Chapter 1502: Journeying Deeper
In the courtyard of Cecil Palace, Betty and Enya were admiring a new ice sculpture placed before the fountain. The sculpture was so lifelike it looked exactly like Tyr herself. Most likely, she had accidentally frozen into this form while dozing by the pool. Since elemental beings turn into transparent ice crystals when completely frozen, people mistook it for a crafted ice statue.
Two young dragons from the Talrond embassy, who had sneaked over to play, were now lying beside Tyr’s ice figure. The excited little ones were practicing an essential dragon skill: taking turns roasting Tyr’s frozen tail with their tiny dragon breaths. Amber, ever the mischief-maker, was helping out—directing the dragons to adjust their firepower while sprinkling salt, cumin, and black pepper onto the tail.
Not far off, Gawain stood with Hetty, watching this warm, if somewhat absurd, scene unfold by the fountain. Hetty couldn’t help but smile wryly. “Every winter, Tyr always manages to pull off something unexpected… By the way, this is the first time I’ve seen that when a sea witch freezes solid, she really does become a transparent block of ice.”
“Well, she is an elemental being,” Gawain replied with a smile. “And what do you mean ‘every winter’—when has Tyr ever cared about seasons for her antics?”
“That’s true,” Hetty chuckled, then glanced toward Amber. “She can’t seriously be planning to roast Tyr’s tail for dinner, can she? Even if Tyr herself wouldn’t mind, that’s…”
“No need to worry. It’s just a bit of fun. It’s good that Tyr’s keeping these two little ones entertained for a while,” Gawain said casually, then shifted the topic. “Anyway… how’s the investigation into the situation Amorn mentioned going? Any updates?”
“You mean those mysterious plants appearing at the Shadow Court’s border?” Hetty immediately understood. Her brow furrowed slightly. “After receiving the report, the Theocracy Council sent people to investigate. They did find the ‘invasive plants’ Mr. Deer mentioned along the boundary, but the follow-up investigation hit a dead end. The tech department reviewed all surveillance footage from the past few months in the Shadow Court, but found no anomalies.”
Gawain frowned deeper as he listened.
The appearance of unknown “plants” in the Shadow Court was the strange phenomenon Amorn had reported recently. A few unexpected flowers and grasses had suddenly sprouted at the edge of the vast garden—a garden born from the power of the ancient nature god deep within the Shadow Realm. Such unplanned growth was no small matter.
Upon receiving the report, the Theocracy Council’s technicians had broken into a cold sweat and launched days of surveillance and stakeouts. Yet, as Hetty said, the investigation yielded nothing.
“No traces on the surveillance equipment… but Amorn’s judgment is probably sound,” Gawain murmured. “Have you tried sampling the plants?”
“Sampling attempts failed,” Hetty shook her head. “Those plants at the garden’s edge don’t seem entirely ‘real.’ Any attempt to move or take samples causes them to rapidly disintegrate and vanish. Not just outside the Shadow Court—samples taken within vanish within two minutes.”
“Given that, the Council’s tech mages can only study the plants in place without damaging them. Findings are limited. So far, we can confirm these plants don’t belong to any known species. They emit faint magical energy, have no scent or taste, are touchable and harmless, but excessive contact causes temporary wilting—which recovers over several hours.”
“…That sounds like some kind of ‘miracle,’” Gawain pondered. Then, suddenly, he brought up something seemingly unrelated. “Any notable activity from the world’s various religious sects lately?”
“None,” Hetty replied. “Since establishing contact with the alien civilization, the Theocracy Council has increased surveillance on all churches to prevent ideological unrest. The Tribunal’s inquisitors have been watching closely, but no unusual reports have come in.”
“No anomalies at all…” Gawain folded his arms, his tone grave. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Have the Council maintain strict monitoring of all major sects worldwide, especially the clergy of the Three Fertility Goddesses.”
Hetty blinked, her expression shifting slightly. “The Three Fertility Goddesses… So you do suspect the ‘invasive plants’ in the Shadow Court are connected to those three goddesses?”
