Chapter 156
Seven hundred years later, when Joan of Arc could barely feel any pain, she heard a huge, deep rumbling sound coming from the soles of her feet.
During this thousand years of lucidity, she heard this roaring sound a total of ten times.
At first she thought it was the ice sheet collapsing, but later realized it wasn't—the long torment and emptiness had slowed her thinking, and it took Joan of Arc more than a few decades to realize this.
Regardless of the cause of the loud noise beneath the ice, Joan of Arc of Arc felt a surge of intense anticipation.
Let's continue.
Let's go, let's go to the end of history.
Hebe looked at the image and the text that appeared, and gave a slight smirk.
She ultimately said nothing, but simply went outside the cabin and lowered Xiao Xiang, who was tied to the mast.
Shoko opened his eyes in a half-dreaming state and saw that Hebe's eyes were sparkling, like dazzling gems.
Upon hearing footsteps, people emerged from the cabin.
It wasn't Arthur, it was Morgan.
Hebe was suddenly struck by a realization: history had changed.
Arthur isn't on this ship!
231 Crimson Dawn, Bharata, Water Palace Immortal Class
History has changed; Arthur, who should have been on the ship, is nowhere to be found. Morgan, the Bewitching Consort who should have remained in Blanckug, has instead appeared.
Hebe narrowed his eyes.
Just then, Xiao Xiang regained full consciousness.
As Hebe put Xiao Xiang down, he tentatively asked him a question.
Morgan's face immediately darkened: Arthur again?
A fierce glint flashed in her eyes as she took a step closer to Hebe.
Hebe stared blankly at her.
The Fallen Empress scrutinized Hebe closely. "You... you've been crying?"
She actually shed tears because she missed Arthur?
Hebe rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Yes, yes. I just dreamed about Arthur."
Morgan breathed a sigh of relief when she said that.
Meeting Arthur in a dream during the Twilight Realm is no different from meeting him in person. If Hebe dares to dream of Arthur, he will definitely locate her and come to her as quickly as possible.
The Fallen Empress's discontent vanished before it even began to surface.
Taking this opportunity, Hebe finally got the answer she wanted.
The historical divergence lies in— the Burning Witch.
Before Hebe entered the Atlantis Lostbelt, Morgan fought the Burning Witch —that is, Joan of Arc d'Arc in the first timeline—in the Atlantic Ocean.
The battle resulted in Morgan being severely injured, and Joan of Arc of Arc in the first playthrough Skyflint's Excommunication and vanished.
However, the Burning Witch did not disappear after Hebe completed the Atlantis conquest.
The outcome of that battle was thus reversed.
The Burning Witch confronts the Morgan, the Bewitching Consort head-on.
The battlefield twice approached Albion's homeland from the Atlantic Ocean. Two Royal Navy destroyers merely skimmed the edge of the battlefield before being turned into boiling lake water.
Arthur even walked out of the Iron Throne Hall at one point.
At the Buckingham Palace in London, he held the Sword in the Stone and watched the battlefield from afar.
The Burning Witch maintained a firm upper hand throughout.
Until Celestial Flint once again delivered the ultimate punishment.
Morgan was excommunicated and severely injured on the spot, then fled to Blanckug... which led to the night of his reunion with Hebe.
But the Burning Witch did not die as punishment.
She silently endured the final punishment, gazing at Arthur across the sea for a long time as he pulled the Sword in the Stone, before finally drifting away.
In the official media of the present world, the battle between the Burning Witch and the Fallen Empress was overshadowed by a "rare hurricane on the east coast of the United States Federation".
Therefore, Arthur, preoccupied with state affairs, did not discover Agravain's concealment, nor did he know that Hebe was in Blanckug. In the end, it was Morgan, the Bewitching Consort herself who summoned the "Sapphire" to set sail.
After all, the "Sapphire" cruise ship was originally Morgan's personal vehicle.
