Clockwork Bride

Page 185

The void expanded its domain, encroaching upon stillness with movement. The infinitely moving winds parted the stagnant, lifeless waters of the Dead Sea, splitting the water at the very bottom of the lower realm in two, turning the sea into dry land. The water split into two sides, like upright walls.

At this moment, everyone, whether scholars or workers, trembled so much that they couldn't even move their fingertips.

The Dead Sea isn't actually that deep. It should be more described as a vast saltwater lake or inland sea. That said, the Fallen City of Babylon is located right in the center of the Dead Sea, and its deepest point is at least four hundred meters deep.

How much magical power would it take to force such deep and abundant seawater apart? This truly is the power to move mountains and overturn seas, literally!

However, Hayden did not use any particularly long casting time. He merely meditated for a few seconds, pointed his staff, and used immense magical power to part the seawater, maintaining the parted state for a long time. It seemed like he did it very easily.

This is no longer the power of a god, or even a single god in battle. Although it cannot compare to the power of a god who could lift Mount Tai or cross the North Sea, this is true divine power.

True god-level!

The workers of the Adabit union, though mostly low-level laborers who had long been trapped in the slums and had never seen the world, were now living in the information age and knew what a god-like boss meant. Staring at Hayden's staff and power, they were all momentarily stunned.

As for the experts and scholars of the Sofia Order, they saw things differently, and their gazes toward Hayden were quite different.

The workers could only see the immense magical power visible to the naked eye, the earth-shattering force that divided the sea.

The Order's researchers, however, were all highly educated mages, and most of them could discern the pattern and pathways through which this power operated. Therefore, they all realized that it seemed to be some kind of wondrous art originating from something deeper, more distant, and beyond description.

The followers of the Sofia Order almost entirely subscribe to the doctrine of transcendence and ascension. Having the knowledge makes it easier to understand and desire. Now, seeing Hayden perform such a miracle, what will they think?

All of this was, of course, within Hayden's calculations—or perhaps even too much of a calculation. It was simply a matter of course.

The Dead Sea parted at Hayden's feet. He needed neither passionate emotions nor flowery speeches. He turned and walked back to shore.

However, everyone was already awestruck. Whether workers or scholars, they couldn't help but follow this dazzling light.

Soon, they all quietly began to take action, following in the footsteps of Hai Deng, preparing to jointly excavate this ancient underwater relic left behind five thousand years ago.

Abigail frowned.

She and Professor Albion exchanged a quick glance, both coming to the same conclusion: Hayden hadn't told them about this beforehand.

Then the witch glanced cautiously at Angela, who stood quietly behind Hayden. She seemed as calm as ever.

So Abigail hurriedly walked towards Hayden.

"What are you doing?! Performing a sea-parting act for them?!"

As soon as she floated over, she immediately muttered a complaint under her breath.

"You don't really think you'll be able to come here every day to separate and reunite with the ocean, do you?"

After saying this, the witch looked Hai Deng up and down carefully again before quickly asking, "Are you going to collapse from exhaustion next, and possibly even die?"

Hayden rubbed his still-aching temples and shook his head: "It's not as exaggerated as you say."

To be honest, Hayden felt much like he did two or three years ago when he first wished to summon Angela. Connecting with the unspeakable truth and altering reality had drained the color from his face, chilled him to the bone, and left his nerve endings still burning and aching.

This was magic Hayden had never encountered before, perhaps related to primal wish-granting magic, a magic he had comprehended from the true form of an ancient god from beyond the heavens… In fact, it might not even be magic at all. Its fuel was probably not just magical power, because a non-true god's energy alone wouldn't be enough to create such a powerful phenomenon. But Hayden probably hadn't expended his life force either, because not just any spell that uses life energy can accomplish this… He could feel something within his body beginning to change.

Perhaps the knowledge and power related to these ancient gods from beyond the heavens are not so simple. Perhaps, while being consumed, they also offer some form of reward...

At least Hayden wasn't worried about suddenly collapsing and dying. After all, Angela didn't seem worried at all. She was smiling and seemed quite happy.

