Two days later, the moment Victor had been eagerly anticipating finally arrived.

The premiere of "Dust of Annihilation" was scheduled to begin at three in the afternoon. He arrived early at the theater entrance, waiting to enter. After a year's absence, the theater, specially built for magic films, had expanded considerably, adding several new screening rooms and setting up waiting halls and courtyards outside. Even though he arrived half an hour early, the hall was already crowded.

"This must be Mr. Gamore from Crescent Bay Merchant Guild, nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine. I didn't expect to see such a prominent merchant from Dawn here. I hope we can cooperate in business in the future."

"Isn't that the leading actor from the Kakin Theater Troupe standing over there? I wonder if we'll get to see the master himself."

"If you know him, could you please introduce me?"

"Of course, no problem."

People gathered in small groups, building connections. As he expected, those who could afford tickets costing dozens of gold dragons were mostly from the upper class, and this was one of the hidden values of the premiere ticket.

"Oh, isn't this Mr. Victor? I heard you've switched careers and are no longer in the jewelry business?" Occasionally, someone would recognize him in the crowd.

"I'm still in it, but business hasn't been so good lately."

"I really like the new bedding your guild came out with. After the hotel switched to it, we've had a lot more repeat customers. I was thinking of ordering another hundred sets."

"Thank you for your recognition. We can arrange a meeting after the magic film to discuss the details."

"Alright, it's a deal."

Linglong, standing beside him, was astonished. For her, a transaction involving dozens or hundreds of gold dragons was unimaginable. It wasn't until no one was talking to Victor that she quietly tugged at his sleeve. "Sir, are these people here to watch the magic film or to discuss business? And I saw a lot of people you didn't recognize before. Aren't you afraid they'll scam you?"

"Don't worry, this is common for merchants, you'll get used to it," Victor chuckled. After all, merchants who were willing to buy premiere tickets had a certain level of strength, and once they entered this circle, they would gain a great deal of recognition. Magic films were not tangible objects, leaving nothing behind after watching them, so in a sense, being covered in jewelry was more convincing.

As he walked and explained, he suddenly bumped into someone passing by.

"Ah... sorry," Victor noticed that the other person was a woman and apologized first, but he couldn't help but be stunned when he saw her appearance.

It was a lifeless face. Her features weren't bad, and with a little makeup, she would probably be even prettier than Linglong. But her pale complexion and empty eyes almost ruined everything, making people feel disgusted and wanting to stay away - such a gloomy expression was out of place in the atmosphere of the hall.

The woman didn't say anything, merely glanced at him, and continued walking forward expressionlessly.

What a weirdo... Victor muttered to himself.

"Sir!" Linglong, who hadn't noticed this scene, grabbed his hand and exclaimed, "The magic film is about to start, let's go in!"

"Ah... yeah." Victor shook his head, cast the unpleasantness aside, and followed Linglong towards the screening room.

...

"What happened just now?" Joe looked at Farina with concern.

"Nothing," Farina said softly, "just someone not paying attention to where they were going. Let's go, since you brought me here, don't just stand outside."

"Y-you're right," Joe hesitated, wanting to take her hand, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to do it. "Don't forget, I'm always by your side."

Farina didn't reply. Simply coming here with him was the greatest reward she could give.

It had been nearly half a year since she arrived in Neverwinter. The ancient witches who claimed to be from over four hundred years ago hadn't lied. Her injuries were slowly healing, from being completely unable to move to being able to walk on her own. Although the whip scars and brands on her body still remained, Farina had no complaints. If she had fallen into the hands of the church, her fate would have been ten thousand times worse - they could do this for an enemy, what else could she say?

However, the anticipated trial never came. Even the King of Graycastle didn't meet her, but sent people to ask her dozens of questions before disappearing. Some of the questions she deliberately lied to, trying to provoke their anger, but all she got was a faint sneer.

After being released from the prison, Joe bought a house and settled her in. Unlike her, Joe, who was once a nobleman, quickly found a job in the administrative hall and quickly adapted to his new identity - or rather, he shouldn't have been a member of the church in the first place. But this didn't bring Farina a turning point, instead it was a kind of torment. Because the longer she stayed in Neverwinter, the deeper her understanding of the city became, the more she realized the church's mistakes. Witches had nothing to do with hellish demons, they were just like ordinary people except for their magic. And Roland Wimbledon, who used the power of witches, hadn't turned his city into a demonic den either. Even a blind person couldn't deny the thriving scene here.

On one side was the church she had served for half her life, and on the other side was the denial of everything she had done. The two thoughts clashed alternately, causing Farina immense pain. Perhaps this was a kind of trial in itself, sometimes even more torturous than severe torture. If Joe didn't need her, she would have chosen to end her life long ago.

