He walked barefoot, gently tapping the rocky ground with his rowan moon staff.
For some reason, Hayden suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia. In the past year or two, he had rarely cast those strange, grand spells alone or with Angela. In fact, these kinds of unconventional spells rarely brought back happy memories.
Angela tilted her head upon hearing Hayden's words: "Master, I don't want you to be alone with me all the time. However..."
As she said this, a thoughtful expression appeared on her face: "Perhaps there is another advantage to having only me by your side."
Hayden nodded: "Isn't that what we're seeing now? The power of organization is very important, otherwise great projects cannot come to fruition. But even so, there are some steps that must be completed by oneself."
Every organization still needs a core, and every great ritual still needs a core caster to perform it. No matter how great the tool, a separate entity and core are still necessary, at least with current technology, and such a person is required.
After all humanity had evacuated, only Hayden walked barefoot alone on this underwater land, accompanied only by the incredible Angela. But even without Angela, he was not alone. Wizards of ancient times could connect with the source of creation around them simply by standing barefoot on the land or sea—the vitality of the planet, the air they breathed, the rocks, the earth, and all the sparks of life.
Hayden walked barefoot across the seabed, scattering seeds across the ground. These were, and undoubtedly were, the seeds of the Dream Flower. A mysterious magic allowed these seeds to burrow into the basalt soil, germinate and grow rapidly, and bloom in this land of death.
They brought a voice to this place ruled by the shadow of death. And how can you call yourself a wizard or a prophet if you can't hear the voice in the rocks and the growing seeds, and unearth the power of life?
Hayden continued his journey, sowing seeds of dreams throughout the ruins, feeling the rumbling echo of the earth beneath his feet. He tasted the saltiness of the air, placing his hands on the rough rock walls of the ancient ruins, trying to glimpse its unfathomable history. His bare feet trod on millions of grains of sand, feeling each grain, feeling the moon's pull on the Dead Sea, feeling the life flowing in his veins.
Will anyone ask him when he will actually begin casting the spell?
But that's magic.
The seeds of the Dream Flower have been scattered throughout the entire underwater ruins. Hayden slowly walked to a spot that could be considered the center of the ruins, stood barefoot on the ground, breathed in the wind through his mouth and nose, and raised his rowan wood staff.
Then Hayden sang:
"The ancient spirit of the land, the sky, and the sea,"
"I call to you now, for the full moon has risen."
“Traverse to the distant past, awaken before the birth of time!”
Before the words were even finished, the rowan wood staff emitted a chilling, full-moon light. Just as the moon pulls at the sea, causing tides, this moonlight also drew and pulled at the underwater ruins, causing an astonishing power to spread outwards. The walls of seawater surrounding the ruins also began to glow—the light seemed to be the moonlight reflected from the seawater, exquisitely beautiful, and it was gradually growing brighter.
Hayden stood at the origin and center of this light, in the brightest part of the moonlight. His chant flowed forward with the moonlight, seemingly able to penetrate rocks and seawater, entering the skin, flesh, and bones of the listener, leaving an indelible mark.
As this power penetrated deep into the seabed, even the experts observing from the surface felt that the seabed seemed to suddenly undulate, as if some dark, enormous creature was hiding underneath, and had just awakened and taken a breath.
Then the earth undulated again, even bulging up. A crack appeared in this throbbing, extending outwards from the bulge. Deep within the earth's crust beneath the crack, a dazzling red flame erupted.
In the darkness of the seabed, the red light stood out starkly. The flow of magma resembled slowly extending tentacles, meandering along its path. The flames danced a frenzied dance, as if even the flames themselves were astonished, wondering how that brat Hayden had managed to pull them out of the earth!
Yet Hayden could tear the earth apart. This time, he parted the earth with less effort than he had parted the sea before, because this time he wasn't alone.
The seeds of the Dream Flower can purify the essence of this land and breathe life into the nearly dead souls of the earth, sky, and sea.
