Chapter 116: The Contract with Shar
The magic web is nothing new.
When Io created the world, everything in the world contained primitive magic elements, which are the most essential magical powers.
It is very difficult to use this magical power. Even individuals with outstanding talents are easily affected by the chaotic magical power when using magic. So much so that you want to light a cigarette for yourself, but end up freezing yourself into an ice stick.
But for most mediocre people, magic is something out of reach.
Therefore, for a long time, magic was something that only gods could perform.
After the first generation of magic goddess appeared, in order to enable mortals to cast magic, this benevolent goddess created the magic network.
The magic network can limit magic power and greatly lower the threshold, allowing mortals to exert magical powers without causing uncontrollable consequences due to the backlash of chaotic magic power.
From that time on, magical civilization began to develop rapidly.
Later, because the goddess was too kind, she handed over the authority of the magic network to ambitious humans.
Then, a talented magician made a big move, wanting to completely seize the control of the magic network by the goddess of magic and become the new god of magic.
As a result, the magic net exploded.
The former goddess of magic died instantly, and the mortal who wanted to become a god eventually perished completely at the moment the magic network was destroyed. Perhaps at the moment before his death, he had a little chance to become the god of magic, but it was too short.
A classic story of a mortal who aspires to become a god, only to end up harming himself and others.
It can be said that 99% of the major disasters in this world are caused by some mortal who wants to become a god.
However, this is not the history that Amber is looking for.
After the destruction of the magic network, the brilliant magic civilization suffered a devastating blow. Eventually, a new magic goddess was born from the chaos and repaired the magic network.
The second generation Magic Goddess learned the lesson of her predecessor, but from that time on, mortals were deprived of high-level authority over the Magic Network, in order to prevent any madman from wanting to blow up the Magic Network again.
During the heyday of magic civilization, the art of wishing was not a rare thing. Those proud and conceited wizards would change the world at will, and after playing around for a long time, they thought they were like gods.
After the construction of the new magic network, all mages were cast down to earth, and their highest spellcasting authority was restricted. Many legendary spells disappeared completely, and no one could cast them anymore.
Back to the topic, the effect of the magic network is to make the originally uncontrollable magic power controllable by mortals.
The magic addiction of the elves is a physical disease. The magic power naturally absorbed by the body cannot keep up with the speed of dissipation, so they can only rely on drugs to make up for it. But this gap will become larger and larger, and in the end, drugs can't keep up, and they can only be drained dry.
Then before death, the spirit will suffer great torture and quickly lose sanity.
But the problem is, even if the elf lies in bed, the magic power will continue to be drained, so where does the disappeared magic power go? If it dissipates directly into the air, it means that magic addiction is an alternative state of magic out of control.
The principle of the magic network can be used on these elves.
As long as we can help these elves control their out-of-control magic power, we can solve the problem of increasingly serious magic addiction, and by properly replenishing their magical power, they can maintain a normal life.
Although this was just Amber's guess, he knew he was right.
However, although the magic net is such a common thing, every spellcaster is familiar with it, but it is also so mysterious. Even though Amber is a legendary wizard, all his points are intelligence, he only knows the existence of the magic net, but does not know the principle of the magic net.
After the first goddess of magic was killed by her favorite spellcaster, the second goddess of magic destroyed all documents related to the magic network and banned all research related to the magic network. Mortals can only use the magic network under her supervision, and any mortal who attempts to interfere with the authority of the magic network will be punished by her.
Therefore, although Amber Xiu did not want to seize control of the magic network, but to save the elves, the kind goddess of magic would mostly ignore it for the sake of the elven gods, but she would not give any help either.
Unable to obtain information about the magic network from the goddess of magic, Amberxiu could only choose to seek help from another god.
The dark goddess Shar, one of the two goddesses born from the primordial chaos, was supposed to be the most powerful and ancient god, but she was defeated in the war with her twin sister, the moon goddess Selune, and was severely damaged.
This goddess who once represented the original darkness could not even protect her own temple. No matter which kingdom on the continent, it is rare to hear of anyone worshipping the goddess Shar.
Perhaps there are still some people who believe in Shar in some corners overseas. However, this god is so weak that he cannot even protect his own believers.
It is rumored that in order to regain power, Shar set her sights on the goddess of magic.
The first major event of the magic web being broken allowed Shar to obtain a part of the magic web's fragments. She then began to use these fragments for research, hoping to seize the power of the goddess of magic.
If you really look into this matter, it's a bit of an ethical tragedy.
Because the first generation of magic goddess was born in the war of Selune. In the epic of the gods, Selune tore off a part of her body and threw it at Shar as a weapon, severely injuring her. The flesh and blood of the moon goddess absorbed Shar's power, and then the first generation of magic goddess was born.
If you count it this way, the Goddess of Magic is the daughter of the twin sisters, so she is naturally powerful. After taking control of the concept of magic, her power is almost above that of the gods.
Shar's heart is on the power of the goddess of magic. As long as she can seize this power, revenge will be easy for her. In short, in this world, apart from the goddess of magic, only Shar knows something about the magic network.
The dusty book in Amber's hand is a record of research on the belief in the Dark Goddess.
Although the gods are powerful and mysterious, studying them has always been the most important subject for mortals. This book on the study of the faith of the Dark Goddess records a special sacrificial ceremony, through which one can communicate with the Dark Goddess and let her answer the questions of believers.
But this offering is a little special.
Each god has a unique sacrificial ritual. For Loviatar, believers must abuse themselves or others, and blood and pain are the best sacrifices. For the Lord of Dawn, the best sacrifice is the destroyed evil. The Dukes of Hell like souls the most, and souls that have been tortured to madness are the best.
