Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1173: Chapter 1172: Surprise and Astonishment

In the defied Court shrouded in endless darkness and depths of chaos, today was, as always, peaceful and serene—Amoen, the Giant Stag, lay motionless, nestled between floating boulders and fragmented ancient debris, his whole body bathed in a faint sacred radiance. Goddess of Magic today did not immerse herself in the neural network but silently circled around Amon.

This scene looked like an enormous ghost as big as a clock tower floating around the God of Nature.

After circling around for what felt like countless times, Amon finally couldn’t help but break the silence: "Haven’t you circled enough?"

"I’m just afraid that if I connect to the network, you’ll turn around and report me to the Administrator," Goddess of Magic finally stopped, glaring fiercely at the God of Nature with eyes shrouded in mysterious mist, "I’ve finally discovered that your usually honest and simple nature is truly indefensible when you become devious—I help you so much, and you just report me?"

"...Didn’t you have a lot of fun last time playing cards..." Amon muttered helplessly, "Even Duvalt surrendered, and you didn’t want to leave that space..."

His response was a sharp glance from Goddess of Magic and an extended period of silence within the defied Court.

After some unknown time had passed, Amon’s voice finally resonated in the dim chaos: "These days... time really flies by."

Goddess of Magic looked at him quietly for a few seconds: "Wasn’t time fast before? Thousands of years, tens of thousands of years, gone in the blink of an eye. Before we knew it, the mortal dynasties had changed generation after generation... so fast that even gods felt dizzy."

"It’s not the same," Amon murmured softly, "At that time, time for me felt like a loop of endlessly repeating illusions. The world might have changed rapidly, but none of it mattered to me. The millennia I experienced felt like repeating the same long day over and over. But now, the time we experience is at least our own."

"Why did you suddenly start lamenting about such things?" Goddess of Magic remained quiet for a moment, then finally sat down near a large boulder beside Amon, "Isn’t it also happy to immerse in the neural network every day and not think about anything?"

"I just suddenly thought... how much longer can our time like this continue," Amon’s voice was calm, so calm that it was impossible to discern his true emotions at the moment, only that the luminous white radiance enveloping him seemed to dim slightly, "You often ventured deep into the shadow realm before; you should know the situation there... the border of the Deep Realm shouldn’t be very stable recently, right?"

"I didn’t expect that lying here for three thousand years wasn’t a complete waste of time," Goddess of Magic was a little surprised as she looked at Amon, then she shook her head, "Deep Realm... Deep Realm is still that same Deep Realm, maintaining a near and far overlapping state with the deep sea, you know, I wouldn’t dare really get close to its border—I might get reconnected. But I can still sense the clear echoes of mortal thought trends there, and those echoes outline the border of the Deep Realm. In general, the border is fairly stable."

"That’s somewhat good news... You know, when that minor chaotic wave came seven hundred years ago, nobody knew whose hand ignited the Well of Deep Blue, though that insane move indeed stopped the wave from further overflowing, it nearly disrupted the mapping between the Deep Realm and the upper domains. At that time, that border was almost erased..."

"Who wasn’t scared at that time? I almost fainted from fright. Such a huge Well of Deep Blue, boom, and it exploded. I happened to be on the edges of the thought trends observing human mages researching arcane purification experiments, and then it felt like ’boom,’ and all connections with the real world were severed. Next time I opened my eyes, the entire Gondor was gone..."

Amon quietly listened to Goddess of Magic’s exaggerated and un-goddess-like account, then suddenly asked after she finished speaking: "Tell the truth—wasn’t it you who detonated the Well of Deep Blue?"

"Why would you suspect it was me?" Goddess of Magic immediately looked at Amon like he was a fool, "A deity like me who avoids even mortal prayers whenever possible, do you think I’d voluntarily do something this difficult that could get me caught in the act, especially when I was reacting a step too slow and couldn’t even realize the sun’s trajectory issue..."

