Luviya continued speaking with the collated report in hand:
"The Grand Witches are currently fighting in the eastern part of the city, probably because the earthquake hasn’t co yet, so they haven’t encountered any noteworthy strong enemies for now. The enemy Miss Sylvia encountered outside the Osenfort Estate is probably the trickiest type. However, according to the information from the church, the biggest problem currently is that there are too many enemies, and the proportion of individuals with outstanding strength is very low. If this situation continues tonight, the danger level and intensity of the battle will be much lower than during Milestone."
"But no one knows what exactly the earthquake situation is."
Miss Sylvia’s voice ca from the doorway as the young Grand Witch who had adjusted herself walked in. First, she inquired Tifa about Shard’s situation, then she explained her plans:
"I won’t leave the opera house for now. According to the plan discussed earlier, I’ll continue to act with Shard for now. Shard, take a rest for a while. However, when you receive the news of the Randall Flower’s bloom, will you ride out of the city again, or go to the Night Shrine through the Church of the Forgotten?"
"I haven’t decided yet, I’ll rest for now."
Miss Sylvia nodded, greeted Shard, and then went to report to the Witch Council.
Shard also thought about getting up to do sothing, like checking the surrounding situation of the Wilder Opera House, or first putting the spoils gained after killing the demon back ho.
But Luviya stopped Shard:
"You should rest for a bit. Although I don’t know how long you can rest, don’t do anything else right now."
"But..."
"Yes, rest for a bit."
Tifa gently pressed Shard’s shoulders from behind the couch to keep him from getting up:
"I’ll go get a blanket, let Shard have a good rest."
She said this, blinking at Luviya, so the purple-eyed girl also held Shard’s hand to stop him from getting up:
"If you stand up now, I’ll kidnap your cat."
She half-jokingly said, and Shard mumbled sothing like "that’s Miss Gawder’s cat":
"Then I’ll sleep for a while first. It’s a pity I haven’t learned ’Dream of the Moon’ yet, otherwise sleep would recover faster."
"Maybe the earthquake will happen after one o’clock in the morning, and by the ti you wake up you’ll be fully recovered."
Luviya said, patting her own leg:
"Sleep with your head here. Speaking of which, we haven’t tried this sort of thing before."
She said with a smile, so Shard lay down holding Mia. Tifa also ca back with a blanket, helping to cover Shard.
Though Shard felt tired, he didn’t think he could fall asleep at this mont. Slling Luviya’s perfu, he closed his eyes under her "command," while Mia, though tempted by the food on the coffee table, settled down imdiately when Shard held her for the first ti.
This made Shard quite gratified; it seed he held a greater attraction for the cat than food did.
"Sleep, sleep, Shard."
The maids soon left, and the gas lamp in the office was dimd. Shard lay on Luviya’s leg as she gently patted his back and began to sing a Draleon folk lullaby.
Shard, who wasn’t even drowsy initially, fell asleep upon hearing the third line of the soft song. And as Luviya noticed the steady change in Shard’s breathing, the orange and white cat also closed its eyes for a restful nap. Luviya smiled and continued the lullaby, hoping this mont could last longer.
[He has changed fate.]
A whisper echoed at the purple-eyed girl’s side, and while Luviya continued to sing, she asked internally:
"Do you an Ston Osenfort is already dead, and that Ciris Lathes need not et an untily death now?"
[Yes.]
"Her" voice carried emotions Luviya herself could not fathom—an amalgamation of relief, gratitude, and joy. The short-haired Luviya, ignorant of those "Bygone Era: Sixth Era" stories, could not understand the source of such emotions.
"The demon is dead, but will there be other dangers tonight?"
Luviya asked softly, and "she" was silent for a mont:
[Yes.]
Luviya didn’t inquire further about the nature of the danger but instead asked another question:
"How long will Shard sleep?"
[About twenty minutes.]
Luviya asked no more, and "she" brought up nothing further on the subject. Together, they humd the lullaby for the slumbering Outlander. Even though Shard couldn’t hear "her" voice at that mont, Luviya still believed that she would rember this night for life.
The gentle lullaby accompanied Shard into slumber. Before closing his eyes, many scattered thoughts filled his mind, yet he didn’t dream of demons or Mrs. Haila, not of Dr. Schneider outside the city, nor did he see the Silvermoon over the fields.
He could perceive Luviya’s humming and feel the warmth of the cat he held, like the sun. He was even aware of the witch’s scent on the small blanket covering him.
