Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1236: Chapter 1235: Terrifying Speculation

Gawain concealed nothing and hesitated not, revealing the news from Talronde to Enya and Pan Tuo.

The Hatching Room fell silent, with Gawain and the others momentarily speechless, and only the faint golden magic symbols on Enya’s eggshell gently flowing as always, indicating that this former Dragon Goddess was deep in thought.

”About the Tower of the Inversion Tide...” Amber, unable to hold back, was the first to speak. The half-elf appeared visibly tense. ”Could it be...”

”There are two unclear matters now,” Enya’s voice emerged from the eggshell. ”First, Modir’s peculiar state doesn’t seem to be a result of contamination from the Inversion Tide, but is evidently linked to the ancient, missing Goddess of Shadows. What could possibly connect the Inversion Tide and the Goddess of Shadows? Second, Modir was normal when he left the Tower of the Inversion Tide years ago. He even has numerous adventure records spread over the years, and I am certain he never returned to Talronde until his ’coming of age’ ceremony. There’s no possibility of his abnormal condition resulting from contact with the Tower of the Inversion Tide—then where did he encounter a god-level force of erosion?”

”So we’ve always suspected this is related to the Violet Kingdom,” Amber immediately replied. ”That country is mysterious, feeling like it’s hiding some earth-shattering secret. Honestly, if I were to learn one day that godly powers are concealed on that massive island, I wouldn’t be surprised. Perhaps Modir Vealt ventured into Violet back then and was tainted by divine power there, or even established a connection with the Lady Night?”

As Amber finished speaking, Gawain slightly shook his head from the side: ”Regrettably, the City of Thousand Towers has formally responded to us—they deny Modir Vealt ever visited Violet.”

”That’s just their denial. The truth is unknown to anyone,” Amber murmured, unable to resist. ”But if Modir Vealt was indeed contaminated in Violet, then it might truly have no connection to the Tower of the Inversion Tide, and we could breathe a little easier...”

For a moment, no one spoke, nor responded to Amber’s murmur, until the silence was broken seconds later by a somber voice from Enya’s eggshell: ”Affairs are never absolute...”

”The Great Adventurer...” Gawain suddenly knocked lightly on his forehead, feeling a bit troubled. ”That’s truly a troublesome profession. Modir visited far too many places and encountered far too many suspicious things in his life, to the point where any clue feels like it has some connection to him. Two unrelated fields could find intersections in him...”

”My friend, how do you intend to handle this matter?” Enya abruptly asked. ”Regardless of whether there is any true connection behind all this, at least two points are certain: the Tower of the Inversion Tide cannot be left unaddressed indefinitely, and the worsening state of Modir Vealt must not be postponed. Our discussion here is futile; at the very least, a concrete response plan should be devised.”

Gawain remained silent for a moment, furrowing his brows as he delved into deep thought and weighing his options. Meanwhile, Amber muttered, ”If only we could just blow up that tower directly...”

”The things left behind by the Voyager aren’t so easily destroyed,” Gawain glanced helplessly at the half-elf, then his expression turned serious, as if he had made a decision, saying, ”I may have to personally visit Talronde.”

Upon hearing this, Maji, who had stood silently nearby, instantly widened her eyes in amazement: ”Your Majesty? You’re going to personally go...”

”You’re going to Talronde again?!” Amber widened her eyes alongside her, exclaiming mid-sentence. ”Think carefully, it’s not as safe to go to Talronde this time as it was last time, and there are many important matters on the Loren side, from coordinating with alliance member countries to the continental routes, not to mention domestic affairs—all are significant tasks...”

Before Amber could finish speaking, Gawain smiled and shook his head. ”Every matter needing my attention is significant, but here, at least many tasks can be delegated to others—the Tower of the Inversion Tide, however, I wouldn’t dare let anyone else interact with. As for safety... I’m not conducting affairs for safety, nor was last trip to Talronde... particularly safe either, was it?”

As he spoke, he glanced with a smile at the golden egg beside him, and Enya’s resigned voice came from the eggshell: ”My friend, my invitation to you last time was in earnest sincerity...”

