Chapter 458: The Birthplace
The sacred and majestic hall spread out in a circular pattern, with each hall adjacent to the next, sharing a long corridor. The walls on either side of the corridor were adorned with murals depicting ancient stories.
The general content illustrated the process of the ancient Sun God awakening and gradually reclaiming His authority, culminating in the eight Archangels surrounding the ancient Sun God.
For Audrey and Xio, such a scene was undoubtedly awe-inspiring.
The ancient Sun God was considered a Creator, a being of higher rank than the current true gods.
Although Klein had some knowledge of this part of history, it was the first time he saw it in such detail. This deepened his understanding of the eight Archangels.
Walking to the end of the corridor, there was no path forward.
In mid-air were eight palaces, each symbolizing something different, surrounding a central hall. It seemed as if a sun was emitting golden light from the center.
Hastur observed carefully and felt that this scene was not the actual residence of the ancient Sun God but a scaled-down version created by Ouroboros.
The real residence of the ancient Sun God was in the Giant King's Court in the Land Abandoned by God, and this place clearly had not entered that land.
Audrey and the others tried to approach, but an invisible barrier seemed to stop them from moving forward, leaving them to look up at the scene.
"How do we leave here?" Xio asked worriedly.
"Maybe we can find some clues from the murals."
Klein remembered that when the Little Sun and his group escaped, they succeeded by destroying the mural depicting the river of fate, which was connected end-to-end, and returned to the real world.
Before Klein could search for the river of fate left by Ouroboros on the mural, the murals on the walls suddenly disappeared.
The sun in the central hall rose abruptly and then exploded, with countless golden blood surging like a fierce tide!
Xio's face turned pale with fear, and there was nowhere for them to hide from the rushing tide.
Audrey instinctively clutched Hastur's sleeve, pressing closer to him. Klein frowned but relaxed when he saw Hastur remain calm.
"This is an image from the distant past, an illusion, and we are merely observers of history."
Hastur whispered softly, letting the golden tide wash over his body and spread further away.
"Is this how the Sea of Ruins was formed?" Klein pondered the key points.
"The day the ancient Sun God fell was the birth of the Sea of Ruins."
Hastur confirmed Klein's guess, his gaze fixed on the center of the shattered sun in the sky.
As the golden blood sprayed, it seemed a clear spring was forming there.
The Fountain of Youth?
A spring formed by the powerful life force of the ancient Sun God upon His fall.
Describing it merely as the Fountain of Youth was inaccurate; it should be called the Life Spring of the ancient Sun God.
Moreover, the process seemed overly simplified, clearly omitting some key parts by Ouroboros.
Perhaps this was why this place had been preserved until now.
If it truly involved matters related to the gods, it might have drawn their attention and led to its destruction.
Hastur and the others quietly observed the evolving scene, and a river of time appeared at their feet, continuously breaking and dissipating.
When the river of time completely dissipated, Hastur and the others returned to the black ruins.
They could no longer see the golden sun or the Fountain of Youth, only Ouroboros floating in mid-air with white wings spread.
"An angel!" Xio exclaimed excitedly, quickly covering her mouth with her hands, not daring to make another sound, her eyes exceptionally bright.
Audrey was also deeply shocked. Ouroboros looked exactly like the angel murals and sculptures depicted in the church.
A beautiful face, white wings, bare feet, a simple white robe, and a transcendent presence.
Holiness was born from their existence.
The Angel of Fate, Ouroboros!
This must be His true form, right?
Klein's heart trembled. This was a genuine Archangel, a true believer of the Creator, extremely dangerous.
As they scrutinized Ouroboros, His gaze also fell upon them, focusing on Hastur but finding nothing unusual.
He only saw that Hastur was a believer of the Stars, carrying their aura.
"Leave."
Ouroboros spoke lightly, not attacking.
This relieved Audrey and the others, as leaving alive was already a miracle.
"We are looking for the Fountain of Youth."
Hastur's words made their hearts race again. How could he speak to an angel like this? What if he angered the angel...
Ouroboros remained silent, drawing a silver river that separated Hastur and the others from the ruins.
When they realized it, they were already back on the ship, and the ruins had disappeared, let alone the Fountain of Youth.
However, Hastur had a new image in his mind, showing the missing part of the Fountain of Youth's birth process.
A lotus blooming in the mud, the true birthplace of the Fountain of Youth was the birthplace of the Creator!
The Creator gathered all the negative emotions from the ancient Sun God's fall—darkness, corruption, filth, and other vile descriptions.
The so-called Fountain of Youth was born in such an environment.
It had the flavor of Daoist philosophy, where extreme yin gives birth to yang.
A spring of hope in a land of despair, a holy place in a filthy land.
No wonder Ouroboros didn't want them to approach; it was the sacred place of the Creator in a certain sense.
Hastur smiled and said, "Let's return."
Audrey and the others nodded in agreement, letting the Fountain of Youth remain a legend.
Late at night, sitting in the ruins, reminiscing about the past, Ouroboros saw the Star Vessel appear before him.
"What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to see and remember the ancient Sun God."
Ouroboros said nothing more, remaining silent.
The Star Vessel also quietly observed the ruins.
As the sun began to drive away the night, Ouroboros reached into the river of time and flicked out five drops of golden water.
They were from the so-called Fountain of Youth.
"Do not disturb the peace of this place again."
"Only this once."
The Star Vessel turned into starlight and disappeared into the sunlight.
...
The return journey was swift. When the Hope docked at a nearby port, Klein disembarked, leaving behind an IOU for 1,000 gold pounds.
Seeing this, Audrey sincerely remarked, "Mr. World is truly poor."
Despite his mysterious strength and vast knowledge in the Tarot Club, in reality, he needed an IOU for 1,000 gold pounds.
If Mr. World had asked, she could have easily helped him pay it off.
Perhaps this was why Mr. World hid his identity; people don't like to show their vulnerable side to acquaintances.
To celebrate surviving an encounter with an angel, Xio offered to treat Hastur and the others to drinks at a port bar, but Fors and Audrey declined.
During their brief stay at the port, they heard many stories about the trio and their dog.
Audrey didn't want such tales, along with her image, to be spread back to Backlund.
To avoid this, she would erase the memories of pirates who saw her face.
Appearing publicly with Xio in the bar would surely get her recognized.
Fors shared this concern, as Xio was the most visible of the three.
Xio felt a bit disappointed, but when Hastur handed her a new bounty poster, she quieted down.
As the most visible member of the trio, Xio had a bounty of 2,000 gold pounds!
Such a bounty even tempted Fors, who looked at Xio suggestively, hinting she should sacrifice herself for her friends' happiness.
"Don't even think about it!"
Xio cut off Fors's thoughts.
Fors lamented, "It's rare to see you worth so much."
"..." Xio was silent for a while, then started grinding her teeth.
"Xio, I think you could help the Sage. She's planning to build a country, and you could easily become a noble, restoring your family's honor."
Fors quickly changed the topic to avoid Xio's wrath.
"Where I fell, I will rise again. I will make the Ruen royal family restore our family's honor!" Xio's voice rose.
Hearing about the Ruen royal family, Audrey glanced at Hastur.
Hastur just smiled back at Audrey without saying anything.
...
Puning Port, the Hope returned to its starting point.