allendalepharm Chapter 394, Section 393: The Blessing Takes Effect
Chapter 394, Section 393: The Blessing Takes Effect
Chapter 394, Section 393: The Blessing Takes Effect
With the evil god being completely wiped out by the ultimate purification of the sun god Ra, the very foundation of its existence has collapsed.
The crimson energy stream that bound all evil creations and originated from the heart of the "false god" withered and dissipated instantly, like a severed bloodline.
The mummified bishops, who roamed the city like undead, suddenly stiffened. The last glimmer of purplish-red light in their fel-powered, empty eye sockets flickered violently a few times, like a candle in the wind, before going out completely with a "poof".
Then, starting from their dry fingertips, a silent, inward-to-outward disintegration began. Skin, muscles, bones...
Like withered leaves thrown into a raging fire, they quickly carbonized and turned into black powder. There were no screams, no struggles, only patches of black ash.
Like dust blown away by the wind, it falls, drifts away with the wind, and leaves no trace.
Those believers who were bewitched by the "false pupils" and became henchmen of the evil god suffered an even more tragic fate.
When the evil god's consciousness completely perished, the curse and contract forcibly implanted in their souls also crumbled. But this crumbling was not liberation, but destruction. Their bodies were as if all moisture and life force had been drained away; their skin instantly dried and cracked, their eyeballs burst, and they emitted short, mournful cries.
The next second, their entire bodies burst forth with purplish-black flames from the inside out, just like paper figures that had been set ablaze. In an instant, they turned to ashes along with the flames and were completely annihilated.
Whether high-ranking mummified bishops or lowly cultists, all creations that existed in dependence on the evil god met a complete and indiscriminate end the moment of his death. Throughout the city, black ashes, like snow of death, fell in abundance, silently proclaiming the end of an era. The shadow of the evil god, along with all its minions, vanished into nothingness.
As the last remnant of the evil god dissipated in the golden purifying fire, only pure sunlight and a gentle breeze of new life remained between heaven and earth.
The avatar of the sun god, suspended in the air, slowly descended. Its sacred armor, composed of pure light energy and resembling a pharaoh's crown and a scarab beetle's breastplate, shone brightly in the sunlight.
Two eternally burning golden sun eyes calmly gaze down upon the earth; their very existence is a symbol of order and the return of life.
In this tranquil moment of utter silence and the revival of all things, the gaze of the resurrected sun god, like two warm beams of light, fell upon the tiny figure at the edge of the ruins who was carefully putting one of the fragments of "Ra's Eye" into his magic bag—Ian Prince.
He slightly raised his hand.
Without incantations or gestures, all the fragments of the "Eye of Ra" scattered throughout the temple ruins, shimmering with a faint golden-purple light, regardless of size or whether they were buried deep in the rubble or half-suspended on the broken walls, were drawn together by an invisible magnetic force, flying up from all directions and converging on the palm of the sun god's avatar.
In his palm rested a pulsating ball of light composed of dozens of irregular fragments, within which golden and purple light intertwined, bearing the dual marks of divinity and evil.
Then.
It's just a push forward.
All the fragments flew toward the specially made lead box in Ian's hand.
"These fragments are yours, Ian Prince," Ra's voice was gentle yet authoritative, "as a gift for helping me regain my freedom."
Ian carefully closed the box, feeling the immense energy contained within, and said sincerely, "Thank you for Your Majesty's gift. These fragments are indeed incredibly precious to me."
At this moment, Ian looked at the bulging magic bag and felt the energy fluctuations emanating from it, which were far stronger and more complete than when it was scattered before, and his heart pounded wildly.
This is more than just a "thank you gift".
This is simply a priceless treasure for researching the truth behind the "source of potions"!
It's important to know that the female Tyrannosaurus only needs one fragment of the Eye of Ra; the rest are useless, so they all belong to Ian.
He paused, then couldn't help but ask, "But I've always been curious, why did Set-Appepp want to copy the Eye of Ra? Was it merely to steal your power?"
This is something Ian still doesn't understand. The old man he met outside the tavern, as well as the other people and those ghost brides, all seem to be related to the replica of the Eye of Ra.
"It's actually quite simple about this matter." A deep light flashed in La's golden eyes: "That guy's purpose in studying the replicas was to better understand the essence of the genuine articles."
"Dreams and hopes are the mortal emotions closest to the power of the sun god. It is because of this that he used them as a bridge to build a channel for stealing divine power. Then, by imitating the Eye of Ra, he stole the dreams and hopes of mortals, and thus developed a method to steal my power using the genuine article."
