"...I understand how you operate this magic."
With a soft sigh, Karen shifted her gaze from the stillborn baby and said in a flat tone,
“Now that the Dream Flower has taken effect, I only need to use the Five-Colored Divine Light to join forces with you to push the ritual forward, and we can quickly and completely destroy it, and it will be absolutely impossible for it to resist.”
This stillborn fetus was born unexpectedly from nothingness. Using time magic to return it to its unborn state, it naturally ceases to exist. That being said, completely destroying this stillborn fetus is very difficult, because it was never born, it never truly existed. It was born from a convergence of causes and conditions, and the same causes and conditions can bring it back to life.
That's why Kallen thought of using the [Five-Colored Divine Light]. This supreme technique also originated from the Peacock King; it can not only suppress all things in the world, but is also the nemesis of death and poison. If combined with the Great Project, it should be able to completely seal the stillborn fetus in nothingness.
This terrifying and sorrowful thing cannot die, yet it has no life.
Karen felt pity for it, but she was not one to hesitate. If it continued to exist, it would only incite the dead and bring death. Therefore, it was better to bury it quickly and return it to nothingness. This would be better for everyone.
However, Hayden shook his head when he heard her say this: "There's no need for that."
what?
“What is buried can be dug up, and what is sunk to the bottom of the sea can be retrieved. Seals are never reliable. If we leave this thing unattended and simply rewind the seal, it might be pulled out by some great engineering project one day, causing even more trouble.”
Hayden, having said this, glanced once more at the pitiful stillborn fetus, bound by the power of the great engineering fetus and trembling incessantly.
"Besides, it's not the stillborn child's fault that it's harmful. People shouldn't be bound by the karma of their own bloodline, don't you always say that?"
These words immediately made Karen's eyes widen.
"...What exactly are you planning to do? Are you going to use a resurrection spell? But this stillborn child isn't really dead; it was never born. The very nature of its existence is flawed. This isn't a problem that can be solved by simply injecting life into it."
Her tone was calm, but her words still revealed some of her barely concealed thoughts. This made Hayden unable to help but laugh.
"I just want to create some future for it."
As he said this, he deliberately shrugged.
"After all, I don't like killing babies."
————————————————————————————
Hayden quickly spoke with Karen, and the two began to carry out the plan.
This is why Hayden had to summon Karen, because only Karen could communicate the entire structure of the ritual magic with him within a minute, and immediately help him optimize the details of the magic. This is because they are both extremely familiar with each other's magic, because they understand each other's specialties, and at the same time, they are stronger than each other in their respective areas of expertise.
Even Angela couldn't do this. She could understand Hayden, but Hayden couldn't fully understand Angela. If Hayden asked Angela to help him cast a spell, she would only create strange things that even Hayden couldn't understand the principles behind.
So now Hayden is busy preparing the final magic with Karen, while Angela just stands by, but she looks very happy.
Because Karen and Hayden had already surrounded the stillborn spirit deep underground, standing opposite each other, and began to join forces to cast their final spell.
Karen's verdant armor had transformed into a long robe. She dripped myrrh perfume onto the ground, picked up one of her dream flowers, and gently swept it through the air. Using her superb skills and divine power, the power of the dream flower purified and separated the mixed spirit and flesh, isolating the scattered and the concentrated.
There is no need to chant incantations, because Kallen is a true god who ascended to godhood through alchemy.
Modern alchemy is the foundation of industrial mystery and the core of great engineering!
Just as a baby is born in the womb, just as a philosopher is forged in a cauldron.
Like a newborn sun, modern arcane industry is like gold forged from dregs, breaking through the limitations of the past.
The gods' promise of immortality comes from this elixir of life.
However, immortality alone is not enough to change the fate of stillbirths.
This will not lead to any stagnation in growth. If you want to escape this painful and unfortunate karma, you must return to the starting point.
Through the power of the Dream Flower and Kallen's alchemy, the stillborn fetus's mixed spirit and body were separated. It let out a dying scream, and streams of nauseating pus gushed from its body as its spirit was gradually separated from its shell.
Karen wore an expression that was both pitiful and disgusting, but her hands didn't stop moving. Like a doctor cutting out a lesion, she forcefully activated the alchemy of purification and decomposition. Five-colored halos emerged from behind her, as brilliant as a peacock's tail, or like a flowing, iridescent robe draped over her body. This earth-shattering power finally pulled the spirit from the bloated, deformed, stillborn fetus!
Compared to the large, bloated stillborn fetus, this pulled-out spiritual embryo looked much smaller, similar to a human baby. After all, its physical body was formed from a mixture of earth vein energy and hundreds of years of industrial pollution, while its soul was merely a remnant of the dead.
The immense power she wielded was like a spinning wheel, capable of dissolving and purifying all the pollution on this earth.
