"Um?"
He raised his hand and saw golden light radiating from the terrifying cracks. Xia De turned his head back to look at the shrine in surprise, but found that the shrine on the pile of books had disappeared. Instead, there was an old man wearing a gray robe, with white hair draped over his shoulders, which almost completely merged with the white beard on his chin.
He wore a grey pointed wide-brimmed hat on his head, and even when he was sitting on a pile of books that wasn't very high, his head was still higher than Shad's. He leaned on a long stick with his left hand, and held a smoking pipe in his right hand.
Because Xia De had just leaned over to look at the shrine, he turned his head again and almost faced the old man face to face. Before Xia De could react, the old man suddenly widened his eyes and shouted:
"ah!"
Because it happened so suddenly, Shad was so scared that he took two steps back. If Miss Orlanod hadn't come and supported him in time, he would have almost fallen into the campfire.
“Hahaha~”
Holding his pipe, the old man in gray robe laughed out loud:
"It's really interesting. The person who called me this time is really interesting."
He put down his pipe, leaned on his long staff and looked at the four people. He was clearly just sitting on a pile of old books, but he seemed to be sitting on a throne in the clouds. He smiled and took another puff of his pipe:
"Since this shrine has finally been touched, it means that this library, which should not have existed in the first place, will finally be completely destroyed. So, mortals, before it is destroyed, are you willing to help me collect a few books?"
He looked at the four people in turn, and spoke in a tone like an old farmer sitting on a ridge in the countryside, asking his neighbors for help in harvesting the crops:
"The Library of Gadis, the forbidden library, the knowledge and history of the First Age are not allowed to be known by mortals after that. The destruction of this library was caused by their attempt to learn the secrets of the First Age. Now, it is time to recover the forbidden books buried here. Three books, yes, three books are needed. Bring them here, and I can fulfill your three wishes."
"Any wishes?"
Shade asked immediately.
"Oh, no, of course not. I can't give you the power to fight, but as the guardian of the library, I have a lot of knowledge that you are interested in. Of course, I can only give you knowledge that is not taboo."
Xia De swallowed his saliva:
"For example, enhancing the perception of time, so as to perceive the knowledge of the most real time?"
"sure."
Shade nodded and turned to look at the witches. They were obviously not ready to face the gods here, but they also heard the conversation between the gods and Shade. Miss Orlanod and the witches of Zarath nodded to Shade, so Shade asked again:
"God, what book are you looking for?"
"The forbidden book "Unknown Sacrifice Book" that records the power of the sun, the forbidden book "Yeger Scroll" that records the mystery of death, and the forbidden book "Spiral Text" that records the history of the First Age."
The god replied, emitting white smoke. The white smoke did not dissipate, but instead formed the cover patterns of three large books in the cold air. The first book had a huge sun emblem on its surface, the second was wrapped in chains, and the third seemed to be made of rock, with traces similar to conch fossils on its surface.
Even though they were unwilling to face the gods directly, the witches still raised their heads with Shade and observed carefully in the firelight. The styles of the book covers were deeply engraved in their minds at a glance.
"Mortals, each of these three books has infinite power for mortals. I will not forbid you to open them and check them out in advance, but you will have to bear the cost yourself."
"God, will you always be here? How do we get the book to you?"
Xia De actually wanted to ask whether the god would also leave after he left. If he did not leave, then the safety of the three witches would not be a concern.
"Do you think that sacrificing three books will allow you to start a complete ritual of summoning the gods? No, no, what you see now is just the power I have left in the shrine..."
Xia De's eyelids twitched.
"... ... This is a partial projection of me that was summoned. Otherwise, why would I let you find those forbidden books instead of me going to get them myself? Oh, child, I can appear three times, including this time, to answer some questions about those forbidden books. As for when you plan to hand over the books to me, that is up to you to decide. If everything goes well this time, then..."
"Oh God, please wait!"
The witch of Zaras suddenly said, God's gaze was cast on her, even the high-ring witch was not used to it:
"It's like this. We have obtained the forbidden book "The Threaded Text" which records the history of the First Age."
She reached into the pocket of her long skirt and took out a slate. That pocket was definitely not big enough to hold such a large book, so it must be a spatial power.
Although the style of the stone slab was exactly the same as the cover of the book that the god had just shown, it didn't look like a book at all. When he actually saw the traces of the spirals on the surface, Xia De actually felt as if his consciousness was being sucked into it.
Ancient and heavy, this was Shade's first impression of the book. He was quite interested in the knowledge recorded in it, but he also knew that with his current strength, he was not enough to read the knowledge about the initial era.
"It is indeed this one. Look, it is still sealed. Don't you plan to study the contents of this book?"
God asked with a smile. Miss Becky Samuel shook her head slightly. Seeing that her companions had no objection, she handed the book to Shad.
Xia De calculated that he would soon leave, so he hurriedly handed the book to the god in front of him.
The light of the bonfire crackled behind him, and his entire shadow was cast on the stone slab in front of him. The stone slab was unusually cold and unusually heavy.
