Chapter 614
Xia'er and the others entered the largest tent, where the elderly village chief sat cross-legged to one side. A figure clad in a black robe took the chief's place, beginning to recount the events following the opening of the Abyss.
After Xia'er shattered the celestial dome of the Abyss, bringing light to those below, nearly all the remaining tribes united, moving toward the direction of the light.
The people from the Tower arrived first, taking away the body of Moros and most of the remnants of the "Cocoon of Light."
For the remaining inhabitants of the Abyss, the Tower offered two options: one was to set up a camp around the Tower, providing them with just enough food to survive. The second option was to relocate them to another kingdom nearby, where they could be integrated.
The Tower did not forcibly take all the remnants of the "Cocoon of Light," only removing fragments from the more deranged monsters. The less harmful remnants were left untouched, allowing the "Candlelight" path to survive.
After considering the opinions of others, the village chief chose to accompany the people from the Tower. Along the way, due to the actions of the witch, Hei Ni was also revered as a savior by the other inhabitants of the Abyss.
After nearly half a year of arduous travel, akin to a pilgrimage, they finally reached the outskirts of the Tower and settled there.
Although the journey to the Tower was grueling, and even living around it offered no visible escape, for the people of the Abyss, the mere provision of food made life around the Tower far better than in the Abyss itself.
While camped near the Tower, Hei Ni did not waste any time.
She spread the faith of the witch, founding the "Witch Society." Thanks to her identity as the "Savior," the organization garnered immense support from the people of the Abyss.
Almost all the women joined the Witch Society, beginning to worship and offer sacrifices to the statue of the "Witch" like a conventional church. However, it didn't take long for Hei Ni to sense something was amiss.
Her prayers went unanswered, leading her to question whether she had done something wrong.
Illiterate, Hei Ni struggled to grasp the rules left by Xia'er. Two years passed, and the fervor of the Witch Society gradually waned, with most of the inhabitants of the Abyss withdrawing from a faith that yielded nothing.
Especially after two years of comfort, many began to disregard Hei Ni's identity as the "Savior." Some even speculated that it was the people from the Tower who had broken the celestial dome, suggesting that the witch might have perished long ago on her way to the Mad Mountains.
Not all surviving inhabitants of the Abyss were from Hei Ni's village, nor had they all seen Xia'er, so such sentiments were not surprising—especially in the absence of any response from the witch.
This discourse troubled Hei Ni deeply. She sought out the village chief for advice on what to do.
The chief, having listened to Xia'er's instructions to Hei Ni, personally went to the Tower and pleaded with a school in the City of the Tower to accept Hei Ni as a student.
Originally, the City of the Tower had set up quotas in each school to better manage the incoming immigrants, allowing some outsiders to join. The chief's request was quickly approved.
After several years of tireless study, Hei Ni mastered three or four new languages, including "Spirit Tongue," and upon graduation, returned to the Abyss camp.
By this time, the remaining members of the Witch Society were few. It seemed that during her studies, Hei Ni had realized something important and renamed the "Witch Society" to the "Witch Academy." The organization’s operational methods also shifted away from merely replicating other religions.
"Record, Learn, Reflect" became Hei Ni's new motto. She seemed to understand the admission standards of the many schools in the City of the Tower and began to use "Join the City of the Tower" as a hook to recruit new members.
At this point, Hei Ni had completely transformed the original "Witch Religion" into a "Witch Society." Aside from the core members, few understood what "Witch" truly meant.
However, this change proved effective. Through over a decade of effort, she successfully sent wave after wave of students into the City of the Tower.
Once the Witch Academy was on the right track, Hei Ni issued its first task—to record all observed history, with each entry signed by a certain witch and stamped with the "Xia" mark.
At this moment, although Hei Ni had taken a long detour, the organization began to take shape. In the process, she even gained new abilities from the silver runestone, as if she had been granted a "seed" fragment, with knowledge flooding into her mind.
But aside from Hei Ni, no one else gained any abilities, and she sought ways to help others in the organization acquire their own powers.
After cultivating a few trusted confidants, Hei Ni made an unexpected decision—she took several members of the Witch Academy and set out on a journey to record the histories of various religious kingdoms in the name of the Tower.
This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision; she had carefully studied the world map published by the Tower, identifying every potentially friendly nation and meticulously planning her route, continuing to fulfill her promise to Xia'er.
Staying within the City of the Tower to record history, while safe, would only document the Tower's history—something others could do, and likely do better.
Hei Ni felt that merely coasting along would betray the sacrifices made by the Time-Binding Witch—she believed Xia'er had sacrificed himself to bring hope to the people of the Abyss.
For it was at the moment the sky shattered that Hei Ni's prayers ceased to receive any response.
With a strong sense of purpose, Hei Ni embarked on her journey as a witch, armed with only her first-tier abilities and a fervent faith.
From that point on, the village chief never received any news about Hei Ni.
Some said she might have perished in the wild, while others believed she was still on her journey, recording something. But no one knew the exact answer.
After listening to the village chief, Xia'er nodded slowly.
Whether Hei Ni had met a peaceful end, Xia'er did not know, but he was aware that the altar in her hands and the silver runestone had been passed on to many as a baton of faith.
Only those holding the runestone could possess the abilities of a "Recorder" or "Fictioner." Xia'er had seen many using these abilities in his memories, so the legacy must have continued.
It must be said... Hei Ni was remarkably perceptive. After facing setbacks with the initial Witch Religion, she did not choose to give up but instead took a roundabout approach, relying on her faith and courage to leave Xia'er with an organization that endured the great catastrophe.
Even the historical records they left behind were included in the annals of various religions and kingdoms. They had left their mark on history, and the original creator of all this, Hei Ni, was equally great in Xia'er's eyes.
If a divine kingdom truly existed... Xia'er wished he could see that little girl from back then once more, to ruffle her hair and tell her, "You did wonderfully."
Hei Ni had indeed reached the limits of what she could achieve, even surprising Xia'er.
The "seeds" that were once casually sown had grown into what they were now, leaving Xia'er deeply moved.
Moreover, the village chief's initial decision to help Hei Ni enroll was crucial, not only allowing her to grow and transform but also enabling a portion of the Abyss people to fully integrate into the City of the Tower.
Now, the Abyss camp on the outskirts had become a relatively large settlement. Thanks to the presence of Abyss people holding positions in the City of the Tower, the camp thrived better than most others.
The village chief lived up to the will of the God of the Dead Star, wielding the "Uniqueness" of the God to continue illuminating the lives of the Abyss survivors with his candlelight.
Xia'er did not linger long at the Abyss camp, setting off on the return journey with Salas and Sadana.
His presence undoubtedly injected a dose of encouragement into the remaining members of the "Witch Academy," and Xia'er found a short-term goal for himself.
That was to utilize the techniques of "Potions" and "Reenactment Rituals" in reality, aiming to enable the members of the "Witch Academy" to achieve first-tier "Recorder" and "Fictioner" abilities in bulk.
With this initiative, how they would explore further would depend on them.
Only by relying on their faith and seeking new paths could they empower Xia'er with more of the strength he had created.
"So you did all that before..." Sadana seemed still lost in the earlier conversation, speaking up, "You saved a civilization."
The previous discussion had been conducted in "Spirit Tongue" by the translator, and both Sadana and Salas understood it well.
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