Setelah menjauh dari kerumunan, Kain mengembalikan Sphere Of Witness ke dalam jiwa-nya, tidak terikuti kenapa hal itu tiba-tiba terjadi.
Namun selagi Kain menganggapnya hal biasa, artefak itu memang memiliki kesadaran dari sendiri dan mungkin saja menunjukkan perilaku tersebut.
Ia mengarahkan pandangannya ke sekeliling, lalu melihat Lian.
"Sekarang adalah waktunya untuk memanggilnya!"
"Di sini?" Lian mengangkat alis, mereka sedang mengikuti pendeta, jadi mendadak melakukan hal seperti ini sedikit tidak masuk akal.
"Tidak ada masalah, mereka bisa menunggu beberapa menit. Selain itu, saya ingin mereka sedikit lebih rakut setelah melihat Yang Sang Emperor All Ants yang Martabat."
"Saya bisa mengerti niatmu, tetapi apa kata judul bodoh yang kamu beri pada semutku ini?"
Kain mengabaikannya dan sekadar menunggu One dipanggil.
Lian tak berkomentar lebih lanjut dan memanggil Ant Of Ruin.
Perbedaannya terasa langsung lewat ikatan mereka, berat dan kehadirannya kini sudah memiliki keagungan yang belum ada sebelumnya.
Partikel Cahaya mengumpul di tengah panggung.
Beberapa penjaga langsung menekan tangan mereka ke pedang.
Seolah-olah, makhluk raksasa dibentuk dari partikel itu.
Badannya lebih dari sepuluh meter panjang, bahunya beberapa meter tinggi.
Enam kaki panjang dan kuat keluar dari kedua sisi tubuhnya, masing-masing ditutupi plaka hitam yang tebal yang terlihat seperti armor monster perang, bukan tubuh insan.
Setiap langkah yang ambil terasa seolah-olah bisa mengguncang tanah.
Tiga pahanya yang tajam tersangat menembus batu, terlihat pasti meninggalkan tanda mendalam di tanah saat bergerak.
Badan utamanya terdiri dari beberapa bagian besar, dengan seluruh permukaannya dilapisi plaka hitam.
Retak dalam dalam beberapa plaka itu bisa dilihat, dan melalui retak-retak itu, energi Ruin yang tebal mengalir seperti darah di dalam vena.
Energi Ruin.
Kepalanya sendiri hampir setara dengan manusia.
Dua antenna panjang dan tebal keluar dari bagian atas kepalanya dan perlahan memindai sekitarnya, seolah-olah sedang memeriksa segala sesuatu di sekitarnya.
Tetapi bagian paling menakutkan dari tubuhnya adalah rahangnya.
Dua rahang besar keluar dari kedua sisi mulutnya, masing-masing memiliki beberapa baris tajam dan hitam.
Saat rahangnya perlahan menutup, suara logam menyebar di udara.
Beberapa plaka hitam besar seperti pisau pisah armor raksasa ditempatkan di punggungnya.
Aura Energi Ruin berkeliling tubuhnya, batu-batu di sekitar kakinya pecah dan hancur tanpa di sentuh.
Bahkan Mana di udara menjadi tidak stabil di sekitarnya.
Ini tidak lagi semut raksasa.
Penampilan tubuh ini lebih seperti makhluk yang keluar dari akhir zaman, seolah-olah Ruin telah mengambil bentuk, membentuk enam kaki, dan melangkah untuk mengunyah apa yang tersisa dari dunia.
Dua hewan panggung yang ditautkan pada kereta beberapa meter jauhnya berkedak-kedak dan menarik tali.
Salah satunya mengigau dan menarik tali, sementara penjaga itu secara tidak sadar menarik senjata mereka.
"A-Apa... apa jenis monster itu?"
Suara penjaga itu gemetar, jemarinya berdegup kencang sehingga tendanya gemetar.
"J-Jangan... jangan gerak..."
Suara penjaga itu tidak dapat didengar.