It is obvious that this was something the evil god was planning when it was still in its embryonic stage. Whether he bewitched high priests or others to help him replicate it is a secret that no one knows anymore.
After all, the followers of the evil god and the church he transformed were all part of him, and when he was destroyed, everything followed him into destruction.
If one is harmed, all are harmed.
Ian suddenly realized.
"So he first used replicas for experiments, and only after fully understanding the principles did he implement the plan with the real thing?" He still expressed his appreciation for the cunning of the evil god before it was hatched.
"Exactly," Lazan nodded. "That fellow is indeed cunning, but unfortunately, he uses his intelligence in the wrong place."
Ian stroked the lead box in his hand and couldn't help but sigh, "Fortunately, it's a happy ending now. The evil god has been defeated, and you've regained your freedom."
He breathed a sigh of relief. It was clear that the gods of ancient Egypt were still very different from those of ancient Greece, and had not yet reached the point of madness that Ragnarok should have brought.
At this moment, Osiris, the god of the underworld, and Isis, the goddess, stepped forward. Osiris's expression remained solemn: "Although the evil god has been eliminated, some damage is irreversible."
"We still need to return to the underworld to care for those souls who cannot return to the mortal realm, and find them a place of rest." This is why we say they are not yet completely incompetent.
After all, they remembered their duty and didn't harbor the Zeusian mindset of viewing humans as livestock. Even Isis gently added, "Many souls have suffered permanent damage from the corruption of evil gods and require a long purification process. As the rulers of the underworld, we have a responsibility to grant them final peace."
The sun god Ra nodded solemnly: "You have done the right thing. The cycle of life needs to be maintained, and the peace of the dead is equally important."
Osiris and Isis exchanged a glance, needing no further words.
Osiris raised his hand, and the giant hand formed from the souls of the dead slashed through the void! A pitch-black spatial rift, its edges flickering with ghostly blue flames, appeared out of thin air. Beyond the rift lay a deep, dark passage to the underworld, filled with swirling stardust and the shadows of the dead. The starlight surrounding Isis converged, forming a stable curtain of light at the edge of the rift.
They didn't look at the sun god in the end, but instead turned their gaze to Ian.
"The Prince family has once again proven your worth."
Osiris said, "May the boundary between life and death forever protect your bloodline."
Isis offered a tender blessing: "May the light of life forever illuminate your path."
These are two blessings.
however.
However, it could not be truly applied to Ian, which was not surprising to the sun god Ra, but it was somewhat unexpected for the couple who had bestowed the blessing.
"It seems you're a different Prince."
A faint, indescribable, complex emotion flickered in Osiris's golden, vertical pupils, ultimately condensing into a brief but incredibly solemn nod. Isis, in turn, gave him a faint yet warm smile. Then, the two ancient gods turned away.
Step into that deep rift in time and space.
The cracks slowly closed behind them, leaving only faint ripples in the space and a faint whisper of a departed soul. Once again, only Ian and Ra, the sun god, remained atop the ruins.
"They're still the same kind of cold-faced but warm-hearted couple." Ian looked at the spot where Hades and his wife had disappeared, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He turned around and faced the avatar of the sun god, which radiated supreme majesty and warm radiance, and finally asked the ultimate question that had been lingering in his mind, concerning the very origins of his bloodline.
"Your Majesty, you mentioned earlier the pact between the Prince family and the Egyptian pantheon... Could you tell me more about my family?" He paused, trying to recall those vague family legends. "In your words, we seem to have—a deeper connection with ancient Egypt?"
He tried his best to appear as if he didn't know much about his family history.
That is indeed the case.
Ra did not suspect anything.
The sun god Rana's burning golden eyes gazed at Ian, as if penetrating his soul to see the ancient mark flowing deep within his blood. His voice rang out again, carrying a sense of ancient history.
"The Prince family was a family deeply favored by the gods in ancient Egypt. For generations, you have served as guardians of the Temple of the Sun, skilled in alchemy and potion-making, and were known as the 'Hands of the Sun.'" He smiled slightly. "Your family's greatest expertise lies in forging potions in the flames of the sun, a talent that comes from your contract with me."
Although he had suspected it for a long time, Ian was still somewhat shocked to hear about these previously unknown family histories, now that his suspicions had been confirmed.
At Hogwarts, the Prince family is renowned as Potions Masters, and Professor Snape is one of the last to inherit their legacy. But he never imagined that this family originated in ancient Egypt and were even covenant protectors of the sun god.
