Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 216 - 192 Escape from Difficulties

Chapter 216: Chapter 192 Escape from Difficulties

"It feels weird," Xu Yang said as he casually waved the scepter, causing a large puddle of seawater to appear in the cabin and splash onto the floor.

"Human brainpower is limited, as is physical strength," Farosa said mysteriously, intertwining her fingers. "Think about it, if you use various spiritual medicines and amulets to enhance your abilities, wouldn’t you be able to achieve the next step in evolution? Not only would you have great wisdom, punch through walls, but you could also operate a variety of modern devices. Witches, Mystics, and this Death Deity, they all have many ways to cover your weaknesses, turning you into a little ace, amazing at everything."

"Then that really is a boundless future," Xu Yang tossed the scepter back to Farosa and activated the shuttle machine’s self-cleaning system to clear the seawater from the ground.

"Plus, if you were to decay quickly, theories of lifespan would separate us," Farosa caught the scepter. "Even just to spend the coming centuries with me, you’d need to properly use mystical powers to extend your life."

"That is indeed..." Xu Yang didn’t want to die so soon.

"And me." Lila too would live a very, very long time, and if Xu Yang fell before her, she would never accept it.

The countdown for the underwater journey reads 10 hours, and the shuttle machine speeds forward.

No matter how troublesome or exhausting, Lila wouldn’t be bothered by it and carried on with what needed to be done. Farosa played with the good things Xu Yang had retrieved, pondering how to make these ocean series treasures useful.

Xu Yang gazed out at the deep-sea landscapes through the glass. After passing the giant carcasses, everything about the seabed turned novel.

Previously, one could still vaguely see the sunlight penetrating the murky waters, the seabed sediment piled with industrial waste. As the Innovation continued its deep-sea voyage, the water became deeper and visibility worsened.

The "Godbinding Plan" is located in an area known as "Blue Sea," lying at the boundary of Kyoto Infinity and the Lighthouse Core’s jurisdiction. The Innovation dived deeper away from the continental shelf’s natural structures, trying to submerge as much as possible to avoid being discovered by other vessels on the surface of the Great Ocean. At this point, the Innovation was like entering a profound abyss; through the windows, they saw sea creatures aimlessly wandering around. Compared to the past, the richness and density of marine life have dropped dramatically, tormented by human water pollution.

There, one feels an extreme sense of loneliness.

The deep sea is pitch black, like a massive cocoon wrapping them inside, making them seem like an insignificant speck in the world.

After leaving the continental shelf, the Innovation descended to a depth of 500 meters where corals, seaweeds, and strangely shaped seabed rocks spread below the shuttle machine like a whole painting splashed with mismatched colors. However, it’s displayed in a dim, lightless gallery, rendering the colors indistinct.

The interference from the Divine Fragments had receded, and the Ocean Descendants once again treated Farosa as their mother. They earnestly followed the Innovation, these creatures with multiple arms, wings, a dragon head and scaled bodies. Occasionally, an Ocean Descendant would leave the group due to hunger to search for and prey on nearby fish, only to return and continue following the shuttle machine after eating. They were true dominators of the seas, and because Farosa continually created guiding currents behind the shuttle machine, the Ocean Descendants could keep up with its speed.

Farosa tested the magical artifacts snatched from the small shrines, and after categorizing them, she stored them away. It wasn’t time to use them yet; she, like Xu Yang, quietly gazed out at the tranquil scenery outside the windows.

It was too quiet, they couldn’t feel anything. In reality, the main engines of the Innovation were constantly howling and vibrating, but their ears, having listened to the roar for so long, had taken it as nothing more than normal background noise. As a result, they felt the surroundings were silent.

Lila occasionally turned her head to check on Xu Yang and Farosa. To her, this voyage was far too short.

The silent trio, devoid of commotion, accompanied by the suffocating feel of the mysterious deep sea.

She liked it very much.

With one-third of the journey left, they reached the absolute deep sea, entering an ancient realm yet to be explored by humans. The intelligent screen on the central console detected and mapped the environment; they saw the bones of great whales and the remains of dead sea life. Unlike the Divine Fragments, Xu Yang had seen these extinct creatures at least in the encyclopedia of the seas. Their carcasses piled on the bottom, feeding an especially flourishing marine ecosystem; their skeletons turned into reefs, becoming homes for jellyfish and worms.

They also saw sunken ancient ships, treasure chests, and half-buried giant bones. However, they saved time by not exploring each individually.

"Zenith too..." Xu Yang started to speak but found his voice rough from not speaking for several hours. Farosa also paused, not catching what he said at first.

"It..." Xu Yang continued, "Does it also have its own kin? Like the Ice Giant, a massive hand, but with many small creatures emerging alongside."

"Zenith is a lonely being," Farosa looked at the huge carcasses of strange giants. "These giants who died at the bottom of the sea are probably descendants from other extraterrestrial species. They all fell from the sky."

"Seems like we’ll necessarily have to deal with them in the future," Xu Yang took a deep breath. He felt a bit light-headed, the long stay underwater gave him an extraordinary experience.

