"So, the Golden Dawn people are using this dark fog as a courier service, and now I've just intercepted their delivery at a transfer station?" Shiayar's thoughts stirred slightly, and he immediately understood his current situation.
The ethereal prayers in his ears slowly dissipated until, in the end, only nothingness remained. Within the surging darkness, however, a faint point of light slowly spilled out and then solidified into a tangible entity.
It was a pale skull.
The skull, massive and fierce, materialized in the void before Shiayar, nearly occupying his entire field of vision. This was certainly not the size or proportion of a regular human or any commonly seen humanoid race. Atop the ghastly white bones were two twisted horns with an eerie curve. In the gaps between its teeth, remnants of black ash were faintly visible, evoking images of its owner chewing magma and swallowing flames during its lifetime.
[Immortal Skull of the Nameless King]
[Category: Contaminant, Extraordinary Material]
[Order: 8th Order]
[Attributes: Fire, Darkness, Curse]
[Description: This is the skull of a Flaming King of Giants who was defeated by the Lord of Ashes in the divine battle for Authority over combustion. His skull also became one of the most glorious trophies of the Lord of Ashes.]
[Later, this skull was given by the Lord of Ashes to His followers. It became the supreme Sacred Relic of the Ashes Cult and also the carrier of the Ashes faith. Only the Pontiff of the Ashes Cult was allowed to possess and touch it.]
[According to the Ashes Cult's legend: when the hollow eyes of the Sacred Relic are lit once again by dark fire, the Lord of Ashes will return from ancient history, descending upon the world once more.]
[For the sake of a grand plan that could overturn the Western Continent, this Sacred Relic was sent out by the Pontiff of the Ashes Cult, and then, it appeared before you.]
Shiayar sat on his golden lounge chair, looking at the ghastly white skull before him and the azure screen that emerged in his mind. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. Huh, the Ashes Cult again? Last time it was the left finger bone, and now it's a skull, huh? Old acquaintances, these are. And the type that deliver treasures, too.
He recalled when he was still very weak, not even having reached 3-Ring. It was the ruffians from the Ashes Cult who had attacked St. Roland Academy, giving him access to the contaminated left finger bone. That artifact had helped Silver complete the self-created skill 'Amaterasu'. It also enabled Shiayar to shine for the first time in the Empire Capital, catch the eye of the Second Princess, and led to their first meeting.
Later on, whether in the final battle of the Echo of History in the Ancient Dukedom Azure Garden, or at the Borgia family's subsequent banquet, Amaterasu had indeed helped Shiayar greatly.
If not for that 6th Order finger bone as the Fire Spark Source, 'Amaterasu' definitely couldn't have exerted such great power.
Of course, as things progressed and challenges escalated, Shiayar now faced opponents who were either Legendary or Demigod; there were even traces of True Gods appearing...
With a 6th Order contaminant as the Fire Spark Source, 'Amaterasu' did indeed seem somewhat underpowered now.
And the little white ferret had turned into a storeroom keeper, only occasionally showing up to make a minor contribution with Moon Reading.
But now, that's going to change...
Speaking of which, didn't I pin the blame for killing the Twilight Half-Body on the Ashes Cult back then? That led to the Ashes Cult being hunted by the Twilight Cult for hundreds of years. I hope that god is okay. He sincerely blessed the Lord of Ashes in his heart.
Adhering to the principle of sustainable development, I hadn't planned to keep exploiting such an Evil God indefinitely. After all, they delivered contaminated items to me and even helped play matchmaker with Isadella; they've been through a lot. But if the Great Archbishop of an evil cult sends gifts my way, it would be quite rude to refuse them.
As he thought, Shiayar's mind moved slightly.
The next moment, a faint silver glow shone above the dark fog.
The little white ferret appeared in Shiayar's arms. It was somewhat lazy at first, snuggling in his embrace for a while before finally opening those clear, ruby-like eyes.
Due to the different flow of time in the fragments of the Imaginary Zone compared to the Main Material Plane, and the constant, raging distortion and turmoil of the river of time, Shiayar, relying on the exceptional spatiotemporal affinity granted by the Sands of Time, and Enola, relying on her covenant with the Sacred Spear, could survive in the temporal turbulence unaffected. But Silver and Shiny were different.
Because their souls struggled to adapt to the distorted spacetime, Silver and Crimson had spent most of these years in Eternal Slumber within the Soul Pact Space, awakening only briefly on rare occasions, such as when achieving a breakthrough. Jayee, being a mechanical lifeform, was an exception, as concepts of soul and adaptability didn't apply to her.
Now, as the spatiotemporal turbulence began to subside and the river of time started to stabilize, Silver and the others were gradually adapting, though they remained quite sleepy.
But the next moment—
As Silver sensed the presence of the ghastly white skull before Shiayar, the little white ferret's ruby-like eyes suddenly widened.
"COO COO COO~" Silver chirped, its fluffy white tail already winding affectionately around Shiayar's neck. Master, is this for me?
Tears welled up in the little white ferret's eyes.