Villanette's Insight and Revelation
The interior of Villanette's stone hut, in stark contrast to its humble exterior, was not ostentatious or gilded. The space was unusually expansive, as if expanded by some spatial magic. The walls, floor, and dome were all made of smooth, mirror-like dark stone, with countless fine, ever-changing silver threads flowing across them, outlining complex star charts and wind trajectories. A soft, milky white light from an unknown source filled the area, and the air was permeated with a clear, soul-cleansing scent, forming a sharp contrast to the eternal storm raging outside. A few simple pieces of furniture—a stone table, several stone chairs, and a bookshelf that seemed naturally formed from crystal clusters—dotted the space, yet they emanated an ancient and restrained energy fluctuation.
As everyone stepped in one by one, they felt a clarity in their minds, and the fatigue from days of battles and tense nerves eased somewhat. Villanette gestured for them to sit casually, while she stood elegantly in the center, her inky black six wings naturally folded, like a deep night curtain falling.
"Sit, adventurers from afar." Her voice was still gentle, yet carried a penetrating insight that saw through everything. "The war at Light Feather Dome, the invasion of Doomsday Rebirth, the casualties of the Wing Clan, Celestia's struggles... The wind brings messages, and the stars reflect trajectories. I already know your intentions."
Her gaze first fell on Fa, her ice-blue eyes seeming to pierce through the soul: "First, it's about the 'Starfall Lands.'" She paused, her tone carrying a hint of admonition, "That place is the core site where the Heart of Stars shattered, a ultimate wasteland cursed by violent energy, deadly toxic mists, and twisted laws. The alien beasts entrenched there have long been corrupted and mutated by the remnants of the stars' power, their ferocity far beyond your imagination. Venturing there rashly is no different from suicide." Her words echoed Landis's warnings exactly, yet added an undeniable authority. "Without the complete recognition and guidance from the five inheritors, stepping into the Starfall Lands will only result in being devoured by that absolute domain."
Fa nodded, already mentally prepared for this: "We understand, so we're seeking the inheritors."
Villanette's gaze swept over the faint glow emanating from Fa's chest: "Second, it's the Star Shards." She curved her lips slightly, revealing a nearly mocking arc, "It seems that old lizard (Saladin) and that old turtle (Landis) didn't tell you the complete truth?"
Fa was stunned: "The complete truth?"
Villanette let out a light hum: "They only told you that collecting the twelve shards could reforge the Heart of Stars, granting power to change the world. But they didn't tell you that each of these twelve shards contains a portion of the Heart of Stars' 'essential attributes.' They are not mere energy crystals, but 'keys' that carry the foundational laws constituting the world's bedrock."
Everyone's faces showed shock upon hearing this. This information was far more core than they had imagined.
Villanette looked at Fa: "Take out the Star Shards you've collected."
Fa complied, carefully retrieving five shards of varying shapes, each emitting different halos, from her inner pocket. They floated above Fa's palm, seemingly generating faint gravitational pulls between them, their glows intermingling:
"The twelve shards correspond to twelve primal attributes: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Ice, Thunder, Wind, Illusion, Poison, as well as Light and Dark." Villanette's voice was like proclaiming the universe's laws, "Only by collecting all can one truly touch the core mysteries of the Heart of Stars, rather than just immense energy. What the Doomsday Rebirth organization covets is precisely this power capable of rewriting the world's laws."
She pointed at the shards in Fa's hand: "However, the attribute powers contained in the shards are, before they are all collected, just some 'glowing stones' to others." Her gaze locked onto Fa's right eye again, "But you are different, Fa. You possess the 'Star Eye,' the mark of recognition from the stellar origin. You can sense, communicate with, and even initially guide the law powers deep within the shards, to 'experience' their respective attribute essences and fully master them."
Fa's heart suddenly cleared, finally understanding the deeper meaning of the Star Shards, and why Doomsday Rebirth was so obsessed. This was not just power, but the authority to control the world's rules!
"So that's it..." Yuyuer suddenly realized, then looked at Villanette with some worry, "Lady Villanette, my master is the Rage Tide Shell Emperor Landis, who taught me water-based magic... Does this count as 'interference'? Will it bring bad influences?" He was concerned about taboos among inheritors.
