Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 937 - 936: Obituary

A vast Magic Web has enveloped the entire Empire, allowing information to flow through it and energies to surge within it. The once loose and isolated human society has never been so tightly and efficiently connected together, so much so that even events occurring in far-off lands can instantly transcend the vast distances of mountains and waters.

Tower Guardian Ge Lin wore a loose shirt, sitting in his workspace. The double-layer thickened windows blocked the howling cold wind outside the tower, while the heating system inside made the room as warm as an afternoon during the spring-summer transition. The room wasn’t too large and felt quite quiet, except for the occasional buzzing or clicking sound from the running machinery, and the sizzling sound of food being heated on the nearby stove.

A large boy with freckles was floating above the small Magic Web Terminal before Ge Lin, speaking excitedly in the holographic projection: "...The neural network course is very interesting, Mr. Magnan is actually a fascinating teacher, though his voice is loud, I recently found him to be quite different from other teachers who are more traditional..."

"Are you adapting over there?" Ge Lin couldn’t help but smile, "Isn’t everything in the imperial capital very expensive? Did you bring enough money?"

"You always ask that—it’s completely enough, no need to worry," Storm said with a helpless expression in the holographic projection, "The academy area has shops and canteens open specially for students and teachers, things are even cheaper than in the countryside, and I found a short-term job that doesn’t affect my studies; I help in the school laboratory with a weekly income of three pounds."

"Oh... that’s good..." Ge Lin nodded, speaking—he actually couldn’t imagine life in the academy and didn’t understand what kind of "work" helping in the school laboratory was, but from his eldest son’s bright expressions and descriptions, he could still feel a sense of contentment and happiness.

"Ah, I won’t talk to you anymore—it’s almost time, I have another class to attend."

"Good, good, take care of yourself over there, don’t get into conflicts with classmates..."

The holographic projection disappeared, and the magic symbols on the base of the Magic Web Terminal dimmed one by one, Ge Lin blinked, smiled, shook his head, and stood up behind the desk.

Sending the eldest son to Imperial Academy seems to be a very wise decision, Storm remains highly progressive away from home, prompting an undeniable sense of pride and anticipation in the tower guardian, who once worked as a transcriber.

There seems to be a promising person emerging from the family—the tower guardian thought.

In good spirits, he walked towards the stove not too far away, ready to fetch the food that had been heated. However, just as he stood up and walked three to five steps, a clear chime suddenly rang out from behind, the Magic Web Terminal on the desk lit up once more.

This chime is a result of recent weeks’ upgrades technicians made to the equipment here, Mage Technicians from the imperial capital improved the Magic Web Terminal, replacing the original buzzing sound with a louder chime, which Ge Lin found very effective—the chime obviously had more penetration than the buzzing, now even if he were in the next room, he wouldn’t miss important information.

The tower guardian turned his head, saw the Magic Web Terminal had self-activated, and the rotating insignia of the Empire Network Control Center appeared in the holographic projection above the terminal, making him immediately serious, hurriedly moving to the desk—the terminal self-connects, displaying the control center insignia, indicating that the forthcoming information is a full-network broadcast directly sent by the headquarters in the imperial capital, such messages typically pertain to extraordinary matters!

After a few seconds of chime sound, information from the headquarters of the imperial capital was transmitted, and the printing device connected to the Magic Web Terminal on the desk immediately self-started, accompanied by the sound of gear bearings rotating and paper rubbing within the machine, Ge Lin watched as the precise device swiftly spat out a document.

He stepped forward, pulled the paper cutter on the printer device, cutting the document from the continuous paper roll, and his gaze fell on the already solidified and cooled ink, the opening words of the document came into his view:

"From the Cecil Empire Maginet Communication Administration Bureau—forwarded to various hubs across the Empire—all hubs archived—the following is the content:

"We now announce the results of the investigation by the Royal Mage Association, the Transcendent Management Bureau, Royal Magic Advisor, and the Theology Management Office regarding the recent ’Goddess of Magic cessation of feedback’ event..."