As for Shar, the sacrifice she required was very special - anything related to light.
Shar has a deep hatred for her sister Selune, so she is eager to destroy everything related to Selune. The Moon Goddess and the Lord of Dawn are firm allies. They form an alliance with many other gods with light as the core.
So Shar even held a grudge against the Lord of Dawn.
The best sacrifice is naturally to let a believer of light fall. If Ambershu can bring a fallen believer of light to Shar, Shar will definitely not be stingy with the reward.
If those holy warriors were still there, Amber would really like to try to corrupt these believers of the Lord of Dawn and turn the holy warriors into oathbreakers. Maybe Shar would be in a good mood and tell him the secret of the magic network directly, but now he can only change a sacrifice.
Amber took out the broken helmet from the mouth of the mercury figurine. This was a replica of the Ryan Empire. Although it was a replica, the light power inside was real. The mercury figurine had eaten it for many days, but it was only corroded a little. Now it was a good time to recycle it.
Amber began to arrange the ceremony to worship Shar in the castle.
The depiction of the magic ritual was not difficult, and the details of the relevant process were not complicated. It was so simple that it gave Amber a feeling that it was not solemn enough. Perhaps it was because Shar knew that his faith had declined. If the ritual process was still required to be strict, there would be fewer mortals who believed in Shar.
Most mortals are also picky when choosing a belief.
Amber prepared the sacrificial ceremony according to what was written in the book, and then placed the helmet, which was badly damaged but still retained the power of light, on the altar.
"Under the dark and boundless night sky, we gather here to dedicate our faith to the Lord of the Night. You are the weaver of shadows, the master of the night. Under your protection, all things can hide and be reborn..."
Amber carefully recited the prayer in praise of the Dark Goddess. Although his attitude was correct, he was not pious. After all, Amber was not a believer in any god. He only maintained basic respect for these high and mighty gods, rather than worshipping them.
After finishing the prayer, Amber used his magic power to ignite a dark flame and set the helmet on fire.
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
The dark magic and the light divine power collided with each other, making a crackling sound.
Amber's power was much stronger than that of the mercury spirit figurine, and he quickly eroded most of the light power on the helmet. If the artifact could be used after some repairs, it was now completely filthy and could no longer be repaired.
Blaspheme the light and pay tribute to the night.
After the ceremony was completed, a cloud of thick black smoke emerged from the altar and then condensed into a black shadow nearly ten meters high.
The shadow was wearing a cloak of black feathers that kept falling. Each feather would slowly dissipate after falling, and would never fall to the ground. The shadow covered her face, and only her graceful figure could be seen under the cloak.
Shar opened her mouth and let out a beautiful but sad sound.
"Mortal, I am satisfied with your sacrifice. But you are not my believer. Tell me, what do you want in exchange?"
Amber tried his best to restrain his soul power and did not dare to listen carefully to Shar's voice.
This goddess descended in the form of a singer of the night, and her voice was like the endless night, with a fatal temptation. If you were not careful, you would easily be enchanted by her voice, completely swallowed by the power of the night, and become her fanatic from then on.
"Dear Goddess of Night, I would like to offer this filthy divine power of light as a sacrifice in exchange for knowledge related to the magic network."
"Oh, bold mortal, do you wish to recreate the destruction of that year?"
Amber did not answer this question, but said to Shar: "If the destruction of the magic network is destined, then it will happen no matter what choice I make. Dear goddess, do you accept this deal?"
Shar replied, "You know how important the secrets of the Weave are. A mere imitation of the artifact is not enough."
"Then may I ask the goddess, what is the price for this knowledge?"
"What is the condition for becoming my chosen one?" asked Shar.
Amber Xiu remained silent. What was wrong with these goddesses? They kept asking him to be their chosen one.
Even though Shar is down and out, it's not like he would just pull any legend into his camp, right?
Although he was a lich and was naturally evil, neither pain nor darkness matched Ambersu. The gods could not fail to see the path Ambersu had chosen, and they rushed up one by one to snatch him away, which gave Ambersu a bad feeling.
"Why, you don't want to accept the favor of the night?" Shar asked.
"Sorry, I'm a nonbeliever."
Amber's refusal was firm. Even if Shar didn't give him the knowledge of the magic network, he would never give in.
Faith is no joke. Once you believe in gods, you are giving them the power to judge you. Most people are willing to trade decades of life for the gods' blessing, but as a lich, Amberxiu has no need to trade eternal life for this.
Perhaps because she heard Amber's determination, Shar did not force him any further, but changed the condition.
"If you don't want to be my chosen one, then you can let another legend become my believer. Or, you can make the three holy warriors break their oaths and fall. That will also be considered as meeting the conditions."
Amber sighed and said, "Respected Goddess of Night, I need the knowledge of the magic network to do something important. Time is very tight. Even if I agree to your conditions, I am afraid it will be too late."
"It's okay. I can give you what you want first, as long as you complete this contract within ten years."
Amberxiu didn't expect Shar to give in again. He felt something was wrong and wanted to think about it carefully, but Shar said, "If you want to sense your future, I advise you to save your energy. You are not qualified to see the future of the gods clearly."
Shar's words made Amber silent again.
Indeed, Amber could not even see the future of Loviata. Last time, it was just pure deception to scare the goddess of pain. Although Shar was down and out, her rank was far higher than Loviata, so Amber could not see the future related to her.
But Shar emphasized it so seriously that it was obvious that she felt the contract was in her favor.
So, do you want to take a gamble?
Amber hesitated for a moment, then said firmly: "Respected Goddess, I agree to your request."
(End of this chapter)