Villanette's gaze swept over Yuyuer, carrying a hint of understanding: "No wonder I sense that old turtle's aura on you. It's fine." She casually waved her hand, and a gentle breeze brushed over Yuyuer, making him feel relaxed. "Inheritors imparting knowledge and guiding paths, as long as they don't directly intervene in changing the world's major trends or key weaknesses, and don't violate the core mission of 'observing and guarding the Star Eye,' it's not overstepping. Teaching magic and enlightening wisdom is inherently part of inheritance." Her words lifted the heavy stone from Yuyuer's heart.
Questions and the Inheritors' Stance
Celestia had been silently listening all along, and at this moment, she could no longer suppress the turmoil in her heart and a trace of resentment from being ignored. She raised her head, her voice slightly hoarse from emotion: "Lady Villanette! Since you know everything that happened at Light Feather Dome, know the Doomsday Rebirth organization's conspiracy, know the sins I've committed... Degeneration and slaughter! With your power, a snap of your fingers could instantly wipe out those twisted monsters, along with the blinded me! Countless lives wouldn't have perished, and the dome wouldn't have suffered such humiliation! Why... why did you choose to stand by and watch? Watching your own clansmen bleed, watching your homeland be trampled!" Her question carried grief and anger, her voice trembling with agitation, and the sealing shackles on her wrists made faint clinking sounds.
Villanette calmly met Celestia's gaze filled with pain and questioning, her ice-blue eyes deep as an abyss, without the slightest ripple.
"Inheritors are not nannies of this world; we guard the trajectories of the stars and the growth of the Star Eye, maintaining the delicate balance of the world's laws, not the rise and fall of a certain race or the fate of an individual." Her voice was indifferent, yet carried a desolate overlook of all beings, "The world is like tides, civilizations like sandcastles. They rise, fall, and cycle endlessly. Even if the entire Light Feather Dome falls and the Wing Clan is exterminated, new orders will eventually emerge from the ruins. This is the eternal law of the universe."
Her words were coldly cruel, yet carried an irrefutable truth.
"Our duty is to ensure the Heart of Stars doesn't fall into hands that would completely overturn the foundational laws, leading to the zeroing of all things; to ensure the 'key' with the Star Eye doesn't lose control during growth and become a new source of calamity. As for the wars, slaughters, betrayals, and redemptions in between..." Villanette's gaze swept over Celestia, then over Fa and the others, "Those are your own paths, inevitable threads on the web of fate. Interference would only make the trajectories more chaotic, possibly even prematurely drawing 'gazes' that even we cannot foresee." The hidden meaning in her words sent chills down spines.
Celestia was struck as if by lightning, her face pale. Villanette's answer was cold and despairing, completely shattering her last fantasy that a "higher existence" would uphold justice. All the sins and pains ultimately had to be borne by herself.
Villanette no longer looked at her, her gaze returning to Fa with a hint of scrutiny: "Fa, you've already obtained recognition from the Sage of Sands and the Rage Tide Shell Emperor, and now the Star Eye has guided you to me. The strings of fate have been plucked." She spoke slowly, her voice carrying a peculiar rhythm, "So, are you willing, here and now, to accept my inheritance? To receive the baptism of the 'Wind Origin' and the 'True Essence of Light'?"
The air seemed to freeze. A direct invitation from an inheritor! This was far more formal and profound than the recognitions from Saladin and Landis! Arya nervously gripped Fa's hand, and the others held their breath.
Fa took a deep breath, the Star Eye in her right eye flowing with dim light, sensing the vast, star-sea-like yet sharp-as-wind-blade aura from Villanette, and the burning resonance from the inheritor's stone in her chest. Without hesitation, she met Villanette's gaze firmly:
"I am willing."
In Villanette's ice-blue eyes, a starlight seemed to flash by. She nodded slightly: "Good." The edges of Villanette's inky six wings rippled with dark light like water waves, "The path of inheritance begins with tempering. You nine," her gaze swept over Fa, Arya, TISK, Salsa, Kayla, Yuyuer, Zhamisi, Lin Ya, Rex, "will welcome the first trial with actual combat." The wall of the stone hut facing the platform slid open silently, and the biting cold wind along with the violent aura of nine Frost Roar Gryphons surged in instantly. The leading golden-patterned gryphon leader's amber vertical pupils locked onto the group, emitting a threatening low growl from its throat.
"They are your opponents. One-on-one, victory, or prove your qualifications under their sharp claws and cold breaths." Villanette's voice carried an undeniable authority.
Then, she looked at Celestia: "As for you, fallen angel. I already know of your battles." In the inheritor's eyes, invisible data streams seemed to flash, instantly analyzing Celestia's past battle images—that frenzied charge relying on four-wing speed, mixed with wind blade thunderstorms for blanket bombardment, interspersed with large-scale mental shocks for control, and deadly pierces with shadow energy spears.
