Chapter 1472 The Time of Transformation <TOC> Chapter 1474 Sparrow Blossom's Choice
Translator: SumTLMan
The luminous mist stretched all the way to the Sun Bird’s crater.
The moment Gloria and Felicia sensed the overwhelming aura of death emanating from the Sun Bird’s crater, they stopped the mist’s expansion in a synchronized fashion.
By now, beads of sweat covered their foreheads and their energy levels were nearing depletion. If they were to include the Sun Bird’s crater in their spell, they would certainly be drained dry of their life force.
At this juncture, from everyone’s perspective, the entire area of Black Castle had been completely veiled by the luminous mist.
It was an uncanny experience.
The luminous mist inherently possessed purifying and illuminating properties. On the other hand, Black Castle had been perennially shrouded by gloom, chilling cold, and the malevolent chaos carried by its resident ghosts. The collision of these two starkly contrasting attributes happened at that very moment.
The luminous mist emerged as the victor in this confrontation. Or perhaps it would be better to say that the mist had completely suppressed the lurking darkness before it could even coalesce.
Should the feast fail, the darkness might very well reignite in the not-so-distant future. However, at least for this brief period, overturning the radiant atmosphere crafted by the luminous mist would be an uphill battle.
Arriving at this point, Gloria and Felicia exchanged a weary glance. They were both visibly exhausted, especially Gloria, who had pale lips and trembling legs. After all, she was operating in a vessel, not her true body, and thus her energy expenditure was greater than Felicia’s.
Thankfully, Gloria managed to persevere.
“Let’s end this,” Gloria said, panting heavily, as she spoke to Felicia. What happens next is not for them to decide.
The judgment would lie in the hands of the guests——the very earth itself, and whether it was satisfied with the feast they had laid out.
Felicia gave a nod of approval, her lips barely moving. Ethereal butterflies swirling in the sky, a portion of them fluttered their wings and gathered above the lid of the serving dish.
With a delicate flap of the butterflies’ wings, the dish’s cover slowly lifted.
As a sliver of space appeared under the cover, a golden glow began to radiate in all directions. A surge of powerful energy erupted instantaneously!
If one could say that the previous mist of light merely contained a fraction of purifying energy, the current golden glow was entirely composed of it.
All the wizards on the elevated platform felt the palpable pressure brought by this surging energy.
When the dish cover was completely lifted, the feast’s essence——a sphere of light, began to ascend from the plate. Initially the size of a small ball, the sphere grew larger as it rose into the sky.
Upon reaching its maximal size, the sphere of light began its rapid descent.
It plummeted to the ground at an alarming speed, and then, like a setting sun, gradually integrated into the earth.
Everyone, including Felicia and Gloria, held their breath as they witnessed this spectacle, silently awaiting the outcome.
If one were to compare this feast to a traditional banquet, the previous mist could be called the appetizer; the descending sphere of light signified the main course had begun; and what everyone awaited was the ‘guest’s’ reaction to this elaborate gathering.
Acceptance? Or perhaps disappointment from the ‘guest,’ leading to rejection?
This would determine whether the atmospheric aura of Black Castle could be transformed.
People waited with bated breath — one minute, two minutes… up to five minutes. Yet nothing changed. Disappointment started to show on the faces of some wizards.
However, Angel noticed that there was no change in Felicia and Gloria’s expressions.
“Perhaps the guests haven’t finished their meal yet?” Angel speculated.
Several minutes passed, and the first change finally occurred. However, it wasn’t a transformation of Black Castle. Instead, the mist of light previously arranged by Gloria and Felicia, much like the light sphere, began to descend to the ground.
For some reason, witnessing this, Angel had a peculiar thought rise within him.
If one were to consider the “guests” as people, and the light sphere as their main course, then this pervasive mist of light would be like a bowl of soup meant to cleanse the palate. At this moment, the guests had finished their main course and desired some soup, and thus the mist began to descend.
As Angel’s imaginative musings freely unfurled, the mist light grew sparser, until it ultimately vanished without a trace.
Black Castle reverted to its previous state — gloomy and sunless.
Then a heavy stillness fell. Black Castle remained unchanging. Once you’ve tasted the light and then are thrust back into darkness, it’s unsettling — even for those like Angel who had never lived in Black Castle.
“Did we fail?” After a long while, a witch finally broke the silence.
Felicia turned her head, uncertain of how to respond. Even she felt that they might have failed. Perhaps the “guest” was not pleased with this flavor.
However, at that moment, Gloria suddenly said, “Wait a bit longer.”
This waiting stretched on for another long ten minutes. With the mist gone, the chilly winds of Black Castle swept across the platform once again.
The rustling of the wind made everyone shiver involuntarily.
“Should we stop waiting?” A wizard who couldn’t hold back any longer spoke again. Having already lost hope, continuing to wait seemed pointless.
Gloria’s reply remained the same as before: “Wait.”
