287 The Future He Chooses (1)

“Hold on, give me a moment to process this,” William muttered, his hand pressed against his forehead.

Floral revealed that Ravenwood was once a lush forest, inhabited by human tribes just like the rest of the Vic Continent. The humans had discovered the power of ceremonial magic, allowing them to harness the authority of gods for their own use. But the harsh environment had shaped the locals’ view of the Mother Goddess into a dark and frightening figure, causing them to abandon her deep within the forest in fear.

The Forest Elf ancestors soon arrived and, with their remnant Soul Blessing and powerful magic system, they launched a brutal colonial conquest over the humans.

As the Soul Blessing waned, the Forest Elf ancestors ventured into the depths of the forest to find a new source of blessings to sustain their long lives. There, they discovered the forgotten form of the Mother Goddess and brought Her back to life through ceremonial magic.

The Dark Mother had made a deal with the elven colonists. She blessed them and transformed them into Forest Elves, using their power to fulfill her long-standing desire of having all children return to their mother.

The end was supposed to be near. An ancient deity, brought forth through belief, should have lost all value once Her duty was fulfilled. The Matriarch believed that if all humans in Ravenwood perished and Her long-standing desire to have Her children return was finally achieved, She should have vanished from existence.

But the Forest Elves had other plans. They yearned to continue utilizing the Matriarch’s power, so they preserved the treeified humans to keep Her anchored in Currere. They could continue using the power of this powerful deity.

What the Forest Elves didn’t foresee was the accidental birth of the Void Sovereign, Lady of Starvation. William suspected that other external forces were at play—perhaps another Void Sovereign—but no matter the cause, Camilla was born.

The birth of the Void Sovereign, Camilla, marked a major shift in the timeline of Ravenwood. She crossed the past and future, creating a new timeline and making Herself a deity that had always existed. The result was the shattering of Ravenwood’s timeline and the creation of a new origin. It was as if She had restarted a game and had a new back story.

Ravenwood’s past became a land plagued by the Lady of Starvation, who had contaminated the area since time immemorial. Camilla, as a Void Sovereign, should have used Ravenwood as the cornerstone of her Moon Realm domain and brought it back to the Moon Realm. But for some unknown reason, Camilla didn’t follow through with this plan.

The two stories of Ravenwood’s history converged at the birth of the Lady of Starvation, leading to the eventual destruction of Ravenwood. But the Lady of Starvation used Her power to keep both timelines intact.

Gone were the days when the Forest Elf ancestors were seen as invaders who murdered the human natives. Instead, they were viewed as colonists who helped cleanse the land of the pollution caused by the undead. They entered into a pact with the World Tree and worshiped the Matriarch and the Father of the Wilderness, creating the Oak Council. This new version of history was widely accepted as the truth.

“In simpler terms… Ravenwood is still trapped in a broken timeline. Two alternate realities are constantly playing out in parallel. The one we’re in now sees Camilla, a mortal, as the holder of the Holy Tree Matriarch Authority. But in the other, the Holy Tree Matriarch is a puppet controlled by the Lady of Starvation,” William concluded.

But how is this possible?

The Lady of Starvation had been born during a time-shattering that spanned four ages—Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. This spanned nearly 6,000 years, but how could two timelines exist in harmony for over 5,000 years?

The truth was, shattered time always had to converge.

It was like completing a quest in a game. You could take any approach—infiltrate and assassinate, go in guns blazing, or use your cunning to fool others. But no matter the execution, time would ultimately converge on the outcome of a completed quest.

Despite the different initial conditions and the butterfly effect of nearly 6,000 years, William couldn’t fathom how the Lady of Starvation would converge the two timelines.

But it couldn’t end with a meteor strike and a sea of fire, could it?

Floral saw the confusion on William’s face and offered an explanation.