“The surveillance wasn’t triggered, which means either the ‘intruders’ possess some divine power unknown to us that masks their presence from the equipment, or they’ve somehow slipped onto a ‘whitelist.’ The origins of the Fertility Goddesses are closely tied to the nature god. In ancient times, when divine authorities were fragmented, the Fertility pantheon was even considered a ‘variant’ that emerged when nature worship spread from the elves to humans. This shared origin reflects in their powers and authority.
“Our current technology can’t precisely distinguish or detect all divine powers. If the Fertility Goddesses have indeed infused a trace of their power into the Shadow Court, the surveillance might confuse it with Amorn’s power… I think that’s the most likely scenario.”
Hetty nodded seriously, noting Gawain’s instructions. After a brief hesitation, she couldn’t help but ask, “If the Fertility Goddesses are behind this… what do you think they want?”
“How should I know? I’m no seer,” Gawain shrugged. “But if I had to guess… I’d hope it’s a good sign.”
“Good sign?” Hetty was curious.
“Remember what I said before?” Gawain glanced at her. “Cecil’s pioneering church reforms, the Alliance’s promotion of ‘divine monarchy’ across the continent—the Theocracy Council’s work has made some progress worldwide. In theory, these mortal-world changes should already be affecting the gods behind the churches… Maybe we’re still some way from true ‘loosening of the bonds,’ but for gods with ideas, they might already be trying to stir things up.”
“Stir things up…” Hetty mused. “So you think those traces at the Shadow Court’s edge might be signals from the Fertility Goddesses…”
“The chains binding mortals and gods are thorny and dangerous. Even a slight loosening makes both sides cautious,” Gawain sighed. “The Fertility Goddesses might indeed be sending us signals, but those signals are probably harder to read than K’mar’s expressions or Nicholas’s glances… But there’s no helping that.
“All we can do now is hope this ‘loosening’ continues, encouraging more gods to actively reach out to the mortal world. And what we must do… is keep the Council fully alert, so we don’t miss any ‘hints’ the gods desperately try to send us.”
A vivid image formed in Hetty’s mind…
At the same time, on the northern offshore of the Loren Continent, Violet Isle—covered in lush primeval jungle and wild wastelands—an exploration team led by Modir and Maggie was trekking through a dense forest.
An unnaturally thick gloom hung over the woods. Even at noon, under patches of sunlight, the sky appeared as if dusk was approaching. In shaded areas, shadows flickered and danced, as if the forest was steeped in unsettling darkness.
Though the explorers had portable lights, and Maggie and Modir summoned magical orbs, the illumination barely sufficed to see the path ahead. While travel was possible, the oppressive shadows remained, making the journey feel heavy and stifling.
“Well… no wonder this place is under the Night Lady’s influence. The dense shadow atmosphere is truly impressive,” Modir said casually to the dragonborn maid beside him. He wore a short mage’s robe for mobility, carrying a short staff in one hand and a sword in the other, eyes alert to the forest’s movements. “It feels like the Shadow Realm itself has been projected onto the real world here…”
“The only relief is that the gloom itself is harmless. At least we haven’t encountered any monsters emerging from the Shadow Realm, nor the kind of fog that causes people to lose themselves completely,” Maggie said softly. She wielded a pair of long swords, clearing away obstructive vines and bushes as they went. Her maid’s dress didn’t hinder her agility in the slightest.
For ordinary people, the rampant vines and twisted shrubs would be a tough obstacle. But for a maid with dragon strength, it was no problem. If a thicket was too troublesome, she’d simply unleash a breath of flame to clear it, ensuring the team’s pace and leaving clear “markers” along the way to prevent them from getting lost in the seemingly endless forest.
