Chapter 929 Velite and the Phantom Figure <TOC> Chapter 931 Divine Attendant
Translator: SumTLMan
“Perhaps Angel might know some insider information about Sleepless City.” Velite’s eyes brightened momentarily, but quickly dimmed again, “However, this Angel has always been mysterious. Even when his music box fetched an exorbitant price last time, he never showed up. It’s unknown where he might be now.”
“If I encounter him, it would be worthwhile to ask. Besides, I am quite curious to meet this genius junior.”
As Velite spoke, Piers’ eyes continued to shine.
Velite might not know where Angel was, but he did! Maybe he could trade firsthand news from the Eternal Night Kingdom with Angel, which would greatly benefit their merchant group.
However, how could he get news from Angel?
Piers hesitated, recalling a question Angel once asked, and unconsciously muttered, “Cassini…” Should he inquire about Cassini’s identity and use that information for trade with Angel?
Absorbed in his thoughts, Velite didn’t notice Piers’ low mumble. Instead, a phantom figure sitting leisurely on one side suddenly moved.
The phantom’s movement immediately drew their attention.
Under Velite’s slightly awe-struck and puzzled gaze, the phantom spoke in a tone that seemed to command obedience from the depths of one’s soul, asking, “Could you repeat the name you just muttered?”
Velite, bewildered, asked, “What name? Angel?”
Ignoring Velite, the phantom just quietly looked at Piers.
Piers was unsure why the phantom reacted so strongly. Moreover, its voice gave him goosebumps, indicating its formidable strength. Plus, he didn’t miss the reverence in Velite’s gaze towards the phantom earlier.
Could this phantom be a highly regarded figure? Did Sodom have such characters?
While Piers speculated about the phantom’s identity in his mind, it repeated its question.
After hesitating for a moment and under continuous prompting from Velite, Piers finally spoke, “You mean… Cassini?”
Upon hearing this name, the phantom fell silent.
A look of bewilderment was plastered on Velite’s face; he hadn’t heard this name before, yet it apparently drew a sidelong glance from his old comrade. Could there be some hidden implication within this name?
The phantom seemed to be lost in thought, and after a lengthy silence, he said faintly, “It has been such a long time, yet his name resurfaces.”
Who is he? Who is Cassini? — The phantom’s musings aroused curiosity in both Velite and Piers.
At that moment, the substance swirling around the phantom, much like a water mirror or thin mist, began to dissipate slowly. The phantom’s figure solidified slightly, revealing the image of a middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man was not particularly handsome; his face was pale, and clean-shaven, his eyes remained closed.
Piers did not recognize the man’s face, but as he lowered his gaze to scrutinize the man’s attire, he was dumbstruck.
With a trembling hand, he pointed at the man’s robe, abundant in mysterious enigmas, and muttered in disbelief, “Bl-black… Black Night Eternal Robe?”
The robe Piers pointed at was primarily black. Its blackness was not your average shade; it was dark as a cosmic void, seemingly capable of swallowing light. Besides black, the robe was decorated with starry bands signifying radiant strands of light, and adorned with various golden cryptic runes.
This was the Black Night Eternal Robe, a renowned high-rank alchemical masterpiece in the Southern Wizarding World.
Legend has it that this Black Night Eternal Robe belonged to Gauss of the Crown Star Church.
If it was Gauss… Piers’ gaze moved to the man’s crown. It was a broad coronet that resembled the style of the Black Night Eternal Robe. It was also black, but it was inscribed with glistening golden gears and clocks.
“The Crown of Time!” Another high-level alchemical masterpiece, one of the two great coronets of the Crown Star Church, whose combined effects could be ranked within the top ten in the entire Southern Wizarding World!
Upon seeing these two garments, even though Piers had never met the middle-aged man before, he was virtually certain that he was Gauss, one of the Twin Stars of the Crown Star Church!
Among the eighteen observers of the Crown Star Church, besides La Pluie, it was this “Illusory Contemplator,” Gauss, whose power was the most formidable.
A True Knowledge Wizard!
Even the “Immortal Crown Bearer” as one of the Twin Stars, La Pluie, was not far from Gauss in terms of strength.
“Lord Gauss.” As soon as Piers realized that the person in front of him belonged to a stratum he might never reach in his lifetime, he immediately performed a wizard’s courtesy, quaking in awe and reverence.
Gauss slowly intoned, “‘Whale Hunter’ Piers, I have heard of you.”
A flush of surprise washed over Piers, feeling immensely honored to be recognized by such an individual.
“Piers, I have a question for you.” Gauss’s voice, slow and rhythmic, seemed to command an involuntary allegiance.
“Please speak, Lord Gauss. If it’s within my knowledge, I’ll definitely respond.”
“I want to know…where did you hear the name…Cassini?” As Gauss uttered the name “Cassini,” a complex emotion flickered in his eyes, akin to both fear and jealousy.
Enveloped by the sonorous timbre of Gauss’s voice, Piers subconsciously yearned to disclose the name. However, as he prepared to utter it, his ingrained instincts as a businessman rekindled his discretion.
“Lord, a client of mine inquired about this name. I beg your pardon, but I cannot disclose his identity,” Piers apologized, lowering his head in deference.
Upon hearing this, Gauss chuckled, seemingly unconcerned: “Do you think I cannot find out if you don’t say?”
As one of the eighteen observers of the Crown Star Church and a prophecy wizard, he naturally found it trivial to discern the truth.
Gauss didn’t care about any notions of privacy, especially when it pertained to the name “Cassini.” As he said these words, he began creating his prophecy spell.
