Read Novel Full Chapter 1673: A Sliver of Hope
Chapter 1673: A Sliver of Hope
The moment the bloody runes were drawn, they twisted and grew. Like living creatures, they intertwined across the crystal’s surface, forming ninety-nine interlocking astral orbits. Like a madwoman, Witch gouged out her own eyes, crushed them, and smeared the gore over the crystal orb.
The ritual circle awoke. The runes burst into flame. An impenetrable darkness swallowed Witch as overlapping, ancient whispers filled the air.
The whispers ultimately coalesced into a single name in her ears: Commander. It was less a word and more an echoing resonance. Yet, within her mind’s eye, the eyeless Witch truly saw that one name.
"Hehehe... around and around we go, and it all leads right back to the Champions Alliance!" She cackled. "Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous!"
The wind blew, and sand drifted down. A faint, salty tang hung in the damp cavern air.
Shortly after, Clown materialized in the cavern. He stared at the smeared remains of the magic circle on the ground, his expression grim.
"Witch, where did you go?" His voice was a low growl, thick with hatred and an undercurrent of rising panic. "Where could you possibly go? Come out! I won’t kill you! Just come out!"
But Witch’s presence vanished here. Clown couldn’t track her any further.
"If I can’t find her, I’m dead," he muttered, staring at the dead end. "There’s no way out."
Suddenly, his anger evaporated. He stood there hollowed out, whispering to himself in the gloom. "No. I’ve always believed there is a way out. Salvation isn’t handed down by others, nor by the gods. You forge your own path."
A chilling, spine-tingling laugh tore from his throat. Clown spiraled into absolute madness. "If there are no paths left, I will become my own path! Hahaha... Hahaha!"
...
Valkorath Realm, Blade’s Edge Peak.
Commander Thresh stood at the summit. His usual easygoing, magnanimous demeanor was gone. He silently watched the figure scaling the mountain.
Hours later, Witch dragged herself over the edge.
"The mountains embrace one another, their peaks layered like scales. The path is a ribbon; the dawn, crimson." Witch panted heavily. "Commander, your taste remains as profound and elegant as ever."
She had come with absolute sincerity. The moment she arrived in the Valkorath Realm, she sealed her magic and walked to the summit of Blade’s Edge Peak, step by grueling step.
"I thought you would be sorry about the Queen." Commander Thresh remained expressionless. He stared at Witch, his eyes pools of cold rationality. It was a rare sight; he had never shown such freezing detachment to Orion and the others.
"The Queen was too proud," Witch said, dropping to her knees and bowing deeply. "From the perspective of my own survival, I have never regretted betraying her. I feel no sorrow."
From start to finish, she had only betrayed the Champions Alliance. She had never betrayed the Commander. Her heart held nothing but terror for him—a terror so absolute it had warped into fanatical devotion.
"Why come here to die?" Commander Thresh asked. He met her gaze with an eerily calm stare. There was no aggression, no demand for an answer. His eyes simply stated that nothing in this world concerned him.
"Commander, I am here to seek life." Witch prostrated herself, her forehead pressed flat against the stone. The groveling posture was born of fear, a desperate attempt to hide from his terrifyingly empty gaze.
"Seek life..." Commander Thresh muttered. He glanced at her, then turned to the cliff’s edge, watching the rolling clouds. "There is no survival for you here. Leonidas and Alexander have been hunting you for a long time. Their murderous intent won’t simply vanish. I cannot help you."
It was a rejection, and a statement of fact. As a former member of the Champions Alliance, Thresh still held a sliver of leniency for Witch. With his overwhelming power and status, the betrayal committed by Clown and Witch—and everything they had done since—meant nothing to him personally. It didn’t affect the grand scheme. However, as the Commander of the Champions Alliance, treason was punishable only by death.
"I know I have no way out. By the laws of our Champions Alliance, betrayal equals death," Witch said, remaining motionless on the ground.
Thresh looked back at her. Her use of ’our Champions Alliance’ stirred a faint trace of pity within him.
"I am willing to die. Leonidas and Alexander can vent their rage on this body however they please." Witch’s tone suddenly hardened with resolve. The hatred of those two was insignificant to her. "Commander, I didn’t come here to confess my sins. I didn’t come to beg Leonidas and the Assassin(Alexander) for forgiveness, nor am I asking to scrape by. I came here for Hope. The Hope of rebirth."
Witch stood up. She retrieved a fist-sized crystal orb and approached Thresh respectfully, offering it with both hands. Thresh turned around, mildly curious about this supposed rebirth.
"This crystal holds a sliver of my soul and a few of my better memories."
Saying this, a sudden wave of relief washed over Witch. The terror vanished. She raised her head and met the Commander’s freezing gaze. It was cold, yes, but it brought her an overwhelming sense of peace.
"Commander, after this, I will seal myself into eternal slumber," she said. "I know you are searching for a sacrifice. I volunteer. Whether I am offered to the Four Gods or some other entity, I have no regrets. This is my true body. My flesh and soul are yours to command."
This was the inherent value of an Awakened, and Witch’s final act of defiance.
"If I am to be a sacrifice, I trust only you. Only the Commander can protect the sliver of soul within this crystal during a divine ritual."
In Witch’s mind, if anyone could truly stand against the gods, it was Commander Thresh. The man standing right in front of her.
Thresh said nothing. He watched Witch, the pity in his eyes deepening slightly. After a long while, when even the mountain wind seemed to tire, he finally spoke, his voice light.
"I will hand you over to Leonidas and Alexander first. If they spare your life, then you qualify to be a sacrifice. And no, I will not hide the crystal’s existence from them."
Witch smiled radiantly. She closed her eyes and slipped into an eternal slumber. Since her awakening, Commander Thresh had always been the one she trusted most. Falling asleep in his presence, she knew her dreams would be sweet, and she would be perfectly safe.