"Archmistress!"
Faniel saw a beam of light and jolted awake from a black dream, eyes wide as she shouted.
What greeted her was not terrifying monsters or a blood-soaked, icy stone chamber, but a woman—a beautiful woman dressed in a gray gown.
She wore a gentle smile, with bright eyes like obsidian.
Her brown hair fell loosely, like a nymph from forest legends.
Yet after a closer look—at her fair, smooth skin and full cheeks—she seemed less like a young woman and more like a girl. Only her gaze was far too resolute and mature, enough to give anyone a mistaken first impression.
It was as if she had experienced every facet of life, known both the highest peaks and the lowest depths, and thus become mature, calm, like an old person who had seen through the mortal world.
Noticing that Faniel had awakened, the girl's eyes filled with deep apology. She withdrew the hand resting on Faniel's chest.
The warmth instantly vanished.
The wooden amulet on the girl's chest swayed gently in midair.
Carved into it—somewhat crudely—were a maiden, a pregnant woman, and an old crone: the Three Sacred Aspects of Melitele.
A priestess of the Goddess Melitele—
So it was Melitele's priestess who saved me?
"I'm sorry," the young priestess of Melitele said.
Why apologize? Faniel was confused.
"Faniel, it was my decision to have Priestess Lysa heal you and then awaken you ahead of time," Faniel heard Tissaia de Vries's voice beside her. "The loss of lifespan—I will compensate you with potions after the expedition."
Faniel immediately understood the source of the apology in the girl's eyes. She shook her head.
"You were doing the right thing. The drain divine arts place on a sorceress's vitality isn't as severe as you imagine. It's not worth a potion. I remember the legendary mage Aurora Hensen conducted in-depth research on this. She said that magical power and divine arts are energies of the same origin—heterogeneous states of chaotic magic—"
The rather surreal sight of a severely wounded patient suddenly lecturing her healer left Lysa looking slightly bewildered.
"All right, Faniel, now isn't the time for lectures. And Priestess Lysa isn't a student of Aretuza—" Tissaia de Vries interrupted helplessly, then apologized to Lysa. "Sorry, Priestess Lysa. Faniel is simply used to it—"
Besides being a powerful sorceress, Faniel was also Aretuza's vice Archmistress in charge of teaching. The Nature and Differentiation of Chaotic Magic: The Similarities and Differences Between Priestly Divine Power, Druidic Natural Power, and Sorcerous Magic was both her course content and her research focus.
Yes—occupational hazard.
Lysa gently shook her head. Since the awakening task was complete, she stepped away from the bedside.
However, as Aretuza had not asked her to leave, she did not exit the temporarily cleared ward. After checking on the other injured sorceresses one by one, she quietly remained in a corner, listening to the conversation between Tissaia de Vries and Faniel.
After giving Lysa a slight nod of apology, Tissaia de Vries quickly asked, "You're still badly injured. The awakening granted by divine art won't last long. Hurry and tell me—what happened to the survey team at Dol Dhu Lokke?
Wasn't this supposed to be a final confirmation, with no need to go deeper? Why did such an incident occur? What kind of monster was it?"
Reminded by Tissaia de Vries, the pain Faniel had momentarily ignored upon waking surged back all at once. A sharp agony shot through her back, making her mouth twitch—she nearly fainted again.
At the same time, her thoughts began to grow hazy. Afraid to waste any more time, she hurriedly said, "The day before yesterday, we didn't go deeper. We followed the plan and conducted a final route inspection."
"Then why did you encounter such a powerful monster?" Tissaia de Vries asked, puzzled. "The route designed by the survey team didn't go deep into Dol Dhu Lokke—it was only along the outer layer.
Although the expedition's objective is the sorcerers of Ban Ard and Rissberg Group's Civil Cooperative Organization, the survey team's target could never have been Ban Ard.
The team led by Faniel only needed to explore the outskirts of Dol Dhu Lokke.
Its task was to find locations suitable for establishing temporary outposts for the Sorcerers' Brotherhood's expeditionary force, so that once portals became difficult to use deeper inside Dol Dhu Lokke, supply lines would not be cut off.
Moreover—
Neither Tissaia de Vries nor the high-ranking mages of the Sorcerers' Brotherhood were ignorant of military matters.
The expeditionary force had not yet been integrated, nor was there time to integrate it.
A loose force with divergent agendas feared nothing more than being struck by a sudden blow right at the start of the expedition.
