End of the Magic Era

“Not… Not just a resurrection?”

“This wasn’t all Vaughn wanted…” Although Vaughn had already died many millennia ago, Enderfa still had a hint of fear in his voice when he mentioned his name. “I once saw the design of a Heaven Rank Puppet that Vaughn had drafted…”

“Hold on…” Lin Yun felt something amiss when he heard this. “I didn’t hear wrong, did I? You said Vaughn drafted the design of a Heaven Rank Puppet?”

Lin Yun accentuated the words Heaven Rank.

“Yes, that’s correct.” But Enderfa replied in a natural tone.

“…” Lin Yun took a deep breath before forcing himself to calm down and ask, “You are saying that an Artisan drafted the design of a Heaven Rank Puppet?”

“Haha, an Artisan…” But Lin Yun hadn’t expected that these words would sound funny to Enderfa. He laughed for a while before being able to restrain himself. “You really believe that Vaughn was only an Artisan? Do you think that the alchemist that inherited the legacy of the Dark Sage, do you think the alchemist whose power shook the Empire for over a millennium, who made all Heaven Rank powerhouses unable to raise their heads, would only be an Artisan? Think about it, Vaughn took only three years to suppress the six Overlords of Crystal Island, how could he only be an Artisan?”

“…” Lin Yun was a bit dumbstruck when he heard that. Enderfa’s words completely toppled Lin Yun’s understanding of Vaughn. For a long time, Vaughn had already appeared in all kinds of records, and was always referred to as an Artisan. Although he was far more powerful than an Artisan, he still remained an Artisan.

In fact, Lin Yun had always thought it was odd.

But Lin Yun straightforwardly agreed when Lys asked him to join the joint expedition.

It was because Lin Yun felt that exploring the ruins of an Artisan was within his abilities.

But now, the Magic Tool Incarnation that followed Vaughn for millennia, Enderfa, was telling him that Vaughn wasn’t just an Artisan.

Not just an Artisan…

Then could he be a…

“Sai… Saint Alchemist?”

“This is something I don’t know about, I’m only a Magic Tool Incarnation…” But after Lin Yun threw this question out, Enderfa once again refused to answer and avoided saying anything concrete. “In any case, I saw him complete the design of that Heaven Rank Puppet…”

“Okay…” Lin Yun nodded but didn’t press the matter, because he knew that this strange Magic Tool Incarnation was hiding as many secrets as Vaughn. He decided to focus on the matter at hand. “Continue with the part about the Heaven Rank Puppet.”

“Yes, when I saw Vaughn’s design, I noticed a very peculiar part. Vaughn left two interfaces in the Heaven Rank Puppet to be used for Soul Injection…”

“What?” Lin Yun wondered, ‘Two interfaces? Was Vaughn thinking of injecting two Ancient Gods’ souls?’

But then, Lin Yun thought of something.

‘No… It wasn’t for two Ancient Gods’ souls!’

How formidable were Ancient Gods? They could casually kill an Archmage with a vestige of their power, it would already be very difficult for a Heaven Rank Puppet to host the soul of an Ancient God.

But if it wasn’t for the Ancient God’s soul, then what was it for?

Lin Yun suddenly was startled when he realized the answer.

He looked at Enderfa in horror. “You mean, the other interface was put aside… put aside for…”

“Yes, it was put aside for Vaughn himself.”

“…” Although Lin Yun had guessed, hearing the answer still terrified him. He froze there for a minute before saying, “What a madman…”

Now Lin Yun finally understood why Enderfa would say that Vaughn’s goal wasn’t as simple as resurrecting an Ancient God.

Two Soul Injection interfaces, one for the Ancient God’s soul, and the other for Vaughn’s own soul.

In other words, Vaughn wanted to fuse his soul with the soul of the Ancient God.

Vaughn wanted to take over that Ancient God’s soul!

There had been many crazy alchemists in Noscent’s history. The most common ones were the ones that kept saying that this world was created by alchemy.

But there had never been an alchemist as crazy as Vaughn.

He was trying to take over an Ancient God’s soul!

This was simply horrifying…

“And then?

