Chapter 1253: “The Treatment”

The ancient city ruins stood silently against the wind. Dust swirled through the wasteland, whipped by gusts that howled and slapped against the twisted, weathered buildings and rusted steel beams of pipes. At the heart of the former magical nexus station, the earth seemed gouged out, leaving a vast black pit embedded in cracked ground. At the bottom, a shimmering glow pulsed slowly, and within that radiance lay a space outlined by the deep blue ley lines.

This was a colossal power system existing parallel to the entire planet—a kind of “internal circulation network” formed by the planet’s magical environment in the cosmos. Mortals of this era knew very little about it, but to Filna and Relna, the twin elves, the vast and mysterious deep blue ley lines held few secrets.

A low, muffled murmur drifted on the wind. Filna lifted her head and saw two grotesque, flesh-like giants emerging at the edge of the pit. Their steps were unsteady, their bodies coated in a dark red “mud” that pulsated and writhed unsettlingly. Every few seconds, their forms trembled slightly—these chaotic monsters, devoid of reason, still seemed to resist the foreign will controlling them, though their struggle was clearly futile.

Beside the two monsters stood a treant with twisted, dark brown branches. Its crown was a tangled mass of gnarled limbs, resembling a brain-like structure, with flickering points of light wandering through the furrowed “brain.” Strong psychic pulses radiated from it, suppressing the instinctive rebellion of the two abominations.

“Truly ugly things,” Filna muttered, turning away. Though her words were laced with disgust, her expression remained unusually calm.

“Prepare the rune stone!” another treant shouted nearby. The tangled roots and vines around the pit began to stir and writhe. Moments later, a massive black cube was carried by the writhing vines to the edge of the pit, then brought before the two controlled abominations.

The cube was about two meters on each side, perfectly shaped with a faint metallic sheen. It appeared to be crafted from multiple magical materials through complex processes. On each face, faintly glowing runes constantly shifted and changed. The chaotic magic of the wasteland interacted intermittently with these runes, sending flickering lines of light from the cube’s vertices, which gradually faded into its depths.

To an outsider, it would be hard to believe such a precise artifact was produced in this desolate wasteland.

Yet even so, the twin elves seemed somewhat dissatisfied with the “rune stone.” Relna stared at the massive cube for a long time before shaking her head with a sigh. “Alas, crude workmanship.”

“Good enough,” Filna smiled. “Considering the environment, it’s impressive they managed to produce something like this at all.”

As they spoke, the rune stone was handed over. The two grotesque giants lifted the heavy black cube—so heavy that even their immense strength required both of them to hold it steadily. The treant at the pit’s edge gave a command. The abominations trembled slightly, let out silent roars, and finally began to trudge forward toward the “door” at the bottom of the pit.

At that moment, even the usually composed and detached twin elves couldn’t help but fix their gaze on the rune stone. Their eyes followed the two lumbering abominations as they approached the “door,” watching the glowing runes inside the black cube shift and dance. They saw the blue light from the deep blue ley lines shine through the door, illuminating the rune stone’s surface.

In the next instant, the heavy black cube seemed to come alive. All the runes inside flared simultaneously, countless hidden lines connecting in a flash. Dozens of complex magical arrays activated and reconfigured within a millisecond. The air crackled with energy. The pure power from the deep blue ley lines shattered the balance near the “door.” Sparks flew, and the two abominations carrying the rune stone instantly burst into flames, burning fiercely until nothing remained but ash.

The activated rune stone then fell into the deepest part of the pit, entering the space outlined by the deep blue ley lines. Ripples spread across the door’s surface. Amid the shimmering light, the surrounding treants watched as the precious magical device flickered and slipped into a stream of light, vanishing from sight in an instant.

Relna looked up at the archbishop Bolken, who was also intently watching the pit’s bottom, and smiled faintly. “The rune stone is in place, Your Excellency.”

“…Good. Including the experimental one before, we now have two control nodes,” Bolken said after a pause, his voice low and hoarse. “Next, we still have a hundred more to install.”

“The hardest part is over, Your Excellency,” Filna smiled. “We’ve gathered enough data and tested new ways to open the door. The installation of rune stones will speed up—at least inside the wasteland.”

“Yes… inside the wasteland,” Bolken’s amber eyes locked onto the twin elves. “But the nodes we need to control aren’t all within these damned walls. We must ensure at least seventy percent of the rune stones function effectively. So far, we’ve found less than half of the viable nodes inside the wasteland—you understand what I mean.”

“Of course. You’ll have your chance,” Relna said calmly. “But to seize it, you’ll need to build up your strength. For now, our main goal is to place rune stones on all the nodes we can control inside the Great Wall. Whether the future goes smoothly or not, we will command a power strong enough to turn the tide.”

Bolken stared at the “elves” before him for a long moment, then said gravely, “Let’s hope everything is as easy as you say.”

…

The biting polar wind lashed against the city’s thick walls. Under the starry night sky, the adventurers’ camp was brightly lit. Teams returning from missions headed toward the management center to settle their hard-earned rewards and “promotion points.” The construction crews, responsible for expanding the camp, moved along the main avenue. Engineering vehicles shipped directly from the Loren continent rumbled over the roads, their magical engines roaring amid the chatter of the streets—this was the daily soundtrack of the newly built town. Modir had lived here long enough to be accustomed to these sounds.

