He walked to her side, suddenly grasping her hand holding the black dagger, guiding her to thrust the blade hard into the center of the basin’s bottom.
Despite being hard stone, the material yielded like tofu to the knife, cutting through a strange emblem and plunging deep into what seemed like a liquid-filled space below.
Almost simultaneously, the circular emblem shattered, and a plume of smoke erupted from the crack.
The stone pillar slowly sank into the ground, and the surroundings violently shook.
The wall behind the stone room gradually opened, revealing a space filled with blinding light.
The light was too intense, and Naily had to close her eyes. Struggling to keep them slightly open, she finally saw what was within the bright light:
Interlocking gears, one after another, of various sizes influencing each other, connected end to end in a spiral, coiling around the brightly glowing object, resembling a silkworm cocoon or a spindle. Each gear was connected by threads as thin as hair, these semi-transparent threads intertwining and converging toward the center of the light.
Looking closer, some threads were reddish-brown, some colorless. Toward the edges, the threads’ colors grew deeper, seeming ancient and worn. Only one thread, wrapped in bright light, separated the red and white threads. This shimmering thread moved slowly, driving the surrounding uncolored threads to rotate the gears, one by one.
The green-haired magician let out a strange laugh: “What is it? Isn’t it obvious? This is the source of this world, the true face of fate!”
Just one look and you’ll understand, such beautiful magic…”
His voice abruptly stopped.
Nelly was startled.
Blood quickly spread across the white robe. Gerald stiffly lowered his head, looking at his chest, mouth agape. There was no trace of a blade piercing him, yet a hole had opened, blood gushing out.
“This is indeed the truth of the world,” the newcomer released a pleasant laugh, “but some truths must be exchanged for life, isn’t that right? Gerald?”
Nelly propped her hand on the ground and quickly retreated, creating distance.
The blonde noblewoman in a purple robe stepped lightly over the scattered stones, glancing down at Gerald, whose lips were still moving. Her smile gained a hint of pity: “I liked you, what a pity.”