"Wind's speed, limited to brute charges; Thunder's explosions, scattered and unfocused; Mental shrieks, wasteful of mana, all show and no penetration; Shadow shuttles, form without essence, failing to touch the true meaning of space." Villanette's words were like the sharpest scalpel, precisely dissecting the core flaws in Celestia's combat system, each word piercing her pride like an ice spike. "Your use of power is crude like a child swinging a hammer, squandering heavenly gifts despite your endowments."
Celestia was struck as if by lightning, her face ashen. She had once been the brightest new star in the dome, her combat style always known for overwhelming violence, and no one had ever so bluntly and thoroughly denied her foundations! But Villanette's words left her unable to refute, and deep inside, a strong sense of shame and... desire arose.
Villanette shifted her tone, her ice-blue eyes fixing on her: "Observe this battle, watch and think with your heart. After the battle ends, I will tell you: how to combine the essence of 'Wind's Speed' and 'Shadow Shuttle,' guiding you to touch the edges of spatial folds, forming true 'Shadow Leap,' rather than clumsy flashes. And how to compress and condense your vast yet scattered mental power into a 'Spear of Delusion-Breaking' that pierces illusions and strikes soul cores directly, rather than that superficial shrieking noise."
"Shadow Leap... Spear of Delusion-Breaking..." Celestia murmured to herself, these two names exploding like thunder in her mind. Just the concepts caused her power core, suppressed dead by the sealing shackles, to produce an unprecedented throb! It was a resonance from the depths of her soul, as if the dormant potential in her body had finally awaited its awakening trigger! She jerked her head up, her eyes bursting with astonishing light—that was the survival instinct seeing a rope in the abyss of despair, the fanatic desire of a warrior for higher realms! She nodded forcefully, almost devoutly, and voluntarily retreated to the shadowy edge of the stone hut, her gaze locking onto the impending battlefield like the hungriest apprentice.
"Go." Villanette gently waved her hand, the invisible barrier vanished, and the battle intent of the nine Frost Roar Gryphons on the platform instantly soared to its peak!
Nine versus nine! Storm showdown!
Without superfluous words, the battle erupted fiercely with the gryphon leader's roar tearing through the cold wind!
Kayla vs Golden-Patterned Gryphon Leader: Kayla let out a earth-shaking roar, instantly activating her Annihilation Form! "Thunder Fang Ice Prison · Initial Release!" Her figure shot up, muscles bulging like steel, her left arm transforming into a massive beast claw composed of violent thunder, blinding blue-white lightning; her right arm became a giant crystal claw made of countless high-speed rotating, razor-sharp diamond ice crystals, emitting shrieks as it cut the air! She charged like a cannonball toward the largest, most terrifying golden-patterned gryphon leader! The gryphon leader showed no weakness, its massive eagle claws wrapped in freezing air storms and immense force, slamming down viciously! "Boom—!" The destructive storm of thunder and ice crystals collided fiercely with pure brute force and cold! Blinding energy flashes and deafening explosions instantly engulfed both figures! The shockwave exploded in a ring, cracking the hard icy rock surface of the platform inch by inch! This was the peak showdown of pure power and savagery!
Fa vs A slightly smaller, unusually agile ice-blue gryphon: Fa's Star Eye flowed with dim light, instantly locking onto her opponent. This gryphon was extremely fast, skilled at using cold winds to create ice crystal refraction illusions, and spitting freezing rays from tricky angles. "Time Stagnation!" Fa compressed her ability to the limit, applying it only to the instant the gryphon spat its freezing breath! The gryphon's movements instantly lagged, the trajectory of its deadly freezing breath clearly visible! "Rock Flow Thrust · Frozen Path!" Fa's figure moved like lightning, her short blade entwined with earthy yellow heavy magic and chilling white cold aura, her feet instantly condensing a sturdy ice bridge from the ice layer, not only accelerating her charge but also restricting the gryphon's evasion space! The short blade pierced through the air, straight toward the gryphon's relatively vulnerable wing root joint!
