Chương 8: A Crystal Throne
No longer floating in the center of the bathing pool, An Fei found herself in a crystal throne room.
The walls, the floor, even the ceiling was made of a translucent, sky blue crystal that pulsed with a soft glow. The entire room was massive, and she estimated it to be thirty meters in width and height, and a hundred meters in length.
However, what irked her curiosity was that she couldn't find a single light source, yet the entire room was alight with a dim, comfortable golden glow.
No torches, no chandeliers, no braziers releasing light, nothing. Her gaze scanning the entire throne room, An Fei inadvertently looked downwards, her eyelashes fluttering in surprise.
"Oh…"
The ground was the source of the room's illumination. More specifically, the ground where her body lay slumped was awash with the soft golden light.
When An Fei reached out and tapped the crystal floor with her index finger, the sky blue crystal warmed to the touch, eliciting a soft sigh of comfort from the girl. As she continued staring at where her finger touched the ground, she found the frequency of the crystal's pulsing increase drastically, gradually transforming into the golden light.
Squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head twice, An Fei slowly rose into an unstable standing position, opening her eyes only when she found herself sufficiently rooted to the ground.
Quietly grumbling to herself about her now deficient physical ability, she craned her neck as she properly surveyed the throne room, more particularly, the actual throne itself.
The throne was similarly of the sky blue crystal, and An Fei could only call it quite an uncomfortable chair from a single glance. Other than multiple inscriptions racing throughout the length of the seat and arms of the throne, she couldn't find anything relatively spectacular.
Raising her gaze upwards, she could see that the inscriptions extended towards the ceiling, crisscrossing across the entire roof of the throne room. The weird markings were similar to the circuit boards that she had seen inside computer chips in the previous world, branching out into subsidiary segments that continued the process. Only, what did they entail?
Tentatively walking over to the crystal seat, An Fei stroked the smooth surface, watching the crystal pulsate and transform into the golden light she had previously seen. It was just that this time, the girl was taken aback in surprise.
"Huh…a box?"
Right before the soft glow appeared before her eyes, the surface of the armrest split apart, revealing a wooden box held within. Reaching with both hands to extricate the box to inspect it, An Fei discovered that the box was of blackwood, intricate carvings of leaves decorating the sides.
"…my heart…"
For an unknown reason, An Fei could feel a bitter sourness filling her nose as she stared at the box, her heartbeat beginning to accelerate. Raising her right hand to the rectangular box's lid, she opened it with trembling fingers.
When the contents were finally revealed, she discovered her vision threatening to mist over.
Held within was a letter, and an aged book underneath.
Picking up the letter and unfolding the creased paper, the girl finally broke into tears upon seeing the familiar handwriting. The rigid brushstrokes, each emitting a dull straightforward character with a hidden elegance, were once again burned into her memory.
As she stared at the letter, An Fei could envision memories of her past, the sacred and happy times she cherished with her might.
"By the time you read…this…I will have long since perished," she read amongst choked sobs, her voice threatening to break.
"Xiang Yang has lived…a fulfilling life…one of eternal memories, sorrows…and joys. The <Sanctum of Eternity>…I…pass to you…Take good care of your health…and don't wallow…in sorrow. The heart of the <Eternal Sanctum>…is underneath."
Picking up the book, An Fei continued to read the letter, tears dripping onto the writing. As she read, the book held in her right hand seemed to become heavier, then lighter.
"<Eternal Sanctum>…is for those with a weak body…to repair the overabundance of Yin. To prepare for your arrival…I searched for a compatible…shell to house your soul, but…deficits couldn't be avoided. Practice the <Eternal Sanctum> well and live…my Fei'er…Xiang Yang's granddaughter…Signed, Protector Xiang…"
Carefully folding the letter and clutching it and the book to her chest, An Fei dropped to her knees as she sobbed.
As if responding to her cries, the pulsing within the crystals flickered and increased in intensity, as if reaching to comfort the grieving girl.
-
"Grandfather…"
Rubbing her now puffy eyes, An Fei slotted the letter back into the wooden box, keeping the book. Watching the box sink into the compartment within the right armrest, she dropped into a full bow, quietly sniffling as the separated sides of the armrest conjoined.
Sinking into the seat of the throne, she scrutinized the book in her hands, wondering what exactly was special about the book.
The book was thin, containing less than a hundred snow-white pages. The cover was a dull black and lacked a title, much less any embellishing features. Arranging her posture into a more comfortable one, she opened the book, reading the first page.
"The <Sanctum of Eternity> is an adjunct unit of the Fields of Asphodel…the owner manages the transfer of energy as per the Tianzun's requests. An eternal solace, an exile of paradise, the Sanctum houses all…time? The Executor of Elysium…argh!"
Shaking her head in frustration, An Fei jumped from the throne seat, tossing the book onto the ground. As it contacted the ground, the crystal pulsated at an irregular pace, resulting in a violet glow.
Noticing the irregularity, she carefully walked down the steps, picking up the overturned book and patting the cover. Inspecting to ensure the lack of damage, her gaze flitted across the words again, causing her to nearly bite her tongue from the bubbling frustration.
"What Field of Asphodel, what Tianzun? An eternal solace, an exile of paradise, isn't this practically nonsense!? You expect me to believe this mystical crap, that's almost the same as immortals truly existing! Such unscientific nonsense, don't tell me this is what grandfather…"
Her outburst trailing off, An Fei knit her brows as a thought crossed her mind. Inadvertently, her gaze trailed down towards her naked body, the breathtaking features reminding her once again.
"Supernatural phenomenon…this is just a prank, right? Please tell me this is simply a rotten joke…"
Her left hand curling into a fist as her arm shook in anger, fear, and trepidation, An Fei repeatedly told herself to calm down as she glared at the opened book in her hand. Ignoring the contents on the first page and directly skipping to the next, she began to read while deeply hoping not to be disappointed.
"The Sanctum operates in four stages: auxiliary, normal, accelerated, and critical stages. When not commanded, it will remain in the auxiliary configuration with minimal functions…? Visual or verbal invocation is required to switch between configurations…this has better not be another joke, right?"
Resist! Resist!
An Fei nibbled on her lower lip as she struggled to not succumb to her urge and throw the book onto the ground and stomp on it a few times. Staring at the crystalline ceiling and immersing herself in the warm, comfortable atmosphere of the throne room, she breathed deeply for a few moments until clarity trickled back.
After a few moments of intensive pondering, the girl's delicate mouth opened, the soft voice tinged with embarrassment as it resounded in the room.
"Enable…normal…configuration."
Rumble!
A harsh vibration reverberated in the throne room, knocking An Fei onto the ground. Groaning in pain while rubbing her sore body, she curled into a fetal position, her body lacking the ability to amply withstand the vibrations.
When the quaking had finally stopped, she furtively raised her head to survey the room.
She suddenly couldn't find it in herself to say anything anymore.
The throne room had changed, with several gates installed every few meters on each side of the walls. The gates were of a black metal, and An Fei could see obscure engravings of symbols above each gate.
With a heavy sigh, she crawled towards the book laying nearby, giving it an emphatic glance before picking it up. Holding the book close, she sat on the ground in a daze, wondering what to do next.
If the nonsense actually manifested a result, then she could only grit her teeth and bear with it.
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