“God?”
In the hospital room, Charlotte’s eyes went wide.
Her mind, which had been reeling from the shock of “fifteen hundred gold crowns,” was now completely shattered by this even more earth-shattering statement.
It was true that Cecil had spent the last ten minutes giving her a crash course on the existence of supernatural powers in this world.
She had also clearly told her that the Seven Gods from the mythological texts were all great entities that truly existed in higher dimensions.
However, there was a massive, insurmountable chasm between “accepting the existence of gods intellectually” and “learning that a god had not only gazed upon her from across realms just now but had also personally guided her.”
Who could remain calm after hearing that?
“Why?”
Charlotte asked curiously, her voice filled with disbelief.
“Why would He look for me?”
The girl’s mind raced.
A god.
That was a great existence, high above and impossible to look upon directly.
To deliver a message to an ordinary girl like her, the deity had even specifically taken the form of her deceased mother just so she wouldn't be frightened!
What had she done to deserve this?
Was she actually some runaway princess of a lost kingdom?
“It means your talent is exceptional.”
Cecil took a deep breath, trying to calm the equally turbulent shock within her heart.
She looked at Charlotte, and in her eyes, besides wonder, there was now a hint of indescribable awe.
“It’s not just your spiritual affinity.”
“More importantly, you have received the gaze of the Goddess of Magic.”
Cecil’s voice became low and solemn.
“Perhaps one day...”
“You will become the Chosen of the Goddess.”
The Chosen?
“What is the Chosen?”
Charlotte blinked, asking like a curious child.
Cecil remained silent for a few seconds.
She seemed to be weighing how to explain this somewhat sensitive concept in the supernatural world in the simplest terms possible.
“To put it bluntly,” Cecil finally spoke.
“It means you are the next successor to the god.”
“What?!”
Charlotte felt a loud buzzing in her ears.
She was startled and recoiled abruptly.
Although Cecil had already told her much about the supernatural world and the Scale promotions, this particular concept had not been mentioned at all during the previous explanation.
“Gods... can also be replaced?”
Charlotte’s common sense was once again severely challenged. In an ordinary person’s understanding, weren't gods eternal and indestructible?
“Correct.”
Cecil nodded with a grave expression, shattering the girl’s last shred of illusion.
“Gods are not eternal.”
“It’s just that their replacement occurs over the span of entire eras.”
“To us, that time scale is virtually equivalent to eternity.”
Cecil stared intently at Charlotte.
“But at the very least...”
“You might, in the future, have the qualification to sit upon that supreme divine throne.”
However, hearing these words—which would be enough to drive any transcendent into a frenzy—Charlotte didn't show the slightest bit of excitement.
Instead, she unexpectedly shook her head.
Her long red hair swayed back and forth against the pillow.
“Ms. Cecil.”
Charlotte looked at Cecil, her gaze clear and firm, even carrying a hint of precocious maturity that saw through worldly things.
“Actually, I’m not really interested in being a god.”
She gave a bitter smile.
“Being high above, watching people below suffer and struggle... that must feel terrible.”
“If I can...”
She clenched her fists, the faces of Elias and Arthur flashing in her mind.
“...protect my family so they don't have to risk their lives for me anymore.”
“I think that would already be quite remarkable.”
Cecil looked at the girl with the determined gaze and was momentarily stunned.
Then, a hint of admiration flashed in her eyes.
To be able to maintain such a clear and pure original heart in the face of a temptation that could overturn one’s entire worldview was perhaps one of the reasons why the Goddess of Magic had gazed upon her.
Cecil didn't dwell too much on the matter.
Now was not the time to discuss theology and life philosophy.
“Let’s continue then.”
Cecil pulled the conversation back to the main topic.
“You said just now, what else did you see in the Origin Web tower?”
She signaled for Charlotte to continue recounting what she had seen in her dream.
Charlotte took a deep breath and began to describe in detail the crimson white tower, the surging sea monsters, her fallen brother, and the black-and-white angel in the sky wielding a massive scythe.
And, of course, those hair-raising, deformed half-human, half-fish creatures.
When all the information had been shared in the small hospital room, Cecil’s expression became more solemn than ever before.
Even when she had gone deep into the North District’s sewers and seen the Temple of Slaughter with her own eyes, she hadn't felt as panicked and fearful as she did now.
“In the Origin Web tower...”
Cecil’s throat moved with difficulty.
“...you saw the future?”
She paced back and forth anxiously by the bed.
“This confirms that Moon Bay is indeed a bottomless vortex.”
She muttered to herself, her brow furrowed into a tight knot.
The matter regarding the “Fifth Element” could now be confirmed as true. But what she had never expected was that this mess would actually alert a terrifying existence at the demigod level!
Based on Charlotte’s description, that angel with black and white wings in the sky was definitely no ordinary supernatural creature.
That should be... the mythic form that only the very few transcendents who reached the demigod rank in the Mother Goddess of Destiny’s faith pathway could manifest!
And the words the crow kept screaming—“The Dead Tide is coming.”
That was likely not just an ordinary monster riot. It was absolutely a catastrophe a hundred times more terrifying than the sea-folk invasion of Hastings Port twenty-five years ago!
“But... that’s not right...”
Cecil stopped her pacing, extreme confusion flashing in her eyes.
