When the two emerged from the Night Kingdom, it was already past noon.
The portal closed behind them, and the patterns on the stone tablet dimmed.
Lin En squinted to adjust to the glaring sunlight.
Before I could even stretch, I saw Mavuika leaning against the stone tablet, arms crossed, as if she had been waiting for a long time.
What did you do in the Night Kingdom?
Mavuika's gaze swept from Ronava's face to Lin En's face, and then back again.
"I felt the Ley Lines tremble twice even outside."
Ronava walked past Mavuika sideways.
"Work."
"Stop!"
Mavuika stepped to the side, blocking Ronava's path, and raised her arm horizontally.
" The Ley Lines are causing such a huge commotion, and you're telling me it's 'doing business'?"
Ronava looked at her, her golden eyes calm and undisturbed.
What do you want to know?
What exactly happened inside? Did you touch the Celestial Nail?
"I didn't touch it."
Ronava spoke frankly, but didn't mention what happened inside.
" The Celestial Nail was tampered with; I didn't touch it."
Mavuika frowned and spoke with a hint of disbelief.
"You didn't touch it? The Celestial Nail has been tampered with?"
" Natlan's Celestial Nail didn't have much power to begin with."
Ronava interrupted her.
"Most of it was lost over the past few centuries. Asmoday installed a device there; the vibrations you felt were caused by her, not me."
Mavuika stared at her suspiciously, then looked at Lin En.
Is she telling the truth?
Lin En nodded quickly.
"It's true. Asmoday came, exchanged a few blows with Ronava, and then left. She set up the device; it had nothing to do with Ronava."
Mavuika remained silent for a few seconds, crossing her arms over her chest. She thought that if it really was the Ruler of Space, then with the current strength of the Ruler of Death, it seemed that they indeed couldn't touch the Celestial Nail.
Lin En could tell she was weighing her options; on one hand, she didn't believe Ronava would be so honest, but on the other hand, the facts matched.
What does the Asmoday device do?
Mavuika withdrew her arm, but she hadn't moved aside yet.
No comment.
Ronava said, walking toward the side of Mavuika, and Lin En followed.
"However, Phanes is in trouble. You can look it up yourself; I have no obligation to explain it to you."
She said this before she left.
Mavuika's temper flared up again, and she opened her mouth to say something, Lin En quickly interrupted.
" Pyro Archon Vulcan, we're in a hurry to get back; it's urgent. We really haven't hidden anything from you about the Celestial Nail."
Mavuika looked at him, then at Ronava, and finally let out a heavy sigh before stepping aside.
"Okay, but if anything happens to Natlan, I'll contact you."
"What ever."
Ronava walked away without looking back.
The two walked along the path on the outskirts of the settlement for quite a while, until the stone house of the Children of Echoes became a small dot in the distance behind them, Ronava slowed down.
Lin En followed beside her, going over what had just happened in her mind twice, and the more she thought about it, the more something seemed off.
" Ronava."
"Um."
"What exactly is that Asmoday device for? You say it defies the Heavenly Principles, but the Ley Lines shook; it can't be that simple, can it?"
Ronava didn't answer immediately. She walked a short distance, glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, and then lowered her voice.
"She did this to destroy the Natlan Ley Lines and unleash the Abyss."
Lin En paused, nearly tripping over himself.
"What?"
"The device Asmoday deployed was essentially a giant bomb."
Ronava spoke calmly, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her.
"Once activated, the Natlan Ley Lines will be destroyed, and the Abyss beneath will surge forth through the cracks."
Lin En's mind was buzzing.
"Release the Abyss? Natlan will be in chaos now?"
"It will cause chaos."
Ronava nodded.
"Once the Abyss surged forth, Natlan's tribe couldn't withstand it. Even the mighty Mavuika was only one person; she couldn't withstand the impact of the entire Abyss."
"Then why?"
"In order to lure out Phanes."
"Once the Abyss erupts on a large scale in Natlan, Phanes won't stand idly by. She'll either send down Celestial Nail or intervene personally. Either way, Natlan will be wiped off the map."
Lin En opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word for a long time. Destroying Natlan just to lure out Phanes? What kind of plan was that?
"Wasn't Asmoday's aim to confront Phanes head-on?"
He analyzed slowly.
She's setting a trap.
"Yes, it seems you're not so stupid after all."
Ronava gave her approval and continued walking.
"She said it was to fight against Phanes, but that's a lie. How could she possibly defeat her? Setting up that device was to release the Abyss, to allow Phanes to unleash the Celestial Nail. Once the Celestial Nail falls, Natlan will be finished, Phanes ' power will be further depleted."
"Then why doesn't she destroy us?"
Lin En caught up with him and continued speaking.
"She could easily wipe us out to prevent the news from leaking out."
"Because I pose no threat to her now, and perhaps I can even create value for her later."
Ronava said.
"I touched the device; I know its structure inside perfectly well. She can't hide it from me. The reason she didn't kill us is because there are still opportunities for cooperation later. Also, her advice to take you away from here was genuine; she truly didn't want us to get involved."
Lin En's mind raced, while Phanes was preoccupied with his own problems, the Abyss seized the opportunity to expand, and the Space Ruler stirred up trouble in the middle.
If Natlan was indeed swept away by the Abyss, Phanes was forced to unleash the Celestial Nail, what would happen next?
There should still be some time.
Ronava seemed to have read his mind.
"They should be waiting for the God of Cryo to make the first move, to let her eliminate the Life Ruler and the Time Ruler, and then detonate the Celestial Nail. The God of Cryo will naturally clash with Phanes, and at least one of them will fall. When they are both severely injured, it will be the perfect time for them to reap the rewards."
Lin En thought about it for a moment, then suddenly realized something was wrong.
"Wait a minute, didn't you say their chances of winning against Phanes were only 10%? Why would they take this risk?"
"This is not an adventure."
Ronava glanced at him sideways.
"Both the God of Cryo and Phanes must perish; whichever one it is, it will be advantageous for them."
Upon careful consideration, Lin En realized it was true: the God of Cryo had won, Phanes had died, and the system of Heavenly Principles had collapsed.
Phanes won, the God of Cryo died, and the Heavenly Principles were exhausted. They didn't lose out, or rather, they didn't care who won. They only cared that both sides were badly injured.
But this would destroy the entire Natlan, is it really worth it? Lin En asked, thinking about this.
"So what do we do?"
"Let's wait and see. This whole situation is actually beneficial to us. As for the Natlan people, let's see what fate has in store for them. With my current strength, I'll have a hard time protecting myself, let alone helping them."
Ronava replied that she had lost her powers and her strength had not fully recovered, so it was best not to take sides at this time.
Lin En nodded. Indeed, after all, they had already told Mavuika about the Celestial Nail, which was more than enough.
"No matter what you choose, I will follow you."