[Vol. 8] Chapter 314: The Ring of Heaven and Earth
Even so, it wasn’t really their fault for being careless. Who would have thought that behind the door on the eighth floor of the tower, there would actually be another vast world, one where you can only enter but never leave?
After quickly sorting out the situation, everyone had no choice but to accept reality. They decided to stay in the village for now, learn more about this place, and then make further plans.
Although problems seemed to be everywhere, at least on the surface the small village treated them with good hospitality. Very soon, [39211] returned and brought them to the houses that had already been prepared. They weren’t luxurious, but they were already the best the small village could offer.
Several wooden houses stood side by side. After moving in, Violet didn’t do anything extra. She just quietly waited for the night to come.
This world had no sun, but the brightness of the light did change as time passed. Sitting at the table inside the house, the priestess silently organized the information she had gathered. Finally, when the light shining through the window gradually dimmed, she felt something and got up to open the door.
Outside, it was very quiet. Now and then, a few villagers walked along the distant road, but they didn’t disturb the separate area that was set aside for the group. Violet looked around and saw no one else. Except for the dragon girl, who was also standing outside another wooden house, staring blankly at the dimming sky.
Violet thought for a moment, then walked over.
“Does it bother you that much?”
“Master…”
Xiao Guang turned her head toward Violet. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out. Seeing her troubled expression, the priestess could only give a helpless smile.
“Why are you making that strange face? Do I look like I’m about to die?”
“Don’t say such nonsense, Master! You won’t die. You have to live well, always stay with me, forever!”
She quickly corrected her master with an unhappy look, then hesitated again.
“It’s just that… I still feel unsure.”
Violet smiled, and for once she seriously raised her hand to pat the Dragon God’s shoulder.
“My Xiao Guang has really grown a lot. Being unsure isn’t a bad thing. It means you’ve learned to think, to have desires. You’re no longer just someone’s follower, you’re building and searching for your own value. That’s a good thing.”
“…Master really doesn’t want to ask what I actually want to do? Maybe, if you knew, you would… get angry?”
Violet still just smiled.
“Then wait until the time when you feel I won’t get angry. Tell me everything clearly then. Until that moment, I’ll keep waiting. Just remember one thing, whatever you do, never hurt yourself as the price. Otherwise, your Master will really lose her temper, and the result will be very serious~”
The dragon girl looked at her and nodded seriously, but didn’t say anything more.
Violet also stayed quiet, as if both of them had silently agreed. The girl and the dragon stood outside together, silently watching the sky that was slowly darkening, just like before.
The light dimmed, the world slowly turned to dusk. But even after they waited for a long time, the night they expected did not arrive. Instead, the strange twilight that was neither day nor night seemed endless.
Finally, outlines began to appear in the sky above, making the black-haired girl narrow her eyes.
“It really is spectacular…”
Her guess had come true. Not long after, a sharp gasp came from a certain princess nearby.
“Oh God of Truth! This… what in the world is that?”
Violet turned her head and saw Nitila staring blankly at the sky, completely shocked by the unbelievable sight above. She looked as if she had lost both her words and her ability to think. But it wasn’t just her being overly dramatic, if Violet herself had not seen something similar before in the “Serpent’s Heart” memory inside the Magic Chaos Valley, she too would have been struck speechless.
This tower-world was incomplete and strange. It looked like a copy of the outside world, but because of some special reason, it had features that were different from reality.
For example, during the day there was light, but no sun. A true night never arrived either. Instead, there was only this unchanging twilight. And the reason for this strange cycle was now showing itself in the sky above. An enormous thing that stretched across sky and earth.
The Ring.
There were no sun, moon, or stars. No rising or setting. Instead, there was a huge body coiled in the sky, stretching endlessly and grandly. Its outline was the path of the heavens. Each shining scale glittered like a star. It wound itself around the world, shaping its laws and looking down on the land.
It was the Serpent.
The World-Devouring Serpent, Jörmungandr.
The legendary World Eater.
Or, as some called it—
The Ring of Heaven and Earth.
A different rule of the world. A law not of the sun, moon, and stars, but of an abandoned, forgotten old world.
But this great ring had already lost its spirit. What appeared was only a trace, a remnant. It no longer moved or balanced the world. Its great will still echoed faintly in the void, but its consciousness had faded away from its body.
It was waiting. Waiting for a new vessel to carry it back into reality. Perhaps… this was the true reason the tower even existed.
As the girl stared at the remains of the “Serpent” in the sky, she didn’t notice when Xiao Guang had quietly gone back to the house. At that same moment, a clear and calm female voice suddenly rang out, pulling Violet’s mind back from the heavenly sight.
“Chosen One, may I ask, were you looking for me?”
Violet turned and saw that it was indeed the same girl she had met earlier that day. The daughter of the village chief, the mermaid girl with the number [39211]. She stood respectfully, bowing her head, though her face carried no emotion.
From Nitila, Violet had already learned her true name. At least the name the princess knew her by: Euphelia Mingjiao, a girl of the same generation, about the same age as the princess.
According to Nitila, Euphelia used to be a lively, cheerful person, completely different from this lifeless, mechanical version of herself. That clear difference might be the key to learning more about her… or even about this old world that seemed to have already disappeared.
“I just wanted to talk a little. Is your mother finished with her work?”
“As the only manager of the village, the Chief always has many duties to handle. If you have orders, I can pass them on for you.”
Hearing this stiff and formal reply, Violet glanced at the princess beside her. Then she beckoned to the girl.
“Come closer.”
“Yes.”
Without any hesitation, [39211] walked straight toward them. Violet then pointed to the other mermaid girl who stood nearby, and asked directly.
“Do you know her?”
“Yes. She is one of the Chosen One’s companions.”
“Uh… what I mean is, besides that, doesn’t she look a little familiar to you?”
“No. I have never seen this person before.”
…Well, it didn’t sound like she was lying.