"J-Jangan... jangan gerak..."
Penjaga yang seharusnya melindungi pendeta tiba-tiba seram sekali hampir jatuh ke tanah.
"Tenang! Ia ada di sini!" Pendeta langsung mengangkat tangan.
Kain tidak peduli pada penjaga itu dan berjalan mengelilingi One beberapa kali.
Kepala.
Kaki.
Armor.
Rahang.
Ia sunyi selama beberapa detik, lalu berhenti.
"Baik... nama yang kugiven memang tidak bagus."
Ia seperti sedang memikirkan nama apa yang akan kuberikan pada One nanti.
"Saya dapat ide! Maka, sejak nanti, aku seharusnya memanggilnya The Eternal Abyssal Sovereign Of Ants!"
Lian sama sekali tidak peduli pada temannya dan memandang ke arah One, semut itu pun mendongkrak antenna ke arah masternya.
Lian sama sekali tidak peduli pada temannya dan memandang ke arah One.
Semut itu langsung mendongkrak antenna ke arah masternya juga.
Rasa kepuasan dan kebahagiaan yang tulus mengalir ke Lian lewat ikatan.
Tidak ada gugushati di dalam perasaan One. Hanya kepuasan dan kebahagiaan yang tulus serta rasa senangnya dapat membantu masternya lagi.
One merasakan bahwa kini ia dapat berada di sampingnya lagi.
Ia tidak lagi harus menunggu dari jauh.
Kini ia bisa kembali berdiri di sampingnya dalam setiap pertempuran, seperti dulu.
Itulah satu-satunya yang ia inginkan.
Hanya itulah yang ia inginkan: tidak ingin dikhianati.
Lian menyentuh plaka armor yang tebal pada tubuh One dan mematikannya lembut.
Ia bisa memahami semua perasaan anggota Koloninya lewat ikatan.
"One, kamu adalah anggota pertama dari Koloniku." Kain berbicara dengan suara tenang.
"Kamu adalah yang tetap berada di sampingku selama hari-hari paling buruk dan paling berbahaya dalam hidupku, ketika semua orang sudah menyerah padamu, kamu tetap berdiri di sampingku."
"Aku tidak akan pernah lupa beserta bantuanmu."
Lian mengingat kembali bagaimana One berusaha menyelamatkannya di Special Area.
Meskipun Black Silence telah menguasai tubuhnya, One tetap berada di sana, pada saat itu, semua orang menyimpulkan ia tewas dan mereka ingin benar-benar menghancurkan tubuhnya.
Namun One? Ia tetap hanya ingin menyelamatkannya.
Dalam banyak situasi lain juga, semut itu selalu berada di sampingnya.
"Aku tidak akan pernah lupa bantuanmu." Pemuda Vorhelm tersenyum lembut.
"Dan kamu akan tetap menjadi anggota paling berharga dari Koloniku selamanya." Ia mengarahkan pandangannya dengan serius ke dalam mata semut itu.
"Jadi jangan pernah berasa lagi bahwa aku akan mengabaikannya, ya?"
One berdiam sejenak, lalu tiba-tiba membuka mulut besar dan mengangkat lidahnya.
Lick!
Seluruh tubuh Lian sunyi dalam sekejap.
Sementara itu, rasa terasa dan kepuasan mengalir kembali lewat ikatan, ia hanya menyatakan bahwa ia akan tetap berada di samping masternya selamanya dan terus melayani-Nya.
Lian mengangkat tangan ke tubuhnya yang basah dan matanya tertawa.
"Hei... dia malah jadi anak itu."
Kemudian ia menyentuh kepala One lagi dan mulai mematikannya sambil tersenyum.
"Untuk sekarang, kembalilah."
One berubah menjadi partikel cahaya tanpa berusaha kembali ke dalam tulang.
Masuk ke dalam kota dengan seorang Fallen yang luas, terutama pada hari yang sama ketika setengah pembawa kemarau sudah percaya bahwa Kain adalah seseorang dari prophesi, pasti tidak akan membantu menenangkan situasi.
