A Threatening Letter to Grey

"... At first I thought Miss Freya was here to study in the Theocracy."

After a long silence, Sherlock spoke up, "I never expected you to cause such a big problem."

Although Freya did not explain further the relationship between the Elixir of Immortality and the Tears of Time, everyone clearly understood.

If the immortality of elves comes from the grace of the Amber Angel, then the life-extending methods such as the Elixir of Immortality are essentially ways to obtain a portion of the Amber Angel's power.

However, all such life-extending methods come at a price.

The life-extending potion from Xingti has the side effect of only extending the lifespan of the body, not the lifespan of the soul. Therefore, living too long will lead to a disconnect between the body and the soul, making one easily killed by a necromancer.

The elves' extended lifespan clearly extends their souls as well.

— Its side effect is "amber crystallization".

The elves have a history spanning thousands of years and boast several glorious civilizations. Yet, Ningpo has never been able to be completely cured.

The root cause is probably because... Amber Condensation is not a disease at all. Like Tree Transformation, it is a distortion caused by the influence of the power of the Dao.

Elves are the offspring of the giant tree, and the Giant Tree Blood flows in their veins. Therefore, the purer their bloodline, the easier it is for them to become tree-like; similarly, the more blessings they receive from the Amber Angel, the easier it is for them to solidify into amber.

That's why Half-Elf born in other places don't become trees or solidify into amber!

It is because their bloodline is too impure that they cannot become tree-like; and it is also because their lifespan has declined that they cannot solidify into amber!

"Therefore, if we want to cure the Spirit Amber completely, we may have to dispel or neutralize the blessing from the Amber Angel. But that might cause the elves to age rapidly... My research is currently stuck here."

Freya held the bottle of "Tears of Time" in her hands, looked down at it, and said softly, "The active ingredient of the Elixir of Immortality is a gift I extracted from the 'Elf Gem' that has already solidified into amber. Its function is to add a small amount of elven blood to a person—this bloodline will not solidify into amber, but it can indeed increase lifespan slightly."

"I've taken it myself and verified its safety on my own. It can effectively prolong my youth... There's nothing you can't drink."

"And the ' Tears of Time '... it is the result of further purification and condensation of the active ingredients of the Elixir of Immortality, followed by radical catalysis to excessively manifest its symbolism. It can be used as a material for preservation techniques to greatly enhance their effects."

"According to my calculations, if taken in small amounts, the ' Tears of Time ' can permanently provide a portion of the Earth Attribute mana pool limit to people who have no elven bloodline; for Half-Elf with some elven bloodline, taking the Tears of Time should purify their bloodline, but it may also be fatal; and for pure-blooded elves, it is a deadly poison. Because I have taken the Elixir of Immortality, I have not taken it again."

"... I have a question, Freya."

Yanis gently raised her hand and asked dryly, "I've heard that you alchemists... encrypt your formulas. So that even if someone analyzes your finished products, they won't be able to find the real formula..."

If it's just a dozen or even thirty or forty people... it might cause unrest, but the impact won't be too great.

But what if the formula for "Tears of Time" were cracked and reversed...?

The entire elven race will suffer annihilation! "—I know, I will too."

Freya interrupted.

"That means—"

Yanis's eyes lit up.

But Freya quickly rejected the idea. "But I can't encrypt the semi-finished product. That would only cause me trouble, making it impossible for me to identify the specific active ingredient."

"... So you mean?"

Nearly in despair, Yanis asked, clinging to a sliver of hope.

"I know what you're going to ask."

Freya for a moment and replied, "The Fourth Level... might be a bit difficult."

"At least the Fifth Level is needed to reliably deduce and analyze my formula from the finished product—provided that the person who stole my medicine can properly preserve it."

"It must be stored in a brown bottle, away from direct sunlight and vigorous shaking. The temperature must not exceed 150 degrees Celsius or fall below 6 degrees Celsius. It must not be exposed to oxygen and water simultaneously for extended periods. At night, it must be covered with a black curtain to prevent exposure to Venus's light, otherwise its effectiveness will rapidly diminish. I have never sent it into the Dream Realm, so I am unsure if its properties will change Dream Realm, but I think they will. Therefore, it cannot be transported through an altar."

