Passing through the open-air corridor, climbing several spiral steps, and entering dark archways.

Saul followed Ona all the way to the most solemn main hall of the entire castle.

Along the way, he saw several more Ophelias.

He could only say this woman was indeed much more insane than her sister.

When entering the main hall Ona had mentioned, Ona didn't go in, only making a gesture for Saul to enter alone.

The great doors opened, revealing an unexpectedly dim room inside.

However, with his excellent vision, Saul could easily see the interior.

The spacious main hall was carpeted in red velvet, with a huge and ornate chandelier overhead.

The walls on both sides also had exquisite bronze-colored candle stands.

Only the light from overhead and both sides was rather dim.

Below each candle stand sat a round-bottomed, thin-necked white porcelain bottle, but the bottles contained no decorative items.

Just bare bottles.

These white porcelain bottles lined the path with the candles all the way to the end of the main hall.

At the end were thirty-three steps.

On the high platform above the stairs sat a gorgeous throne woven with gold and silver.

But strangely, no one sat on the throne. Instead, a white porcelain bottle of the same size and shape was placed in the center.

Where a person should sit, a bottle sat instead.

Amusing, yet somewhat spine-chilling.

The midday sunlight could barely enter this room—windows on both sides were hidden behind heavy curtains.

The main hall was extremely dim.

A solemn yet eerie atmosphere crawled like a spider into every corner of the room.

"Click!"

When Saul fully entered the main hall, the great doors behind him automatically closed.

Yet the room's light and darkness levels showed no obvious change.

Now the entire main hall seemed to contain only Saul.

After waiting a moment, Saul broke the silence.

"Lady Ophelia, are you, or one of your clones, here?"

"Splash splash!"

The first response to Saul was the sound of water.

Then came murmuring laughter.

"Hehe!"

A skull top suddenly rose from the white porcelain thin-necked bottle on the high platform, then continued rising, revealing a compressed and deformed forehead, brow bone, eyes...

Until an entire human face squeezed out from the white porcelain bottle, the accumulated flesh began writhing and twisting, gradually transforming into the beautiful face of Ophelia that Saul had seen several times.

Only her neck remained frighteningly long, more like an intestine.

"Welcome, Wizard Saul."

Saul bowed with hand to chest. "Please forgive my uninvited arrival."

Ophelia smiled with pursed lips. "How could I blame you? Ever since you single-handedly resolved the storm eye eruption without harming anyone, I've always wanted to invite you to Sky City as a guest. I just worried that the Borderland couldn't do without you, so I didn't presume to invite you."

Saul was silent for a moment, then said, "The Borderland won't have storm eye troubles for a short time, and I'm constantly monitoring the situation there."

"Then why did you travel thousands of miles to come to Sky City?" Ophelia tilted her head, her neck bending like a wheat stalk.

"I came for the Wind Sprite."

"Hehehehe, Wind Sprite?" Ophelia laughed again—she seemed to enjoy laughing. "Why be so formal? What relationship do you have with her, don't you think I already knew?"

Saul didn't become embarrassed by Ophelia's teasing, but instead became somewhat serious.

"You naturally know what relationship Pei'er and I have, but I'm not certain what relationship you have with the Wind Sprite."

One sentence made the playful smile disappear from Ophelia's face.

"Oh, you're blaming me for letting others send my own sister to the sky?"

Ophelia didn't get angry but sighed lightly.

"What choice did I have? Pei'er had long been targeted by the Stargate Council. According to plan, she was originally supposed to become Clark's stepping stone for advancement, but unfortunately Clark wasn't capable enough and died at someone else's hands."

She glanced sideways at Saul. "You should know that someone too! Thinking about it now, besides him, who else would be so decisive?"

Could Ophelia have already guessed that Gorsa was the one who killed Clark?

Would the Stargate Council and Tribunal also discover this?

Since their last parting, Gorsa had said he was going to advance to fourth rank and hadn't been heard from since.

Saul didn't doubt whether he could advance to fourth rank, but worried whether he would be schemed against again.

Ophelia lightly probed Saul with that comment. Seeing him lost in thought about something, she continued, "Although Pei'er escaped disaster due to Clark's death, the Council, having failed in their plan, didn't intend to truly let her go. No choice—who told her she carries a small amount of wind sprite bloodline? That's too easy to be targeted."

"Thinking about it now, when the Stargate Council and Tribunal agreed to help Pei'er advance to third rank and reside in the Borderland, they probably already planned how to use her later."

After listening, Saul didn't argue but asked, "According to what you're saying, if not forced by circumstances, you wouldn't want to sacrifice Pei'er?"

"Of course."

"Then your feelings for Pei'er are actually quite good?"

"We do have some bloodline from the same man in our bodies."

Saul clapped his hands. "Then, if there's a chance to bring Pei'er back, would you be willing to help me with a small favor?"

Ophelia slowly straightened her neck. "Oh? So you were waiting for me at this point?"

Saul immediately felt mental pressure like a boulder crushing down on him, making his body sway twice.

This pressure came not only from in front but also from behind, from those identically shaped white porcelain bottles.

"Actually, this would be a good attempt for you too." Saul said under pressure. "After all, Pei'er is now among the stars, and I think you should be very interested in that side."

Ophelia wasn't moved. "I do yearn for the stars, but that side is also very dangerous, completely beyond my control. And just the attempt to bring Pei'er back could attract very dangerous enemies."

"Moreover, Pei'er might not even have a corpse left over there."

Ophelia was right about this—the other side of the stars was very dangerous, and Pei'er really didn't even have a corpse left.

Saul wasn't in a hurry. "What if I said I've already contacted Pei'er once, and she's temporarily not in danger over there? Would you be willing to take a risk?"

Ophelia's head suddenly extended in front of Saul, her thin and pale neck making several turns in the air.

"You contacted the world beyond the stars? How did you do it? Do you control another stargate?"

Saul leaned back slightly, avoiding Ophelia's beautiful yet terrifying head.

"I established a special relationship connection with Pei'er and briefly communicated once. But when I tried to contact her again later, I couldn't do it anymore."

Saul turned his head and unhesitatingly leaned close to the left ear of the head-only Ophelia, whispering softly.

"Lady Ophelia, actually I'm also very curious about the world beyond the stars, so... how about we cooperate?"

(End of Chapter)