Pillar of Yita

A flying stone struck the man, breaking his neck, and his head grotesquely dangled to one side as he plummeted down like a tattered rag doll.

Seeing this scene, Fang Hong came to his senses, feeling slightly relieved that his luck was a tad bit better than that of the other’s. With great effort, he reached back to grab the lever of his Magic Guided Reactor; it took all his strength to adjust his posture and press down on that lever.

He heard a soft hiss, like the sound of something inflating, as the metal box on his back swung open all at once.

That was the fall-slowing construct Miss Sicape had given him; he hadn’t expected it would come in handy at this moment.

But as soon as he thought about the person who had given him this device, now no longer in Eteliria, Fang Hong was filled with a sense of loss. Yet, he faintly felt as if Miss Sicape and the others were still secretly protecting him, just like the very Wings of Magical Power behind him, filling his heart with warmth and safety.

But that was also a heavy weight—

Fang Hong cautiously adjusted his posture to avoid the giant stones and fragments falling all around, but he was in luck as the rolling stones seemed to miraculously miss him. The only thing that still worried Fang Hong was the Construct Behemoths—when he realized that those ’behemoths’ were actually part of the ’Construct Octopus’, he understood they didn’t need to rely on the ground to move.

With this thought, he couldn’t help but look up.

But he wished he hadn’t, as the sight made him want to slap himself.

For a shadow was pressing down on him.

It wasn’t the remnants of a building.

But those two Construct Behemoths—

In that moment, Fang Hong had never been so acutely aware of the fact that he truly was a jinx.

...

When he opened his eyes once again, he saw a pit.

Above him, the night sky was receding layer by layer; a faint light of dawn showed in the east, sparsely dotted with a few remaining stars, still retaining a light purple hue but gradually becoming transparent.

The cliffs around were at least a hundred meters high, with lake water tumbling down from them, forming a bright waterfall nearby thundering down.

The relics on the ground had completely collapsed, which suggested that such a cavity had existed beneath all along, or it may have even been the underground part of the relic itself—Fang Hong suddenly realized this. Yet what surprised him more was that he was actually still alive—

He tried to move, but he couldn’t; apart from being able to blink, breathe, listen, and see, he couldn’t even wiggle his little finger.

Fang Hong couldn’t figure out what his current state was supposed to be, or if this was just how the people of Eteliria were supposed to be after death, until he chose to resurrect or return to the real world?

At this thought, a great panic suddenly surged in his heart.

Not from the fear of death.

But rather, he thought about if everyone was like this, then didn’t Miss Sicape cry over him like a fool, muttering and wallowing in self-pity? Oh gods of Eteliria, just the possibility of this being true left Fang Hong feeling as though his brain would explode—wasn’t this like a public execution in the legends?

He really wished he could turn back time and start over—

But suddenly, a hint of azure light caught Fang Hong’s eye, causing him to pause. He then realized that the light had always been there; he had merely been ignoring it subconsciously amidst his wild thoughts. Straining his eyes downward, he finally found the source of the light.

That light was actually emanating from the area around his heart.

Fang Hong couldn’t help but gape. He immediately witnessed an even more incredible scene: the light was healing his body, whether it be the fractures from before or the earliest injuries on his hand, all were slowly healing under the glow of this light.

”...Is that Miya’s Dagger?”

The azure blue light reminded him of something similar.

Fang Hong only remembered seeing the same glow from the Star Dagger, which had even left a strange mark on his forehead before it vanished, a mark that likely was also seen by Miss Sicape and that female Wanderer of the Silver Shadow.

Only this could explain the phenomenon currently occurring on his body, and Fang Hong even vaguely felt that the light was actually not healing his wounds.

But resurrecting him.

He had never witnessed such a powerful healing ability in Eteliria; the main ability of the healers in this world was not healing or resurrection, but stabilizing injuries, restoring vitality, and recharging shields. It was impossible to make a dying man rejuvenated.

He quietly waited for a while, and sure enough, the light gradually dimmed. He also regained control of his body, quickly getting up. He tore off a strip from his hand and looked—the skin was as fair as newly born, showing no trace of any wounds.

At that moment, Fang Hong was almost certain of something, but he still stretched his body carefully, indeed feeling no discomfort, except for a numb and tingly sensation at the fracture in his left hand, seemingly because the bone had not yet fully healed.

He sucked in a breath of cold air.

Resurrection ability, wasn’t that the top-tier skill supposedly possessed only by Dragon Riders?

Legend had it that Dragon Riders could use the carrier of the Dragon Soul—the Holy Crystal to revive themselves once before death, and this revival could be done without depleting any Starlight. But this legend in Eteliria had only been passed down by word of mouth, with no one actually having witnessed it.

Because this ability is actually quite superfluous.

Any Dragon Rider would rather lose Starlight than to expend a Holy Crystal, as each carrier of the Dragon Soul is exceedingly precious, possibly their only chance of becoming a Dragon Rider. Fang Hong was well aware of how many Dragon Riders there were in the Grand Guild.

That’s why as he looked at his hand, he was dumbfounded for a moment.

What exactly had Miya given him?

And did she intentionally give him that dagger?

Fang Hong took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself. He looked around a bit aimlessly again and then froze.

The pit was filled with the ruins of buildings, and nearby, the waterfall cascaded down in a sheet of white. In the bright light, he saw a mountainous, immense object hidden behind it.

That was the Giant Construct from before.

...