However, regardless of the circumstances, the primary cause of this stillbirth was the pollution resulting from the Great Project. To change the essence of this soul, to alter the fate of this unborn spirit caused by accumulated karma, it is clearly impossible to rely solely on the power of the Great Project.
"Child of the earth, bastard of light and wind, now you will return to dust and fall into darkness."
When Hayden spoke, he uttered some very cold words.
"You, nameless, cannot attain eternal life; you will surely fall into the nothingness of death."
It's unclear whether the stillborn fetus could understand, but it immediately began to struggle desperately. Fortunately, Karen suppressed it with the Five-Colored Divine Light, allowing Hayden to continue his spell.
So Hayden reached out, extending his hand toward the past history of the stillborn spirit. Visually, it looked as if Hayden placed his hand on the forehead of the stillborn spirit.
These stillborn fetuses and infant spirits are illusory and do not exist. They had no real life in the past, and naturally, they cannot have one now.
...Therefore, Hayden now wants to give it a real and normal life in the past.
So he began:
"World, world! Hear me! Remember my words! Let them be the eternal truth!"
Just as light can create cognition, his language can illuminate the truth.
“Little boy, son of the earth, eternal life must have a name; without a name, there is no true birth. You, nameless, are but a shadow and an empty shell.”
Hayden is doing something he has done before. And he also has prior experience using ritual magic to alter the land god.
Therefore, Hayden didn't actually need new power. His wisdom made him realize that he already had enough power, and he only needed to use it wisely to achieve his goals.
"Therefore, I now give you the name of life."
In order to make this stillborn infant spirit a real life, and to free it from the karmic burden caused by arcane corruption, Hayden reached into the memory of the universe and wrote its name on its forehead five thousand years ago with blood and secret fire.
Giving a life a name means adding one's own expectations for that life into the name. Therefore, in more powerful magic, the meaning of the name becomes more important.
"From now on, your name will be 'Margaret'."
The word originates from the Greek word for pearl, and is also the name of a flower. It is often used to describe the innocence of a young girl.
Hayden named the infant spirit "Margaret," partly because it was related to "Karen," and partly because he hoped that the soul would remain unpolluted and pure.
As Hayden finished writing his name five thousand years ago, he immediately felt a new heartbeat.
The new definition he gave in the past has granted this soul a future. Reality and history themselves have been restructured at this moment.
"The old is gone, your life has been renewed. Rest in peace, Margaret, for eternal light and peace are here."
So Hayden softly sang farewell words and let go of his hand.
Strangely enough, perhaps this infant spirit truly could understand Hayden's words. Because as Hayden gave her life, she ceased to struggle and resist. A gentle light enveloped her gradually blurring spirit, making her feel as if she were being embraced and surrounded by light.
Her soul thus curled up in the womb of this earth.
Beyond the myriad phenomena of the universe, behind the curtain of the cosmos, the gears of fate mesh again, turning with a resounding clang.
Then time returned to the present.
What now stood before Hayden and Karen was an egg. A pearl-white egg, about the size of a baby, born from the ley lines of the Dead Sea.
Because the birth of a spirit naturally requires a lot of time to develop under normal circumstances.
Hayden and Karen stared at the large egg, unsure of what to say for a moment.
Finally, Hayden picked up the big egg and handed it to Karen: "So this is your father's daughter. Shouldn't you take her back and explain to your father?"
Karen's expression at this moment was really funny.
229: Your Arrival
And so, with the Dead Sea nymph "Margaret" receiving a name and life, the disaster came to an end.
The Sea of the Underworld has receded, and the undead no longer invade [Fallen City].
Moreover, the Dead Sea's land, surface, and even the dilapidated cities are all blooming with five-colored dream flowers. Throughout the entire Dead Sea region, from the clouds to the atmosphere, from the sea to the land, all dust and pollution have been absorbed and purified, and the flowers transform this filth into fresh air, full of life.
When the survivors came to their senses, the disaster had already passed like a nightmare.
Among them were laborers dispatched by companies, high-level employees enjoying high salaries and benefits in giant corporations who came to Fallen City for tourism, and of course, lucky local people from the lower classes. The gods who would look down on a vulgar place like Fallen City and come here for tourism and entertainment were mostly not of high rank, but regardless of their status, the scene before them was shocking.
The streets and buildings that were just overrun by the undead are now covered with brightly colored flowers.
"Wa ...
One of the employees who narrowly escaped death knelt down on the ground and suddenly burst into tears.
The same emotion quickly spread. Some people knelt on the ground shouting, some cried out, and some just stood there blankly, gazing at the sea of flowers that stretched as far as the eye could see—everyone had a different reaction.
They didn't even know what was going on.
