28 Did... Did He Just Wink At Me? (2/2)

The statute was covered by yellow light and started to transform. In its place appeared a transcendent door. This was about as far as mortals would get to Marduk's Divine Kingdom.

The bull stood up once more. Yet now his eyes burned yellow with a fire that did not consume its host.

”Good.”

A thunderous voice echoed.

”Extract the seeds from this sacrificial reap. Plow the fields with them and water it with the basin's blessed blood.”

The majestic animal walked towards the door and entered it, never to return. It was Marduk's now.

The crowd was amazed by this development. To have the voice of a god to manifest during the ritual was a rare occurrence.

Chief Owen was so elated that he started crying uncontrollably.

During this commotion, no one noticed when the small Gillian entered this hall.

....

A gigantic turtle stood by the rocks, mesmerized by Morgana's gaze. If even a unicorn could not resist her charms now, what hope would an ordinary beast have?

The dark wizard pointed towards the Horizon and the turtle instinctively understood her meaning, getting closer so Morgana could easily climb its shell.

”Invisibility.”

As soon as she got up on the creatures back, the wizard shrouded herself as well as this new mount with a magical cover. The river still bore many secrets, despite her painstaking research before dispatching the homunculus for this mission.

There was no reason to travel in the open when she did not yet understand all of the potential challenges lying ahead.

Morgana thought about her goal this time and felt ambivalent. On one hand, she was curious as to what Saci's map referred to, something which deeply enticed her greed.

But on the other, that strange man always made her feel coerced and powerless. Almost as if she was permanently moving on his web and acting according to his design at every step of the way.

If there was one thing Morgana hated was not having control of her own destiny.

The thing about relying on someone else's ambitions and desires is that your footing will disappear the moment your interests no longer align, causing a great fall.

”I need weapons of my own, yet the magic from Griseo is a child's play as far as he is concerned.

No. My hopes lays in Agatha. This world is filled with mysteries. Perhaps there is something of value here. Something that even the Whirlwind Rider knows nothing about.”

Thinking about this Morgana resolved herself once more in order to regain control over her life.

As she was lost in contemplation, Morgana noticed a pink dolphin looking at her with interest.

”This...

Can he see me or am I just paranoid?”

The dolphin answered on her mind as if responding to her secret thoughts.

”Yes. I see you, beautiful lady.”

After this brief exchange, the creature once more sank beneath the waters, vanishing from sight, leaving Morgana very confused.

”Did... Did he just wink at me?”

There was nothing normal about this whole situation.