Original God's Dark Priest

Having obtained the first proof, the next step is the second.

The second proof is in Ochicanata. Before heading to Ochicanata, Saffir and his companions encountered a few interesting fellows.

First is Titu, the Son of Echoes.

This guy was one of the Echo Sons' Sentinels, but he didn't take over, forcing Yukum, who was still on duty, to ask Ying to help him find him.

Saffir was somewhat surprised to hear about this; he couldn't believe there were sentries who were so disloyal to their duties. In the Fools' world, such a person would be dealt with immediately.

But she didn't say much. Instead, she went with Ying and the others to look for Titu. In the end, the group found Titu near an underground ruin outside the Echo Child.

When we found him, he was still talking incoherently about how he was looking after a large stone pillar.

What's so special about looking after a stone pillar? Saphir and the others couldn't understand it, but what happened next changed their minds, because the stone pillar that Titu was looking after really had a problem.

It involves something called a sew-in needle.

Saffir and the others didn't know what a Shadow Needle was, but it sounded pretty cool.

According to Titu, the spirit of the Shadow Needle is waning, and the shadow pinned there by it will soon slip away.

Upon hearing this, Saffir and the others' first reaction was that this was a seal on the abyss, and now that the seal had weakened, the abyss's energy was about to dissipate.

Titu confirmed this conjecture. There are three Shadow Needles in total, and two of them are already almost useless. Once the third one also becomes useless, Nata will probably have to fight another small-scale battle in the Abyss.

That was obviously not possible, so Saffir and Ying decided after a brief discussion that they should put the matter of Ochikanata aside for now and prioritize dealing with the issues here.

Carmos had no objections; she became like this because of the Abyss, so she also deeply hated it.

Having made their decision, the group headed to the ruins where the Shadow Needle was located, following the clues provided by Titu.

It is said to be three shadow-sewing needles, but there are actually four in total. The largest one is the large stone pillar that Titu is looking after, while the other three are relatively much smaller.

Upon seeing the Shadow Needle, Ying and Sapphire couldn't help but glance at each other, because the cave contained the Light-Engraved Mark that only appears in the ruins of the Dragon Chosen.

“I have reason to suspect that this is also part of the test,” Saffir said, stepping forward to touch the luminous inscription.

Light-carving is a technique used by the ancient Nata Dragonflight, similar to the runes of Liyue.

Although they are different in form, they are essentially the same thing.

After touching it, Saffir read the information inside. The Shadow Needle here should theoretically gather a solid elemental to seal the abyss with its power. However, there is no trace of solid elemental here now. Therefore, the first thing to do is to use the power of the engraved light imprint to condense elemental.

Phosphorus is a manifestation of the power of the Light Realm, something Saffir is very familiar with. He only needs to switch to Seraph mode and then use the power of holy light to condense the power of the Light Realm and inject it into the Shadow Needle. The Shadow Needle will then automatically change the form of the power of the Light Realm, and solid phosphorus will appear.

As Saffir condensed solid phlogiston, the abyss sealed there seemed to sense its precarious situation and immediately launched a counterattack.

"Ying, I'm leaving it to you." Saffir didn't even glance at the abyssal monster formed from the emanating abyssal energy, and simply spoke indifferently.

As for Ying, without needing Safiel to say anything more, she drew her sword and charged forward.

The abyssal monsters here had been sealed for a long time, and their strength was no longer what it used to be. They were quickly wiped out by Ying and the two young dragons' fierce attack.

After dealing with the abyssal monsters, the first Shadow Needle was repaired.

The group then proceeded to the second location.

Compared to the first location, the second location's stitching needle is in worse condition; the engraved light mark has completely disappeared.

Fortunately, having undergone the ritual of the brave, Ying and Sapphire could still sense the faint energy fluctuations from afar, even from a great distance.

The two immediately went to retrieve it, but a small incident occurred along the way.

The location of the Engraved Inscription is a stagnant lake, and the Engraved Inscription is in the middle of the lake.

Ying volunteered to retrieve it, but just as she was about to touch it, the Dead Water Lake began to rise.