In the eyes of the true leaders of various countries, this war could no longer be simply described as "complex".
—Morgan, the Bewitching Consort figure in Albion, is a queen who holds the Royal Authority of the Island and wields the power of fairies.
Rumors say that she has abandoned the pack of wolves and found the "Heavenly Consort's Secret Treasure" in Cathay, Guangxi and South Seas. She has gained the favor of Pearl, the June Archon, and has already been ranked among the Water Palace Immortal Class!
Of course, all these titles and conjectures stem from one point: Morgan is the twilight.
Moreover, she was at the twilight of her tumultuous journey!
In this constrained world, the twilight of a calamity-stricken path can, at a small cost, trigger a chain reaction of immense disaster.
In an environment where no one is free, Morgan was one of the most carefree.
However, this twilight was suppressed in the battle with the Burning Witch, to the point that he was at a disadvantage... and the opponent even had the strength to withstand a Skyflint's Excommunication.
There is no absolute difference in status between the two sides of the twilight, only restraint and infighting in terms of imagery and symbolism... If there is no essential difference in the understanding of principles and achievements, then even if one is restrained or suppressed, the situation will not be one-sided under the blessing of status.
Just as Hebe excels at illusion, Arthur excels at straightforward, forceful combat. But even if Hebe were unarmed on Arthur's home turf, it would be impossible for the latter to overpower Hebe.
Unless... the opponent's status is higher than Huang Hun's, but without achieving absolute dominance.
After the leaders of the various countries exchanged opinions, a word that everyone had thought of but no one wanted to mention was uttered by the foreign minister of Cathay.
——Chi Crimson Dawn.
Even the Eternals who dwell in the wasteland can only maintain the rank of Twilight at most when they descend to the mortal world... But Crimson Dawn is different.
On the one hand, Crimson Dawn was indeed sublimated again because of the act of "burning his merits"; but on the other hand, Crimson Dawn's sublimation process was to refine his merits into Golden Truth.
Crimson Dawn certainly has plenty of strength and means, but if the Burning Witch is really Crimson Dawn, then she uses that strength on the hilt of her sword... no, on the tassel of her sword!
A biting sea breeze blew across the cruise ship deck, causing Morgan's silver hair, tied back, to sway.
The Fallen Empress's expression also showed a rare hint of unease. "... Do you think the 'Burning Witch' is an Ascended being of the Crimson Dawn Rank?"
From the end of the Fourth Histories, to be precise, from 1945 to 1949, after the Celestial Flint returned to the mortal world, the Path of Ascension was completely blocked.
Daylight cannot be elevated to dusk, but dusk cannot ascend further either.
After nearly half a century of trials and tribulations, the nations had already accepted this outcome.
However, the appearance of a high-ranking individual who appears to be Crimson Dawn has caused the already stable situation to become turbulent again.
Regardless of what the governments of the various countries think, wouldn't the Twilight Lords, who are regarded as national weapons by these countries, have their own thoughts?
Hebe leaned against the railing, lost in thought.
According to the description in the Secret History Simulator, the Celestial Flint the sun into three parts, taking only noon to forge the Path of Ascension; the remaining dawn and dusk became the current "Brilliant Twins" Mr. Day and Lord Twilight.
In other words, the Path of Ascension is like a sun that has never been before. For this reason, all those who sublimate have the desire and original intention to ascend.
You can question many aspects of those who have transcended, but never underestimate their determination to "transcend."
Hebe glanced at Morgan, whose face was filled with both expectation and unease, and smiled mischievously, "Want to know?"
Morgan scrutinized Hebe carefully, then turned to leave. "Never mind, let's talk again next time..."
"Hey, hey, don't go!" Hebe quickly grabbed Morgan's wrists with both hands. "Sister, sister! You really don't want to hear this?"
Before he finished speaking, Morgan suddenly turned around, pulled Hebe into his arms, and squinted his eyes so close that he could almost see her eyelashes.
