[Vol. 8] Chapter 319: The Deepest Darkness Beneath the Light
As soon as those words were spoken, [White] visibly frowned. It was obvious that what Violet had just said had truly shaken her. But soon after, she only gave a quiet sigh and said,
“There’s no helping it. Your strength is too frightening. To closely watch your every move was simply impossible. Meeting you in the Purple Mist City was purely an accident. But since it was such a rare chance, I didn’t want to miss it. Time was too short, and that was already the best method I could think of back then.”
The priestess also nodded and said,
“Speaking only of that strategy itself, there wasn’t much wrong with it. After all, most of the information you gave about the ruins was true. The forced descent of the Lord of Decay did indeed push the situation to a very dangerous point, making me shift most of my focus there.”
“Taking advantage of that created opportunity, you made a big show, leading us all the way to the imperial capital Frederick City in the east. Then, you naturally placed that dragon scale into my hands, and through that, connected yourself to Xiao Guang, who could really help you.”
“But there is one thing I’ve never been able to understand. The Lord of Decay, as one of the sovereigns of the World Sustainers, is an ancient being that has lived for countless ages. That organization is united and strict in its actions. Logically speaking, no matter how bad its temper might be, it shouldn’t be the type to act recklessly, ruining a grand plan just for the sake of pride or a few words.”
“On the surface, it seemed like it sensed my presence near the interdimensional wormhole, and so it forced its way down at any cost, wanting revenge against me. But thinking carefully, does that really make sense?”
“The Lord of Decay had indeed clashed with me once before in a battle of divine will. As a sovereign, it would know my general level of strength. If it had come in its true body, that would be one thing. But with only the limited form that could squeeze through the wormhole? Against me, the only possible outcome was death. It should have known that. So why would it do something so meaningless, bringing ruin upon itself?”
A sharp light flickered in the priestess’s eyes.
“As the saying goes, when something is too unusual, there must be hidden danger. Rather than believe that one of the sovereigns of the World Sustainers is just a fool, I would rather believe it had another purpose. Perhaps this invasion, this descent, was hiding some deeper goal that would benefit the World Sustainers. A purpose I haven’t yet uncovered.”
“Of course, at that time, it was just a suspicion. I never thought it was actually you two working together, putting on a show of hardship and sacrifice. After all, the aura on you really is that of a pure, holy White Dragon. And you did act like you truly cared for all living beings, showing kindness.”
“But with strange events happening again and again, I started faintly feeling that around me, some very precise conspiracy was secretly moving into place. Your schemes were indeed extremely clever. I investigated many things in secret, but could never find the real key. Even the strange actions Xiao Guang showed after meeting you were blamed on possible issues of her own, rather than suspicion of you, Lady White Dragon.”
“Yet all of this… all of it… was completely blown apart before I set out for the Austre Empire’s capital, by an unexpected piece of news I received.”
“News…?” [White] asked with curiosity. “What news?”
The priestess smiled faintly, suddenly lifted her head to the sky, as if sighing at how unpredictable the world could be, and then said seriously, word by word.
“At that time, one of my companions suddenly came to me and said that during a meditation, she had seen the White Dragon Clan Leader named Cielru White, and received a lot of important information from her.”
“She shared that information with me. At first, I didn’t notice anything strange, but the more I thought about it, the more wrong it felt. According to her, that young White Dragon Clan Leader was still inexperienced, and didn’t seem like someone who could use a god-level ability such as Divine Incarnation. Also, she had never left the ruins and had never met Ricardo at all… so what was going on here?”
“That child could never lie to me, and she couldn’t have been deceived either. So there’s only one explanation, either the White Dragon Queen she saw, or the one I met, must have been a fake!”
“What… impossible?!”
The white dragon girl’s expression instantly changed. More than doubt, it looked like she was struck by a deep, indescribable shock!
Neither Violet nor anyone around her had ever truly met the real White Dragon Queen, Cielru. That was exactly why [White] could make use of this gap to set up her plan. Her knowledge of the ruins and the dragons’ situation was the core of her strategy. With control over the ruins, [White] was confident she could stop the dragon clan from contacting the outside world before her plan was complete. That was the foundation.
But, on the other hand, if something went wrong here…
In just an instant, she realized the critical flaw she had overlooked.
“Who was it… who could pierce through the seal with divine thought and make direct contact with the other side?”
“Sigh… as they say, even the wisest can make mistakes.”
The priestess let out a quiet sigh, sounding slightly helpless.
“From that moment on, I started doubting your identity. Based on that, I began to rethink many past events and people. I asked myself, who exactly are you? If you are not the White Dragon Queen, then why do you have such pure dragon aura and such strong affinity with light element? Why do you know about the dragon clan’s treasure grounds? And why… why do you look so much like the other ‘Cielru’ that child described?”
“I thought about it for a very long time. In the end, I could reach almost only one conclusion. It sounds unbelievable, but rationally, it is the only explanation.”
“Yolandal White.”
Speaking that name softly, Violet looked at the white dragon girl with a complicated expression. The girl’s body slightly stiffened as Violet continued speaking on her own.
“The moment I realized this terrifying truth, many things came to my mind. Why did the Mythical War three hundred years ago end in such a strange way? After that battle, all mythical races disappeared, the Twilight Council was heavily damaged… So who was the power that truly gained the most from all this behind the scenes?”
“When the giant yellow rock dragon that became the [Magic-Devouring Flying Serpent] was dying, I felt the kindness and nobility in its soul. Since it valued dignity so much, why would it steal forbidden things for the sake of the Serpent’s power and run away from its people?”
“And more than that, Bevis and Ashnard happened to intercept it on the way, fighting until both sides were gravely injured. Was that really just a coincidence? Why did they even decide to head to the battlefield of the mythical races? And who exactly was that yellow dragon truly trying to avoid…?”
“More and more strange and unreasonable things kept appearing in front of me. It shocked me deeply, but I still couldn’t be completely sure. So, in order to confirm, before I set off for the royal palace, I made a special visit to the Swift Wind Sect, and asked Bevis Bernard about something.”
“About his teacher, the one respected and admired by all, and also the person who first guided the Sword Saint on his path.”