Amon remained unaffected and quietly stated his judgment: "The Well of Deep Blue is the source of magic power, and detonating it requires guiding extremely strong raw chaotic magic; hence, you’re the most likely candidate. As for the motive... even if you’re unwilling to assume your responsibility, you are still a goddess born from mortal thought trends, and protecting mortals is your highest instinct, unrelated to personal inclination."

Goddess of Magic stared at Amon’s eyes, seemingly cast from molten crystals, and after a couple of seconds of face-off, she chuckled and shook her head: "...At this moment, I indeed hope to be the deity who took a brave step to protect mortal civilization back then—but regrettably, the one who detonated the Well of Deep Blue over seven hundred years ago wasn’t me."

"It really wasn’t you?" Amon’s voice suddenly carried a tint of surprise, "Then who could it be?"

"I don’t know, but many gods formerly safeguarding the Gondor Empire could have possibly done it. You’re the principal deity of the elf series and haven’t paid attention to the human world for three thousand years, so you’re probably not completely aware of the Well of Deep Blue. Your impression of it... is somewhat inaccurate.

"It is indeed a powerful energy source, but it shouldn’t be narrowly referred to as the ’source of magic power’. Deep within the surging magical vein flows of the Well of Deep Blue lies a vast ’network’ spanning the entire planet, with even tributaries in multiple realms; it resembles a complex canal system including above-ground rivers and underground veins. This complex ’canal network’ does not only contain raw chaotic magic but also includes tides from the elemental world, echoes from the shadow realm and deep shadow realm, and even parts of mortal thought trends can connect with its deep tributaries—so more than just one ’Goddess of Magic’ can meddle with the Well of Deep Blue.

"Elemental Gods, Holy Light, Blood God, even the three goddesses of fertility—and even the straightforward War God—as long as they had the idea, they could have detonated the Well of Deep Blue."

Listening to Goddess of Magic’s recount, Amon fell silent, not doubting this Goddess of Magic’s judgment on the Well of Deep Blue issue but more puzzled due to the answer she provided. Deep in thought, he finally broke the silence: "No matter who took action back then, they couldn’t have walked away unscathed from such a massive explosion..."

"You’re right," Goddess of Magic nodded, "Although I can’t find any clues, simple calculations can deduce how large the impact of that explosion was. It didn’t just destroy a human empire in the real world—the recoil energy should have been enough to break the kingdom’s defenses, severely injuring the deity who acted at that time. Of course, all of this was seven hundred years ago; mortals have since prospered anew, and apart from us a few who escaped responsibilities and that unlucky War God, the deities’ followers are now even more numerous compared to back then... The brave one who detonated the Well of Deep Blue should have undoubtedly recovered by now."

Amon did not speak for a moment, only quietly whispering to himself after a while: "...Whoever they were, they have my respect."

Goddess of Magic nodded, seemingly eager to say more, but before she could speak, she sensed new presence appearing in this chaotic dim space. She looked toward the direction where the presence originated, with what seemed to be a hint of a smile appearing on her face hidden under the mysterious fog: "Looks like we have an unexpected visitor to our little courtyard."

Amon also sensed the appearance of the presence but immediately objected to Goddess of Magic’s words: "This is my courtyard—you are the one stubbornly refusing to leave!"

"Don’t worry about such trivial matters, as if you’re truly the owner here," Goddess of Magic casually responded, immediately turning her attention to the figure whose shadow was crossing through the great barrier and heading toward them. Once the person approached, she spoke again, "Gawain, how come you have the time to visit here today?"

The one who appeared in the defied Court was none other than Gawain, who had just rushed here from town—he did not bring any attendants, coming alone to the deepest part of the defied Fortress. However, at this moment, behind him, in the Imperial Computing Center of Cecil Castle, numerous technical personnel had already taken their positions. The Anti-Divine Barrier and Non-directional Thought Trend were prepared, several security teams, twelve Node Scholars, and Nariteer Duvalt were all focused on the circumstances within the defied Court.

Having crossed a virtual isolation wall formed by holographic projections, Gawain arrived at this "resting place for gods," which was composed of countless fragmented floating boulders and ancient ruins. He stopped in front of Miremina and Amon, raising his head to gaze at a giant lady whose lower half seemed to coalesce like mist, her face tinged with confusion.

