Jeremy Phillips appeared remarkably young amidst the assembly of middle-aged and elderly men who formed the Conclave of Cardinals. For a long time now, he had been the one exercising the authority of the Pope.
As the meeting commenced, his smooth, melodic tenor echoed through the council hall.
“The migration of the prairie marmot is one of the many indicators of climate change. These charming little mammals typically move in clusters toward warmer, sun-drenched regions in the winter, and migrate toward moisture-rich, humid areas during the summer.
“This is a report provided by the Academy of Sciences, documenting the migratory patterns of the prairie marmot over the last decade.
“Please look, everyone. We have been tracking one hundred and twenty-four large marmot populations primarily distributed throughout the Engal Mountains within the borders of the Holy Kingdom.
“In the summer, they chase the moist air brought from the Tesgard Highlands by the northwest winds, moving toward higher altitudes. In the winter, they move toward the sun-soaked alluvial plains and ancient river terraces at the mountain foothills.
“This has been the constant for ten years.
“However, this April…”
Jeremy’s tone shifted. His finger, which had been pointing at the grid map of the Engal Mountains on the display board, traced a wide arc. He swiped directly northward, plunging into a pitch-black zone on the map.
“These one hundred and twenty-four large prairie marmot populations have, without exception and without warning, abandoned their unchanging ten-year migration patterns. They have forsaken the safe and comfortable habitats passed down through generations in their collective memory and moved toward the Evernight Realm—a place completely unknown to them. It is quite baffling.”
Jeremy’s gaze swept across the conference table, taking in the expressions of the thirteen Cardinals. He rubbed his cheek with the base of his palm and continued.
“Prairie marmots are a species native to regions outside the Evernight. They possess absolutely no biological adaptation for that environment. Such a hasty, sudden mass migration is nothing short of suicide.
“Are they looking for a better environment to survive? Or… are they fleeing?”
At his words, a rustle of movement filled the hall. The Cardinals shifted in their seats almost simultaneously, their faces pale with dread.
Richel felt a cold shiver crawl up her spine, leaving her limbs icy.
Jeremy walked toward the display stand and pulled the locking pin from a Sealing Box.
The delicate internal mechanisms allowed the four walls to unfold gently under their own weight, revealing a palm-sized specimen of rock. It was a cross-section of sedimentary rock with longitudinal fractures. Within the solidified loose sediment, a strange, crystalline substance shimmering with a golden-green light was embedded deep along the cracks.
In that same instant, a surge of transcendent heat erupted from the golden-green crystals!
In just a few seconds, the council hall felt like an oven. Waves of heat rolled through the room, searing the skin and mucous membranes of everyone present.
Elliot, being obese, was the most sensitive to the heat. As the wave hit him, he looked like a melting candle. Greasy sweat poured off him, and his flesh seemed to sag. He fanned himself with his hand, suffering immensely as his fat wobbled visibly beneath his loose robes.
Jeremy calmly raised the walls of the Sealing Box and reinserted the pin, sealing the heat away. He offered a pleasant smile.
“Everyone, this is a peculiar object found this February by the Academy of Sciences in an ultra-deep fissure connected to the ancient utility tunnels of the Katina Sub-basin. It has been named ‘Hetero-chrysoberyl.’
“This substance possesses the extraordinary ability to transition freely between a crystalline state and a superfluid state, all while emitting terrifying amounts of thermal energy.
“The strange part is that while it was unearthed from deep underground, it is not a companion mineral. Its traces suggest a flow process that moved from the top down. It’s almost as if… it was poured in from above.”
Without giving the Cardinals time to process this, he pressed on.
“This October—specifically on October 3rd, just one week ago—researchers at the Academy’s observatory were using the Abyssal Lens to observe the sun… when they discovered a crack.
“Evidence suggests that the deity we worship is not some vast, infinite celestial Outer God. It is something… right next to us. A living thing.”
***
The Wand Workshop.
All of Prima’s stumps had been fitted with bushings.
Wang Yue turned around and gave the dozing little maid a light kick.
Dorothy woke up with a start and hurried to fetch the recovery potions to feed to Prima.
Wang Yue pulled materials from the crates one after another, laying them out on the workbench.
Ed-Bear had been incredibly meticulous with the packaging. The metal components were coated in a thick layer of rust-preventive oil, while the fragile materials were buried deep in wood shavings.
