CHAPTER 93: FAILED ATTEMPT

The Vynasians. A term he had heard numerous times, but only understood it when the skies shattered before him some time ago. A cataclysmic scene, one that held the visage of a vast armada of flying warships traversing through the Rift between worlds.

But now, he had to reconsider his understanding of it once more. This wasn’t just a far away threat that sparks up occasionally past the horizon of the Endless Sea.

No, what he had seen was a warning. A showing of the future.

Soren sat before a sun-drowned balcony where a hooded figure stood, watching the men and women below prepare for a ritual to their god. A scene that could inspire hope, warmth, happiness…

You fools… Pangs of pity flooded his chest. None of these people knew what this insane asshole was planning. Not that he had time or the head space to care for others…

There were far more important things to solve. Namely, his escape.

Not once during that brief conversation did he not consider his options. But as hopeless as it was to say, he could think of nothing to save himself.

The three silver knights surrounding him might have been hypnotised in some way similar to that shop owner he and Tina fought across the rooftops of Yadria, but they were far more powerful. Especially the beautiful woman holding that terrifying glaive—one casual swing from it could probably sever him in half. The other two were no less scary—especially the one with the two curved swords.

No, it was still not time yet. He needed to buy more time. Trying to escape now would be suicide.

Soren chuckled to himself as he stared at the silhouette of the Whispering Dream. “I must say, you make a somewhat convincing argument. But, I still do not understand your motive. If the world is fated to end, why does it matter to you whether it happens more quickly or not?”

“Unfreezing this world’s Celestial Fate,” he said nonchalantly, “is not a very easy process. Nor does it need a single catalyst. This is especially so when dealing with an accord enacted by a divine being.”

Soren swiftly interpreted his words. An accord… He remembered the accord he had enacted with the help of Mistress Sienna. His promise was spoken out to the stars and given importance through a conditional vow—that a year from now, Soren’s Epoch Fate would unfreeze once more, and a year’s worth of corruption would return to him all at once.

But from what he understood, accords aren’t just related to one’s Epoch Fate. They can also be used in formal agreements with divine witnesses instead of mortal ones—Soren did something similar when he visited the Brilliant World Church and agreed to the conditions offered to him by Star Fate Guild.

With this context, he was able to piece together a few things regarding what he said. Some time during Yasini’s Demise, an accord was enacted between a god or multiple gods. One that froze this world’s entire Celestial Fate, dooming it to crumble slowly as the three orbits continuously misalign with each other. At the same time, the corruption from the rift encroached upon this world, eating it slowly over the many centuries since that dreadful event. Of course, he still couldn’t correlate how the Rift was connected to The Three Orbits. That would require more probing.

As these thoughts raced in Soren’s mind, the Whispering Dream continued:

“That is why, to fully unravel the state of this world’s fate, the accord that took place 1367 years ago must be broken. And the conditions to do just that… are before us now.” Soren could sense the maddening smile he was holding beneath the veil of his cloak. He glanced over to the balcony once more—this time, eyes widened.

He had realized what exactly this mad saint was hinting at.

The Greenfather Ritual.

A celebration to honor The Greenfather, Nurtured of Nature, Guardian of Forests.

Soren didn’t know much about their celebration and their customs—only that the Church of Nature does this event every year and that on the third day, a certain offering would be made…

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

This year’s offering was brought up by many as being very special—Soren heard numerous conversations regarding it when scouring the library halls. Apparently, the church was able to acquire Spirit Saint Ash and Spirit Blossom Wood, materials only found deep within the Feylith Forest.

Unlike the general public however, Soren was aware of how these materials were acquired. It was a part of the deal made between Yadria, the Church of Nature and the Royal Aetolus family—a deal that his handsome elven friend had brokered himself. And in exchange, Yadria would be granted the opportunity to send in their people into the labyrinth to bring back the ancient relics of their ancestors.

