CH545 Two Sides of Heaven-Earth II
***
Hiro smiled. He stepped forward, stopping at the entrance of the Grand Formation.
"They have decided," Hiro said. "Let us begin, brothers."
The two other disciples of the Heaven Secret Sect moved to his side.
Their voices rose in a sonorous chant while their hands blurred through rapid hand seals faster than the eye could properly follow.
"Open!" Soon, the three roared in unison.
A pulse rippled through the Heaven Net Grand Formation âthe subordinate talismanic field of the HeavenâEarth Concordance formation that held the berserk humans trapped before the mountainâs formation-eye.
For a split second, the dome-like outline of the formation imprisoning the berserk humans flashed into visibility... then vanished just as quickly.
A door of light opened before the three disciple-brothers of the Heaven Secret Sect.
Hiro turned to the other Holy Sons and Daughters and gave a small nod before stepping through first.
The others followed without hesitation.
â
Meanwhile, Alex and Sugud struggled to determine the theme of the Grand Formation so they could deduce the likely condition required to navigate its maze.
They reached no concrete conclusion.
Well... Sugud found nothing reasonable or logically sound.
Alex, on the other hand, had arrived at a possible answer â but he kept it to himself. It was far too speculative.
âProvidence...â Alex mused.
âI canât imagine the condition is anything other than Providence,â he reasoned. âOur journey up to this point has felt guided by an unseen hand. And the only reasonable suspect for that hand... is Providence.â
âOur arrival on this plane was literally facilitated âguidedâ by Providence. And since then, Iâve led my team on a hunt for divine energy in order to earn more Providence.â
âWhenever we succeed in gaining said divine energy âand by extension, Providenceâ we somehow end up being guided toward locations where we can gain more divine energy... and more importantly, learn a secret or background truth about this world.â
Alex couldnât help recalling a joke he once told himself.
âA location âa secret landâ that hasnât opened for centuries or millennia... a treasure unseen for ages... an opportunity that only appears after centuries suddenly manifests when the main characters or heavenâs chosen arrive...â
âConsidering what weâve encountered since leaving Pangea, one could argue our party fits that clichĂ© mould.â
âAnd the reason for that all comes back to... Providence.â
The more Alex thought about it, the more convinced he became that he was onto something. The otaku within him was practically screaming that he was right.
And since there was no better explanation available, Alex decided to proceed under that assumption.
âThat said, I should take precautions.â
Alex nodded to Sugud before calling the other Fortuna members over.
He gave a brief SitRep based on his and Sugudâs deductionsâ carefully omitting anything that needed to remain hidden.
"Due to the circumstances, only a few of us will go in," Alex said. "If anything goes awry, it will be up to those left behind to return to Dragonstone and inform the Adventurer Association branch master, Wayne Achard, of the situation."
"I will now call the names of those who I wish will come with me," Alex said. "Like I mentioned, due to the unknown circumstances surrounding this, I wonât force anyone to follow. The decision is yours. No one will be reprimanded for refusing to join what is, at this point, essentially a suicide mission."
Alexâs gaze swept across his party members. He hesitated âonly brieflyâ before listing the names.
"Zora, Udara, Eleanore..."
The hesitation stemmed from a simple conflict.
He didnât want his wives to come because of the danger. Yet at the same time, he knew he could not do without their strength. If there were members of the party capable of surviving this unknown, it was them.
And beyond strength, each of them was a chosen daughter of heaven in her own right. If the theme of this formation truly revolved around Providence, then they might be safer inside it than remaining outside.
"Sugud..."
The next name surprised many, but the reason quickly became obvious. Alex wasnât bringing Sugud for combat strengthâ he was bringing him for knowledge.
"Silver, Kavakan, Mogal, Havel."
Alex finished with the most natural choices.
From their demeanour, it was clear none of those named intended to stay behind. Zora, Udara and Eleanoreâs reasons were obviousâ they were not about to let their husband wander into an unknown location alone.
âWho knows what world-altering havoc heâll unleash if we leave him alone.â
As for Sugud...
âA formation of this level... this sophistication... the chance to decipher what such a place contains... I must go!â
His eyes burned with a fervour Alex recognised instantly.
It was the zeal of a researcher determined to reach the truth of a phenomenonâ no matter the danger.
As for his followers...
Well, there was the little unspoken reality none of them could ignoreâ the binding contract that existed between Alex and each of them. Should anything happen to him... should he die... they would die as well.
In that sense, accompanying him was the more rational choice. Better to follow along and ensure he didnât get himself âand, by extension, themâ killed.
"Mordor, Lopota... the two of you are in charge now. If we donât return soon, head back to Dragonstone and inform Wayne Achard."
"Understood." Lopota bowed, accepting the order without hesitation.
"How long do we wait?" Mordor asked.
"Iâll leave that to your discretion," Alex replied. He gestured behind him without looking back. "The biggest determinant will be... them, I suppose.
"If they do anything too far out of the ordinary âsomething you judge to be an advanced threatâ withdraw immediately."
"Understood."
The entry group prepared themselves.
Within Alexâs vision, the thin lines of golden energy converged at and toward a specific point in space.
He watched it for a moment... then made his decision.
âIf Iâm betting the theme is Providence, then I might as well follow it completely.â
Alex led the group directly beneath the line of golden energy hanging in the air above, ready to follow its direction preciselyâ down to the final coordinate.
He looked over the group. Each of them met his gaze with a quiet measure of trust and confidenceâ expressed in their own ways.
Alex drew a subtle breath.
"Well then... may Providence favour the brave."
He stepped forward.
And entered the formation.
The others followed without hesitation.
***