Five years is a long time for mortals, enough for many changes to happen, but in the deepest part of the sacred treasure, where the gods perished, time seems to lose its meaning.
Linde's crystalline body stood like the most loyal sentinel, unwavering for five years before the solidified sea of light and the massive divine remains. The eerie blue runes around him flickered like breath, engaging in a silent yet profound exchange with this desolate land.
The power of "deconstructing the halo" has been pushed to an unprecedented extreme in the past five years.
It is no longer a simple scan and record, but a deep dive into the level of rules, dissecting each basic unit that constitutes the light veins, and understanding the most fundamental mystery of "light" and "order" contained in the divine remains.
This is an extremely complex, massive, and error-prone project.
It's like analyzing the composition and structure of each droplet in an ocean and trying to understand how they come together to form the sea.
The erroneous data and failure cases in the Pope's Notebooks served as excellent negative examples, saving Lind a great deal of trial and error costs and guiding him to avoid one potentially fatal trap after another.
The main body is located in the stone chamber at the entrance of the Holy Secret Treasury, with most of its consciousness and computing power devoted to this ultimate analysis. Only a very small portion of its threads are allocated to remotely handle necessary matters in Blackrock Territory and Steel Sky via the magic network.
The final completion of Steel Sky? Aster sent a confirmation message, and Linde only replied with the instruction "Known, proceed as planned".
A dragon clan visiting Blackrock Territory? It seems an ancient dragonborn clan sensed a subtle shift in the continent's power structure and came to probe. Lind remotely authorized Nagalia and Leonis to conduct a polite yet powerful reception, citing the lord's seclusion and the governor's handling of territorial affairs, while hinting at potential future cooperation. This easily dismissed the curious dragons.
All these external disturbances were insignificant interludes to Lind, who was immersed in analyzing the divine remains, and could not even cause a ripple in his focused mind.
His entire being was immersed in the vastness and subtlety of the light veins.
Gradually, changes began to occur.
It started with that crystalline body. The deep blue luster on its surface began to recede, gradually becoming tinged with a warm, self-illuminating halo. The flowing runes also took on strands of golden lines, making it appear even more sacred and strange.
Next was Linde himself, seated in the outer room. He began to unconsciously emit extremely faint yet highly potent light fluctuations, like a miniature star's core, filling the simple stone chamber with indescribable majesty.
If he hadn't deliberately restrained it, this fluctuation would have already pierced the seal of the Sacred Secret Treasury and shaken the entire Radiant Grand Cathedral.
Five years later, at a certain moment, the data stream surging in the eyes of the crystalline skeleton suddenly stopped. Linde's main body outside abruptly opened its eyes.
What eyes those were! Those once deep purple eyes now seemed to hold countless blazing white galaxies, composed of the purest light veins, being born and annihilated! At a glance, they seemed to encompass all forms of light:
Creation, order, life, purification, warmth, hope... and even their opposites: heat, severity, and judgment!
He slowly raised his hand, and without any incantation or guidance, a ball of light naturally gathered at his fingertips. This light was completely different from the power simulated five years ago, based on the [Bright Halo].
It is more restrained, more profound, more… “real.” It’s as if what he’s holding in his fingertips isn’t energy, but a small piece of solidified “light” itself, one of the fundamental rules that constitute the world!
He succeeded.
It's not simply copying or stealing. It's a complete deconstruction, understanding, absorption, and ultimately, mastery!
The Holy Spirit Lucius has fallen; his consciousness and will have long since vanished. Lind did not become the new "Lucius," nor did he need to.
He traversed a path that even Pope Innocent III dared not imagine, or even comprehend—he did not pray for divine power, nor did he attempt to merge with divine remains, but rather, with his own power of deconstruction, he completely analyzed and dismantled the "light veins" as an objectively existing phenomenon, and then, using it as a blueprint, within his own soul and energy core, through the creative power of the "activating aura" and the foundation of the "bright aura," perfectly and "originally" reconstructed it!
He is now the sole manifestation of the Source of Light in this prime material plane, the one with the highest authority, and... the living embodiment of the rules!
He is the true Lord of the Light Veins, existing in the real world!
"Buzz—" An invisible yet immensely powerful wave quietly spread out from Linde's body. It ignored the layers of protection of the Holy Treasury, silently sweeping across the entire Radiant Cathedral and every inch of Van Rahil's land.
