Sometimes, when she didn't want to train anymore, she would also enter the deepest area of the maze to see the magic core that the survivors of Taquila had so many high hopes for.
"This is the completely repaired instrument of Divine retribution? Are you sure it's useful?"
The biggest core looked like a simple spindle apparatus, nearing the size of a Senior Witch's experiment tower. Dozens of white brackets like visceral ribs were releasing magic power into it. Its uniqueness was obvious as it was floating mid-air of the maze without any hangings or support. Due to the cold light that the core emitted, the floor was no longer plain red.
"Of course, I've been studying it for 385 years!" A piece of sarcoma appeared from above and landed next to her using its tentacles. "The more I study it, the more I feel like it's a creation of God. Comparing with it, the things that had been researched by the Quest Society like the Sigil of Magic Stones were literally trash. Well… they were not even close to the essence of the magic power. If we had found this ruin 400 years ago, there would be probably no second Battle of Divine Will."
Celine would always become extremely excited whenever talking about the magic core, so she could only pat her rough exterior. "Have you verified the other cores?"
"Of course, Pasha even used the phantom instrument to display a miracle at the extremely far kingdom of common people. Oh, you were probably still asleep at that time, so you didn't see it."
"That far?" she asked surprisingly.
"Correct, much farther than any ability can reach, even the Infinite Sigil can't be compared with it," Celine replied while shaking her tentacles, "This is the power of the magic core. It allows the witches to possess power beyond their limits. That common person who kneeled down in shock because of the miracle is the best proof. The magic core should have been our aim, not the damn God's Punishment Army! Long live Lady Natalia!"
"But without the God's Punishment Army scheme, we wouldn't be able to survive until now." She pointed out.
"Eh.... well, long live Lady Alice too," Celine murmured reluctantly.
"But I heard Pasha saying that in order to activate the instrument of Divine retribution, the Chosen One is also required, is that right?"
"Correct, the Chosen One! This magic core is too immense and complicated. Without the Chosen One, it would be just a dead object unable to become a new deity!" Celine used her tentacles to grab her hand. "This is why all of our hopes rest with you. You must find her."
"If she does exist."
Hearing that, the voice of the sarcoma became heavier. "Yeah… if she does exist. Why can't I become the Chosen One?"
"I heard that Starfall City has been defeated! They've been defeated by the common people!"
After receiving the news, the magma underground started boiling, and all the Sleeping Ones and the Waking Ones started shaking their tentacles excitingly, which was the only way they could express their emotions.
But not everyone was excited by the news.
"How can this be possible?" For instance, Alethea's dancing expressed shock and anger. "How can they be defeated by common people?"
"Are the news credible?" someone asked.
"I'll ask the Chamber of Commerce of Dawn to investigate this." Pasha moved her tentacles to quiet them down. "Behave yourselves, don't shake the whole burrow!"
Surprisingly, even though they all looked alike, huge sarcomas with several tentacles on their epidermis, she could still recognize each of them easily.
It was probably due to the fact that they had been living here for so many years that she could distinctly remember everything from their breath frequency to their tentacle movements.
Pasha bent her huge figure and immersed in the lava. "For Taquila."
All the sarcomas that could still move dropped down and many voices sounded. "For Taquila."
The turbulent lava soon calmed down.
"Once the news has been confirmed, I suggest we immediately retrieve the divine relic," Elena said, "Starfall City no longer fits to possess it."
"But in that case, a fight with the God's Punishment Army will be unavoidable and I don't believe that they'll be unprepared. Even though they lost to the common people, it doesn't mean that Hermes would also be vulnerable," Alethea said in doubt, "Who knows how the common people won? Maybe they just killed a few hundreds of God's Punishment Soldiers and then believed to have claimed an important victory."
"This is also possible."
"I also think so."
Many expressed their approval.
"The other common people will help us understand," Pasha said, "and right now, the most important thing is to find the Chosen One. Banach Lothar has already set up the stage. Now, it was time for the actors to perform."
"If she can succeed in finding the Chosen One in this trip, the demons will definitely perish and the witches will eventually reach new heights!"
She walked to the exit of the ruin and stopped.
There was a huge palace, half of it being covered by dirt. At the center of the palace, there was a patio that reached the ten-meter-high surface.
Bright white light shed down the patio, forming a gentle beam of light which lit up a piece of land at her feet.
Opposite from the patio, there were two tombstones.
In contrast with their shabby and dirty surroundings, there was no trace of dust on the tombstones.
Obviously, for hundreds of years, someone who had been sweeping this area clean, had also planted a small plain white flower for the person in the tomb.
She bent over, with one knee in front of the tomb.
This was where the greatest witches were buried. No matter what kind of disagreements they had before, or how intense their disputes were, it was ultimately for the survival of the witches. Thus, even after death, they were put together, never to be separated.
Two of the Union's Three Chiefs.
Alice, the unstoppable Queen of Starfall City.
Natalia, the dazzling Queen of Sunchaser.
"May the deities be with you."
After praying, she stood up and nodded to the top. "I'm ready, and please send me away."
A tentacle appeared from the dark, rolled up around her waist and rose towards the patio. The sky looked bigger and bigger until there was nothing but the sky anymore.
She blinked her eyes trying to get used to the bright light, then slowly opened her eyes and saw the long-awaited world unfolding before her eyes.
"I can only come this far." Pasha's tentacle waved from the hole's exit. "This body can't be exposed to the sun."
"I know." She bent over and hugged the tentacle for goodbye. "Wait for my good news."
"Oh right, you can't use your previous name anymore. The Chamber of Commerce of the common people will arrange a new identity for you, as well as a new more appropriate name—No. 76."
"Sounds nice." She smiled. "I 'll be going then. Take care."
"You too."
So, in order to pursue that faint hope, a new journey had begun.