Gazing at the countless remains dying on the seabed, Farosa now realized more than ever what her thousand years of slumber meant.

During this time, too many had died, too many legendary stories had prospered, burst forth, declined, and withered away during her death, like the landscapes in the deep sea, to be forgotten. She wanted to speak but did not wish to make a sound, preferring instead to be as silent as the entire ocean.

She was gradually attracted by the sea.

The more she consumed of the deity, the stronger her control over seawater became, which greatly aided her upcoming Ascension Plan.

Farosa had completely subdued the deity in her mindset, so the deity’s psychic disturbances were no longer a concern. Every drop of sea water constituted a part of the deity, yet she had personally slain such a being, swallowing a part of it into her own spirit and flesh. Once she completed the Seven Witches’ Ritual, the witches’ prayers would bring about her complete evolution.

"The Ocean" was undoubtedly the premier power, and what powers would follow would mainly depend on what the Seven Witches envisioned, their assorted thoughts constructing the nature of Farosa as a deity.

would provide "Mystic," because she could not fathom Farosa.

would provide "Strength," as 102 might not fully understand all this, but at least she knew Farosa was powerful.

Mizuiro Yoshioka would provide "Authority," thankful that Farosa had transformed her from an ink-spraying, useless witch into one with potential for development.

Shallow Dream would provide "Dominance," because Shallow Dream’s mind was immature, and a fool would seek a master for themselves.

Du Qianqian would provide "Fear," which was also by Farosa’s design; she was particularly harsh on Du Qianqian, to obtain a trace of power in her future deity construct that could inspire awe and submission.

Pan Ruiyi was too far away; after being called back, she needed to be re-domesticated into a servant. And then there was the last one, the final spot...

Farosa pondered slowly. The Seven Witches’ Ritual was indeed complex; in ancient times, many Empress-level witches had attempted it, and they had all dominated for centuries with the divine power they gained from the ritual until they were killed by the Mystics or deities.

She could not allow herself to suffer such a fate, so this ascension had to be perfect, especially the selection of the seventh witch.

This quiet deep-sea voyage had made them all much more profound; Xu Yang had not rested, constantly observing the deep-sea landscapes through the window. At first, he was slightly excited by the sights, using his neural processor to record their images, but he had become completely numb afterward, unaffected by graveyards, whale falls, schools of fish, rare giant squids, undersea volcanoes, seamounts, or ocean trenches.

Too beautiful, yet too solitary; compared to the ocean, Xu Yang felt like mere fine dust, the burdens of the world, the quandaries of life, all seemed insignificant in comparison.

Eating, resting, together with one other person, with three. Indeed, he shouldn’t have brought 101 and 102; they were too young, not yet knowing how to face the life enlightenment that the vast sea brought.

On September 10th, at 1 a.m., Innovation reached the "Godbinding Plan."

When the detector confirmed that the deep-sea base was less than 5 nautical miles away, they finally let out the breath they had been holding for so long. The shuttle machine’s engine power decreased, and Xu Yang relaxed completely.

"We’re here, we’ve arrived," Lila left the pilot’s seat to recharge herself. Xu Yang, on the other hand, adjusted the network communication module, preparing to hack into the Godbinding Plan.

The loyal Ocean Descendants swam by the side of Innovation, ready to fight for Farosa’s will at any moment.

The solitude of the long sea expedition must not go to waste. Xu Yang took a deep breath and adjusted his mood. This time, he absolutely, positively had to accomplish the mission and rescue Zenith from the base.

At the same time, Zenith inside the Godbinding Plan awoke from the slumber of the past two months.

It vaguely sensed Farosa’s arrival, something it had longed for, and immediately began establishing a psychic connection with Farosa.

Detecting the thought fluctuations, the Witch Researchers in the base immediately became alert and began to work, lights illuminating various parts of the Godbinding Plan.

"Zenith—Zenith—Zenith!" Zenith was overjoyed.

It was eager to break free.

Zenith had originally thought Farosa would deceive it, just as many Mystics had done in the past, "Moonfire" Mond, "Deceiver" Mack, the wicked woman Dilnai, the reborn Idith... one plotter and villain after another had made it suffer and exploited it mercilessly.

But Farosa was different, how wonderful, how upright, a witch who was exceedingly honest, kind, and friendly. She was actually coming to rescue it!

"Zenith!" Zenith continued to call out, "Zenith, Zenith, Zenith!"

"All right, all right," Farosa responded in her mind, "I’m here."

Such earnest emotions made Zenith feel that beauty still existed in the world, that this era wasn’t entirely chaotic, that justice and order were brilliantly flowing at this moment. Farosa de Aquilia, a young girl of the Witch clan, the God Slayer, the ruler of the Throne of God, the Mystical Outcast, the master escaper, one of the Thirteen Chaos Witches. Merely on the basis of an affection from a thousand years ago, she was willing to come and extend a helping hand, to rescue it from the shackles of humans, how could it not be excited.

Zenith!