Reversing the Tragedy That Was Meant to Be

The towering tree transformed into streams of light and solidified into cards right before everyone's eyes.

Sherlock stared wide-eyed at the incredible sight.

This was the second time he had seen Iver use this mysterious technique.

Last time, Iver sealed the Earthbound Spirit, which was originally impossible to move, in front of him with a card; and this time it was even more outrageous, directly sealing the tree spirit along with its main body!

Neither Sherlock nor the Grace were particularly polite in asking Iver how he had done it. After all, mystical arts are among the most private matters, and the more niche and powerful a mystical art is, the greater the secret it likely holds.

Iver reached out and pinched the brand-new card, then raised his hand to summon the Book of Law.

The brand-new card transformed into a green streak of light and disappeared into it.

The symbol on the Book of Law jumped again, changing to "[Iver's Book of Law (9/21)]"! It opened on its own, hovering above Iver's left hand, its pages turning rapidly.

When it stops on a certain page, the newly created "The Fool" card appears in the air above, rotates once on its own, and then dissipates into a ghostly green smoke.

Immediately afterwards, a tree within Iver's field of vision was permeated by the eerie green smoke that emerged from the void.

The next moment, it began to grow rapidly, branching out, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a thick and tall giant tree—

Completely different from Anastasia before:

It was at least twice the height of the previous tree, and its thickness was such that it could accommodate nearly three people to encircle it; every leaf of the "Tree Spirit Anastasia" was as brilliant as gold, shining brightly in the Rising Sun.

rustle--

After the tree has finished growing, its branches and leaves begin to sway automatically without any wind. Or rather, it is constantly absorbing the morning breeze, causing the leaves to be blown by the wind and produce a faint, chiming sound.

Listening to the rustling of leaves mixed with the sound of wind chimes, Iver felt his spirits improve significantly.

He closed his eyes, carefully sensing the healing power of the tree spirit form—although Iver wasn't injured, he was now, after all, Fourth Level Dedication Path Transcendent. As a professional healer, Iver was very familiar with the sensations of Sacrificial Fire Method.

—From what I can tell, Anastasia's healing output is about one-tenth to one-fifth of that of the Iver Sacrificial Fire Method.

The healing efficiency of the Sacrificial Fire Method is roughly half that of the Illumination Spell. In other words, its healing amount is about 7.5% of the current "Radiant Light" spell, which Iver has transformed from "Illumination Spell" into an instant healing spell.

This healing efficiency is basically useless in intense battles; it's a fairly standard slow recovery – in top-tier, high-difficulty battles, health is often extremely low. Without an instant heal, you basically can't secure any healing.

However, considering Anastasia's group heal is unlimited in duration and costs, this healing ability is extremely useful outside of combat. After all, Anastasia's enchantments are not time-limited—although the "Moon Spirit" state has a ten-minute limit, the "Tree Spirit" state has no limit!—This is equivalent to using only three points of Wind Attribute Mana to fully heal everyone around her outside of combat!

Iver himself has an unconditional way to recover health after disengaging from combat.

Now, he also has one to three group out-of-combat recovery abilities per day—the "The Fool" card can be used once a day, and can be reset up to two more times using the Book of Law ' reset effect. This effectively conserves his Light Attribute and Fire Attribute, allowing him to use it where it's most needed.

—Then let's take another look at Yue Ling.

Iver thought to himself.

So he raised the Book of Law once more.

The cards that had previously disintegrated reappeared above the Book of Law, this time as semi-transparent phantoms, resembling ripples on water.

As it dissipated and disintegrated, a transparent spirit emerged from the "Tree Spirit Anastasia".

It was originally a white, luminous spirit, but its light dimmed immediately after it emerged. It then manifested as Anastasia in the Maiden Form.

It was the illusionary form she had taken when she first appeared before Iver! "Aya!"

Grace immediately stepped forward and hugged Anastasia.

Master Maxim also approached nervously, leaning over with his hands on his knees and asking, "Aya... how are you feeling now?"

"I feel..."

Anastasia instinctively reached out and hugged Madam Grace. But as soon as she hugged her, she was stunned for a long time by that familiar yet strange feeling.

She murmured softly, reaching out to brush her mother's hair aside, then looked down at her own hand, trying to grasp it. She then looked into Grace's pupils, gazing at her own reflection.

"... I've never felt so good!"

Anastasia's face lit up with unbelievable joy. "My body doesn't feel a single ounce of pain! I'm not sleepy at all, and my body isn't weak; my arms and legs are supple, and there's no creaking or soreness when I walk. When I hug someone tightly, it doesn't feel like my body is about to snap... Is this what a healthy person's body is like? I had almost forgotten..."

As she spoke, the Rising Sun began to rise slowly from the sea in the direction she was gazing.

The moment Anastasia saw the sunrise, her eyes reddened and tears flowed involuntarily.

But Anastasia's face showed no sadness whatsoever; instead, it was filled with an incredibly bright and radiant smile.

She jumped and laughed, recounting her joy while she shed tears freely.

She didn't explain why she was crying, but instead stared intently at the rising Rising Sun with her misty eyes.

Grace gently reached out and wiped away her tears, whispering something to her.

Iver felt satisfied watching this scene.

Although he had used similar methods to save Earthbound Spirit before... that girl couldn't speak. Rationally, Iver knew she should be grateful to him, but not hearing her say those words still caused him some worry.

Now, Iver has once again reversed the "preordained tragedy".

Even in the game, it's a tragedy that "has happened before." Players aren't even given a chance to intervene.

He felt satisfied.

Anastasia's smile made Iver realize that his decision was correct.

Nothing can give a lost person more spiritual strength than this.

The Maxim then moved closer to Iver.

"Your Excellency the Archbishop."

He didn't say much, but silently knelt down solemnly before Iver: "Thank you."

He knelt on one knee, head bowed, right hand on his chest. A gesture he knew all too well.

In fact, the chivalric code of Avalon is inherited from this supreme rite of the Theocracy, known as the Sacrifice Ritual.

Its meaning is: I am willing to offer this to you—my heart.

Generally speaking, only the Pope Guard are required to perform this salute to the Pope; it is not mandatory in any other situation.

Unlike the knights' oath of loyalty, if the elves of the Theocracy were to do this, they would truly be able to cut open their own chests and remove their hearts at any time.

And Iver didn't exchange pleasantries or formalities.

To say "no need" or "no need" at such a time, to refuse Maxim's tribute... that would be a disgrace to Maxim's resolve. He is an adult elf, and must have done so after understanding the meaning of this action and making a firm decision.

So Iver solemnly reached out and placed his hand on the head of the Maxim.

"Please rise, Your Maxim."

As Iver spoke in a low voice, he channeled his magic to Illumination Spell Maxim's head.

This was also a reciprocal gesture of equal solemnity—he could use a full Illumination Spell from this position, and thus, he could use a damaging spell to instantly kill Maxim. Even for a superhuman, brain damage at this distance would be fatal. The fact that Iver did this meant he was indicating he wouldn't abuse Maxim's trust and respect to harm him.

This "Home Faction" elf family made Iver feel quite comfortable around them.

At least they weren't some kind of madmen... Iver, as a human, could understand their simple philosophy of helping others.

It seems I should make time to visit Cardinal Fafner.

Perhaps we should wait until he is promoted to Cardinal, then we'll have a good excuse to meet.

Iver thought to himself.

"Mr. Iver..."

At that moment, Yunus approached with some concern.

He solemnly took the harp and handed it to Iver: "This thing... you should keep it."