Salah satu pejabat pembawa, yang memakai uniform putih dan abu-abu ratus, melangkah maju.
"Akomodasimu akan disiapkan. Lord masih ada dalam pertemuan, tetapi begmpuna ia memiliki waktu bebas, ia akan bertemu denganmu."
Akomodasi tamu berada di bagian tertinggi kota.
Di perjalanan, Lian memiliki lebih banyak waktu untuk melihat Region-nya, keboyaan air benar-benar melewati jalan.
Beberapa rumah memiliki teras kecil.
Orang-orang masih berhenti ketika Kainlewat lewat, berita telah bergegas lebih cepat daripada yang mereka kira.
Di setiap jalan, lebih banyak orang yang tahu tentangnya, tetapi reaksi mereka tetap berbeda.
Hormat.
Rasa ingin tahu.
Menyedihkan.
Tidak percaya.
Dan pandangan yang melihat Kain bukanlah seorang muda, melainkan sesuatu yang telah mereka dengar selama bertahun-tahun.
Anak Cahaya menjadi lebih tenang sebisa mungkin mereka berjalan.
Ketika mereka akhirnya masuk ke akomodasi, hal pertama yang dilakukannya adalah melepompa diri ke salah satu kursi.
Pendeta juga duduk di kursi yang berlawanan.
"Siapa persis Lord yang kita tunggu ini?" Lian memandang ke tua itu dan bertanya.
"Lord Orlian Veyra. Penyelenggaraan utama Wilayah Tiga." Pendeta menjawab.
"Seseperti seorang bangsawan?"
"Tidak persis."
"Keluarga lama memiliki Pengaruh, dan Sekretaris Ratu juga memiliki Pengaruh atas banyak keputusan, tetapi Lord adalah otoritas eksekutif tertinggi di Wilayah."
"Dia juga bertanggung jawab atas pertahanan utama Wilayah. Ia memiliki segel pusat dari tempat pelarian, dan beberapa array lama hanya dapat diaktifkan dengan izinnya."
"Jadi dia sebenarnya memiliki banyak kekuasaan." Kain menambahkan.
"Banyak, tetapi tidak mutlak."
Pendeta berhenti sejenak.
"Dalam hal biasa, sekretaris dan keluarga dapat menentangnya. Tetapi dalam perang, hubungan resmi dengan Wilayah lain, membuka arsip tertutup, artefak tinggi dari Divine kita, dan perjanjian lama... ia memil
After moving away from the crowd, Kain returned the Sphere Of Witness into his soul, he had no idea why this thing had suddenly come out.
But as far as he knew, this artifact had a consciousness of its own and it was possible for it to show such behavior.
He looked around and, after seeing that there were no longer ordinary people around them, he looked at Lian.
"Now is the time to summon it!"
"Here?" Lian raised an eyebrow, they were following the priest, and it was a little crazy to suddenly do something like this.
"It doesn’t matter, they can wait for a few minutes, besides, I want them to be a little more afraid of us after seeing the Godly Emperor Of All Ants."
"I can understand your intention, but what is that stupid title you gave my ant?"
Kain ignored him and simply waited for One to be summoned.
Lian also said nothing more and summoned the Ant Of Ruin.
Even the difference could be felt through the bond, it was heavier and its presence now had a majesty that had not existed before.
Particles of Light gathered in the middle of the square.
Several guards immediately put their hands on their weapons.
A huge creature formed from the particles.
Its body was more than ten meters long and its shoulders were several meters high.
Six long and powerful legs came out from both sides of its body, each one covered with thick black plates that looked more like the armor of a war monster than the body of an insect.
Every step it took seemed as if it could shake the ground.
Its sharp claws were buried in the stone, and it was clear that they would leave deep marks on the ground when it moved.
Its main body was made of several huge sections, and its entire surface was covered with black armor plates.
Deep cracks could be seen on some of the plates, and through those cracks, thick black energy flowed through the creature like blood through veins.
