Thump, thump…
Creak—
Bang…
The unguarded entrance swung open, then closed behind her.
In the empty corridor, clear footsteps echoed through the hall, like the beat of a drum.
Her robe trailed on the floor, and she held a scepter that was more symbolic than practical. The Witch's demeanor was casual and natural.
Although the meeting was about to begin, she still had time to admire the intricate murals and carvings lining the walls of the corridor.
A hundred years, a thousand years—history was condensed upon them. This was also a unique hobby of the people of this era.
They seemed to have inherited the habit of chronicling history on steles from the Golden Age, preferring to engrave myths and facts on hard stone.
'But what's the point of this? Such useless ritualism.'
Her thoughts wandered, Medea, as always, criticized so-called traditions.
After all, in the Golden Age, humans used stone rather than other materials, probably due to technological limitations.
In their eyes, stone was likely the most common and durable material available.
But as time flowed to the present, stone was no longer more durable or easier to write on than a monster's hide… Witches had better ways to preserve their writings for ten thousand years.
"Traditions always have their meaning, Medea, even for us."
"The powerful are not necessarily ancient, but the ancient often contain power."
"Learn to revere history, revere tradition… You are no longer young."
At the end of the corridor, an old and gentle voice drifted from there.
It's that old geezer again… A hint of apprehension flashed in Medea's eyes, but her retort was unreserved.
"Nonsense."
"True power must transcend time, just like the common endpoint of witchcraft, deities, and Alchemy that we hypothesize."
"Let everything converge to a single point; that single point is everything. So, the ancient are not necessarily powerful; power is necessarily ancient. That is the true truth."
"In contrast, some dross from the old era should stay in the garbage heap, not still be placed on the table, hindering the progress of those who come after."
She dismissed the old man's words with disdain, even though Medea knew she was the one being unreasonable.
After all, the old man was speaking of reality, while she was talking about unproven hypotheses… But that's how arguments are.
She strode forward, passing through the large door at the end of the corridor.
The narrow space instantly opened up. Behind the door was a vast, inverted hemispherical meeting hall.
Twelve tables floated in the air, most of which were already occupied.
Excluding those who couldn't make it, was she the last one? Medea ignored a middle-aged man's furious glare and casually nodded to the old man who had spoken earlier.
Flying up, the Witch arrived at her seat and then leaned back lazily on the armrest.
Her gaze swept across the hall, finding a timer.
Counting down three seconds, Medea said coolly:
"Hmm, 3… 2… 1… I'm here, and I'm three breaths early, not late."
"So, if there are no questions, can we begin? After all, everyone's time is tight; there's no need to waste it here."
"You—!"
The middle-aged Wizard slammed his hand on the table and rose in anger.
It was that indifferent attitude again. He had long disliked this God-descended Witch who never took anything seriously.
However, Medea didn't even glance at his anger.
She merely looked at the old man at the head of the table, her eyes questioning what he wanted.
"Ahem… Alright, Erwin, please sit down first."
"Medea, you should also speak less."
At the forefront of the twelve suspended platforms, the dark oak staff gently tapped the ground, and the old man's gaze turned towards the Witch.
Cloudy eyes, sparse hair, faint Life aura… No matter how one looked at it, this was the appearance of a person on the verge of death.
However, seeing this, Medea took a deep breath and reluctantly straightened her posture.
A hundred years ago, this old man was already like this. At the time, she thought she would finally outlive him, but a hundred years passed, and he was still in this half-dead state.
The Witch wasn't entirely sure how he broke through the limits of mortal lifespan, but one thing was certain:
She was indeed wary of this old man. So, although she tried to probe his condition in various ways every time, as long as he became serious, she would still maintain a degree of caution.
"…Very good."
Withdrawing his gaze, the old man's smile remained gentle.
"Since everyone is here, let's begin."
"In fact, the reason I summoned you all here today is for a matter of great importance concerning the future and survival of the White Tower."
"Some of you may already know, while others are oblivious to worldly affairs… But it doesn't matter; I will explain everything clearly."
"Thirteen days ago, the chief god of Mount Olympus, Ares, the God of War, descended upon Olympia."
"Seven days ago, at his summons, hundreds of thousands of troops and millions of farmers and auxiliary soldiers gathered around their royal city."
"They were ready for battle, calling upon priests and nobles from all directions."
"Two days ago, Ares personally assumed command and led a million troops eastward."
"And his declared purpose for deploying troops… was that esteemed sage, the apprentice of the Goddess of the Magic Web, Chiron the Centaur."
He paused slightly, seemingly giving people time to digest the news. From the high platform, someone directly asked:
"So, Your Excellency's meaning is?"
"It's not my meaning," the old man shook his head, "it's our meaning."
"Years ago, the constellations already foretold the War in the mortal realm. But when exactly War would arrive, to what extent it would develop, and whether it concerned us, has always been a mystery."
"Until today, the God of War, by personally entering the fray, has put an end to these conjectures. This War will affect both the human and divine realms, and Silvermoon City will not escape it."
"Ares, the God of War of Olympus, will undoubtedly thrive in such an environment—but what we truly need to discuss now is whether we should do anything in this War, to what extent, and how."
"I know, perhaps some of you have other intentions. For you, staying in Silvermoon City is not necessarily a definitive choice."
"But regardless, since you are still here, Ares's spearhead is the problem we need to face."
The old man's words were very clear, and as his voice faded, several people on the suspended platform instinctively exchanged glances.
