OBS Chapter 3986: Fire Source
Chapter 3986: Fire Source
Chapter 3986: Fire Source
Audrey and Megan couldn't lift the gift box from God, and Shad didn't know how Luvia managed to pick it up.
In short, under the watchful eyes of the three ladies and a cat, Shad knelt down on one knee, reached for the gift box on the ground, and took out this week's gift.
It wasn't parchment recording secrets or stone tablets documenting ancient knowledge; what appeared in Shad's hand was a lump of mud, or rather, a lump of mud shaped like an eye.
The mud itself was unremarkable; Shad was quite certain it was just ordinary soil mixed with water. As for the shape the mud had been molded into, it looked like a child's drawing, but even though it was abstract, Shad was still certain it was an eye.
This week's task is to play in the mud with friends. This task is very much in line with the requirements for children.
"What does it mean?"
Luvia frowned slightly, but Megan immediately understood:
"When Winnie introduced the 'Spark of Life,' did she say that although the 'Spark of Life' mostly appears in mechanical creations, it can actually give life to most machines made by intelligent life, and is not limited to metal materials?"
Luvia then understood:
"Yes, it's just that intelligent life uses metals the most, which is why these anomalies appear more often on metals."
However, if Shad were to mold an eye out of mud himself and perform the magic of "active clay," this would theoretically also fall under the category of "precision instruments created by intelligent life."
Could it be that the old god's hint to Shad was for Shad to find a way to transfer the 'spark of life' into the eyes he had created? Eyes held a very special significance in the eyes of the followers of that ancient creator god; perhaps this method could completely suppress that contagiousness.
This interpretation is indeed very reasonable, but Xia De is still worried that if he guesses wrong, or if people overlook certain important steps, there will be big trouble.
Then Shad said to Luvia:
"Let's be cautious, Megan, Audrey. Use the sealing spell again to temporarily seal this nearly deactivated [active metal]. Then I will seal your seals into the wooden coffin."
"Let's go to Fatummont Island, Luvia, to perform a divination using the [Stadium of Fate]."
As he spoke, he cast "Key to the Gate - Cinderella," gently patting the girls' shoulders and changing them and himself into suitable outfits for going out.
As for why he went to Fatumunst Island, it was because Shad wasn't crazy and wouldn't keep an unknowable-level relic in his home for long. Shortly after the Battle of Destiny, with Luvia and Bella's consent, he placed the relic at the top of the Tower of All Things, the highest point of the Destiny Ruins, instead of in the "Casino of Destiny" as originally planned.
After the divinity within the "Egg of Destiny" that originally existed in the Tower of All Things was absorbed by Shad, the tower no longer possessed the power to "reveal all possibilities," but it still had a strong sealing ability.
The fragments of the "Eggshell of Destiny" that Shad brought home were studied by the fortune tellers and used to create an outer shell to contain the "Stadium of Destiny," ensuring that it would never go out of control.
Shad's intention was to have Luvia use a special divination, so when the group left the basement for the southern island, Shad didn't forget to bring the document-level relic coin, [Blood and Flesh Repayment].
Seeing that Shad was going out at night, Mia followed him. After emerging from the ruins beneath the Witch's Tower, the group immediately flew towards the highest peak of the snow mountain and quickly entered the tower that the church members dared not approach.
While Luvia used the special coin for divination, Shad, Megan, and Audrey waited on the next floor of the tower. The purple-eyed girl's divination didn't take too long either. The clues from the [Gift Box of God] were more than enough, and with the cooperation of the [Stadium of Destiny], the divination was a great success.
“I put the [Stadium of Destiny] back into the eggshell, and then we went home. I know what to do.”
Luvia and Megan's deductions were entirely correct; the hint did indeed mean for Shad to use [Active Clay] to create the eyes. However, the subsequent step wasn't to transfer the "Spark of Life," but rather to have [Active Metal] permeate the eyes, attempting to completely fuse the two together to complete the containment.
"Yes, the eyes are forged using the [Earth's Core Furnace], which is also located in the basement, and the metal is fused together in this way."
Luvia's divination yielded even more information than what the artifact had suggested.
After returning home, she asked Shad to fetch the "Sunfire" to enhance the furnace's heat during the forging process, and to fetch the "Moonlight Water" and infuse it with the red moonlight as a catalyst in the forging process.
