Chapter 1158 — The Voyagers' "Defiance"

The giant golden egg fell silent at once. Though she showed no expression, Gao Yang felt as if he could clearly sense the hesitation and conflict coming from within the shell. Only after a full half minute did Enya's voice emerge: "...I do not know whether direct contact with dragons right now is a good idea."

"We have done a risk assessment," Gao Yang said. "Metsin and Noretta are dragons who know of your existence, so there is no risk of their worldview being shaken and their faith reconnecting. On the other hand, you have completely shed your divinity; the monitoring team has confirmed that your unlocking is far more thorough than Amorn's or Milmina's, so there is no need to worry about mental contamination spreading either. The only thing to consider is whether you yourself are willing. As for Metsin and Noretta, I am ninety-nine percent certain they would be delighted."

Enya fell silent again, but this time her hesitation lasted only a very short while. "All right, then please arrange it. I... do rather want to see them."

Gao Yang nodded. "Then I will bring them over shortly..."

Enya murmured assent, and before Gao Yang could turn to leave she called him back. "Wait—I think I ought to express my thanks."

Gao Yang was puzzled. "Thanks?"

No sooner had he spoken than one of the vessels floating behind Enya suddenly flew toward them, while at the same time a clean glass settled onto the small table at his hand. The vessel tilted; the ice cubes and liquid inside clinked and rattled, and amid the dense crackle of bursting bubbles a dark brown drink was poured into the glass, rising with a layer of foam.

"As for that beverage you requested, I have made some progress these past two days. The formula has been adjusted, and this time the flavor should be far more successful than last time," Enya's tone lifted, pride in her voice. "This time I took into account the texture and sweetness you specifically mentioned. Would you like to try it before you go?"

Gao Yang had not expected this. He looked somewhat hesitantly at the foaming glass on the table, yet his mind could not help recalling the impact of the "trial product" Enya had mixed last time. Though the specific taste and texture had been forcibly erased by his brain, that "feeling" was carved into his heart as if with a knife. This cup... could he drink it?

Noticing Gao Yang's hesitation, Enya could not help saying, "Give it a try. You can take a small sip first."

After hesitating again and again, Gao Yang finally picked up the glass, and this time he first sniffed it cautiously for a long while, even secretly releasing his transcendent power to detect curses and poisons, verifying carefully for quite some time before he was sure the contents were at least harmless. Only then did he cautiously bring the rim to his lips and take a small sip.

It seemed to have no taste at all, only the sensation of bubbles bursting in his mouth, so he took another sip, trying to determine whether this thing was at least a little closer to the "cola" in his memory.

The next second, he felt even more clearly that sensation of countless bubbles bursting in his mouth. At first they were like countless miniature air bursts, then like a rapid volley of violently erupting projectiles, then like exploding fireballs—Flame Burst, Hellblast, the main guns of the Winterhold, ten thousand Rebeccas hurling gate-sized fireballs in every direction with all their might...

The wild, exaggerated associations flashed through his mind, and the next second Gao Yang spat it all out. "Pff—"

Enya's regretful and apologetic voice rose in the hatchery. "Ah, I am very sorry. It seems this time is still far from a success..."

"It is not a question of success or failure," Gao Yang finally recovered after quite a while, staring wide-eyed at the giant egg in the middle of the room. "The point is how you did it... Can this stuff really be made from mundane materials? Are you sure you did not mix in some 'inconceivable divine spell effect'?"

As he spoke he glanced at the more than half a glass of liquid still in his hand, then quickly set it back on the table. Honestly, the stuff was certainly not poisonous—the magic test had confirmed it, and he had tried it himself; this liquid was indeed not poisonous—but it was harmful, very harmful, harmful to the point of sanity loss.

Enya had said that after leaving her divine seat she had lost the ability to create miracles—but in Gao Yang's view, this stuff absolutely qualified as a "miracle"!

"I do not understand why this happened," Enya's voice was as calm as ever, even carrying a most earnest spirit of inquiry. "I believe that what I brewed, even if it does not taste good, should never have this effect... Perhaps I should not use so much magic to mix these ingredients? Well, now I have a direction to work toward..."

"Let's not worry about which direction to push in for now," Gao Yang hurriedly cut off this overly earnest lady who had already been fired up with motivation. "I have just one suggestion. Next time you brew something up... if it really comes to that, you could borrow a lab animal from the druids and test it on that, couldn't you?"

The golden giant egg was silent for a moment before it said, somewhat hesitantly: "Actually, I did try. Because I believed that what I had brewed this time was absolutely harmless, I tried feeding it to that spotted dog in the garden..."

"Huh? And then? How did it react?"

"I don't know. It ran off. Very fast."

Gao Yang was struck dumb: "So this stuff scared even the dog away!?"

Yet Enya's tone remained calm and brimming with confidence: "At the time I mainly reasoned that a dog's sense of taste and preferences are not the same as a human's. And you yourself went out of your way to stress that the beverage called 'cola' has a flavor all its own—to someone trying it for the first time it might even be as unpalatable as herbal water..."

Gao Yang: "..."

After a long silence, he could only sigh, wave a hand to show that he no longer held this small mishap against her, and stride toward the door of the hatching chamber. Enya's voice came from behind him, carrying the same earnestness and gravity as always: "I will keep trying new formulas. Please look forward to the results next time."

Gao Yang's steps paused for a moment; the corner of his mouth twitched twice before he finally forced out a helpless sentence: "Then... good luck to you. I'll do my best to keep up as well."

After leaving the hatching chamber, Gao Yang took a moment at the doorway to compose himself properly, and only then did he fully recover his usual dignified, steady bearing, and set off toward the main hall.

Judging by the time, Metzen should have finished his "official proceedings" at the Autumn Palace by now and ought to be arriving at Cecil Palace soon. As a friend rather than a monarch, he ought to go receive him in person.

He only hoped that Miss MyLittlePony would not bring him any more "surprises" this time—he had already faced quite enough surprises for one day.