Chapter 469: Kelsey’s Dream
When everyone heard this, joy was about to appear on their faces.
But Zoey quickly poured cold water on their hopes.
"However, the core has only been merged with Celestial Imperial City’s formation for a short time. Its sealing Strength is still slowly awakening."
"Right now, its limit is only a radius of one thousand miles."
A radius of one thousand miles was far from enough for the vast Northern Lands.
"Then we’ll use both methods at once."
Aiden made the decision at once and gave a divine order.
"First, with Celestial Imperial City as the center, set up purification formation nodes spreading outward. The Reclassers in the city will take turns guarding and maintaining them. Keep the corruption firmly blocked beyond the thousand-mile range."
"Second, contact Rainn at once. Tell her to send over the Miko Clan’s purification ritual, no matter the cost."
"Yes!"
Everyone bowed and accepted the order.
However, Jade, who was standing at the side, had deep worry flashing in her Divine Eyes.
"Aiden."
Jade stepped forward, her voice trembling slightly.
"The Heavenly Demon vanguards are infiltrating us without stopping. Can our purification speed really keep up with their spread?"
As soon as she said this, the hall fell into dead silence.
Everyone held their breath and looked at Aiden.
This was the most deadly question, and the truth no one had dared to say out loud.
Aiden was silent for a moment.
His deep, star-like divine eyes swept across the crowd, then finally stopped on Jade.
"We can’t."
Aiden’s voice was unusually calm, so calm that it made people uneasy.
In that instant, the temperature in the hall seemed to drop to freezing point.
"But this was never a defensive war we could win."
Aiden rose to his feet. A godlike pressure burst out from him, making everyone feel tight in the chest.
"The Heavenly Demons have endless methods. This is only their first test."
"What we need to do now is not stop them completely, but-buy time!"
Aiden held two fingers together like a blade and slashed hard through the air.
"As long as Zoey can fully repair the Golden Great Wall, all this pollution covering the land will be nothing more than dust that can be wiped away in an instant."
"This is a war of time."
As everyone listened to Aiden’s firm words, their eyes became determined once again.
Yes. They still had their god.
As long as the guardian god of the Great Shaw Empire was still here, Earth had not lost yet!
The meeting ended. Everyone left one after another and began to quickly set up the formation nodes.
Soon, only Aiden and Cheryl remained in the hall.
"Aiden."
Cheryl walked to his side and spoke softly.
"How has Kelsey been lately?"
Aiden paused slightly.
Ever since the core of the Golden Great Wall had merged with Celestial Imperial City, the black Miko resentment inside Kelsey had indeed disappeared.
But Aiden’s senses were extremely sharp. He had never stopped watching over the girl.
"Her strange illness has faded."
Aiden turned around, and a heavy look flashed in his eyes, more serious than ever before.
"But ever since the waves from Earth’s core began to grow stronger, she has started having the same dream again and again."
"A dream?" Cheryl was stunned.
"Yes. A dream that never changes."
Aiden turned his head and looked toward the Abyss, his voice low.
"She dreams that in the endless darkness, in the deepest part of the Abyss, there stands a huge ancient bronze gate."
"And behind that gate, some unimaginable being is calling her name day and night..."
...
Inside the great hall, the flickering candlelight stretched Aiden’s shadow far across the floor.
Cheryl had only just left when a soft, slightly hurried sound of footsteps echoed through the empty hall.
"Aiden."
A clear voice, carrying a little shyness, broke the silence.
Aiden turned his head.
Kelsey was standing outside the hall without him noticing when she had arrived. Her small hands tightly gripped the hem of her clothes, and her clear eyes were full of seriousness.
"I have something to tell you."
Aiden was slightly surprised. Then a gentle smile appeared on his face.
Ever since he had reached the realm of a god, ordinary people would tremble just by looking at him. But Kelsey seemed to have a natural barrier around her, one that could completely block out his divine pressure.
Aiden slowly walked down from the divine throne and came to the girl.
"What is it, Kelsey? Are you feeling unwell again?"
Kelsey shook her head. She took a deep breath, her small face tense.
"Brother-in-law, ever since the black energy inside me disappeared, I’ve had the exact same dream every night..."
"A dream?" Aiden’s gaze sharpened slightly.
"Mm." Kelsey nodded hard. "Before, I couldn’t see it clearly. But last night, I got very close, and I finally saw it."
"It wasn’t a bronze gate. It was a huge golden gate!"
"That gate was so, so tall. It was covered with countless patterns, just like... just like the law patterns on the Golden Great Wall core you brought back."
As Kelsey spoke, she used her hands to gesture, trying hard to remember.
