The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Just as the leadership of the Raven Guard stepped forward to take responsibility, Aila Ashbel also knelt down, her beautiful head lowered.

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"Your Highness, Kolor's inadequate handling led to this incident. I, a humble woman, am willing to bear the punishment on behalf of the Raven Guard."

Soshian raised an eyebrow, glanced at the Beytani, and seeing that they seemed somewhat moved, he looked at Dorar.

"卿, what do you think of this matter?"

"Your Highness, this matter did indeed originate with the Raven Guard, but their feelings of wanting to return to their homeland after ten thousand years of wandering are understandable. Moreover, since there have been casualties on all sides, and the policies proclaimed by the royal court to all parties are reconciliation and tolerance, it is not appropriate to carry out further executions. How about this: those on the Raven Guard side who committed murder will be sentenced to military service for two thousand years, and those who caused injury will be sentenced to military service for five hundred years. As for the Kolor side, in addition to issuing a reprimand, the person in charge will be punished by serving in the royal court for one hundred years."

Soshian nodded and looked down.

"Ash, do you accept this punishment?"

"We accept, thank you, Your Highness, for your grace!"

Then he looked at Aila, who also nodded.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your grace."

Finally, Beytan, the prophet, also agreed to the plan, after all, they had truly obtained the Ark.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for upholding justice."

Soshian then stood up.

"Very well, the matter is settled. I hope this is the last bloody dispute I have to deal with. If you are not in a hurry to leave, you can take a look at this Herogu Kingdom. It is an ancient kingdom preserved from ancient times that has hardly been affected. Lord Dorar, you will be responsible for receiving and arranging for the guests."

With that, he turned and left, and the Imperial Guards spoke in unison.

"Disperse!"

Returning to his bedroom, Soshian saw that Veronica had prepared dinner and was waiting for him. Then, at the dining table, he told Veronica the whole story. Veronica had no objections to Soshian's arrangements. Instead, she talked to Soshian about the dance.

Soshian had actually intended to talk about this matter as well, but Veronica brought it up first, obviously realizing that there was something strange about it.

"Is there no record in past myths of Isha having a side representing anger?"

Veronica filled Soshian's wine glass while whispering her confusion.

"It is not strange for gods to have dual or even triple aspects. Like the Laughing God, he is both the god of clowns, the god of trickery, and the god of art. Kane, the Blood Hand, is both the god of war and the god of murder. But Isha has never been heard of having such an extreme aspect. Whether it is the goddess of nature or the mother of creation, they are mostly similar. I haven't taken the time to learn about the Isha faith here in Herogu, but it turns out to be so different."

Soshian took a sip of his wine and looked at Veronica.

"I bet you went to inquire about it afterward. Is there anything more surprising?"

"Well, to say surprising, there is nothing particularly surprising. According to the priests in the Isha Temple, in ancient times, very few things related to the gods were recorded in writing, which was regarded as a kind of disrespect. Therefore, there are only hymns passed down orally and dances passed down through generations. However, some ancient relics were discovered."

As she spoke, Veronica clapped her hands, and Lady Loreina and her two daughters walked in, carrying silver plates, placing them on the edge of the dining table, and then lifting the cloth.

Soshian fixed his eyes on them. One plate contained nine symbols that looked like jade or stone, covered with cracks and gaps, as if they had experienced extremely long years. The other was a small statue, and it was difficult to tell what material it was made of, because the texture was like wood, but the luster and texture were like metal. Moreover, it had ten arms on its sides, wore a crown, and all ten arms were empty, not knowing what they originally held. At the same time, it was entwined with two snakes, one in the form of a skull, wrapped around its neck as a necklace, and the other in the form of a humanoid snake with hands, wrapped around its waist. However, for some reason, its face was missing. The third plate contained a rough-looking stone, only the size of Soshian's thumb, presenting a unique light gray color with a faint glow.

After putting down these three things, they left.

"Madam, this is..."

"Listen to me, these divine symbols were held in the hands of the statue, but one was lost for some reason, so there are only nine. In very ancient times, each temple had its own secret language to record certain very important things, and these secret languages were used only after divination and divine permission. Each of them represents a lot of information, and when combined, they have even more meanings. Without special study and training, it is extremely difficult for outsiders to understand. Because a link is missing, all the priests in the temple gathered together cannot fully interpret it, and can only infer that it is an ancient hymn: 'Does Isha have emotions, will she lie in the embrace of the divine master? How can mercy be found in her icy iron heart? My mother, people call you kind, I will weave a ring of dead skulls a thousand times to call you, mother, mother...'"

"嘶..."

Soshian frowned.

"Madam, I don't understand, I just feel a little strange..."

"This is indeed difficult to understand, but this statue, when I communicated with the Moholokas (Snake People) before, I learned that they also have a faith that has been passed down for generations. She is the mother of birth and death, the giver and reaper of world life, and does not allow believers to depict her face, so she is also called the Faceless Mother."

"But they are not..."

At the same time, Veronica picked up the stone again.

"Husband, what do you think this looks like?"

Soshian hesitated for a moment and replied:

"A bit like... a Soul Stone?"

"Yes, but what's different is that it can anchor the souls of the living regardless of distance, and introduce the souls of the deceased into it after they die, but it can't enter an infinite loop or a Wraithbone construct like a Soul Stone."

Soshian's face changed.

"Isn't this much more powerful than a Soul Stone? Why... would it appear here?"

"The priests don't know where it came from, they only know that it exists deep in the base of the Isha shrine, and it has a unique name, the Netherstone."

"Netherstone..."

"Husband, don't you think it's very similar to the Death Guard's method?"

"The Death Guard? Now that you mention it... it does seem to be. The Death Guard has always only said that the souls are absorbed by Yena... Do you mean that Yena is actually a huge Netherstone?"

"No, no, that's not what I mean, but I suspect that the Netherstone didn't originate from Isha, but from Hya. Husband, do you remember your guess?"

Soshian nodded in sudden realization:

"You're saying Isha is Hya? That's true, but where is the connection between the two?"

"There is too little information about Hya, but I have a guess now... As another aspect of the goddess of life, Hya may be the goddess of death, or the Mother of the Underworld."

"Hmm?"

Soshian's mind recalled the dancer's expression of both anger and compassion, realizing that this was indeed possible.