322 Chant and Fall

The moon resembled a gaping hole in the night sky, and the entity shrouded in ominous black smoke seemed to have traveled through the gap and arrived in Currere.

She stood high in the sky with a haughty expression, regarding the two unwelcome guests on the ground with solemn silence.

The primal instincts of the wild beasts urged Ebony to flee immediately, sending chills down his spine.

“”

The primitive emotions that surged from his soul caused Ebony to subconsciously desire to scream, yet the only thing that emerged from his parted lips was nothingness.

It was as empty as the night sky between the stars.

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Floral, who stood ahead of him, raised the exquisite magical medium in her grasp.

She aimed it at the peculiar figure floating under the moonlight like a swordsman brandishing a blade.

Then, she froze in shock.

The raised magical medium failed to illuminate, and complex spells failed to manifest. Even the flow of mana had ceased.

This was due to the absolute silence that prevented any incantations from being uttered.

But… why was this happening?

Floral widened her eyes in disbelief as her spells fell like raindrops into the sea, causing no ripples.

Despite being in a zone of wide-area silence, Floral, with her willpower as a Divine Realm mage, should’ve been able to bypass the silence restrictions and cast spells successfully.

Magic, spells, and chanting were the three crucial elements required for modern magic to take effect.

To cast even the simplest spells, all three were essential.

Mana and spells aside, to utilize one’s thoughts to envelop reality and exercise a miniature version of Creation’s authority, one required sufficient Creatons and precise blueprints.

Chanting seemed to be the most dispensable element, yet it was the greatest test of a mage’s willpower.

Floral’s adoptive parents had taught her that chanting need not follow rigid rules, nor did it require any special logic. Nearly all the logical aspects of spells had been in place during the spell construction phase.

The concept of chanting originated from the prayers of the gods in ancient times. Subsequently, it was reluctantly incorporated into the modern magic system as a vestige of superstition that couldn’t be eradicated in classical magic.

Its actual purpose was to kindle the caster’s passion and emotions through self-suggestion of words, convincing them that their will could override the framework of Currere.

Poems, prayers, arias, historical documents, and even speeches by renowned figures could be effective as long as they stirred the caster’s fervent emotions during chanting, displaying their powerful intentions of casting spells.

Of course, when a mage’s willpower reached a certain level, they could complete the chanting portion without passionate words or symbolic gestures. Even emotive eyes or expressions would suffice.

Floral was a potent magic chanter who had achieved this level.

She had long entered the Divine Realm, and even the domain of absolute silence, which prevented her from making any sound, would merely weaken her spellcasting abilities at best.

Nonetheless, it was impossible for her to fail at casting a complete spell, no matter what.

“”

Floral inhaled deeply and aimed the magical medium in her grasp at the strange entity in the sky.

Resonating with a multitude of souls, guiding and controlling an immense amount of magic power, constructing complex magic spells in the ether domain… After everything was prepared, she attempted to complete the final chant and release the spell according to her will…

Silence.

The spell dissipated, and the mana dissipated… Once more, this spell failed to make even a ripple.

However, Floral had identified the issue with this attempt.

It wasn’t solely the absence of sounds in the surrounding environment. She realized that even the voice in her consciousness had been silenced completely…

As she pondered, she couldn’t even hear her inner voice. Instead, she felt a chaotic ball composed of countless emotions… A sensation as if it had been stained.

The thoughts of the mortal races in Currere were language-based, and language’s most prominent characteristic was its convergence. As long as the mind wasn’t turned into a language, it would succumb to the will and be molded and transformed by it. However, once the mind became an actual language, the will would instantly become a slave to the language.

This was also the fundamental principle that established chanting: a language akin to a proclamation that converged mortals’ endless chaotic thoughts into their sole intention of action.

However, in this space where heart-to-heart voices were utterly silenced, her intentions couldn’t be conveyed. Consequently, magic chants couldn’t take effect in the slightest.

After comprehending this, despair crept into her heart like maggots and began gnawing away.

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Regardless of who the mouthless woman was, she was undoubtedly a magic-chanter killer.

Any magic chanter had no hope of defeating her.