It was a feeling that was hard to describe. Holding it in his hands, he really felt like he was holding a piece of history, a lost history. The sensitivity of his soul allowed Xia De to perceive more information, and holding this lost history in his hands, he seemed to really see the ancient scroll unfolding before his eyes.
Shade had no intention of exploring the power of this forbidden book that recorded the history of the First Age. But when a stone tablet appeared in his hand, it was hard for him not to look down.
And it was really just a glance. The mottled cracks on the surface of the stone, the ancient runes in the twisted threads, and even the weight of the stone itself were all conveying information to him, a very complex message.
Ancient God.
This is a word from an unknown ancient language. It only needs four sounds to express its meaning in the Sixth Era, but in that unknown language, it is so complicated that just knowing this word makes Shade feel more painful than when "she" forced him to speak the entire Draerion language.
"No, I can't watch it anymore."
He forced himself to close his eyes, and a gentle whisper sounded in his ears:
That is an ancient story, the original story, the story of origin. When you stand in the distant present and look at the painting covered with yellow sand and dust, the brilliant and splendid ancient civilization is trying to tell you their secrets. Stranger, this is your first exposure to the story of the First Age, this is the initial "enlightenment".
You have gained the power of the Ancient Voice. When you touch an item from the First Age, you can safely learn a piece of information about it, once per item.
The light of enlightenment flickered in Shad's soul. This was a magic related to the core spirit rune space and time. When the new power generated by enlightenment was stabilized, the stone tablet from the first era in his hand immediately told Shad the information he didn't know.
The First Era was an exceptionally long time, and when the first era ended, the thirteen ancient gods did not go away.
Before Shade could think about this information, the old man in front of him took the heavy stone tablet from Shade. Then, a phantom bookshelf appeared beside him, and the god inserted the stone tablet in his hand into the gap of the bookshelf, and the bookshelf disappeared:
"Very good, now the record of the first book is complete."
He took out his pipe from the air and ignored the expression on Shade's face:
"One wish for one book, make a wish. Knowledge, or power related to the library. This is just my projection, it doesn't have much power, so don't be too greedy."
The bonfire crackled, and the snow outside the door was still as fierce as ever. The old man exhaled a puff of smoke again, and a huge shadow swayed on the wall behind him, but the shadow did not look like a human being at all.
Coming back to his senses from the information about the First Age, the words "not much power" from the god in front of him reminded Shade of the young man wearing a clown hat in the toy store.
It had been 25 minutes since Shade arrived here, and he didn't have much time. So he apologized to the god in front of him, suppressed the information he had just obtained about the ancient gods in his heart, and then turned to the side of the campfire to discuss this wish with the three witches.
"You made this wish. You found the book. It has nothing to do with me."
Although he really wanted to know how to enhance his perception of time, Shad still made his attitude clear.
The young girl with red dragon blood carefully looked at the scars on Shade's body and said softly:
"Teacher, please don't worry about my attitude. I came out this time just to learn from you."
This was said to Miss Olanord.
Then the two high-ring witches looked at each other, and finally the witch from Zalas Academy spoke first:
"This book itself is the reason why I came to the Valley of Death. Since I found it, why don't I come up with an idea for the first wish - let the gods help you learn this gentleman's magic - Silent Moonlight. He only has three rings, but he can already slowly restore our strength. And aren't you at the thirteenth level?"
The last time Shade saw Miss Orlanod in the Thousand Tree Forest, she was at the twelfth level.
"Brianne, if you perform this magic, no matter how long the blizzard lasts, even if black snow comes, we won't have to be as embarrassed as we are now. At least, this can help us escape."
Miss Becky Samuel's suggestion is very good. Such a wish is not too excessive, and it will essentially empower Miss Orlanod and benefit others.
So the proposal was passed, and the blonde witch with round-frame glasses motioned for Shad to speak.
"Why me again?"
He asked in a low voice.
"Isn't it obvious, sir?"
She took the initiative to grab Shade's wrist again, and this time Miss Orlanod did not object. The witch of Zarath smiled and pushed Shade to turn around and face the old man on the pile of old books. After she let go of Shade's wrist, she looked at her palm behind Shade in the light of the campfire:
“That’s really interesting.”
Xia De heard these words coming from behind him.
He described the first wish of the three people to the god, and the god nodded in agreement. But after taking a puff of his pipe and exhaling the smoke, the blue eyes on his old face looked at Shade in front of him again:
"This power is very unusual. In my current state, I cannot let the mortal over there learn it directly, but I can transfer your power to her."
Shade raised his eyebrows. In other words, he would lose the Silent Moonlight in exchange for Miss Orlanod learning this magic.
“Excuse me, is this process reversible?”
Miss Orlanod took the initiative to walk to Shade's side and stood behind him. The main entrance of the ruins of the Gaddis Library was actually very empty. The shadows of the two people were entangled because of the bonfire, and were reflected on the wall with peeling murals.
"Of course this is reversible if you make another wish."
The old man holding the cane smiled and urged:
"Make your decision quickly, young men. I am leaving now."