Sensing the peculiar pulsations of the prophecy spell, Piers lowered his head, his face devoid of expression, but he silently lamented in his heart: “Oh Angel, oh Angel, it’s not that I can’t keep a secret. If you’re discovered by a prophecy wizard, it can’t be helped…”
While Piers sighed internally, Gauss had already perfected his prophecy spell.
Gazing into the distance, Gauss murmured to himself: “Could you be one of those marked by him? I’m rather curious, who might you be…”
In an instant, it seemed as though Gauss’s gaze transcended mountains and seas, penetrating the fissures of time and space.
In the interim, an odd feeling suddenly gestated within Angel, stationed in the town of Borel within the Central Empire. Before he could fully delve into this sensation, at the tip of the golden shoulder seal on his left, a tear-drop akin to crystal quietly emitted a soft radiance. The hidden Black Night Sanctuary within it began to trace strange runes, dissolving the inexplicable sensation into nothingness.
“What just happened?” Angel queried, lifting his brow in confusion, “Why would such a sensation arise? Could it be that someone is speaking of me?”
Meanwhile, a considerable distance away in the west, in the land of Wastern Demos, Gauss experienced a sudden pause, his internal energy becoming slightly volatile, compelling him to gasp for breath.
“What’s wrong, old friend?” Velite, Gauss’ long-time companion, cast a puzzled glance his way. Having seen Gauss cast spells more than once, Velite found the current situation somewhat reminiscent of a spellcasting mishap. However, ever since Gauss embarked on the path of true knowledge, such failures had become infrequent. Could it be that he was mistaken?
Gauss offered no reply. Once he had caught his breath, his visage turned stern, and he began reconstructing the spell model within his cognitive space.
Soon enough, Gauss’ prophecy spell took shape once more, this time with an even more astounding intensity. However, after a brief pause, a trickle of blood leaked from the corner of Gauss’ mouth.
This was the result of his forced restraint. Had he let it run its course, he would’ve vomited blood on the spot.
“Could it really have failed?” Velite queried in disbelief.
Piers, too, cast a puzzled glance at Gauss. Given Gauss’ esteemed status as a Wizard of Prophecy in the path of true knowledge, how could it be possible for him to fail?
The next moment, Gauss conceded with a regretful nod, “I may have overstepped.”
Velite furrowed his brow, “Even if you were trying to probe a second-level wizard on the path of true knowledge, it shouldn’t result in failure. Why would it suddenly…”
Speaking of the reason for the failure, Gauss too appeared somewhat bewildered, “I’m not quite sure. As soon as I started probing, I was confronted with an overwhelming sea of crimson, and the spell simply dissipated. It wasn’t backlash, but pure inability to probe further.”
“Could it be that the individual is not governed by the Wheel of Time? Alternatively, they may be stationed in a safeguarded location, shielded from prying eyes. Or, perhaps, they possess a method to evade prophecy scrying, like a crafted alchemical item or a unique spell? Yet, such alchemical items are exceedingly scarce; to my knowledge, there are fewer than a hundred in the entire Southern Wizarding World.”
Velite pondered this; he knew Gauss’s specialty was the Wheel of Time, but he was unclear about what it meant to be outside of its trajectory.
Gauss clarified, “Areas of temporal chaos are not bound by the wheel’s course; such as the Nightmare Plane, a place exiled beyond the grasp of time.”
Despite a lengthy discussion, Gauss and Velite failed to reach a conclusion. Hence, they turned their attention back to Piers; after all, he was privy to the matter, and his own words would clear the mystery.
Piers managed a rueful smile, “I truly cannot divulge; my credibility is at stake here. Breaking this trust would not only bring calamity upon the traveling merchant group, but also hamper my future prospects.”
Once Piers invoked his own future, Gauss could no longer press the matter, though his curiosity remained piqued about the individual who knew of Cassini.
At this point, Velite could not help but ask, “You may withhold their name, but can you at least tell us how they’ve managed to evade the prophecy spell?”
Piers had a rough hypothesis in mind; Angel, perhaps, had crafted a relevant alchemical piece?
Reflecting on the fact that Angel, despite his tender age, could create an alchemical item that could shield even from Gauss’s scrutiny, a surge of satisfaction swelled within Piers at having made the right bet.
However, even if he had deduced the matter, he remained unable to speak.
Seeing Piers maintain his silence, Velite had no recourse but to turn to Gauss with a look of resignation.
A whisper of regret was quietly unfurled within Gauss’s heart, stirring up a gentle sigh that broke the still air.
An echo of silence reverberated through the room, intertwining with a strand of awkwardness, casting a palpable shroud of unease.
Piers contemplated his options, concluding that an early departure might be the most appropriate course of action. After all, remaining would only seem to paint a target on his back, turning him into the proverbial scapegoat.
However, just as Piers was on the brink of announcing his intentions to leave, he was taken aback by Velite’s question directed towards Gauss, “To be frank, I’m still at a loss as to the identity of this ‘Cassini’ person you keep mentioning.”
Like Velite, Piers was equally clueless. However, he had gathered from the previous exchange that Gauss might hold the answer to the identity of this elusive Cassini.
Thus, he subdued his impulse to make a hasty exit, choosing to stay and listen to Gauss’s response instead.
Gauss paused, seemingly gathering his thoughts. “Truth be told, I was in the dark about Cassini’s identity until not too long ago. However, I was informed by La Pluie, who had met Cassini before. He revealed that Cassini had once stolen his choice.”
“Stolen his choice? Could it be that the Cassini you’re referring to is…” Both Piers and Velite were left stupefied, the same name rising like a ghost from the depths of their minds, filling them with incredulous disbelief.
—Could it be the Time Thief?!
Chapter 929 Velite and the Phantom Figure <TOC> Chapter 931 Divine Attendant