Chapter 706: The Two Fingers
The Raya Lucaria Academy was blocked by a very powerful magical barrier, one that Edward took time to study. Once that was done, he went to hunt a dragon that had the key to enter. After slaying the creature, he also took its scale, as he had the idea to create dragon armor. Then, he finally entered the academy.
The entire place was a war zone. Years ago, Queen Renalla took over and placed her Carian Family as the ruler of the academy. Unfortunately, a love tragedy rendered all her efforts useless. After being chosen by the Greater Will and becoming a God, Queen Marika did not immediately start ruling the world. No, she had to conquer them, hence why she married the extremely powerful Godfrey.
Among the people who resisted her reign and fought endlessly against her conquest, the Carian Family and the Academy were among the strongest. During that war, a Champion of the Golden Order called Radagon led the battle against Renalla and the academy, but he was unsuccessful. Ultimately, the war ended when Radago went to a sacred church and cleansed himself with celestial dew and proclaimed his love for. This tactic worked as Renalla married Radagon, and peace was established.
However, after Marika deposed her first husband, Radagon suddenly left his wife to become Marika’s second husband and the Second Elden Ring. The interesting thing is that Radagon is Marika. While of opposite gender, they are the same person. The Gods in this world have the power to separate some aspects of themselves. Demigod Miquella will one day separate his love, which would become a being known as Saint Trina. Queen Marika seemed to have separated her loyalty to the Golden Order and become Radagon.
Edward did not know why Marika married herself. It could be an act of madness since you could never know in this world. But, his guess is that it was probably a direct order from the Two Fingers, who spoke the Greater Will’s desire. According to his deduction. Queen Marika has long been dissatisfied with the Greater Will and the Golden Order. When she banished Godfrey, his descendant, and everyone related to or loyal to him, it was not just to eliminate someone who could challenge her power. No, it was because she wanted the Tarnished to become strong without the erdtee blessing and thus remove the Greater Will’s influence.
The fact that she separated her loyalty is another proof. Edward believes the Greater Will had grown suspicious of the champion he chose, so he forced her to marry Radagon, who is staunchly loyal to the Golden Order as a means of controlling her. While thinking about all these things, Edward headed to the Queen’s location.
The academy was a civil war between the Carian Family — who were losing without their Queen’s overwhelming power — and the other Sorcerers, who resented the Carian for their powers and banning the study of the Primeval Current. Unfortunately, each side resented intruders, so they attacked Edward on sight, forcing him to cleave his way to his destination.
The Queen was under house arrest in the library. She was surrounded by a bunch of creepy children who shot books and flames at Edward while Renalla sat on the floor holding an amber egg, which was the last gift Radagon gave her before leaving. Edward turned the ground into sand to bury these artificially created children made from the power of rebirth in Renalla’s Great Rune. He then broke the shield around Renalla and prepared for the final blow.
However, a projection left by her daughter, Ranni the Witch, appeared and protected the Queen. Ranni turned into her mother and weaved a powerful illusion that even transported them into another world. Edward did not hesitate to cheat by ganging up on her with his Elden Armor. But to be fair, Ranni also cheated since she summoned Spirit Phantoms of a dragon during their fight. Ultimately, Edward was victorious. However, he did not kill Renalla but took the Great Rune that was inside the amber egg.
Edward’s next destination was the Roundtable Hold. However, before that, he decided to address the issues regarding Sellen. He did her request to hunt down some of the most powerful Glintstone Sorcerers and also found the founders of this Sorcery before finally rescuing her. He also helped her deal with her enemy, Witch Hunter Jerren. However, he did not bring her to the academy; instead, he locked her inside a dungeon that he had created.
"Disciple, what is the meaning of this?" Sellen asked.
"I can’t let you kill yourself, but I’m also too busy to help," Edward said.
"You!"
"Listen to me first," Edward continued. "The stars in the Primeval Current are inorganic lifeforms composed of crystals, and anyone who studies or uses their power will slowly be influenced and turned into a crystal life. I know you think you have a solution, but I can tell you it’s wrong."
"You don’t know that."
"But I do," Edward said. "In this room, I’ve left books on a field called Alchemy from a land far away. I’ve also left a blueprint on the possibility of creating an organic crystal. If you can succeed, you’ll only need to replace your heart and a small part of your brain, and you can use the Primeval Current without worrying too much about its power."
Sellen stared at him, not hiding her disappointment.
"I’ll come see you after I hunt down a few more Great Runes," Edward said before locking her inside.
"Harsh, isn’t it?" Morgana said.
"Maybe, but she’s a bit stubborn, so I had to use this approach," Edward said. Sellen was highly talented, which also meant she had too much confidence in herself. That’s why she wasn’t willing to hear Edward’s warning. Without a choice, he had to use this tactic.
Edward found a site of grace and directly teleported to the Roundtable Hold. He headed directly to the central room in which an ugly creature with just two fingers stood at the center.
"Are you that new Tarnished? You’ve done well. I am Enia, the Finder Reader. I interpret the words of the Fingers, envoy of the Greater Will."
Edward looked at this decrepit woman, whose appearance and aesthetic screamed that she was an old and terrifying witch, and spoke with her for a few minutes. She encouraged him to hunt at least 4 Great Runes if I wanted to repair the Elden Ring and continue the reign of the Golden Order. Edward nodded before walking out.
’Well?’ Edward asked through his mind.
’There is a causality line connecting the Two Finger with the Greater Will, but it seems to have been severely weakened, almost on the verge of severing."
Edward was not too surprised by this news. According to this world’s original timeline, a Tarnished will fight their way to Leyndell Royal Capital and reach the entrance to the Erdtree. Still, they discovered an indestructible thorn blocked it.
The Tarnished wanted to burn the Erdtree to enter and control the Elden Ring, but Enia said this was a sin. She recommended hearing the Greater Will’s orders on the issue, but she said it would take a thousand years to hear an answer, so the Tarnished did not wait and did it anyway, resulting in their battle against Radago and the Elden Beast.
Edward came to verify whether the Greater Will’s influence on the world was indeed increased by observing the state of the Two Fingers. Now, he had his answer.
’We should probably find a way to kill the Two Fingers and completely cut off the Greater Will’s influence,’ Morgana suggested.
’That’s the plan,’ Edward replied.