"You didn't need to do this at all! I thought you originally wanted to combine these two groups and use their power to open a path to the bottom of the Dead Sea. You're actually wasting your own time to help open the path? What are you doing?!"

Abigail, however, could see that Hayden was greatly exhausted, which only fueled her anger.

"Who acts like this when they're a boss?"

As it turned out, these words actually made Hayden laugh.

“Well said. No boss does things like that. However, I originally intended to be a prophet and a mentor, not a boss.”

He pressed hard on his aching temple and chuckled softly as he spoke.

“What I’m doing now is certainly taking a toll on me, but it will make things easier for both of us afterwards. Now that I’ve demonstrated my strength, their morale will naturally rise. And it will be easier for you to command them than before.”

“I’m not good at carefully directing and organizing people, but I believe you will do a good job.”

The witch, of course, did not open her eyes wide in surprise.

She just stared at Hayden, that idiot, for a while before asking, "Then why did you have me recruit these workers in the first place? Wouldn't it have been better to just use force like this?"

Hayden turned to look at her and laughed: "Because prophets and priests have different functions."

The witch was speechless. She covered her face and cursed a few words in ancient language that even Hayden couldn't understand, then shook her head and turned to run off to direct the workers.

Professor Albion, on the other hand, who had been observing from a distance, only approached now. "Hayden," he asked, "I'm curious, why did you assign this task to Barbara Abigail?"

“I find it strange too,” Hayden chuckled and countered, “why not?”

The old professor raised his eyebrows: "You trust her that much?"

Hayden shrugged. "I have no doubt. Besides, she's capable of doing this."

The professor nodded in agreement.

The work of a prophet is to convey truth and knowledge, point out directions, part the sea, and show the way.

The work of a priest is not the same as that of a prophet.

Abigail has been a "comprador" between modern capitalist gods, the common people, and the underworld for a long time. This was said several years ago.

If the top executives of large companies are gods and the common people at the bottom are mortals, then the person who can mediate between the gods and the people is naturally the one who assumes the role of a priest.

However, Hayden now wants Abigail to become a new kind of priestess.

That's it.

————————————————————————————

And so the excavation work on the dead seabed began and proceeded smoothly.

As Abigail said, Hayden couldn't stand at sea forever to help the workers part the seawater; he couldn't keep doing that forever.

After all, Hayden was just a prophet, not a god.

And that is why workers and experts are so necessary today.

Hayden's ability to part the seas with his words is complex and cannot be explained in a few words. This includes his unique prophetic talent, as well as the two or three years he spent with Angela. Furthermore, this knowledge stems from his pure soul, which had previously confronted the ancient gods beyond the heavens, touching upon fragments of infinite truth.

That knowledge was the thread that wove the universe, the supreme mystery, yet Hayden could not directly teach these truths he had come to understand to others in words.

For example, it's like listening to a musician play the piano and then having to translate it into words to teach others. Or it's like having to teach a colorblind person how to distinguish seven colors. These kinds of expressions are obviously very difficult and cannot be explained directly in words.

That's why he publicly showed everyone the sea.

Those scholars and believers who witnessed it firsthand naturally gained a deeper understanding than those who merely heard about it. They quickly began to discuss and immediately started their research.

Hayden couldn't keep helping everyone prop open the seawater, but as Abigail joined in, grumbling and swearing, to provide various forms of assistance (with the support of several other technicians, including professors), they quickly devised imitations and substitutes for the runes and rituals. Then, they directed the workers to drive the finished product into the separated sea surface, like pillars supporting and fixing the separated seawater.

While they cannot, like Hayden, command the sea to part (at least not now), they are able to analyze, study, and develop rituals with similar power—even though they are far from complete at present.

However, Hayden no longer needed to expend energy to divide the sea, and could finally lead his team to the ruins of Sodom, a city dating back 5,000 years, more than 400 meters below the seabed, to check out the situation.

A natural-born prophet guides the way, while a trained priest is a ritual expert who makes the incomprehensible understandable. Their functions are naturally different.

With Abigail, Professor Albion, a group of researchers and workers led by Bogomir, and Angela who would of course come along, Hayden and his group wasted no time and flew directly down into the separated seawater, into the center of the Dead Sea, which had become a dry land at the very bottom.

