OBS Chapter 3596 Fragments of the Starry Sky
Chapter 3596 Fragments of the Starry Sky
Chapter 3596 Fragments of the Starry Sky
Having made up her mind, Claire went to ask the elders for their opinions, and Shad, who had nothing else to do, followed her along.
Although Elder Harald hesitated about the matter, it was, after all, a matter concerning his granddaughter, so he quickly agreed:
"But you need the elders to agree; my agreement alone won't do."
Elder Ursa and Elder Vilda were also in town, and they were noticeably more hesitant than Elder Harald. But after Shad offered to exchange his personal connections for it, they said it wasn't necessary.
“If it’s for the sake of this island, then we agree.”
Although Elder Thorin and Elder Uller were not in town, since the three eleventh-ring elders among the Grand Elders had already agreed, they probably wouldn't refuse. Claire was very happy about this and urged her maternal grandfather to prepare the ceremony as soon as possible.
"Preparing the materials will take about two or three days, and it should be ready by next Thursday."
Of course, Claire was also continuing to craft the jeweled staff that Shad had commissioned. That evening, while Shad was still thinking about the reply from the tavern in town, Matilda, who had just returned from the snowy mountains, was instructed by Claire to fetch Shad.
When Shad arrived at the underground alchemy workshop, Claire showed him a perfectly round gem. One side of the gem was silver, and the other side was gold, and neither was a regular semicircle.
The gems looked perfectly fitted, but Claire separated them with a gentle push.
The golden gem was now filled with a warm glow, the pure light of the sun. While the silver gem also shone faintly, compared to the golden gem, Shad clearly felt it was "empty."
"finished."
The platinum-blonde-haired witch was quite satisfied with her work:
"I finished the final work on the sun-shaped gem during the day. This silver one needs your final touches tonight under the moonlight. It's simple: control the moonlight to illuminate the gem, and once you feel that the two gems are 'equal,' you're done."
She then closed the two gems together and picked up the [King of Covenants] from the table. The gems were automatically drawn to the staff upon touching it, and Claire handed the staff to Shad.
“That will do. However, when using it, the princess will need to find a way to activate the power of both gems simultaneously. She will need to try a few times, but since you say she is very talented, I think this should be a minor problem.”
Shad was very satisfied with Claire's work:
"So what kind of compensation should I pay?"
"Shad, do you want to talk to me about money?"
She looked slightly displeased, and Shad shook his head.
"At least you can't pay for the materials. If you have to pay for the gift I'm giving to another girl, what kind of person would I be?"
Claire agreed with Shad. She glanced at the remaining materials on the table and then suddenly laughed. Stella, who knew Claire well, could tell that the teacher had come up with a great idea:
"Don't charge me for the materials, that would seem strange. Since I made the materials for you, you should give me some materials in return. It's the kind of gem you mentioned that absorbs moonlight with moon essence water and then crystallizes over time. I want to study it."
Shad nodded immediately:
"No problem, I'll bring it over tomorrow. Are there any specific size requirements?"
"No."
Claire suppressed a laugh and said, "After Shad heard that someone had rushed out of town with a message, she instructed the girls to tidy up the clutter on her alchemy table, and then said to Stella:"
"Have you noticed the ring on Vanessa's hand? It's the one she never wears in Parliament, but she always wears it here."
The white-haired girl blinked:
"Have it?"
Claire couldn't help but shake her head:
“Well, you’re right, you’re still young and don’t understand these things. But I noticed it a long time ago. Although she never mentioned it, she was obviously showing off. I was wondering what the silver ring was made of at first, but I only found out when Shad mentioned it last time. Hmph~ I’ll let Vanessa see the gem I got next time.”
But the Witch of the Earth probably won't react to this; after all, the ring is just a symbol, like a gift box wrapping a present. And she's already got her hands on the sweetest part inside.
The messenger who delivered the letter from the city at dusk had indeed received the mission from the owner of the "Drowning Ghost Tavern." The recipient was still "Mr. Watson." Shad eagerly opened the letter after receiving it, only to find that the contents were not as long as he had imagined.
The letter lacked a formal salutation and a closing date; rather than a proper letter, it resembled a hastily scribbled note.
The moving stars symbolize ever-changing fate, and fallen stars are like fragments of destiny, or dice rolling in the hands of the gods. A star once fell into this bay, freezing a certain destiny of this region, preventing its shift.