“Yeah, at least the fog has lifted,” Modir looked deeper into the forest, carefully sensing the flow of magic around them. “Now we can explain why the cities within the former Violet Kingdom were isolated from each other, why the inland was sealed by mist, and why unauthorized outsiders who entered the forest were sent back to the exit by the fog…”
Maggie raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Because dreams are discontinuous. Even gods’ dreams are like that. Where the dream breaks, there is only void—you can’t just walk from one dream into another. I think the Night Lady’s dream never really mapped out the deep forest details, so they remained shrouded in mist. Only special beings like ‘messengers’ can open paths through the fog,” Modir explained calmly. “So, in the Violet Kingdom, the cities’ connections didn’t rely on ‘roads’ but on the Night Lady’s imagination…”
The old mage’s analysis made sense, but his final conclusion nearly choked Maggie with laughter. The young dragonborn lady coughed twice, giving the adventurer a strange look. “Where did you learn that phrase?”
“Oh, I found some books on Victoria’s bookshelf… These clever expressions come from our great Emperor Gawain Cecil,” Modir said, beaming. Talking about his idol clearly pleased him. Then he looked puzzled. “But for some reason, Victoria hid these books deep on the shelf. If I hadn’t stumbled upon them, I wouldn’t have known she collected such treasures…”
Maggie was speechless.
“Did you know Victoria had these books?” Modir asked casually, not noticing the brief awkwardness on the dragonborn’s face.
Maggie paused for two seconds. “…Yes, I did.”
“Oh? Do you know where she bought it?” Modil’s eyes lit up. “I’ve been searching everywhere but couldn’t find a source…”
“I do,” Maggie sighed resignedly. “I was the one who helped her buy it.”
As she spoke, she casually swung her twin longswords, slicing through the vines and underbrush blocking their path. Then, with a sudden burst, she unleashed a scorching jet of flame ahead, instantly incinerating a thicket of bushes. Under her precise control, the dragonfire blazed only briefly before dying down quickly, the flames contained without spreading beyond the clearing. Only a thick plume of smoke lingered, curling upward through the gaps in the forest canopy.
That smoke was a signal—meant to inform the rear camp’s stationed troops and a dragonrider reconnaissance craft circling nearby of the exploration team’s approximate location. Maggie repeated this routine every so often.
Honestly, having a humanoid dragon who could breathe fire on the team was a bit intense for ordinary adventurers. But for the soldiers of Cecil’s army, long accustomed to coordinating with all sorts of strange “allies,” it was just another day in the field.
Trailing behind Modil and Maggie was a squad of fully armed Steel Rangers—elite soldiers clad in lightweight powered armor, experts at operating in harsh environments. They moved silently, alert to every rustle in the forest. Shortly after Maggie’s fiery signal, one of the Rangers received a communication from the rear. After quickly confirming the code and relaying the message, the soldier hurried over to Modil and Maggie.
“Air reconnaissance reports an unusually shaped giant boulder about four kilometers directly ahead, with strong magical readings.”
“Understood,” Maggie nodded. “We’ll approach for a closer look.”
Once the soldier stepped back, Maggie turned to the seasoned adventurer beside her. “An oddly shaped giant boulder… that must be the ‘stone pile’ you spotted earlier with your Mage’s Eye.”
“Most likely, the location matches,” Modil said. “When I scouted with Mage’s Eye before, those strangely out-of-place ‘stone piles’ in the forest really caught my attention… No matter how you look at them, they seem artificial. But theoretically, there shouldn’t be any man-made objects on Violet Isle.”
Maggie nodded slightly. “Let’s hope that thing helps us understand Lady Night better—the mysterious ‘Ancient God.’ After all… who’s really there?!”
Suddenly, she seemed to sense something, her gaze snapping toward a shadowy patch in the nearby woods. Her eyes shifted, pupils narrowing into the vertical slits unique to dragons, as a faint but palpable pressure radiated outward in all directions.
Yet there was nothing there. Only shadows.
(Quick book recommendation: Into the Unscientific by Rookie Fisherman. By the way, this author’s last work survived three rounds of heavy nerfs and still hit an 8,000-word average. The new book’s setting is pretty intriguing too—definitely worth checking out.)
(End of chapter)