Arya vs A gryphon with lightning flashing on its wing edges: Arya displayed the elves' astonishing agility and precision. The Storm Bow turned into a phantom in her hands. "Light-Dark Spiral · Binding Arrow!" An arrow wrapped in spiraling airflow, with a compressed light-dark energy orb at the tip, left the string—not for killing, but precisely shot toward the front of the gryphon's dive path! The light-dark energy orb exploded fiercely, forming a brief small energy vortex, its powerful suction slowing the lightning-assault-specialized gryphon's speed, disrupting its momentum! Immediately after, "Wind Arrow · Multi-Shot!" Several arrows wrapped in sharp mini-tornado airflows pursued like maggots on bones, targeting the gryphon's eyes and wing membranes!
TISK vs A gryphon with exceptionally thick armored feathers, like a fortress, in earthy yellow: TISK roared as he swung the Lava Hammer. "Furnace Collapse Mountain · Spiral Fire Break!" His stout body erupted with astonishing power, the Lava Hammer sweeping from bottom to top with full rotational force, viciously striking the side of the gryphon's slamming giant claw! "Clang—!" A deafening metallic clash! Dark red lava power fiercely clashed and exploded with the gryphon's claw's heavy earth magic! TISK's arms went numb from the recoil, but he successfully defused this heavy blow! "Take another hammer from me! Ice-Fire Weave!" The Lava Hammer shone brightly with ice-fire patterns, smashing toward the gryphon's thick-feathered chest with dual freezing and burning forces!
Rex vs A gryphon that could spit ultra-high-pressure, condensed freezing rays like solid matter from its mouth: Rex's armor emitted a steady hum. "Tactical Analysis: Target breath energy concentrated, extreme penetration. Countermeasure: Saturation interference, precise strikes." Hundreds of frost-covered nano-drones swarmed like enraged bees, some spraying frost energy beams to build layered, regenerating ice crystal shields in front of Rex; others flanked, firing dense freezing beams and micro EMP bombs, wildly harassing the gryphon's head, eyes, and wings, disrupting its aim and balance! Simultaneously, Rex's shoulder ion cannon lit up with eerie blue light, "Superconducting Freeze Bullet · Point-Shot Mode!" A condensed eerie blue beam precisely shot toward the interior of the gryphon's open mouth spitting freezing breath!
Yuyuer vs A gryphon that could manipulate surrounding ice and snow, condensing into ice crystal storms and massive ice spikes: Yuyuer raised his Dragon Bone Staff high, the crystal orb shining with blue light. "Illusory Tide · Thousand Mirrors Labyrinth!" He didn't create a large-scale illusion but highly compressed and precisely projected his powerful illusion magic! Buzz! Centered on that ice-snow gryphon, countless mirrors condensed from cold ice and illusory light appeared out of thin air, spinning wildly around it, refracting! The mirrors not only distorted light but severely interfered with the gryphon's perception and control of ice-snow elements! Its eyes filled with countless swaying Yuyuer afterimages, its condensed ice crystal storm became chaotic, massive ice spikes smashing into empty space! "Ice Binding Abyss!" Yuyuer seized the opportunity, pointing his staff at the gryphon's feet, surging with chilling white cold, attempting to freeze its movements!
Zhamisi vs A gryphon with eerie swift movements, its tail like a steel whip capable of cracking ice rocks: Though Zhamisi's snake tail injury hadn't healed, slowing her actions slightly, her eyes were cold, her battle intent undiminished. "Deep Flow Poison Bite · Mist Conceal!" Her snake tail flicked fiercely, her whole body sliding at high speed along the ice surface, while her dual blades swung, spraying ink-green venom mixed with water element power—not a direct attack, but forming a corrosive and neurotoxic mist area in front of her! The swift gryphon charged into the mist, its movements immediately affected, scales and feathers hissing, vision obstructed! "Silent Extinction Fang!" Zhamisi burst out like a venomous snake from the cave, emerging suddenly from the mist's cover, her poisoned curved blades ruthlessly slashing toward the gryphon's relatively soft abdomen and joints!
Lin Ya vs A gryphon capable of triggering small seismic waves, cracking ice layers to disrupt footing: Lin Ya's emerald body flowed with glow. "Root Cage · Life Drain!" He plunged both arms into the ice layer, countless shimmering emerald mycelia spreading like living things at astonishing speed underground, piercing! These mycelia not only carried strong life-eroding power but also contained nerve-paralyzing extreme cold toxins! They burst from the ice, instantly wrapping around the gryphon's limbs and body! The mycelia tips pierced into armor gaps, frantically draining its life force and injecting toxins! Simultaneously, Lin Ya manipulated the sparse surrounding moss plants, forming resilient green barriers to offset the seismic waves' impacts.
