Chapter 367: Can the Prophecy Be Trusted?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Hao Ren squinted as he looked at Big Beardy. "You're saying that there's a Sacred Cavern under Beinz? And the entrance is at the bottom of the lake?"
Big Beardy's expression did not change. "Yes. The Cavern is one of the three sacred grounds. Every Originator of Life is being sealed at the closest point where they were found, and the Sacred Cavern is one of them. This is the Goddess' will in her order to us.
Hao Ren was surprised to find that the Diocese of Beinz had such a special place in it. It was not only contained the ruins from the time of the calamity, it was also the place where the Originator of Life was sealed. The location of the Sacred Cavern was just by the side of the Dragonspine Ridge, the Gnarled Grove, the Blood Lake, the monsters that were created by the mage emperors... All this are gathered in one same spot!
"You already knew that the cavern would be opened?" Hao Ren raised an eyebrow at Big Beardy. "And it was opened by us... How did you even thought of it?"
Big Beardy kept his straight face. "There's no ill intention, really. And I never thought that you would be able to open the place and so just let you try it. Ever since the first pope had opened the cavern to retrieve a few sacred items, all three caverns had since shut by themselves. Based on the Holy Prophecy, the chosen of the Goddess will come from a place beyond sky and earth, the guests from the stars, as they are known. It had been something that many had tried to uncover for thousand of years, until our disappearance into another world. I believe the chosen ones are the people like you, the ones who can freely crossover worlds."
Hao Ren was stunned, and a very strange feeling came welling up. "You mean to say someone had already prophesied our coming three thousand years ago?"
Prophecies, omens, fates, all these nonsensical mumbo jumbo had been totally ignored by Hao Ren. No one actually likes to feature in an ancient prophecy, it almost as if his each and every movement was pre-determined. But if the prophet was a God or a Goddess like Raven12345, then it was understandable at the very least. Lets take Raven12345 for example, even though she was omnipotent and a rowdy excuse of a Goddess, she did not dictate how Hao Ren should do things. And now the person who foretold their coming was a old coot from the Plane of Dreams three thousand years ago!
That sent chills down Hao Ren's spine.
"The first pope had spoke directly to the Goddess and had received an inconceivable amount of divine power. Him being able to foresee this is nothing weird." Big Beardy nodded. "You all came from another world, and the place that you are heading to is the bottom of the sacred lake, that just so happen to be the entrance into the Sacred Cavern. The thing that you did was to take away something from there, and that matches that the prophecy said. So I decided to let you lot try. It was until the entrance had really opened that I was only certain that you were really the ones in the prophecy, so I decided not to tell you about this at first."
"Now that the vortex had appeared that you believed that we are the chosen of the Goddess?" Hao Ren was rather confused. "And so that's why you are so forthright now?"
Big Beardy nodded. "I hope you understand why I did things the way I did. I don't know why the Goddess will choose a group of unbelievers to activate her sacred vaults, but her orders are absolute. If that is her will, so it will be my calling without question, and I will see to it's completion without a flaw."
Hao Ren waved his hand, motioning that he was still confused and need something to think. Vivian who was listening by the sideways then looked towards Bishop Gelton, "It seems like only four of you knows about this? That bishop over there looks awe-struck by the vortex."
"The tale of the Sacred Cavern is not a secret." The hoarse-sounding female ascetic spoke. "But its location is secret. Only the first pope and a few ascetics know that under every Divine Sacrophagus is a Sacred Cavern. Not even the bishop in charge of protecting the sacrophagus knows it, much less anyone else. So before we were certain that you were the chosen ones as foretold in the prophecy, we could not risk telling you this."
Hao Ren was mumbling to himself. Things were progressing a little too fast that before he could react that things had already sped along. At present only the ascetics led by Big Beardy know about the Sacred Cavern. They had simply looked on when Hao Ren and his group had unknowingly worked to open the cavern, and it was only now that they revealed it to him. That, was just too much for Hao Ren to digest.
Vivian pointed towards Gelton, Ophra and the mages, "If the Sacred Cavern is a secret, why did you let these people near it?"
"No matter, the 'key' to open the core is with us after all." Big Beardy said almost nonchalantly.
