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Chapter 926: A Maiden and Her Gifts
Chapter 926: A Maiden and Her Gifts
Chapter 926: A Maiden and Her Gifts
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Whoosh!
After entering the rift, Valyr expected himself to appear somewhere in one of the many large forests making up the Shadow Plane alongside Noel.
However, even after a few seconds passed, the young man still felt as if he was traveling through space, his surroundings still a blur of multiple colors.
'What's going on?' asked the young man to himself, scratching the back of his head as he had not even gone through a similar experience like this in the past.
Fortunately, the answer to his question soon appeared in front of him, with Valyr appearing in what looked to be a modestly sized space around a minute later.
Thud.
Landing safely on the ground with the help of a couple spells, the young man immediately made use of the [Azure Eye] improved through Azure Energy as he took a brief look at his surroundings.
"I'm not too sure as to which part I ended up arriving in, but if there's one thing I'm sure of... it's the fact that I'm in the Shadow Plane."
Muttering these words to himself, Valyr took note of the fact that he had seemingly appeared in what looked like a shrine of sorts, the materials making up the shrine taking on the topsy- turvy nature of the Shadow Plane.
Walking around for a bit, the young man gradually became more certain that he had appeared in a shrine, taking note of the pillars, altars, and chairs that lined up the place.
'Did I end up arriving in a temple?' asked the young man after a bit more exploration, recalling the experiences Sellifer had in the past that she shared with him.
From what he could recall, Sellifer and her army eventually came across a temple far beyond the usual territory of the Shadow Serpents, obtaining an inheritance that allowed her to finally take on the path she wanted to pursue.
With that in mind, the young man began to wonder whether he'd arrived in a similar place as well, feeling a hint of excitement at the possibility that he had appeared in an inheritance through sheer coincidence.
However, all those thoughts faded away the moment a voice began to echo throughout the entire shrine.
"Greetings, outsider."
At the moment Valyr heard those words, he immediately looked around his surroundings, pushing his senses to the limit to see if anyone was behind him.
Though he had found no one near him whatsoever, the young man remained vigilant, circulating a bit of Azure Energy beforehand as he remained silent.
Surprisingly, the voice continued to speak after that, their words causing the young man to raise his eyebrow in curiosity.
"As expected, you're the one who's expanded her initial path."
"...Where are you?" Giving it some time, Valyr eventually mustered up the courage to ask a couple of questions back. "And what do you mean by that?"
Whoosh!
In response to the young man's question, a silhouette soon appeared before Valyr's very eyes, causing him to take a few steps back out of caution.
Though, after he felt that he had distanced himself far enough, the young man looked at the silhouette, causing his eyes to widen out of pure disbelief.
Standing in front of him was a woman that looked to be over two and a half meters tall, wearing a pitch-black dress similar to what nuns wore that covered everything except her face and hands.
Shifting his attention towards the woman's face, Valyr immediately noticed that she looked quite similar to Sellifer.
However, unlike Sellifer, her irises were pure white, which made her look hauntingly beautiful.
Aside from that, multiple dark lines ran along her face, scales, and hands, reminding Valyr of the paths that appeared when one comprehended the Inner and Outer Realm Scripture. Staring back at the young man, the woman soon cracked a refreshing smile. "Welcome to one of my shrines, Valyr. I suppose this is the first time we've met each other, even though I've kept an eye on you ever since you first entered the plane."
"Though, I have a feeling you might recognize me. After all, you've already interacted with one of my precious children in the past," said the woman soon after, letting out a chuckle after that.
Slightly frowning at how cryptic the woman spoke, Valyr prompted the gears in his mind to turn at their maximum speed, recalling all of the things he could that might help him in his current situation.
Thankfully, it did not take too long for a plausible answer to form in his mind, piecing what he could from her words as he looked back at the woman with slightly widened eyes.
"Are you perhaps the Serpent Maiden?" asked Valyr in slight uncertainty, causing the woman to let out laughter as she nodded in response.
"You took a bit longer than I thought to get to that conclusion, but yes.'
Though Valyr did not know what to say in response to her words, the young man inwardly let out a sigh of relief the moment she confirmed her identity, thanking her in his mind that she'd left a couple of simple clues that allowed him to do guesswork.
One such clue was where she mentioned he'd interacted with one of her precious children in
the past.
At first, he thought it was Noel, but that answer immediately turned into Sellifer once he thought about it for a bit more.
The other clue that allowed him to figure out her identity was the fact that she mentioned that she'd been keeping an eye on him ever since he entered the Shadow Plane for the first time.
With a bit of rummaging through his memories, he eventually recalled the final part of the memory Sellifer shared with him, putting two and two together in his mind to figure out he was currently in front of one of the most important beings in the Shadow Plane.
The Saintess of the Shadow Plane, also known as the Serpent Maiden.
"Were you the one that brought me here, Serpent Maiden?" Pondering over the various reasons why the Serpent Maiden would appear in front of him, Valyr decided to ask her a couple of questions, making sure he phrased it politely.
"That would indeed be the case." The Serpent Maiden nodded with a smile. "Thanks to your actions, you've further reinforced the connection the Shadow Plane has with the universe, which has brought a whole host of benefits to the plane's many denizens."
Going through the memory Sellifer shared with him in his mind, Valyr eventually asked back. "Is it because I discovered the initial stages to forming Azure Energy?"
"That would be part of it." The Serpent Maiden nodded back. "However, the reason why I brought you here would have to do with the fact you've intertwined the Azure Energy my child
discovered with the concept of the Four Elements."
"According to the system, it's called the Four Azure Paths?"
Hearing those words, Valyr nodded in response.
"Because of that, I brought you to one of my shrines in order to reward you for your
contribution," said the Serpent Maiden after that, causing Valyr to widen his eyes in slight
surprise. "Do you wish to obtain anything specific?"
Mulling over the question for a bit, Valyr eventually shook his head. "I... have no idea what to ask for. I'm quite satisfied with what I currently have, to be honest." "Normally, that would be fine." The Serpent Maiden nodded at those words. "However, I must still reward you for the contribution you've given, so as backup, I've already thought about the rewards I'll give you that would aid you on the journey to furthering your current
path."
"I'm sure you'll be more than satisfied after you receive them," said the maiden after that, smiling as she brought up a screen before her.
Ding!
Hearing a series of notification sounds resound in his mind, Valyr looked at the Serpent Maiden for a bit and saw her interacting with her screen, immediately understanding that it
was her doing.
Curious as to what she did, the young man opened up his notification screen, immediately being left at a loss for words after he read what was on it.
[The Saintess of the Shadow Plane is greatly pleased with your actions.]
[As your actions have substantially contributed to the betterment of the Shadow Plane, the Saintess of the Shadow Plane has deemed it fitting to reward you for your contribution.]
[With that, the Saintess of Shadow Plane has decided to bestow upon you a Growth type subclass specifically made to accommodate the path that you're currently traversing.] [Would you like to accept the subclass?]