Chapter 10

When his small hand touched the seventh statue, it suddenly turned into a shadow and all of it drilled into Richard’s body. For a moment, Richard felt as if his head was on fire, his brain boiling, the pain acting directly on his soul almost driving him mad, yet he could not faint. Meanwhile, streams of coldness were flowing into his body, colliding fiercely with the invisible heat that enveloped him, making Richard feel as if every inch of his bones and flesh was cracking!

Richard endured the agony, the resilience and competitiveness he had cultivated from a young age showing itself at this moment. He actually managed to hold on until all the shadows entered his body. After absorbing the last trace of shadow, Richard’s spirit finally relaxed, his vision blurring, the goddess’s temple gradually fading away.

In his blurred vision, Richard saw his mother’s beautiful and concerned face, and he finally relaxed, losing consciousness.

“I have obtained two abilities; Mom will be proud of me!” In the floating darkness, Richard subconsciously thought.

In the attic, a clear crack appeared on the altar of the Moon Goddess, this rare altar actually damaged during the ritual. Elaine’s face was pale, a trickle of blood flowing from the corner of her mouth, but she was unaware of it, only frantically examining Richard’s body. When she saw that his body was intact and had not suffered any damage, she felt a bit relieved. However, when she noticed a small patch of shadow swirling on Richard’s forehead, her expression changed dramatically.

There was both lamplight and moonlight in the attic, and since Richard was lying on his back, no shadow should have been cast on his forehead by any light source. That small patch of shadow, like mist or smoke, slowly moved but did not dissipate. This was a shadow that ordinary people could not distinguish, but Elaine, who still retained the power of the Fifth Crescent Moon, could see it. She trembled, reaching out to touch it, feeling a faint coldness and pain at her fingertips, the sensation of shadow energy conflicting with Elusia’s divine power.

“Shadow creature?!” Elaine exclaimed. She bit her lip, once again inserting her finger into the shadow on Richard’s forehead, silently reciting a prayer she had long forgotten. It was a divine foresight that Elaine had not mastered even in her prime, but at this moment, her mind was already in chaos. In her knowledge, only this divine foresight could reveal the origin of the shadow on Richard’s forehead. Even if the hope was slim, she had to try.

Since losing her status as a high priestess, she had also lost the favor of the goddess and all her divine powers. What was originally a desperate and random action, but Elaine did not expect the divine foresight to succeed unexpectedly.

Before Elaine’s eyes, a picture appeared, showing endless void and darkness, only chaotic energy, no moon, no stars. In the chaos, huge shadows were slowly moving, their seemingly random paths eventually converging on a single track, pointing directly to a clear destination: little Richard!

The picture flashed and disappeared, the brief foresight having exhausted all her strength, leaving her unable to even move a finger. Even if she had the strength, what she saw made her feel deeply despairing again.

Shadows are not the same as darkness; they are a form of energy without substance, naturally possessing spatial attributes. Shadow creatures come in countless varieties, most of them wandering aimlessly between planes, feeding on the chaotic energy between planes. They are cunning, dangerous, and powerful, thus loved and feared by mages. Shadow summoning is already a mature spell, ranging from level six to level nine. However, this spell has a small chance of failure, and when it does, the summoned shadow creature will lose control, and mages, with their magical power, are one of the most delicious foods in their eyes. Therefore, every year, there are a few incidents of mages being devoured by summoned shadow creatures.

The shadow on little Richard’s forehead showed signs of life but was not a complete life form. The shadow energy it contained was not powerful, and a regular priest could purify it. Its function was more like a lighthouse, marking a position in the infinitely complex plane universe, summoning a large group of shadow creatures into this plane, as Elaine had seen in the foresight. Now, even if the shadow were to be erased and purified, it would be too late. The terrifying shadow creatures had already received the coordinates and were on their way.

And little Richard was their entry point and anchor into this plane.

When a large group of shadow creatures began to impact the plane, little Richard had only two possible outcomes: either he would be destroyed by the violent energy conflict, or he would be possessed by the most powerful shadow creature, forever losing control of his body. At that time, he would become a container for the shadow creature population.

No one could predict the laws between planes; the crossing shadow creatures might take hundreds of years to complete their journey, or they might arrive in a month.