Amid growing impatience among the crowd, Isabelle suddenly looked up at the oppressive sky. “Wait, I think I sense a subtle change?”
Isabelle’s words caught everyone off guard, prompting them to follow her gaze skyward.
At some unnoticeable moment, the thick low-hanging clouds began to churn, like the ebb and flow of the tide, and started to recede.
As the clouds drifted away, a sliver of light broke through. Golden rays of sunlight poured through the gap, illuminating Black Castle grounds.
The gap grew wider, accommodating more sunlight. The previously dark world seemed to vanish in the blink of an eye.
To the naked eye, even the dust particles floating in the air became clearly visible in the light.
The entire area of Black Castle experienced a dispersal of clouds, with countless gaps allowing in more sunlight. The whole castle was bathed in a rare spectacle——
Darkness and light severed the dim twilight.
A faint smile curled the corners of Isabelle’s mouth as she watched this long-missed sight.
All the wizards stood dumbfounded. They weren’t strangers to a world of light, but witnessing such a dramatic interplay of light and shadow in Black Castle was a first for many.
“It seems the guests’ feedback, after a prolonged culinary afterglow, has finally arrived,” Sanders’ voice whispered into Angel’s ear.
Angel nodded, her blue eyes beautifully translucent under the cascading light.
“It appears the guests are quite pleased with this feast,” Angel’s eyes shifted from the distant golden glow slowly down to the scene below.
Those who heard Angel’s voice also followed her gaze.
At some unknown point in time, the ground began to emit wavy tendrils of dark vapor. Even with the naked eye, the mist was clearly visible.
This dark vapor carried with it the scent of lingering resentment. However, as the sunlight bathed the earth, the mist from every sun-kissed area began to evaporate, dispersing into the air.
Witnessing this scene, everyone realized that the feast had not failed, contrary to their previous speculations. It was just that the guests’ feedback had been slow to arrive.
The evaporation of this dark mist signified something profound — it was the manifestation of chronic afflictions that had accumulated in this land over many years. Wizards present could kill or banish ghosts, but none could eradicate these deeply rooted afflictions from the earth.
Without addressing these issues, the potential risk would remain in perpetuity.
Even with the aid of Angel’s Prelude of Reincarnation, which temporarily eradicated all the ghosts in the area surrounding Black Castle, as long as the root issue persisted, the danger would inevitably resurface.
But this seemingly indelible affliction was finally eradicated, thanks to the joint efforts of Gloria and Felicia.
Above them was the ubiquitous sunlight, illuminating the world. Below, vast swathes of dark vapor rose from the earth.
At that moment, even the most stone-hearted of witches felt a tug at their heartstrings.
“Bathed in Light, hope is reborn…” Lady Kimberly murmured, her eyes misty as she gazed upon this transformative scene, a gentle smile adorning her lips.
As Sanders had said earlier, this revelation wasn’t earth-shattering, nor did it present dramatic highs and lows. Once it was confirmed that the guests were satisfied, everything proceeded in its intended direction, evolving steadily.
The dark mist continued to evaporate, and the sunlight kept shining, all without much fanfare.
Angel isn’t a native of Black Castle, so he can’t fully empathize with their excitement. However, watching this unfold, he feels emotionally stirred as well.
Emerging from a millennia-long nightmare shrouded in darkness, a new chapter has been turned in the light.
No one knows where Black Castle will go next or what stories the new page will write. But one thing is certain: without change, hope will never appear and the castle will continue its downward spiral.
When the entire Black Castle is finally bathed in sunlight, dispelling the dark storm clouds that once hovered above, Gloria and Felicia walk over hand in hand.
Lady Kimberly graciously thanks them with a heartfelt gesture.
Though the dark aura hasn’t completely disappeared, everyone knows it’s only a matter of time before it does.
After witnessing such a momentous event, no one underestimates the role of gourmet wizards anymore.
This includes Angel, who now understands that gourmet wizards aren’t mere appendages to wizards. Their existence might be more closely aligned with the fundamental nature of the world.
At the very least, Angel can’t fathom how he could ever shake the very foundations of this aged land.
The celebratory feast comes to an end in the pervasive light.
While the atmosphere of Black Castle seems to be changing, there are still many pressing issues to address. For example, the Sun Bird’s crater, which is not only a dead zone but also filled with corpses and ghosts, perhaps even more horrifying entities. Though the pit is some distance from the castle, it’s important to remember that it has a tunnel for transporting corpses to the castle. This remains a concern.
However, these matters are not for Angel to worry about; with Isabella’s perspective, they will surely be resolved one by one.
In the coming period, Black Castle is likely to go through a prolonged phase of transformation. While this could be a painful period for the castle, there is also visible hope for the future.
And as an outsider, Angel naturally won’t be participating in this period of transformation.
What he is considering now is making his exit.
Chapter 1472 The Time of Transformation <TOC> Chapter 1474 Sparrow Blossom's Choice