Chapter 136: Fire Crystal, True God's Descent?
As Ignara's remnant thought was extinguished from Ram's soul, the Fire Phantom Body that had dominated the battlefield moments earlier began to collapse under the immense mountain like pressure of the Divine Spirit Tree.
The molten lava surrounding the area began to cool rapidly, hardening into blackened rock.
What remained at the heart of the chaos was a small, glowing fire crystal, floating quietly in the center of the now devastated third floor.
Selina, who had been watching the collapse with a serious expression, relaxed slightly as the overwhelming pressure from the Divine Spirit Tree finally dissipated.
Her sharp eyes locked onto the crystal. Though she hadn't got her hands on the Divine Power Crystal, the fire crystal left behind by Ignara's manifestation could still be of no small value.
"Not bad," she muttered to herself, a faint smile curving her lips as she started moving toward the center of the battlefield.
The heat that had previously made the ground untouchable was fading, leaving behind a trail of destruction.
She made her way to the center, trailed by the Dreadscale Wyrm's squad. Her eyes swept over the countless charred corpses scattered across the floor.
While those soldiers following her used their frost guns to make a way for Selina to walk as they follow behind waiting for further instructions.
Both human professionals and Bio-Mechanical, lay twisted and unrecognizable, their bodies burned beyond recognition.
The stench of burnt flesh and metal filled the air, making her nose twitch. Among the dead were many of her own—Bio-Mechanical soldiers that took years of training and huge resources.
She felt destressed looking at all the dead soldiers, "All that effort... gone in an instant," she muttered, her voice barely audible.
As she reached the center of the battlefield, one of the Bio-Mechanical soldiers following stepped forward, his body only lightly damaged from the previous fight.
He stood respectfully beside her, his head bowed slightly. "Commander Selina," he said, his voice modulated yet carrying a tinge of reverence. "The casualties... they're far greater than expected. We couldn't pull out some squads in time, more than one third of them are dead."
Selina sighed, her eyes never leaving the fire crystal that floated tantalizingly close. "Yes, I can see that." Her voice was colder now, masking the bitterness she felt inside.
"So many of them... just wiped out. The training, the enhancements—it didn't matter. They couldn't handle what was in here."
The soldier remained silent, unsure how to respond. He had been programmed to carry out her orders without question, but even he felt the weight of loss.
"This was supposed to be a calculated risk," she continued, her gaze still fixed ahead. "But we underestimated the power of this Half Drows."
The Bio-Mechanical soldier shifted slightly. "Should we pull back? Regroup with the remaining forces we have left?"
Selina shook her head. "No. There were not many Half Drows left, clear all of them first." As she approached the fire crystal, the remnants of the battle around her no longer mattered.
The glowing stone floated just out of reach, humming with condensed power fluctuations.
She extended her hand toward it, feeling the heat radiate against her skin, though it didn't affect her, all that power was perfectly condensed into the small crystal.
"At least something valuable," she murmured under her breath, guessing that the fire crystal should at least be a Tier 6 or 7 resource that can improve the talent of professionals with Fire attribute or even awaken new fire-based talents, but only those at the same level can absorb it.
Her fingers closed around the crystal, its warmth pulsing in her palm. For a moment, she could feel the faint echo of the goddess's presence, but it was fleeting—just the last remnants of power.
With a determined look, Selina turned back to her soldier.
"Get the teams to salvage whatever they can. We may have lost more than we planned for, but this... this will make sure we didn't walk away empty-handed." She paused, glancing around her not expecting much after such destruction.
The soldier nodded stiffly. "Understood, Commander." He turned to leave, but Selina's sharp voice stopped him.
"And the bodies...just leave them. There's no point in taking back what's left. They're better off here." Her voice was flat, almost cold, as if the loss of life had been reduced to nothing more than another inconvenience.
The soldier paused, his body stiffening for a moment before nodding. "As you command. I'll see to it."
As he moved off, Selina allowed herself a moment to reflect. "At least you didn't die for nothing," she muttered to the fallen soldiers. "This little treasure will ensure that."
Ram found a quiet clearing amidst the chaos of the battlefield, he sat cross-legged, his hands resting on his knees, closing his eyes to focus.
The memories he had absorbed from Ignara's remnant soul swirled inside his mind like a chaotic storm, bits and pieces slowly coming together.
He needed to sort through it all, to understand what happened.
With deep concentration, he began piecing the memories together.
According to the chaotic memories, this all began nearly 30 years ago, when a small group of Half Drows were randomly teleported into this strange void space from a different world, using a special method with a specific goal.
Led by a powerful and cunning leader, the group quickly occupied the third layer, the creatures that naturally born are a group of Shark-Men and were not weak, but against the Half Drow Leader with general quality they didn't stand much.
Soon the Half Drows sacrifice them to summon more of their kin. One by one, more Half Drows appeared, pulled from different parts of their home world through these dark rituals.
This cycle continued for years. Every time a new creature was born in the void space, they would be captured and sacrificed, fueling the Half Drows' growing numbers.
However, as time went on, they found that this method of waiting is inefficient. So, they started cavemen in large number that could breed much faster, providing a steady supply of sacrifices to sustain the Half Drows' rituals.
As the Half Drows and their cavemen followers grew in number, their belief in Ignara, the Goddess of Wildfire, became more fervent, both the Half Drows and cavemen began to worship it.
With the increase in believers, the stone statue they worshipped as Ignara, the Goddess of Wildfire, started absorbing the power of faith from both Half Drows and cavemen. Slowly it began to develop its own thoughts, an echo of the true Ignara.
This remnant of the goddess began plotting, eager to connect with its true body and descend upon Blue Star.
The plan was foolproof until the void space started showing its fluctuations attracting the Shadow Society to issue an exploration mission.
"So that's how it all started." Ram opened his eyes, as he took a deep breath unable to calm his mind down, "Just a remanent thought created by a group of believers was enough to nearly destroy everything around me, how powerful is the real Goddess they worship?"
But one thought nagged at him, refusing to let go. "Why are they waiting for another two months?" he whispered, frowning deeply.
"Is there something special happening in two months? so that they can awaken the stone statue and let Ignara descend?"
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