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Chapter Ninety-Three: The Abyss Turns Out to Be Myself?

Sigrid is the Sky God’s candidate priestess?

This guy looks like he can’t be too smart; can he even properly convey the God’s will…?

Moreover, throughout the journey, Priestess Miss didn’t feel anything special from Sigrid. She should just be an ordinary… well, an ordinary legendary-level White Winged Person.

At least at the species level, Vilyric felt no connection between her and beings like the gods.

“Could you not look at me with that weird expression…?”

Sigrid adjusted her arm ring, covering up the feather-like patterns on her skin.

“They say I’m a candidate, but it’s really just because my race, age, and strength meet the requirements to become a God’s priestess, and I have no objections in terms of willingness. While I do have to go to the temple every year to assist the High Priest in becoming familiar with the potential work I might take over, that’s really all there is to it.”

The girl shrugged indifferently.

“To be honest, I’ve never received a summons from the Sky God; all divine messages are relayed by the High Priest.”

“And whether I can become the next God’s priestess doesn’t depend on my efforts or even on His Majesty the Wing Emperor; it’s completely up to which of us candidates the Sky God favors.”

“Is it that abstract? So how does the god choose in the end, does a beam of light just shine down?”

“Who knows? It’s a big secret, and even I as a substitute can only be informed at the time of selection, and I can’t tell anyone.”

Vilyric was a bit curious.

“Sigrid, it seems you’re not really looking forward to becoming a God’s priestess. So why take on this candidate position?”

“Not looking forward… that’s not quite true. As a Winged Person, who wouldn’t want to get closer to the Sky God and listen to His teachings? I’m the same.”

“I just have some… reservations about this strange selection method, since in the end, it’s completely based on luck.”

Sigrid awkwardly scratched her cheek.

“Alright, alright, let’s not talk about this. Anyway, if you really want to meet the divine, Vilyric, though it’s difficult, it’s not completely impossible. I can tell you more about it later.”

“Also, I have something I need to confirm with you.”

“Your map of Yan Nation is a bit long… Well, considering you shared that secret about being a priesthood candidate, I’ll reluctantly listen. So what’s the question?”

Although Vilyric continued to tease lightly, even using a metaphor that the other party might not fully understand, Sigrid didn’t mind. Instead, her expression grew serious as she looked around.

“This isn’t the right place to talk. Let’s change locations.”

“So serious?”

Startled by the suddenly tense atmosphere, Vilyric exchanged glances with Xiao Guang, thinking for a moment.

“How about we go to a room in my embassy? Philena just gave me the key.”

“Okay.”

Leaving the busy front door of the embassy, the girls made their way to the designated bedroom for the priestess and the Little Dragon Daughter, pushing the door open.

With no time to examine the surroundings, they each took a seat. Perhaps sensing Sigrid’s seriousness, Vilyric even cast a soundproof barrier.

“Alright, go ahead.”

“You’re considerate.”

The White Winged Girl glanced at the faint golden glow around the room but didn’t probe further, instead, she began to speak.

“I want to ask if you’ve ever seen a mixed-blood human named Tilysha? She’s the offspring of a tree spirit and a human.”

“Tilysha?”

Vilyric was taken aback, the image of a green-haired, blue-eyed girl who seemed silly but shockingly principled popped into her mind.

“If you’re talking about Tilysha from the Nobos Ironblood Empire, Village 27 of White City, we indeed had some interactions. What happened to her?”

“That Tilysha… we suspect she has connections to the Abyss.”

“Huh?”

Although Sigrid’s sudden heavy statement startled her, the Priestess Miss pondered for a moment before shaking her head.

“Impossible. I’ve been in close contact with her. If she had any relation to the Abyss, I would have noticed, unless something happened after I left. How did you reach that conclusion?”

“…We’ll talk more about that later. Vilyric, can you describe everything that happened when you first met her? Preferably in detail.”

Such intensity…

Vilyric didn’t rush to spill all the information since Sigrid had already brought up this topic; she’d definitely say it sooner or later.

