Chapter 621: Twenty-Four Hours Until Death

"The first judgment has been completed."

Lian kept his gaze fixed on the sun, while Rindo waited a short distance away.

The voice continued.

"All presences within the judgment area have been registered."

At that moment, a very faint wave of golden light moved across the entire forest.

It passed by the pillar, fell on the surface of the spring, and then passed through Lian and Rindo’s bodies.

For a fraction of a second, Lian felt something touch his presence, but there was no physical pressure or pain, and even the rhythm of his breathing remained unchanged.

However, the feeling of being identified was completely clear, so he immediately checked the energy flows around his body.

No lasting connection like the one that had trapped Amélie had formed, so this time, it was only recording them.

The golden light passed through them and moved toward the more distant parts of the forest, and a few seconds later, the voice of the sun sounded again.

"The next judgment will begin in twenty-four hours."

"And...."

"All Sinners Must Taste Death"

Rindo remained motionless for a moment before slowly repeating the words.

"Twenty-four hours..."

Lian let out a short breath.

So it will happen again.

He turned his gaze toward the golden rings, and if they took the sun’s words literally, only one day remained until the next trial.

However, they still did not know how many people would be condemned each time, only one person might be chosen, or perhaps several people.

There was even a possibility that someone might be cleared of all charges during one judgment, only to be condemned for a different reason during another.

They knew none of these rules, and they had twenty-four hours without knowing the criteria for selection or having any way to stop the sentence.

The young Vorhelm lowered the corner of his mouth slightly.

"This situation really sucks."

Of course, it was still unclear whether they had to remain in this land until the next judgment, as they could leave through the same curtain they had passed through that morning.

And if that was possible, he saw no reason to stay here and face this unknown danger.

Lian looked at Rindo.

"We need to head back to the entrance."

Rindo immediately nodded.

"I agree." Despite all the value this land offered, neither of them wanted to be the next person to be judged and sentenced to death.

"First, we’ll check the exit, if we can still pass through the curtain, there’s no reason to stay here."

Rindo placed his spear on his back.

"And if we can’t?"

"Then we’ll have to figure out what we’re dealing with before the next judgment." Lian glanced at the sun.

He took one last look at the stone pillar, then began walking back with his friend.

The return path was the same one they had taken a few hours earlier, but the farther they moved away from the spring, the more Lian noticed changes in the environment.

The forest was still beautiful, the golden leaves were shining on the branches, and the river was still flowing along its old path, but it no longer gave him the same feeling of peace as before.

Previously, the pure Mana in the area had been spread almost evenly throughout the environment, but now, thin and irregular flows could be seen among the white roots in some places.

As Lian passed by one of the large trees, he slowed his steps for a few seconds.

This one’s direction has changed too.

He did not place his hand on the tree trunk, but he could still sense the weak energy flow along the exposed roots from that distance.

Instead of moving toward the branches, part of the Mana was flowing downward.

The tree still looked completely healthy, and even its leaves had not lost their color, but the energy flow inside it was different from what he had seen that morning.

So the change isn’t limited to the spring.

He remembered this observation and continued walking with Rindo, while his friend also checked the area using his map and the markers he had recorded along the way.

"The Mana flow has changed in several places, these paths were more stable this morning." He spoke after a while.

This showed that the energy flow in the land was now working differently from how it had that morning.

"I noticed." Lian nodded.

"Do you think it’s connected to the sun?"

"I think so, the changes happened at almost the same time."

He looked at the sky for a moment, the sun’s black pupil was still open, and although its light was no longer shining directly on them, the feeling of being watched by that thing remained.

"But I still don’t know whether the sun caused the changes in the flows or whether both are the result of something else."

Rindo did not answer, as he also knew that this difference was important. ℯ𝓵.

The sun might control the entire structure of this area, or perhaps it was part of a larger system that had become active again after a long time.

In any case, it was still too early to reach a conclusion.

