Chapter 339: Before the Knot is Tied (1)
The lighthouse—designed by Quay and expanded through Deculein’s magic—rose into the sky, a towering monument against the void. Ria stood at its base, gazing up, a silent wave of emotion washing over her.
"We finally made it," she whispered.
The final destination of the main quest. The one thing that was never meant to be completed—and yet there it stood, waiting for its last, inevitable moment. If this were still a game, she would have given up long ago.
"...Can you all see this?" Ria muttered under her breath.
The magical lens embedded in her eye transmitted everything she saw back to the Floating Island, its power flowing through the intricate weave of enchantments that bound them together.
Through that invisible connection, the scholars and sorcerers stationed there were watching, their eyes fixed on her every movement, awaiting their next command.
With each passing moment, the pressure grew, the weight of their silent scrutiny bearing down on her, as though every step she took was being judged, calculated, and measured by those who held her fate in their hands.
— We see it.
"Can you decipher it?"
— We can. Given enough time, we could dismantle the lighthouse’s magic entirely.
The Floating Island—the proud citadel of magic that had once sworn not to meddle in the petty struggles of the land—had cast aside its neutrality. Now, it stood allied with the Empire. Their finest minds, their deepest reserves of knowledge, were devoted to stopping the lighthouse from reaching completion.
And all because of Deculein. Because he had annihilated the Island’s executioners without mercy, wiping them out in an instant with cold precision, he had forced even the most detached heights of the world into action.