“Then… He shouldn’t have succeeded…” Enderfa didn’t sound very sure. After saying that, he added a sentence to comfort himself. “Otherwise, that Ancient God’s soul fragment shouldn’t be in your hands…”

“That’s true…”

“But, Vaughn went to Crystal Island at the end…”

“…” Lin Yun’s face froze.

No one could be more clear than Lin Yun as to what kind of place Crystal Island was. That was the place where Gods fell. There was an Ancient God there, lying in eternal rest!

Several millennia later, every major force of Noscent would fight around Vaughn’s treasury. A war that would sweep the entirety of Noscent would happen then, before Bane and his Book of Death would sweep countless powerhouses aside and gain victory for the Ivory Tower.

Then, the secrets of Vaughn’s treasury had been completely sealed. Only several years later did people learn from some secret channels that the Ivory Tower obtained the corpse of an Ancient God from Vaughn’s treasury.

Yes, the corpse of an Ancient God.

‘Then what about his soul?’

Lin Yun didn’t dare to think about it anymore…

“What should we do now?”

“It would be best if you immediately leave this place,” Enderfa unhesitantly suggested. “Before you reach Vaughn’s realm, you shouldn’t try to come into contact with an Ancient God’s soul, that is something that would bring curses and disasters…”

“But…” Lin Yun immediately hesitated. Enderfa’s suggestion was telling Lin Yun to give up on the entire Demiplane. This would definitely be a huge loss for Lin Yun.

This was a naturally born Demiplane, it was malleable and had endless growth. When it reached its final form, it could even turn into a genuine world!

To Lin Yun, its value simply couldn’t be estimated.

“What? Hate to part with it?”

“You don’t say…” Lin Yun rolled his eyes. The number of people in Noscent’s history that controlled a Demiplane could be counted on two hands. Who would be willing to part with it?

“In fact, you aren’t completely hopeless…”

“Oh?”

“The Ancient God’s soul fragment shouldn’t have awakened yet, only a part of its power is leaking and bringing some change to this Demiplane. This change is bringing some benefits to this Demiplane. Just how much power does the soul fragment of an Ancient God possess? Even if it’s only some power leaking, it will greatly speed up the growth of that Demiplane. In maybe less than ten years, you’ll have a complete Demiplane.”

Enderfa then paused before continuing, “Naturally, that is only if the Ancient God’s soul doesn’t awaken in the meantime…”

“It’ll be over when it awakens…”

“You don’t need to be so pessimistic. You see, these forests, these lawns, these rivers, they are all born from the power of the Ancient God. Every leaf, every blade of grass, every drop of water contains enormous power. Do you feel it? Your flow of mana is ten times faster here. I can tell you that even if you search all of Noscent, you won’t find a place more suitable for meditation. The efficiency of meditation is at least ten times greater than outside.

“I know, but..”

“I know, ‘what if the Ancient God’s soul fragment awakens?’ In fact, you don’t need to worry about this. I didn’t tell you all this for nothing, it’s not as if there is no solution…”

“What solution?”

“Vaughn’s treasury!”

“Hmmm?” Lin Yun froze when he heard this. “You mean, there is a way to deal with this problem in Vaughn’s laboratory?”

“Yes, if I’m not wrong, Vaughn went to Crystal Island in his later years because of that crazy idea. Moreover, there are traces showing that he found some ways to control an Ancient God’s soul, or he wouldn’t have staked it all against the Six Great Overlords and wouldn’t have built his own tomb in Crystal Island…”

“That’s true…”

“So you don’t need to worry too much, you should actually use this power here to quickly increase your own strength. Who knows, when you explore Crystal Island, maybe you’ll be able to find the methods Vaughn left behind.”

“Alright, I know what to do.” After hearing Enderfa’s words, Lin Yun nodded and didn’t say much more. He opened the Planar Path and changed surroundings, once again appearing in the secluded valley.

“Cousin William, write a letter to Faleau, tell him to take the chamber of commerce’s mercenary group to Okland.”

“Okay.” William nodded and quickly used runes to write a letter. After being roused by mana, that letter written in runes immediately turned into countless rays of light and dissipated into the air. This was the Gilded Rose’s own communication method. It was extremely fast and would be received by Faleau in Thousand Sails City in a few minutes at most.