booktalesy Chapter 146 Om Messiah
Chapter 146 Om Messiah
Chapter 145 Om Messiah
It took nearly an hour to inscribe the magic circle.
Lorraine crouched on the ground around the life support tank, his carving knife cutting through the metal floor with a piercing hum.
Every single line needs to be precise to the millimeter; the slightest deviation will cause the magic transmission circuit to completely collapse.
He finished the last stroke, stood up, and stretched his sore wrist.
The magic circle radiates outward from the life support tank in three concentric rings, with the outermost ring almost covering the entire floor of the control room.
Between the lines are densely packed rune nodes, each of which needs to be embedded with a magic crystal as an energy anchor.
"Ten thousand magic crystals."
Lorraine retrieved the spatial folding warehouse from the camp relocation order, and then took out wooden crates from the spatial folding warehouse. The crate lids were opened, and a pale blue light spread throughout the control room.
The magic crystals were embedded one by one into the nodes of the magic array, like placing pieces on a giant chessboard.
"A bottle of epic-grade source material."
A silvery-gray viscous liquid is sealed in a palm-sized crystal bottle, the surface of which is covered with fine and mysterious light patterns.
Lorraine carefully inserted it into the groove in the very center of the magic circle.
"The spinal cord of the Viper Lizard, the heart of the Frost Giant Wolf, and—"
He then took out several more magical materials he had accumulated during the previous city defense battles and placed them one by one in specific positions on the magic circle.
Ohm crouched at the edge of the magic circle, his silver eyes fixed on the magic crystals, his fingers unconsciously clenching the hem of his skirt into wrinkles.
Beside the life support tank, the holographic projection of Messiah stood silently, watching Lorraine's busy figure without uttering a word.
The magic array is ready.
Lorraine straightened up, dusted off her hands, and turned to look at Messiah.
"Some things need to be made clear beforehand."
Messiah nodded slightly.
"Your awakening ceremony is different from Ohm's."
Lorraine's tone was flat, as if stating a conclusion that had been repeatedly deduced: "Ohm's soul was clean back then; the infusion of source matter and the process of restoring his body was a pure reshaping. But you..."
He paused for a moment.
"The corruption of the Moment of Change has clung to you for thousands of years. Although I removed the corruption itself, it's not dust that can be easily brushed away."
Messiah's expression remained unchanged; he simply listened quietly.
"Your soul still bears the marks of erosion."
Lorraine gestured with his hand. "To give you an example, it's like a piece of metal that's been soaking in acid for too long. The acid is poured out, but the pits left by the corrosion are still there. When the source material reshapes your physical body, it will pass through these pits—I can't fully predict what will happen then."
"Will it be life-threatening?" Anna asked.
"It's unlikely, but not out of the question," Lorraine didn't shy away. "The real, fatal risk lies on the mental level. Once the erosion mark is activated by the source matter, there's a very high probability it will create illusions, dragging Messiah into the deepest nightmares. If she can't break free from these illusions..."
"—She will be reshaped by the source matter into a mutated monster."
Ohm's face paled for a moment, and his lips opened but no sound came out.
Messiah glanced down at his sister, then stretched out an illusory hand made of light and shadow and gently stroked Ohm's head.
The light particles penetrated the hair strands but couldn't touch anything.
"I understand." Messiah withdrew her hand, looked at Lorraine, and said in a calm tone, "Let's begin."
"Aren't you going to ask about the success rate?"
"No need." Messiah's lips twitched slightly. "I saw it in Ohm's memories. If you weren't confident, you wouldn't have laid everything out before mentioning the risks."
Lorraine paused for a moment, then chuckled.
"OK."
He turned to face the crowd.
"Ohm, stand on the third node on the east side of the magic circle. If anything goes wrong during the ritual, the resonance between you two as the twins of the Tower of Babel will be the last line of defense."
Ohm nodded vigorously and ran quickly to the designated location.
"Anna, Catherine, each guard one side of the outer edge of the magic circle to maintain the stability of the magic field. Olivia, when the source material reshaping reaches its final stage, her newly formed body will need life force infusion, you take over."
The three of them dispersed and took their respective positions.
"Victor, guard the goal."
Without a word, Victor turned and walked toward the entrance to the control room, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his back like an insurmountable iron wall.
Lorraine took a deep breath.
Walk to the edge of the magic circle, kneel down on one knee, and press your palm against the outermost activation pattern.
A boundless spiritual force poured down without reservation.
