The square was steeped in a layer of sorrow. Nodas stood to the side with a group of Centaur Warriors, watching the Elves clutch one another as they wept. A warrior's emotions were harder than steel, and besides, the war with Madara had long since accustod him to partings of life and death. Yet for so reason, he still could not keep the heaviness from his heart.
"I think I can understand their feelings," said a tall Centaur Warrior. He was the Leader of these centaurs. "Battle ought to bring people glory—but battles like this can only bring grief, nothing but loss."
Nodas nodded, but how was the fighting in Erune any different? That ancient Kingdom might not be able to give them any answer at all.
He looked at these people, and suddenly sothing stirred in his heart.
The Torch had finally been kindled—
When Brand's hands left that enormous Crystal Prism, a stronger, unceasing Light flared from within the Crystal. Immaculate White Light illuminated every corner of the underground hall. A vast and mysterious chamber, ford of well over a hundred columns, unfolded before everyone's eyes. Yet at this mont no one was paying attention to any of that, for every gaze, tinged with sothing like reverence, was lifted to the Crystal in the sky.
Within the Crystal burned a mass of pure White fla, like Holy Fire—yet in truth it was the Law of Order woven into the "Holy Scripture," binding all things into stillness: Martha's Order, beneath which Elent and Magic Power sank and rose beneath the surface of the Sea of Chaos.
An utterly tranquil aura spread outward from the Crystal. Everyone felt their bodies tense, and the faint link between the Magic Power within them and the Great Demon Tide was severed in an instant.
"Hm?" Brand gave a soft exclamation. He discovered that the way the Original Spark worked was sowhat different from ordinary Torches. Torches crafted by Wizards rewrote the Law directly, whereas Martha's Torch first cut off every source of power—Magic Power, Free Power, even the Elental Power within the very frawork of Law was severed completely.
It was like formatting a program: first clearing away every remnant within the region, then writing rules upon a sheet of clean White paper. Those rules must certainly include a rule for introducing power; only after the Law was fully completed would the forces needed to build the World be guided in, and even then only within the bounds permitted by the Law.
The advantage of this was obvious: because the foundation was clean, the Guardian Land ford by the Original Spark was extrely stable, least susceptible to the influence of the Magic Tide from the Sea of Chaos. Yet it was not without drawbacks. At the very least, during the "formatting" process, the strength of everyone present was thoroughly suppressed. Even their physical Strength was only slightly greater than that of an Ordinary person.
Fortunately, this process was only temporary. By his estimation, it would last at most about one Zhou. At the sa ti, the "formatting" process targeted every Biological within each inch of space "lit" by the Fire of Order, with an even stronger suppression upon Monsters, so he was not particularly worried that this would pose any danger. It was just a matter of getting used to it.
The Goddess's Will had already departed by this ti. When he turned back, he saw phisto and Qian suddenly shift their gazes toward one side of the hall. From that direction ca the sound of several approaching footsteps. Brand frowned. At this mont, aside from them, the only one left in the center of the Trade Wind Ring should have been Veronica, though it was not impossible that there were still natives here—it was just unlikely.
After a mont, sure enough, Veronica appeared there with Farina, and Andesa followed behind them, her face still twisted with resentnt.
Veronica had traced the source of the Light to find this place. She had clearly not expected to see Brand here, and could not help being taken aback when she saw them. But imdiately her gaze was drawn to that "Lighthouse," and the Empire's Female War God's eyes were captured by it. "So this is the Original Spark?" Like phisto, she showed a solemn expression. "Is this the blessing the Goddess left to Mortals in the legends? Before this, I had only ever glimpsed it once from afar in Marus."
Marus lay within the territory of the Holy Temple Force, where there was a well-preserved Marsha Temple that housed an Original Spark. It was said that that Torch was the very foundation of the Guardian Land of the Kruz–Fandos sub-continent. The power of that Torch was so great that within a radius of several thousand li there had not been a single rumor of Monsters for several centuries. It was precisely for this reason that Marus Holy City and the urban cluster around it had beco the largest and most prosperous cities on the continent.
User Comments
0 comments from readers