After the banquet, Radahn chose to enter seclusion within a secret chamber deep inside Caria Manor, hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the power of Haki law.
Meanwhile, Xiao led the Glintstone Sorcerers and the Xiao Family members willing to follow him back to Volcano Manor.
With Xiao's return, all the Serpent People within Volcano Manor were immersed in celebration, enthusiastically welcoming the Gloam-Eyed Queen back.
At the same time, deep beneath Volcano Manor, the Blasphemous Serpent lay coiled atop thick lava, wrapped in blasphemous power.
The moment she sensed Xiao's aura, she immediately let out a joyful roar that shook the heavens and earth.
The terrifying force contained within that roar alone caused the entire Volcano Manor to tremble violently.
Following the guidance of the aura, Xiao arrived deep within Volcano Manor and met the Blasphemous Serpent once again.
At that instant, Xiao saw tears filling her eyes as the Blasphemous Serpent's massive head pressed tightly against his chest.
Xiao gently stroked the Blasphemous Serpent's scaled head, clearly feeling the emotions within her heart: joy, sorrow, longing, and reluctance.
Countless emotions from the Blasphemous Serpent surged into Xiao's mind like a tide, along with memories belonging to her.
It was a long and complicated history, filled with bloody and cruel battles.
It contained memories of how she had grown alongside the Gloam-Eyed Queen from humble beginnings, continuously fighting throughout The Lands Between, as well as events that occurred after the Gloam-Eyed Queen's death.
The Blasphemous Serpent's memories witnessed countless separations through life and death together and endured endless pain and suffering.
They also revealed many hidden truths and historical secrets of The Lands Between, allowing Xiao to gain a deeper understanding of this world.
For example, why Marika gave birth to Omen children, why Radahn mentioned the Hornsent, and why the Serpent People chose to continue remaining loyal to the Golden Order after the death of the Gloam-Eyed Queen.
And all of this traced back to ancient times.
In The Lands Between, all things originated from the Crucible. During that chaotic era, all things were intertwined and mixed together.
However, as time passed, the world gradually changed.
Lifeforms began to differentiate, becoming increasingly distinct and unique, and countless powerful beings were born as a result.
In such an environment, the Ancient Dragons rose to power and ruled over this land, initially establishing a mutually reinforcing relationship between the gods and the Elden Lord.
At the end of the Crucible Era, with the departure of the Dragon God, a fierce civil war erupted between the Ancient Dragons and the drakes, and the center of power gradually shifted from dragonkind toward more intelligent races.
Since the symbol of the Crucible was horns, the Hornsent became the strongest race after dragonkind.
And the Hornsent were precisely the predecessors of the Omen in the era of the Erdtree. Their original name had been Hornsent, and only after the birth of the Golden Order were they forcibly renamed Omen.
The Hornsent worshipped the Greater Will. Within their society, faith surpassed everything else, and they even regarded themselves as vessels meant for the descent of a god, willing to sacrifice everything for that purpose.
The Hornsent communicated with the Greater Will through various rituals and attempted to create a body for Its descent into The Lands Between. They exhausted the strength of their entire race to construct the Divine Gate, opening the path for the Greater Will to descend into The Lands Between.
They firmly believed themselves to be the chosen people of the Greater Will, destined to become vessels for Its power, and this belief drove them to endlessly pursue strength while continuously exploring and surpassing themselves.
Perhaps because of the Hornsent's fanatical faith regardless of cost, they ultimately received the favor of the Greater Will, which bestowed upon their race the powerful ability to command wind, rain, and lightning.
Unfortunately, after obtaining the favor of the Greater Will, these Hornsent did not choose the path of kindness.
Instead, they used their power to bully the weak, displaying endless cruelty and committing countless evil acts.
Just how terrifying can a powerful race filled with fanatical faith become?
One only needs to look back at the countless inhumane acts committed by cultists throughout history against ordinary people to gain a glimpse.
The Hornsent classified all believers and common people outside the Greater Will's faith as heretics and infidels, subjecting them to all manner of punishment, causing all living beings to tremble under their tyranny.
Even races that also worshipped the Greater Will, but lacked horns, were still viewed as anomalies.
They were not even qualified to become slaves and were merely used as tools for punishing criminals, giving rise to countless horrifying atonement rituals.
Among them, Marika's clan—the Shamans, also known as the Rare People—became one of the groups most severely persecuted by the Hornsent.
Due to the Shamans' innate vitality and kindness, the Hornsent used them as tools for punishing criminals.
They would first whip the Shamans with contaminated barbed whips until their skin split apart and their flesh became bloody and mangled.
Then, they would chop the criminals into pieces before placing both together into a jar to complete the bloody atonement ritual.
The criminals, amidst endless pain and torment, would merge together with the Shamans' powerful vitality, ultimately transforming into twisted tumors within the jars.
Such horrifying torment, enough to make one's scalp tingle merely from hearing about it, was only the most basic form of punishment among the Hornsent.
In addition, there were countless other atonement rituals, every one of them filled with primitive bloodlust and brutality.
However, because the Hornsent divine vessel had not yet become a true god, their iron-fisted oppression and tyranny eventually triggered resistance from every race across The Lands Between.
The times created heroes, and countless champions carrying the destiny of their respective races were born during that era.
Marika of the Shamans,
The Gloam-Eyed Queen of the Serpent People,
Sword Saint Onga of the Demi-Humans,
Midra, Lord of Frenzied Flame of humanity,
Romina, Saint of the Bud of the Insectoids,
all became representatives of that era.
Countless demigods and heroes emerged during that age of resistance.
Some of these heroes led their people in rebellion against the Hornsent and guided their races toward prosperity.
Others relied solely on their own power to preserve their dignity, abandoning the rise of their race altogether.
Thus, the chaotic struggle began.
It was also during that era that the Gloam-Eyed Queen, alongside the Blasphemous Serpent, began gathering death throughout The Lands Between and transforming it into Destined Death.
After countless battles and struggles, three supreme divine vessels finally emerged: Eternal Queen Marika, the Gloam-Eyed Queen, and the divine Hornsent vessel.
Each possessed unique powers and missions, while also sharing complicated relationships with one another.
Marika represented life; her power originated from nature and vitality.
The Gloam-Eyed Queen represented death; her power came from darkness and the void.
And the Hornsent represented chaos; his power originated from confusion and destruction.
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