The Observer of the End Takes His Place

How could I possibly become the leader of the Four Pillar Cult? Just by holding Yaxiu hostage to command the Four Pillar Gods? For a moment, Sonia felt the notion was thoroughly absurd, strongly suspecting it was merely an excuse for Daidalos to coax her into shelving their differences, handing over Yaxiu, and sharing him. Even taking a step back and assuming it was true, why would the members of the Four Pillar Cult listen to her? Daidalos seemed to hear the doubts in the Paw-Extending Sword Saint's heart and chuckled softly. "The supreme authority of the Four Pillar Cult has always rested in the hands of the Four Pillar Gods. The only reason we feelers can serve as leaders is that we are the 'feelers of the Four Pillar Gods.' We are infinitely close to power, yet we do not truly possess it. "The Four Pillar Gods personally issued a decree conferring leadership of the Four Pillars of the Stars upon the Observer of the End. Regardless of whether he is awake, I, Daidalos, the Chaotic Song Maiden, have already lost the seat of leader." The Country Girl looked at her coldly. "Do you think I don't know the difference between 'status' and 'power'? Felix makes that abundantly clear. Even if you truly lost your position, power remains firmly clenched in your grasp." "That is on the premise that the Observer of the End has not taken his place." The foremost beauty beneath the starry sky smiled. "Once Yaxiu takes charge of the Four Pillar Cult, his will becomes its guiding doctrine, and his command becomes its destiny. Power will be completely reshuffled. If he wishes, he could reassign me as his personal assistant, and I would have no choice but to comply." "Don't even dream of it." The Paw-Extending Sword Saint bared her teeth like a bristling kitten. "And isn't that just a load of nonsense? Yaxiu can't express an opinion at all!" "He is indeed sound asleep right now," the Chaotic Song Maiden said. "Yet he made his decision before this. The seats were allocated before the contest even began." Daidalos spread her hands. "I know you still harbor doubts, but if you allow me to complete the enthronement ceremony for the Observer of the End, you will understand that you can indeed wield the authority of the leader on his behalf." Sonia's expression shifted, but she did not refuse immediately, asking calmly instead, "What is the enthronement ceremony?" "There is no need to take him from your side; all that is required is for me to touch him once," Daidalos explained. "He has been away from the Four Pillar Gods for far too long. The great Tapestry of Fate can no longer locate his thread, and the scroll of the world watched over by the Four Pillar Gods is missing his splash of color." The Sword Princess's gaze sharpened. "The Four Pillar Gods want to control him again?!" "It is a return." Daidalos's voice grew lighter. "I will say it once more: feelers cannot sever themselves from the Four Pillar Gods. From beginning to end, his fate has been under the gaze of the Four Pillar Gods." "Impossible. He opposed the Four Pillar Cult twice in a row, both in the Gospel Realm and in Senluo." "And how do you know that wasn't arranged by the Four Pillar Gods?" "That's nothing more than infinitely nested sophistry." Sonia held Yaxiu with one arm while pressing her hand against her sword hilt with the other. "The fact right now is that the Four Pillar Gods had no choice but to send you to snatch Yaxiu back! He is no longer a feeler, much less your Observer of the End. He is... Yaxiu Heath! "There is nothing left to talk about. I'm sick of your sweet words. Be it the throne room or the Four Pillar Cult, neither of you will lay a finger on Yaxiu." The Paw-Extending Sword Saint backed toward the window step by step. "It was a pleasure meeting you tonight, Miss Daidalos. And so... farewell forever." Daidalos tilted her head. "You intend to just leave with him out in the open like this?" "The worst that can happen is fighting my way out of Jialesi," Sonia said placidly. "I was prepared for that long ago." The foremost beauty beneath the starry sky sighed deeply and walked over to Felix. "It seems I won't be able to seize our feeler from your hands. "It seems I have no choice but to..." She broke into a radiant smile. "...take a good look at you." What? Just as Sonia moved to smash through the window and escape, she discovered her body was rigid, completely incapable of moving. Even her sorcery power and sorcery spirits stalled in an instant! Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Daidalos gazing at her. Without anyone noticing, the foremost beauty beneath the starry sky had removed the white silk glove from her left hand, revealing a hole hollowed out in the center of her palm. Her diamond-like eye was peering through that bizarre circular opening, fixed squarely on the Sword Princess. Stunning Eye! Sonia had been subjected to the Stunning Eye once before by Felix, but it was so utterly impossible to guard against and so overwhelmingly effective that she had no way to defend herself. Yet experiencing it a second time allowed her to sense details she had missed before. Her flesh, her sorcery power, her soul, and her sorcery spirits were all paralyzed entirely out of fear! The Stunning Eye appeared on the surface to be merely Daidalos looking at her, but once her gaze was augmented by the circular hole in her palm, it was warped, decomposed, reshaped, and reconstructed—as if... as if some unfeeling, omnipresent, colossal entity were using Daidalos's sight to gaze upon Sonia! Though she had no proof whatsoever, Sonia trusted her intuition completely: the Stunning Eye was, in truth, the sight of the Four Pillar Gods! Yet even the gaze of the Four Pillar Gods could not pin a Legendary magician dead in her tracks forever! Under Sonia's fierce struggle, her flesh ceased its trembling, her sorcery power regained its composure, her soul gradually settled, and her sorcery spirits realized they were in no danger. In just one second, she would reclaim mastery over her body— "The Observer of the End is mine." Keeping her eyes fixed on Sonia, Daidalos glided over to stand before her, cheerfully reaching out a hand, intending to take Yaxiu. The instant her fingers touched Yaxiu, an ancient ritual buried long ago quietly activated. The deep curtain fell with a crash, myriad worlds shattered inch by inch, and all colors returned to nothingness. The bedroom seemed to become reality's sole loophole, plunging into boundless darkness. In a daze, Sonia, Daidalos, and Felix realized that they and Yaxiu were stripped of all clothing, floating stark naked in an ocean of darkness. There was no panic and no confusion. They floated quietly in the dark, watching countless enchanting threads of diverse colors reach out from all around like sentient tentacles, coiling toward the unconscious Observer of the End. When Yaxiu was about to be rewoven by the threads of color, several phantom silhouettes abruptly emerged from his body, taking his place to actively bear the blanket of threads. The first to be woven was a man in a trench coat. The second to be woven was a woman with blood-red eyes. The third to be woven was a woman with murky hair. The fourth to be woven was a woman radiant with silver light. The fifth to be woven was a maid in a short skirt. "Is that all? Just this?" "This sort of thing is too early for him, but it suits us just fine." "Aren't you going to say 'Thank you, Four Pillar Gods'? We finally get to come out and catch our breath." "Won't this arouse Their suspicion?" "The probability of Them noticing something wrong is as high as the probability of Vichy breaking the chains." "Why did you have to use that chain? Rather than wasting time letting them get used to each other, wouldn't it be better to just let me replace Vichy directly? I promise I'd be utterly submissive and cooperative in guiding Yaxiu's actions—" "Because if there weren't only one chain, I'd want to slap one on you too. A wolf that's been starved as long as you can never satisfy its belly." Sonia, Daidalos, and Felix blankly watched this enthronement ceremony that had run completely wild halfway through. They had neither the inclination nor the capability to form memories of it, able only to watch helplessly until the ritual concluded. Not until a jolt hit them like cold water splashed over their faces did they realize they were all lying on the floor. At some point, Yaxiu had returned to the bed. The bedroom was so quiet that only starlight drifted across it, as if nothing had ever happened. Yet the murky sensation of feeling as though they had just been hauled from water, along with the intensely jarring memory deprivation, all proved that they had undergone a dark, secretive ritual. "You... actually dared to..." Fierce light gleamed in the furious Sword Princess's eyes, her surging sorcery power whipping up a tempest. Gritting her teeth, she gripped her sword hilt tightly. Without a doubt, she would slice both her idol and her classmate into dozens of pieces in the very next second. Yet Daidalos displayed no tension whatsoever. Sitting back on the carpet with her legs folded to the sides, she looked down at the back of her hand and let out a soft sigh. "I lost." The foremost beauty beneath the starry sky lifted her head. "Look at the back of your dominant hand." Sonia frowned slightly and glanced down, discovering a never-before-seen crimson brand on the back of her right hand. The core of the mark was formed by two crossed swords, between which sat a crown inlaid with five gemstones. The entire emblem shimmered with the luster of a ruby, gleaming brightly beneath the starlight.