Chapter 669: The Second Main Quest

"So White Oblivion is calling the prisoners from the center."

"Indeed, my lord."

"But why?"

"I do not know." This time, the Castellan did not answer immediately... then he spoke.

Lian nodded.

That difference was important.

Four knew the source of the call, but he did not know its purpose.

He looked toward the center again, so the main question is no longer what is calling them there.

The question is why White Oblivion needs so many prisoners.

Over the past few days, hundreds of Withered had moved toward the center from different regions, some continued moving forward even with serious injuries.

But they were not all at the same level, from level twenty creatures to monsters above level fifty, all of them were affected by the same call.

If White Oblivion only wanted to free them, why would they need to return to the center?

And if its goal was to gather the prisoners, what was supposed to happen after they arrived?

He looked at the mana flows beneath the rock for a moment.

[ True Sequence ]

The white roots, weak energy lines, and paths leading into the depths of the ground became visible to his senses.

He had seen these flows many times over the past few days, but now he had new information.

White Oblivion was calling the prisoners toward the center, and the old prison structures were still active in some parts of the land.

And after every judgment, the sun’s energy moved toward the depths.

Could there be a connection between these things? Of course, a connection between the underground energy flows and the call had not yet been proven.

But Lian knew that the being imprisoned at the center probably had enough power to affect parts of this land’s structure.

Especially if it had done something like that in the past.

He looked at Four.

"Could White Oblivion do this before the Judge fell asleep too?"

"To some extent, indeed, yet its influence was not as widespread in those days as it is now."

"So it’s become stronger?"

"At the very least, its call now reaches more distant regions, yet whether the being itself has grown stronger or the prison’s restrictions have simply weakened, I do not know." The Castellan thought for a moment and then answered.

Lian nodded.

It was a precise answer.

And it made one important point clear, White Oblivion had possessed such influence in the past, but now the range of its effect had become wider.

So it’s probably taking advantage of the prison’s current condition, or perhaps everything had been part of that thing’s plan all along, even so, it was still unclear what this call would lead to.

Young Vorhelm remained silent for a while and then looked toward the Hollow Sun.

"Four, what happened before the Judge fell asleep?"

The Castellan raised his head slightly.

"I do not clearly remember the details of those days, my lord, yet before the Judge fell silent, the containment orders were enforced with unusual strength."

"What do you mean?"

"The imprisonment zones were sealed, and the condemned lost their ability to move, after that, we heard the Judge’s voice no more."

"And White Oblivion remained imprisoned too." Lian thought for a moment.

"Indeed."

The Judge had restrained the prisoners before falling asleep, as a result, even if White Oblivion had caused its sleep, its plan had not led to freedom.

Lian narrowed his eyes.

’So if it really was responsible, it failed.’ He still did not know why the Hollow Sun had fallen asleep.

It was possible that this had been part of the prison’s natural system, but considering the presence of a being like White Oblivion, another possibility existed.

Maybe it disabled the Judge itself, and if that was true, an important question appeared, why had White Oblivion not escaped after the Judge fell asleep?

The answer was somewhat clear.

Because the containment orders had been carried out before its sleep.

In other words, the Hollow Sun had noticed that thing’s plan and stopped it before falling asleep, preventing it from succeeding.

Of course, even if his guess was correct, although White Oblivion’s plan had failed, it had still managed to put the Hollow Sun to sleep.

And that was an incredible achievement.

Anyway, if White Oblivion had kept its own will and intelligence, it seemed unlikely that it would repeat exactly the same plan again.

Lian looked toward the center of the land for a moment.

What if its goal this time isn’t just to put the Judge to sleep?

His gaze slowly returned to the sky.

What if it wants to destroy it forever?

This possibility was much more dangerous, the Judge could sleep, but the prison’s structure would remain active.

However, if the Judge itself was completely destroyed, no one knew what would happen to the containment orders and old sentences.

He remembered Amelie, and remembered the disaster that had happened to the base, he still had no love for that huge eye in the sky.

But the destruction of the Judge, while one of the most dangerous prisoners in this land was being held in the depths, was probably not a good thing.

If his guess about White Oblivion was correct, then it must not be freed, otherwise, it would become a devastating disaster for all worlds.

