Chapter 1166: The Hall of the Good Lord
The closer Aiwas got to the center of the city, the stronger the hysteresis caused by the curse ripples in the air could be felt.
It's like walking on the beach—even if the waves are relatively calm, every few steps there will be waves washing over you. And the closer you get to the deep sea, the more obvious the feeling of weightlessness becomes.
The power of the tide didn't actually increase much, mainly because the proportion of itself submerged in water was getting higher and higher, and the buoyancy it was experiencing was also getting greater, so its center of gravity became unbalanced.
——The experience they feel at this moment is exactly the same as this feeling.
It's not that the power of the petrification curse has increased... but that the resistance has begun to wane.
Aiwass was fine, though he felt a slight gritty sensation on the soles of his boots, and when he lifted his feet he found his heels were covered in grayish-white debris. Sherlock's spells were still functioning normally.
However, Ligeia, who had come here solely relying on the winged beings' resistance to petrification, began to feel the strain.
There were no obvious signs of petrification on her body, but any movement she made became several times, or even dozens of times, more difficult.
His steps were noticeably labored and unsteady, like he was walking through water, mud, or snow. Each step required a little effort, making his movements seem clumsy.
"I'm afraid that being close to the core area will accelerate petrification."
Sherlock glanced at Ligeia and took the initiative to cast a spell to increase her resistance.
As a faint green light flashed across Ligeia's body, she breathed a sigh of relief and straightened her back a little.
"A little... still a little bit strenuous."
The proud woman now readily admitted, "It reminds me of being suppressed by a law spell. We may have to make a quick decision."
Aiwass observed her steps and came to an unexpected conclusion: "I think... this petrification may not work on you, Ligeia."
"……Why?"
"Because this isn't proper petrification."
Sherlock replied, "Although the powers of the Dusk Path are basically mixed together, there is still a difference between home and away."
As a mage, he immediately recognized the strangeness of this power.
If the necromancy of the Dusk Path—or the art of excavating treasures—came from the Amber Celestial Master, and the art of preservation came from amber, then petrification spells belonged to the power of the Rock Celestial Master.
"Petrification is the art of transforming everything into fragile, powerless, and silent stone."
Aiwass said slowly, "If all civilization, all machinery, all flesh and blood were transformed into a meaningless stone in the wasteland, it would be equivalent to eliminating the meaning of their existence."
Whether it is a king or a thief, a great man or a sinner, they will lose their value and meaning after turning into the same stone.
Petrification erased the ability to distinguish them from one another, and the world ceased to distinguish between superiors and inferiors, between self and others. Whether a fifth-level transcendent or a non-transcendent, their transformed stone statues would be identical; whether a giant dragon with near-eternal lifespan or a lizardman with a lifespan of only a dozen years, their stone statues would be made of the same material.
"After being affected by the petrification spell, the body becomes no different from stone. Once it is broken, it cannot be restored."
Sherlock replied from the perspective of a mage, "Using this method, we can defeat any enemy with high physical resistance but low magical resistance—such as heavy knights. Simply transform their bodies into fragile stone, and they can be easily shattered."
"—However, the petrification curse here is not like that."
Aiwass continued.
It wasn't a transformation, but rather a "freeze that wasn't cold." The petrifying glow it continuously radiated gradually brought everything it touched to a state of stillness.
Even sounds, flames, and splashing water droplets can be frozen——
In other words, the essence of petrification here is actually a kind of "solidification" after being slowed to an extreme. It is essentially a deceleration technique that has been slowed to an extreme. Therefore, it is impossible to suspend Ligeia, who is a dual race of dragon and winged, but it does impose a significant constraint on her.
"So... this isn't actually a petrification spell, but a stop spell?"
Ligeia realized something: "Whose domain is stillness then?"
"It's Amber's."
Aiwass said seriously: "But Amber has been in a deep sleep and it is impossible for her to respond to the ceremony."
Upon hearing this, the angel frowned, a hint of righteous anger appearing on his delicate and beautiful face. "In other words, he is stealing the power of the Pillar God?"
"I think that's it."
Aiwass said softly, "So you must not take it lightly... This is a grand ceremony involving the power of the Pillar God."
As they were talking, they had already arrived at the door of the good master's house.
That is the very center of the city-state, and also the source and center of the petrified ripples that are constantly emanating.
——It’s more like a palace than a mansion.
It was a completely different style from the aristocratic manors of Star Antimony and even Iris. It was closer to a temple than a "castle" or "manor."
On both sides are curved marble staircases that spiral upward, and at the intersection in the middle is a large fountain - it is more like a lake with a built-in fountain mouth than a fountain.
There are three layers from the top to the bottom, like a big delicious cake.
Originally, this water should have flowed from the lake into the ground, along the groundwater system formed by the underground rock slabs, and flowed into several "wells of plenty" that could be used by free people at any time.
At this moment, it was also solidified by the petrifying force, and the texture of the water could be clearly seen from the petrified fountain.
The enormous lake was supposed to flow into the inner hall along two ravines on the sides. Entering through a massive gate large enough for a giant to pass through, one could see the brass aqueduct.
The canals let water fall like a curtain, and this precious water that is completely wasted will form two water curtains that can block heat, noise and dust.
They were all petrified at this moment and turned into stone walls.
In the middle of the hall, on the floor, there is a huge stone decorative painting made up of pebbles of various colors.
It is a work of art like a Persian carpet.
The complex geometric patterns composed of blue flowers, brown tree trunks and green grass leaves form a beautiful picture that makes people feel relaxed and happy.
Even though it’s just one pattern, it doesn’t feel copied – each flower and leaf is subtly different.
This is indeed the case.
It is indeed impossible for it to be an exact copy of the painting.
Because this isn't a patchwork of pebbles—it's a scroll made of polished, painted, and oiled molars.
Human teeth, harpy teeth, troll teeth... these molars of different sizes and shapes are pieced together with ingenious craftsmanship to form a painting.
——It was a huge ritual painting composed of 8,888 molars.
As a ritualist, Aiwass quickly recognized its ritual composition—
The water falling from the two curtains would flow into the hall through the cracks in the marble. This water would originally soak the teeth, making them emit a warm, blue-green glow.
And they will be like a real tree, exuding natural fragrance, transforming the scorching water into cold, clear streams, and making these ice-blue flowers emit a frost scent...
You have to know that a person only has about a dozen molars.
The significance of this large ritual painting is roughly equivalent to that of an air conditioner combined with an air purifier, similar in effect to the magic painting Janice gave to the old queen.
——But just to complete the materials for this ritual painting, at least seven or eight hundred lives are needed.
(End of this chapter)
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