“Since you have already met Ignis, how is he… now?”
Jörð’s gentle voice pulled everyone back from their thoughts.
But only Starlight, who had truly seen Ignis for the last time, could explain this clearly.
Starlight took a deep breath and began to recount their experience in detail—from the battle with the Stone Trolls to the moment he and Stark were taken to the snowy peak by Ignis, and the cryptic, fragmented words Ignis had spoken.
When he mentioned the “Judge,” Jörð’s expression changed visibly.
“The Judge… how could it be…” For the first time, the Earth Goddess’s voice trembled. She unconsciously gripped her skirt, her knuckles turning white from the strain. “Tell me, what happened to Ignis in the end?”
“I don’t know… After he disappeared into the thunderclouds, his aura vanished completely…” Starlight paused, looking at Jörð, unsure of how to continue.
Jörð tilted her head back, her crystalline eyelashes fluttering slightly. The entire space fluctuated violently once more with her emotions, the surrounding ice walls melting and refreezing in cycles.
A long time later, when she lowered her gaze again, her face had regained its calm. However, a look familiar to Starlight lingered in the depths of her eyes—it was the same mixture of resolve and sorrow that had flashed in Ignis’s eyes when he spoke of “Fate.”
“As expected… even that stubborn fellow couldn’t escape it… Then what was the point of our existence all along?”
Jörð’s murmur seemed to carry the weight of countless ages, making the hearts of the four companions feel heavy.
Starlight opened his mouth to speak but didn’t know where to start. The secrets of the gods, the so-called Judge, Ignis’s whereabouts… every question felt as heavy as a mountain.
The chamber fell silent once more, leaving only the sound of their soft breathing.
Finally, Jörð was the first to break the silence.
“Enough.” She suddenly looked up, the confusion in her eyes swept away. “Since fate has guided you here, I shall make an exception and answer one question for each of you. But be quick—I can feel that ‘they’ have already noticed this place.”
Speaking of questions, Starlight reacted immediately. They had come on this journey specifically to find answers.
If even a deity could not resolve his doubts, then perhaps no one else in this world could.
Thinking of this, he immediately untied the sleeping Noah from his waist and asked softly, “My question is… how can I restore my friend to normal?”
Jörð walked forward gracefully and took 《The Great Journey of Carlos》 from Starlight’s hands.
As her slender fingers touched the cover, her crystal-like nails brushed against the leather, sparking a trail of tiny glimmers.
She let out a soft “Oh?” and held the book close to her ear, as if listening to a sound undetectable to ordinary people.
“There is a soul sealed within… no, is it half of one? This technique feels somewhat familiar… I can feel that his life force hasn’t dissipated; it has simply been shielded.”
“Hmm, as expected… the energy of the Stone of Creation has been drained. It looks like Ignis’s handiwork… To restore him, you only need to replenish it with enough Power of Creation.”
“Stone of Creation? Power of Creation?” Starlight repeated the unfamiliar terms in confusion. “What are those?”
But Jörð wagged a finger at him. “That is already a second question~”
“We’ve made up our minds. Please tell us, what are the Stone of Creation and the Power of Creation?” Before Starlight could respond, Stark spoke up eagerly.
At this point, he couldn’t care less about etiquette. Excitedly, he pulled out the pendant from his chest and held it high before the goddess’s eyes.
“Oh? So soon?” Jörð raised an eyebrow, appearing slightly surprised, but she continued to explain. “I assume you have already witnessed Transcendent Power—Destruction?”
“The opposite of Destruction is, naturally, Creation, the second Transcendent Power. The gemstone on this book and that pendant of yours are containers for the Power of Creation—the Stones of Creation.”
“These two powers are things even most deities cannot master. I truly did not expect them to appear on the same human…” Jörð said, placing her palm over her rose-red eye.
With an elegant wave of her hand, a faint, shimmering rose-red light was drawn out from her eye.
Starlight quickly looked at the power in her hand. Although it was also a Transcendent Power, unlike the “Destruction” he wielded, he could sense nothing from “Creation.”
If not for the goddess’s words, he wouldn’t even believe such a power truly existed.
“Strange, isn’t it?” Jörð also looked down at the light dancing in her palm. “Destruction roars to announce its presence, but Creation… is always silent like this.”
Then, she suddenly clenched her fist, and the green light transformed into countless specks that sank into the gemstone on the cover of 《The Great Journey of Carlos》. “But it is precisely this power that shaped the forms of ten thousand worlds.”
“Considering the current situation, I cannot expend too much ‘Creation’ to wake your friend. However, I have planted a seed within his soul. As long as you continue to guide it, his awakening is only a matter of time.”
Hearing the Earth Goddess’s explanation, both Starlight and Stark fell silent, both working hard to digest the information.
“Then the third question… may I ask it?” Maela stepped forward and spoke up.
“Of course, child. Go ahead.”
“You mentioned earlier that my power shares the same source as yours? Then how should I continue to improve? Since my teacher passed away, I feel like I can no longer find an opportunity to progress further within the dwarf race…”
“Hehe, finally a simpler question. The nature of our powers is indeed very similar.” A smile appeared on Jörð’s face. “You had a good teacher; it’s just that a mortal body ultimately finds it difficult to touch the essence of divine power.”
“Since we have met, I will impart some insights to you. As for how much you can understand, that will depend on your own fortune.”
With that, Jörð flicked her finger, and a brilliant speck of light instantly sank into Maela’s forehead, leaving a gem-like mark behind.
Starlight was all too familiar with this sight—it was an elemental mark.
Unlike the pitch-black tattoo Noah had extracted from Taros, this mark was composed entirely of pure crystal, with a myriad of prism-like colors flowing within.
Having experienced it himself, he knew exactly how valuable this gift was. It was equivalent to opening a fast track to the Saint Rank for Maela, and perhaps even further.
Feeling the warmth and the profound, mystical sensation emanating from her forehead, Maela hastily gave Jörð a deep bow, then closed her eyes to savor the mysteries within.
After answering three questions, Jörð’s gaze finally landed on Po Kong, a hint of playfulness flashing in her eyes.
“How surprising. You actually managed to hold back from asking until the very end… You are quite different from that hot-headed ancestor of yours.”
Po Kong scratched the back of his head helplessly and whispered, “Is that so? Was my ancestor that kind of person?”
“Oh?” Jörð suddenly leaned in, a cunning light shimmering in her heterochromatic eyes. “It seems… you want to ask about that fellow Mars? This is the last question, you know~”
“Eh? No, no, no!” Po Kong waved his hands repeatedly. “I’m not interested in what kind of person my ancestor was, and honestly, I don’t really have any questions I want to ask…”
“Uh… how about this: could you explain to us what exactly this ‘Judge’ is? For a deity to be so wary of it… it must be some kind of super powerhouse, right? I wonder if I’ll ever get the chance to fight him in this lifetime~”
As his words fell, Jörð’s smile suddenly froze on her face. She clearly had not expected Po Kong to ask such a question.
“This is not something you should concern yourself with. Sometimes, knowing too much is not a good thing…” Mid-sentence, a look of struggle appeared on Jörð’s face, and she sighed softly. “As expected… you are exactly like the Mars of back then.”
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