He looked toward the center again, and all those Withered... what had caused White Oblivion to pull all of them toward itself?

If it was only trying to gather subordinates, why would it call creatures that did not even have proper intelligence or fighting ability?

Some of them were so badly injured that they could barely move.

Even so, the call continued to affect them.

Maybe it doesn’t need their fighting power at all.

Lian thought for a moment about his battle with the Nine-Venom Castellan.

Four had been able to absorb part of a Withered’s life force after killing it, of course, this did not mean White Oblivion had the same ability.

But it showed that the energy of living beings could be used for purposes beyond fighting.

What if it needs their mana or life force? Not to heal itself, perhaps it was something related to the prison’s judgment system, or maybe it intended to do something else with them.

Lian still did not know.

But now a worrying theory had formed in his mind.

Instead of trying to escape directly, White Oblivion might be gathering something at the center of the land.

And its final goal was the destruction of the Hollow Sun.

For several seconds, he stared at the golden rings in the sky and then turned toward Four.

"I think White Oblivion doesn’t just want to escape from prison."

"What do you mean, my lord?" The Castellan tilted his head slightly.

"Maybe it’s preparing to destroy the Judge."

Four remained motionless for a moment, and his master continued.

"You said it yourself, it’s calling all the prisoners toward the center, but we still don’t know why."

He pointed into the distance.

"If it only wants to escape, what’s the point of gathering so many weak and strong creatures?"

"Perhaps it requires something that they possess." The Castellan remained silent for several seconds.

Young Vorhelm gave a faint smile.

"Exactly."

Then he looked toward the sun again.

"And if it already tried to put the Judge to sleep and failed to escape, I doubt it’ll make the same mistake this time."

"Your reasoning is sound, my lord, yet I know not the true intentions of that being." The Castellan slowly lowered his head.

"Neither do I, I’m just considering the possibilities for now."

He looked toward the center for a moment.

White Oblivion...

A being that even the most powerful condemned feared.

Its influence could pull scattered prisoners toward the center, and in the past, it had probably been connected in some way to the Judge’s long sleep.

On the other hand, its name was far too similar to another being Lian had encountered before.

Could it really be one of the Five Calamities?

At that very moment, a familiar voice echoed in his mind.

[ Main Quest Triggered ]

Lian remained motionless.

A window with a dark golden border appeared before his eyes.

[ Main Quest: Preserve the Final Judgment ]

[ Location: Domain of the Condemned ]

[ A Calamity Has Been Identified ]

[ Calamity: White Oblivion ]

[ The Hollow Sun Is Facing an Imminent Threat ]

[ The Death of the Hollow Sun Will Result in Catastrophic Consequences for the Ruined Realm and Your World ]

[ Main Objective: Prevent the Death of the Hollow Sun ]

[ Quest Rewards ]

[ +5 Levels ]

[ 5,000 Fragments ]

[ Ancient-Rank Treasure x1+ ]

[ Quest Status: In Progress ]

[ All Rewards Will Be Granted Upon Completion ]

For several seconds, he did not move, and his gaze remained fixed on one of the first lines.

[ Calamity: White Oblivion ]

Then the corner of his mouth rose slightly.

’So I guessed correctly.’

White Oblivion really was one of the Calamities, a being of the same kind as Black Silence.

This fact alone made the information he had obtained from Four several times more valuable.

Because the Ruined Heart still had four empty slots, and now, one of the beings that could possibly fill the second slot was imprisoned in this very land.

Finally.

But when his gaze reached the main objective of the quest, his smile faded.

[ Prevent the Death of the Hollow Sun ]

The sun’s death?

Lian read the quest description again.

The system had confirmed the existence of White Oblivion and its true nature, it also warned that the Hollow Sun was facing an imminent threat.

But it did not directly explain what was causing that danger.

There was also no mention of the reason why the Withered were being called.

Even so, this quest had appeared at the exact moment he suggested the possibility of the Judge’s destruction.

So at least this part is real.

The Hollow Sun really could be destroyed, but exactly how White Oblivion intended to do such a thing was still unknown.

Lian looked toward the center for a moment.

’If my theory is correct, more prisoners are gathering there with every passing day.’

He did not know what this gathering would lead to.

But he doubted it would be anything good.