"Can cats use this relic, too?"
Shade asked curiously.
"Of course, any creature with a normal digestive system and a mouth structure can theoretically use this relic. You can pay the spirit in advance, and your cute pet is just an ordinary animal."
Miss Theresa pushed up her glasses and said, and Miss Violet and the young maid behind her also looked over with interest.
Xia De then held the food bag in both hands and handed it to Xiaomia. The cat stretched its head towards the food bag without hesitation. If Xia De had not grabbed its tail, the greedy cat would probably have completely crawled into the pocket.
The cat's front half was squirming in the food bag, and when Shade pulled the dissatisfied Mia out, it had a dried sausage in its mouth. After Shade's inspection, he confirmed that it was an ordinary beef sausage.
This made Miss Violet extremely disappointed, as she was expecting a more interesting scene.
"Interesting scenes mean danger."
Shade pointed this out as he stood up from the campfire.
"For me, there is no danger."
The thirteenth-level witch said confidently.
Just like last time, six maids stayed behind to guard the camp, while Miss Violet set off with Miss Theresa of the tenth level and Shade.
The next section of the road would be very dangerous, so Shade turned Mia, who was chewing on the dried sausage, and the dried sausage into a toy and put it in his pocket. Miss Violet led the way with a relic compass and a lucky iron cross, and Miss Theresa and Shade, who was holding a night watchman, followed behind her.
The fog on the island in the middle of Lost Lake was just as terrifying as last time, but fortunately, there was no terrifying thing like the "giant creature falling from the sky" last time. But Shade found that the island in the middle of the lake seemed to be different. Although he could occasionally see plants around him when he went deep into the fog last time, most of the plants were short and withered, which was very similar to the scenery in the Pantanal swamp area west of Huntington in early winter.
But this time, when I followed the witch deeper into the island, I found that the ground was covered with withered yellow hard thorn bushes. These thorns were even harder than the special alloy used in the steam engine pressure chamber, and as long as I touched them with my hands, my fingers would immediately bleed.
The witch's flames couldn't even burn them in a short time. Shade, holding the Night Watcher, used the "Moonlight Greatsword" and let the Moonlight Greatsword attach to the physical silver sword to clear a path, so as to barely avoid delaying the journey.
These thorn bushes appeared not long after Shade left last time, when Miss Violet and Miss Theresa had returned to the campfire camp by the lake. With a muffled sound from the ground, the barren land immediately grew lichens, green grass, flowers, and then small ferns, until bushes, trees, and shrubs appeared.
Because it is difficult to judge the time here, the eight witches could not tell how long the "plant evolution" took. However, the appearance of those plants was not for greening the place, but to absorb nutrients from the earth, and after the scene of the primitive forest appeared, terrible evil things such as "evil tree people" were born.
In the words of Miss Violet, they were moving plants with disgusting vines and green flames all over their bodies. After the monsters were born, they had a conflict with the eight witches, and then a fierce battle ensued.
The thorn bushes all over the island were the result of the battle, and although Miss Violet looked fine, she was actually seriously exhausted. In addition, in the Lost Lake area, the recovery of spiritual and physical strength would become extremely slow. If it weren't for the bag of holy water that Shade brought last time, Miss Violet would probably not be able to maintain her current dignity.
But no matter what, thanks to Shade's "cutting through the thorns" along the way, the three of them still arrived safely at the center of the lake island. The hard, withered yellow thorn bushes all over the ground, like the thick fog on the island, did not invade the area around the obsidian tower. Therefore, after arriving at the bottom of the tower, the three of them could finally take a short rest.
As Miss Violet adjusted her state, Miss Theresa panicked and prepared herself to meet the gods again. She hung the proof of faith in the relic around her neck and prayed softly.
Only Shade looked up at the obsidian tower in front of him. Violet hadn’t noticed him at first, but suddenly she realized something:
"I remember that the last time you came with us, you also didn't dare to look directly at this tower."
She stood behind Xia De and spoke softly, afraid to disturb the existence in the tower.
"People always make progress. The me last time is not the me now... It's really interesting. The gods are not on the first floor now, but on the second floor."
Xia De frowned slightly:
"What does this mean? Is it a symbolic indication that we have to complete the trial step by step? Or does it mean that God is leaving this land, so we have to hurry up?"
He turned and asked the witches, but they didn't know the answer either. Even though they had been living by the campfire by the lake and could see the silhouette of the obsidian tower from the corners of the fog and thorn bushes, they didn't always pay attention to the tower.
"Yes, hurry up, I really don't want to stay here any longer, I miss my soft bed."