Salsa vs A gryphon with strong mental resistance, capable of emitting mind-disrupting shrieking sound waves: Salsa's mechanical cat shell's eyes shone with dim light. "Wailing Souls · Mental Counter!" An invisible, sharp soul wail containing countless resentments from the Cold Silent Ice Palace crashed like a reverse tide against the gryphon's mind-disrupting wave! The two mental forces collided intensely in the air, emitting silent explosions! Simultaneously, "Shadow Bind!" Several shadow falcons composed of shadows and cold air screeched out—not attacking, but transforming into flexible shadow chains, wrapping toward the gryphon's wings and neck, restricting its movements and vocalizations!
Observing the Battle and Enlightenment: The Fallen Angel's Transformation
Celestia stood in the shadows, the sealing shackles cold and heavy, yet unable to suppress the stormy waves in her heart. Villanette's cold analysis still echoed in her ears, and now witnessing the nine battles of diverse styles yet equally spectacular, each scene hammered at her past perceptions like a heavy mallet.
She saw Kayla's pure power and elemental violent clash with the gryphon leader, shocked by the Annihilation Form's frenzy, but also keenly noticing that each of Kayla's attacks carried clear purpose—thunder fangs for breaking defenses, ice claws for cutting weak points, not the energy-dumping blanket bombardments of her own past.
She saw Fa's miraculous "Time Stagnation." It wasn't large-scale slowing, but precise to the millimeter, applied to key weak points for fatal interruptions! Combined with the instantly generated ice bridge assault, maximizing speed and timing. This reminded her of her once-proud four-wing speed, which Villanette called mere "brute charges"! She began to ponder if her "Wind's Speed" could achieve such exquisite control? Could it, like Fa, integrate absolute mastery of the battle situation in extreme speed?
She saw Arya's exquisite archery. The Light-Dark Spiral Binding Arrow wasn't a killing move, yet perfectly delayed the lightning gryphon's assault, creating a perfect window for follow-ups. This reminded her of her habitual battlefield-covering mental shrieks—large in range, but dispersed in power, limited against true powerhouses. Villanette's mentioned "Spear of Delusion-Breaking"... If she compressed that vast mental power like Arya compressing light-dark elements at the arrow tip, to an extreme point... What terrifying penetration that would be?
Rex's combat style opened her eyes even more. The precise calculations, drone swarms' tactical coordination, ion cannon's accurate point shots... This wasn't magic, yet achieved effects no less than magic. She realized battles weren't just clashes of power; strategy, control, and grasping weak points were equally deadly. Her shadow spears were powerful, but seemed... lacking in variation and agility?
TISK's bravery, Yuyuer's unpredictable illusions, Zhamisi's venomous ruthlessness and precise incisions, Lin Ya's exquisite use of life and death energies, Salsa's mental countermeasures and shadow bindings... Each battle was like an open textbook, showing her the infinite possibilities of power usage.
Villanette's cold evaluation echoed endlessly in her mind: "Crude like a child swinging a hammer... Squandering heavenly gifts despite endowments..." Shame burned like flames, but stronger was the awakening desire! She stared fixedly at the battlefield, her brain operating at unprecedented speed, contrasting and dissecting past battle scenes with the present, reassembling. Those details she once ignored, those simple brutal choices, now seemed glaringly obvious. She began to understand the meaning of combining "Wind's Speed" and "Shadow Shuttle" as Villanette said—not just faster flashes, but touching the threshold of spatial laws! "Shadow Leap"... This name burned in her heart.
Trial's End and Inheritance's Opening
The battles didn't last long. Villanette's trial was meant to test, not life-or-death struggles. When the nine challengers all demonstrated sufficient strength, skill, and resilience—whether by suppressing, cleverly maneuvering, or forcing back their gryphon opponents—Villanette gently raised her hand.
An invisible, gentle yet irresistible force instantly enveloped the entire platform. The nine ferocious Frost Roar Gryphons, like soothed beasts, quieted their low roars, their battle intent fading, submissively lowering their bodies and retreating to the platform's edge. The aftershocks of Kayla and the gryphon leader's clash were silently smoothed, and the ice-blue gryphon before Fa's short blade was gently pushed away by a soft force.
The platform was left with traces of fierce battle: cracked ice rocks, charred scorch marks, lingering venom mists, and faintly trembling air. Fa's team panted, bearing some wounds and frost, but their eyes were bright, battle intent undiminished.
They had finally passed the first trial.