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Chapter 291: The Seal Artifact
Chapter 291: The Seal Artifact
"Silence, do you think I'm big enough over here?"
Silence, the magician, stood at the edge of You Xuan, cocking his head to size him up. After making a gesture, You Xuan nodded in satisfaction. "Ugly, just as I wanted."
At that moment, he looked like the Envoy he had crushed in Illusion City, with his fangs bared and a formidable stature, exuding a menacing aura.
When You Xuan first arrived in the Sprite World, he realized that all the cards he possessed corresponded to various skills in this world. As long as a Duelist had enough cards, they could wield immense power and do anything here.
For instance, the Magic Card 'Hero Mask' he was using now seemed to be a transformative magic that allowed him to disguise himself.
Two days ago, the Mission Card taken from that Envoy had revealed new information. A map-like image appeared on the card, with an arrow marking a specific location.
Below the card image was a text description, but it was a bunch of incomprehensible hieroglyphics to You Xuan.
However, it didn't matter, as the Sprite World's top warrior, Chaos Fighter, had deciphered it roughly and informed him that it instructed the Envoy holding the Mission Card to go to a designated location for a gathering.
The mission was to search for an item called the "Seal Artifact."
You Xuan immediately recalled the message he had seen at Gui Ping a few days ago.
The Seal Artifact, that inverted triangular device resembling the Millennium Puzzle.
Could this be the Millennium Puzzle?
A bold idea sprang to You Xuan's mind.
Taking the Mission Card, he decided to impersonate an Envoy, join this task force, and venture into the tiger's den to uncover the truth.
As they walked, Silence gestured with his small hands. "Don't you think it's dangerous if they see through your disguise?" You Xuan asked. Silence nodded repeatedly.
Although he had found it challenging to communicate with Silence when they first met, with time, it strangely became easier. Now, he could quickly understand whatever Silence wanted to express.
"Don't worry, the A-Plan I mentioned earlier is to blend in with the enemy and gather information through conversation," You Xuan explained.
Silence tilted his head, curious about the B-Plan. "And the B-Plan is," You Xuan continued, "in case my identity is exposed, to beat them up and then ask questions."
". . ."
Silence seemed momentarily speechless, taken aback by You Xuan's foolproof plans.
The Mission Card was quite intelligent; as You Xuan advanced, the card image changed, and the arrow navigated them through the winding mountain roads. You Xuan soon realized it was like a mystical side-map navigation.
Following the navigation, they quickly reached the designated location.
The target was in a small grove. The tall, twisted tree trunks and intertwining branches cast thick shadows, devouring all light. The air was filled with the damp scent of soil and an indescribable putrid odor.
Pushing through a bush, You Xuan soon spotted three figures huddled together.
No, it wasn't quite accurate to call them "people," as there were no humans among them. Although he couldn't identify their cards, they seemed to be Beast Warriors or Beasts. Their bodies were like dark bronze cast in iron, scarred and tattooed, with wild manes of hair, fitting You Xuan's stereotypical image of beastmen.
The three beastmen noticed his approach and warily stood up, each presenting their Mission Cards.
Understanding their gesture, You Xuan also showed his card. They nodded and sat back down.
You Xuan then sat down next to them.
Good, it seemed like Plan A was going smoothly so far.
"The Guide will be here soon," Beastman A said. "We're all old acquaintances, serving the great God. There's no need to be nervous."
Hmm, so they were acquaintances.
You Xuan decided to listen to their conversation first. If the Envoy he was impersonating was a familiar figure to them, talking too much might expose his ruse.
Fortunately, one of the beastmen brought up the topic he was most concerned about.
"I heard that the 'Seal Artifact' the God Sect has been searching for has been found. What exactly is it?" Beastman B asked.
Beastman B waved his concerns away. "If it's not something we should discuss, then let's leave it be. I know better than to pry into matters I shouldn't."
Beastman A burst into laughter. "It's not that big of a secret. We're all good buddies here who've been on missions and had fun together. Just don't spread it around."
He leaned in again, lowering his voice. "I reckon you all know that our great god has only revealed a fraction of its true power so far. Its true form still lies dormant, awaiting awakening."
Beastmen B and C nodded vigorously.
"But rumor has it," Beastman A whispered, "that it's not a voluntary slumber. It was struck down." He continued, "Many years ago, a Lord of the Evil Gods, commanding the three evil gods who dominated the sky, land, and sun, took advantage of a moment when our great true god was in a weakened state and launched a surprise attack, severely injuring the divine being."
You Xuan: "..."
If he guessed correctly, the Lord of the Evil Gods they spoke of was none other than Pharaoh Atem? And the three evil gods who dominated the sky, land, and sun were the three Egyptian Gods?
Indeed. From their perspective, where Zorc was considered the evil god, the Egyptian Gods, who opposed Zorc in the other camp, would naturally be labeled as such.
However, there seemed to be some deliberate embellishments in this narrative.
According to You Xuan's understanding, it was Doma and his followers who had initiated the underhanded attack back then. The Egyptian Gods hadn't even retaliated. After winning the Duel Monsters game and obtaining the three god cards, Atem had returned home and presented the cards to the game master, the old king.
Then, Doma's henchman had suddenly burst in, bypassing the dueling ritual and directly assaulting the old king to steal the Egyptian God cards.
Moreover, the notion that the true god had been "in a weakened state" was also somewhat misleading.
At that time, the revived Zorc had been at its peak, having absorbed souls for thousands of years and even temporarily draining the Egyptian Gods of their power. It was in its most formidable state, stronger than it had ever been in Atlantis.
On the other hand, the Egyptian Gods had been in a depleted state, unable to be summoned. It was only when Atem was about to be consumed by darkness that he unleashed his full potential and forcibly brought forth the three gods.
So, if anything, Zorc had been the one at full strength, and the Egyptian Gods had been the ones in a weakened state.
Yet, with the beastman's colorful narrative, it almost sounded like Pharaoh Atem was the one who had launched a surprise attack.
". Anyway, in the end, the divine being was temporarily overwhelmed. But the Lord of the Evil Gods realized that our great god was immortal and could not be destroyed.
So, he resorted to despicable means, using the power of a formidable artifact to seal away the divine being. And our top priority now is to find that artifact, release the seal, and usher in the return of our mighty god, who will bring ultimate darkness to all realms!"
"That's the..." Beastman B trailed off.
"Indeed," Beastman A continued. "That artifact is the 'Seal Artifact.' But, to be honest, I'm just repeating what I heard from my buddy. I can't be sure if it's entirely accurate."
You Xuan's mind was once again immersed in piecing together the narrative.
During the DM era, it had indeed been stated that Zorc was the dark side of the planet's will. As long as darkness persisted in people's hearts, it would return time and time again and could never be truly eradicated.
And the solution Atem had presented was to use his "heart's vessel" to bear the darkness of the world and seal it away.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that the "item" Doma had been so desperate to find, invading one dimension after another and scouring every corner of the Sprite World, was none other than the Millennium Puzzle.
(End of Chapter)
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