"How do you see this?" Hao Ren asked his group after the ascetics had left them.
Lily pondered for a moment before going, "I'm hungry."
Vivian glared at the dumb husky and pulled out a pack of spicy stick and stuffed it into her arms. "Go then, nothing to see for you now."
"I feel that the whole chosen thing is hogwash," Y'zaks was rather serious about the question. "I don't think a mere mortal could foretold this three thousand years ago. Even if the prophet was their Goddess, it is probably a fake entity that only exists in this world. This 'Goddess'' ability could not even be projected beyond her domain, and you expect me to believe a mere believer could predict someone's coming three thousand years later?"
"But things are weird as it is." Vivian frowned. "We did appear just like the prophecy, and we also opened the entrance to the Sacred Cavern. I'm keen tobelieve that the previous popes of the Disciples of Glory had tried other ways to open the cavern, but none of them were successful, and they had made up a story that only the chosen of the Goddess can open the entrance. And the situation now..."
"We blew a god damned hole in the place..." Hao Ren swallowed his saliva.
Becky simply blinked as she swallowed her saliva even harder. "You think someone will off me to keep things under wraps?"
She was just a simple mercenary and had been dragged into the whole matter almost unknowingly. She was almost vibrating when she said that.
Hao Ren did think there was some element of danger to that. The four ascetics were onboard with them so they are not a threat. But who knows what awaits them in the Sacred Cavern, what if the 'Goddess' had required a few chosen as blood sacrifices to open the vault? That Goddess had wiped out a whole world without as much as blinking. Certainly not as kind a deity as Raven12345!
Now the whole chosen of the Goddess had a rather omnious feel to it!
Hao Ren pulled the MDT out of his pocket, "Stay on alert later. If there's any traps or whatnot immediately cut the connection with the Plane of Dreams. Also, just keep an eye out of Wuyue's position. Don't let her get into trouble. This whole place is getting weirder by the minute."
"I understand. But you are holding me the other way around. The face with the serial number face upwards remember?"
Hao Ren frowned as he flipped the MDT over. "As a PDA you are sure demanding."
"Nonsense, for someone who had been speaking to another's butt, you're sure acting all normal."
"..."
By that time, the party had already reached the vortex in the middle of the Blood Lake.
The aquamancers had already created a wide path on the surface of the lake and the party walked towards the vortex on the surface of the water. While this was not as elegant as how Wuyue manipulates water, this was more well suited to landlubbers. Hao Ren felt a sense of amazement as he looked at the roiling lake waters beneath him. Lily was busy chewing on her spicy sticks as she mumbled. "I think we will be jumping into the vortex soon..."
"Stop eating! You might accidentally transform later from a bloated stomach!" Hao Ren tried to pull the spicy stick from Lily's mouth but the werehusky responded with a gnashing growl. It is indeed difficult to pull food out of a dog's mouth.
Lily licked her lips as she hugged her precious spicy sticks. "I'm getting all ready to transform. My six sense tells me that a fight is coming up."
The vortex was a scene of storm and fury and the heart of it stood in front of the group. It was almost too terrifying a sight to behold and the two dozen people standing before it were nary but gnats that would be swallowed by the raging waves at any time. The aquamancer's water path towards the side of the mouth of the vortex was the furthest they could go. Once there they started creating a magical circle to strengthen the 'base' beneath their feet.
Becky stretched her head out to look at what was before them and the moment she saw the vortex she quickly turtled back. "Goddess preserve me, can I still quit now?!"
"The eye of the vortex... where does it leads to?" Gelton fearlessly stood in front of the vortex. He was covered by a seemingly divine golden shroud, almost as if he was a divine being. His cloudy eyes looked into the heart of the vortex, and almost as if he could see through the deep swirling blood waters. "There's something at the bottom of the lake, probably a cave."
Ophra was clad in her usual gear as she stood beside Gelton. "Seems like there's only one way down. There is some sort of spellwarding at the bottom of the lake, and the current is very rapid. I'm afraid the mages are not much help here. If there's a hole under the lake that's all fine, but if it's just a vortex.... we'll probably be trapped there.
Gelton's suddenly turned serious. "... I'm already very old..."
Ophra raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Gelton did not reply and simply just stepped into the vortex.