”Not joking—your very existence was too dangerous at the time,” Gawain laughed and waved his hand, then his expression grew serious. ”This matter is tentatively set, but it still requires Aunt Heidi and Baldwin to make some arrangements, and let the Administrative Office prepare. Amber, return and inform them, and also be prepared to maintain domestic stability during my absence.”

Amber instinctively nodded, then suddenly realized: ”Ah? You’re not taking me this time?”

”This time is different from last,” Gawain slowly nodded, his expression slightly stern. ”This time I’m dealing with forces beyond the mortal realm. Your talents in intelligence and infiltration won’t be much utilized there. Rather than taking you to Talronde, I trust entrusting domestic matters to others less.”

”...Alright,” Amber thought about it, feeling Gawain’s reasoning was valid, but her ears still drooped slightly. ”We’ll do as you say.”

...

Amber and Maji left first, the former needed to arrange her work, while the latter, having experienced long-distance flights from Talronde to Northport and then from Northport to Cecil Castle, needed to rest her weary body. With Betty taking care of the two young dragons, the Hatching Room became quiet, leaving only Enya and Gawain.

In this silent atmosphere, each contemplated their own matters for a long time until Gawain, with slight apology, broke the silence: ”It seems I always come to you when there’s trouble.”

”Compared to the past days, the ’troubles’ you bring now can merely be considered a source of leisure in life’s adjustments,” Enya’s tone was gentle, her voice low. ”You need not feel an iota of apology for this; on the contrary, I am more than delighted to witness the multitude of ’troubles’ you bring—this signifies you’re not complacent with the status quo and are still progressing toward your ambitious goals.”

Gawain couldn’t help but smile: ”Is that so?”

”Of course,” Enya replied with a smile, ”I’m very pleased to hear that, and I’m especially pleased with your decision to personally visit Talronde again this time...”

Gawain was a bit curious: ”Is there something special about that?”

”It indicates that you have not been blinded by the brilliant achievements you’ve created thus far,” Enya’s tone became serious, ”and that’s what I have always worried about—when you have successfully led this land to prosperity, achieving your initial promises to the people; when you’ve established an alliance where dozens of countries see you as the greatest pillar of support; when you’ve reignited the continental trade route, creating the largest trade flow in this era of civilization; when you’ve successfully established the theocracy Authority Council, harnessing all the powers of both the secular and divine realms—after accomplishing all these things, any one of which could be recorded in history for others, I’m glad to see you’re still willing to leave your palace and personally resolve crises amidst the wasteland.

”I’ve known many great mortals, traversed their lifetimes, and witnessed their remarkable achievements. It’s not that no one has achieved things like you have, but seldom are they still willing to personally face danger after achieving so much... Sometimes it doesn’t mean they’re cowardly or lazy; sometimes it’s a wise and cautious approach. But honestly, I admire your choice more... and I believe it’s not just because you are an ’Outland Wanderer.’”

”Outland Wanderer... the title doesn’t hold much practical significance; I’m just a Traveler, not knowing where my next stop will be,” Gawain smiled self-deprecatingly, ”but since my current stop is here, I have to fulfill the promises I made back then. Besides... this world is so dangerous, I dare not be careless.”

Upon saying this, he paused briefly, then looked seriously at Enya: ”Tell me honestly, regarding the Tower of the Inversion Tide... are you worried that the pollution inside might have already...”

”The Dragonborn girl was here earlier; I don’t want my words to make her too jittery,” Enya’s golden runes on her eggshell surface slowed their movement, ”Just like you suspect, I indeed worry that there have already been unknown changes inside the Tower of the Inversion Tide.”

Gawain immediately said: ”There’s still no evidence that the anomalies with Modir Vealt are related to the pollution from the Inversion Tide, right? Although the pursuit by ancient gods started after approaching the tower, it was clearly the Lady Night chasing him, not the Inversion Tide...”

