Chapter 1102 — Determination of Nature
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 5
As the Silver Queen's words fell, a deep, low hum had already risen from the edges of the venue. Then, upon the surfaces of those majestic stone pillars, layer upon layer of magical radiance suddenly emerged. Countless ancient and abstruse runes surfaced from the stone walls and unfurled like petals, linking with one another in the air to form a pale green curtain of runes. Radiance coursed onward, and the spaces between the runes swiftly filled with spreading light and shadow—within mere seconds, a dense, boundless forest had risen outside the entire Oathstone Ring. The original wasteland vista and the distant townscape were wholly replaced by this suddenly appearing forest; not a trace of them remained visible.
Outside the Oathstone Ring, however, the various teams waiting in the rest area did not see that "forest." They merely watched as the vast ancient ritual ground was enveloped in a radiance, and the next second vanished from the wilderness into thin air—many were somewhat unsettled by this, but upon seeing that the elven affairs officers and the working teams from Typhon and Cecil were still resting quietly beside the grounds, those who had stirred soon calmed down.
Inside the Oathstone Ring, the Silver Queen concluded the "reversal" of the ritual ground. After she sat back down, Gao Yang stood up: "Then let us begin this session. Surely many of you have realized, after so many days of meetings, the topic we have deliberately been avoiding all along. So now... it is time to face this greatest of troubles: the gods of our world."
In the hall, grown much quieter for the reduced attendance, many representatives shifted slightly in their seats. Some faces changed subtly; some instinctively fell into thought; some clenched a fist and knocked at their temple—but no one cried out or lost composure at this topic. As Gao Yang had said, after so many days of meetings, after seeing the images left on the Typhon-Cecil battlefield and learning of the disaster that had befallen Tarronde, any person of intelligence should by now have guessed the content of this closed session.
"By now, I think no one will question the authenticity of the materials we saw at the meeting's opening," Gao Yang continued after a brief pause. "What I want to say is that those materials were far from complete—
"Years ago, Cecil had already come into contact with this part of the truth, and Typhon faced the 'dark side of the gods' even earlier than Cecil. Tracing back even to the ancient Gondor era, some who saw ahead faced this dark reality. They were called the 'Defiers,' and they spent their entire lives seeking ways to oppose fate...
"This is what I mean: this is not a crisis that has suddenly exposed itself to mortals. In truth, this crisis has accompanied our civilization for thousands, even tens of thousands of years. Many have faced it across the long ages and attempted to oppose it. It is a 'hidden river' in our civilization's development—the vast majority know nothing of its existence, yet it has always flowed deep within our history."
"That sounds far too general," the leader of the Northern City-States Union stood up. "May I ask whether there are more detailed materials that could help us quickly grasp the situation?"
"There are. The materials are placed in the compartments beneath your tables," Gao Yan nodded. "You may retrieve and read them at your leisure. We have explained the situation in as concise and clear a form as possible. If questions remain during your reading, you may speak up at any time."