1129 A Chance Encounter
Another day began, and Lumian departed from the fog-shrouded protected zone.
The World of Ruins had no sun and was perpetually cloaked in night. However, the temperature wasn't particularly cold. Illuminating the surroundings was crimson moonlight, evoking a spring-like atmosphere with a climate that alternated between warmth and chill.
In the sky, the full moon was nowhere to be seen, the stars were dim, and the darkness was tinged with crimson.
Lumian turned his body slightly, glancing at Franca, who stood at the edge of the grayish-white fog. He gave her a subtle nod.
Franca responded with a warm, caring smile, waved at Lumian, and then vanished from sight.
Lumian shifted his gaze to the right, to the face of Cheek on the head that rested on his left shoulder.
Cheek's face, simultaneously stunningly beautiful, innocently pure, and radiating maternal grace, flashed a sweet smile.
She showed no signs of discontent with what Lumian was about to do—at least not outwardly.
"You're looking forward to this too, aren't you?" Lumian asked, his lips curling into a smirk.
Cheek's face couldn't speak yet, nor did She make any movent, neither confirming nor denying his words.
Lumian paid Her no further attention, turning his head instead toward the other faces—Aurore and Jenna.
Their eyes remained tightly shut, their faces bearing faint traces of bloodstains that seed impossible to clean away.
Lumian let out a slow breath, striding toward the edge of the ruins of Trier, in the direction of the green domain dominated by towering oaks.
He wandered aimlessly, allowing the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence and the mystical connection between the main body and an avatar to work naturally.
This was the direction the previous prophecies had pointed toward.
The further he ventured beyond the ruins, the more deathly silent the surroundings beca. Only from the green domain did occasional sounds drift over—cries of "wah, wah, wah" from infants and the fluttering of bird wings.
Suddenly, Lumian spotted a group of lively wild deer erging from behind rows of abandoned buildings.
Their nimble steps carried them under the crimson moonlight. Every now and then, they paused to nibble at the green plants covering the houses and the fruits growing on them.
Thud!
One deer collapsed to the ground.
Its body began to decay rapidly, as if consud by countless microscopic organisms. Within seconds, it had completely returned to the earth—including the pale white bones, leaving behind no traces.
Thud, thud! More deer fell to the ground.
Yet the remaining deer displayed neither panic nor fear. They continued leisurely eating, while simultaneously giving birth to blood-soaked fawns one after another.
By the ti the herd moved out of Lumian's sight, only the newborn fawns remained, growing at an astonishing pace.
There's no way civilization can develop like this… Lumian suddenly thought.
He wasn't sure whether this was a deliberate act by the Mother Goddess of Depravity or simply the natural environntal influence of Her state. What ca to his mind, however, was sothing Madam Magician had once ntioned: she had wandered to a distant planet in the depths of the cosmos, where the inhabitants worshiped the Mother Goddess of Depravity. Yet their rulers weren't even Angels but rather three divine offspring birthed from the union between the Mother Goddess of Depravity and the planet itself in ancient tis. Despite their extre reverence for motherhood and reproductive organs, they had managed to develop a unique civilization.
Perhaps like the World of Ruins, the Mother Goddess of Depravity's true domain, is like this—devoid of civilization but teeming with Mythical Creatures… On the other hand, planets worshiping Her elsewhere might still foster civilizations? Lumian pressed onward.
After walking a while longer, an expansive forest of colossal oaks unfolded before him.
At that mont, four figures erged from the oak forest.
The four carried a heavy, unpainted coffin made of raw wood.
Three of them were golems ford from earth, while the lone human among them wore a brown robe adorned with the Sacred Emblem of Life. His face was covered in scruffy facial hair, and his expression was solemn, as though performing a sacred ritual.
He appeared to be a clergy mber of the Church of Earth Mother who had "defected."
The Church of Earth Mother still existed, with Her Blessed maintaining a tenuous hold with the aid of other official Beyonder organizations to prevent the goddess from losing Her anchors entirely. If Earth Mother were to go mad or perish now, the astral barrier would imdiately be shattered by the Outer Deities.
The Favored of Earth Mother had suffered significant losses. Many had mutated or lost control during the descent of the crimson moon, and subsequent blows had further diminished their numbers. Only in the past two months had they attained so asure of peace. Their numbers now were less than half of what they had once been, and even Matriarch Roland was now a puppet of the Mother Goddess of Depravity, wandering a certain part of the World of Ruins.
Carrying a coffin? Could this be a forr Saint of the Church of Earth Mother, a Sequence 3 Pallbearer? Lumian wasn't surprised by this chance encounter with one of the Mother's children.