Ruin Energy.
Its head alone was almost as large as a human.
Two long and thick antennae came out from the top of its head and slowly moved through the air, as if they were checking everything around it.
But the most terrifying part of its body was its jaws.
Two huge jaws came out from both sides of its mouth, and each one had several rows of black and sharp teeth.
When the jaws slowly came together, a metallic sound spread through the air.
Several large black plates like the broken blades of a huge armor were placed on its back.
An aura of Ruin Energy moved around its body, the stones near its feet cracked and broke apart without even being touched.
Even the Mana in the air became unstable near it.
This was no longer a giant ant.
Its appearance looked more like a creature that had stepped out of the apocalypse, as if Ruin itself had taken form, grown six legs, and stepped forward to devour what remained of the world.
Two pack animals tied to a cart several dozen meters away pulled back in fear.
One of them neighed and pulled at its reins, and the guards half-drew their weapons.
"W-What... what kind of monster is that?"
The guard’s voice was shaking, and his fingers were trembling so badly that the spear in his hand was shaking.
Another one instinctively took several steps back.
"Just... just don’t let it look at us..."
At that moment, One’s huge head turned toward them, its gaze fixed on the guards.
The color drained from their faces.
One of them held his breath and his knees began to shake.
"D-Don’t... move..."
His voice could barely be heard.
"Just... don’t move..."
The guards who were supposed to protect the priest were so terrified that they almost fell to the ground.
"Calm down! It is with them!" The priest immediately raised his hand.
Kain paid no attention to the guards and walked around One a few times.
The head.
The legs.
The armor.
The jaws.
He was truly silent for a few seconds, and then he stopped.
"Okay... the name I gave him really isn’t good."
He paused for a moment, as if he was thinking about what name he should use for him from now on.
"I got it! From now on, I should call him The Eternal Abyssal Sovereign Of Ants!"
Lian completely ignored his friend and looked at One, and the ant also turned its antennae toward its master.
Lian completely ignored his friend and looked at One.
The ant immediately turned its antennae toward its master as well.
A feeling of satisfaction and happiness was sent to Lian through the bond.
There was no pride in One’s feelings.
There was only sincere and pure happiness and satisfaction.
One felt that now he could help his master again.
He no longer had to just watch him from far away.
Now he could once again stand beside his master in every battle, just like before.
This was all he wanted.
The only thing he wanted was to stay beside his master so he could protect him under any circumstances.
He only...
didn’t want to be thrown away.
Lian placed his hand on the thick armor plate of the ant’s body and gently stroked it.
He could understand all the feelings of his Colony member through the bond.
"One, you are the first member of my Colony." He said in a calm voice.
"You are the one who stayed beside me during the worst and most dangerous days of my life, when everyone had given up on me, you still stood beside me."
"I will never forget how you always tried to protect me."
Lian remembered how One had tried to save him in the Special Area.
Even when the Black Silence had taken control of his body, One had still stayed beside him, at that time, everyone had come to the conclusion that he was dead and they wanted to actually destroy his body.
But One? He still only wanted to save him.
In many other situations as well, this ant had always stood beside him.
"I will never forget your help." Young Vorhelm smiled slightly.
"And you will always remain the most precious member of my Colony to me." Then he looked seriously into the ant’s eyes.
"So never think again that I am going to throw you away, okay?"
One stayed silent for a moment, then he suddenly opened his huge mouth and stuck out his tongue.
Lick!
Lian’s entire body became wet in an instant.
A warm feeling and satisfaction were sent through the bond again, he simply declared that he would stay beside his master forever and continue serving him.
Lian looked at his wet clothes and face and laughed.
"Heh, bad boy."
Then he placed his hand on One’s head again and began to stroke the ant with a smile.
"For now, go back."
One turned into particles of Light without resisting.
Entering the center of the city with a huge Fallen, especially on the same day that half of the port had believed that Kain was someone from the prophecy, probably would not help calm things down.