“This is a strange place,” the great adventurer said, sitting by the window of his small cabin, speaking thoughtfully to Gawain across from him. “The land is barren—stepping outside the city gates means facing danger. The wasteland is full of threats; survival is the foremost challenge for everyone. Yet, these shelters built on the wasteland are full of life, even more vibrant than many towns of similar size on the Loren continent. People pour all their hopes for survival, the future, and safety into these sturdy walls, and time and again, they venture out from here, trying to reclaim civilization from the wilds… Whenever I think about this, I’m deeply moved.”

“But most of those who move you are here chasing big fortunes, or because of Alliance missions,” Amber said casually, manipulating a swirling vortex of shadow dust in her hands. “Besides volunteers from the Holy Dragon Principality and some aid troops, the only ones truly concerned with ‘civilization’ and ‘the future’ are the native dragons of Talrond—this is their homeland, not anyone else’s.”

The great adventurer chuckled, shaking his head slightly. “If a cause is great and glorious, and countless people have made huge sacrifices for it, why should we scrutinize whether every name behind it is a flawless ‘saint’? To me, these people came thousands of miles, risked their lives expanding safe zones, rebuilding cities and factories. Because of them, a magnificent civilization has hope to rise again. No matter their motives, history should remember them.”

Gawain looked at Modir with some surprise. “I thought you were just passionate about adventure. Didn’t expect you to have such deep thoughts.”

“It’s an honor to receive your praise,” Modir said immediately, then scratched his tousled white hair. “These aren’t profound ideas, just reflections from living here a while, gaining new understanding of these adventurers and their way of life… I’ve recorded all my experiences in my notebook, planning to hand it to someone trustworthy when I leave. So even if I forget someday, what I witnessed and thought here can be passed on…”

“A wise move. But if all goes well, you might never need that,” Gawain smiled, turning to Amber. “How’s the preparation?”

Amber waved her finger in the air; the dust danced and twirled like a living thing around her fingertips. “Ready.”

Gawain nodded and glanced at Victoria, who had been silent beside them. She looked up almost simultaneously, her usually icy face now tinged with worry. “Amber’s method—will it really work?”

“Let me put it this way,” Amber said frankly. “I can’t guarantee I’ll completely sever the connection between your ancestor and Lady Night’s divine realm. That’s a godly matter—not something I can handle just by stealing some sand from Lady Night’s domain. But I can promise things won’t get worse. Theoretically, I can at least stabilize the great adventurer’s body to some extent. Even if he still slips toward ‘that side,’ the process will be greatly slowed. That gives us some breathing room, right?”

When the moment came, Amber didn’t bluster with her usual overconfidence. Instead, she laid out her limitations and the possible less-than-ideal outcomes plainly. Rather than causing doubt, her honesty strangely eased Victoria, the ruler of the Northlands.

A cautious promise carries more weight than grandiose boasts—especially when it comes from Miss Amber. Victoria knew this well. Among the Empire’s upper echelons, there was a saying: if Amber casually assures you, “This is a sure thing,” you’d better start bracing for disaster. But if she says she’s only fifty percent confident, that means she genuinely has at least a fifty percent chance.

Gawain’s gaze flicked between Victoria and Modir before settling on Amber. He let out a soft breath and nodded. “Then let’s begin.”

Amber nodded in return. Having already coaxed Modir into cooperating once before, she wasted no time this time around. Quietly, she activated her perception and control over the shadow dust. In an instant, Modir Wilde’s form shifted before her eyes—half of his body now composed of swirling, flowing sand-like particles, an eerie and unnatural sight.

Gawain and Victoria watched tensely, but they couldn’t see the “truth” that only Amber could perceive. To their eyes, Amber simply stood silently beside Modir, raising her hand to hover just above the old mage’s side. Wisps of pale gray dust drifted and curled around him like a shifting, intangible mist. The entire process lasted several minutes, but any deeper secrets remained hidden from the onlookers.

If it weren’t for the familiarity they’d built over time, Gawain might have suspected that Amber was just putting on some elaborate light-and-shadow trick to fool him—just so she could later con Victoria out of a drink.

Then, suddenly, Amber withdrew her hand. The shadow dust that had flickered in the air vanished. She clapped her hands lightly, exhaled, and smiled. “Done. It’s fixed.”

“Already finished?” Modir was the first to speak, still feeling no different. He looked at Amber, who seemed to have exerted a lot of effort, then glanced down at his own body. “I still don’t feel anything…”

“You wouldn’t,” Amber said, her expression full of knowing. “Just like you didn’t notice anything wrong with your body over the past six centuries. That ‘mutation’ has become part of you—inseparable, like your breath or heartbeat. Everything I did took that into account, so you definitely wouldn’t feel a thing.”

Modir’s brow furrowed. “What if I did feel something strange?”

Without missing a beat, Amber blurted out, “Then I’d be clinging to Victoria’s leg, begging her to go easy on you—and maybe asking for a second chance.”

Modir blinked in confusion.

“Don’t mind her,” Gawain chuckled, seeing Amber’s usual nonsense as a good sign that the operation had gone smoothly. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “Get up and move around a bit. Make sure you really feel okay. Then we’ll continue discussing your situation.”

“Yeah, I feel pretty good…” Modir nodded, standing and stretching his joints. But just as he was about to say more, his expression suddenly shifted. His eyes widened, locking onto something in the distance.

Amber saw this and sprang to her feet, sliding into a kneel as she rushed toward Victoria…

(End of chapter)