Facing the sudden change before her, Hillena had not yet recovered her senses; she continued to gaze at the ring on her fingertip, its rose-colored halo swirling in her eyes.
The excitement she had never experienced spread in her chest, even staining the tips of her ears with a dusk-like blush.
She remembered very clearly that when the ring slowly slipped onto her ring finger, a warm current spread through her body via her fingertips—a sensation beyond words.
After an unknown amount of time passed, Hillena slowly calmed down, took a deep breath, and steadied her violently beating heart.
Looking at Xiya lying on the ground, unable to move, she found it difficult to link him to the Xiya from moments ago, to be honest.
Yet, through the memory fragments of the future transmitted to her mind by Divine Ancestor Xiya, Hillena gradually came to understand some things.
She also believed that what had just happened was no mere dream but indeed reality.
Hillena stroked the ring on her left hand, her eyes faintly reflecting a trace of joy and excitement.
Though the boy lying on the floor seemed somewhat wretched, the posture of him kneeling on one knee moments ago was deeply imprinted in her heart.
Meanwhile, Xiya, who was all-powerful a second ago, was now too weak to even lift a finger.
This was the aftermath of being possessed by the divine, crossing the river of time.
At this moment, he had regained control over his body and possessed all the memories of this night’s happenings.
Although he felt regret that he couldn’t succeed in embracing Hillena, seeing her flushed face and the blood-colored ring symbolizing intimacy on her left hand, the gloom generated by Tiya’s prior betrayal was instantly dispelled.
After all, Tiya’s status was merely that of the Holy Maiden of the Silent Church.
Whereas Hillena was the Great Imperial Princess of the Saint Laurent Empire, destined to ascend the throne with his assistance in the future.
Therefore, in Xiya’s view, Hillena was unquestionably superior to Tiya in every aspect.
Moreover, at the last moment when Divine Ancestor Xiya detached from his body, he revealed a secret to him.
An utterly shocking and dark secret.
The ring given to Hillena actually hid a mystery.
At this moment, another ring with dark patterns glowed faintly on Xiya’s slender ring finger.
These rings, with divine blood as the lead and time as the bond, could even perceive each other’s emotions across time and space.
Should Hillena’s feelings for Xiya waver even slightly, the ring on his finger would gradually dim.
And should the day come where she forsakes her vow and loves another man, Xiya’s ring would shatter utterly into powder, along with the divine power sealed within.
In other words, it is actually a surveillance device, used to constantly monitor Hillena’s feelings toward him.
With Tiya’s example before him, even Divine Ancestor Xiya was unwilling to repeat the same mistake.
To some degree, he did not truly love Hillena; what was at play was mostly possession.
As Tiya’s eyelashes trembled slightly, silver moonlight was traversing the golden patterns of the altar, finally gathering entirely within her body.
This was the residual divine power from Bright Moon Goddess Beatrice, aiding her in restoring her broken body.
In the next second, her consciousness began to awaken.
Simultaneously, the Magic Matrix embedded in the cathedral’s dome started to ripple, like invisible hands crushing silver foil, and fine specks of light fell onto her pale cheeks.
Moments later, Tiya finally saw clearly where she was located.
This was the Moonlight Altar within the Silent Church, a place even a Holy Maiden like her could rarely set foot in.
Currently, she lay on a bed made of Moonstone, the crystal clusters embedded in the bed frame resembling a frozen star river, with each angle reflecting distorted moonlight.
And around her stood a dense crowd of silhouettes.
On the outermost layer were Guardian Knights clad in Silver Armor from the Religious Tribunal, and closer still were the familiar faces wearing Moon White Robes.
Looking around, they were all high-ranking members of the Silent Church.
This display before her was something Tiya, as the Holy Maiden, had never witnessed.
Sister Gretel stood beside many of the church’s higher-ups, unanimously causing everyone’s gaze to converge on her, making her feel a bit flustered.
She did not know how long she had been asleep, and even now, upon awakening, she felt utterly miserable.
What exactly happened?
In the next second, accompanied by a wave of dizziness in her mind, she subconsciously covered her forehead, followed by countless fragments of memory flooding out.
Moonlight Holy Scripture, Beatrice, Demon Boy, chaos, guardian...
The final moment of memory lingered on the wounded Lynn.
Gradually, everything that happened that night emerged in her mind.
Tiya’s fragile little heart suddenly began to beat violently.
For starters, she was quite sure the ten-thousand-year-old incarnation of herself that had descended within her—the Bright Moon Goddess Tiya—was now completely vanished, leaving only a trace of divinity originally belonging to Beatrice circulating within her body.
Meanwhile, Divine Ancestor Xiya, traveling across the river of time, had engaged in an epic battle with Miss Witch and Lynn; as for the outcome, Tiya did not know, only that a fragment of the battle’s outflow had rendered her entirely unconscious.