Other intentions… Indeed, although they were all familiar with each other, no one could be sure of anyone else's stance.
After a long silence, at a certain moment, Medea was the first to break the stillness.
"I abstain."
The Witch spoke calmly, her gaze sweeping across the hall.
"I will fulfill my responsibility as the master of the Clock Tower and protect this city, but that is all."
"As for the remaining matters, I will not participate."
"I also abstain."
Immediately following, a Wizard, whose true age was unknown but whose appearance was like that of a youth, stood up.
"The Centaur's actions are too reckless. He has a Goddess as his backing, but we do not."
"I also abstain."
"I also abstain."
"I will not participate in the subsequent discussion… whether you fail or succeed."
The next moment, two more voices sounded, followed by two flashes of spiritual light.
After Medea and the young Wizard, the two Tower Masters who chose to 'abstain' directly teleported out of the hall according to protocol.
Since they chose not to express a stance, it meant they forfeited their right to know.
Whatever happened here afterward would be irrelevant to them.
"Four abstentions… Is anyone else abstaining?"
With an expression devoid of joy or sorrow, the old man's gaze swept over those present.
"This is not your obligation; you also have the right to refuse."
"…"
For a long time, no one answered, and the hall was silent.
Until at a certain moment, a grey-haired old woman, also leaning on a staff, gently tapped the ground.
From her appearance, she was not much younger than the old man. If he was already ready for the coffin, she was but a step away.
"That's enough… Those who should leave have left."
"Medea is a God-descended. Her lifespan is still very long; she won't take risks."
"Although that kid Chiron is not young anymore, we old geezers can all guess that he wants to seek refuge in hell—that is, the world of those devils."
"They all have their own ideas, which is not bad, but shouldn't you also state your intentions?"
"Half of the people remaining here are your disciples… You should have nothing to fear."
"Caution… is always necessary."
The old man spoke faintly, moving his fingers.
Silently, sheets of paper covered in small script appeared before everyone present.
"A contract for keeping secrets… I must say, in this regard, the methods of those devils are indeed formidable."
"If their rules weren't so strict, I might not have come to this point…"
As the signed contracts spontaneously combusted without wind, and the invisible restraint officially took effect, the old man finally nodded slowly.
A hint of coldness flashed in his cloudy eyes. He spoke calmly, stating his true intentions.
"Actually, regarding the experiments I've conducted over the years, you should all have some guesses, right? Even if you didn't know at first, with a little thought, you could always find some connection."
"Indeed, if nothing goes wrong, what you've been doing in private should be related to Gods."
The old woman showed an 'as expected' expression, then gently shook her head.
"However, my guesses stop there. What exactly you've done and what your plans are, I'm still not very clear—in fact, what I'm more curious about is… Since you've found a way to extend Life, why would someone of your character choose to continue taking risks?"
"This is illogical and doesn't conform to your usual conduct. The only explanation is that your materials have run out."
"After all, materials from Gods are not that easy to obtain, unless you captured a living God. So, in this War, your goal is the flesh and blood of a God or something else, isn't it?"
"If you intend to target Ares, it won't be that easy."
"…"
"Haha… You truly understand me."
After a moment of silence, seemingly marveling at the old woman's insight, the old man chuckled a few times.
"Indeed, unless a God can be captured, no matter how many materials there are, there will come a day when they run out."
"However, you guessed wrong on one point. What happens to Ares is actually irrelevant to me. Although he is very powerful among Gods, for my experiment, the strength of a God is not important."
"In fact, compared to Ares, my target is someone else… Have you heard of the ancient God of Stars, Astraeus?"
"God of Stars?"
The old woman frowned, then quickly relaxed:
"I remember him, that descendant of a Titan God, who hasn't appeared in the mortal realm for over a thousand years… Wait, you wouldn't be thinking of directly capturing him, would you? You want to capture a God?"
"Is that not possible?"
The old man spoke faintly, smiling.
"Gods can also be hunted. However, to prevent any accidents, I need you to defeat Ares on the front battlefield, to attract enough attention for me, and even draw the attention of all Gods who are free to focus on the mortal realm."
"Only then can I complete my plan."
"And in return, I will sign a contract with you. As long as my plan succeeds, I will place Astraeusunder our joint supervision. Anyone will have the right to study the secrets of Gods through him."
"And at the same time, I will also transfer my previous experimental sites and some data to you, sharing my results with you."
"How about it? Such sincerity should be enough, right?"
"Every word I said earlier can be written into the contract, witnessed by the creations of those devils, to attest to my oath."
Is it enough?
Naturally, it was enough, even exceeding the old woman's previous expectations.
Transferring experimental sites, opening up early data, and even sharing the greatest achievement—the captured God themselves in the future.
According to her earlier thoughts, it would have been a very good outcome if this old man was willing to sign a contract and promise to share enough finished products with them.
But in this case, the old woman couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious.
"…Alright, but the contract will be drafted by me. Of course, you can observe."
After pondering for a moment, finding no issues, the old woman ultimately couldn't resist the temptation.
"As for Ares, he is not a problem."
"Even if the Divinity of War can bring him extra power, he is not alone."
"And dealing with mortal armies is simply too easy."
Immortality… She didn't care about it when she was young.
Only when she got old did she realize the true value of that word.
Sighing inwardly, if possible, the old woman also didn't want to do something with unknown risks, but she no longer had time.
Even knowing the uncertain risks ahead, she had no choice but to carry her lantern and press forward painstakingly in the darkness.