In an instant, all the clergy within the Holy City who relied on the power of the Light Veins—from the lowest-ranking acolytes to the strongest Holy Punishment Knights—felt a sense of it! The Light Vein power within them, dormant for years or even longer, suddenly became lively and abundant, flowing more smoothly and naturally than ever before, like a dormant stream welcoming its spring flood! Many priests and knights who had been stuck at their bottlenecks for years even felt their barriers loosening, with faint signs of a breakthrough!
The vast network of light veins beneath the city, the energy flow that had gradually become "blocked" and "dimmed" due to the fall of the gods, seemed to be injected with a brand new and powerful vitality, beginning to brighten and surge again! Under the suppression of these suddenly revitalized light veins, the leaking aura from those tiny shadow abyss rifts instantly diminished by more than half!
“Holy Light… This is…” Cardinal Helios was handling official business when he suddenly stood up, feeling the surging power within him, as if he had returned to his youth. His face was filled with disbelief and shock.
“A miracle…a true miracle!” Cardinal August gazed out the window at the seemingly brighter sky, tears streaming down his face.
Judge Priest gripped his scepter tightly, his single eye flashing with unprecedented light as he looked towards the Holy Treasury, his gaze filled with unparalleled awe and fervor: "Oracle...you have finally..."
At this moment, the entire holy city seemed to awaken from a long hibernation, regaining its vitality. Countless believers, though not understanding why, felt an inexplicable sense of comfort and peace, as if even the sunlight had become warmer.
And the source of all this, Lind, slowly withdrew the light from his fingertips. He stood up, and the galactic phenomena in his purple eyes (or rather, his eyes of light) gradually faded, returning to an unfathomable calm.
He glanced at the deep cavern and a thought flashed through his mind. The crystalline body below instantly transformed into a mixture of the purest light vein energy and crystalline particles, like golden quicksand, flowing into the largest fragment of the God-Slaying Spear, tightly enveloping and sealing it. Then, it transformed into a stream of light, soaring into the sky, passing through the cavern, and finally merging into Linde's palm before disappearing.
This fragment is too dangerous; he must keep it in his own possession.
Having done all this, Linde turned and walked toward the dark door.
The door slid open silently and closed quietly after he passed through. He walked through the simple stone chamber, and the bronze door to the outside world opened as well.
When his figure reappeared in the solemn main hall of the Great Cathedral of Radiance, Helios, Augustus, Priss, and others who had been waiting outside and rushed over after sensing the previous fluctuations immediately bowed and paid their respects. Their attitude was even more respectful than it had been five years ago, and they even carried a hint of barely concealed excitement and fear.
They could clearly sense that the aura of the "oracle" before them was completely different.
If five years ago he was like a drawn sword, dazzling and imposing, then now he is like an unfathomable ocean of light, seemingly calm, yet containing a power capable of reshaping the world. A single thought could seem to trigger a resonance or... backlash of the light veins within them!
He simply stood there quietly, just like the light itself walking among humans.
“My Lord Oracle, you…” Helios’s voice was filled with excitement and inquiry.
Linde's gaze swept calmly over them as he spoke slowly, his voice not loud, yet carrying an unquestionable final authority, as if the Light Vein itself were speaking: "The legacy of the Holy Spirit has been properly accepted. The crisis of the Light Vein is now a thing of the past."
A simple sentence sent a jolt through the hearts of all the informed high-ranking members present, followed by overwhelming joy! The greatest threat that had plagued the Holy Church, and could even have led to its destruction, had actually been resolved?!
"Praise be to your great power!"
Pris was the first to excitedly lower his head.
Linde slightly raised his hand, calming their excitement. His gaze seemed to pierce through the dome of the sanctuary, looking towards the boundless starry sky, towards the divine realm that might exist in the darkness.
"The old era is over." His voice was cold and clear, like a pronouncement. "The order of light has been reshaped, but its authority still needs to be demonstrated."
He lowered his head, his gaze falling on his palm, where the fragment of the God-Slaying Spear, sealed by both the crystalline remains and the light veins, was slightly warm. "Some beings must pay the price for their past transgressions."
The image of the god of magic flashed through his mind.
The new Lord of the Light Vein has returned to power, and it is time to settle some long-standing grudges.
Inside the sanctuary, all was silent, except for the faint, emanating pressure of light emanating from Linde, which surged like the tide, foreshadowing a cataclysmic change in the continent's landscape due to the will of this newly ascended "god."
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