However, disaster soon struck.
Perhaps all beautiful things are precisely what cultists prefer.
This remote and ordinary yet exceptionally warm town has been targeted.
What was summoned here was an enormous eyeball.
Shattered flesh and nauseating limb buds enveloped the eyeball.
Within the constantly opening and closing eyelids, streaks of black lines spread across the cold, inorganic pupils.
Cracks appeared in the surrounding space due to the appearance of the eyeball.
Since its arrival, suspended in mid-air, it has been watching the world with a greedy yet disgusting gaze.
When Triston and her two companions returned to town from the wheat field—
The town that was sacrificed has long been like a living hell.
The painful screams of the people living in the town.
The clanging sound produced when a sharp blade meets a knife.
And the mournful screams lingered in my ears.
The flames illuminated the entire twilight sky, making it appear even deeper.
Broken limbs and blood flowed across the earth.
And in those who could still be considered "whole," Triston saw that they had grown eyeballs all over their bodies.
A dense array of gazes were directed at her as her eyes moved.
It was eerie, cold, and incomprehensible, and seemed to carry a malice that cursed her to immediately undergo a mutation.
Her pupils contracted in terror, and her body reflexively took two steps back.
Pollution and eeriness have eroded this once peaceful town.
She saw the remaining rational people raise their sharp blades and rush towards the enormous eyeball, attempting to harm it.
After one person fell, countless others followed in his wake.
Later, it became unclear whether those who retained their last shred of reason wanted to perish together with the monster.
Or are the townspeople, who have completely lost their minds, sacrificing themselves to those in high positions?
The music emanating from the orchestra pit grew increasingly intense, yet it also carried a hint of eeriness and cruelty.
Tristan stared in horror at the scene before her.
She wanted to escape from all of this, to tell herself that it was all just a dream, and that only the peace of the past was reality.
But the truth is, she was already too scared to move while she was in the midst of reality.
At that moment, a strange noise coming from beside her made her turn her head in a daze.
But what she saw before her quickly brought her back to her senses.
"Neri! Edori! What's wrong with you two?!"
Triston shouted loudly, trying to bring her two companions back to their senses.
But just like other residents in the town, the skin on their arms, bodies, and faces suddenly bulged up rapidly.
Subsequently, the skin, which had developed a healthy wheat color from frequent labor, cracked, and eyeballs grew from the flesh.
Bright red blood flowed from their bodies.
At this moment, they seemed to completely ignore Triston's call, their eyes revealing a strange fanaticism.
They uttered words that Tristan could not understand.
It was obscure and complex, almost unlike any sound a human vocal cord could produce.
Then, Triston saw them frantically spread their arms and rush toward the giant eyeball.
"Neri! Edori! Wake up!"
She tried to grab the arms of her two friends, but they shook her off forcefully.
Tristan collapsed onto the ravaged earth, her face, which should have shown anger and panic, now only revealed a blank expression.
She didn't care at all as her skin was chafed by the sand and gravel on the ground.
Tristan gazed at the land, so different from what she usually remembered—
The desolate land and she, the only one intact at this moment, seemed to form a stark contrast.
Held in her hands, the once radiant golden ears of wheat had long since fallen to the ground.
The dazzling gold seemed to be the only bright spot against the pitch-black background.
She didn't know why she was now the only one left safe and sound in the town.
She tried to figure out a way to save the people in the town, but she was powerless to do so.
And so, amidst the ruins, in a moment of despair.
Triston knelt on the ground, clasped her hands together, closed her eyes and prayed, asking for the arrival of a god for the first time.
She prayed to the legendary gods to save her beloved town.
More than pain and sorrow, she felt emptiness and bewilderment.
Tristan tilted her head back slightly, and clear tears slowly slid down her cheeks.
The blue eyes that once often radiated joy have now been stripped of their color.
The falling teardrop transformed into a beautiful crystal in her palm.
She clasped her hands together and held them in mid-air, like an innocent lamb willingly offering itself as a sacrifice.
In the endless twilight, amidst the sky ablaze with firelight.
The crystal Tristan held up reflected glimmers of light in the illumination.
And then, a miracle occurred.
Like the crystalline wings that Tristan held, the wings of crystal extended from the shoulder blades on her back.
The magnificent crystal wings are a gift from the gods.
The simple clothes she wore while working only accentuated her elegance.
At this moment, the singing coming from the orchestra pit became mournful yet filled with a sacred aura.
The entire space was enveloped in white light.
Through Triston's prayers, all the pollution and eeriness of the entire town were "purified".
She looked at the once bustling town, now deserted and with only her left.
Only the fragments of limbs and dried blood remaining on the ground prove that others had once existed.
“I thank God that He has saved the people around me.”
I despise God; He made me lose everything I once cherished.
A devout and heartfelt gratitude, a detached and calm self-description.
Like an aria, it rang in Gu Xinghe's ears at the same time.
The theater lights dimmed again, and when the curtain was drawn back, Triston's identity had changed to that of a saint.
Gu Xinghe understood the thoughts that Teresa was conveying.
Unlike others who believe this is a story of a resilient young girl praying in despair and ultimately receiving divine salvation.
Teresa, however, only saw it as a tragedy.
The lost hometown and loved ones, and the way to save them that is different from what the girl imagined.
This undoubtedly left her completely unable to let go.
For Teresa, this was not a story of a devout believer finding salvation in despair.
In the latter half of the story and after its conclusion, only the goddess, who was imprisoned and freed from then on, remained.
Triston was an abeliever, but despite coming from an ordinary small town, she had once been free and happy.
She was neither a saint of noble birth nor a believer devoted to God.
She was just an ordinary, carefree girl living in that small town.
Its apparent nobility and holiness seem like a gift from the gods.
But it was like a curse, a curse placed upon her in order to redeem her.
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