Miss Violet said softly. The three of them fixed their makeup. The Witch Queen tried to push open the dilapidated wooden board under the tower, but was stopped by Shade:
“No, I’m in better shape this time. I’ll do it. Miss Violet, you should save some energy. You’ll still be living here for a long time.”
Shade left the night watchman outside and went out first. Miss Violet did not fight with him, but watched Shade push open the door. There was wind in the closed space inside the door, and the humid water vapor blew in the face with the wind. When it was breathed into the lungs, it made people feel that their brains suddenly calmed down, as if they had let go of all their worries.
Violet was about to step forward when she saw a crack on Shade’s face, as if blown by the wind. Then, golden light poured out from the crack on his face, and the light particles dragged out a golden residue.
Xia De turned around and waved to the witches:
"Ladies, I'm walking in front, follow me."
Miss Theresa looked at Shade in surprise, his body covered with golden cracks, as if burning with golden flames:
"Wasn't it a red flame last time?"
"No, this is not fire."
Miss Violet looked at Shade cautiously:
"Although I don't know what this is, it is much greater than the fire last time. Well, sir, you go in front. This time we are going to the second floor of the tower, so you have to be more careful ahead."
"No problem. Although I don't mean to brag about myself, I have experienced this kind of thing more than once."
"Sir, we don't know your name yet."
Miss Theresa still remembers this incident.
Shade hesitated:
"Shad Suren Hamilton."
"Su Lun..."
Miss Violet looked at him in surprise, while Miss Theresa nodded to indicate that she had remembered it.
Just reveal your real name like that
"Miss Feliana and Miss Orlanod also know about it, and besides..."
Xia De stepped into the tower. The abundant moisture almost made him think he was soaking in water:
"The Infinite Tree Father seems to be intentionally erasing my traces from the past eras. Otherwise, Saint Byrons would have discovered something was wrong with me long ago."
The small lake was still on the first floor of the tower, with thick mist rippling on the calm surface of the lake, but the table and the god behind the table were no longer in the center of the tower.
"Sure enough, he went to the second floor."
Xia De thought to himself and turned to look behind him. Miss Violet and Miss Theresa had also caught up.
“God is not here.”
Shade said softly, and the two witches nodded slightly.
The three looked around the first floor of the tower and didn't see any stairs going up. Looking up, they couldn't see the ceiling at all, only the increasingly thick fog.
"Something's wrong there."
The thirteenth-level Witch Emperor was very sensitive. She pointed to the area opposite the door. After the three of them approached, Xia De also discovered that the mist diffusion in that area was abnormal.
Reaching out to touch it, when the fingers touched the solid, the shape of the steps appeared in the mist like the texture of mercury. But when Shade withdrew his fingers, the steps disappeared again.
"Invisible stairs?"
Shade asked in surprise, and Miss Violet nodded:
"I've seen a relic called the Stairway to Heaven, which is very similar to this one."
As she spoke, a ball of light flew out of Miss Violet's right hand. It appeared from the place where the stairs had just appeared, and then completely penetrated. Shade frowned, put his hand into his sleeve, and then touched the area with his clothes, but he didn't touch anything. He touched it again with his hand, and it touched it again.
"It will only appear when the flesh comes into direct contact. If there is no contact, it is equivalent to non-existence. The abnormality of the mist should be a clue left by the Great One for us. Otherwise, it will take a lot of effort to find the stairs."
He reached a conclusion.
“But why would God do this?”
Miss Theresa asked quietly.
"Do you think meeting with God is like visiting your neighbors?"
Miss Violet asked back, and then looked at Shade:
"Will you go first or should I?"
"I'll go first."
Shade said, bending down slightly and reaching his hands forward. After a few attempts, the mercury reverberated as his palms touched, outlining a small part of the stairs again. Shade noted the location, but when he raised his foot to step on it again, he found that he was still stepping on the air.
"Yes, shoes."
Shad understood immediately and took off his boots and socks.
Turning to the two ladies, he said:
"You should take off your shoes and socks like me. Oh, it really feels like going on a pilgrimage. Some time ago, I went to visit a white-robed lady who lived in the lake, and the blind nun who accompanied her took off her boots. And I heard that in some places, the country people would clean their feet before entering the church and walk barefoot to the holy emblem... I should turn my head."
He patted his head, and Miss Theresa blushed and then shyly bent down to take off her shoes and socks. Miss Violet looked at Shade's back with great interest. It was the first time she had seen such a man.
Even in the Fifth Age, ladies' feet were still a part of the body that could not be looked at casually.