Thus, their next consideration was whether the woman harbored any ill will towards them.

The answer to this query arrived swiftly—perhaps because she had grown weary of Floral’s humiliation—the woman lifted her left hand leisurely and gestured towards the Holy Tree Duke, who was flailing a magical medium in vain.

Black smoke peeled away from the woman’s body and condensed into arrows in silence. The sharp, serrated arrowheads glittered with the sickly moon’s light before hurtling towards Floral’s throat in an instant.𝑓𝚛𝚎𝗲𝙬ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰ν𝐞l. co𝗺

“—”

If not for this hushed space, this strike would have likely produced a metallic clang following the collision.

Ebony seized Floral’s shoulder and pulled her behind him. His arms were covered in triangular scales, and the jet-black arrows either bounced off the scales or pierced through the gaps in the insufficient armor, causing blood to spatter.

In this moment of carnage, their eyes met. In an instant, they communicated everything through their gazes.

In the blink of an eye, Ebony substituted Floral and confronted the silent threat head-on. His wild and savage aura began to swirl around him like flames. His amber eyes remained fixed on the other party’s next move.

Tattoos that contained the power of wild beasts materialized incessantly all over Ebony’s body. Antlers, lion heads, snake scales, eagle feathers, wolf claws, crocodile tails…

The power of wild beasts and spirits did not rely on logic or language. Instead, they originated from the depths of one’s soul and were purely based on savagery and instincts, making them impervious to silence.

On the other side, Floral, who had been dragged to the rear, steadied herself in a sorry state. She clutched the magical medium in her hand and also scrutinized the other party’s next move.

Ebony’s actions appeared to surprise the mouthless woman floating in mid-air. She gazed at the two individuals before her before landing softly on the ground like a falling leaf.

Thick black smoke left an evident mark in the sky along her descent trajectory, resembling a charcoal pencil. Then, as she spread her arms in a welcoming gesture, it split behind her.

Two streams of black smoke extended behind her like two slim wings before commencing to condense into feather-like blades.

Under normal circumstances, Floral would have had at least nine ways to defend against the blades that were about to be launched.

She thought resentfully as she attempted to recast the failed spell.

It was also at this moment that Ebony turned his head slightly and glanced at her.

Floral understood the other party’s intentions right away.

In fact, he had already conveyed his message clearly when he saved her: I’ll hold her off. You go first.

Floral clenched her teeth and saluted the other party before turning around and fleeing.

Although she wasn’t sure how long the other party could use those beast spirits to deal with the assailant, she knew that, as a magic chanter, she would only hinder him.

Thus, without much hesitation or conflict, she fled right away.

There were no sounds or dazzling lights, only the constant rush of air behind her indicating the battle’s intensity.

This way, at the very least, one of them could escape… If the other party’s silence had to rely on the collapsed Astral Lighthouse, all she had to do was run to a location where she could cast spells. When the time came, she could signal Ebony safely. Perhaps they could both survive.

It was also at this moment that an intense blast of air came from the sky without any warning.

Floral instinctively stopped in her tracks—a decision that saved her life.

The instant she halted, something ripped through the air and descended diagonally like a falling meteor.

Perhaps it was because the ‘object’ was flying too fast, but it didn’t come to a halt immediately after landing. Instead, it carved a fiery trench in the ground, only stopping after smashing through a few trees as thick as bowls.

All of this occurred in silence, making the entire incident appear even more absurd.

The heat emanating from the ravine struck Floral’s face. If she had taken one more step forward, she would have collided with the “object” comparable to a meteorite with no protection.

Floral, who had just barely survived, stood rooted to the ground. It wasn’t that she was afraid, but rather that she felt nothing.

Perhaps it was due to the absence of sound, but she found the situation exceedingly absurd.

What was the object that had just fallen?

Floral turned her head to gaze at the rocky mountains where the smoke had yet to disperse, and an absurd thought came to mind.

In the moment it flashed past her eyes, she appeared to catch a glimpse of the ‘object’ in human form.

Could it be that a person had fallen?

Perhaps someone had entered this soundless realm while flying with magic at high speed, causing the flight magic to malfunction and resulting in their death from the fall?

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