novelonline Chapter 3568 The Fourth Era and "Mother"
Chapter 3568 The Fourth Era and "Mother"
Chapter 3568 The Fourth Era and "Mother"
Ms. Gerd, worried that Shad might not have heard of the organization, explained further:
"It is said that traces of the Order of Light have existed in the material world since the Third Age, but their origins are certainly much older. However, no one has witnessed the end of the world all these years. But as long as you can offer the right bargaining chips and prove that you are trustworthy, they will be happy to make all kinds of deals with you."
Shad then decided to seek help from Mr. Edmund of Coldwater Harbor, whom he hadn't yet visited since the end of the year. Of course, old John of Tobeskoye was also a member of the Hermitage, but Shad felt that Mr. Edmund was more knowledgeable about such esoteric matters.
Shad first came across a clue about the organization when he found its symbol on a vial in a hidden space in his basement; and he first truly learned about the organization from Miss Ferrianana and Britney in the "Forest of a Thousand Trees".
Two years have almost passed in the blink of an eye, and it turns out that the [Light Guide Hermitage] was right after all; they really did carry on the legacy into the era when the end of the world was coming.
While resting by the fireplace, Shad also inquired about the Fourth Age from the witches who lived in the early Fifth Age. It was an age of darkness and chaos, and even after the harsh years of the Third Age when evil spirits and demons roamed freely, large numbers of dark races and cannibalistic monsters still threatened intelligent life.
Meanwhile, the various races that have come from the Third Age have also acquired a great deal of dark and bizarre knowledge due to their entanglement with evil spirits and demons, which has led to frequent major disasters caused by human factors within the intelligent races.
Not to mention that with the start of the Fourth Age, intelligent life had a chance to catch its breath, and the various races that had united in the Third Age began to have conflicts, which led to wars.
The entire history of the Fourth Age was filled with war, disaster, and turmoil. In the present Fifth Age, the witches generally believe that people have finally learned their lesson and must be careful in using relics and prevent any ordinary people from coming into contact with supernatural powers. This concept has been well conveyed to the era of the arrival of outsiders.
When Ms. Gerd and Ms. Novare recounted history and its lessons from the perspectives of both humans and vampires, although their stances and viewpoints differed, they shared a deep appreciation for the present era.
"Although the loss of spellcasting ability among men has caused political turmoil and changes in social structure, the present era is far better than the previous one. I believe that the witches will surely be able to make civilization shine again in this era."
We have learned enough lessons; the Fifth Age will certainly be better, and at least it won't be shorter than the Fourth Age.
In reality, the Fifth Age lasted for less than six thousand years before ending, while the Dark Ages lasted for tens of thousands of years.
Another major characteristic of the early Fifth Age is that the strange and terrifying knowledge and power passed down from the Fourth Age have not been interrupted in this era.
Compared to Shad's first encounter with Chloe in the Silver Mountains in 903, 500 years later, this era was still heavily influenced by the Fourth Age. Both Lady Gerd and Lady Novare possessed knowledge and secret arts that Shad believed should never be passed down, and the fact that a vampire witch could actively modify her right arm to draw upon the power of evil was also due to the different values of this era compared to later ones.
In short, the twenty-minute conversation was very beneficial to Shad, and the information about the Fourth Age greatly expanded his knowledge base.
Lady Gerd even taught Shad several potion recipes that used human blood as the main ingredient. Although these potions were not completely banned in the Sixth Age like soul alchemy, they were still strictly controlled contraband.
Of course, although there was plenty of time this time, Shad wouldn't spend it all on conversation. Feeling that he had recovered well, he suggested going out again.
"I need to go to the first floor to submit my mission to the gods and also inquire whether the demon I've temporarily sealed away can remain in this inn. I should be fine taking the elevator directly to the first floor. So, are you staying here, or is anyone willing to come with me to meet the gods?"
The only conscious witches were Lady Gerd and Miss Noire. They went to check on the two unconscious and injured men in front of the fireplace. Lady Gerd then helped herself to her feet.
“Let me go out with you this time. I am the only one who has not yet met the deity on the first floor. Since this inn was built by that deity, it would be impolite of me to come here and not pay my respects.”
The red-haired vampire girl, who had also been about to get up, stopped herself when she heard what she said.
