The island was floating in midair.

Atop it was a towering obelisk, taller than any spire he had seen before, and it pointed straight into the sky. Stirling couldn't help but lift his head where the ceiling of the underground cave should have been, but now the thick rock walls had disappeared.

In their place was a constantly rotating black vortex.

Stirling only glanced at the vortex before he had to lower his head, feeling as though a gaze from within the swirl was landing on him, making him—an Earthling—feel an eerie sense of disquiet.

It felt as if a colossal entity was climbing out of the vortex, gazing down at the ground with a cold stare.

The sensation was chilling to the bone—

Could this be the Deities?

He didn't dare look again, but his heart was filled with palpitations. What kind of existence were these powerful non-human beings, a piece of High Dimensional Information? Stirling's mind was flooded with chaotic thoughts, as though a thousand voices were arguing non-stop inside his head, causing him an agonizing headache.

He didn't know if this power that affected the mind could be brought back to Earth through the Invoker.

Does this count as communication between two worlds?

These thoughts flashed through his mind.

Miss Alice, pale-faced, was looking down at her feet, daring not to look up, while the Night Lizard Prophet seemed unaffected, murmuring to itself, lifting its wooden staff as if it could hear the faint voices from the abyss.

But the Divine Oracle of Salrutaka was not clear, intermittent and sometimes even contradictory.

This was not as the prophecy had described, "The sacrifices are too few," suddenly, the Prophet turned around, 'looking' at them with lifeless white eyes and said, "The slaughter is far from enough, more blood must be shed, more people must die to satisfy my god."

This sounded very much like an Evil God.

Stirling thought to himself that the dead were just some useless Chosen Ones, and since they could be resurrected back on Earth anyway, staying here was just a waste of resources; he felt no guilt whatsoever.

"Those from the smaller Guilds will soon die in the lava," he replied, "and the rest won't get far."

The Prophet nodded, but then it suddenly trembled, becoming rigid in place, vacantly lifting its gaze.

After a while, it came to its senses and suddenly pointed its withered finger at a girl nearby: "The Divine Oracle has become clear, Salrutaka is calling to us, take her to the center of the Ritual Hall."

"Her?" Dwarf was taken aback for a moment, looking over at Miss Alice.

The twin sister turned even paler but remained silent, pressing her lips together without a word.

"Should I take her?" Stirling felt something was off about the entity within the vortex; it didn't sit well with him, but since it was a mission of the Guild, even if it meant dying here, he was determined to complete it.

The Prophet nodded.

Dwarf cursed luck under his breath before reluctantly offering his hand to Miss Alice, "Come with me, Miss Alice."

Alice nodded lightly.

She looked at the center of the Ritual Hall and then took the first step down.

That step seemed to land on the very center of Fenris Isle.

Causing the entire island to shake violently.

Outside the core area, within the Pyramid fortress's Ritual Hall—

When the violent tremors occurred, Fang Hong, Parker, and Tainaric all tumbled to the ground, rolling from one end of the tomb chamber to the other like rolling gourds. Fang Hong, the unluckiest, hit his head on the steps of the Holy Altar first, blood gushing out, startling everyone.

Then the Papalarians rolled over and crashed into him, using him as a perfect cushion, escaping unharmed.

Fang Hong swore silently, then picked Parker up from the ground, "Are you alright?" Sophie asked worriedly through the video. Fang Hong shook his head, dragging Parker to the other side like he was carrying a sack of flour, and only then did the Papalarian roll a few times on the ground, still dazed and unresponsive.

Tainaric also got up, probably the first time the Lizardman Prince had been knocked down, "The tremors are intensifying." It said in a low voice, and it was true, the tremors underground were becoming fiercer, as if intent on tearing Fenris Isle apart from its core.

Fortunately, the structure of the Pyramid fortress was still solid, no cracks yet showing on the walls paved with bricks, although sand and gravel kept falling from the ceiling, quickly covering the floor of the narrow Ritual Hall to above the ankles.

Ahead lay only dead ends.

If they didn't want to be buried alive, Fang Hong felt it best to leave the place quickly, but on the map provided by Miss Hilveld, transmitted by Dianmo Ran Qingzhu, there was supposed to be a path here.

But Fang Hong had earlier noticed a narrow slit at the top of the Holy Altar in the center of the Ritual Hall. An idea flashed in his mind, and he grabbed Parker to compare the blade of the Ritual Short Sword tucked into the sash around his waist.

He remembered what Miss Hilveld had said before, that there was a checkpoint within the Pyramid fortress left by the Xinsas Serpentfolk—and to open the Xinsas Serpentfolk's checkpoint, it was clear they needed to rely on the ancient clues and items they had left behind.

But there was no time left to look for clues.

If there was anything of the Xinsas on them, it was only the Ritual Knife that the Papalarian had come by accidentally.

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