"But I clearly remember Lilith personally saying that Orneia and Rhine had a very bad relationship…
"Even though I once speculated that the 'Night Emperor' might have 'sold' Orneia near the end of the War of the Four Emperors in an attempt to obtain help from an Outer Deity, there's absolutely no way the 'Blood Moon Queen' was saved by Rhine…"
Because the timeline doesn't match!
When Orneia's 'Goddess of Beauty' characteristic was taken away, Rhine had already been killed by the descent incarnation of the 'Eternal Blazing Sun.'
So the question is: why is Orneia sleeping in the 'Observer Castle'?
And who brought Her back?
Thinking of this, Ebner briefly examined the "fate" of both himself and Closfia and discovered no particularly dangerous "branches." Combined with the fact that the "Blood Moon Queen" had lost the 'Goddess of Beauty' characteristic and was at most Sequence 2, he ultimately decided to go inside and investigate.
Closfia naturally chose to follow as well.
Ebner wasn't particularly worried about her safety. After all, Miss "Sloth" possessed many methods and was also a favored of the Earth Mother Goddess. She definitely had plenty of trump cards.
After instructing the Dream Tapir to guard nearby, Ebner took a deep breath and pushed open the wooden door that led to Orneia's dream.
After passing through a layer of gray mist, Ebner and Closfia arrived inside a magnificent palace.
Above the palace seemed to hang a full moon, its crimson radiance spilling into every corner. The heavy walls and polished tiles looked as though they had been dyed with blood, giving the entire place a sense of tragic beauty mixed with eerie enchantment.
Directly beneath the "full moon" stood a tall crimson throne, but no one sat upon it. Instead, two beautiful ladies sat on slightly smaller high-backed chairs on either side of the throne.
At this moment, however, the two ladies were engaged in a fierce argument.
One of them had black hair and red eyes, with beauty capable of toppling kingdoms, as if she were the embodiment of the very concept of "beauty." If Ebner's guess was correct, she should be the "Blood Moon Queen," Orneia.
"Issis, stop defending Ormir! I know very well that He is the true traitor!
"It was precisely because He didn't support the Progenitor in time that the Progenitor ended up dying together with Kvastirun and Flegrea!" Orneia roared.
Issis… is that the name of the Blood Ancestor's subordinate deity, the "Goddess of Life"? Hmm. An existence capable of sitting as an equal with Orneia in this hall could only be this subordinate deity who didn't even have a name in the original story.
While observing everything, Ebner thought while curiously examining the Issis mentioned by Orneia.
She was a plump and gentle goddess. Her chest was prominently raised, and although her clothing seemed crude—woven merely from leaves and wild grass—it perfectly accentuated her graceful figure.
Upon hearing Orneia's words, the "Goddess of Life" Issis showed complete disbelief and retorted mockingly:
"And who told you that? That subordinate deity of the elves, the so-called 'Poetry of the Goddess'?
"Hah, but according to what I know, Soniathrym is the true traitor. You've been deceived by them! The elves cannot be trusted!"
Hearing this, Orneia's expression suddenly calmed. She glanced at Issis and said coldly:
"I won't argue with you. It's meaningless.
"But as colleagues up until today, I must remind you of something:
"Even if Ormir did not betray the Progenitor, his queen's authority is similar to yours. Aren't you worried that he might devour you?"
Issis turned her head and snorted.
"That's none of your concern!"
At this point, the dream suddenly changed, and the surrounding scenery shattered and reassembled.
In the blink of an eye, Ebner and Closfia found themselves within a valley. Countless "demon wolves" began appearing around them, rushing toward them at incredible speed.
This was different from the previous "spectator" state. Miss "Sloth" clearly sensed that these demon wolves were not merely part of a dream but more like incarnations of "fear" from a nightmare. Their aura was even more terrifying. If one were injured by them, the spiritual body would also suffer corresponding damage.
Meanwhile, Ebner sharply sensed something familiar within the dark and pale mist surrounding the demon wolves.
This feels like… the water of the 'River of Eternal Darkness'?
Ebner's heart stirred as he immediately activated the "Pure White Eye," quickly confirming his suspicion.
There's no mistake. It feels the same as the 'River of Eternal Darkness' I encountered at the Arc de Triomphe in Trier…
So before falling asleep, Orneia drank water from the River of Eternal Darkness. No wonder even the Dream Tapir doesn't dare enter her dream.
Heh, the case is solved!
The water of the River of Eternal Darkness is derived from a Sefirah. There aren't many beings capable of extracting its water…
Aside from the 'Undying Phoenix Ancestor' Gregrace and 'Death' Salinger, there are only the 'Sovereign of the Undead' Vicente Miranda and the current Goddess… of course, in the future, Klein might be added to that list.
But the only one with both the motive and the ability to place Orneia in the 'Observer Castle' is Vicente Miranda!
Furthermore, since Orneia had reached the point where she needed the water of the River of Eternal Darkness to stabilize her state, it means that after losing the 'Goddess of Beauty' characteristic and barely escaping with her life, she was still contaminated by some great existence…
Was it the 'Mother Goddess of Depravity'?
As thoughts raced through his mind, Ebner opened his "Pure White Eye." The illusory "sun" within it immediately radiated an extreme brilliance, illuminating the entire valley as brightly as day.
Those demon wolves were essentially monsters formed from "darkness" and "death" aura tainted by the water of the River of Eternal Darkness, condensed from the "fear" within people's hearts. Naturally, they were suppressed by the "sun"—especially a virtual Sequence 1 level "sun."
In an instant, black smoke continuously rose from the demon wolves' bodies as though they were "burning."
Under sunlight, all ghostly tricks were laid bare, destined to dissipate like smoke!
However, after the demon wolves across the mountains and fields vanished in large swathes, the figure of a gray dragon was revealed.
Its condition was not good. Many of the scales on its body were missing.
When the dragon saw Ebner and Closfia, it struggled to fly over and transformed into human form upon landing—it was Miss "Greed," Ksenia.
She had already been fighting in this dream for a long time and was barely holding on. She had even been preparing to use the "Wanderer" charm Ebner had given her earlier.
"Ksenia, how did you end up here?" Miss "Sloth" asked in surprise.
"I entered a room on the second floor with that baron, and then I came directly into this dream…"
Just as Ksenia said this, the scene suddenly changed again.
The earlier "Goddess of Life," Issis, was now being besieged by a group of demon wolves that were at most Sequence 4 in strength. She was quickly pushed to the brink and ultimately fell.
After an unknown period of time following her death, the "Blood Moon Queen" Orneia finally arrived at this place. When the lingering spirit of Issis saw her, it said only one sentence—"My characteristic was taken away"—before returning to the earth.
Of course, as a former "Nature Walker," Issis certainly wouldn't die so easily. But without her characteristic, even if she used her authority to undergo "reincarnation," transitioning from 'death' to 'life' would take an extremely long time—at least measured in thousands of years.
Seeing this, Orneia sighed softly and buried Issis's remains on the spot, returning them to "nature."
But when Ebner saw the "grave" Orneia dug to bury Issis, he suddenly froze.
Because the layout bore a certain resemblance to the cave where Lamia and Giuseppe lived in seclusion.
And the terrain of this valley… looks very similar to that valley on Blue Mountain Island!
Could it be that Giuseppe and Lamia were living on top of the grave of the 'Goddess of Life'?
Wait… Lamia suddenly brought back 'Frank' and adopted him as her son…
No way…
(End of Chapter)