The Celestial Canopy.
The tune of Gaetenaros’s Flute of Change echoed through the round sky.
“Let’s change, let’s shift, let’s transform,” the God of Change spoke in a sing-song voice. “Like the night sky, like the autumn sky.”
The branch of the giant tree Wenzel was standing on instantly transformed into a whirl of scattered leaves. Every branch in the Celestial Canopy followed suit, leaving her nothing to stand on.
“You shall fall into the sky,” Gaetenaros continued. “Yes, the constantly transforming, endless sky that continues on forever.”
Wenzel fell through the sky, body turned upside down as though to obey the fierce modulation in Idydroend’s melody. The entire Celestial Canopy had been transformed into sky. The exits to the Withered Desert and Mother Sea vanished, making it impossible to reach either domain no matter how far she fell. The sky had changed in such a way that made Wenzel fall continuously, without end—and accelerate while doing so.
“My order is change. It’s no match for your birth, but I can simply change my order into an order that can take you on.”
The song changed again, playing a tune lush and dense in the manner of an overgrown forest. The scattering leaves gathered in front of Gaetenaros, moving into a sticklike formation until transforming into a wooden staff that twisted into a spiral at either end. The spiral itself had no beginning or end.
“How’s that?” Gaetenaros said. “It’s Bostum, Dilfred’s Staff of Depth. An order you’re weak to.”
Gaetenaros played his song further, transforming more scattered leaves into spiral staves. Over a hundred Staves of Depth surrounded Wenzel as she continued falling.
“What was it again, that thing Dilfred specialized in? Hmm... Abyss something... Right, Abyssal Thorns!”
Idydroend’s tune transitioned to a melody of peace and tranquility. The floating spiral staves drew a magic circle, and within grew minuscule thorns that could only be seen by straining one’s Eyes.
“Now, let us sing.”
The melody of Gaetenaros’s flute gradually began to build, and as it did, a hundred thorns shot towards Wenzel. They weren’t that fast, but in the Celestial Canopy, where Fless couldn’t be used, and without having anything to stand on, Wenzel had no means of evading the attack.
The tiny thorns penetrated her navy shield easily, sinking into her body.
“It’s useless, don’t you remember? Dilfred said those thorns can pierce the abyss of all life!”
“Right...” Wenzel muttered, hampered by the pain of a hundred thorns passing through her life. “But the Abyssal Thorns require Dilfred’s Divine Eyes of Depth to be truly effective... If I were to borrow his words, all living beings have a single keystone. When that keystone is stabbed, even the smallest blade can cause a collapse.”
She held a hand over her body and drew a magic circle.
“Attacking whimsically with just numbers will only create tiny wounds that have no impact.”
She sent her magic into the circle, and her abdomen started glowing with faint light. The tiny thorns left her body one after another.
“Rise, my adorable children.”
Light wrapped around the tiny thorns and changed them into seeds. The seeds split open, each one rapidly blooming into a giant tree. Dozens of trees then spread their roots across the Celestial Canopy, covering the endless sky.
“The Abyssal Thorns were originally leaves of the Celestial Canopy. It was careless of you to let the order of change enter my body, Gaetenaros.”
In no time at all, the Celestial Canopy returned to its original overgrown form.
“Is that so? I can make you fall as many times as I want. This is my domain, after all,” Gaetenaros replied.
The moment Gaetenaros brought the Flute of Change up to his mouth, Wenzel threw her navy shield Avrohelian to knock it away from him.
“Are you sure you should have thrown your precious shield away?” he asked. He reached for the flute as it flew through the air.
“I won’t let you!” Wenzel cried out.
Wenzel pulled more thorns out of her body to use them as throwing knives. They stabbed into Gaetenaros’s right arm, but he grabbed the Flute of Change without a care. Green wind immediately blew into the flute, playing a song.
“It’s too bad. I know you’re trying to make the seeds bloom in my body, but take a closer look,” Gaetenaros said.
Wind swirled around his body, sheltering him within a tornado.
“I’ve already turned those thorns back into wind.”
“Those are just the Abyssal Thorns you changed, though?”
Wenzel held her hand out, and Gaetenaros’s expression twisted. A single thorn had managed to enter his arm, and started to bloom.
“Gah!”
Gaetenaros clenched his teeth and blew into Idydroend. A quiet song played, but the sprout continued to grow from his arm.
“Th-This...is yours...” the God of Change groaned.
“Yes. One of the thorns I threw was one I newly created. You can play your song all you like, but you’ll never be able to control new life like I can.”
The sprout bloomed in no time at all, bursting out of Gaetenaros’s arm.
“Urk... Ugh... Uuugh...”
The tree’s roots pierced through his divine body in search of nutrients, wrapping around him like chains as they absorbed his magic power. The Flute of Change fell out of his hand, and the tree wrapped around that too. Gaetenaros struggled for a while, but eventually gave up with a sigh.
