Night Journey

Chapter 84 Promotion
Finally, the day of Cillian's promotion arrived.

It wasn't a particularly special day; it was just that Cillian woke up in a good mood, and the sun was shining brightly under a cloudless sky.

"What a nice day."

The warm sunlight shone on his face, and Cillian thought of his past life.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Cillian chose to advance at home. He cleared out the living room, drew a ritual array, cooked extraordinary ingredients, and refined them into a potion.

Bruce stood quietly to one side, with two machine guns that had been pre-cast and filled with Soul Essence Bullets purified from Cillian's blood, to prevent any accidents from happening.

For those with extraordinary abilities, even if they have embarked on the path of destiny, their subsequent advancement is not always smooth sailing.

The Sea of ​​Origin is filled with chaotic power and is restless all day long. No one knows what kind of crisis the extraordinary beings will encounter when they struggle to move forward on the Binding Source Staircase.

From what Cillian learned in the book alone, there were unexpected events such as hallucinations, attacks by chaotic creatures, the sudden shattering of the Binding Source Long Staircase, and even the rise of evil spirits.

"Phew... there shouldn't be any problems."

Cillian clenched his left hand, examining the location of the Ouroboros Seal.

When Cillian first stepped into the Sea of ​​Origin, he faced a series of life-threatening crises, but miraculously survived each one.

This was not a miracle, nor was it due to luck; it was simply that the Ouroboros Seal saved Cillian's life at a crucial moment.

It can be said that the existence of the Ouroboros Seal is a crucial trump card that allows Cirion to dare to advance.

“Then I’ll begin, Bruce.”

Ciri stood in the center of the ritual array and picked up the still-warm potion.

"Bon Voyage."

Bruce thought for a moment and added, "If anything goes wrong, I'll run away myself."

"Haha."

Cillian chuckled twice and drank the potion in one gulp.

It was that familiar burning sensation, as if I had swallowed burnt charcoal, which traveled down my throat and into my stomach, burning me from the inside out, using my body as fuel.

Cillian closed his eyes, and only opened them again after hearing the desolate sound of the ocean waves.

Lead-gray clouds rolled and overlapped, filling the entire sky. Only through a few gaps could pure white light shine down, and thunder occasionally came from the depths of the clouds, sounding as distant as the booming of a giant bell.

"The Sea of ​​Origin..."

Cillian muttered to himself, having returned here once again after many days.

The beginning of all souls and life.

This time, Cillian did not awaken in the sea, but appeared directly on the Bound Source Long Staircase.

He thought it was the place where he had disappeared last time, but Cillian was standing on a long staircase far from the sea, and below the staircase, he did not see Randolph, who had long since died.

I was randomly thrown onto a long staircase.

"Is there no concept of space and time?"

Cillian looked around.

Last time he was in too much of a rush and barely had a chance to properly observe the Sea of ​​Origin, but this time he finally had the time.

At the edge of the boundless sea, the rising sea fog blended with the sky, making it impossible to distinguish the boundary between the sky and the sea.

Without having to search for it, Cirien spotted the giant tree that held up the sky and the sea at a glance.

Miracle Creation: The Whispering Tree.

The sea breeze rustles through the treetops that reach deep into the clouds, and thousands of leaves whisper and weave an unnamed lullaby that brushes across the calm sea waves.

The tree roots, deep within the Sea of ​​Origin, slowly shifted, like a sorting machine, picking up fragments of the Bound Source Long Step from the sand and gravel of the seabed and salvaging them one by one.

In the middle of the giant tree, a silver ribbon rose from the sea, slowly ascended around the tree, disappeared into the clouds, and then turned into a heavy rain.

That must be the Silent River, a stream drawn and purified from the Sea of ​​Origin by the Mystic Philosopher. The extraordinary beings who awaken from the Silent River will safely embark on their destiny's journey.

Looking around, all that was left for Cillian was the undulating sea.

The cold sea breeze washed over my face, and the noisy sound of the waves brought a sense of tranquility.

Cillian inexplicably relaxed.

"After the cataclysm of no day, the giant god fell, and the wonders of creation shattered, with countless city-states sinking into ruin."

Cillian recalled the ruins and wreckage piled up on the seabed when he was dragged into the deep sea.

They were once magnificent city-states, sacred creations of miracle, but in the end, they were buried under the sand of broken bones, their names and existence forgotten.

The three sages and six giants who once stood in the world, their wondrous creations have vanished from the Sea of ​​Origin, leaving only the whispering tree of the cryptic philosophers.

As for the Twelve Evils, who were regarded as enemies, it is unclear whether they sank into the depths of the Sea of ​​Origin, rose to the spirit world, or somewhere in reality.

After enjoying the scenery, Cillian knew it was time to get down to business.

His gaze shifted from the distance back to the present, and Ciri looked at the long crystal staircase that stretched all the way into the depths of the clouds.