“How could this happen…” Elaine held Richard, muttering to herself, tears streaming down her face.

She suddenly looked up, through the skylight, at the Fifth Crescent Moon still hanging high in the starry sky, noticing a new mark on its surface, like dried blood. It turned out that the power of the crescent moon had undergone a mutation, causing the enlightenment ritual to change. If she were still the high priestess of Elusia, the enlightenment would not have changed.

Was this Elusia’s punishment?

Elaine thought bitterly, having no strength left to complain about fate or wallow in self-pity. She carried Richard downstairs, gently placing him on the bed, and covering him with a blanket. In his sleep, Richard’s brows were slightly furrowed, but he often smiled, clearly dreaming of many happy things. He was a very handsome boy, his face just beginning to lose its childishness, already showing some handsomeness and charm. Elaine quietly gazed at her child, the center of her life for the past ten years. Although ten years was a short time for her with her long life, it felt like a lifetime. Richard grew quickly, only slightly more youthful than human boys of the same age. This was due to his bloodline; Richard, with half the blood of a Silver Moon Elf, had a natural lifespan of nearly five hundred years. His appearance combined the rugged and hardy features of humans with the delicate beauty of Silver Moon Elves. Only Elaine knew why.

On Richard’s small face, the small shadow continued to swirl and play.

Elaine sighed softly, kissed Richard’s forehead, and left the room. She sat alone in the living room, gazing at the night sky, memories flowing through her heart like water. Those few nights had condensed the intense, hateful, and loving moments of her entire life! And now, she had to recall them again.

Outside the window, the blood-stained Fifth Crescent Moon quietly moved away, and the Sixth Crescent Moon, shining with a unique golden light, had already risen. When the Seventh Crescent Moon appeared on the horizon, it would be dawn.

The light of the Seventh Crescent Moon finally shone through the window, illuminating Elaine’s face. She looked much more haggard but also more beautiful, the mirror on the wall reflecting an incredibly beautiful figure. This was her original appearance; over the past ten years, she had almost forgotten this face. This was the grace that only Silver Moon Elves could possess.

She stood up, carefully taking out a magic paper adorned with star patterns and laying it on the table. She then took out a well-sealed magic pen, checked it, and found that the magic ink, made from griffin tail feathers, was still potent. The ink, made from unicorn blood, was only a few drops left, but it was enough for the short letter she intended to write.

However, the originally light feather pen felt as heavy as a thousand pounds in her hand, and she could not write a single word for a long time. When the first ray of sunlight shone through the window, she smiled and whispered, “The one who could destroy the Elven Court should be able to deal with shadow creatures, especially after ten years…”

Finally convincing herself, she began to draw an intricate magic array at the top of the star-patterned paper, then wrote a long name:

Gordon Isaiah Sethanistoria Akmond…

The moment she finished writing the name, the magic pen suddenly vibrated, and the entire name began to shine, emitting a faint red light, like burning flames. When the flames extinguished, the long name had faded to almost invisible marks. Though faint, the marks were deeply imprinted on the star-patterned paper, and they could only be erased if the precious paper was completely destroyed. As a former high priestess, she was well-versed in the secrets of bloodlines. The burning flames indicated that the name written with magic power had triggered the laws and was perceived by its owner. Thus, everything she wrote would cross through time and space, directly reaching the owner of the name.

The magic pen hovered in the air again, the hand holding it trembling. The previous signs also indicated that this was indeed Gordon’s true name. Although she had never doubted it over the years, this was the first time it was confirmed. With the advantage of knowing the true name, she could consume a small amount of magic power to cast the most vicious curse on him, even if Gordon was now a legendary powerhouse, he would be powerless against the curse. The true name was one of the most important secrets of certain bloodlines.

This guy actually casually told his true name to others…

She couldn’t help but think, but the memory of the vast burning and collapsing forest soon replaced her thoughts. Her hand became cold but no longer trembled, and she wrote the content she wanted to convey in a few short lines, then it was time to sign. She hesitated for a moment, then wrote her name in the elegant script she used to use:

Elaine Moonglow.

The star-patterned paper burned fiercely, turning to ashes in an instant, the information recorded on it transmitted through ancient and mysterious laws to a distant place.

Putting down the magic pen, Elaine also put down all her worries, calm and beautiful.