Seeing this, Ge Lin couldn’t help but blink—he’d heard about the cessation of feedback from the Goddess of Magic, although he himself was not a mage, nor did he worship the Goddess of Magic, but working long-term in the Lu’an Hub, he was likely the most informed within a hundred-mile radius, mentioning this matter in many of the information transcriptions recently, and lots of mages discussing the mysterious "disappearance" of the Goddess of Magic in Magic Web Communication, it was hard not to notice.

To his knowledge, this major incident even alarmed the emperor and the high scholars and archMages in the imperial capital, a special emergency investigation team was specifically formed to investigate this matter, recent Magic Web broadcasts and newspapers released the member list of the inquiry team, the formation of personnel was luxurious—the three main governors of the Empire were prominently listed among them, along with several renowned archMages from the Anzu Era also in the list, there were the Great Shepherd Wright from the Holy Light church as special third-party advisors and Veronica Moen the living saint, even the emperor himself appeared on the investigation group list as a supervisory role...

It’s safe to say, except for the founding time, Ge Lin had not witnessed such awe-inspiring names appearing together in the same place in his lifetime—he believed even the most ignorant rural housewives would become solemn upon seeing the list and immediately realize how trustworthy and reliable this team investigating the gods was.

Has this incredibly luxurious investigation team completed the investigation? Was the cause of the sudden cessation of feedback from the Goddess of Magic found?

Even Ge Lin, an ordinary person not worshipping the Goddess of Magic, found it hard to contain his curiosity, he quickly looked downwards, but upon seeing the continuation of the content, his gaze momentarily froze:

"...With deep sorrow, we announce to the entire society that our respected, great, one-time guide and protector of all spellcasters in the mortal world, Lady Milmina, Goddess of Magic, has unfortunately fallen recently..."

...

Information swiftly spread across the land via the Magic Web, the communication network linking everyone together, from Lu An City to Bitter Winter Castle, from Sherlin City to Longwind, from one Communication Tower to another information station, from Magic Web broadcasting terminals to newspaper communication rooms across the regions... a full-terrain broadcast from the Empire Maginet Communication Administration Bureau repeated over and over.

At the Palamere Observatory, Morgan Hugo suddenly stood from behind his desk, the venerable old mage’s eyes staring wide, his beard slightly shaking, and a paper that just emerged from the printing device lay quietly on his desk before him, the writing on it crystal clear:

"...Lady Milmina was a guide and protector worthy of respect, in the long years of human civilization, she diligently undertook and fulfilled her clerical status and divine responsibilities, guiding us through the dark ignorance of early civilization, protecting the frail mortals surviving through the long nights of early civilization...

"...Lady Milmina’s life was a life of brilliance, a life of compassion, a life of greatness, and a life filled with battles. She was both a mentor and a warrior leading mortal civilizations through thorns and thistles. Her courage to resist..."

The black ink on the paper reflected in Morgan Hugo’s eyes, and for a moment, the old mage completely lost his usual sharp mind and composed demeanor. He didn’t know what expression he should have, nor did he know what he ought to think — like most mortals, he never imagined he would one day face the demise of a god, let alone receive the news in such a manner. The bizarreness of the situation was beyond human comprehension, to the extent that the old mage hadn’t even realized how peculiar the "obituary" itself was.

With a bang, the door to the room was pushed open. Morgan Hugo looked up, somewhat bewildered, only to see another powerful mage in a magic robe standing there—the second in command at the Palamere Observatory, someone he had persuaded, albeit with difficulty, to come from the St. Soniel Astrology Association, a trusted friend. At this moment, the grey-haired mage stood there staring wide-eyed, like someone awakening from a nightmare, bewildered and shocked.

"Morgan!" The mage at the door finally shouted, "My god, did you see the news broadcasted on the Magic Web today?!"

"I saw it... I even have a printed document here, it printed itself from the equipment..." Morgan, in a daze, pointed to the paper on the table. "Benjamin, are we dreaming? Has the Goddess of Magic... fallen?!"

"The Goddess of Magic..." the archMage known as Benjamin gasped, then quickly stepped to Morgan’s desk. He saw the printout, still emitting a faint aroma of ink, with a mix of expressions on his face. "...A minute ago I also thought I was dreaming, but... damn it... Morgan, we..."