Soren wasn’t fully aware of all the details regarding that deal, but still, he knew just how important the work Myrin had done was. And now, his efforts were being shown to the world—the materials they had acquired this time made this Greenfather Celebration far more exciting than the ones before it.

But of course, in this cursed world, nothing nice lasts forever.

“Why… are you targeting this event? Does the Greenfather have anything to do with that divine accord?”

The maddened saint nodded. “He is indeed related to that dreadful event. And that is why, I will be breaking the first of many promises from back—starting with Him. The ritual as you know, is an offering to the Nurtured of Nature. But what not many know is that the offering made is very important to Him. He requires it for His pitiful existence, like any other faker would.”

The seething remarks made Soren shiver. There was so much anger hidden behind those words.

“Now Mr. Traveler, what do you think would happen if these holy materials were offered to someone else the moment before the ritual completed?”

Soren frowned but stayed silent.

“Chaos! A lot of it. But more importantly, another would rise from that chaos.”

Soren quickly interpreted his words. Tazzith…

The Whispering Dream was planning to offer these materials to the Knowledge Demon instead. The purpose of such an action alluded him for a bit, until he realized something.

Since The Whispering Dream’s goal was undoing each of the promises of the accord to break its grasp on the world’s Celestial Fate, then it would be fair to assume that none of his actions would stray from that objective.

If his first action—interrupting the Greenfather ritual was one such catalyst, then granting these materials to Tazzith was also fulfilling his goal in some way.

Tazzith was chained at the bottom layer of the Subterranean Shunning Grounds after his defeat in the War of Swords… Was his imprisonment also a part of the divine accord?

If that was the case, then strengthening him with holy materials that might grant him a way out of cell was another way of breaking that eternal vow from a millenia ago…

The Whispering Dream was hoping to hit two birds with one stone.

I seriously need to escape… Fast.

This was no longer a matter of just saving himself. It was something he needed to do to stop the Whispering Dream—this enigmatic saint would not be able to complete his plans if he managed to run away… somehow.

Luckily, he did have one thing up his sleeve. His inherent ability, Hermit’s Eye, granted him the effect of seeing the world through any angle and perspective, as long as it was within the range of his Soul Realm.

Long ago, Myrin had joked that one day, he’ll understand the true value of having such an ability. And although he did find it useful for scouting, it was the other effect of its power that truly shocked him—Soren was able to pair it with [Eyes of the Fairy] to see the unseen outside of his own bodily perspective.

Of course, such an ability would have been very helpful in the Beyond, if not for the fact that Soul Realms were restricted only to the shape of the person’s body. This was something that continued to anger him everytime he encountered a rogue spirit that he otherwise could have seen much farther ahead and avoided.

But now, Soren suspected that there was more to this ability than sight. No, if it was able to activate [Eyes of the Fairy] remotely, then it should be able to do it now as well, even with his Soul Weapon held by the enemy directly.

Quietly, Soren expanded his Soul Realm around the room. Of course, he knew there was a chance that the enigmatic saint would have a way to detect such a thing… But it was a gamble he was willing to take.

But also, he was hoping that his Mesmerism affinity’s anima, which holds a lot of authority in the realm of illusions, would be able to help in deceiving him…

With [Eyes of the Fairy] viewing the enigmatic saint from outside the balcony, Soren tried to spark a conversation again:

“So do you just hope to disrupt the ritual? There won’t be any foul play that will harm the civilians? I am kinda surp—”

“This won’t do.” The Whispering Dream’s words sliced cleanly through his questions, as effortlessly as a knife through butter. “I expected you to try something, but once again, you surprised me.”

A shiver ran down his spine.

Shit… Attempt failed. His [Eyes of the Fairy] hadn’t even fully activated. Everything ended so fast…

“No matter. Let me take you elsewhere—where the hope of escape will never reach.”

Before Soren could even react, the hooded figure turned into an afterimage and reappeared next to him. His hand reached out from underneath the cloak and touched his forehead.

“Wha—” Soren couldn’t finish his sentence. The world had turned black.