"Then you two go and come back quickly. I'll stay here and take care of Cohens and the others."
Without wasting any time, Shad and Ms. Gerd took the lamps and matches and set off. However, the original kerosene lamp was completely broken, so Shad carried a candle, while Ms. Gerd carried the torch that Shad had found during the last exploration.
The torch should have provided more light than the candle in Shad's hand, but in reality, once they reached the corridor, the area of darkness they dispelled was about the same.
The process of walking through the corridor and entering the elevator room proceeded without incident. Only when the elevator began its slow descent amidst vibrations did Ms. Gerd look at Shad's profile and speak:
"You should know about Novare's problem, right?"
You mean her right hand?
Shad asked, and Ms. Gerd nodded, feeling a slight sense of weightlessness:
“Since Cohens’s entry here was not accidental, and she was a guest ‘invited’ by the gods, is Miss Novare in the same situation? Although I don’t know the specific origin of her right hand, it must also be a very powerful evil object.”
Xia De then asked:
"And what about you? Are you also a guest 'invited' by the gods? Did the gods desire your voluntary entry here?"
The middle-aged witch was not surprised by Shad's words; she even nodded.
“I’ve had that same doubt. I’ve even wondered if I am my mother, and that I lost my memory because of some forbidden experiment. But I haven’t found anything wrong with myself yet. If I was also invited by the gods, then it can only mean that my mother has a really big problem.”
She was very rational and didn't shy away from discussing this topic with Xia De:
"Actually, if you think about it carefully, it's not normal for three witches to enter and meet at the same time in such a special place used to imprison evil things for various reasons. This can no longer be described as a coincidence. When my mother was still alive, she talked to me about fate and coincidence. She said that any low-probability event is worth suspecting as to whether it is someone else's careful arrangement."
Since she said that, Xia De then asked:
"What exactly did your mother do to be expelled from the Zalas Academy?"
Perhaps because Shad was the only one present, she was willing to answer the question this time:
"She studied some taboo knowledge and actually learned a lot."
Knowledge that could be called "taboo" in the early Fifth Age was probably truly "taboo".
"The research is commonly known as human transmutation. My mother not only tried to create life, she even attempted to synthesize a soul."
Of course, she didn't succeed in the latter project, but through this research, she forcibly merged some captured souls that were unwilling to leave, treating the merged souls as brand new souls, hoping to create life in a true sense.
Even after the academy expelled her mother, she still believed that her research was exploring the very essence of the soul, helping intelligent beings to fully understand all its secrets, thereby advancing mysticism and the entire world. She considered the academy's witches merely a group of mediocre people with outdated ideas, inflexible thinking, and jealousy of true geniuses.
After the Fourth Age, people were highly wary of such taboo behavior. To Shad, merely banishing her rather than hunting her down was already considered by the Zarathian Academy to be insufficiently cautious.
Exploring knowledge is not wrong, but some knowledge should not be explored.
"So how did she get here?"
Xia De asked again, at which point the elevator shook again, and they had reached the first floor.
Ms. Gerd shook her head:
"I'm not entirely sure about this either. I lost contact with my mother after she left the academy. I only know that she discovered a peculiar subspecies resulting from human mutation. She wanted to use this to study the differences between the souls of demi-human races and pure human races, in order to further understand the reverse influence of flesh and blood on the soul."
Humans did indeed have many subspecies, but by the Sixth Age, almost all of them had disappeared. The document-level relic that Shad obtained, the "Eye Coin of the Many-Eyed," was related to a human subspecies called the "Many-Eyed Clan."
"After leaving the academy, I had no idea how far my mother's research had progressed. When I found her last hiding place, I only found some of her research notes and information about Whispering Hills."
The test subjects and experimental records all mysteriously disappeared. I couldn't even find any trace of the human subspecies she was researching around my mother's hiding place; I only knew that the subspecies was related to snakes.
She sighed:
"After I reported this to the Academy, they told me not to investigate my mother's last research, saying that it was not something witches should be involved in. So I only investigated Whispering Hills, and finally opened the passage here according to the data left by my mother. Then I met Koens and Novare, until you knocked on the door of the safe room."
Shad didn't rush to open the door, but hesitated for a moment:
"It may be impolite to say this, but is it possible that you are a product of your mother's human transmutation?"