"I’ve come to consult you on a few matters, Lady Miremina."

"Consult a few matters?" Miremina’s tone lifted slightly, and at the same time, she noticed changes in the ancient magical devices arrayed around them. Many items that were operating at low power suddenly increased their output, crystals originally stuck in slots floated into the air, dim magic symbols brightened, and blue-white sparks leaped between some metal frames. A humming sound of equipment operation echoed from all directions, the sound becoming louder and louder.

The immense and complex Defense system had been activated, and its mobilization was quite astounding—Miremina’s eyes, hidden in the mist, visibly flickered. Her voice came from high above, "It seems your questions are not ordinary, Gawain."

"...Can’t you ask elsewhere?" Amon’s voice followed closely. He too noticed the protective devices that suddenly started operating at high power, immediately sensing a hint of ominousness, "I just wanted a quiet moment..."

"There’s only so much protective equipment; they can’t be moved," Miremina lightly glanced at Amon, "Why don’t you move somewhere else?"

"...Forget it; pretend I didn’t say anything," Amon sighed, "I’ll just try not to hear."

"No need to be so tense," Gawain couldn’t help but smile slightly, looking at the two retired gods who were increasingly exhibiting "human-like" behaviors. Their manner of conversation, which lacked any divine dignity in his eyes, instead was the greatest news. After all, the more their personalities leaned toward mortals, the more the divine chains upon them diminished, "This is just a precaution; I haven’t yet determined whether the matters I want to consult involve the bridge between humans and gods—this could just be an ordinary chat that won’t hurt anyone..."

"Do you believe what you’re saying?" Miremina asked, "What’s going on with that dragon named Melita Ponia?"

"...That was due to lack of experience at the time," Gawain responded instinctively, then quickly realized, "Wait, how did you find out about her?"

"We asked while playing cards with Lady Enya..." Amon immediately chimed in.

Gawain: "..."

So what exactly are these three retired gods up to in their free time? Are they burning the Empire’s most advanced neural interfacing equipment just so they can gather together and play cards?

The sudden and impactful revelation nearly caused Gawain’s thoughts to lose cohesion, almost making him forget why he came today. But fortunately, after a brief pause, he managed to pull himself together, clearing his throat to break the awkward silence and focus his thoughts back on Miremina.

"Lady, I want to know about the Violet Kingdom."

Miremina blinked: "What kingdom?"

"The Violet Kingdom."

"Violet Kingdom?" Miremina’s voice carried genuine confusion, as if she needed a moment to connect this name with her memory. She slowly spoke, "I’ve recalled... there indeed is such a country in the mortal world. But why are you suddenly inquiring about them?"

"The actions of this country are too mysterious, and we’ve recently discovered many suspicious aspects in their activities over the past six hundred years. I’m now worried they pose some... potential threat to the new alliance," Gawain said while carefully choosing his words, "Of course, without enough evidence, I cannot rashly reach such a judgment about any country, so currently, this is merely suspicion. That’s why I came to you for confirmation..."

"I understand what you mean, but why are you asking me?" Miremina still seemed somewhat puzzled.

Now it was Gawain’s turn to be stunned. He looked up at the former deity before him: "That’s of course because Violet is a wizard nation, and you are the Goddess of Magic..."

"But those wizards are not my followers," Miremina said casually.

The defied Court fell silent at once, and both mortals and gods quieted down, leaving only the buzzing sound of the magical devices running at the scene.

"...You’re saying, the wizards of the Violet Kingdom don’t believe in you, the Goddess of Magic—and it’s not just one or two; none of them believe in you?" After a long time, Gawain finally reacted from the shock. Gazing at the deity who once held sway over magic in the mortal world, he felt incredible absurdity and shock, "Not a single follower within the entire Violet Kingdom?!"

"Yes," Miremina answered as if it were completely natural, "Violet wizards and I have no connection, and from the day I gained consciousness, I haven’t established any ties with any creatures on that land. Okay, I know this sounds quite strange..."

(System glitch, republishing)