He scrutinized the individual, who he assud was a Pallbearer, and mused, The title of Pallbearer in this Sequence should be symbolic, representing the act of returning life to the earth—an essential part of the Mother's pathway for constructing the cycle of reality, connecting concepts and powers related to death and return.
It's not ant to involve actually carrying a coffin—it's about the symbolic aning…
As part of acting, this makes sense. But you've already mutated into a corrupted creature; what's the point of acting?
The coffin must hold sothing special. What's inside?
When it ca to matters related to the Mother Goddess of Depravity, Lumian was more than willing to stop, observe, and study. He positioned himself directly in the Pallbearer's path.
anwhile, the head on Lumian's left shoulder swiveled, with Cheek's stunning face gazing at the target.
Sensing this, the Pallbearer turned to look at Lumian. His gaze imdiately beca sinister and ferocious.
Just as he was about to unleash his Beyonder abilities, his body suddenly underwent a transformation.
His skin cracked open, spilling clumps of brownish earth. The earth engulfed him, fusing with his body and sprouting various symbolic organs representing the Mother, so human, others not.
The Pallbearer quickly lost control and descended into madness.
This was the power of the Demoness of Apocalypse. If the Death pathway embodied death and eternal rest, the Darkness pathway silence and eternal darkness, the Giant pathway decay and the passage of ti, and the Red Priest pathway conquest and the destruction wrought by war, then the Demoness pathway represented the arrival of the apocalypse and the return to chaos.
The apocalypse marked the ultimate eruption of all conflicts within a designated area, inevitably involving the entanglent of fate.
The apocalypse was also the end of destiny!
And Lumian bore the boon powers of Inevitability.
The Pallbearer had already been teetering on the edge of losing control due to his corruption. With the arrival of the apocalypse, this inner conflict naturally erupted under the influence of fate.
However, his transformation into a monster didn't prevent him from attacking Lumian. He threw aside the coffin and charged at Lumian with his earth golems.
The surrounding greenery, even several young oaks, instantly withered and turned yellow, drained of life.
After just two steps, the Pallbearer's body was suddenly coated in grayish-white.
In re seconds, he froze in place, transford into a stone statue.
His three earth golems t the sa fate.
Without a sound, the ground beneath them split open, spewing forth molten lava that swallowed them completely.
The lava was followed by the collapse of the entire surrounding area. Earth, plants, abandoned buildings, and the lted statues all vanished into the dark void.
The localized "Apocalypse" that Lumian had targeted at a specific region had arrived in full.
Seeing deep brown, nearly black light gradually condensing in the void, Lumian stepped toward the raw wooden coffin, which he had deliberately spared from the effects of his influence.
With a single kick, he sent the coffin's lid flying off.
Inside was a mass of rotting flesh, resembling an unford fetus or the corpse of a small animal.
It didn't seem to have a physical form. As soon as it was exposed to the crimson moonlight, it began to evaporate rapidly into wisps of black-brown gas.
Lumian filled the area with dense Fog of War, cutting off the crimson moonlight, but the rotting flesh continued to vaporize, accelerating as it did.
The face of Alista Tudor, positioned on Lumian's left shoulder, turned toward the coffin, His eyes pitch black and commanding, compelling submission.
The black-brown gas slowed its ascent but strangely fused with the surrounding environnt, dissipating quickly.
Lumian hesitated for a mont but didn't remove the dark golden mask covering the central face on his left shoulder.
In the blink of an eye, the rotting flesh had completely evaporated, leaving only a few black-brown stains at the bottom of the coffin as proof of its existence.
Lumian stared at it for a few seconds before reporting the matter to Mr. Fool.
He didn't venture into the endless oak forest. Instead, under the crimson moonlight and the intermittent cries of infants, he skirted the edge of the ruins of Trier, heading in another direction.
Familiar streets and houses appeared before him in an unfamiliar manner.
This was the market district. This was Rue Anarchie.
Lumian buried his hands in his pockets, as though returning to his past.
He didn't expect to "encounter" Primordial Demoness Cheek directly but felt it likely he would cross paths with a high-ranking Demoness. For Demonesses to survive in the World of Ruins, they couldn't do so without the protection of the Primordial Demoness. This required them to gather in one place or a few limited locations. Encountering one would an encountering a group.
I thought you'd co straight for to fulfill your dream… Lumian turned his head slightly, addressing Cheek's face.
That face responded with a sweet smile but nothing more.
As he walked, Lumian suddenly stopped.
He realized it had been a long ti since he had heard the cries of infants or the fluttering of birds' wings from the oak forest.
The entire ruins were unnaturally silent—deathly still.
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