Chapter 95: Divine Oracle

Early in the morning, Sigrid found Miss Vilyric at the embassy, having breakfast with a few girls.

As we had discussed last night, after asking the remaining Edwina and the others to inform Philena, they proceeded to the place where the village girl Tilysha was being held—or rather, watched.

The little girl was not locked away in a cell because, firstly, Tilysha had committed no crime, and secondly, being a citizen of the Nobos Ironblood Empire, the Kingdom of Azure couldn’t just unilaterally decide her fate.

Though rules could be a joke in the face of absolute national power, it seemed the Winged People had at least ensured Tilysha retained her basic human rights, temporarily bringing her here under the guise of assisting in the investigation.

They even informed her parents in White City’s 27th village while compensating them with a considerable amount of money.

Actually, the place where Tilysha was currently staying was also within the “Reception Area.” Although it was somewhat secluded, it wasn’t too far from the embassy; a half-hour walk would get you there.

As an actual suspect, the Winged People obviously wouldn’t provide her with a particularly luxurious living space.

It was just a plain little house, around a few dozen square meters, single-story, with only the front door as the entrance, securely guarded by Winged soldiers.

But truth be told, aside from her restricted freedom, the conditions were already much better than what Miss Vilyric had witnessed back at Tilysha’s home in that pathetic village.

There weren’t many guards here; combined, there were perhaps just over ten, and they were all White Feathers.

Clearly, they were specially dispatched by the Free Wings.

As a weak little village girl who didn’t even surpass ordinary folks in level, being watched all day by several strong warriors at least level 30 surely put a lot of mental pressure on her.

Sigrid had obviously made arrangements in advance; upon seeing her and the others arrive, the guarding White Feather girls didn’t look surprised. After nodding in acknowledgment, they directly cleared the way.

Once inside the small courtyard, Sigrid didn’t rush to join Vilyric and the others; instead, she glanced at the two White Feather warriors guarding the inner door and pulled the Priestess aside.

“Vilyric, before you go in, I need to tell you the situation, specifically why we’re bringing Tilysha here.”

“Also, while this matter isn’t much of a secret among our higher-ups, not many people know about it, so don’t go spreading it around carelessly after hearing it.”

“Okay, okay, hurry up and tell me.”

Vilyric was actually quite curious.

The wordless book that had caused her and Xi Fu Lin trouble had come from the Aroma Auction House, which was affiliated with the Free Wings.

Xi Fu Lin had mentioned that fragments of the book had been taken and tampered with; while it was highly unlikely the Winged People did it, it was not entirely impossible either.

So, the Priestess needed to clarify how much the higher-ups in the Kingdom of Azure knew about the Earth Mother Goddess.

Seeing Vilyric agree without hesitation, Sigrid didn’t waste time.

“To talk about this matter, we first need to mention the deity worshipped in our country, Minerva, the God of Sky and Freedom. Since your goal is to meet Her, I suppose no introduction is necessary, right?”

“Uh, pretty much.”

Actually, if possible, the Priestess did want to gather more specific intel about the God of Sky from someone close to the deity, like the High Priestess.

After all, the knowledge she had now was mostly hearsay and myths.

But considering that Sigrid was merely a substitute who openly admitted she hadn’t met the Sky God, it seemed asking would be pointless.

“What do you mean by ‘pretty much’…”

The white-haired girl shook her head in exasperation, her short ponytail bouncing playfully.

“In summary, according to the records, before the Sky God departed the mortal realm, She left a few final divine oracles for our closest kin, the White Feather tribe.”

“For example, guiding our tribe to establish cities on floating islands, teaching us to treat others with kindness and coexist harmoniously… These oracles remain the core principles of the Kingdom of Azure today, bringing prosperity and stability to us Winged People.”

Sigrid raised a finger.

“And among them, there’s a final hidden oracle that predicts the arrival of a disaster.”

“‘My children, if one day the city of seals is breached with bloodlight, and the beasts of disaster surge from the abyss, then the errors will continue, and disaster will unknowingly arrive. Go find the seeds of calamity, find them before the enemy does; they are the root of all, and only by finding them can you bring redemption.’”

Closing her eyes and reciting the divine command in a voice imbued with strange emotion, Sigrid returned to her usual carefree demeanor, hands raised in a shrug.

“In short, that’s how it is. Ever since the disaster years ago, the abyss beasts predicted have begun to appear, and the entire Free Wings has mobilized. While suppressing the abyss’s disturbances, everyone is also fervently searching for that ‘seed of calamity,’ but we’ve come up empty-handed all along.”

“To be honest, recently, strange happenings have been on the rise; incidents like what occurred on Omoland are becoming more and more frequent, and we all have a bad feeling about it, but we’re at a loss for how to address it.”

“For instance, the abyss beast you encountered back then escaped due to an unusual incident, and over the years, our military strength has been focused on sealing several abyss exits, yet we see no reduction in enemies; we’re feeling quite overwhelmed.”

“Thus, the Emperor has invited guests from all over the world under the guise of a birthday celebration, hoping to unite nations to combat the impending disaster or, at the very least, remind them to be prepared.”

The Priestess pondered and found a point of suspicion.

“Wait a minute, you mentioned that when the city of seals is breached, disaster will arrive, but while the current situation is troublesome, it shouldn’t exactly be labeled as a disaster yet, right? Isn’t there something wrong here?”

“Who knows, perhaps in the eyes of the deity, a few years is merely a moment in time. It’s best if disaster is delayed, but the oracle won’t be wrong; it’s just a matter of time.”

No, something was definitely off.

Regardless of the oracle’s authenticity, the Winged People had surely misunderstood some key points, or Sigrid wasn’t being truthful.

What does “city of seals” refer to?

Perhaps it’s a city that still exists, which is why the true disaster remains hidden yet to unfold.

As for the “seed of calamity”…

“Are you saying that you found that seed in Tilysha? How did you confirm it?”

Sigrid immediately replied with a natural expression.

“There’s a diagram passed down in the oracle; I’ve seen it with my own eyes, it can’t be wrong.”

“……”

The feeling of something being off intensified.

Seeing Vilyric deep in thought and silent for a long while, Sigrid assumed the topic was too heavy for her to accept immediately, so she didn’t hurry to urge her.

But the former Captain of the Guards was unaware that someone knew much more than she imagined. While this level of secrecy was useful, it wasn’t difficult to understand.

Aside from the oracle itself, the Priestess was contemplating something that gave her the strongest sense of dissonance.

Clearly, the High Priestess could still communicate with the God of Freedom through the Temple of Sky…

Why did She leave an oracle before departing?

   

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