"It sounds alright..."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Just avoiding vigorous shaking, preventing moisture, and maintaining a sealed environment is already difficult enough. Transporting it by water to Star Antimony for analysis is practically impossible. And in the Theocracy, there are no alchemists of Freya's caliber.

... Unless, it's Professor Moriarty.

Iver added in his mind.

He wasn't sure what Freya's attitude was towards her biological father, so he didn't dare to say it directly.

Although Iver had never seen that guy since coming to the Theocracy... he always felt as if he were a shadow, appearing in any event.

"Wait, Freya, you just said... a semi-finished product?"

Iver suddenly realized something. "So what did you originally intend to do with the Tears of Time?"

"It's not difficult to simply dissolve a gift—it's like if a person's liver gets diseased, you can cut it off and replace it with a new one. But you can't just cut it off without replacing it; that's tantamount to murder."

Freya crossed her arms and answered decisively, "The favors of the Celestials and Pillar God can be offset by committing an equal amount of 'sin' on the corresponding path. Therefore, I believe—or at least currently—that active spirits are less prone to amber formation because they have offset a portion of their blessings, which is why the amber formation phenomenon is reversible. If it were truly a disease, the already formed amber shouldn't regress."

"But the problem is that once the blessing is completely dispelled, lifespan will also be shortened. I must find a way to prolong life without solidifying to compensate for the treatment. The Tears of Time is my 'artificial liver'."

Upon hearing this, Iver's heart stirred.

—He thought of his own "dates".

It seems to be able to dissolve amber.

The Sin Thorns Fruit... could it be that "sin" is inside?

He wanted to bring up this possibility with Freya, but he didn't have any of the fruits on hand. He'd better wait until the fruits appeared in his eyes again, then bring them over to show Freya.

"Why don't you destroy them first?"

Yanis looked at the bottle of Tears of Time with a hint of lingering fear. "I feel a little uneasy looking at it... What if the rest are also stolen? Compared to the progress of the Amberization Disease, I think preventing its further spread is more important... Anyway, you remember the formula, right? Maybe the other party will not store it properly and will destroy it, and then come looking for it?"

Knowing that Freya was synthesizing a lethal substance with no antidote, Yanis couldn't possibly stay by her side and watch her the whole time.

Freya herself can't hear anything while she's working. That makes her really easy to steal from.

The other party only took a third last time, but who knows, they might take it all next time? "... Sigh."

Freya sighed, "It took me three months to extract this much..."

She felt a pang of sympathy, but she also knew that Yanis was right.

She could only casually place it on the heating container next to her, watching with a pained expression as it quickly turned cloudy—looking as if she was about to cry.

The liquid, which was originally as thick as oil, became clear and transparent as it was heated.

"My biggest worry right now is whether the person who stole this bottle of medicine will harm Grey..."

Yanis frowned deeply. "Two weeks... March 3rd is the Pope Election Day. If those madmen with Controlled Fire cause Grey to freeze on the spot, then we'll be in big trouble... Is there any concrete evidence that can be used to report Cardinal Loki to His Pope Your Majesty?"

"... The bad news is that such a thing doesn't exist. Because it really might not be him—there are too many clues related to him, and that could very well be misleading."

Iver replied, "The worse news is that the other party does indeed have malicious intentions towards Her Highness the Saintess."

"Because Gloria was a friend of Her Highness the Saintess, and so was Bishop Mercedes —one of them killed the other, and the body was in my wardrobe. If it weren't for the unexpected events that day, Her Highness the Saintess would have discovered the body herself."

At the time, Iver only thought that this might be an attempt to provoke Grey's spirit and intensify her condensation.

But now, after the investigation revealed that "Tears of Time," a poison that is 100% lethal to elves, especially those that have already begun to solidify, has completely changed the meaning of this matter.

This is a "threatening letter".

The meaning is quite simple.

—You're next.