Now, fragments of the stars slumber at the bottom of the sea, and the beasts they conceive are about to awaken. Go and shatter the stars, and destiny will flow once more.
This doesn't look like a letter written by a cultist from the Oceanic faction; it looks more like a letter written by a diviner.
Shad stood in the foyer, reading the letter several times, then tilting his head in thought. Seeing Elder Vilda enter, he asked:
"Elder, in the Fallen Star Bay region, is there any destiny that cannot be changed?"
Elder Vilda asked, bewildered:
"what?"
He didn't understand the question; in fact, Shad didn't know what he wanted to ask either.
"That is to say, there are things that absolutely will not happen in this region, but could happen in other regions."
Elder Vilda thought for a moment:
"Is it because the snow-capped mountain scenery is so beautiful that you can have a good mood here?"
Shad then realized he wouldn't get anything out of the locals; they were so used to life there that they wouldn't notice anything that wasn't there. Shad looked down at the letter again, which appeared in Luvia's hands half an hour later.
"Stars stripped from the sky are fragments of fate? Oh, what a romantic metaphor!"
Dorothy, sitting on the sofa, couldn't help but admire Luvia after she finished reading the letter. The maids were preparing dinner; Galina explained that Luvia was leaving tomorrow, so they were seeing her off tonight. The Duchess would arrive soon; she was currently at Yodl Palace giving interviews to reporters. Lacey said there would be big news on Monday—the royal family had an important speech about the impending war.
"This shouldn't be a metaphor; I'd rather believe it's true."
The purple eyes looked away from the letter:
"A star fell into the material world, causing a certain destiny to cease to flow in that region. The story at the end of the mythological era is truly fascinating; it's hard to imagine what the extraordinary beings of that time would have experienced."
She set the letter aside:
"Since Snake Fang no longer needs me to perform divination, then I'll prepare for it. I've recently discovered a new use for the [Stadium of Fate]—no, not use, but simply borrow its power to assist my special divination."
Dorothy knew that Luvia didn't like anyone other than Shad being present during special divinations, so she temporarily left the living room to check on the maids' preparations for dinner in the kitchen.
Shad took both the Dragon Blood Coin and the Secret to the study and placed them on the table, then put Xiaomia back on his lap.
"If everything is in order, then let's begin."
Luvia sat across the desk, curious about how the [Stadium of Fate] assisted divination would proceed. After all, the coin to be used wasn't a crystal ball, and it couldn't be placed on that relic.
"Should we put the base on our heads?"
"Just imagine that scene, oh, Shad, that would be so silly. Don't always think about wearing anything on your head. Have you ever thought about wearing Sister Daphne's eye patch as a crown?"
Shad immediately denied it:
"Of course not. You see, when I used the [Clock Tower Lovers] lock, I just clipped the blindfold onto my arm."
Luvia smiled as she brought the [Stadium of Fate] to her face, her eyes seemingly shining. Grasping the crystal ball stadium on either side with both hands, she gave it a sharp pull, and the relic stretched into an even larger circle, like a springy ring.
Luvia released her hands, allowing the [Stadium of Fate], which had already become ethereal, to continue expanding outwards until its outer perimeter surrounded the desk where Shad and Luvia were. Inside the circle, a purple halo flowed through the space, and runes on the floor rotated, with the "Ouroboros" symbol at its core.
Xiaomia stretched out her paws to pry at the purple light particles in front of her, but couldn't catch anything.
“Look, I’m using the relics to create a suitable setting. Compared to using them directly for divination, the cost of doing this in a short time is very small.”
Shad looked at Luvia in the purple light:
"I admit it's beautiful, but are you sure it's safe?"
"Of course it's safe. Actually, there's an even more effective method: place the base in the very center of your chest and let it pierce your flesh until a noticeable circular scar is left. This is a derivative of this unknowable relic—the Scar of Fate—which can permanently increase the success rate of divination and effectively avoid some of the risks associated with divination."
There's an interesting anecdote here: ancient diviners had the custom of branding themselves with circular scars on their chests, believing this brought them closer to the god of fate. They called it the 'Ring of Fate.' It's unclear whether this was a superstition like the law of conservation of luck, a rumor stemming from the spread of the 'Seat of Fate,' or some other reason.
Shad's eyes moved down from Luvia's face:
"You wouldn't do that, would you?"
“Once a scar forms, it will remain permanently on the body, so I wouldn’t do something like that. After all, you still need it, don’t you?”