Had Amberxiu still been human, the sight of his own head being severed would have surely led him to prepare his will. But as an undead, losing one's head did not necessarily equate to death. Moreover, as a lich, his soul-box remained intact, so the severing of his head held little consequence.
The real question was, who was the pale, paper-like beauty in the vision?
Was she the one responsible for severing his head, or could she perhaps be someone he might come to know in the future… a *friend*?
If it were possible, Amberxiu would have gladly asked Harvey to perform another prophecy, no matter the cost. However, the goddess of fate was like an alluring yet elusive temptress—she might briefly lift her skirt to reveal a glimpse of what she offered, but should you seek to see more, she would quickly turn cold and pure, delivering a sharp slap in return.
No seer could withstand the sting of fate's hand.
Thus, all who possessed the gift of prophecy adhered to a single, unbreakable rule: one could not seek to divine the same event, or the same time period, more than once. Any attempt to manipulate this—by changing angles or focusing on different details—was nothing short of a provocation to fate, who would respond with a slap in kind.
This was the law of prophecy: once shown, it must be believed.
Only the supreme gods could defy such a rule.
Therefore, whether Amberxiu liked it or not, he had no choice but to continue observing the remaining six shards of prophecy.
After the extremes of sudden wealth and decapitation, the third shard was the first that Amberxiu could make sense of.
It depicted the Iron Slag Embers Bar on South Cross Street in Alchemy City, but in this future, it had been reduced to a ruin, as though crushed by some gargantuan force, shattered beyond recognition, leaving only a deep pit in its wake.
"Tsk, tsk, this must be the price for marrying into the Bone Dragon family and then straying... But what does this have to do with the secret of the sewers?"
Amberxiu was puzzled. The family drama of the headless man shouldn't be connected to the secret of the sewers—unless, of course, this bar hadn't been destroyed by the Bone Dragon miss.
Another confusing fragment. Amberxiu could only skip past it.
The fourth prophecy shard was as straightforward as the others, though it still eluded full clarity. It showed Amberxiu in the sewers of Alchemy City, seemingly performing a magical ritual, but the image was fragmented, leaving his actions indistinct. While the scene was clear, it was too vague to be of any significant insight. It could merely be assumed that Amberxiu had returned to the sewers—no prophecy required to deduce that.
"Such a waste—this shard has cost me tens of thousands of gold coins."
Suppressing his pain, Amberxiu turned his attention to the next shard.
Compared to the others, the fifth fragment was unclear, but Amberxiu recognized the person within.
It was the young druid who had hired him to save someone—what was her name again? After a moment's thought, Amberxiu recalled—Naomi Woz.
The surname stood out, hinting at a connection to a family with an ancient magical lineage, yet she was a druid, so it was more likely a coincidence of names.
Naomi's future, however, did not seem promising. She was lying in a pool of blood in an unfamiliar place, a long knife held by a figure standing beside her. What was most unsettling, however, was the killer's appearance. From the back, it seemed to be another druid.
Druid infighting? Or had Naomi broken some sacred rule and been honorably murdered by her own kin?
The scene seemed oddly familiar, and Amberxiu's suspicion grew.
"No way, did she die in the Wisdom Hall of Alchemy City?"
Alchemy City was governed by the Alchemist Council, and the Wisdom Hall was the meeting place for these high-ranking council members. How did this young druid end up there? Even if there had been some internal strife, it would be impossible for a murder to occur in such a location.
"Tricked into the sewers, and now a murder in the Wisdom Hall… What is going on? What are these madmen planning?"
The last two prophecy shards appeared to be connected, and the images they revealed left Amberxiu stunned.
For, the city of Alchemy City was flying.
It was a city on the brink of collapse, seemingly lifted into the air by some force.
Most of the city had been reduced to rubble, with fragments, broken buildings, and even living people still falling toward the ground.
What set these two fragments apart was that the final shard showed someone from the Empire of Ryan—likely a paladin—standing at the highest point of Alchemy City, with members of the Alchemist Council beside him. Their faces, however, were indistinct, their identities unknown.
These two fragments were undoubtedly the most revealing.
The idea of a city rising into the sky was not as far-fetched as it might seem. Long ago, the goddess of magic had allowed mortals to wield powerful magic, and mages from that time often built their own floating cities. However, after a catastrophic event—one that caused these floating cities to crash in a disaster far worse than a meteor shower—such feats of magic had been forbidden.
Amberxiu was not entirely clear on the details of that event, as it occurred before his time. What he did know was that, after that calamity, mortals were severely restricted in their magical capabilities, and the goddess of magic no longer generously shared her powers. Floating cities, it seemed, had vanished from the world.
So, were these lunatics attempting to turn Alchemy City into a floating city?
"This doesn't add up," Amberxiu mused. "The city is in ruins—what's the point of making it float?"
This hypothesis seemed illogical. These mad alchemists should have no real interest in creating a flying city. It was a path well-trodden by their predecessors, and certainly not something original that would showcase the grandeur of alchemy. Such a venture would be a waste of resources. After all, Alchemy City thrived on its academic and alchemical industries—what benefit would floating offer, except for increased transport costs?
A city of this size would still need to rely on neighboring lords for resources and taxes. Floating would do nothing to change that. It seemed a senseless endeavor.
"Unless... the city's flight is a last-ditch effort… Wait a minute, could it be because of the secret of the sewers? Is whatever they've uncovered down there so dangerous that the entire city must take to the skies to escape it?"
Amberxiu felt a shiver of certainty at this thought.
No matter what these lunatics had discovered in the sewers, they had clearly botched it, and now the only way to avoid utter destruction was to elevate the entire city.
"So, in the end, they're going to ruin everything," Amberxiu thought, his mind racing.
He had finally grasped the heart of the matter.
Amberxiu instructed Harvey to tidy up the laboratory while he headed to the library to search through a few ancient tomes, carefully flipping through their pages.
When the news of Alchemy City's flight reached him, he learned that one of the council members would personally visit Amberxiu's castle to discuss the fate of Paladin Allen Watson.
It was then that Amberxiu remembered. The headless man had planned to "spar" with Allen earlier, and several hours had passed—had Allen survived? Was he still intact?
End of Chapter