Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Vivian’s Summoning Ritual
The Wood Element Empress, Andori.
As one of the eight Elemental Empresses, she is considered one of the top characters in the game.
Each Elemental Empress is a being close to Tier 14 and holds an unusually high status among the Elf Race.
Elemental Empresses are the best support units in the game. Shen Sui once gathered them all to better complete the Twilight of the Gods main storyline.
Furthermore, although the Elemental Empresses are very cute and beautiful, they are not capturable characters. After all, if a palm-sized character were capturable, instead of doubting the player’s XP, it would be better to question the mental state of the developers.
Even MOD creators don’t dare to make HMODs of this; it’s too sinful, too perverted.
["Wow, wow, wow, wow!"]
[Andori circles around you repeatedly.]
["You’re really alive!" Andori flutters her tiny wings and lands on your shoulder. "Ah, if Vivian knew, she’d definitely be thrilled."]
Shen Sui was also very happy to see Andori.
After all, she was the first familiar face he encountered who was conscious and with normal intelligence to ask about old times.
While the world’s consciousness was clear, it had lacking intelligence.
Qishala had lost her soul, leaving only the instinct to cling to Shen Sui.
[You begin to ask Andori about the past.]
[Andori recalls the past.]
[After you disappeared, the Elemental Empresses you gathered went their separate ways. Some returned to their original territories, others went to the Elf Race to enjoy life, and Andori stayed behind to help Vivian.]
["After you disappeared, Vivian was restless every day," Andori said, "and because they lost the strongest force for suppression, forces across the continent began to reemerge. They started to approach Vivian and your comrades, tempting them to fall, which gave Vivian quite a headache."]
["But those things are nothing, as long as Vivian takes them seriously, there’s no problem dealing with those guys," Andori waved her little fists, even though her fists weren’t as big as a fly.]
["But Vivian seemed possessed during that time, searching the world for you," Andori said condescendingly at Shen Sui, implying that he was the cause of this tragedy.]
["Baris came to argue with Vivian, trying to knock some sense into her," Andori recalled, "Then Vivian left Twilight City with Qishala, searching for a way to summon you. They suspected you were forced into another world for some reason."]
Ah... In a way, that makes sense.
["After that, Baris and Vivian went their separate ways. I don’t know much about what happened to Baris, but I heard she eventually replaced the departed Vivian as the leader of the Twilight Association."]
["Then, Vivian brought me here, trying to use the ritual you left behind to summon you. I volunteered to act as the medium, but the ritual failed, and I lost consciousness," Andori puffed her cheeks, saying unhappily, "When I woke up again, I was inside this stupid tree. I gnawed for so long before seeing the light of day again!"]
It seems the true cause of the Ancient Tree of Ankedo’s death was being eaten by Andori, and Alice’s flame was just a catalyst.
I said, how could a Tier 12 be overpowered by a Tier 5, it seemed impossible.
Andori’s words were fragmented, but for Shen Sui, they were very useful.
For the first time, he heard about what happened to Vivian during those years directly from someone else.
That fool, she actually gave up the Twilight Association to summon me.
Shen Sui certainly knew what Vivian’s ritual was.
The ritual was actually a switch.
When the ritual was activated, it meant that you allowed other players to invade your game world. To the people of the Dawn Continent, it might indeed seem like a mysterious ritual to summon otherworldly visitors.
Vivian’s failure was predictable, as the ritual wasn’t explicitly calling upon Shen Sui by name.
Judging by the state of the Death God Arianna, it was obvious that Vivian eventually found the correct way to summon.
As for what happened to Andori afterwards, he could somewhat guess.
The failed ritual left Andori severely injured.
Elemental Empresses are immortal in the Dawn Continent, and the Wood Element Empress recovers by being implanted into the Ancient Tree of Ankedo, absorbing the tree’s energy to restore life.
Looking at Andori’s lively appearance, it’s clear she has recovered well.
["I really don’t know much about what happened afterwards," Andori looked sad when hearing Shen Sui talk about Vivian later being burned to death, "I should have advised her. She was already a bit obsessed with finding you."]
Shen Sui fell into silence.
He was contemplating something.
According to Vivian’s character setting in the game, was she really the kind of woman who would give up her career for love?
Vivian’s feelings for him were undoubted, and the 120 affinity level was the best proof.
["Speaking of which, Vivian used to keep a diary at the ritual site," Andori suddenly said, "You know, Vivian always liked to write diaries."]
Shen Sui was well aware of this.
The developers’ setting for the Twilight Saintess was that she was a girl who liked to vent in her diary.
She recorded all her emotions in her diary.
The developers used Vivian’s diary to enrich her character.
In the game, players could gradually understand Vivian’s recent thoughts and preferences by reading her diary, thus formulating corresponding approaches.
To make it easier for players to read, Vivian was set never to destroy her diary actively; she would hide her filled diary nearby and start writing a new one.
When Vivian’s affinity reached the maximum of 120, there would be a storyline where Vivian would take you across the world to dig up her buried diaries, allowing you to gain a deeper understanding of her past, experiences, and thoughts. In the latter part of the journey, her diary would be filled with her longing for you.
At the journey’s end, Vivian took you to the Dawn Continent’s Moonwatching Mountain, where the two of you sat on its peak, gazing at the bright, clear full moon in the distance.
Vivian leaned against your shoulder, flipping through her diary.
Her cheeks lightly flushed with the bashfulness of a young girl, softly murmuring in your ear about the bits and pieces she wrote about you in her diary.
Then, Vivian would ask you to bury these diaries back in their original place. Ten years later, she would lead you on this journey again. By then, more incidents would have occurred between you two, leading to more memories and diaries.
The developers always liked to pile on various appealing elements for the female characters in the game, but in a few characters, you could see their pursuit of romance.
["I remember the ritual site isn’t far from here," Andori pointed in a direction and asked, "Interested in taking a look?"]
Shen Sui took a deep breath and typed:
["Let’s go, let’s take a look."]