Chapter 295: Chapter 292: Nodes and Fields

The Black Cultivator’s expression shifted slightly. He hesitated for a moment, then slowly released his pressure on Rorschach.

As a result, Rorschach’s Domain expanded on its own, but this meant he had to convert a greater amount of Magic Power, increasing the strain on him.

The two Domains formed a dynamic equilibrium. Different powers met and canceled each other out at the interface. Tiny, invisible crystalline particles precipitated out of thin air at the edges, only to quickly shatter and vanish in the turbulent flow.

As the Domain expanded, the strange vision Rorschach was seeing grew even blurrier. What had been like looking at flowers through a fog grew even fainter, as if the fog itself was about to dissipate.

His brain felt as if it were being churned and boiled along with the circulating Magic Power, his temples throbbing to the beat of his heart. At the last moment before the node vanished, Rorschach reached out. The node had no physical form, of course, but for him, it was more of a symbolic gesture—an attempt to shake it.

’Why did I think of that?’ Rorschach couldn’t say for sure, but he had a gut feeling that the node could change according to his will.

Rorschach’s intuition was correct, but he had no idea what he had actually triggered in that final moment.

"Why does it feel... so... cold..." Freddy had just caught his breath when he felt as if he had inhaled a huge mouthful of frigid air, the chill freezing him from his chest to the top of his head. Even the words he managed to speak came out slowly.

Just then, Singrev threw his hammer at the Black Cultivator, but both his movements and the hammer’s flight became sluggish.

Cold. Stagnation... The energy level of the entire area was dropping, and as it plummeted, new Magic Power was born. Both the Minstrel and Little Coal Ball felt as if their consciousness was decoupling from their bodies, and that they had gained a new sense.

Only the Dwarf was completely oblivious to what was happening.

The old man also noticed the change in Rorschach’s Domain. Without further hesitation, he decisively canceled the intense gravity inside the Church. The process was swift. The existence of Rorschach’s Domain had been predicated on the resistance from the Black Cultivator’s Domain; now, the circulating Magic Power broke free from its restraints, gushing outward in all directions.

The cycle was broken. With a muffled grunt, Rorschach stopped moving. The blurry node vanished completely. An invisible shockwave washed over the main hall, temporarily purging the old man of his power and sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Huh? The feeling’s gone?" The Minstrel savored the momentary experience. Although his body had endured a bitter cold, the new sensation had been wonderful. He felt that if he had plucked a Qin String just then, something interesting would have definitely happened.

Unfortunately, both Domains had been dispelled.

Rorschach raised a hand, and the Black Cultivator’s freefall slowed to a gentle drift. Bats scattered, fleeing the main hall.

With hammer and instrument in hand, Singrev and Freddy closed in on the old man, but Rorschach stopped them. Rorschach could finally get a clear look at the Black Cultivator—no, he should be called the Gray Cultivator now.

His robe was filthy, revealing a patchy gray underneath. It was impossible to tell if it had always been this color or had faded with daily wear. Only a small patch of the jet-black surface remained, slowly returning at the collar and hem.

The power of Is was surprisingly resilient. The recent shockwave was equivalent to Rorschach unleashing a full-power [Divine Exorcism Technique] and [Reversing Beam]. Even so, the Black Cultivator hadn’t completely lost the energy granted by Is.

"Cough, cough..." The old man’s hands were thin, nothing more than bone wrapped in a layer of pale, loose skin. But his face was well-groomed; his withered beard and hair were not messy.

A wave of energy emanated from Rorschach’s palm, but the Cultivator stopped him. "Don’t use... Oak’s tricks. They don’t work on me."

’Oak... He must mean the Druids.’ Rorschach respected the old man’s wishes and stopped trying to heal him.

The others, however, were still bewildered. The Dwarf pulled out a rope. "What’s with all the chatter? We can tie this guy up and question him now. We’re not losing any time."

The old man was amused. "Goblin, if I had really wanted you dead, you’d be halfway digested by bats by now."

’Wait, when did this defeated boss get such a sharp tongue...’ Rorschach had thought the Black Cultivator was some high-and-mighty, cryptic charlatan. Now that he was weaker, he’d gotten mouthier, mercilessly launching a verbal assault on the Dwarf.

"Say that again? Looks to me like you’re old and tired of livin’. How ’bout you eat my hammer and go to hell!"

"If you don’t like ’Goblin,’ how about ’gnome’? You’re shorter than the pumpkins I used to grow. When a Dragon comes hunting, it grabs the tall ones first. It’d be full long before it ever got around to you..."

Singrev erupted, but Rorschach and Freddy quickly restrained the Dwarf and the Cultivator.

It was a struggle to hold the Dwarf back, so the Minstrel just lifted him off his feet. Freddy said, "Old man, it’s true you didn’t go for the kill, but you still put me through the wringer."

"You’re a clever one. As long as you know."

"Then why’d ya attack us?" Singrev wasn’t satisfied. He felt like he was letting the old bastard off easy by not punching him.

"What nonsense is that, you... you stinking, pickled-fish-eating lout?" The Cultivator, slumped on the floor, looked genuinely shocked. He retorted, "Use that brain you’ve addled by shaking it around in your helmet and try to remember. Weren’t you the ones who attacked first? I was merely teaching some unwelcome guests a lesson."

’Come to think of it... the Dwarf and the Minstrel were the ones who were about to attack first, weren’t they?’

Singrev piped down for a moment. "You were skulking in the dark, playin’ spooky games! We saw those tentacles of yours waving around. You expect us not to defend ourselves?"

The Dwarf had a point. The Black Cultivator had been appearing and disappearing like a phantom. When he got agitated, he’d even waved the tentacles under his robe, which looked just like a monster winding up for an attack. After the bizarre incidents on Harold Avenue, Rorschach’s party was already on high alert.

The Black Cultivator sighed. "My apologies... I am too deeply steeped in the power of the Forsaken One. When my emotions run high, those... things... are not entirely under my control." Clearly, "the Forsaken One" referred to Is.

Rorschach looked up. The mural on the ceiling was still shrouded in a cloud of Spiritual Light. He focused on the unfinished section and asked, "So what exactly happened? Has Is left this place?"

"They were a being who descended to this world, so leaving is easy enough for Them." The Black Cultivator had recovered some of his strength. His hands were once again hidden in his robe, though one or two tentacles poked out, writhing brazenly. "During the Era of Silence—our time—the battle between the earth and the sky grew desperate. Is, I’m afraid, no longer dared to remain in Istani."

He continued, "You should know which two beings I refer to as the earth and the sky... no, it would be more accurate to use the sun as a metaphor than the sky..." The Cultivator didn’t dwell on the semantics for long. "In any case, the Forsaken One abandoned Its followers without hesitation. They abandoned the people with whom They had made a pact, and even violated the very pact They had sworn."

Freddy, who had been indoctrinated with traditional Mythology, couldn’t quite agree. "Is helped the Kingdom escape the tyranny of the Old Empire and the Lord of Order. They merely left us. Why should They be called forsaken for that?"

The old man bluntly refuted the Minstrel’s thoughts. "Child, do you think a Divine Spirit comes to this bird-dung-covered island to perform charity? If there ever was a truly benevolent god, it would be the very villain from your Kingdom’s history books—the Master of Light and Order. Heh. But that’s only where humans are concerned."