Published at 22nd of March 2023 11:40 am

Chapter 575.2: The Light in the Abyss (2)

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【Return successful】 【Landing point has been altered due to an unknown interference】

【Checking user’s condition】 【Scanning surroundings for danger】 【Detected Danger Level: High】

【Activating emergency protocol】 【Probability of Bloodline Awakening: 100%】 【Commencing bloodline awakening. Please look for a safe area】

“…”

The first thing Roel heard upon regaining consciousness was the emergency notifications from the System. Following that, he became cognizant of the cold and damp ground he was lying on, as well as the faint light in the surroundings.

An irrepressible heat then began engulfing his body.

It was unbearable. He was unable to get rid of the heat no matter what he did, as if his blood itself had been transformed into lava. In fact, this sudden surge of heat was probably the reason he had suddenly regained consciousness.

This was a side effect arising from the System initiating his bloodline awakening. It was abrupt, but he understood the rationale behind it.

Roel’s condition was so poor that even movement was arduous.

His body had barely recovered and his soul was still in the midst of stabilization. Even though the Mother Goddess had returned him his Origin Attribute, he still hadn’t fully assimilated it yet. That meant that his Origin Attribute would not react to his mana as and when he needed it.

That was a huge problem for a transcendent.

But the final blow came from the danger Roel had encountered in the spatial crevice. While the Collector’s ploy was foiled due to the obstruction of an unknown power, Roel still sustained huge damage when he urgently altered his landing point at the last moment by exerting his bloodline. The impact caused by the spatial distortion wasn’t as simple as just spraining one’s hips.

On top of that, even though he had averted the worst-case scenario, he wasn’t out of danger yet. There was clearly danger lurking in his surroundings, leaving him no room to slowly recover. He had to quickly regain at least sufficient strength to freely move about.

He spent a moment lying on the ground before struggling to open his eyes. The first thing he did was to confirm his equipment.

His clothes and equipment had been changed when he entered the Witness State due to the effects of the substitution. While the System’s meticulousness in avoiding anachronisms was extremely useful in that context, he direly needed some of his old equipment now that he was in no condition to move.

Roel slowly lowered his head.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his items and equipment were those he had before entering the Witness State. He reached for his waist, and he felt reassured to find a dagger there.

Following that, he began scanning his surroundings.

Weeds and greenery thrived around him. The ground was a little damp, suggesting that it might have rained a few days earlier. The setting red sun brought him a little warmth, but it signaled the imminent onset of the night too.

No traces of human activity.

Roel’s heart sank at that realization, but he wasn’t too surprised, since human civilization only occupied a small portion of the Sia Continent. For the time being, he decided to heed the System’s advice and find a safe place to tide him through his bloodline awakening.

He took another look at his surroundings, and a dead giant tree with a hollow in its center quickly caught his attention. He tightly grasped the dagger on his waist and slowly channeled his mana into it before hoarsely invoking its special ability.

“The Unruly.”

With a soft murmur, Roel’s body abruptly vanished and reappeared a hundred meters away. After three consecutive leaps, he successfully landed inside the tree hollow.

Cough cough.

The cloud of dust that flew into the air when Roel landed on the ground induced a series of coughs from him. Nearby creatures quickly fled upon sensing his aura. He took a moment to catch his breath before sitting upright. He rested himself against the tree’s inner wall before taking out his handy staff.

His weakened condition meant that he couldn’t open the windows linked to the ancient gods for the time being, so the Nine-headed Serpent Staff was devoid of the Primordial Earth Goddess’ divine golden glow. However, this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was better to rely on a more intimidating demonic beast given the circumstance he was in.

As he slowly channeled his mana into the staff, the Nine-headed Serpent manifested from the bottom of the staff and slithered out of the tree hollow. The malevolent aura emanated by the ancient demonic beast chased away all hostile creatures that were ravenously eyeing him.

Roel heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that he was safe for the time being.

He took some time to set up some defensive measures before finally sparing time to think about his current situation.

First and foremost, he was highly apprehensive of what the Collector had pulled off earlier. There was no doubt that the latter had prepared this for a long time now. He knew that it hadn’t taken him long to travel through the spatial crevice, but somehow, the Collector managed to exploit this short window to drag him toward where the Savior was.