He reached out and grabbed the printed document, muttering for a few seconds before organizing his words. "Morgan, is this credible? Is this news believable?"

"It came from the imperial capital, with the King’s signature and seal, and the seals of three Grand Governors..." Morgan Hugo finally regained some clarity, looking complicatedly at the document in Benjamin’s hand. "At least the document itself is absolutely genuine, as for the message contained..."

Benjamin shook his head. "I haven’t received feedback from the Goddess of Magic for many days. Although I rarely prayed in the past, I could at least distinguish what the Goddess’s feedback felt like."

Morgan opened his mouth but didn’t say what he intended. He glanced again at the printout, reading the heartfelt and touching words of mourning on it, and finally, a strange feeling arose inside him: "This is a eulogy written by a human for a god... Benjamin, I can’t shake the feeling that it’s odd, mourning a god... can you imagine it? Mourning a god..."

"But how else can a eulogy be written?" Benjamin lifted his eyes, raising the paper in his hand with a bitter smile. "How should the King write it? He has already exhausted all words of lamentation and praise..."

Yes, a eulogy from a human to a god is indeed exceedingly strange, so strange that it seems like it shouldn’t exist in this world. However, as Benjamin said—if not written this way, how else can it be written?

If a god truly has fallen, humans could only mourn in such a way, Morgan thought. He felt that the reason he found the eulogy strange was simply because... in his limited life, he had never experienced the fall of a god.

Now, he might truly have to experience it once.

On the printout in Benjamin’s hand, the final lines were clear and sharp: "...We deeply mourn Lady Milmina, the Goddess of Magic, and feel regret for Her fall. Such a diligent god deserves the remembrance of all mortals, at least all humans. To express our condolences and remembrance for Lady Milmina, the Goddess of Magic, a ’Divine Funeral’ and commemorative events will be held on the 45th of this month, as jointly researched and decided by Emperor Gawain Cecil, the Empire High Council, and the Theology Administration. On that day, the nation’s sirens, alarm bells, and trumpets will sound, and a grand send-off ceremony will be executed by the Empire’s Dragon Cavalry...

"The King hereby calls for all spellcasters nationwide to observe a moment of silence on that day as a sign of our mourning..."

Morgan Hugo closed his eyes, and although he was not a devout follower of the Goddess of Magic—truth be told, almost no one was a devout follower of the Goddess of Magic— the truly sincere words in this eulogy deeply struck his heart. It was as if he could feel the sadness of the King when he wrote these words, and he was deeply moved by the emotion conveyed in the text.

As for the peculiar phrasing and the oddities within this communiqué... they seemed less important now.

How else could one write it? No one has ever experienced such a thing...

...

"This news will spread across the whole country soon, won’t it..."

Windsor Maple sighed softly, her eyes sweeping over the original of the communiqué in front of her, her expression indefinable between sadness and joy.

Daniel sat across from her, his face as stern and slightly gloomy as ever. "In fact, it has already been sent nationwide through the communication Tower network. It’s just that the end-point newspapers and bulletins will take a little longer due to some delay. However, that won’t matter much. The mages hold most of the communication resources, and they’ll be the first to receive the news."

"Next... we need to carefully prepare for the ’funeral’," Windsor nodded. "This is our first joint operation with the Cecil Clan, and it’s under such a short preparation time. The King hopes we’ll do our utmost, leaving no margin for error before the Cecil Clan."

"Of course, we will not disappoint the King’s expectations," Daniel seemed to reveal a subtle, elusive smile, but it vanished instantly. "Then I’ll take my leave first—the ’Cross-National Mourning Committee’ is waiting for me."

Windsor stood to see him off, watching as the old mage left the room, disappearing down the hallway. Only then did she withdraw her gaze, as if talking to herself, or as if seeking evidence again, she softly said: "Goddess of Magic..."

In the spiritual realm, there was no feedback, an empty void at the end of her prayers.

In the end, Windsor indeed received no response—perhaps the Goddess of Magic truly had died.