Buzz!
The magic array patterns lit up in concentric circles from the outside in.
Ten thousand magic crystals simultaneously emitted blue-white light, and beams of light shot straight up from each node to the dome, weaving together a dense and impenetrable net of light.
The pipe connections at the bottom of the life support tank were making a clicking sound, and the remaining nutrient solution inside the tank began to churn violently.
The bioluminescence on the surface of the brain, which was suspended in the liquid, suddenly intensified, as if it had been ignited from within by something.
The source matter in the crystal bottle rose silently into the air.
The silvery-gray liquid detached from the bottle's constraints, like a living serpent, stretching and winding in mid-air, slowly swimming towards the life support tank.
The holographic projection of the Messiah flickered suddenly—
Dissipate completely.
Inside the cylinder, the source substance enveloped the brain like mercury.
A dazzling silver-gray light shone from deep within the cylinder, illuminating the entire control room as bright as day, forcing everyone to squint involuntarily.
The source material has begun to be reshaped.
This was a miracle visible to the naked eye—countless silvery-gray wisps of hair extended wildly outward from the surface of the brain, one, two,
Hundreds, thousands, like some kind of eerie vines growing wildly.
The silk threads intertwine, wrap around, and fill each other, climbing down the spinal cord segment by segment, precisely outlining the perfect contour of the human spine.
Skeleton is formed in the source material.
Ribs, collarbones, and scapulae emerged one by one from the silvery-gray light, precisely fitting into their respective positions.
Blood vessels extend from the heart outwards, like a red spider web connecting muscle fibers in various parts of the body.
The light of the magic circle pulsed steadily, and the ten thousand magic crystals dimmed at a visible speed as their energy was greedily devoured by the source matter.
Lorraine stared intently at the cylinder, her gaze unwavering.
When the body reconstruction reached the torso, everything went smoothly.
The skin begins to cover the exposed muscles, spreading downwards from the collarbone, suddenly taking on a healthy pale pink hue.
A jet-black pattern was blown open on the surface of the cylinder.
Like a snake that has been dormant for a long time finally awakening, black lines darted out from the edge of the brain and spread down the newly formed spine at an astonishing speed.
"They're here." Lorraine gritted her teeth.
The source matter inside the cylinder instantly boiled, the silver-gray vitality and the pitch-black deathly silence clashing together, like two incompatible liquids engaged in a life-or-death tug-of-war.
The Messiah's newborn body began to spasm uncontrollably, and his not-yet-fully-formed fingers twitched and curled in pain.
Ohm clenched his fists and unconsciously took a step forward.
"Don't move!" Lorraine snapped, "It's not your turn to make a move yet!"
Ohm bit his lower lip, stopping abruptly.
The Messiah did not know where he was.
My consciousness was enveloped in a thick darkness, and a familiar voice came to my ears—it was all too familiar.
scream.
Hundreds and thousands of screams.
My vision suddenly exploded, the image so clear it was nauseating.
She stood on the street on the third level of the Tower of Babel.
Sunlight streamed down from the dome's lighting panels, the shop shutters were wide open, and long queues formed in front of the bakeries.
A little girl with pigtails ran past her carrying a cream bread and smiled at her.
Then the little girl's head fell off.
The body lay sprawled on the ground, and the golden-brown, tempting bread rolled into the pool of blood.
A dark claw emerged from the shadows, grabbed the little girl, and dragged her away.
People in the streets started running and shouting.
The shop's roller shutters came crashing down, only to be torn open from the outside.
The shop owner, holding two children, huddled behind the counter. Black tentacles silently slipped into the cracks in the wall.
Messiah desperately stretched out her hand, trying to stop the monsters surging in from all directions—her hand passed right through everything.
It's unattainable.
We couldn't catch a single one.
Three hundred and five thousand three hundred and eighty-one people.
She watched them fall one by one, watching those she remembered by name, address, and occupation turn into corpses, into pieces of flesh, into dark red drag marks on the ground.
Then the screen changes.
She saw herself.
Not the present self, but the messiah from thousands of years ago.
The brain that had been floating in the life support tank had by then been swallowed up by the same color as the monster.
You can't hold onto anything.
The corrupted self spoke, its voice like an echo coming from the bottom of a very deep well.
"Look what you've done! More than 300,000 people have died, the Tower of Babel is ruined, and the emperor is nailed to his throne, unable to move."
The Messiah's consciousness was trembling violently.