However, everyone will surely be amazed by the power of the Dream Flower.
As for those who roughly know what happened, such as the Sofia Order and union workers, in addition to the relief of being saved, they also experience the enthusiasm of participation... and the joy of witnessing a miracle.
Hayden
Hayden
Hayden the Prophet
"This is simply a miracle!"
Workers and experts have begun to whisper among themselves. While not all, and it may not be all, many have already begun to express their gratitude to those who helped them create this miracle.
This act is already very similar to prayer.
Professor Albion and the ninja Momiji witnessed all of this.
As an old god who hoped her fellow gods would one day live a happy life, this sight brought a small measure of comfort to Momiji. Once again, she believed that pledging allegiance to Hayden was the right choice. She hoped that one day, the old gods, oppressed by the new gods, would also be liberated.
The mysterious old wizard also gazed at these people, these weeping and grateful souls. He smiled, yet there was a strange sadness in his eyes, as if he were someone who had taken another step toward a foreseen fate.
Under the watchful eyes of many capitalists around the world, Dreamflower received a free advertisement.
This ad could even be too big.
When Hayden, Angela, and Karen, carrying the egg, returned to the surface from underground, Hayden and Karen couldn't help but wonder—such a huge advertisement probably had more to offer than just benefits. Trouble was bound to follow.
However, let's not think about that too much for now.
Let's relax for a bit and enjoy the air of victory!
...Just as Hayden was thinking this, Angela and Karen both suddenly looked up at the sky.
Then Karen looked somewhat melancholy: "My father has arrived."
What? So fast?
The words had barely left his lips when, in the next instant, pure divine power manifested itself like the sun falling to earth. This divine power, like a sword, cleaved through space, allowing the Peacock King to teleport directly over. Just like last time, he didn't wear luxurious attire, only a blue robe. But the Peacock King's divine might was never fake, nor did it need clothing to demonstrate it.
He raised his head and gazed at the sky with his golden dragon eyes, blocking the observation of almost all the other gods. Only the Bodhisattvas and chief gods, the highest-ranking capital gods, could bypass the Peacock King's obstruction, and even they couldn't see everything clearly. This is because the cost of "hiding" is always lower than "finding." For example, if someone hides in the mountains, even ten people searching the mountains might not find him. Hiding is easy, but finding him requires at least several times more effort.
The same principle applies to the offense and defense of magic. This is why the privacy of lesser gods is not completely exposed to greater gods. At the level of true gods, the techniques for information warfare become extremely complex, going beyond simply the amount of divine power.
After completing this protective step, the Peacock King turned his attention back to his daughter and future son-in-law (pending). Moreover, with his keen insight, he immediately noticed the egg Kallen was holding and the [Heavenly Punishment Sword] Angela was carrying, and frowned immediately: "...What's going on here?"
This pitch-black [Divine Punishment Sword] separated from Margaret's body after she turned into an egg. Hayden and Karen realized they couldn't possibly touch it before they even reached out. Just touching this artifact wouldn't kill them, but it would at least severely injure them, possibly even ripping out some of their internal organs.
However, Angela picked up the [Heavenly Punishment Sword] with remarkable calmness and ease, as if it were a broom. Unfortunately, the way she held the sword seemed utterly inappropriate to Hayden, like an incompatible program installed on a system.
But let's not talk about the sword for now; that's not urgent.
Karen braced herself and quickly handed Margaret's egg to her father: "Father, do you recognize what this is?"
The Peacock King frowned and scanned the large egg with his divine sense—then his expression immediately froze.
The serious expression on his face finally crumbled!
"...You two, quickly explain the whole thing to me."
This was the first time Karen and Hayden had ever seen the Peacock King look so disheveled!
Since Margaret's egg was ultimately someone else's family matter, Hayden mainly left the explanation to Karen. With the help of divine power and magic, Karen's explanation didn't take more than two minutes.
But in those two minutes, the Peacock King's expression became more and more... awkward.
After listening to the whole thing, he remained silent for a long time before covering his face and squeezing out the words through gritted teeth: "...Don't tell your mother about this yet."
Karen immediately raised her eyebrows: "This is not a good idea. Mother has to know."
Hayden didn't dare to interfere, but Angela nodded vigorously in agreement: "Samael, it's better for your wife to know about this sooner rather than later. The longer it drags on, the more trouble you'll suffer."
Very few people today still refer to him by this name. Hearing this title and recalling many more events from thousands of years ago, the Peacock King's expression was one of utter despair.
Fortunately, at that moment, Astaroth and Abigail also descended from the tower and flew over, and the Peacock King quickly took the opportunity to change the subject.
“Ishtar,” he turned to look at his two compatriots, whose relationship wasn’t very good, and frowned, “and Hecate… how did you escape from the Mars Group’s seal?”