novelraw Chapter 1571 - 1570 - Hatred Blinds
Chapter 1571 - 1570 - Hatred Blinds
She woke up screaming. It took a long time to realize it was her voice as hands restrained her as a pill was fed to her.
The calming energy was released as her mind began to settle. She had been eaten alive! She remembered the feeling of flesh being ripped apart and darkness taking far too long to close in!
The kraken had known how to make her suffer longer but the formation in her robes had still activated to end her life before it was destroyed.
The light above her head came from fine golden bars set into a marble ceiling. The healing hall that was carved into the cliff face. She was reformed.
How long had she spent between was unknown but she recognized the sleek metal casket she was in. It was a reconstitution chamber. It was not what she expected as she had no such authority or ability to warrant one.
It was also hideously expensive to operate. A Divine Realm could restore themselves so long as a single sliver of them survived but she could tell that she not only had been restored but the expected loss of her cultivation was nowhere to be found!
What was going on?! She looked down at herself and saw a simple white robe covered her. It had no special function aside from keeping her temperature regulated. The room was sparsely decorated but very expensive artifacts lined the walls.
A rectangle set in the marble wall shimmered with information and she realized it was her current state. It also included a timeline.
She should have taken several thousand years to restore herself but instead it was only a few months?! Why?!
Even if it was an emergency, there were far more powerful Apprentice and Journeyman Tiers Divine Realms that should be ahead of her for such fortune. Master Tiers were notorious for their secrets so they would never be used for them.
She was about to try and get out when she felt a powerful presence lock onto her. The air parted like a curtain of silk as a man emerged that made her eyes nearly bulge out of her narrow face.
His features were rugged and a scare crossed his left eye but otherwise he was unmarked. A staff in his hand was not made of wood but was a golden color. A faction Master was in front of her!
She became flustered but he held up a hand to forestall her awkward attempt to kneel from the tube.
"Be still, Child of Severance." She blinked as her sect was used as her name but she dared not correct him. Only a suicidal fool would do that!
A Master Tier could extinguish an Apprentice or Journeyman Tier with a snap of their fingers!
"H–h–h–" She fumbled even trying to speak but he only smiled and raised his free hand. She floated up without any possibility of resistance to be placed on a very comfortable chair that had not been there a moment ago!
It was made of dark wood that was glossy to almost a mirror finish with red lining and gold fittings. It was simple in design but the materials were very damned rare! Even she knew that Mystery grade gold could all be held in a single barrel with room to spare!
"You have many questions but I will make it succinct. Your mission failed, normally not unexpected considering the nature of the Wild Sea but you are the only survivor on both sides." She nodded but then froze.
Only survivor? From both sides? The cultists had died right in front of her but how was she the only survivor? Where was that foolish man that got himself killed the first day?!
As if reading her mind he summoned a smoky crystal and broken metal frame. A heart frame was shattered?! How?! Why?!
She assumed some fool had taken a chance to attack it but again, the Master Tier smiled as he shook his head.
"As near as we can tell, the cultists from the Shadow Fog Valley lost both of the Divine Realms that were with you. The first party of theirs was also accelerated but only revealed a common attack from a kraken. Nothing that could result in this." She shivered before finally finding her voice.
"There is a Master Tier Kraken near the island. It may be responsible but I have never felt anything like we faced." She then described the strange deaths and attacks. She felt her anger and hatred return as she spoke but left nothing out, not even her humiliating loss to the cultists.
The Master Tier nodded and asked a few questions but she did not have answers. He then explained why her restoration had been accelerated.
"The cultists have sent out 3 Hunter squads to the island. It will take them some centuries to reach there but you confirmed there should be no issue in the interval?" She nodded. The harvesting was on a tight schedule, relatively speaking, but there had been no indication of an issue when they landed.
"The beasts are clearly creating a new weapon this time. We cannot allow this. The cultists are rightly proud of their Hunters but I will not allow our own to let them take credit for our revenge." She felt pride at his words but she did not see the calculating glance in his stone gray eyes.
He then seemed to ponder as he paced the room before nodding to himself.
"You will take 2 other Journeyman Tiers and their squads as well. However, you will take the best this time. If you leave now, you will arrive after the cultists and it should allow you to gauge the best method of attack. Kill them all, including whatever the beasts are nurturing on the island before you harvest it." The woman preened and swiftly knelt in acceptance.
Her pride and her hatred blinded her to the many inconsistencies of his words. All that mattered to her was she could avenge her failure! The Master Tier left her preening as she began to plan how to kill the cultists and the new weapon.
Neither the Master Tier nor the woman ever considered their outlook on the world would lead to their own devastation.
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The 3 dark cylinders and a massive pyramid flew out over the Void Ocean from the southern continent. The many powers there were always keeping tabs but the various wars, interests, and frankly the Fiends in general, made all dismiss them.
Those powers that trolled the Wild Sea were considered not only eccentric but not worth anyone's time, yet some noted the oddities.
Expeditions to the Wild Sea were not worth wasting material and personnel to the point that patterns emerged. If an island was discovered, first come first served was normal but total loss was an accepted outcome.
When that happened, maybe one more attempt, but after that, it was better to let it go. Yet, the Fiend cultists and now a rival from the Unbending Fate Faction were not only sending out more but far more powerful parties.
It drew eyes and attention but none committed to following them. Instead, they began to investigate the why behind such unusual actions.
It took decades of careful information gathering but no one was in a rush as all knew the Wild Sea was vast and it was likely centuries before any hope of success or failure was known.
What started as mere curiosity turned into a firestorm.
It was unknown which side was confirmed first but word got out that something was in the Wild Sea that could extinguish Divine Realm cultivators entirely! Leaving a piece behind did not spare them!
Worse, it was not simply a one off event. There were 3 confirmed deaths! Needless to say, allies of both local powers demanded answers but the cultists had none. The Unbending Fate Faction, however, had a survivor.
They had sent her away and only a Master Tier had any record of what she had seen. That stymied many but not all. Master Tiers came knocking and even the hatred fueled supremacists were not that suicidal.
Besides if it happened again, they might need aid in deciphering the data.
The foes of both secretly wondered if a new ally was out in the Wild Sea they needed to save.
Unfortunately, no one could act as only those sent out still had the coordinates. Navigating the Wild Sea was far from worth it even for a possible powerful ally. The krakens and leviathans had been abundantly clear about not wanting any visitors.
The Void Ocean also had its own dangers aside from them so while many powers were disturbed and sent running for as much information as possible, nothing really changed.
Old hurts and very present enemies drew them back to the present and no one cared to try and really push to prevent the hunting parties sent out to kill the unknown target.
Everyone went back to their normal patterns and ignored the signs of the oncoming storm.