Even so, Farina didn't know how much longer she could last. She had a faint feeling that the two tickets sent by the Star Flower Theater Troupe were probably the last straw that would break her. Kakin. Fies must have been commissioned by Roland to write this script, the purpose of which was undoubtedly to completely reverse the world's perception of the church and further consolidate the Wimbledon family's throne.

She could already imagine that from now on, the church would become an object of universal scorn, and the last efforts of Lord Tak. Tor... and the countless trial army members who sacrificed themselves on the city walls like him, would all be a joke.

Farina didn't want to see this moment arrive, but she still accepted Joe's invitation.

Just as she despised those church leaders who fled, but still accepted their commission and stood up to stabilize the order of Hermes.

Only because she was needed by Joe.

But... this was probably the last thing she could do in return.

The lights dimmed.

As darkness enveloped the entire screening room, the magic film began.

...

The story began in the Hermes Plateau more than three hundred years ago. The New Holy City was still just stones, the screen swept over steep cliffs, flew over a vast snowfield, and took in the entire Great Rift Valley of the Endless Mountains.

Despite having watched magic films several times before, Victor still felt a tremor that went straight to his heart when he saw this panoramic view of the earth.

Across the Great Rift Valley, he saw many followers busily building their new city, as if this were truly the world of three hundred years ago.

After a moment, the screen pulled back to the ground again and plunged vertically into a huge pit - with the narrator's introduction, Victor heard the name of the church's core organization, "Privy Council," for the first time. From the murmurings around him, he knew that others felt the same way. Starting with unknown secrets was the most attractive topic, and the advertisement that this was "history that only the royal family was qualified to know in the past" greatly boosted the audience's interest. Soon, Victor's attention was completely drawn into the story.

Legend has it that every four hundred years, the world will usher in a disaster, when a huge red moon will hang high in the sky, and countless enemies gushing out of hell will devour the human kingdom. In order to survive, the witches entrusted their hope to a transcendental power, which needed to fuse the blood of witches and the soul of warriors to forge a steel body that was not afraid of magic and did not know pain - the God's Punishment Warrior.

In order to ensure the implementation of the plan, the witches established the church and began to screen and cultivate qualified candidates. The protagonist of the story is a witch, and also the next pope of the church. Another important character is the pope's guardian, the leader of the Judgment Army.

Like most dramas, the two went through a period of getting along, from despising each other to recognizing each other, and then to falling in love with each other, gradually becoming an inseparable "lover". The witch and the guardian even made a promise that when a new pope successor was found, the two would jointly undergo the God's Punishment transformation ceremony and become an inseparable symbiont.

This relationship was told by Kakin. Fies in a gentle and tactful way. Whether it was the presentation method or the actors' lines, it could be said to be the culmination of decades of skill. Coupled with the excellent performance of the Star Flower Theater Troupe, all the audience were immersed in the deeply moving atmosphere, and Linglong even cried softly for the promise of the two.

However, at this point the plot took a sharp turn. The guardian's father, tempted by power, designed to frame the current pope and placed the crown on his own head. As the successor witch, she naturally became the next thorn in his side, and he ordered his son to hand over her head, but the guardian flatly refused.

This rebellion had been planned for a long time, and when the rebels opened the curtain, everything was beyond redemption. Desperate, the two chose to flee Hermes, trying to bring the news to the king under the plateau. The guardian's father also tore off his last pretense and sent his personal soldiers to intercept the two halfway, obviously no longer intending to give them a way out.

The final climax was staged in Graycastle's Cold Wind Ridge.

A team of Judgment Army quickly caught up with the witch and the guardian. In the face of a huge disparity in numbers, it seemed inevitable that the two would die.

Just when Victor could hardly bear to watch any longer, something incredible happened -

"Please help us, I beg you!" The guardian, panting heavily, suddenly turned around, reached out and grabbed his arm. The hardness and coldness of the gauntlet were clearly transmitted to Victor's body through his clothes. At that moment, an indescribable tremor rose from his feet and instantly swept through his entire body!

He couldn't help but scream!

"There, capture them!"

"All rebels will be regarded as accomplices and killed without mercy!" The pursuers shouted and raised their crossbows.

"I, I'm not..." Victor only felt his throat was dry, and he couldn't complete the sentence for a long time, while the Judgment Warrior opposite had already pulled the trigger.

A crossbow bolt flew almost past his cheek!

At the same time, there was a slight tingling.

Victor trembled and touched his cheek, then put his finger in front of his eyes.

All he saw was a shallow scarlet.