About half an hour later, they received the first emergency messages through their communication devices, which were small magical devices made using several complex formations.

The devices had been given to them by the academy so they could stay in contact with the officials throughout their stay and report any incidents that occurred.

The rough voice of one of the exploration officials could be heard through the shared channel.

"All units inside the land, report your status. Any group that has observed an unusual environmental change must record its location and the time it happened."

Several replies came almost at the same time.

"Northern Spring Investigation Group, the sun has changed its shape, but we have no casualties so far."

"Western Mapping Unit, contact with the outer base has been lost. We’re returning to the entrance."

"Government Resource Team, the Mana flow in our area has become unstable, the cause is still unknown."

Lian listened to the voices for a moment, and some people were trying to ask the officials about the nature of the sun.

Others were complaining about losing contact with the outside world, but no one had a clear answer yet.

Rindo activated his communication device.

"This is Rindo, representative of the academy’s expedition, I’m returning to the entrance with Lian Vorhelm."

"Message received, are both of you safe?" The coordination officer replied a few seconds later.

"Yes."

Rindo paused briefly before continuing.

"But one of the Chosen from the French National Academy has died. Amélie Moreau."

There was silence for a few moments.

"Repeat that, what was the cause of death?"

"The entity that appeared in the sky identified her, then announced several charges and carried out her execution. We’ll provide the details after we arrive."

This time, the silence lasted longer before the official’s voice returned in a more serious tone.

"Report received., send us your location and return directly to the entrance area."

Rindo sent their approximate location and then ended the communication.

Lian turned his gaze toward the path, and the news of Amélie’s death would probably spread among the officials and the other Chosen very soon.

However, this was unavoidable, if another judgment was going to take place, everyone present needed to know what kind of danger they were facing.

And contrary to what they had first thought, the number of people at risk was not limited to the ten Chosen.

During the past seven months, several officially Awakened members of the country’s Awakened Association had been working in the Land of the First Dawn.

Some were responsible for investigating resources, while others were carrying out mapping work.

Others had been assigned research missions and the protection of exploration areas under the government’s direct supervision.

These people had their own special permits, and their presence was independent of the expedition involving the ten Chosen.

Lian had seen some of them in the areas near the curtain since his arrival, but only now did he understand the importance of this.

If the sun had registered everyone present, then there were far more accused people than just the ten Chosen.

And if it could issue a death sentence every twenty-four hours, then this was no longer just a dangerous exploration mission.

All the human forces inside this area might become involved in a threat that none of them had enough information to deal with.

As they got closer to the entrance area, the change in the light on the horizon became more obvious.

At first, he thought it was because of the sun’s position.

However, when they left the last part of the forest and the massive golden curtain came into view again, he realized he had been wrong.

The curtain was no longer the same as it had been that morning.

Back then, strands of light had moved slowly across its surface.

The layers sometimes moved apart from each other, and it had even been possible to see the slow movement of energy along their surfaces.

But now, all those movements had stopped.

The golden strands had become so tightly packed that their individual boundaries could no longer be seen, and the curtain had turned into a single, solid surface.

Its color had also changed, the bright gold of the morning had been replaced by a dense, golden-white glow.

Rindo slowed his steps.

"This doesn’t even look like a curtain anymore."

The young Vorhelm looked up toward the heights, the wall still extended beyond the clouds, and from where they stood, no end could be seen.

"Yeah."

For a moment, he remembered what it had felt like to pass through the curtain.

Back then, he had only felt a gentle warmth on his skin, and after three steps, he had entered the Land of the First Dawn.

But the structure in front of him now looked completely different.

"We need to take a closer look."

They both moved toward the entrance area, where a group of Awakened members from the Awakened Association and government forces had gathered near the wall.

There were more of them than there had been that morning.

Some exploration units that had been working in nearby areas had returned here after receiving the warnings.

Several people were standing in front of communication equipment, trying to contact the outside centers.

And judging by their frightened and worried expressions, it seemed there was no good news.