"Behind the gate, there was a very bright light. And someone was speaking. That voice kept calling my name."
"But no matter how hard I listened, I couldn’t hear what he was really saying."
"Every time I tried to move a little closer, I suddenly woke up."
After hearing Kelsey’s description, a deep, unprecedented seriousness flashed in Aiden’s eyes.
The law patterns of the Golden Great Wall?
This was definitely not just a normal dream caused by thinking too much during the day.
"Don’t be afraid. Close your eyes. I’ll take a look for you."
Aiden gently patted Kelsey on the head, then slowly raised his right hand.
Buzz-
The void shook violently.
A stone platform appeared out of thin air in Aiden’s palm. It was white like jade, and countless ancient totems of the Swarm were carved across its surface.
Demi-Sacred Artifact, Transmutation Altar!
In an instant, the Transmutation Altar burst out with a dazzling nine-colored divine light, making the entire hall look like a dream.
"Go."
Aiden pointed with two fingers. Strands of pure Laws of Creation fell from the Transmutation Altar and gently flowed into Kelsey’s forehead like ripples of water.
Divine-tier soul scan!
With the power of the Demi-Sacred Artifact, Kelsey’s soul world instantly appeared clearly before Aiden’s eyes.
It was a soul sea as pure as a mirror.
However, in the deepest part of that sea, an ancient and complex seal was slowly turning.
What shocked Aiden was that the ancient Strength, which had always been asleep and only defended passively, was now trembling violently.
It was sending out a strange frequency, turning into rings of golden ripples.
It was not an attack. It was not a threat. There was not the slightest trace of malice.
It was... a gentle call that had crossed thousands of years.
It was like a sincere invitation being sent to Kelsey.
Aiden withdrew the Transmutation Altar, but his frown grew even deeper.
Aiden remembered it very clearly.
Zoey, the Artifact Spirit of Celestial Imperial City, had once said that Kelsey’s strange illness was actually a "wake-up call" sent out by that ancient existence.
But now, the core of the Golden Great Wall had already merged into the formation of Celestial Imperial City. The seal should have been greatly strengthened.
So why had this call changed from passive waiting to an active summon?
The seal had become stronger, yet the call had become stronger too.
That made no sense at all.
"Zoey, come out."
Aiden gave a low command in his mind.
Ripples spread through the void, and the figure of Zoey, the silver-haired mechanical girl, quickly formed.
Countless complex streams of data flashed wildly in Zoey’s eyes. When she saw the soul wave pattern Aiden had recreated with his divine power, she froze in place, which was very rare for her.
"This... how is this possible..."
For the first time, strong emotion appeared in Zoey’s cold, mechanical voice.
It was shock.
"What did you find?" Aiden asked in a deep voice.
Zoey took a deep breath. She raised her head and spoke in a voice that almost trembled.
"Master, we have been making a deadly mistake all this time."
"We thought that ancient call was trying to break through the seal, so we believed they were opposing forces."
"But in truth... they are the same Strength!"
Aiden’s pupils suddenly shrank.
"What do you mean?"
Zoey pointed at Kelsey’s faint soul projection. Every word she spoke felt heavy.
"The seal was left behind a thousand years ago by the wise Lord Yves."
"And this call... was also set up by Lord Yves himself!"
"Kelsey herself was the most important piece Lord Yves placed on the board a thousand years ago!"
Boom!
It was like a world-ending thunderclap exploding inside Aiden’s mind. Even though he had already become a god, huge waves still rose in his heart.
Yves.
That legendary figure from a thousand years ago, the one who had swept across the Abyss and left behind the Golden Great Wall.
Just how many world-shaking plans had he left on this planet?
And what did this seemingly weak little girl in front of him truly represent?
"She is the only vessel."
Zoey’s voice echoed through the empty hall, filled with deep awe.
"The meaning of this little girl’s existence is far beyond anything we can imagine!"
Aiden stared hard into the void, his breathing becoming heavy.
"What is behind that golden gate?"
The streams of data in Zoey’s eyes seemed close to breaking down. Her voice was filled with almost fanatical excitement.
"Before Lord Yves disappeared completely and left behind the core of the Golden Great Wall, he also left something else."
"It was a final mark of his consciousness, stored behind the golden gate in Kelsey’s dream."
"That consciousness does not belong to anyone else. It is Lord Yves himself, left for the heirs of the future..."
"His final words!"
Zoey paused, then slowly turned her gaze to Aiden.
"And the key that can open that gate and awaken Lord Yves’s final words..."
"Is the one and only thing in your hand, Master-"
"The Key of Destiny!"