"And you? You were eaten by me. You became a tool of slaughter, and you destroyed everything you wanted to protect with your own hands."
The screen then switched again.
This time, she saw Ohm.
That lonely brain, soaking in nutrient solution, soaking in darkness.
The screen of the life support tank kept flashing the word "Sister?"
"Is my sister home?"
"Sister, why aren't you saying anything?"
"Sister, I'm scared."
Once, twice, ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times.
The text changed from white to yellow, then from yellow to a dull gray. The screen refresh rate slowed down, slower and slower.
Finally, only a cursor remained flashing on the screen.
It flashes.
There's nothing left.
The Messiah's consciousness began to fall.
Darkness surged in from all directions, like an old blanket, gently enveloping her.
The darkness was just as unsettling, but it was quiet here. No more screams.
There's no need to look at those dead faces anymore.
No more thinking about Ohm all alone in the dark calling her name.
"Let it sink."
The voice rang out again, this time much gentler.
"Close your eyes, it's all over—you're tired enough."
The Messiah's consciousness is falling.
It's getting deeper and deeper.
It's getting heavier and heavier.
In the control room, Leila's face turned deathly pale.
"The thread of fate is about to break!"
The black patterns inside the cylinder have covered most of the Messiah's newborn body, and the silver-gray of the source material has been compressed into a very small area, which is still receding.
Lorraine's gaze suddenly shifted to Ohm.
"Ohm! Now!"
Ohm rushed to the life support tank and slapped his hands on the tank.
A silver light emanated from her palm and spread along the surface of the cylinder.
-
Ohm closed his eyes.
She sent her consciousness over.
In the darkness, the Messiah was still falling.
A voice came from a very, very far place.
"elder sister."
Messiah's consciousness paused for a moment.
"Sister, can you hear me?"
The voice wasn't as cold as the words in the illusion.
It was warm, with a nasal tone, with urgency, with a sobbing voice.
"Sister, I'm not scared anymore, I'm not alone."
Messiah stopped.
"You know what? My big brother made me a new body, and now I can eat! The barbecue is so delicious, really so delicious! If you don't believe me, I'll take you to eat it when you come back."
In the darkness, the Messiah's consciousness hung suspended at some depth.
"And the wind, sister, have you ever felt the wind blowing on your face? It's that cool, slightly itchy feeling, and your nose is full of the smell of grass. I cried for a long time the first time I felt it."
Ohm's voice trembled, but he didn't stop.
"I can still cry now. Before, when I was all alone, I couldn't even cry if I wanted to. Now, tears fall easily. My older brother says I'm made of water."
His voice choked for a moment.
"Sister, come back."
"I have been waiting for you for thousands of years."
"I don't want you to disappear again."
Messiah's consciousness jolted violently.
In the darkness, a crack appeared in the soft old blanket, and silvery light shone through the crack.
"What good will going back do? You can't protect them." The voice from the abyss remained, but it grew urgent. "You can't protect anyone! You can't even protect yourself!"
The Messiah's consciousness stopped falling.
Those images are still churning.
The deaths of 300,000 people, her own descent into madness, and Ohm's lonely cries all flashed before her eyes, as if trying with all her might to pull her back into the darkness.
She didn't watch those images.
She was listening.
Listen to Ohm's voice.
"My older brother said the lights will come back on, and there will be people lining up in front of the bakery."
"He's right, sister. I believe him."
"So you have to come back and visit too."
The Messiah's consciousness began to rise.
Slowly, inch by inch, upwards.
Darkness was tearing at her, the corrosive marks releasing fear and despair like madmen, trying to drag her down again.
But she had already grasped the only ray of light that could lead her out of this abyss.
Those images are real.
The deaths of 300,000 people are true.
It's true that she was corrupted.
It's true that Ohm has been lonely for thousands of years.
But the little sister crying and banging on the glass outside the tank was also real.
The Messiah's consciousness surged upwards.
Inside the cylinder, the dark patterns struggled.
The struggle between black and silver-gray reached its final moment. Messiah's newly born body trembled violently, his five fingers spread open, the fingertips pressing against the jar wall.
The black lines began to fade from the extremities, inch by inch, like the receding tide. The silvery-gray source material refilled, repairing and covering the eroded and corroded parts.
The Messiah opened his eyes.
The nutrient solution inside the tank was evaporated by the source matter, and her naked body floated in the silvery-gray light.
A hand rose and pressed down on the last main cable inserted into the back of the head.
-
Then I pulled hard and broke it.