With some casualties, and with the exit still nearby, even a slightly serious ambush could cause an immediate rout—ending the expedition before it truly began.
Therefore,
In addition to identifying temporary outpost locations, the survey team's other responsibility was to clarify the distribution of monsters along the outer perimeter of Dol Dhu Lokke.
This was to prevent the expeditionary force from being attacked as soon as it entered Dol Dhu Lokke, ensuring that the danger level remained high but predictable—allowing the force to temper itself in real combat and become serviceable before pushing deeper inside.
Of course,
If Ban Ard's whereabouts could truly be discovered, that would be ideal—but the operation could not be conducted with that as its objective.
The supplies the survey team could carry were limited. Dol Dhu Lokke's terrain was rugged and difficult, with numerous powerful monster packs. A handful of sorceresses simply could not go very far.
Spatial fluctuations deep within Dol Dhu Lokke were extremely chaotic. Portals could not be used, and almost all existing long-range communication spells would fail.
Otherwise, there would be no need for Tissaia de Vries—Ortolan, Ban Ard, and a large number of male mages from Rissberg Group's Civil Cooperative Organization could have simply used portals to escape themselves.
What Tissaia de Vries dispatched was only a survey team. Naturally, intelligence feedback was required. Otherwise, with such bottomless investment, why use a survey team at all—why not launch the expedition directly?
Thus, the Sorcerers' Brotherhood's actual requirements for the survey team were not high.
And it was precisely because those requirements were low, yet the situation they encountered was so catastrophic, that Tissaia de Vries and the sorceresses of Aretuza were now so frantic.
Hearing this, Faniel hurriedly said, "Because Dol Dhu Lokke is changing."
"Changing?" Tissaia de Vries asked, confused.
"More precisely, the depths are expanding," Faniel said. Seeing everyone's confusion, she decided to start from the beginning. "When we first entered Dol Dhu Lokke, everything was normal. Following the designated route, it only took two days to cover half of it."
"But on the night of the fourth day—last night—an anomaly suddenly occurred—"
Faniel paused, organizing her thoughts. "That night, as on previous days, I sent a magical message to the outpost, then arranged the night watch and went to rest with the others."
"Then, late at night—before it was my turn to stand watch—it suddenly felt as if some invisible yet immense force swept across my perception, jolting me awake immediately."
"Invisible yet immense force? Was it that monster?" Tissaia de Vries pressed for details.
"No," Faniel shook her head. "I don't know what that monster was—I've never seen anything like it—but that force absolutely couldn't have been released by a single monster. It was a power on an entirely different level. It was like… it was like—"
She frowned deeply, thinking for a long time, then, as if afraid of disturbing something, said softly,
"It was like the world was breathing—"
The "ward" fell instantly silent at those words.
Lysa shuddered violently, as if she had seen a ferocious specter suddenly rise above Dol Dhu Lokke.
The world was breathing—what kind of terrifying phrasing was that? Was the world itself some kind of living being?
Tissaia de Vries glanced at Lysa, then withdrew her gaze and looked back at Faniel.
"What does that mean?"
"I can't explain it," Faniel said. "But that's what the sensation from my perception told me."
Tissaia de Vries fell silent for a few seconds, deep in thought.
She did not believe that Faniel was lying to shirk responsibility.
Not only because Faniel was the vice-rector of Aretuza, one of the very few people on the Northern Continent she truly trusted, but also because Faniel herself was not merely a high-ranking sorceress—in terms of raw power, among all of Aretuza, only Tissaia as rector surpassed her.
And also because Faniel was one of the rare sorceresses on the Northern Continent who possessed the gift of prophecy.
Ban Ard's presence deep within Dol Dhu Lokke had been divined by Faniel.
Although "the world is breathing" sounded abstract, Faniel would not be wrong about something like this.
Tissaia de Vries considered it for a moment, did not speak immediately, but nodded, signaling Faniel to continue.
Faniel took a deep breath and went on:
"After I woke up, I initially thought a powerful monster had attacked the camp, so I immediately woke the others."
"But after waiting for a long time, no monsters emerged from the darkness."
"I almost thought it was just a nightmare, or some kind of illusion—until—"
Fear trembled in Faniel's azure pupils as she stared into the empty space behind Tissaia de Vries, as if she had returned to that morning.