"I never thought there would be an opportunity to explore ancient ruins in this day and age."

Hayden was initially quite happy.

Unfortunately, he soon discovered that things were not quite as he had imagined.

At the very bottom of this dead sea, beneath the parted, deep waters, lies mostly gray-black sand and bare rocks. There is no life here—no fish, no shrimp, no algae, not even bacteria. A few remaining fragments and traces of history, a thousand years of shipping history and a century of urbanization, are haphazardly mixed together. Layers of almost perfectly preserved shipwrecks are piled up. Clumps of junk, abandoned buoys, even unexploded bombs—everything is mixed together, layer upon layer, and all these remains, lying dormant here, have hardly changed at all.

In other words, this place is practically a garbage dump!

"The Dead Sea truly lives up to its name."

Professor Albion seemed quite pleased with this opportunity for field research and began to explain,

"The salt and death energy remaining here are enough to keep everything here almost still."

Salt, often used to preserve food from spoilage, possesses preservative properties and is magically endowed with the quality of "eternal immortality."

Bogomir, the mentor, added, "It is precisely because of the unique preservation of this sea that our order was able to uncover traces of the gods who had fallen from the upper realms. Otherwise, with the passage of time, those traces would have long since decayed and disappeared."

That makes sense. But Hayden found it strange—if the Dead Sea was truly so uniquely endowed, such an important research ground for the ancient gods, why didn't other major corporations establish research stations there directly, instead leaving this land to Astaroth, this fallen great devil, to manage?

Is it a cost-benefit mismatch? Or do large companies feel it's unnecessary? Or is there some other reason?

As they flew deeper into the abyss, they soon discovered that even the modern trash was becoming increasingly scarce, and below them lay only a bottomless, deathly silence. A chilling darkness enveloped them, giving off an eerie, elegiac atmosphere, pitch black and icy cold.

This chilling aura wasn't something Hayden alone felt. Everyone exchanged bewildered glances, even the usually most fervent Bogomir was breaking out in a cold sweat.

Abigail immediately muttered to Hayden, "I don't think this is a place we should be. There must be something terrible here. Hey, you're an expert at this, you couldn't possibly not have sensed it, could you?"

Hayden shook his head: "On the contrary, I think this is exactly what we're looking for—does anyone disagree?"

No one objected, although almost everyone was a little scared, and Abigail sighed in despair.

So Hayden said, “Let’s get started on this sacred adventure.”

207: What happened to the promised ruins adventure?

Hayden, Professor Albion, and the Sofia Order all wanted to go down to the bottom of the Dead Sea to excavate and study because they believed that there might be traces of ancient gods from five thousand years ago remaining there.

That being said, no one really felt that "many" traces would be left here. Everyone was basically approaching it with the mindset of an on-site archaeology.

When archaeologists go to the site for excavation and research, it's practically impossible for them to unearth a huge treasure, an ancient tomb, or a great secret like in tomb raiding novels or treasure hunts. In reality, archaeologists and historians, when excavating and researching, basically just use small shovels and brushes, crawling on barren land where it's uncertain whether they'll find anything, painstakingly clearing away the debris bit by bit. Finding a piece of bone or a fragment of pottery at the end of the day is already a huge surprise.

Using arcane engineering tools to dig directly open it? Of course not. Archaeology is not tomb raiding. Putting aside the possibility that excessive force might damage precious relics, the mere interference of magical forces could disrupt and contaminate the existing artifacts.

Hayden and his group had previously told the Adabit Guild that they wanted a pure sample. Purity meant it couldn't be tainted by the spellcaster's own magic. Because what Hayden and his group desired most were the traces left behind by the ancient gods five thousand years ago.

Based on this, Hayden and his group didn't really believe that the bottom of the Dead Sea could preserve a large number of complete ruins. After all, the attack by the God of Light was terrifying, blasting the entire plain into a crater in the Dead Sea. Plus, five thousand years had passed; how could complete ruins possibly remain? But that didn't really matter. The most important thing in research is patience. Both Hayden and the Sophia Order were mentally prepared for the work to be tedious and troublesome.