So, the Priestess Miss briefly recounted the events after she sensed the Beast of the Abyss while out and went to check, and met Tilysha, but considering some sensitive issues, she didn’t mention the part about giving Tilysha something. After all, that was related to the lost Earth Mother Goddess, and Sifu and the Sky God clearly seemed to have issues with each other.

“Is that really the case… it aligns completely with what they’ve been saying over there, but what about that seed…”

Although the Captain of the Guards spoke softly, it couldn’t escape Vilyric, who was nearby.

“Seed?”

Got it, the case is cracked.

Could it be that what Sigrid mentioned about having “connections to the Abyss” actually refers to the seed she handed to the little village girl on Sifu Lin’s behalf?

Given the discovery of the Earth Mother Goddess’s divine spark fragment in the Abyss Worm’s head, perhaps the Abyss and Sifu actually have some profound connection.

Could it be that for some reason, the Winged People identified the seed as something from the Abyss?

If that’s the case, then Tilysha would indeed be suffering from undeserved misfortune.

Suddenly, the Priestess Miss thought of an important question, her expression turning strange.

“Wait, did you capture her?”

It seemed that the little girl hadn’t told the Winged People that the seed actually came from her, otherwise, Sigrid certainly wouldn’t be asking like this now.

If that seed she handed over really caused any trouble for the girl who had just barely survived…

Then no matter what, Vilyric wouldn’t let it slide. Although she had only met Tilysha once, she felt quite fond of her.

Sigrid, deep in thought, looked up with curiosity.

“You seem very concerned about her?”

To this, Vilyric didn’t deny it.

“That little girl is indeed quite endearing, and I can guarantee that at least before we parted, she hadn’t been in contact with anything from the Abyss. Don’t forget, she almost ended up in the belly of a Beast of the Abyss.”

“Actually… I have a similar feeling. Tilysha doesn’t seem like a bad person based on my interactions. The background I’ve investigated is also quite clean. Don’t worry, even though we brought her to the Sky City, we didn’t do anything excessive. The Free Wings is an official organization, not some random rogue gang that uses private punishment.”

At this point, she seemed a bit embarrassed and smiled.

“Actually, because your origins were mysterious and oddly involved in that initial incident, I was worried Vilyric might be a spy from the Abyss, intentionally coming to contact us.”

“But the compass didn’t react to you, especially during the battle at Omoland, where you saved Dolina and helped us defeat the Abyss Worm, showing a firm stance. I discovered that though you seem a bit cold, you’re actually quite kind-hearted. That’s why I decided to abandon my suspicions and share this matter with you to seek assistance.”

“Hey! Where am I cold-hearted? I’m clearly such an optimistic and cheerful person; don’t you have some issues with your judgment of character?”

The Priestess Miss put her hands on her hips, pouting in discontent.

Since Tilysha hadn’t come to any harm, she felt relieved.

No wonder when they met initially, Sigrid seemed particularly concerned, often coming over to probe for information; it turned out something had gone wrong on Tilysha’s side.

But, cough… in a sense, she really hadn’t misjudged.

“And also, what’s a compass?”

“Don’t you know my true character… The compass is a tool to detect abyssal auras, created by those researchers over there.”

Sigrid rolled her eyes and took out a small white disk from her pocket, handing it to Vilyric. The pointer on it remained unchanged.

This thing…

Although she wasn’t clear on the principle, if it could truly detect the fluctuations of that seed, logically speaking, Sifu Lin should also… could it be that the divine artifact “Feather Garment · Glaryia” and the item bar’s aura-隔绝 effect were effective, or was it mainly because she had fallen into slumber?

The Priestess Miss casually examined the small object she held, and Sigrid spoke at the right moment.

“Anyway, Vilyric, since there are still a few days left before the Emperor’s birthday banquet and there’s nothing to do during this time, how about we find an opportunity to meet Tilysha? That little girl occasionally speaks your name too.”