[Vol. 8] Chapter 129: Phantom of the Underworld (Part 1)
Countless lights and images appeared all at once, like many computer screens running side by side. Violet sat calmly in the center of the magic circle.
Inside her, the Divinity of [Reincarnation] continuously sent out waves of divine power, which she used her divine sense to guide and send to each of the six Gates, keeping everything running and adjusting things as needed.
The space inside the [Six-Line Array Palace] was both real and unreal. It was created through the mysterious and powerful force of [Reincarnation], filled with echoes from the past, present, or future, each one tied to the trial takers facing them.
To manage so many complicated and shifting spaces, a strong "core" was absolutely necessary.
Without one, it would be impossible.
Since receiving the [Reincarnation] Divinity, a gift left behind by the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden she once was, this was the first time Violet had pushed its power to such an extreme.
The [Six-Line Array Palace] set up inside the Holy Capital was not exactly the same as the version built in the Ancient Spirit Realm with Dawn's help and the aid of the local spirit beast elites.
The biggest difference was that this version relied entirely on the priestess girl as its central system. It could be changed and controlled in real-time according to her will, making it far more flexible than a fixed magic circle.
Within the space of the Six Gates, Violet was nearly all-powerful. The divine authority of [Reincarnation] gave her insight into hidden truths and allowed her to do things like.
– Instantly understand what Nolan and Sinong were thinking,
– Forcefully rewrite the original rules of the [Gate of Human] trial,
– Create a version of “herself” within the trial space, one that didn’t originally exist, to beat up a certain swordsman who had improper thoughts about her, even if only a little bit in his subconscious.
If creating a divine thought-clone to control two trial spaces at once was like splitting her awareness into two screens, then what Violet was doing now was like managing over a hundred screens, each showing a different trial space, each with different events.
Maybe back when she first arrived in this world, it would’ve been too much to handle.
But now? Now it was no big deal.
Still, even in this trial completely controlled by her, a few unexpected things had happened.
For example, she had once tried to heal Elunie Light’s seemingly congenital blindness, hoping to help and at the same time investigate the girl’s hidden powers. But the result had truly surprised Violet.
In this world, blindness, unless the eyeballs were forcibly removed, wasn’t actually that hard to cure.
Whether using holy magic or other kinds of healing abilities, even average-level healers might struggle a bit, but a legendary archbishop or someone stronger like the Three Saintesses, or even more so like Violet herself, should have no problem curing it.
But even though it seemed like a simple condition, Violet failed to cure Elunie.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t cure it, rather there was no need, and it would be pointless. Elunie’s blindness wasn’t an actual disease.
More accurately, it felt like a side effect of a special hidden power inside her body, or rather a form that power had taken.
To enter the [Gate of Heaven], the most basic and only real requirement was having a deep connection with God.
You could be like Farnell Stephens, a [God Favored] who carries fragments of a Divinity from fallen ancient gods inside his body. Or you could be like Nolan Sinong, born from a divine bloodline as a member of the Pure Snow Tribe.
As long as someone had a chance to touch the realm of the gods, they could be accepted by the highest of the Six Gates, [The Gate of Heaven]. The easiest way to see this was their ability to read and understand the special language known as [Ancient Niel language].
Interestingly, Elunie’s situation doesn’t match either of those two types.
How to put it…
To Violet, it felt more like the case of Carinvega, a person with no Divinity, yet carrying a deep, mysterious and unknown power hidden inside her body. This strange power even quietly spread out on its own, naturally affecting both Elunie herself and the living things around her.
But as for what this power actually was, or what exact effects it had. Because the power was so well hidden and Violet only had a brief moment of indirect contact. Even she couldn’t clearly explain it.
The only thing she could be sure of was that Elunie’s blindness came from the influence of that hidden power.
It caused a lot of trouble in the girl’s daily life, but at the same time, it also seemed to be a necessary part of how her special abilities worked. Trying to heal it might do more harm than good.
Even if Violet forced a cure, that power inside Elunie’s body would probably make the “illness” return again very quickly.
So in the end, Violet simply gave up on healing her. She decided to keep watching for a while longer and see what happens.
Right now, the second trial of the Six Gates, which was also the most important part of Violet’s whole selection plan, a full test of each candidate’s abilities, had fully begun.
More and more people were getting eliminated in harsh ways, and a few had even been badly hurt or died. But Violet didn’t plan to step in.
According to the original plan, the second trial was expected to remove more than 90% of the participants. In the end, no more than a hundred would be left.
From there, the ones who stood out from each of the six Gates would enter the third and final trial, and that’s when Violet could calmly make her final picks from a much smaller group.
She had already told Philomina everything that needed to be said. Some trials would be dangerous, yes, But as long as these top candidates didn’t get greedy, they should have no problem making it through alive. If someone insisted on risking their life to win, then all Violet could do was respect their choice and quietly hope for the best.
However...
That didn’t include unexpected “outside-the-plan” problems.
“Hah… So it really won’t go that smoothly, huh? Couldn’t help but show your tail already? A lackey of the [Twilight Council]—no… Considering everything that’s happened so far, it’s more likely a [World Sustainer]. So eager to make their presence known, aren’t they...?”
Seeing the black-haired girl suddenly open her eyes and quietly laugh to herself, the dragon girl who had been standing guard at her side came forward. She kindly handed Violet a cup of warm tea she had just prepared, then plopped down next to her, her big tail swaying around restlessly.
“Are you tired, Master? Do you want to take a break?”
Violet smiled and shook her head.
“This little bit of energy use isn’t a burden for me at all. It’s just that a few rats showed up inside, trying to chew on things. I’m just thinking about which cat I should send in to catch them~”
As she took the cup, she suddenly remembered something and asked casually.
“By the way, how is Light doing?”
Seeing that her master had no intention of “taking a break,” the dragon girl couldn’t help showing a little disappointment. But she still gave a gentle nod right away.