This sleep was so comforting to him that when the shaking woke him, Shard found himself unusually craving the taste of slumber.
"Earthquake!"
Noticing the change in Shard’s breathing frequency, Luviya gently reminded him.
Resting on the soft "pillow," Shard could clearly feel the entire sofa shaking violently, and the gas lamp on the wall cut off gas supply due to the safety device at the second second after the earthquake began.
Although Shard had experienced earthquakes more than once during major events in the past, he had never experienced such an earthquake in his two lives so far.
For a mont, he even felt that if Luviya hadn’t been holding him, he would have fallen to the floor with Mia. Yet facing such a natural disaster, the usually timid cat was not afraid but seed a bit excited.
The earth seed to moan, and the ancient city spread across the river valley plains faced the natural calamity directly.
As a Circle Sorcerer, even though he was only a First Ring Sorcerer, all the Transcendents within the Randall Valley could hear the sound like a giant beast moaning from deep underground. They could also hear the thumping of a giant heartbeat spreading through the land of the Old Continent with the transmission of earthquake waves.
The land underfoot beca so unfamiliar and hostile after these monts. The mutated earth had reached the twisted fourth rank, and if the problem could not be solved tonight, the earthquake now was the first chi of the material world’s apocalypse.
"It has begun."
Shard sat up, supporting himself on Luviya’s leg, and after becoming a little more awake, he and Luviya went downstairs to check the situation after the first wave of the earthquake ended.
The Wilder Opera House had completed renovations just over a month ago, and Ciris, who was responsible for the renovation plan, considered the impact of disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes when reinforcing the building, so the Wilder Opera House was not damaged in the earthquake. The prepared girls staying at the opera house were also unhard by the earthquake occurring in the early morning.
Gas supplies to the gas lamps were slow to resu, and Miss Haila Aflora organized people to distribute candles and kerosene lamps. From the window, the snowstorm brought distant wails and cries, while the deep night depicted the varied states of the city after the earthquake through the ashes caused by collapsing houses, the red glow of fires, and the faint glimr from the guiding teams moving through the streets.
Even though the church and city hall had prepared for this disaster in advance, small mortals still had to endure suffering in the face of such natural calamities. After the most intense shaking subsided, a series of aftershocks was yet to co. Tonight, likely, no one could sleep.
And this earthquake was just the prelude to the real disaster tonight.
"Do you feel it?"
In the basent of the Wilder Opera House, Shard placed his palm on the ground within the ceremony left by the "Witch of the Earth," Miss Benanis, directly perceiving the dynamics of the earth through the amplification of the ceremony.
Luviya and the three Witch Apprentices were beside Shard, and the lighting orbs summoned by the girls made the basent as bright as day.
"I feel it. The largest twisted area in the Randall Valley is at the northeastern position outside the city now."
Shard said:
"The location is not far from where the Grand Witches are now. We can send a ssage to Miss Galina and others to temporarily stay in place."
"Looking at the map, of the seven possible locations, the northeast direction only has the Night Shrine and an empty field by the side of Elon River."
Miss Haila Aflora said, while Miss Rita Swift asked anxiously:
"Should Shard set off imdiately? Isn’t his injury still unhealed?"
"He needs another half-hour to recover, during which it’s best not to use any Arcane Techniques."
"Although at least another hour and a half remains before the Mad Guardian appears, I can’t wait half an hour more. Fortunately, in reality, I have another forty minutes."
Shard looked at Luviya, who understood Shard’s intention:
"The key was kept for this mont. Now, you shall set off."
"May the World Tree bless with infinite ti."
Mia was transford into a toy and put in his pocket; a three-second separation needs no farewell. Shard and Luviya returned to the third floor, and in Miss Benanis’s opera troupe leader’s office, they opened the door where the broken Ti Key was inserted.
[Outlander, you have stepped into the "Ti Corridor."]
[ssage from the Ancient God "Father of the Infinite Tree":]
[Autumn of Year 3028 in the Fifth Era, Northern Continent, City of Eternal Night.]
[Event: Whisper of the Veil of Eternal Night.]
[Duration: 40 minutes (4/4).]
[You have obtained additional information.]
[The figure of the Father of the Infinite Tree watches over you.]
[The challenge given to you by the Ancient God of Ti will continue.]
[Help mortals break through the Maze of Eternal Night and explore the truth behind the veil.]
[The Father of the Infinite Tree will grant you a reward: Miracle Soul Rune - Night.]
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