While Saint Teresa's Square was busy, there was a cold and quiet silence in death. Five people were sitting around a bonfire in front of the stone gate. The firelight cast their shadows all around, swaying like ghosts in fairy tales.
Everyone looked at Shade, who continued:
"The 'Trace of the Sacred Tree' ritual is almost complete, but the problem in the narrow space is still unsolved. I think there must be a fierce battle outside now. We need the power of the Chosen One of Death to end everything tonight. But who should be the Chosen One?"
Joey Barton has lost his qualifications, and even if he hadn't lost his qualifications, Shade would not let him become the chosen one. And now everyone has come here from the narrow space on their own initiative, which is equivalent to everyone committing suicide in the narrow space on their own initiative.
"Whoever walks out of here first will be the chosen one. Because the others are all dead."
Shade repeated it again, and then looked at Sister Defulin. Sister Defulin also understood this fact. She was the second choice after Joey Barton, but the nun shook her head slightly:
"I have embarked on the path of guarding the flame. Death is not suitable for me. Now I am not the only one who can be chosen. Perhaps you can consider other candidates."
So Shade looked at Priest Augustus again. The priest hesitated for a moment and put down the pipe lit by the first fire:
"What is the Chosen One?"
He asked curiously.
"In the Fifth Era, the witch's prophecy of "Whispering Poems" mentioned that thirteen chosen ones would appear in the Sixth Era. They are the protagonists of the era, and their stories will together form the unknown fate stage of the Sixth Era and affect the future of the entire world. The Chosen Ones of Death possess the power of the ancient gods of death."
Xia De introduced:
"Priest, perhaps you could consider..."
"No, I don't want to take on such responsibilities. The troubles in the church are enough to bother me. At my age, I still have to take care of the accommodation of the choir children, assist in the church's quarterly financial review, and participate in the planning of activities during the annual Holy Prayer Festival. Detective, I have enough things to do. Those boring responsibilities belong to you young people."
The priest shook his head firmly:
"Don't involve me in this kind of thing."
In fact, Shad was unwilling to involve Priest Augustus in this matter. Being the chosen one was equivalent to being forced into the vortex of fate. And Priest Augustus, with an arm at his feet, obviously preferred a peaceful life.
"Then we can only consider the fourth candidate."
Shade said, then looked at Iluna.
The seventeen-year-old girl also looked at him and blinked in confusion:
"The fourth candidate? Who is that? Didn't you say last time that you were unsure about the fourth candidate?"
But Shade was still looking at her, so Iluna turned her head suspiciously and looked behind her, as if she thought there was someone else beside her. But after confirming that Shade was indeed looking at her, she opened her mouth slightly and pointed at herself in disbelief:
"You mean... me?"
"As of your arrival at Fort Midhill, there have been four."
"But... ... "
"Eyes that can see through darkness."
"But that's what you gave..."
"I am a spectator outside of fate. I cannot be the chosen one. In addition to me, there are four people who have stepped into death tonight. So why, Iluna, are you here too?"
Although this reason was iluna was still stunned for a moment, then quickly shook her head:
"Shad, you must be mistaken. I am the chosen one of 'Balance'. I have even performed the ceremony."
"But no one has ever said that the qualification to be chosen cannot appear repeatedly in the same person."
Shade said, and Iluna thought about it and seemed really unable to refute it.
"It is indeed her."
Mr. Barton's spirit, sitting next to Ms. Marilyn Handel, whispered:
"After losing my power, my feeling of death became more real, as if I had melted into death. This young lady with brown hair is indeed the fourth candidate."
Xia De was relieved now that his guess was correct.
But Iluna still didn't want to accept it:
"This nun and Father Augustus are both more suitable than me. After executing the trial just now, I got some new information. Except for the first candidate, the power obtained by other candidates will be weaker even if the ceremony is held. The lower the ranking, the weaker the power obtained in the end. No matter from which angle, in order to deal with the endless troubles that will come, it is better for the chosen ones to be those with higher rankings."
This is new information.
"Ms. Beas, you should look at it this way."
Father Augustus took another puff of his pipe. The old priest looked very kind:
“Except for you, everyone here has selfish motives.
Barton over there stepped into death to revive his beloved, I offered help for this hand bone, Shade fought for the Rod card and a quarter of the soul, and the nun witnessed this scene for the firewood. But only you, Iluna Beas, only you did not ask for anything, just for justice and mercy, and participated in this matter.
I dare say that although you are the youngest, at least in this matter, you are the noblest one among us."
The others nodded, the old priest was indeed the oldest and what he said made sense.
Iluna was also a little embarrassed by what Father Augustus said. She was a little tempted, but still shook her head. This was not a humble excuse, but she really didn't want to accept it.
Looking at Xia De, the seventeen-year-old girl whispered:
"Xia De, the responsibility of being the chosen one is too heavy. It's not that I don't want to shoulder it, but sometimes I think that one person shouldn't have all the responsibility and power alone. You all say that I'm the protagonist of the era, but I'm just an ordinary person... If possible, I hope that more chosen ones will appear, rather than letting me face it all alone."
Power has a price, and Shade also understands Iluna's thoughts. She is not greedy and wants to monopolize all power. She recognizes her own limits and understands her position. Few people can do this. It is definitely not a coincidence that Iluna inherits "balance".
So, Shade looked at Father Augustus and Sister Defulin again, and the former shook his head quickly:
"Don't think about me. I have a lot to do."