“Oh, fine. I lose. How dull,” the God of Change grumbled. “Well? What do you plan on doing to me? Kill me like you killed the others?”
“Like I said before, multiple times now, I am not the God of Culling. I just want you to stay still for a while.”
“I doubt that... But fine. Waiting around is boring though, so excuse me while I sing a little song.”
Despite being cornered and restrained, Gaetenaros shrugged casually and began singing. Whether it was intentional or due to the tree root restraints, the song carried no magic.
It was clear Gaetenaros had lost his fighting spirit. Wenzel sighed in relief. Just then, flower petals fluttered down in front of her.
“Rauzel,” she said.
The petals transformed into Rauzel, the God of Bloom.
“That was a shock!” he exclaimed. “One moment the Celestial Canopy is raging, the next you and Gaetenaros are fighting. Is everything okay?”
“That’s what I should be asking. There’s no telling when the God of Culling will be back. Let’s move your domain to the Mother Sea.”
“Hmm. Can I ask one thing first, Wenzel?” I interrupted using Leaks.
“What is it?”
“Can you stay in the Celestial Canopy and search the domain? There’s a possibility Gaetenaros was messing around in Anahem’s domain and stealing the firedew there. He might have left something in the canopy.”
“In Anahem’s domain? Of course I can look...but do you have any idea where?”
“Start by searching the border to the Withered Desert.”
Wenzel nodded. “Please wait here a bit, Rauzel. If the God of Culling appears again, call for me immediately.”
She leaped onto one of the branches growing from Gaetenaros.
“Pardon me, Gaetenaros. I’m going to borrow a little of your magic.”
The Goddess of Birth drew a magic circle with her finger, and the tree roots absorbed more of Gaetenaros’s magic to extend the branch Wenzel was standing on.
“Gah... Waaaaaaaaah! Y-You really are trying to kill me!”
“You won’t die from a little magic. Be a good boy and endure it for a bit. You’re one of the Four Principles, no?”
The branch extended further and further to the background music of Gaetenaros’s screams, taking Wenzel all the way to the edge of the Celestial Canopy. Before long, white smoke could be seen drifting through the darkness of the night sky—firedew smoke from the Withered Desert. The smoke shimmered like a mirage, producing a vague image.
The smoke should have transformed into wind in the Celestial Canopy, but this firedew remained in its smoke form, swirling around a single spot.
“What’s that?” Wenzel said.
Curious, she extended a branch towards the smoke. The moment the branch entered the smoke, the blurry image became clear.
She was inside what appeared to be a room within a castle of smoke. Just like the aurora temple in the Mother Sea, countless bubbles of holy water filled this room as well. Whatever was in the bubbles had already left, but the firedew smoke was still entering the bubbles and activating a spell formula.
“Can you tell what it is?”
“A formula to steal firedew and create gods, I think...”
With her order of birth, Wenzel was able to see what was happening right away. The army of gods that was invading the earth and underground world had probably been sent from here.
“Come here,” Wenzel said to a branch she grabbed.
The extended branch retracted at once, with the God of Change, still screaming, flying over along with the roots.
“What is your problem?! Can I not even hum to myself?” Gaetenaros complained. But when he spotted the bubbles of holy water before him, his eyes widened.
“Answer me, Gaetenaros. What is the meaning of this?” Wenzel asked sharply, but the God of Change was frozen still as he stared.
“Why... Why is this in my Celestial Canopy?” Gaetenaros asked with a shocked look.
“You didn’t do this?”
“Don’t ask such a hateful boring question. I am one of the Four Principles—I protect the order of the Round Garden. I have no reason to steal the firedew. More importantly, aren’t you the only one who could do something like this here, Wenzel?”
Gaetenaros shot Wenzel an accusatory look, but she brushed him off easily.
“I have no reason to do such a thing either,” she said.
Wenzel spread her arms and released her magic power. The bubbles of holy water were absorbed into her and vanished, one after another.
“Demon King Anos, who could have done this?” Wenzel asked.
“Who knows? The first suspect that comes to mind is whoever stole Delsgade and Everastanzetta, but we don’t know for sure. For now, come to the Withered Desert and bring Gaetenaros. Anahem and Dilfred are here too.”
Misha and Sasha were searching Nature’s Keep. Once they were done, I’d summon them over too.
“Understood. We’ll get moving right away—”
Wenzel paused without finishing her sentence and whirled around in realization. At the center of the vast room was a giant door of god. Wenzel’s Divine Eyes were focused on the other side of the open door, where the sky of the earth could be seen.
The Sun of Destruction waned further, nearly half of it now gone. The solar eclipse was proceeding faster than expected. While we had gotten closer to the truth, we were still some ways off from finding Delsgade and Everastanzetta. And even if we found them, there was no guarantee we could retrieve them immediately.
After all, they had been stolen from right under my and Misha’s noses. There was no choice but for Lay and the others to buy us more time.