One of the port officials, who was wearing a formal white and gray uniform, stepped forward.
"Your accommodation will be prepared. The Lord is still in a meeting, but as soon as he has free time, he will meet with you."
The guest accommodation was located in a higher part of the city.
On the way, Lian had more time to see the Region closely, the water canals really passed through the streets.
Some houses had small gardens.
People still stopped when Kain passed by, the news had moved faster than they had.
On every street, more people knew about it, but the reactions were still different.
Respect.
Curiosity.
Crying.
Disbelief.
And looks that saw Kain not as a young man, but as something they had heard about for years.
The Child of Light became quieter the farther he went.
When they finally entered the accommodation, the first thing he did was throw himself onto one of the chairs.
The priest also sat on the chair opposite him.
"Who exactly is this Lord we are waiting for?" Lian looked at the old man and asked.
"Lord Orlian Veyra. The current ruler of Region Three." The priest answered.
"Something like a king?"
"Not exactly."
"Old families have influence, and the Priest Council also has influence over many decisions, but the Lord is the highest executive authority in the Region."
"He is also in charge of the main defense of the Region. He has the central seal of the shelter, and some of the old arrays can only be activated with his permission."
"So he basically has a lot of power." Kain added.
"A lot, but not absolute power."
The priest paused for a moment.
"In normal matters, the council and the families can stand against him. But war, official relations with other Regions, opening closed archives, high-rank artifacts of our Divine, and old agreements... he has the final say there."
"How is this Lord chosen?" Young Vorhelm asked with interest, he wanted to see whether the ruling system here was a democracy or a dictatorship.
"The candidates are trained from childhood, but the final choice is made by the Divine of Light."
"Oh? How does it choose? Is there some kind of ritual, or does it simply announce it directly?" He became even more curious, was it possible that these natives had a way to speak with the gods?
"It is some kind of trial, all the candidates take part in it, and the winner is chosen as the Lord."
Lian sighed, what a shame.
After the old man explained a few things to them, he left, apparently he had to go and give his report.
It was expected.
Just a few days ago, a large part of Region Three’s forces had been killed in Silent Light.
The forces of Region Six had attacked their operation.
The ancient shrine had been opened, and the Sphere Of Witness had found a new owner after centuries.
The Child of Light, if the priest’s test was correct, had really appeared.
And that Child of Light was a foreigner.
Each of these pieces of news alone was enough to keep the leaders of a Region inside a meeting room for hours.
And before leaving, the priest told them one more thing, it probably would not take long before the other six Regions learned about the appearance of the Child of Light.
They might have already learned something even now, but Region Three would do everything it could to buy as much time as possible.
And this was not good news at all, at least Lian might be able to hide his identity, but Kain would definitely become the target of all six Regions sooner or later.
Time passed.
Near sunset, a pale golden color settled over the white towers of the Region.
From the balcony of the accommodation, a large part of the city could be seen, lights turned on one after another, and the green fields farther away were quiet under the last light of the day.
The water canals reflected the light of the sky, and the sounds of life could still be heard from the streets.
For a while, neither of them said anything.
Kain stood beside the railing, his elbows resting on the stone and his eyes fixed on the city.
"We were just passing the border of Base #9 for fun, and now we are involved in something like this." He then spoke calmly.
"It was your decision." Lian was sitting on a chair inside the room.
Kain turned around.
"You came too."
"I said it was your decision, not that I stopped you."
"Sometimes I think being your best friend must be some kind of disease, how are you this relaxed? We are going to be hunted by six civilizations!"
"Please don’t include me in that, you are the one who is going to be hunted, I still have many things to deal with and I don’t have time to deal with this one." Lian corrected him.
Kain was about to answer.
Knock. Knock.
The sound of someone knocking on the door came, and both of them turned their eyes toward it.
The door did not open.
The priest’s voice came from behind it, and this time his tone was more formal than before.
"Child of Light and his companion, Lord Orlian is ready to meet you."
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( Ant Visualization )
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