The faith from the cult could be a rope that allowed Hayden to pull something from the brink of death—this was no new technology; it had been used several times before.
The technology of the Moonlight Lamp was a novelty. Hayden applied its principles to his rowan staff. The light of the full moon was now the guiding light for the souls of the earth and sea.
The celestial globe, a supercomputer of spirits, serves as a backdrop to the starry sky illuminated by moonlight lamps. They adjust, calculate, assist, and record, while the cult's experts on shore help with fine-tuning, gradually weaving complex phrases with adjusting effects into the ritual.
And the endless secret fire is the power source for all of the above.
The great magic of time slowly began to operate, pulling the time of the entire underwater ruins, stretching the past to the present, to the point that even the earth's crust was torn apart, and magma gushed out from the seabed like blood.
Even that twisted creature hiding in the deepest part of the ocean has to be taken aback by the tricks Hayden has come up with!
She was busy searching for something abandoned five thousand years ago on the seabed, in the deeper parts of the earth—in fact, she had almost found it.
However, with a deafening roar, another massive tremor struck the seabed. The entire past of the ocean floor was pulled back to the present, and the crack from before widened further. The more time Hayden reversed, the more this space was torn apart on both physical and spiritual levels.
If Hayden continues to cause trouble like this, he might actually manage to tear the entire ruins, along with a large section of the ground beneath them, and reverse the situation!
To be honest, she really didn't expect this to happen.
She never expected that this insignificant human wizard could do something like this!
The Great Engineering was indeed the culmination of arcane engineering, the ultimate weapon used by the new gods to defeat the old. Therefore, even the gods could not withstand its power alone; otherwise, it would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
However, she was, after all, the Queen of Sorcery, the oldest witch, and an ancient god who knew the secrets of time and space, so she did not panic.
Even if she can't directly resist this force, "she" won't be so easily defeated.
I am the rising dark moon, gazing upon the Triad of Gods—past, present, and future. All is silent—my eyes are fixed upon time.
Do not forget that this moonlight ultimately learned its purpose from her. Hayden used moonlight to pull and reverse time, but she was the moonless night. Therefore, there was no need to resist directly; she simply could not be pulled. Time on the seabed no longer reversed, the river of time returned to its normal flow, and the cracks in the earth's crust that had been forcibly torn open began to slowly mend themselves.
It seems that everything Hayden did was in vain.
It was quite a coincidence. At almost the same time, "she" saw the "thing" she had been searching for all this time in this constantly breaking and rebuilding crust.
【hehe】
Overjoyed, even in the frigid depths of the sea, the sorceress, having finally found her target, couldn't help but smile, and even hurled a mocking glance at the wizard in the distance.
【I am Dark Moon, the supreme and venerable goddess of demons. You are not one of those hateful capitalist gods who, with such meager magic, dare to break through my darkness and capture my form?】
...Before he finished speaking, in the next instant, something unbelievable—so much so that even an evil god would be frightened—happened.
"The supreme and glorious goddess of demons? I definitely can't catch her."
Standing in the center of the ruins, Hayden suddenly spoke to the evil god hidden in the dark depths of the sea.
"But it's still possible to catch a stupid woman who's drunk my blood."
It's too late, but it's soon.
Hayden raised his staff and slammed it down on the ruins. The evil god had barely come to his senses when he found himself pulled in by the karmic connection of blood.
Meanwhile, Angela took out a small brass oil lamp. She gently wiped the lamp and poured an unconscious "little girl" out of her mouth.
This human wizard actually tried to use the karma of blood to forcibly pull "her" from offstage!
He not only wants to bring the past to the present and turn the current stage into a stage from five thousand years ago, but he also wants to drag "her" onto the stage!
After all, what's the point of turning the stage back if you can't even get all the actors on stage? How can you get everything back to the way it was at the beginning?
Therefore, Hayden struck the earth with his wooden staff and chanted a spell from the ancient past:
"In the beginning of chaos, the sky had no name, and the original wilderness was not called the earth."
