The enormous changes left Agatha feeling lost and bewildered. She didn't want to believe what they were saying, yet the stories sounded so real—which witch could have imagined such a miserable fate without having experienced it firsthand?
If it were her, she couldn't imagine being enslaved and hunted.
Even ordinary people with low status in the Holy City were still people, not animals.
She felt extremely tired. Wendy seemed to sense her discomfort and brought her a glass of warm milk. "Drink this, you'll feel better."
Although this red-haired woman didn't possess the overwhelming power and authority of a divinely favored one, she still infected her like a flame, not blazing and dazzling, but warm as water... She drank the milk, and the sweetness she hadn't tasted in a long time flowed into her stomach, restoring some of her strength. After resting for a while, the conversation continued.
Although she didn't understand why a group of witches would be wary and guarded against another group of witches, she had to gain their trust first to make them believe her and unlock the God's Stone anklet.
As for how credible the prince and Wendy's words were, she had to confirm it with her own eyes.
Before she personally witnessed this narrow, backward, and barbaric land, she wouldn't believe that the Union had disappeared without a trace, as if it had never existed.
"As I said before, my name is Agatha, from the Taqila Exploration Society. In the fifth year of the Divine Will War, Taqila, as the last Holy City, failed to hold out until the end of the war. Most people began their escape, and I went to the Misty Forest to retrieve some things that were left behind."
"Wait... you were fighting devils?" the prince asked.
Agatha frowned, "Who else besides us? Do you think ordinary people like you could do it?"
"Are you a witch of the church?"
"What is the church? I've never even heard of it," she said impatiently, "Taqila... no, all the Holy Cities were built by witches. Tens of thousands of people lived inside, most of whom were ordinary people like you. They were responsible for giving birth and taking care of children until the children awakened, and then they were handed over to specialized organizations for training. Of course, witches skilled in combat would join the alliance and fight against the devils."
The prince pondered for a moment, then took out a book and handed it to her, "Can you understand what's written on it?"
Agatha flipped through a couple of pages and was quickly captivated, "This is... a witch's diary."
"Do you use this kind of writing?" asked a witch with light gray hair.
"The Union created it to separate it from the writing used by ordinary people, so that they couldn't participate in upper-level affairs, although I don't think it's a good idea."
"How is it done?" she asked curiously, "If it's just another set of characters, ordinary people can learn it, right?"
"It requires magic," Agatha explained, "It's not a very difficult skill. If you're a witch, I can teach you."
"Writing itself is a tool for communication, and the wider its reach, the better. Doing this is indeed foolish," the prince commented, "Excluding ordinary people is equivalent to greatly reducing the scope of your available manpower. In fact, after training and education, ordinary people can be competent in many positions. Apart from not having magic, they are not much worse."
Even if his thoughts were the same as hers, Agatha was not used to a mortal criticizing the Union's decisions. She could accept collaborating with ordinary people without magic, but she didn't like them standing in front of her, gesticulating and giving orders.
She began to miss Kavla.
Even a family guard captain was more polite than this so-called prince.
"My name is Juan, Agatha xiaojie," another very old-looking witch suddenly asked, "Have you heard of the name Akalys?"
Agatha's hand trembled slightly, "Where did you hear this name? Wasn't everything from four hundred and fifty years ago lost?"
"I once found an ancient book in the ruins of the Eastern Territory Forest of Greycastle," Juan said, "It's the one in your hand. Her name appeared on the last page, and it was written in ordinary people's writing."
Agatha quickly flipped to the last page, read through the few scribbled notes, sighed, and remained silent for a long time. The image of the woman holding a long sword high, summoning countless rays of light to the world, resurfaced in her mind. However, this time, the shadows in the golden light in her memory had grown a little larger.
After a long while, she slowly said, "Akalys was the queen of the City of Falling Stars, and one of the three seats of the Union. She was a high-level Transcendental, also known as above Transcendental. Even among the many divinely favored ones in the Union, she was the most powerful."
"Above... Transcendental?" A murmur arose among the witches.
"Since this knowledge has been lost, it's normal that you don't know," Agatha said in a deep voice, "A witch's ability is constantly increasing from the moment of awakening and solidifies on the day of adulthood. But this is not the end of the ability. Through self-understanding, insight, and practice, a very small number of lucky people can go a step further, making the ability incredibly strengthened... We call it high-level awakening. This awakening has no upper limit, and there is no rigid division of how much it is amplified, but obvious changes can be observed from the magic power form."
"Uh, it's ability evolution, right?" The prince scratched the back of his head, "Counting it up, the Witch Union also has four witches who have evolved their abilities."
Agatha almost choked on these words, "Four, four? How many members does the Witch Union have?"
He counted on his fingers, "More than a dozen."
"Don't talk nonsense if you don't know!" She seemed a little annoyed, "Four people out of a dozen can awaken to a high level? You don't even know what that means. Don't compare it to the solidification or branch abilities of adulthood. It's completely different! Those who can be promoted are all darlings of the gods. Opportunity and self-effort are indispensable!"
The prince seemed a little helpless, and he waved his hand, "Anna."
A beautiful and calm girl, Agatha thought as she watched the witch walk to the bedside. Even among witches, such an appearance seemed very outstanding. Her blue eyes were like the surface of an ice lake reflecting the moon, so clear that she could see her own reflection. But she was too young, probably just coming of age. She had no experience in training, insight, or understanding. She herself was twenty-six years old when she advanced, which could already be considered an outstanding genius in the Union—only those who had experienced it knew how difficult it was.
They probably mistook the branch ability of adulthood for a high-level awakening, Agatha thought to herself.
A ball of orange light appeared in Anna's palm.
"Fire ability, a very common summoning type. The highest usable temperature and heating rate can be used to measure the level of mastery. Those that can be ejected can be regarded as combat witches," she quickly commented.
As soon as she finished speaking, the flame instantly dimmed and turned into a wisp of ghostly green fire. It slowly changed its color, from dark green to light green, but no matter what, the green flame seemed to be devouring the surrounding light to fill itself.
"This is her solidified ability at adulthood, and what comes next is the key point," the prince explained.
Solidified? No... how could this be solidified? Adulthood should only make the flame hotter, the core brighter, and larger. She couldn't help but open her mouth wide. Moreover, what did he mean by what comes next is the key point?
Soon, Agatha saw an incredible scene—the green fire disappeared, replaced by a black cube. It no longer resembled a flame at all. It was like a lightless metal cube, with smooth and flat walls, distinct edges and corners, quietly standing in the witch's hand.