Chapter 191: The Tower at the Center of the World (Golden Ticket & Power Stone Bonus)

"Not possible?" Arthas frowned. "Is he dead?"

It was the only reason he could think of.

"No, he is alive and very healthy."

Rhadak’s reply made his frown deepen.

"So what is the reason?"

Rhadak’s eye glowed slightly again as he answered. "He is currently our Mother’s guest."

Arthas frowned even deeper, and a little killing intent started to spread from his body. "What does that mean?"

First, the Stoneman Chef had told him that the effect of the seal on their Mother had weakened and needed to be strengthened.

Now he was refusing to give Magna to him, saying that he was their Mother’s guest which was theoretically a living disaster at the moment.

"Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to him." Rhadak, sensing the killing intent and guessing his thoughts, continued, "Just give us a few human days, and I will personally return him to you with my own hands, completely healthy and alive. I promise."

Hearing the promise, Arthas’s killing intent actually started to recede. He knew that, at least among the Stonemen, keeping their word was one of their most important traits.

He also didn’t want to fight with the Stoneman Chef. Even though he didn’t think he would lose the fight, he was certain that winning would probably cost him at least an arm or a leg.

"But I still want to know." Arthas looked at him seriously. "I can give you 2 days at most. But you need to tell me why you want to keep him."

Rhadak slowly raised his stone head, directing his eye toward the sky.

The color of the sky was crimson as ever, but the way he looked at it today was different.

"We want to see if he is the one who can open the passage."

Hearing his words, Arthas’s eyes widened, but his brows quickly furrowed again as he returned to a serious expression and nodded. "I will wait."

Then he turned around and started walking out of the settlement.

—

After leaving the Stoneman village, Arthas didn’t go very far. Instead, he jumped to the top of one of the mountains and sat there in a place where he could easily see the entire village.

There was a deeply thoughtful expression on his face.

Soon, he took an object out of his armor.

The object was very small, only about the size of his palm, in the form of a miniature black raven.

It was also made of a dark metal, but not just any metal. It was made entirely from Grak Metal, which could only be found in the Underworld, belonging to the Stonemen.

It was an artifact used for communication.

Being made from Grak Metal allowed it to travel between the Underworld and the Witch World. It could only be used 1 time, and it was an incredibly costly artifact. Arthas had never used it unless there was an extremely important reason.

But he was currently willing to use it.

He closed his palm around the artifact for a while, lightly squeezing it.

When he opened his hand again, the miniature black raven began to grow until it reached the size of a normal raven.

It shook its body, spread its pitch-black metallic wings, opened its sharp beak, and let out a cry.

"Caw!"

Seeing that the artifact was still working despite being more than 150 years old, Arthas placed the raven beside him. He had never used it since obtaining it because he had never needed to.

He then took a piece of paper and a pen from inside his armor and began to write.

—

At the center of the Witch World, there was a place that every living being in the realm accepted as the exact center of the planet.

It was where the biggest and most beautiful lake in the entire realm could be found, surrounded on all sides by the tallest and most vibrant trees, their enormous canopies forming a breathtaking sea of green around the crystal-clear water.

At the very center of the massive lake stood a magnificent Tower, connected to the land on all four sides by long stone bridges.

Built entirely from stone, it rose majestically toward the heavens with an almost divine beauty, its highest point disappearing deep into the clouds.

At the very top of this Tower, also known as the Witch Conclave, 4 women were currently sitting around a round table inside a circular room.

They all had their own distinct auras, like signatures naturally attached to them, each one being one of the strongest Witches currently living and ruling the entire realm.

They were also all wearing different colored robes and Witch Hats, showing that each was the best of her own path.

The only similarity between their outfits was that they were all decorated with golden lines, with each line representing one of their inventions and discoveries that had influenced the entire world throughout their centuries-long lives.

"So? I was called here so suddenly, but the one who called us isn’t even here?" One of the Grand Witches, wearing a copper-colored robe and Witch Hat, leaned back in her chair and frowned in displeasure.

Her yellow hair flowed down behind her, looking like the very source of light in the room. Her deep honey-colored eyes had strange spiral-shaped pupils, where a single look was enough to make anyone lose all sense of time, cast into an endless void where space ceased to exist.

Another Grand Witch, wearing a vibrant green robe and hat, chuckled cheerfully at her small and harmless tantrum. "Triss, you talk as if you were busy. We all know the only thing you do is lie in your bed and be lazy all day."

She was Bellatrix Puff, the youngest-looking Witch in the room.

Her short, vibrant green hair only reached the back of her neck, while her emerald-like eyes were full of light and life, making her seem like the center of hope and joy, not only in the room but in the entire world.

Triss Eilhart felt as though her pride had been attacked for no reason and pouted even more as she replied in a slightly irritable tone, "You talk as if you don’t know how miserable my life is. I experience time tens of times longer than you do. What do you expect me to do with all that time other than sleep?"

Her explanation actually made the kind smile disappear from Bellatrix’s face. Her expression suddenly fell as if she were about to cry.

Seeing her tears threatening to fall, Triss simply scoffed and turned her head away, ignoring her as she always did.

She was always like that. She said whatever came to her mind without thinking, then whenever someone snapped back at her, her eyes would fill with tears and she would start crying.

The other Grand Witches ignored them as well. It wasn’t the first time they had witnessed a similar scene, and they were too occupied with their own problems to care about the others.

Fortunately, before Bellatrix could start one of her crying hysterics that usually ended with the entire Tower being flooded, the grand door of the room finally opened, and the one who had called them there finally showed herself.

"Sorry for being late."

Hecate Kingsley, wearing a white robe that perfectly followed the contours of her body and showed every curve in its proper place, entered the room with a Witch Hat that made her look even more graceful.

When Triss looked at her and was about to scold her for making them wait so long, she stopped herself at the last moment when she saw Hecate’s expression, just like the other Grand Witches had.

Whatever reason she had called them here for, it was apparently quite concerning and important.