In Huntington City, although it was already late at night, the vampire Mr. Bernhardt was still holding a wine glass, standing on the second-floor terrace of his manor, watching the black clouds covering the falling snow at a speed visible to the naked eye.
His keen perception allowed him to vaguely sense the truth represented by the black cloud, and the slight tremor of the ground indicated that something big was about to happen. He looked at the ripples on the red liquid in the wine glass in his hand, closed his eyes and prayed softly.
In Tobesk City, it was already dark, but Tifa and Luvia had not rested yet. Mia was sleeping on the sofa next to Luvia, and at the same time as the spreading "crackling" sound in the swamp, the cat opened its eyes.
Luvia followed closely and turned to look southwest. Seeing Tifa's puzzled expression, she put her hand on her chest:
"Shad..."
Although Shad delayed and even defeated the "Chosen One of Knowledge and Wisdom", when the starry sky reached the right position, the evil creatures in Pantanal still broke free from the seal and returned to the material world as predicted by Luvia of Tobesk and Mr. Johnson, the blood-sucking prophet in Huntington. The breaking of the seal core of the entire Great Swamp also means that the other subspace evil creatures that were sealed in various places in the Great Swamp will also return to the real world together.
Ghouls with mushrooms on their backs were running in the swamp, and blood-red and gray-green vines were flowing like long snakes from the feet of the high-level warlocks fighting in the air. The fire was centered on Lake Pantanal, dyeing the core area of the Great Swamp red, and a green barrier that ordinary people could not see was rising from the edge of the Great Swamp.
The Orthodox Church has begun a divine ritual to prepare for the worst-case scenario, at least to ensure that evil creatures will not break through the Pantanal region.
Standing on the top of the lighthouse on the lake island in the midst of the snow and wind, Sister Defulin's gray hair was soaked with sweat as she pointed her palm towards the large kerosene lamp in the center. In the huge stone circle under the tower, Shad was so weak that he almost couldn't stand steadily.
He wanted to say something else, but the violent shaking of the ground forced people to look around. Amidst the loud noises, cracks appeared clearly on the surface of the island. As the ground shook violently, dense gullies that seemed to lead directly to the abyss of the ground ran through the entire island amid the loud noises.
And at the bottom of the ravine, a creepy red light emerged, and more dense and thick gray-green tentacles crawled out along the stone wall. All of this was exactly the same as the vampire fortune teller had said.
"careful!"
The ground crack also appeared below the lighthouse in the northeast of the island. The light at the top of the lighthouse forced the crack to stop, but it still ran through Stonehenge.
Before anyone could have imagined, thick tentacles shot out from the cracks in the ground like a swarm of snakes, sweeping towards the three people in the stone circle. But with the light of the dark golden scales and the sword of the night watchman, the swarm of tentacles was swept away, but one tentacle still wrapped around the right leg of the weak Legins Prisha who fell to the ground, dragging him underground.
At this time, no one cared about the life or death of Laijins Prisha. The high-level warlocks who were able to reach here took off into the air, preparing to face the final battle that was about to unfold.
Sister Defulin on the top of the lighthouse was also ready for battle. Even in the worst case scenario, if she failed to burn the evil creature, she was willing to sacrifice herself to trap the evil creature on the island forever and exile it outside the material world again.
People tacitly agreed not to talk to the God-Summoner who had become the "Chosen One of Knowledge and Wisdom" through unknown means. The thick fog that surged toward the ground from the crack in the ground also completely obscured the witches' perception of what was happening in the center of Stonehenge.
At this time, Yin Luna had already stumbled towards Xia De and hugged him who had fallen beside the bonfire in the middle of the Stonehenge:
"Shad, Shad!"
She shouted a few times in panic, then looked up and around. Deep in the thick fog, dense giant tentacles stood and squirmed like pillars supporting the sky. In just a few minutes, she heard at least five sublimation words from the thirteen-ring warlocks.
The traces of chaotic elements seriously confused her perception. This doomsday-like scene in the snowstorm was an unexpected result for Yin Luna:
"We have already defeated the Chosen One, but..."
"It's okay. This scene was destined to happen, I know it."
Xia De tried hard to open his eyes and held Yin Luna's right hand. He now felt that every part of his body was urging him to fall asleep immediately:
"Don't worry, I'm prepared for everything I do."
The state of divine overflow was about to completely subside. Xia De tried his best to open his eyes wide and looked into the eyes of Yin Luna who was holding him:
"Do you believe me?"
"certainly!"
The seventeen-year-old girl nodded rapidly.
"Luvia's dream made me guess a lot of things; the blood-sucking species' prophecy said that this was the first step to doomsday... How could I not be prepared? Yin Luna, retreat outside the Stonehenge. I will use this ancient ritual array to enhance my sublimation language. Remember, protect yourself."