The problem was that before this operation, the agency had performed high-level divination rituals to calculate the possible final direction and outcome of the move to take down Wayland.
But the divination results and the doomsday scene Charlotte was describing now were diametrically opposed!
How could this be?
Had the agency’s divination been wrong?
No.
Cecil immediately dismissed that thought.
Then there was only one possibility.
The agency’s divination had been tampered with by some high-level entity!
Someone, or some god, was deliberately concealing the disaster about to occur in Moon Bay!
“This is insane...”
Cecil took a deep breath, forcing down the turmoil in her heart.
Now was not the time to delve into that. The most urgent matter was to arrange things for the girl in front of her.
She turned around, her gaze returning to its gentle state.
“Next, you need to make a choice yourself.”
“Two paths.”
She held up one finger.
“First.”
“I will use a certain method to erase this memory from your mind.”
“Then, I will apply to have the power that just awakened within you sealed.”
“You will return to your former stable, ordinary college life.”
Cecil paused.
“As for Victoria, when you wake up, you will only know that she suddenly came down with a rare and severe illness.”
Next, she held up a second finger.
“Second.”
“You stay by my side.”
Cecil’s gaze grew stern.
“Become an intern investigator for the Seventh Agency.”
“On this path, you will no longer be protected by anyone.”
“You might have to experience perilous dangers, and you might see horrors and tragedies beyond anything you can imagine.”
“You might even die without any dignity.”
After saying this, Cecil pulled over a chair and sat back down.
“Two paths. Which do you choose?”
“Think about it.”
The hospital room fell into a dead silence.
Charlotte lowered her head, her red bangs obscuring her eyes.
She bit her lower lip hesitantly, her hands tightly clutching the white bedsheets.
On one side was a calm and stable campus life.
On the other was an abyss filled with slaughter and madness.
Any normal person would choose the former without hesitation.
But the image of Elias, covered in blood and fallen before the white tower, refused to leave her mind.
“Ms. Cecil...”
After a long while, Charlotte looked up, her eyes rimmed with red, and asked a question Cecil hadn't expected.
“If I choose to have my memory erased today and don't stay by your side...”
Her voice trembled slightly.
“...does that mean my brother won't have anything happen to him?”
The girl’s logic was simple. If she didn't get involved and didn't become a part of that prophecy, could she change her brother’s inevitable death?
The question caught Cecil off guard.
Looking at Charlotte’s hopeful eyes, Cecil remained silent for a moment. Then, she shook her head regretfully.
“Lottie.”
Cecil’s voice was soft, but it was as cruel as a blade.
“That’s not how the future works.”
“Your brother...”
Cecil thought of Elias.
“He is already deep within this vortex, deeper than you can imagine.”
“So, at the very least...”
Cecil ruthlessly shattered her illusion.
“...your current influence is not enough to dictate whether this happens or not.”
At this answer, Charlotte’s face instantly turned pale, and she leaned back against the pillow weakly.
Just then, the Origin Web communicator hanging at Cecil’s waist emitted a buzzing sound.
Cecil quickly pressed the receive button.
She stood up and looked at Charlotte apologetically.
“You can take your time to think about it here.”
With that, Cecil pushed open the door and walked out quickly.
As soon as she reached the empty hallway, her expression turned extremely grim.
The message from the communicator made her blood run cold.
Branch Manager Guardian was urgently summoning all personnel to return to the department for a meeting immediately!
Not only that, because of the Temple of Slaughter in the North District’s sewers, the branch manager had sent the highest-level red distress signal to the Landon headquarters!
He was requesting the headquarters to immediately dispatch a “special-class investigator” for support!
And the reason for the request... was absurd to the point of being hair-raising!
Deep within the Temple of Slaughter, they had actually found a...
God’s husk!
“Those lunatics...”
Cecil gritted her teeth, feeling that the shock she had experienced today far exceeded the sum of all the shocks she had felt in her entire life.
A god-fall?!
Add to that the Fifth Element in Moon Bay and the Dead Tide in Charlotte’s prophecy just now...
The entirety of Velen was practically sitting on a powder keg that was about to explode!
Cecil’s first instinct was to turn and rush out of the convalescent home, returning to the branch at top speed to understand the situation.
The situation had now spiraled completely out of control.
However, as she took her first step, the hesitant face of the red-haired girl on the hospital bed flashed through her mind again.
“Dammit...”
Cecil cursed under her breath.
This succession of shocks had left even this normally calm special envoy somewhat dazed.
She took a deep breath, forcing down her internal anxiety.
She reached out and pushed open the door to the hospital room again.
When she walked back into the room, she was stunned.
Greeting her was no longer the hesitant little girl from before, but a pair of incredibly resolute eyes.
“Ms. Cecil.”
Charlotte looked at Cecil, her voice no longer trembling.
“I’ve decided.”
“I’m coming with you.”
Cecil frowned. “Have you thought this through? There’s no turning back from this path.”
“I have.”
Charlotte met Cecil’s gaze without flinching.
“Instead of passively hiding in the back and waiting for that despairing future, I’d rather become a variable myself.”
She clenched her fists.
“Even if I’m still weak and can’t do anything right now...”
The girl gritted her teeth and spoke one word at a time.
“...I absolutely cannot let that bastard Al die all alone by the sea.”
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