It was unbelievable, as if connecting to a marvelous circuit, the crystal actively extended a green flow of light, wrapping around the smooth fingers of the priestess.

 

“Buzz!”

 

With a pair of immaculate white wings each on her back, beside her ears, and atop her head, a holy woman with six wings and pristine white hair slowly rose from above the crystal, transforming into a holographic image.

 

“The Goddess of Sky and Freedom!?”

 

The priests exclaimed in extreme astonishment.

 

The moment Violet took over, a tremendous repulsive force emanated from the barrier, pushing away everyone except for the priestess. Without hesitation, these devout followers of the Sky God prostrated themselves, pressing their heads tightly against the ground.

 

“Oh, Sky God, we welcome your descent with reverence!!!”

 

The deity did not respond to the fervor and devotion of the faithful. Her serene gaze scanned the entire scene, quickly focusing on the nearby black-haired girl, with a smile on her face.

 

“Nice to meet you, mysterious presence.”

 

Violet looked curiously at the holographic image, which was almost identical to the deity. She wasn’t quite sure… she had only touched the barrier, so why did such a huge reaction occur suddenly?

 

“Are you Minerva? The Guardian Archangel of Seth, also known as the Sky God?”

 

The beautiful angelic apparition smiled, making a somewhat peculiar gesture. Although Violet had never seen it before, she immediately realized that it was a kind of etiquette.

 

As if the gesture itself was a recognized standard, a regulation called “Courtesy.”

 

“I am Minerva, but also not. Since you can speak of my true identity in a word, you must have already encountered our lord, Seth. I wonder how She is doing now?”

 

The Goddess of Whitering is still fighting outside with the High Priestess, Minerva couldn’t possibly not know. What she said undoubtedly referred to Sethlin, the Goddess of Life. Although both are individuals derived from the Goddess of Earth, it seems that the Archangel leans more towards the latter.

 

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have chosen to respect Seth’s wishes and shattered and sealed Him.

 

“She’s doing fine, but is it really okay to talk about this with so many people around?”

 

Just as Violet had this thought, she turned around to find that a faint white halo had enveloped her surroundings at some point. It included her and the holographic image of Minerva, along with the crystal, while even Xiao Guang was temporarily excluded.

 

And yet, with such an event happening, the little dragon girl hadn’t immediately hurried to inquire through their contract?

 

The Archangel smiled as she explained, “Don’t worry, this is a pseudo-god realm temporarily constructed with the power of our lord. Although rudimentary, manipulating the flow of time and isolating inquiries can still be achieved. You can understand it as us communicating at super-speed of thought, to the outside world, it’s just a fleeting moment.”

 

“So convenient…”

 

The illusion created by Seth before seemed to have a similar name and effect. They were indeed fellows of the mythological era.

 

【In that case, Seth, do you need to get closer and talk to her?】

 

Just as the priestess was about to take out a stone statue identical to the holographic image before her, a gentle voice of Seth suddenly sounded in the air.

 

“No need for such trouble… Minerva, it’s been a long time.”

 

A bluish-green light slowly rose from the top of the deity, forming a goddess’s holographic image almost identical to the one seen in the illusion before. It was slightly blurry, occasionally trembling like a poor signal.

 

“My lord… it has indeed been a long time. I apologize for failing your instructions and not being able to prevent the great mistake made by the Withered One.”

 

“Don’t say that, you’ve done well… You left your incarnation here, but where is your true form? And where have the other gods gone?”

 

Minerva hesitated for a moment, then sighed softly.

 

“My lord, we all underestimated the malice of the world. Your downfall was just the beginning. The intricacies of it all are too complex and convoluted to explain in detail now, but most of the gods have fallen. The few who survived are also subject to various limitations. Our era… is coming to an end.”

 

Not swayed by such words, Seth stared intensely at the holographic image of the Archangel.

 

“And what about you? What happened to you?”

 

“…………”

 

The angel fell silent, but both Violet and Seth, who was conversing with it, understood the truth behind this silence.

 

“I see… even you… Who did it?”

 

“Apologies, but after the entity left me behind, it went to the battlefield of dusk with the gods. Because of the separation between the two realms, I’m not exactly sure what happened there, but at the moment of the entity’s demise, this body did indeed sense the final thoughts transmitted from there.”

 

“Regret, reluctance, and a hint of unmasked fear.”

 

“…………”

 

This time, it was Sethlin who fell into silence.

 

After a while, she sighed in sorrow.

 

“It seems that the world has truly forsaken us gods… You left behind a fragment of your soul here in advance, presumably for that reason. I know what you’re thinking, but this burden should not fall on Violet… Well, time is precious. Let’s start as soon as possible.”

 

With that, the holographic image of Seth dissipated, returning to the deity statue. It’s not that she didn’t want to chat more with her old friend, but the pseudo-god realm consumed a tremendous amount of energy. Minerva was completely maintaining it by burning her own fragment of soul as the cost. For Seth to forcefully construct a virtual body through sealing would be too difficult for her current state.

 

Both sides were pushing themselves to their limits.

 

Although she had returned to her seal, Violet could feel that Seth’s consciousness was still silently watching the figure of the Archangel, as if wanting to firmly imprint the other in the deepest recesses of memory.

 

“What’s with this sudden heavy atmosphere…”

 

As if teasing, Violet scratched her head, then met the gaze of the incarnation of Minerva once again.

 

“So, were you waiting for me on purpose? What is this thing you’re referring to?”

 

Gathering her spirits from the slight melancholy, the self-named Sky God didn’t pretend to be mysterious or profound, and candidly replied.

 

“To be honest, when I left behind this strand of divine thought initially, it wasn’t for the mysterious entity known as Violet. As for who it was for, I believe you, who knows so much, must have already guessed.”

 

“…Sethlin, or rather, the life-consciousness of the Goddess of Earth?”

 

Minerva smiled and nodded.

 

The reason Violet could immediately guess the answer was mainly because she suddenly thought of the prophecy passed down by the Sky God a thousand years ago, which she had learned from Sigrid’s mouth.

 

The seeds created by Seth, perhaps, represented a significance that was not as simple as the priestess initially imagined.

 

This pure embodiment of the power of life might only be created in a split state by Sethlin, who once represented one of the original consciousnesses of the Goddess of Earth, symbolizing life.

 

Violet wasn’t entirely sure what Minerva and the Goddess of Life or Sethlin’s consciousness, specifically discussed initially, but they couldn’t have been unprepared for such a sudden turn of events. It was highly likely that the awakening of the Withered One would indirectly lead to the awakening of Seth, the antithesis sealed alongside her.

 

This was a signal, telling the consciousness of the fragmented Minerva, still in the temple of the Sky God on the Sky Island, that she had awakened.

 

So the meaning of the prophecy was to bring the relevant individuals to the Sky City once this seed was found, and head to the Sky Temple.

 

The fundamental purpose of this approach was to allow Minerva to reunite with Seth as soon as possible and activate the contingency plan they had left behind.

 

When Seth handed over the seed, she didn’t tell Violet about this matter. On one hand, perhaps she hadn’t fully recovered her memory at the time and only vaguely remembered the need to do so.

 

On the other hand, it was also a precaution, just as the priestess had been wary of the unknown being sealed within Seth for a long time.

 

This was probably the secret that Seth had been hiding from the priestess all along.