The shaking of the ground seemed to never stop. Smoke, black snow, explosions, flames, and a doomsday scene surrounded everything here. The girl with long brown hair tried hard to control the urge to cry. She always felt that Shade's current existence was so vague, as if he would leave in the next moment:
"You're going to be here the whole time, right?"
"Don't worry, our story is not over yet. Are you ready to give me a year-end gift... I can hardly open my eyes."
Yin Luna endured the endless worry in her heart, helped Shade up, and asked him to help the night watchman who was stabbed into the ground stand up, while she ran to the perimeter of the Stonehenge:
"We agreed that you would accept my year-end gift alone!"
Perhaps because the thirteen ancient stones were still exerting their power, there was only one crack in the ground that ran through Stonehenge, and it had already closed. Yin Luna rode her skeleton horse into the air, watching the thick fog completely surround Stonehenge. She could only see the thirteen bonfires in Stonehenge and the dark shadows of the stone pillars.
Shade tried to stand by the central bonfire, and straightened up with the sword. The voice of "her" in his ear made him a little more conscious:
Since you are prepared to face this scene in advance, do you need to use your divinity
"No, you only need to use divinity when dealing with God."
He made a request in his heart:
"I don't want to see some purple-eyed fortune teller cry... Cooperate with me, I will forcibly use... the Words of Sublimation."
He could no longer tell whether the strange and terrifying visions and buzzing sounds in his ears that appeared in the dark fog and firelight were real or just hallucinations before he passed out.
"help me."
There is a price to pay for forcing the use of sublimated language.
"I understand, but no matter what, I can't make that so-called prophecy come true. Otherwise, what's the point of me coming here?"
In the thick fog, a circular black shadow appeared behind Shade. Amid the sound of whistles and bells, the shadow came closer and closer, and the life ring was suspended behind him:
"Dr. Schneider said that the forced use of the Word of Sublimation requires the cooperation of the 'other self'. Moreover, the last power of the overflowing divinity, plus this Stonehenge... Come on."
Suddenly, a sigh was heard from the sky. Xia De, whose spirit was completely depressed, was forced to kneel on one knee on the ground, trying hard to maintain his last bit of consciousness.
He heard the sound of a bell, which was not the sound of the bell when the life ring appeared, but the sound of a bell from higher up, farther away, from the other side of time. Finally, he was sure that the sound of the bell without a source actually came from himself.
It was already late at night, and a blizzard was drifting across the island that looked like a doomsday scene, flying between the tentacles and the ring wizards in the air.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The bell rang again and again, and was finally heard clearly by everyone, but no one could confirm the source of the bell like Shade.
Only Yin Luna, who was worried about Shade above the Stonehenge, saw the shadow of the giant tree rising from the Stonehenge and saw the thirteen stone pillars glowing at the same time. This time was different from when it was used by Laikins Prisha just now. The runes on each stone pillar lit up at the same time. The leaf-shaped runes were responding to the great power of time.
"Echoes of Space and Time..."
A soft murmur came from Shade's mouth. He felt another presence behind him, but he had no idea what was behind him.
He felt a gentle body appear behind him, that body was leaning back against him, and a life ring emitting an extreme spiritual light was floating above their heads.
He had never felt "another self" so clearly, even when he was using his divinity, and felt "her" existence. At this moment, "her" was behind him, and he could even feel the touch of her long hair brushing against his neck, and he could even see the vague reflection of the silver figure on the shining silver sword in front of him:
"Shake, sleeper..."
The five wise pyroxenes inlaid on the arrow of Aikenola-the Chosen One were shining, and the turbulent sourceless bell sound had spread from the island in the middle of the lake to the entire swamp.
In the sound of the bell, the snowflakes dancing in the wind had a strange stuttering phenomenon every ten seconds. And the pitch-black night was inexplicably covered with a layer of gray in the sound of the bell.
"strength."
He finished reciting his words of sublimation and felt sleepy. However, he did not hear any words from "her" behind him from beginning to end.
However, he felt the great powers that were sleeping and the traces left by the departed gods, but he could not awaken any of the sleeping gods.
"I... ... "
He no longer had the strength to do anything, and even his hands could no longer hold the hilt of the sword tightly. His body inevitably fell towards the fire.
At this moment, gentle hands supported Xia De's body from behind. He felt the body behind him hugging him from behind, allowing him to stand up. He tried his best to open his eyes, and seemed to see silver translucent arms, which were wrapped around his body from behind:
My dear stranger, it is not the gods of old that you seek to awaken.
"What is ..."
A soft laugh, as if the soft moonlight was shining on him again. The original sleepiness was gradually disappearing. In the sound of the bells that echoed from the island in the middle of the lake to the Great Swamp, from the Great Swamp to the west of the Old World, and from the west of the Old World to the entire material world, Shade gave the answer in his heart:
Those people you/I have been in love with over time.