"Initially there was the void, from which it originated. The inky blackness and the black ink all arose from its proliferation."
"There is no weed or wormwood to build a hut, and no marshland to be seen."
"At that time, the gods had no names, and their destinies were uncertain."
The gears of time and space began to accelerate in reverse, this extreme acceleration without end, causing time to flow backward at an astonishing speed. Modern underwater ruins were separated from time and space and rapidly traveled to the past through the connection of spirits and souls.
Go back to the past, back to the early history of ancient human civilization.
In that era, even the gods did not yet have their current names.
Therefore, Hayden named this oldest, yet most recently comprehended and developed, great magical ritual after the oldest poems of the ancient Babylonian and Mesopotamian civilization:
"[The heavens are high!]!"
In the epic of creation, before even the gods and destiny were established, the spirit of the old god was finally dragged onto the stage. Before she could even collect what she had just seen, she was pulled from beneath the earth, from beneath the magma, from the depths of the earth's crust, into the moonlit underwater ruins, where she burst into flames, and then emerged from the flames.
"...Nice to meet you, wizard."
Judging from her appearance alone, she seems to be a tall, beautiful woman with a mature demeanor.
Her fiery red, waist-length hair swung wildly, and her eyes blinked like flames. She had almost succeeded, just a hair's breadth away from achieving her goal, but Hayden had dragged her onto the stage at the crucial moment, making her gaze exceptionally cold. Despite this, she didn't lose control and fly into a rage.
Because she wasn't as incompetent as she seemed.
The Dark Moon Demoness merely gave Hayden a cold laugh.
I don't believe I accepted your invitation. Why did you force me to come here?
Hayden merely raised an eyebrow and sized up the female evil god who looked remarkably similar to Abigail.
Then he said:
"Of course it's because you kidnapped my people."
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A great demon appeared before Hayden. This was the first time Hayden had ever seen a living, breathing demon.
Aside from the new capitalist gods who now rule the world, these great demons of the old era are the most powerful things in the world.
"Give me back my men."
However, hey, Hayden is now deliberately provoking this powerful thing.
"Darkmoon Queen Hecate, or you will have no peace."
He insisted on saying harsh things to her.
So, of course, the Demon Goddess wouldn't refuse to fight this challenge that came knocking on her door.
Since ancient times, her style has been to retaliate even more severely if she is slapped in the face. If someone injures one of her eyes, she will gouge out both of their eyes and one of their friend's eyes. If an enemy cuts off her hand, she will absolutely cut off both of the enemy's hands and their tongue.
This wizard, the peacock's son-in-law, dared to scheme against her, daring to drag her out at the crucial moment when she was about to find something, ruining her plans—so of course she had to beat him to death.
Just for this?
So she sneered.
"Then I have nothing more to say to you. Die."
The words had barely left her lips when the Demon Goddess's gaze swept across the scene, and a chilling killing intent emanated from the darkness. She was the Goddess of the Dark Moon, and also the Goddess of the Underworld. With a mere thought, her cold gaze was enough to kill.
This murderous intent is enough to freeze a mortal's heart in an instant.
Unfortunately, the person she wanted to kill was neither an ordinary person nor a target. Moreover, he wasn't alone.
Angela had silently moved between the two, frowning as she scrutinized the evil god. She acted as a shield, blocking all the murderous intent released by the Dark Moon Goddess. But at the same time, Angela surprisingly showed a very confused, even troubled, expression while looking at the evil god.
Her expression suggested that Angela had seen something she couldn't understand or comprehend.
However, this doesn't seem to be anything particularly rare. Angela had a similar expression when she first saw the Astral Network.
At the same time, the female evil god was also sizing up Angela.
[Compatriots? Looks like the secret fire is quite strong. Are you also like the peacock, working for capitalists, groveling to survive?]
She only glanced at Angela and drew a similar (erroneous) conclusion to that of the Peacock King, and sneered again.