She then had the Edwards sisters contribute the [Breeding Mark], which had been severely damaged in the Battle of Destiny and would soon shatter, as material. Although this pink mark certainly wouldn't grant the witch the ability to reproduce, but could only serve as a pretty skin decoration that glowed during certain activities, Megan and Audrey were still somewhat reluctant to part with it:
"Lacia and Galina will also feel very sorry."
"If I remember correctly, if you're just looking for a glowing effect, there's a similar method for making alchemical ink in Shad's 'Pink Book,' and there's even a spell that can leave a mark."
“That’s different. That kind of thing just glows and at most has a stimulating effect. But every time this mark lights up, it represents another 'breeding' process. It’s an affirmation of fate, which can’t be compared to just glowing. Alright, let’s offer it up.”
After the four forces of the sun, moon, earth, and destiny were all prepared, Shad used the lump of clay he took from the gift box to reshape the eyes. Then, following Luvia's advice, he added a small amount of his own blood to the lump of clay that was gradually turning into real eyes.
Because Shad didn't directly place the soil into the missing eye socket this time, the transformation was very slow.
Finally, the breeding mark, the nearly deactivated [active metal], the mud-flesh eyes, the red moon and moonlight water, and the last remaining [leaf of youth] of Shad were all added to the furnace.
This forging process consumed a considerable amount of "Aura of the Earth," but fortunately, Shad always liked to travel around, so he was able to cover the cost. However, he had a feeling that what was being created was probably something quite extraordinary.
Meanwhile, Luvia was still explaining to Megan and Audrey, who were curious about the forging process:
"Once you see the results, you'll understand why the Church of Creation controlled the [Active Metal]. In my opinion, this loss of control over the relics is actually a good thing; otherwise, it would be very difficult for us to get close to the truth."
The forging process went quite smoothly, and when Shad opened the furnace from the top, he saw a silver metal eye.
The metallic eye was slightly smaller than a normal human eyeball. After it cooled down, Shad let it fly into his palm. The moment he touched it, Shad showed a look of astonishment. After slightly infusing it with spiritual energy, crimson light spots consistent with the "Life Seed" gradually appeared on the surface of the metallic eye. Then, the entire "metallic eye" transformed into a non-physical flame eye composed of crimson "Life Seeds".
The red, fiery eye hovered in Shad's palm. The moment they saw it, both the witch and Luvia took a deep breath.
Even just by looking at it, the girls could feel the power of that strange, twisted life force.
The "eye" seemed to be watching them as if it were alive, but before its power could exert any further influence, Shad controlled it to transform back into a silver metallic material, which then fell back into his palm. In its metallic state, it looked unremarkable; unless he made direct contact, even Shad couldn't sense any power it possessed.
"Is this the spark of life? Shad's description is so accurate! I have never seen anything like it before. This physical flame, which seems to be a distorted version of the concept of 'life,' is truly astonishing! This crystallization of life force after its transformation is simply a miracle!"
Megan gasped softly, but Luvia shook her head:
“Those scattered, crimson dots of light that Shad described are the ‘spark of life.’ They are forged from sparks, active metals, and many other forces, and are something more advanced than ‘sparks.’ I think it would be more appropriate to call them ‘sources of sparks.’”
She explained:
"I learned from divination that only a special material called 'active metal', combined with specific methods, can create the 'spark'."
Its effects are simple: First, any intelligent life form observed by the AllSpark will acquire a 'spark' after a certain period of time and undergo mutation due to the distorted spark; second, the AllSpark can absorb 'life sparks' directly exposed to it. Of course, it can also choose not to absorb them; the spark will disappear as Shad described, but the likelihood of the spark reappearing in this area will increase.
The four of them left the [Earth's Core Forge] together, with Shad clutching something in his hand:
“After being forged, I have a clearer understanding of the nature of the ‘spark’. I am quite certain that this is the material manifestation of the ‘calamity of creation’ in the material world, and its essence is no different from things like the twisted tree hole or the infinite snake.”
Under normal circumstances, Shad would never use the power of such things.
Megan and Audrey understood this as well:
"But with this, when we encounter out-of-control equipment in the future, although we will still need to use the [Black Moon Talisman] or employ methods such as the [One-Hit Kill Gun], we can at least completely eliminate the risks by absorbing the fire source."
Furthermore, if a method can be found later to extract the spark without destroying the equipment, the value of this spark source would be even greater.