A great deal of preparation would have surely been required to pull off something like this.

The most pressing problem on Roel’s mind was whether the Collector could find him. Encountering the Collector in his current state spelled certain death. Just the thought of it hastened his heartbeat.

But upon calming down and rationally thinking about it, he shook his head.

He had altered his landing point at the very last moment. The Collector might be able to guess the rough direction he was in, but it would take him time to determine his exact location. This meant that he should be safe from the Collector for the time being.

Having figured out the first issue, he turned his attention toward analyzing the speck of light he had encountered inside the abyss that had saved his life.

“What in the world is that…”

Roel tightened his grip on his staff as a perplexed frown formed on his forehead.

He vaguely remembered having seen something familiar when he went up against the Treant High Priest, but his consciousness was too blurred back then to figure out anything meaningful from it. However, it was different this time around.

It was not just his soul but his entire body that was transported to the Savior’s dwelling, and his consciousness wasn’t blurry either. He was certain that some kind of power had helped him, but he didn’t know what it was at all.

“Judging from the direction, the light originated from the abyss where the Savior dwelled?” Roel murmured contemplatively.

The more he thought about it, the more clueless he felt. He could only rack his brain and individually analyze every possibility he could think of. It was only when the sun went down and the silver moonlight shone on him through the tree hollow that his thoughts were cut short.

“Mother, you… Ah.”

It was only when Roel raised his head and dazedly looked at the silver moon that it struck him that he was no longer in the room at the peak of the Moonsoul Tower. The silver-haired woman who looked at him with a tender smile and took meticulous care of him was no longer around.

“…”

Amidst the silence of the night, Roel stared intently at the silver moon for a long while as if he was trying to find something in it, but it was to no avail. Only his memories flowed along with the moon’s undulating brightness, as if silently conveying a story.

Roel had always avoided thinking about the events in the Witness State, knowing that everything that transpired there wasn’t real. Thinking too much about them would only bring about unnecessary sorrow, especially if he had unknowingly gotten too involved in the scenario.

However, it was different this time around.

With a heavy heart, Roel suppressed the bursting feelings in his chest and tried to analyze the events in the Witness State. In particular, he was bewildered by the Mother Goddess’ unusual response right as he was about to leave the Witness State.

“‘Descendant of that traitor’—I remember that those were the exact words She said.”

Roel recalled the Mother Goddess’ words with narrowed eyes.

Those words were an apt description of him, but they should have never been spoken by the Mother Goddess in the Witness State—not when he had changed its future. The Kingmaker in that world was the hero who had defeated the Savior and a filial child to the Mother Goddess. He had already been cleansed of the taint of a traitor.

Only one person could have said those words: the Mother Goddess in the real world.

The Mother Goddess’ memories had fallen into disarray at the very end of the Witness State. Now that he thought about it, that could have arisen from the conflicting feelings between the real world’s Mother Goddess, who saw the Kingmaker as Her nemesis, and the Witness State’s Mother Goddess, who cherished the Kingmaker more than anything.

That should have been impossible. It violated the absolute rule dictating that the events in the Witness State couldn’t interfere with the real world. Yet, this was the only possibility he could think of based on the Mother Goddess’ reaction.

Roel tried analyzing this matter, and he soon stumbled upon a plausible explanation for this supposedly impossible phenomenon. He grimly glanced at the golden ring with blue weavings he wore on his finger.

This was the family heirloom passed down by the ancestors of the Ascart House.

He had previously thought that the goal of this Witness State was to correct past mistakes and make up for his ancestors’ regrets…

…But was it really worth the effort passing down this ring through so many generations if that was its only purpose?

Countless years had passed since the war between the Mother Goddess and the Savior. The Kingmaker Clan had fallen into shambles, and its lineage was already on the verge of dying out. Yet, his ancestors continued to diligently pass down this family heirloom, taking extra care to ensure that it fell into Roel's hands.

Did his ancestors go through so much trouble just to allay a past regret? Or could there be more at play?

Roel subconsciously squeezed the ring in his hand. Before he could think more deeply about it, a ruckus shattered the silence of the night.

"Hm?"

Roel hurriedly stowed away the ring before warily raising his head. A long trail of flames reminiscent of a fire dragon was making its way through the plains.

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