[Let me guess. Did the Peacock send you to take care of his son-in-law? Reduced to being a maid to mortals, just to fit into this era and avoid persecution by the new gods. Sigh, I really wonder, just how far will you submit to those capitalists?]
Her guess wasn't entirely irrelevant; it was simply completely wrong. But undeniably, her power was genuine.
With a casual wave of her hand in the void, five streaks of blood-red light appeared, as fast as lightning and as sharp as the wind. They were bright red and resembled blood claws, descending from the void and bypassing Angela, heading straight for Hayden behind her!
In a sense, this is similar to the Peacock King's "One Sword Sweep Across the Land," an extremely swift move. If the old gods and great demons want to contend with the new gods, they must focus on striking with deadly precision and speed, killing the gods and taking lives in a single blow, leaving the new gods of capital no time to utilize resources and mobilize wealth. Only then can they possibly win.
The new gods are capable of performing incredibly grand magical engineering feats using modern industrial arcane arts and resources, even shattering and destroying the divine power of the old gods. The magical power unleashed by these grand engineering feats is more than ten times stronger than the blood claws of this sorceress—but this power does not belong to any individual.
If a relatively dull and inexperienced minor deity like Pania were caught off guard and struck by the Demon Goddess's attack in her normal state, she would be seriously injured even if she didn't die!
But Hayden is neither a financial genius nor the naturally naive Pania.
"Having revealed its true name, the great demon that I held back with blood and karma cannot possibly defeat me now."
He spoke casually, then raised his staff and tapped the floor again.
"The ritual is complete, and the power of this great project is now in my hands. The great demon Hecate has been precisely subdued by me. With just a little pressure, he will be reduced to dust. You'd better surrender."
Before he finished speaking, a cloud of mist emerged from where Hayden's staff had struck. The mist was both real and illusory, like a mirage yet also like a tangible object, transforming into blue skies, white clouds, gentle breezes, and fine rain. Just as water washes away filth, it swept the blood claw into it and carried it away in one gulp.
How powerful could Hayden unleash under Hayden's manipulation specifically targeting the great demon Hecate, given the combined strength of this magnificent project, hundreds of experts, thousands of expensive instruments and resources, and the highest level of modern arcane magic?
Even the moonlight pales in comparison to this immense power. This is the industrial torrent of modern arcane magic! This is the unstoppable wheel of time!
Although it is cumbersome, relies on many environments and resources, and its power does not originate from itself, as long as it is properly adjusted, locked in, and targeted, it can shatter those so-called ancient gods whose power originates from themselves into dust!
The Demon Goddess's expression changed slightly when she saw that her attack had gone wrong right away. Of course, this was far from enough to make her back down or feel frustrated.
I am the Dark Moon, and all is silent. My shadow blots out the sun.
For the first time, she spoke in this battle, proclaiming her divine power and might. A shadow of the dark moon rose behind her, spewing forth an endless aura of death. This aura, upon striking the clouds in the clear blue sky, instantly withered many, turning them into black smoke and ash.
“I’ve already said it. You can’t possibly beat me when you’re already targeted by ritual magic.”
But Hayden shook his head, and with a clench of his right hand, he enveloped the demoness.
The next instant, a gigantic hand materialized from nothingness. It seemed composed of countless starlight, appearing before the Demon Goddess in a flash, disregarding spatial distance. For communication, cause and effect, and destiny inherently transcend space. This made the Demon Goddess immediately realize that no matter how far she hid, Hayden's attack would still strike her directly.
This is also why, four hundred years ago, those old god rulers, despite being very skilled in teleportation magic and having the advantage of mobile warfare, were still completely overthrown by the new capitalist gods!
Hayden now wields the arcane power of industry in his right hand and grasps the connection between blood and causality in his left, locking "her" firmly in place, making escape impossible. The Hand of Stars strikes down from the heavens; there is no escape, no avoidance!