"Until the morning sunlight pierced through the thick white mist in the mountains, and I saw that a cedar tree marked with a symbol—one that should have been only three steps away from our tent—had suddenly vanished. Instead, a cedar tree with the same mark appeared a hundred meters away—"
"It was as if, in the middle of the night, a giant had quietly moved it while everyone was completely unaware."
"When I looked around again, all the trees and vegetation were farther away than before, and the distances between them had increased significantly."
"The other members and I were terrified. When we finally came to our senses, I immediately tried to send a magical message to the outpost, but—"
"It failed?" Tissaia de Vries' expression turned grave beyond anything before.
Faniel nodded. "Then we were attacked. First, a group of Endrega workers burrowed out of the soil from nowhere. We were able to handle them, but the changes in Dol Dhu Lokke and the failure of magical communication threw us into panic."
"So we retreated, following the planned route."
"After that, we encountered a group of nekkers. I tried to open a portal, and that failed as well."
"However, the farther back we ran, the smaller the changes in Dol Dhu Lokke became, and we managed to shake off both the nekkers and the andrega workers."
"But just as we relaxed a little, a monster suddenly ambushed us from the shadows—a creature floating in midair, with no legs, only two sharp claws, and a single grotesque eye atop its head, as large as a small mountain."
"The wounds on my body were left by it."
"After that, we don't know how far we fled. As soon as I sensed the spatial fluctuations stabilize, I immediately opened a portal. What happened after that, you already know—"
When Faniel finished speaking, the sickroom fell silent once more.
It was hard to describe the feeling, but the deeper one went into Dol Dhu Lokke, the more violently it changed, leading everyone in the room to a horrifying association—
Dol Dhu Lokke was growing.
A valley that should have been lifeless was growing like some living thing.
Not only Lysa, pale with terror, and the other sorceresses of Aretuza in the room—even Tissaia de Vries felt her scalp go numb, a chill seeping from her tailbone straight up to her head.
But immediately afterward, the rector of Aretuza and chairwoman of the Supreme Council displayed the composure befitting the strongest sorceress on the Northern Continent.
With a sweep of her right hand, the door and the windows left open for ventilation slammed shut. At the same time, the surrounding walls were enveloped in pale red soundproofing barriers. Several sheets of parchment and ink-stained quills appeared out of thin air, and Tissaia de Vries suddenly turned around, staring at the others in the room as she barked in a voice so sharp it nearly cracked: "Sign these contracts!"
Lysa instinctively caught the parchment that flew toward her. Seeing that the contract only required confidentiality regarding what had just been discussed, she immediately signed her name with the quill.
She knew she had no choice.
"Whoosh—"
The signed parchments ignited in midair, each flaring with dazzling crimson magical light.
Only then did Tissaia de Vries let out a breath, and she apologized to Lysa, the only outsider in the room.
"I'm sorry. I had to do this."
Lysa merely shook her head lightly.
Tissaia de Vries said nothing more, but she knew she now owed the girl before her a favor—a tremendous favor, worth half of the Sorcerers' Brotherhood.
Tissaia de Vries turned back and asked Faniel for more details. When all her questions had been answered and the effects of the divine miracle gradually faded, Faniel could no longer resist the exhaustion brought on by severe injuries and blood loss, and finally fell into a deep sleep.
The "sickroom" remained quiet for a while longer.
Tissaia de Vries was deep in thought, yet the sealing of the windows and door was not lifted.
The terrifying changes in Dol Dhu Lokke were not something that could be figured out in a short time. After her expression shifted back and forth for a while, Tissaia de Vries noticed that Lysa was still standing in the corner.
She thought for a moment and said, "Regarding the use of divine miracles, I will plead your case with Arch Priestess Ianna."
Tissaia de Vries knew that violating the precepts without authorization carried severe punishment, and she also knew that Lysa, who was capable of using divine miracles, could not possibly conceal it.
"There's no need, Lady Tissaia," Lysa said expressionlessly. "I made a mistake. I should accept the punishment."
Tissaia de Vries frowned. "You did not make a mistake. If not for you, the expedition into Dol Dhu Lokke would have suffered catastrophic losses."
Lysa shook her head and said nothing.
Seeing her insistence, Tissaia de Vries could only ask again, "Then what do you want? Anything at all. Any request. Aretuza repays its debts."
"I don't need anything," Lysa shook her head once more, clearly prepared, then pleaded humbly, "I only hope Lady Tissaia can help me with one thing—"
"What is it?"
"Help me protect someone. A witcher—"
........