoyed a quite relaxed and pleasant three days of leisure in the Spryce City.
There was only one thing that the priestess was particularly concerned about.
Since the night three days ago when she parted ways with Hilda at the underground Fragrance Auction, Hilda, who she thought would visit the next day, did not appear. Even in the following three days, Violet had not seen the white-feathered Winged Person.
Even the “Fragrance Residence ” unexpectedly closed temporarily and hung a sign saying “Business Suspended.”
Violet had inquired with Felina about this and expressed her doubts. However, even the head of the delegation, when she went to inquire at the contact point with the Azure Sky Kingdom, was told by the Winged People serving her that “Lady Hilda currently has important matters to attend to and has left Spryce Island. They do not know where she went.”
Since even Felina, representing the official stance of the Human United Kingdom, couldn’t reach her, Violet had no choice but to give up.
Although the uneasiness brought about by the wordless book made the priestess wonder if something big had happened, considering that the three-day deadline was already negotiated in advance by the Winged People, there should have been anticipation.
Hopefully... nothing goes wrong. They’ve just arrived at the border of the Azure Sky Kingdom.