"Of course I want to know... but I'm even more interested in your secrets..."
"What's so great about sharing this?" Hebe was taken aback, but then blurted out, "I usually pile my socks together and wash them once a week."
Morgan's eye twitched. "You know that's not what I want to hear."
Hebe's silly expression changed, and she once again revealed a clever and bright smile, which swept over Morgan's heart.
It inexplicably evokes the image of a wild fox's tail swaying behind it in a field overgrown with weeds, so vividly colored yet disappearing in an instant.
"I see..." Hebe smiled slightly, "Then what reward will I receive?"
Morgan thought to himself, "You're playing with fire."
The Fallen Empress's aura drew ever closer.
Hebe suddenly spoke up, "If Twilight wants to be upgraded to Crimson Dawn, it needs to burn its own merits."
"What?" Morgan, interrupted once again, was visibly annoyed. "I know that..."
"Therefore, the process of Crimson Dawn's ascension will not be long, ranging from a moment to three to five days, and at most no more than twelve days."
Tutankhamun once described this process to Hebe, but that was, after all, the Egyptian lands, which, in practical terms, is the First History.
As the only truly transcendent being in the world who has completed the "Path of Ascension," Hebe is naturally able to perceive the difference.
In ancient Egypt, seven days was a threshold; if it took longer than that, the chances of achieving the Golden Truth were not high.
In Atlantis, this time was further shortened to three to five days.
Hebe speculated that this timeframe might be further reduced in the Fourth Histories.
Morgan fell silent: Hebe now exudes an air of intellectualism.
"In other words, the essence of Crimson Dawn is burning and reforging," Hebe said.
"It sounds like something a follower of the Path of Ascension under the Forge Principle would say," Morgan commented.
"The Path of Ascension was originally a creation of the Celestial Flint, and it is most appropriate to interpret it using the Forge Principle." Hebe sighed, "Casting is the pillar of all phenomena."
"So when you ask me if the 'Burning Witch' is Crimson Dawn, I can't answer you," Hebe explained. "I can only describe this sublimation process to you and let you make your own judgment."
"So, you're leaning towards her, aren't you?" Morgan's gaze was fixed on Hebe's face.
"I never said she wasn't." Hebe's tone changed. "As stated in the preface, the essence of Crimson Dawn is burning and reforging... But what if someone's achievement is self-immolation?"
Self-combustion?
Morgan froze, Hebe used this opportunity to break free from her arms, but didn't leave. Instead, she leaned against the railing alongside Morgan.
This time, the Fallen Empress did not take any further action. She was staring blankly at the surging sea in front of her, her mind racing with calculations and deductions.
If the "Burning Witch's " achievement is self-immolation, then when she ascends to the Crimson Dawn, she needs to burn all her achievements away.
However, when she did this, it met the standard for accomplishing great deeds, and thus her achievements became increasingly grand.
Her ever-growing achievements will lead her to stay in Crimson Dawn for longer periods of time.
Yes, this can indeed form a cycle.
But before entering this cycle, she needs to accumulate... two thousand years!
In other words, before the "Burning Witch" became Hebe's presumed Crimson Dawn, she had been burning herself for over two thousand years!
That's almost equivalent to the sum of the Third and Fourth Histories!
"And it can't be simple self-immolation," Morgan thought. "Pure self-immolation has no meaning; only self-immolation imbued with concepts of martyrdom, sacrifice, and hope possesses an extraordinary essence..."
For example, in the long, dark night, someone takes me as a torch.
The Fallen Empress's hand tightened slightly.
This level of self-sacrifice... is awe-inspiring.
The Fallen Empress sighed softly.
And then, the world will undergo dramatic changes.
She turned around and saw Hebe, who was leaning on the railing, teasing Yang Pill.
"What is this thing? Let me play with it." The Fallen Empress reached out her hand.
Yangwan couldn't dodge in time and was grabbed by Morgan.