Chapter 1214 - 1214: D520. A Soul Yearning for Awakening

The clouds in the sky began to change color.

After the previous appearance of the Shining World Saintess, the sky returned to its original clear state.

And now, the azure sky was once again painted with a pure golden hue, rendering it sacred. That light emanated from the deepest part of the dome, with beams of Holy light streaming through the gaps in the clouds, showering the Mortal World.

"What's the chicken wings up to?"

The Depraved Hero trotted over to his father, curiously leaning half of his body out from the broken floor-to-ceiling window, tilting his head to look down with great interest.

On the streets, people stopped in their tracks, staring in awe at the magnificent sky. Increasing numbers of them were falling to their knees, worshipping reverently.

Due to the influence of the Depraved Sun, the world within the Illusion Realm was long shrouded in perpetual darkness.

Although the recent arrival of the Saintess restored the sky to normal, it did not change what had transpired.

For the Kingdom people, the existence of Gods was already taken for granted, and the rightful reverence had long been etched into their instincts and marrow.

Even so, the people of this world were merely expressions of a program. They had no soul, no Spirit, much like NPCs in a game.

Even from a gaming perspective, the actions of the Depraved Hero could be considered rather extreme.

After all, the people in the Illusion Realm were not just simple numbers but had appearances and behaviors extremely close to realism.

If such a game existed, recording her actions and uploading videos online might stir a storm of criticism.

But the Hero did not bother to comment much on it.

In essence, she and the Shield Woman were the only living beings in this Illusion Realm, equivalent to playing some age-inappropriate games alone in her room. No matter how absurd the content, it wasn't something that deserved criticism.

...Yet, it seems she might still be a minor in this world?

Well, she's a Kingdom person and had passed her father's coming-of-age ceremony.

Even without her father's recognition, she was already a Noble Lord.

In the Kingdom, the combination "minor Noble" doesn't exist. Once one inherits a Noble Title, regardless of age or mind, they are considered to have full legal capacity.

So from every angle, she's long been an independent adult.

To evade the cruel reality of "family colluding with Goblins," the Hero's thoughts were scattered, pondering these things.

Right at this instant, a mutation abruptly occurred in the city.

As the light from above streamed down, citizens exposed to its rays began to emit bizarre and sharp cries.

The rays seemed like some efficient catalyst, instantly sprouting fine hairs from every pore upon contact. These hairs rapidly grew and inflated, soon becoming patches of feathers enveloping them entirely.

Not only humans. Wherever the light reached, all life was undergoing the same change.

The fur on pets transformed into thick feather cloaks; withered trees on sidewalks sprouted feather-shaped leaves; even stubborn insects darting from shadows, occasionally caught by the light, rolled into small fuzzy balls.

"What is this?"

[Hero skill activation: Collective Wisdom (utilizing father's mind D2, understanding based on 983%, exceeding can perform hacks)]

D922+100=(167)=267

The Hero watched the eerie mutation intensely, her brain racing with the constant flipping of the Heavenly Book.

After several seconds, she tilted her head.

"What's going on here?"

She sensed an enormous influx of Magic Power from an external source in this Illusion Realm, shocking her with its scale.

And that Magic Power, in a complicated manner, permeated into each NPC's existence at the fundamental level, modifying their composition in the odd form of "growing fur."

If such a mutation were to occur with real humans, she might now be beyond angry, even panic-stricken.

Yet, just as she allows the Depraved Hero to run amok here, although seemingly realistic, the humans within the Illusion Realm were ultimately not real.

Most of them, unlike those in the Dream of Dusk or Wandering Theater, weren't based on actual entity templates.

Except for the few familiar to the Shield Woman, nearly all characters appearing here were images randomly generated by the Dungeon based on accumulated data, similar to ordinary nameless NPCs in games, pieced together and combined from fixed Elements.

Even if Magic Power now modified them beyond recognition, despite the discomforting appearance, fundamentally, it disrupted the program's code, turning the once proper characters into a mess of erroneous monsters.

If the Four-winged King intended to change all humans in this Illusion Realm to the appearance of Goblins, the Hero might face a mental shock.

But the current strange phenomenon, though slightly furrowing her brows, didn't truly alarm her.

"..."

Her father beside her heard, casting a curious glance at his daughter.

"Never mind, growing stronger doesn't necessarily mean..." He shook his head, stopping his words, letting out a relieved Sigh.

"...Feels like your gaze isn't polite, wishing to die?" A vein bulged on the Depraved Hero's temple.

"But it's normal not to notice straight away, considering its process, even I must admit its intricacy." Her father kept his composure, steering the topic aside, refocusing his eyes outside.

"Take another close look, soon you'll understand what's happening."

The girls turned their eyes back outside. From this height, the street crowd looked as small as ants, yet the Hero's gaze accurately locked onto transformations occurring at a corner.

At the shadowy edge of an alley, a scraggly stray dog was being enveloped in layers of feathers growing from its body, not even sparing its tail.

Moments later, those feathers dropped like snowflakes, falling to the ground.

Initially, the scraggy dog had vanished, replaced by a muscular, powerful hunting dog, with imposing four legs reaching half human height.

On its back was a stubby wing as long as an arm, its feathers sparse, appearing ugly and absurd.

The mutated dog opened its mouth, drooling from between its teeth.

In the next instant, a deafening roar surged from its throat, clawing the ground, transforming into a dark shadow suddenly leaping from the street edge, kicking up dust, rushing towards a bystander who had just stepped out of a building, dumbfounded by the street changes, still clueless.

With only one swift move, it bit into the person's neck.

At this distance, without manipulating the Wind Element, the Hero couldn't hear the sound of bones Shattering, but she vividly saw blood spurt like a fountain from the fractured neck.

Yet after completing the Hunt, the big dog showed no interest in the fresh blood meal at hand, instead flicking its head, casually tossing the limp body aside, then looking around irritably, its nostrils flaring, seemingly searching for something it desperately craved.

Observing this scene resembling magic creatures assaulting humankind, the Hero's expression slightly changed.

"It's eating humans...no, this is, the Illusion Realm's humans cannot provide the nutrition it needs?"

Having accurately perceived the magic creature's thoughts, the Hero was startled by this revelation.

In this Illusion Realm, most characters simply reacted mechanically, seeming realistic and logical but devoid of any emotion or genuine thought.

For they possessed nothing resembling Spirit or soul.

But this magic creature transformed from a stray dog, though showing weak emotional fluctuations, the Hero could distinctly sense its primordial Desire, recognizing the real hunger and agitation.

"The Four-winged King is bestowing them souls!?" Finally realizing what this scene implied, she gaped in astonishment.

"—Ethereal Feather Transformation." Her father calmly responded, gazing at the golden rays descending from the heavens, "To be precise, it's planting the seeds of intelligence."

[destinyDestiny Creation]

7D34=(33+31+12+2+34+9+17)

[Corresponding chapters: D450 Star Debris, D430 Flower Sea, D41 Admonition, D20 Blessing, D1 Hero, D13 Beyond the Horizon, D100 End of the Sun]