Saffir was stunned by what he saw. The tide came out of nowhere. Although it was possible to dive into the water to get the item, everyone still felt that something was strange about it.

Saffir activated his assassination domain and then a strange expression appeared on his face.

Paimon looked on nervously: "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Saffir glanced in one direction and said, "There's a mechanism over there, probably for controlling the water level. A Hilichurl just activated that mechanism."

"Huh?" Paimon was dumbfounded.

Ying was also stunned. So they had been tricked by a Hilichurl?

Saffir shrugged, and the ghostly chains pierced through the Hilichurl's chest, killing him instantly. She then deactivated the mechanism, successfully restoring the lake to its original level.

The second engraved inscription was successfully retrieved.

The next step was the same as before: repairing the suture needle. As expected, the repair went very smoothly.

After doing all this, Titu breathed a huge sigh of relief, feeling a great weight lifted from his shoulders.

Then, Titu told the story about the Shadow Needle, which is actually a sealing array, a pun.

The sealing array was built five hundred years ago during the Kanria Cataclysm, when the Abyss invaded Nata. The Nata people poured their hearts and souls into it, and they paid a heavy price for it.

Not only Nata, but also some of Canria's technology was used in this project.

Therefore, the seal here is not only sealing the abyss on Nata's side, but also sealing the abyssal power flowing out of Kanria.

It was Kanria again; Saffir felt no longer surprised by it.

As the group walked and chatted, the largest sewing needle fell down and smashed a large hole in the ground.

Looking down from outside the hole, you can see that this land is actually composed of a large block of solid phlogiston, and beneath the solid phlogiston lies a vast space.

"Ha, now I have no choice but to go down and take a look." Saffir stood by the hole, sensing the ominous atmosphere inside.

Ying's complexion wasn't good either; she could also sense that aura.

"Ughhhhhh—pain—"

Hysterical wails would occasionally emanate from the hole, which annoyed the group, because the sounds didn't come from their ears, but rather echoed directly in their minds.

Saphir used the Wings of Holiness to carry the group slowly downwards. Titu flapped the wings on his back, his face full of surprise: "Is this Lady Aurora's power? It's incredible!"

"No need for flattery. Let's hurry up and deal with this Shadow Needle. Who knows what might happen if we leave it unattended?" Saffir waved his hand, stopping Titu's sycophantic behavior.

Soon, the group arrived at the bottom of the cave and, guided by the engraved inscription, found a stone tablet.

There was a long passage written on the stone tablet. Saffir glanced at it and gleaned some information.

First, this stone tablet was left by the Echoing Sons' former elder, Taooru, to leave behind a triple blessing.

Firstly, I wish to bless our friends from afar, the warriors who came from Kanria to help resist the abyss.

Secondly: Bless the fallen heroes, this needs no explanation.

Thirdly: Blessings to those who come after and see the inscription.

This is a blessing for the future, hoping that successors can continue their unfinished mission and that they can achieve final victory.

“Tao Aoru, a remarkable man,” Safiel commented, stroking the stone tablet.

Her gaze fell on the two names mentioned on the stone tablet: Sifreya and Eliza.

"You would prefer to be portrayed as cowards, thugs, or hanging spikes in the story, like honeyworms that bite dragons, keeping the tribe vigilant and never letting their guard down for generations."

But I will tell you the truth here. For you will always be heroes who stand with the tribe, and brothers of the Sons of Echo.” Saffir read these words and fell into thought.

She knew these two names. In many rumors about Nata, including the past biographies that Sitrali had shown her, these two people were portrayed as the embodiment of evil, as pests that brought disaster, and cowards who abandoned their comrades.

She also asked the captain for confirmation, but the captain remained silent on the matter.

Clearly, things weren't that simple back then. These two men were brave souls who sacrificed their own reputations to serve as a warning to future generations.

Saffir shook his head: "Actually, there's no need for that. Who would underestimate the power of the Abyss?"

Paimon also felt sorry for them, his little face full of sympathy.

Ying gently patted her friend's head and said softly, "They don't care about whether they receive a good reputation... they only care about whether their will is carried out."

