While Saint Delan Square was busy, death was cold and quiet. Five people sat around the bonfire in front of the stone gate, their shadows cast around by the firelight, swaying like goblins in a fairy tale.
Everyone was looking at Xia De. Xia De continued, "The Holy Tree Mark Ritual is almost complete, but the problem of the Gap remains unsolved. I imagine there's a fierce battle going on outside right now. We need the power of the death Chosen One to end everything tonight. But who exactly should The Chosen be?"
Joey Barton had already lost his qualification, and even if he hadn't, Xia De wouldn't have let him become The Chosen. And now, everyone had actively come here from the Gap, which meant everyone had actively committed suicide in the Gap.
"Whoever walks out of here first will be The Chosen, because all the other candidates in line have already died."
Xia De repeated, then looked at Sister Devlin. Sister Devlin also understood this fact; she was the second in line after Joey Barton. But the Sister shook her head slightly, "I have already embarked on the path of guarding the First Fire. death is not suitable for me. It's not just me who can become The Chosen now; perhaps you can consider other candidates."
So Xia De looked at Priest Augustus. The Priest hesitated for a moment, putting down his pipe, which was lit by the First Fire, and asked curiously, "What is The Chosen?"
"In the fifth epoch, the Witch Council's prophecy, the whispering chapters, mentioned that thirteen Chosen Ones would appear in the sixth epoch. They are the protagonists of the epoch; their stories will collectively form the unknown stage of destiny for the sixth epoch and influence the future of the entire world. And the death Chosen One possesses the power of the ancient god, the ancient death god."
Xia De introduced, "Priest, perhaps you can consider—"
"No, I don't want to bear such responsibility. The troubles in the church are enough for me. At my age, I still have to worry about the accommodation of the choir children, assist with the church's quarterly financial audits, and participate in event planning for the Holy Prayer Festival every year. Detective, I have enough on my hands. Those boring responsibilities belong to you young people."
The Priest shook his head firmly, "Don't involve me in this kind of thing."
Actually, Xia De also didn't want to involve Priest Augustus in this matter. Becoming The Chosen was equivalent to being forced into a whirlpool of destiny, and Priest Augustus, with an arm lying at his feet, clearly preferred a peaceful life.
"Then we can only consider the fourth candidate in line," Xia De said, then looked at Iluna.
The seventeen-year-old girl also looked at him, blinking her eyes in confusion, "The fourth candidate? Who is that? Didn't you say last time that you weren't sure about the fourth person?"
But Xia De continued to look at her, so Iluna suspiciously turned her head to look behind her, as if she thought there was someone else beside her. But after confirming that Xia De was indeed looking at her, she slightly opened her mouth, pointing at herself with some disbelief, "You mean me?"
"As of your arrival in Middlesburg, there have been a total of four."
"But..."
"Eyes that can see through darkness."
"But that's what you gave—"
"I am a spectator outside of destiny; I cannot be The Chosen no matter who it is. Besides me, a total of four people stepped into death tonight. So why, Iluna, did you also appear here?"
Although this reason was very illogical, Iluna was still stunned for a moment, then quickly shook her head, "Xia De, are you mistaken? I am the Balance Chosen One; I have even performed the ritual."
"But no one ever said that The Chosen One qualification cannot appear repeatedly on the same person," Xia De said. Iluna thought for a moment and seemed genuinely unable to refute.
"It is indeed her," Joey Barton's soul, sitting beside Marilyn Handel, said softly. "After losing my power, my perception of death became more real, as if I had melted into death. This young lady with brown hair is indeed the fourth candidate."
Xia De was relieved now; his guess was not wrong.
But Iluna still didn't want to accept it, "This Sister and Priest Augustus are both more suitable than me. After performing the judgment just now, I gained some new information: except for the first candidate, even if other candidates perform the ritual, the power they obtain will be weaker. The further down the line, the weaker the power obtained. From any perspective, to cope with the continuous troubles that will follow, it is better for a higher-ranked person to take on the role of The Chosen."
This was new information.
"Miss Bei Ya Si, you should look at it this way," Priest Augustus took another puff from his pipe, the Old Priest's expression very amiable.
"Everyone here, except you, has selfish motives. Barton over there stepped into death to revive his beloved. I offered help for this hand bone. Xia De dueled for rhode cards and a quarter of a soul. The Sister witnessed this scene for the firewood of the First Fire. But only you, Iluna Bayas, only you asked for nothing, participating in this matter merely for justice and compassion.
I dare say that although you are the youngest, at least in this matter, you are the noblest among us."
The others nodded one after another. The Old Priest, as expected of the oldest, spoke with great reason.
Iluna was also a little embarrassed by what Priest Augustus said. She was somewhat moved but still shook her head. This was not a humble refusal, but a genuine unwillingness to accept.
Looking at Xia De, the seventeen-year-old girl whispered, "Xia De, the responsibility of The Chosen is too heavy. It's not that I don't want to bear it, but sometimes I also think that one person shouldn't monopolize all the responsibility and power. You all say I am the protagonist of the epoch, but I am actually just an ordinary person. If possible, I would rather there be more Chosen Ones, instead of me facing all of this alone."
Power comes with a price, and Xia De understood Iluna's thoughts. She didn't greedily want to monopolize all power; she recognized her limits and understood her position. Few people could do this, and Iluna inheriting Balance was definitely not a coincidence.
So, Xia De looked at Priest Augustus and Sister Devlin again. The former quickly shook his head, "Don't consider me; I have many things to do."
He kicked the arm at his feet, "Xia De, when I return to Tobesk in a few weeks, there are some things I want to talk to you about, regarding those wings. I also have many stories and many responsibilities."