...As a result, they actually parted the seawater and went down to the deepest part of this Dead Sea pit, only to be met with a vast expanse of ruins, leaving them dumbfounded.

It is extremely difficult to describe in words what Hayden and his men are seeing now.

On their way down to the bottom of the Dead Sea, the surrounding area was mostly black basalt, piled up haphazardly, with some white fire salt crystals attached everywhere.

However, at the deepest point of the Dead Sea, the surrounding scenery suddenly changes dramatically. From rough, natural stone, it abruptly transforms into a bizarre and clearly man-made ruin. Scattered around are the remains of buildings, broken spires, shattered temples, and broken archways.

Most strangely, the buildings seemed to have grown out of the ground rather than been built. Irregular main roads and impassable alleyways formed an unfathomable labyrinth, intricately extending to the edge of sight. Red domes were everywhere, gleaming like the unclosed eyes of demons.

This bizarre urban ruin landscape looks like an indescribable cemetery. Anyone can tell it's ancient. But probably no one would guess that this is a relic buried in the deepest part of the Dead Sea for five thousand years.

The unchanging death, cold, and darkness of the seabed have obscured the passage of time here.

Thanks to Hayden's strong winds that blew open the Dead Sea, fresh air was able to blow into this forgotten abyss that was once shrouded in death, and the winds of life and movement were able to blow into the realm of death and stillness.

"...This is truly a pleasant surprise."

After looking around for a long time, Hayden uttered these words.

"We were worried about how much we could find here, and how much of it would remain. Now it seems like there's definitely something left."

If nothing had left its mark here, would this underwater ruin have turned out like this?

So everyone nodded. But despite their understanding, the terrifying atmosphere of death and cold surrounding them did not diminish in the slightest. It was as if eyes were watching them from the darkness.

The magicians fared a little better—the experts of the Sophia Order had received classical magical spiritual training, thus possessing a higher resistance to mental interference. Hayden's friends, needless to say, were even less susceptible.

However, the workers they brought with them did not possess such mental fortitude. Although the willpower and backbone of laborers were generally not bad, and most of the workers in the Adabit guild had trained their bodies with crude fire salt and practiced martial arts for a few days, the terrifying atmosphere around them originated from the supernatural power of the ancient gods from beyond the heavens, and it was impossible to resist it with ordinary willpower.

The residual supernatural power was enough to instill intense fear in mortals, and could even spread to others nearby. The prospect of near death stimulated the survival instinct, causing one to tremble all over.

Under the oppressive darkness and cold, they all trembled like leaves. In fact, the fact that no one immediately succumbed to panic and collapse was already a testament to their astonishing morale.

Hayden turned and saw the situation, reaching out his staff to help the workers—but before he could speak, Abigail began cursing and ordering the Sofian cultists to quickly cast a spell on the workers.

As the magic arrived, the supernatural fear the workers felt was instantly suppressed. The fear vanished, replaced by an even stronger surge of courage. The magic had defeated their fear, and a fire could be seen burning again in the workers' eyes.

Hayden, who had originally raised his cane to help, now had to put it down rather awkwardly.

"Stop stealing other people's jobs." The witch turned to him, glaring at him. "If you want me to manage the people below, then don't interfere yourself. When the boss skips middle management and directly instructs the lower-level employees, that's the most troublesome situation for the middle management. Don't you understand that? Huh?"

噫

Hayden really didn't understand the workings of middle management in these companies. He'd practically never worked a regular job. Although he was quite familiar with Karen, that rich girl had only worked at the lower levels for a few years after running away from home before starting her own business.

In contrast, Abigail, this witch, has probably been in middle management for the past four hundred years.

If ordinary employees are mortals and bosses are gods, then Kallen is a goddess who descended to earth to experience human suffering. As for Abigail, the priestess who mediates between superiors and subordinates, she's naturally the most overworked middle manager!

Thinking of this, Hayden had no choice but to shut up and back away.

This was a wake-up call. But Abigail was right. Since the Order had recruited so many professional magicians and delegated management to witches, it should indeed function like a real organization, with members dividing tasks and cooperating, and then having a designated person in charge of management.