[Vol. 7] Chapter 299: The Visitor from Another Realm
After hearing this, both [Desecration] and [Nightmare] fell silent.
As members of the [Five Reversed Gods], and among the closest and strongest followers of the God of Subversion, Exmont, the two naturally had some understanding of their master's group and its secrets. The "Twilight Council’s" plans were terrifying, even they were afraid of them. Unless absolutely necessary, they never wanted to get involved.
Seeing them quiet, the God of Subversion also remained silent, as usual. After a long pause, [Nightmare] finally couldn't help but speak softly, almost like he was afraid of disturbing something unspeakable hiding in the dark.
[Your Divineness... are we really going to...]
He gave a slight nod.
[We either join or we oppose. Just like the great world war that is now building up in the Origin Realm, we gods also face the same kind of choice on a much larger scale. No matter what, we must take a side. There is nothing in this world that can truly stay out of it.]
[And right now, I believe the Council has a much better chance of success than the other side. After all, wasn't it this same choice that helped us avoid the great disaster a thousand years ago?]
[......]
After this short moment of doubt, the voices from the two statues returned, now firm and determined, without any hesitation.
[No matter how the world changes, the “Five Reversed Gods” will always follow you to the end, our great creator.]
[Yes... I know you’re both loyal and good children. It’s just... a pity about Constantius...]
Something in that declaration seemed to remind him of the past. A wave of mixed emotions briefly passed under the hooded figure’s shadowed face, but soon he changed the topic.
[There’s still a lot of missing information. Tell me what you’ve experienced recently. First, did you get the item?]
[Yes. As agreed in our deal, the Austre Empire has handed it over to me.]
As [Desecration] spoke, a platinum-colored scale floated out from inside his slime-like body. It gave off an aura that didn’t match the surrounding darkness and landed quietly in the hand of the God of Subversion.
Though His fingers weren’t even visible, the item stayed suspended in His palm. Strange, reversed laws of the universe naturally flowed out, turning into streams of gray mist that swirled around the object. He quietly studied the scale, possibly a dragon scale, and there was a real sense of joy in His voice.
[Interesting. Even small mortals can sometimes achieve things that even gods struggle to do. This powerful ability that can even tear apart [Fate] itself... it might lead to the creation of something truly amazing. I look forward to the next experiment...]
As He imagined the possibilities, a voice suddenly came from the entrance of the hall, cutting off His thoughts.
"Your Divineness Exmont, you have a visitor."
With those words, a slim figure quietly appeared in the temple hall. She made no sound and left no trace, as if she had always been there, secretly listening in the shadows, only now choosing to reveal herself.
The God of Subversion wasn’t surprised at all. The dragon scale in His hand vanished like a bubble, and He calmly turned around to look at the visitor.
It was a girl. At least, she looked like one on the outside, who appeared very close to being human.
She was wearing a simple black-and-white dress that looked like a maid outfit from the human world. Her long, straight black hair flowed naturally down her back. But it was incredibly long, so long that it touched the ground.
If you looked closely, you'd see that the tips of her hair actually blended into the floor, making it impossible to tell how long it really was. No one could explain how something as soft and fragile as hair could sink into solid ground like it was passing through mud.
It didn’t make sense. When her small, delicate feet, covered by round-toed leather shoes, stepped on the floor of the temple, they didn’t sink or feel sticky. It was clearly just a regular stone floor. Yet her long hair and everything around it seemed to exist in a completely different dimension. As it dragged and moved, it even made gentle ripple-like waves in the air, which looked very strange.
Other than that, however, there was nothing very unusual about the girl. Her face looked like that of a finely made doll, delicate and beautiful. Her expression was slightly stiff, and her eyes were a unique shade of grey, giving her a mysterious air that made her stand out. From any point of view, she looked like a lovely young lady.
But this was a temple built by the God of Subversion in a space outside the world itself. Anyone who could appear here so easily, and show even a hint of strangeness like that, was clearly not just a normal person.
Their eyes met in silence. In the end, it was the god, Exmont, who spoke first.
[...A messenger from the Council? You came faster than expected.]
The girl with grey eyes and hair flowing into the ground quietly stared at Him. Her doll-like face showed no emotion. After about two or three seconds of pause, she finally spoke, like her words had been slightly delayed.
“Yes, I’m a visitor from the Twilight Council. But the one I represent this time is very special. I didn’t come just to deliver an invitation, so I ask Your Divineness to be extra careful.”
“Oh?”
The tone that came from under Exmont’s hood held a hint of surprise, like He had just heard something quite unexpected, but He quickly returned to His usual calm.
[For even you to call it ‘special’... this visitor must be someone important. Who is it?]
After another slight pause, the girl nodded slightly.
“It is the Second Seat of the Council, Her Divineness the God of Past and Future, Hen. She is just outside the temple right now.”
“...?”
……………………………………………
Elsewhere...
“So, in the end, you still let that guy go?”
In Sainz city, inside the First District’s [Tower of Origin], a certain private and very special room was hidden away. Violet, who had just finished dealing with the recent crisis, had come here with a high-ranking Academy figure to take care of some follow-up matters.
Now, it had been three full days since the chaos that broke out during the grand assembly came to an end.
Leaning against a wall that was pure white and looked like it was made from some kind of unknown fused metal, a priestess in a simple white robe stretched her arms casually. The robe almost made her blend into the wall.
“Yeah. Even though Timos Young’s position isn’t very clear, he’s basically just a half-ally, he did help me at a key moment, which was really important.”
“And what he said makes sense too. If you think about it, even without the Immortal Magician, a lot of bad things would’ve still happened one after another. Letting him move freely actually helps us reduce the damage and secretly keep an eye on the Twilight Council and the Austre Empire’s actions...”
The girl tilted her head, poked her soft cheek with a finger, and laughed as she brought up something she’d been wanting to joke about.
“I understand why you're hesitant. What’s that old saying again... 'We can't trust trees, because they’re always leafing'.”
“......”
"You don't get it? Like... because they leaf... as in leave..."
"......"
“My bad… ahem… Well, I suppose that’s fair. You were the one who caught him, so it’s your call how to deal with him. I don’t really have the right to interfere.”