The Priest seemed to want to confess his secrets to Xia De, just like Doctor Schneider two months ago. "Sister Devlin, actually, you can try to take on this responsibility. Although I don't understand Original Fire, you seem to be looking for firewood? Fire is life, but fire is also death. Taking on the power of this ancient god, peering into death in the blind darkness, might be of great help to you."
The Sister didn't shake her head this time, hesitating for a moment. "Guarding the First Fire is my responsibility. I can bear the power of death, but not all of it. Inheriting death will bring me closer to death. If Joey Barton became The Chosen, the collision of death and reverse life would instead keep him in his original state. Perhaps this is the meaning of being a person of reverse life."
Joey Barton's soul showed a wry smile, "Destiny."
"It seems to be true. Will a living person inheriting death gradually transform into an undead or a living dead? That's a problem," Xia De mused. Joey Barton spoke again, "Mr. Hamilton, to solve this problem, you just need to make the power of The Chosen impure."
"What do you mean?"
"The Chosen One qualification must belong to only one person; there cannot be two people for one qualification—this cannot be changed. The young lady over there is already a formal Chosen One, yet she still became another candidate. Perhaps she can obtain a portion of the power of death, then death will no longer be pure, and the Sister who inherits the qualification will not gradually transform into an undead."
Xia De looked at him suspiciously; he seemed to know too much.
Joey Barton tightly grasped the hand of the lady beside him, looking at Xia De with calm eyes. "Mr. Hamilton, since you said that the requirement for the death Chosen One Ritual is for everyone else to die, what would happen if, during the ritual of a later-ranked candidate, a previously-ranked candidate suddenly 'revived'?"
Iluna suddenly understood. "If I perform the ritual, but the ritual is not yet complete, and Sister Devlin also returns to the Gap from here, then Sister Devlin will be the death Chosen One. And I, however, will also obtain a part of the power, a very small amount of power. In this way, the Sister's power will be incomplete."
"Yes." Joey Barton then said no more.
Only the death Chosen One should be able to do this, after all, other Chosen One candidates cannot experience situations like "death and resurrection."
Xia De glanced at Joey Barton suspiciously, but did not voice the question in his heart. He had indeed lost the qualification of The Chosen, but Xia De felt that this man, burdened with a curse, had gained something else. Perhaps it was because of Iluna's judgment and his sins, or perhaps it was because he was truly talented in death, but these were not what Xia De needed to care about. Regarding The Chosen, he had already made a judgment:
"Sister, is this feasible? You become the death Chosen One, but Iluna obtains a small portion of the power, making death no longer pure?"
In fact, after the dark Chosen One died, Iluna also gained some dark power, and that dark vortex was the evidence. Looking at it this way, Iluna actually managed to acquire the power of The Chosen three times in a row, even if only the Balance power was complete.
"This is good," the Sister nodded.
"Sister, do you understand death and ending?" Xia De asked again, somewhat worried.
"I once peered into the world after the flame extinguished, in the faint glow of the First Fire. Yes, I understand all of this."
Xia De then smiled, clapped his hands to get everyone's attention, and announced the final decision: "Then let's do this—Iluna, you leave here first in a moment, and Sister Devlin will leave afterward. The Sister will become the third Chosen One; the Witch Council should be very happy. Iluna, you tell the church what happened here according to the story we just made up—I mean, re-organized. As for Sister Devlin's identity—"
"You don't know me. Just say: that was a blind Sister wearing an eye patch," Sister Devlin said proactively, not intending to hide her identity from the church.
Joey Barton didn't care about the qualification that once belonged to him, Marilyn Handel didn't understand their words at all, Priest Augustus narrowed his eyes enjoying the tobacco, Sister Devlin sat expressionlessly on the stone, Iluna was still a little uneasy, and Xia De sat by the bonfire looking at the Nether Moon on the distant water. Moonlight shone on Xia De's face, but there was no excitement or joy on his face.
He lowered his head slightly, his face covered by a large shadow; his eyes narrowed, and his tightly furrowed brows indicated worry.
"Do you know what will happen next?"
"Yes."
"Then why consume that drop of divinity in advance? That is your last drop of divinity."
"Because I'm afraid that Duke won't come tonight out of fear. I can't always be by their side, but He is always watching. Tonight is the best opportunity, because their duties might very well end tonight. This is a conspiracy spanning two epochs, involving multiple gods, affecting several eras, and running through the destinies of countless people, indirectly leading to what happened tonight. Compared to the epic of The Chosen, the story from the beginning of the banquet until now is more like a myth, a terrifying and sinister myth. And I will absolutely not allow this story to end in tragedy."
Xia De's brows furrowed deeply. "Even I only understood when I saw that hook: the blood-sucking Duke has been manipulating all of this from behind since the last epoch, just wanting... So, an evil god is an evil god."
"He is not for the Gap or The Chosen; why do you want to stop him?"
"Just like the first time I stopped him."
Then a light laugh was heard: "So that's it, you haven't changed. But Outsider, are you very confident? If He really comes, you, in your mortal state, cannot forcibly obtain divinity with just the 'Soul Fishing Rod'."
The first drop of divinity from the Lord of the Blood Banquet, at that time the god had just stepped into the shadows, so Xia De succeeded. The second drop of divinity from the Lord of the Blood Banquet, at that time Xia De was in a deified state, so he succeeded. But if he only used a relic in his mortal form, the probability of success was extremely low, and the god would not just stand by.
"I understand, but I'm not the only one who maintains goodwill."
Xia De stopped his thoughts; he heard the sound of a door opening.