The moment the pipeline broke, a shockwave exploded from the cylinder, and the shattered glass, blocked by the magic barrier of the magic circle, turned into powder and fell to the ground.
"Olivia!" Lorraine immediately exclaimed.
Olivia was already prepared.
Emerald green light emanated from her palm, converging into a gentle ribbon that wrapped around the Messiah's newborn body.
As life flowed in, the still slightly pale skin began to regain a healthy rosy hue.
The light from the magic circle slowly faded.
Ten thousand magic crystals turned to ashes and fell softly from the node.
Messiah knelt at the bottom of the shattered life support tank, head bowed, his body soaking wet, his long hair plastered to his cheeks and back.
Lorraine took off her coat and threw it over.
Messiah's fingers gripped the collar of his coat.
Her hands were trembling not because they were cold, but because it was the first time she had fingers that could touch solid objects.
The rough fabric rubbed against my palm, the sensation so unfamiliar it was suffocating.
She slowly raised her head.
Its eyes are silver, just like Ohm's.
But what's inside is different. After thousands of years of madness and powerlessness, the silver eyes are like an old mirror that has been worn smooth, silent, deep, yet exceptionally clear.
Ohm had already rushed in front of her.
He rushed over and hugged her.
His arms were firmly wrapped around his sister's shoulders.
Unlike before—when my hands could only pass helplessly through the projection, unable to grasp anything.
This time, it's real.
The collision of bones, the temperature of skin, the vibration of the heartbeat.
Ohm cried so hard he trembled, burying his face in Messiah's shoulder, his voice muffled and almost inaudible.
Messiah was stunned for a long time.
She looked down at her younger sister, who was sobbing uncontrollably on her shoulder.
Raise your hand.
After hesitating for a moment, his fingertips touched the back of Ohm's head.
The hair is soft and warm.
Messiah's throat bobbed.
He lowered his palm and gently pressed it on Ohm's head.
"Don't cry."
His voice was incredibly hoarse, but every word was clear and steady.
No one spoke in the control room.
Anna stood to the side with her arms crossed, a slight smile playing on her lips.
Catherine leaned against the control panel, her expression indifferent, but her gaze never left the two sisters.
Olivia covered her mouth, her eyes already red-rimmed.
Lorraine put his hands in his pockets.
Looking at the two silver-haired sisters hugging each other, the corners of his mouth curved upwards.
Messiah's gaze passed over Ohm's shoulder and landed on him.
She opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something.
Lorraine raised her hand and waved.
"The Fourth-Order Myriad Machines Witch"
His tone was indifferent, like reciting a menu, "Same rank as Ohm. Alright, get dressed first, the ceremony is over."
.
Messiah looked at him, remained silent for two seconds, and then smiled faintly.
Ohm lifted his head from his sister's shoulder, his eyes as red as a rabbit's, and snot almost smeared onto Messiah's new clothes.
"Sister, touch this—" She grabbed Messiah's hand and pressed it against her face. "Isn't it soft! You can feel it, right? This is my face!"
Messiah paused slightly, feeling the soft, warm touch beneath his palm with his fingertips.
"—I have indeed gained weight."
Ohm's expression froze.
"No way!"
Lorraine couldn't help but chuckle and turned to walk towards the door.
Behind them came Ohm's exasperated voice and Messiah's low laughter.
On the dome of the control room, the previously dim lighting panels suddenly flickered a few times, then lit up one after another.
Not just the control room.
Seemingly to celebrate the rebirth of the twins of the Tower of Babel, the lighting system of the entire third floor of the Tower of Babel was activated simultaneously. The light panels that had been extinguished for countless years seemed to be awakened by some force, and blue and white light spread out layer by layer.
It illuminated the deserted streets, the broken shops, and the dried-up fountain square.
A panel appeared in front of Lorraine.
Name: Om Messiah
[Identity: Twins of Babel, Fourth-Order Witch of Myriad Machines]
[New Ability 1]
[The Twins' Resonance at Babel: When Ohm and Messiah stand within ten meters of each other, the two Witches of Machines will resonate, temporarily increasing their power by 1.5 levels.]
[New Ability 2]
[Om Messiah's Blessing: With Om Messiah's blessing, friendly mechanical creations will break through the laws of physics and unleash power far beyond their limits.]
(Including but not limited to: creating ammunition out of thin air, defending against enemies without human intervention, and maintaining 100% operational function even when parts are almost completely damaged)
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