The body of a monster, but a heart of delicate detail. Moody, yet carries a little girl around. That’s Ed-Bear for you.
Because the preparations had been so thorough, the actual crafting felt effortless. Wang Yue’s movements quickened.
Mystic Arts: Fully active!
Fitting, cutting, punching, rolling, drilling, gear-cutting, leveling, calibrating, quenching, bluing… She worked with feverish intensity.
By late night, all the components were finally finished.
Wang Yue named this four-piece set of prosthetics “Lilith’s Remains.” They were a one-to-one replica of Lilith’s form, looking exactly like a real person.
Hmm… somehow this feels a bit off. It’s almost like the process for making a high-end silicon doll.
It was too late to finish the assembly then. The next day at noon, she and Prima returned to the workshop.
The soft wand Donna was responsible for was also complete. The wand’s body was made of a three-layer composite material.
First, the arterial tubes of a Blade-Armored Beast, treated by boiling in mineral oil.
Second, the fine tendons of a Ball-Rat. These weren’t supernatural materials; they were used to create a resilient structural layer to make the joints of the soft wand resistant to wear and bending.
Finally, common silicone was used for shock absorption and cushioning.
The core of the wand was woven from the jaw-fuzz of a Couatl. The tip was cast into the shape of a finger using a piece of precious Iridium.
Iridium was a supernatural blue-purple metal that emitted a magical glow.
In short, it was master-level craftsmanship combined with a “cost is no object” mentality.
Wang Yue brushed a layer of lubricant onto the soft wand and embedded it into the pre-carved groove of the prosthetic right arm. It sat there like a blood vessel, connecting from the fingertip to the shoulder.
Once the four limbs were assembled, she picked up the left arm and aligned it with the bushing on Prima’s stump. She acted with extreme caution, as if docking a spacecraft with a space station.
Click!
With a satisfying mechanical snap, the prosthetic locked in. Prima had a hand!
The disabled girl’s face flushed with a hint of surprised color. Her heart hammered against her ribs, and she looked like she might faint from sheer excitement. Dorothy clapped her hands vigorously from the side.
Wang Yue’s expression remained serious as her gaze fell on the prosthetic hanging at the girl’s side.
“Once you’re proficient with the left arm, we’ll fit the rest. Listen closely: there are two Pivot-Comb Spheres in the left arm. Your Mental Imprint is inside them. Try to remote-control them to pull the White Tendons and manipulate the components…”
It was easier said than done.
A single Pivot-Comb Sphere had over thirty wedge-shaped connection keys. For example, to move the pinky of the left hand, she had to control wedge key #020 on the wrist sphere to pull the specific tendon leading to that finger.
Moving a pinky was simple, but performing a complex action like a “handshake” required the seamless coordination of two spheres and dozens of wedge keys—over a hundred control movements in total!
To reach the point where it felt as natural as her own arm, she would need long hours of grueling practice.
While Prima struggled to control the left arm, Wang Yue picked up some metal scraps and used a power hammer and Witchcraft flames to forge a piece of Damascus steel. Since the tools and materials were already out, she decided to make a small knife.
While the steel ingot cooled, she picked up a pen and sketched a design.
Initially, she thought of making a wakizashi, which would fit a girl’s stature perfectly. However, a wakizashi wasn’t very practical for daily carrying. After some thought, Wang Yue decided on a kwaiken.
A kwaiken was the smallest type of Japanese blade, traditionally used by women. At about twenty centimeters long, the blade was thin and sharp, with a wickedly curved tip—perfect for a girl.
She decided that since she was making a kwaiken, she might as well make it a folding knife with a thumb-stud for quick opening.
With the help of Mystic Arts and Witchcraft, it was finished quickly. The handle was 12cm with a geometric faceted design and a side-press lock. The 10cm blade was forged with a cloud-pattern Damascus finish.
Additionally, Wang Yue engraved the High-Frequency Particle Blade rune patterns into the side of the blade and inlaid them with the supernatural Iridium.
This way, by injecting mana, she could trigger a particle blade. The actual power was less than a standard wand—about a third of the strength—but it was still quite impressive.
Having finished her little toy, she looked back. To her surprise, the disabled girl was already manipulating the left arm well enough to shake hands with the little maid.
Her talent was staggering.