"So I guess," Ian said thoughtfully, "that the Prince family later migrated from Egypt to England?"
He thought to himself that this.
It is indeed quite possible. Human history is a history of migration, and sorcerers are no exception; times change, beliefs shift. With the decline of Egyptian civilization, many ancient families chose to migrate to other lands. The Prince family, carrying their pact with the sun, may also be continuing their bloodline and mission in a new land.
Just as Ian was pondering this.
The sun god suddenly asked, "Now that you're here, would you like to meet the princes of this era? They hold important positions in the temple of the sun god."
Upon hearing this, Ian astutely grasped the deeper meaning in Ra's words: "Your Majesty... do you know that I do not belong to this era?"
Ra's smile held a mysterious wisdom: "At first I might not have been sure, but now I can clearly sense that you are out of step with this era. The way the threads of time wrap around you is different from what I expected, like... a pattern embroidered in the wrong time and space. I think even a god would have a hard time noticing this."
"Fortunately, I am not an ordinary god."
He made a joke.
Upon hearing this, Ian, recalling his own absurd experiences, couldn't help but smile wryly: "To be honest, I only came to this era by chance, and just happened to be caught up in this disaster."
Indeed, for Ian, constantly traveling through history is not an interesting adventure; he still misses the days when he was a tyrant at Hogwarts.
Alas, fate plays cruel tricks; too many tears to tell.
Seeing Ian's expression, Ra's gaze deepened.
"In the world of magic, there are no coincidences, Ian Prince. The passage of time and the encounters of fate all have their profound meanings."
Your presence here may be a choice made by time itself. They are the kind of people who like to take things in circles; they have a personality that suggests they'll die if they don't become riddle tellers.
Ian wanted to ask more questions, but a commotion suddenly arose in the distance. The priestess Karina was leading a large group of survivors towards them.
People's faces beamed with the joy of surviving a catastrophe and their devotion to the gods.
"God Ra! It really is God Ra returning to the mortal world!" Karina knelt down excitedly, and the people behind her followed suit, making the whole scene solemn and dignified.
The sun god Ra turned to his people, radiating a warm divine light, and began to soothe the frightened believers, heal the wounded, and purify the polluted land.
Amidst this sacred and bustling scene, Ian quietly stepped aside. The evil god had been vanquished, the city was recovering, and he had obtained what he had sought in this era—not only fragments of the Eye of Ra, but also invaluable knowledge about the origins of his family.
It's time to leave this era behind.
Ian Prince quietly slipped away from the crowd. While everyone was focused on worshipping the sun god Ra, he silently crossed the dilapidated streets and arrived behind a half-collapsed pyramid. It was relatively secluded, far from the crowd's view, with only a few rays of sunlight filtering through the cracks in the stones.
He took a deep breath and slipped a seemingly ordinary silver ring off his finger. The ring was engraved with fine runes, which gleamed faintly in the sunlight.
This is a portable time machine he obtained from the female Titan Lyle. It is disguised as an ordinary ring and only reveals its true form when needed.
"Restore." Ian murmured the incantation and tossed the ring into the open space in front of him.
The ring began to deform in mid-air, unfolding and reassembling like a blooming metal flower.
In the silvery light, a device resembling Doraemon's time machine gradually took shape—a domed cabin, a red seat, and buttons and instruments on the control panel flashing with various colors.
Ian glanced back one last time at the city that was recovering. In the distance, the sun god Ra was performing a miracle; wherever the golden light reached, the buildings and land corrupted by the evil god were restored to their original state.
The survivors knelt on the ground, their faces radiating hope and piety. The priestess Karina led the believers in chanting ancient hymns.
Praise the rebirth of the sun.
Though scarred and devastated, life is beginning to sprout from the ruins. The Nile River is clear again, new buds are emerging from the plants on its banks, and even the air feels fresh. This is a city that has suffered terribly but is healing, a civilization welcoming the dawn after darkness.
"An era with its own unique characteristics."
Ian murmured to himself as he opened the time machine's hatch and sat inside.
Just as he was about to start the machine, a golden light suddenly shot down from the sky, enveloping the entire time machine. Ian looked up in surprise and saw the sun god Ra nodding slightly to him in the distance, his golden eyes filled with understanding and blessing.
"Thank you for your help, traveler of time and executor of destiny." Ra's voice resounded directly in his mind. "May the sun forever guide your path."
This is also a blessing.
This is different from the blessings given by Hades and his wife before.
It worked.