He kicked the arm at his feet:
"Shad, when I return to Tobesk in a few weeks, I have something to discuss with you. It's about... those wings. I have a lot of stories and responsibilities."
The priest seemed to want to confess his secret to Shade, just like Dr. Schneider two months ago:
"Sister Defulin, you can actually try to take on this responsibility. Although I don't understand the primordial fire, you seem to be looking for firewood? Fire is life, but fire is also death. Taking on the power of the ancient gods and peeking at death in the blind darkness may be of great help to you."
The nun did not shake her head this time, but hesitated for a moment:
"It is my responsibility to look after the First Flame. I can bear the power of death, but I cannot bear it all. Inheriting death will bring you closer to death. If Joey Barton becomes the chosen one, the collision between death and reverse life will make him remain the same. This may be the meaning of being a reverse life person."
Mr. Barton's soul smiled bitterly:
"It's fate."
"It seems to be true. If a living person inherits death, will he gradually transform into an undead or a living dead? This is a problem."
As Shad pondered, Joey Barton spoke again:
"Mr. Hamilton, if you want to solve this problem, you just need to make the power of the chosen one less pure."
"What's the meaning?"
"The qualification to be the Chosen One must belong to only one person. There cannot be two people with the same qualification. This cannot be changed. The young lady over there is already the official Chosen One, but she still became another candidate. She may be able to obtain some of the power of death, so that death is no longer pure, and the nun who inherits the qualification will not slowly transform into the dead."
Xia De looked at him suspiciously, he seemed to know too much.
Mr. Barton tightly grasped the hand of the lady beside him and looked at Shade calmly:
"Mr. Hamilton, since you said that the requirement for the death of the chosen one's ritual is that all others must die, then what would happen if the previous candidate suddenly 'resurrected' during the ceremony of the next candidate?"
Iluna suddenly realized:
"If I perform the ritual but the ritual is not completed and Sister Devilin returns to the narrow room from here, then Sister Devilin will be the chosen one of death. And I will also gain some power, very little power. In this way, the power of the nun will be incomplete."
"Yes."
Patton then stopped talking.
Only the dead chosen one should be able to do this. After all, it is impossible for other candidates to be "resurrected from the dead".
Shade looked at Mr. Barton suspiciously, but did not raise the question in his mind. He did lose the qualification of being the chosen one, but Shade felt that this cursed man had gained something else. Maybe it was because of Iluna's judgment and his sins, or maybe it was because he really had a talent for death, but these were not what Shade needed to care about. He had already made a judgment about the chosen one:
"Sister, is this possible? You come to become the chosen one of death, but Iluna takes a small part of the power, so that death is no longer pure?"
In fact, after the death of the Dark Chosen, Iluna also gained some of the power of darkness, and the dark vortex is the evidence. In this way, Iluna was able to obtain the power of the Chosen three times in a row, even though only the power of balance was complete.
“That’s good.”
The nun nodded.
"Sister, do you understand death and the end?"
Xia De asked again with some concern.
"I have seen the world after the flames died out in the dim light of the flames. Yes, I understand it all."
Xia De then smiled, clapped his hands and asked everyone to look over. He announced the final decision:
"Then let's do this - Iluna, you will leave here first, and Sister Devilin will leave later. The Witch Council should be very happy that the nun has become the third chosen one. Iluna, you will tell the church what happened here according to the story we just made up, I mean, the story we reorganized. As for the identity of Sister Devilin..."
"You don't know me, just say: That's a blind nun with an eyepatch."
Sister Defulin took the initiative to say that she did not intend to hide her identity from the church.
Joey Barton didn't care about the qualifications that once belonged to him, Ms. Handel didn't understand what they said at all, Priest Augustus squinted his eyes and enjoyed the tobacco, Sister Devlin sat on the stone expressionlessly, Iluna was still a little nervous, and Shad sat by the campfire and looked at the dark moon on the water in the distance. The moonlight sprinkled on Shad's face, but there was no excitement and joy on his face.
He lowered his head slightly, with a large shadow covering his face; his eyes were narrowed and his brows were furrowed, showing his worry.
You know what's going to happen next
"Yes."
Why would you consume that one drop of divinity in advance? That is your last drop of divinity.
"Because I'm afraid that the Duke won't come tonight out of fear. I can't be with them all the time, but He is always watching. Tonight is the best opportunity, because tonight their duties may very well end. This is a conspiracy that has lasted for two eras, involving multiple gods, affecting several eras, and running through the fate of countless people, indirectly leading to tonight's scene. Compared to the epic of the chosen one, the story that began at the cocktail party and continues to this day is more like a myth, a terrible and gloomy myth. And I will never allow this story to end in tragedy."
Xia De frowned deeply:
"Even I didn't understand until I saw the hook that the blood-sucking Duke had been manipulating all this since the last era, just to... So, the evil god is the evil god."
He is not for the narrow space or the chosen ones, why do you want to stop him
"Just like the first time I blocked it."
Then a chuckle was heard:
I see, you haven't changed. But you are confident, stranger? If He really wants to come, you, as a mortal, cannot forcibly obtain divinity with just the 'Soul Fishing Rod'.
The first drop of divinity from the Lord of the Blood Feast was when the god was just a shadow that had just stepped into the world, so Shade was able to succeed. The second drop of divinity from the Lord of the Blood Feast was when Shade was in a state of deification, so he was able to succeed. However, if the relic is used in mortal form only, the possibility of success is extremely low, and the god is not immune to resistance.
"I understand, but I'm definitely not the only one who maintains good intentions."
Shad stopped thinking when he heard the door open.
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