”That’s exactly what I worry about,” Enya interrupted Gawain, ”Modir’s most likely exposure to divine pollution was during his experience at the Tower of the Inversion Tide. Yet, now he’s entangled with the missing-in-action Shadow Goddess for over 180,000 years, which is my greatest concern.”

Instantly, a terrifying speculation emerged in Gawain’s mind: ”Your meaning is...”

”The Inversion Tide... could potentially pollute gods,” Enya’s voice was lowered, slowly revealing a shocking truth that left Gawain astonished, ”and more directly, the tendency to pollute gods may actually be more evident than polluting mortals.”

”The tendency to pollute gods?!” Gawain widened his eyes, ”Why does it have such a characteristic? Wasn’t its main trait to instill forbidden knowledge into mortals?”

Enya’s voice resonated from within the eggshell: ”Instilling forbidden knowledge into mortals is the Inversion Tide’s undeveloped ’clerical status,’ a manifestation of its divinity. But do not forget on what basis the Inversion Tide originally emerged.”

”The basis of the Inversion Tide’s emergence...” Gawain thought for a moment then understood Enya’s implication, ”Are you referring to the Voyager’s legacy?”

”The essence of the Inversion Tide is a ’divine product’ of the Voyager’s legacy, and the Voyager’s legacy had a primary ’mission’—against the gods on this planet,” Enya spoke slowly and deliberately, ”This ’mission’ could very well become part of the Inversion Tide’s essence through its ’divine’ transformation, thus enabling it to pursue and infect gods.”

Gawain finally understood Enya’s concern completely: ”So... upon learning about Modir’s strange situation, you’re most worried that the Inversion Tide might have found the hidden Lady Night and targeted the ancient deity?”

”The Lady Night has severed ties with this world for over 180,000 years; such a long duration is enough to weaken even the once overwhelmingly powerful ancient deity. If the Inversion Tide seeks suitable prey, Lady Night is evidently the best option. Additionally, Lady Night holds no real followers or envoys in the real world, which means even if something goes wrong, people won’t notice, nor will other gods realize an ancient deity has been ambushed by the Inversion Tide through their widespread ’eyes of the believers’—this is a ’prey’ that won’t raise alarm...”

Listening to Enya’s somber analysis, Gawain felt cold sweat forming on his forehead, though questions simultaneously arose in his mind: ”Wait, didn’t you say that the so-called ’God of the Inversion Tide’ lacks complete rationality? Without rationality, can it make such complex judgments and arrangements?”

”The Inversion Tide indeed lacks complete rationality, so it won’t formulate overly elaborate plans, but it will follow instinct, seeking ways to escape or strengthen itself. And the instinct of the gods...” Enya paused, perhaps contemplating the most straightforward way to explain this concept, ”The instinct of the gods is something more complex than mortal instincts. Sometimes, it directly targets a ’successful result,’ and to achieve this successful result, gods can make a series of actions without considering the process—in essence, this mechanism was created to meet the condition of ’responding to believers’ wishes,’ but under certain circumstances, it can also enable the Inversion Tide to complete a perfect ’hunt’ driven by instinct.”

”Doesn’t this imply the Goddess of Shadows is in a very dangerous position?” Gawain suddenly became a bit anxious, ”So the real reason Modir is being pursued by the Shadow Goddess’s power is likely because the pollution from the Inversion Tide used him as a bridge to connect to the Lady Night’s ’hiding place’? He became some sort of medium to transmit pollution?”

”Now you know what’s worrying me the most,” Enya said solemnly, ”If my speculation is proven true, and the Inversion Tide indeed polluted and consumed an ancient deity, then it has the chance to complete a ’metamorphosis,’ to achieve the final step of ’maturity’ that was unattainable during the Ancient Era. It transforms from an undeveloped ’embryo’ into a formed god—and this god is completely unbound by any clerical status or doctrine, lacking even the initial cognition of ’protecting mortals’...”

Gawain supplemented Enya’s final words: ”Because the mortals needing protection... have been extinct for over a million years.”

Enya sighed: ”If speculating in a worse direction, perhaps it retains a bit of ’protecting mortals’ instinct, which then warps into a compulsion for ’vengeance for its people.’