“Yes, people are dead, reputation and such things really don’t matter.” Saffir put herself in Saffir’s shoes and thought about it; wasn’t she the same way?

In some extremely distant universe, the name of the tyrant Philigs of Ashes may not have been forgotten by the world, but isn't she still here perfectly fine?

People lost the pampered lives that were concealed by the guise of peace, and what they gained was a new order that was shattered and rebuilt with the utmost effort across the entire divine realm and almost half the universe. No one will thank her for everything she did, but she truly deprived those so-called elders who held positions without doing any work of their right to exploit the blood and tears of the people.

The price was high, but it was worth it.

Just like everything these two have done, it doesn't matter if they bear the infamy, as long as there is a good outcome in the end, that's enough.

After Ying's encouragement, Paimon calmed down. She understood that heroes become heroes not because they want praise, but because they do things that others cannot do, but that someone has to do.

Such people have firm ideals and beliefs, and are not burdened by fame, so it is understandable that they would make this choice.

The group discussed their conversation and followed the engraved light imprint to the place where the final seal of the abyss was located.

This is a space composed entirely of solid phlogiston. At the very center of the space, a rich purple hue slowly undulates, and the abyss has begun to leak out.

They quickened their pace and gradually drew closer, and everything before them became clearer. The purple hue was not like mud existing in the space, but rather like mist enveloping a pillar in the center.

The pillar was broken, and the broken point was where the purple mist was spreading.

The solid phlogiston in this space seemed to have its own consciousness, constantly fluctuating, which appeared to those walking through it as if it were refusing their entry.

Because their path forward was always cut off by the sudden bulging and descent of solid phlogiston, they had to climb or jump, making their journey extremely difficult.

Saffir frowned. Her senses were far more acute than those of ordinary people, so she could see much farther. In her eyes, there were two golden figures under the broken pillar, wearing Kanria armor, which looked just like the dark, empty shells in the Abyss of Rocks.

She knew in her heart that these two people must be Severanya and Eliza.

Karmos looked around uneasily. With the abyss energy leaking, no abyssal monsters appeared in the vicinity. So where did all this leaked abyssal energy end up?

The answer is obvious: Severanya and Illiza have likely become puppets corrupted by the abyss, and their enemies.

"Be careful, there might be a battle ahead," Saffir warned at the opportune moment.

Ying and Paimon immediately became alert, and Paimon, being quite shrewd, ran behind Saffir, the safest place.

Saffir paid no attention to the little guy's reaction. She had already led her group to the two golden figures.

As they stood still, Sifreya's voice rang out: "Leave, seal this place—just as—it was agreed..."

Even though he had completely lost consciousness, he still instinctively refused to let others get close.

A few steps behind Severanya was Ilisa, who, compared to Severanya's resolve, felt more wistful: "Hurry, hurry... I don't want him to see me in such a sorry state—"

What is he worried about?

Saffir didn't know, but she knew exactly what she had to do.

Ignoring their attempts to dissuade her, she resolutely stepped forward and touched the engraved light seal.

The engraved mark was touched, the seal trembled, and a furious, hysterical voice echoed throughout the space: "Hiss... Ugh, ahhhhh—I told you—danger, leave! Calamity—tear the seal—to shatter—"

Upon hearing the sound, Kreisco took a few steps back in fear. Titu, frowning, stood there, and was not so afraid anymore. He had almost vomited when he heard the sound from up there. The extreme fear was eroding his mind every second, making him want to burst into tears.

If Saffir hadn't been there with him, he felt he would never have had the courage to come here.

Paimon looked at Saffir nervously, trying to see if she had any problems.

Saffir shook his head slightly: "The seal is still there, and on the surface it seems to be fine, but I can sense that the seal is not complete. The engraved light imprints here are incomplete. Go and look around, there should be fragments of engraved light imprints scattered everywhere."

Bring them back, and we'll solve this problem completely today.

Ying nodded and began searching for fragments of the engraved light imprint, while Sapphire sat cross-legged and began preparations.

Now that she had seen the two Kanriar warriors, there was no reason to leave them here. She was going to take their souls with her and hand them over to the captain.