The book doesn't explain which giant god orchestrated the establishment of the Bound Source Long Ranks in that distant era, but it's certain that the giants' foresight played a crucial role in the revival of the civilized world after the Dayless Cataclysm.

As Ciri stepped forward, he was immediately met with a strong sense of resistance.

He stumbled and nearly fell. He didn't know if he could climb back up after falling off the Bound Source Steps. If he were spotted by the chaotic creatures in the sea, he would most likely have to start a new round of fighting.

"But...you should be able to help, right?"

Ciri murmured to himself, looking at his left hand. Regaining his balance, Ciri raised his left hand, facing the long staircase before him, took a deep breath, and gave the command.

"Don't get in my way."

Cillian waited a moment, but nothing unusual happened.

He shook his hand in disappointment and took another step forward. The familiar feeling of resistance came towards him, and just as Cillian was about to fight against it, it suddenly disappeared, like a solid wall shattering into bubbles.

Cillian was stunned. After climbing several steps, he still encountered no resistance, as if he were leisurely climbing the stairs of his own apartment building.

Only then did he notice that the Ouroboros Seal had become bright, radiating that familiar golden light.

"What is your origin?"

Cillian then asked himself, "And what exactly is my identity?"

Before his promotion, Cillian had spoken with Dalin, intentionally or unintentionally, inquiring about matters related to the promotion.

"Although the Bound Source Long Rank coordinates all destinies, allowing us to advance safely along the predetermined path, the advancement process is not easy."

"At first, there was unimaginable resistance, like carrying a mountain forward. Every step brought unimaginable pain to my body—that's when our souls were losing their mortal nature," Dai Lin said with lingering fear.

"What follows is a chaotic illusion, and some unlucky ones will even be corrupted by the power of chaos, falling into madness on the Binding Source Long Staircase."

It's important to understand that the current Bound Source Long Staircase wasn't originally flawless; it was broken and then repaired by the three sages.

In short, according to Daelin, the promotion process was a difficult trial, but for Cillian, it was as if he were strolling in a park.

As he climbed step by step, Xilian sometimes felt as if he were moving further away from the sea, and at other times he felt as if the sea had risen a little, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far from him.

The leaden-gray sky above remained distant and unreachable.

The expected excruciating pain did not come; Cillian only felt a warm sensation within his body, as if a great force was elevating his soul.

Everything was going incredibly smoothly, until the unexpected happened.

Just as Cillian was about to step onto another step, a strange feeling suddenly welled up in his heart, like two magnets attracting each other, as if something in the dark was calling to him.

Cillian looked at the sea with a puzzled expression.

The sea surface was boiling and turbulent.

Damn it! I knew it!

Ciri squatted down and gripped the Bound Source Steps beneath him.

The tremors from the Sea of ​​Origin spread to the Bound Source Staircase, causing the crystal steps to sway violently and even produce a slight cracking sound.

Not far away, a crystal staircase twisted and deformed, eventually shattering into countless fragments that fell into the Sea of ​​Origin, creating waves several meters high.

Suddenly, a huge whirlpool appeared on the surface of the sea, swallowing up a torrent of seawater. A blurry shadow gradually emerged, having come from the forgotten seabed and now seeing the light of day again.

The sense of resonance in Ciri's heart grew stronger and stronger; it seemed... this thing was meant for him.

"In this situation, there's no need to be so enthusiastic!"

Cillian was talking nonsense as he ran wildly down the crystal staircase beneath his feet.

He wasn't curious about what was rising to the surface; he just wanted to complete his promotion as soon as possible so he could return to the real world.

tick-

The sound of the pointer spinning came from the seabed, so clear and crisp.

tick-

The ticking of the clock grew closer and louder.

Cillian could hardly imagine what a huge clock it must be to make such a loud sound.

hum-

After the ticking of the hands, comes the loud and long sound of the clock striking.

Wherever the sound reached, everything in the world froze.

Whether it was the churning sea, the collapsed Bound Source Stairs, or even the drifting water droplets, they all froze in place, leaving only the echoing sounds.

A grand symphony began.

The sounds of clock hands, chimes, and the rustling of quicksand—a complex array of sounds that concretely represent time—all resounded together.

It was as if an out-of-control truck had crashed into a watch shop, with countless clocks screaming and making a racket.

The phenomenon of time freezing followed closely behind Cillian as he raced ever higher up the ladder, his soul's ascension accelerating.

Just as Ciri was about to complete this ascension and allow his soul to undergo a transformation, a distant chime silenced all the noise.

First to emerge from the sea was a towering clock tower, followed by a forest of spires that pierced the churning surface like dense spears, revealing jagged buildings and spiderweb-like streets.

It was a city-state.

A city-state scarred by war.

Hundreds of dark blue chains coiled around it, intertwining to completely seal off the city-state until, after countless millennia, it finally surfaced from the sea.

Cillian heard it; someone was calling him.

Right here in this rising city-state.

(End of this chapter)