A Chemist's Interstellar Saga
Chapter 150: Sacrifice

Chapter 150: Sacrifice

"Another one’s lost it," someone sighed.

"Well, it is the end of the world. How can anyone stay sane?"

"Is it really, though? I thought it was just that the spiritual energy had decreased lately."

"Lord Dragon returned to the clan today. Do you think he’s lying?"

"What about the gods we worship? Are they really going to just leave us behind?"

"Hah, leave us behind? They only care about themselves. I heard they’ve all left. We’re the only ones still here—us common Celesterrors."

"That’s unbelievable! We offered the Moon Goddess and the others all sorts of delicacies every day. Now they don’t care if we live or die, and they didn’t even warn us."

"Do you think they’d have the nerve to say anything? I’m just upset about all the offerings. That was our entire tribe saving and scrimping!"

"Aren’t we all? All those offerings... we might as well have fed them to worms."

As the two Celesterrors strolled through the forest, they grumbled about the hypocritical gods.

Once they were out of sight, Arix emerged from behind a tree.

"Looks like the Celesterrors are getting the news," Arix muttered, then moved forward to see more of what was happening.

The sudden disappearance of the gods had caused even the lower-ranking Celesterrors to sense something was off.

After asking around, they were plunged into despair. Some were collapsing, some were swearing, and others were weeping.

Arix moved quietly, witnessing the hopelessness among the Celesterrors.

Those who had accepted their fate were silently saying goodbye to their friends and family. Others, in sheer panic, began to harm themselves—plucking their fur, tearing off their scales, or bashing their heads against trees until they bled.

Seeing this chaos, Arix felt deeply troubled. She glanced up at the sky and sighed softly.

Then, she soared into the air, transforming her small body into a gigantic full moon that appeared in the sky.

Taking a deep breath, she addressed all living beings on the ground, "I am Sylvana. Before dusk today, I will take you away from this place. Bring your family and friends and gather here. Remember! Come here before dusk. When the moon rises, it will be your time to leave. Do not be late!"

Arix’s voice, filled with divine power, echoed in the ears of all living beings.

The Celesterrors, upon hearing the message, went from disbelief to pure joy. As soon as Arix finished speaking, the entire ancient Earth was in an uproar. All living beings began to move in a grand migration toward Arix’s location.

Arix repeated her words three times before stopping. Then she looked down.

By now, countless beings had already gathered below. As soon as they saw Arix, they knelt down in unison, shouting excitedly, "Thank you, Sylvana, for saving our lives!"

Seeing so many Celesterrors bowing to her, Arix remained calm on the outside but felt a bit flustered inside. She couldn’t help but worry if any of her ancestors were among the kneeling Celesterrors. That would be super awkward!

Suppressing a twitch at the corner of her mouth, Arix coughed lightly. Then she spoke majestically to the Celesterrors on the ground, "No need to kneel. Help me calm the other beings instead."

The Celesterrors seemed to notice that Arix didn’t like such formalities. They exchanged glances before lowering their heads respectfully and saying, "Yes."

Following this, the leaders among the Celesterrors began to soothe and organize their groups. Before long, the once chaotic crowd of Celesterrors returned to order, and the later arrivals were properly arranged.

Arix let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the situation stabilize.

As dusk approached, the area within a thousand-mile radius was densely packed with beings. All of them looked up at Sylvana in the sky with hopeful eyes. This was their hope and their last lifeline.

Arix glanced at the sky, then looked down once more at the beings below. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then, she suddenly opened her eyes and began to dance the Sylvana Dance.

Yes, it turned out that the Sylvana Dance was a sacrificial dance, but the sacrifice was Sylvana herself.

Arix’s dance wasn’t as graceful as Scion’s; in fact, it was somewhat awkward. But with each step she took, the ground beneath her lit up, making the dance appear even more sacred than a beautiful performance.

As Arix danced, the once serene and peaceful sky gradually turned blood-red, and the ground shook as if an earthquake were happening.

A foreboding sense of doom hung over every being’s heart. They knew this was a sign of the impending disaster.

The trembling beings suppressed their instinct to flee, their hopeful gazes fixed on the sky.

Upon seeing the white silhouette in the sky, they finally relaxed a bit. Sylvana was fighting for them, so they couldn’t afford to hold her back.

Just before the great disaster struck, Arix finally finished the Sylvana Dance. She looked at the beings below one last time, then her lips parted, and an ancient, incomprehensible chant echoed in the sky.

"God of gods, mother of all, I, Sylvana, offer my blood, flesh, and soul. Let heaven bear witness, I shall not regret."

As her voice fell, every step Arix had taken during the dance began to glow brilliantly.

In the blink of an eye, a massive magical array formed, expanding until it enveloped all the creatures below. It only stopped once everything was covered.

A huge moon rose from the horizon, larger than ever before. As the creatures realized what was happening, they found themselves bathed in bright moonlight, slowly lifting off the ground.

When all the beings were safely transferred, the sky turned a deep blood-red. Countless meteors began tearing through the clouds, crashing toward the earth with terrifying force.

Seeing the world now devoid of life, Arix let out a relieved sigh. Exhausted, she began to fall from the sky. As she fell, Arix—no, Sylvana’s body—started to gradually disappear.

Just when Arix thought she would die alone, a distant tiger’s roar echoed through the sky.

"Sylvana, you idiot! Your solution was to sacrifice yourself? Are you out of your mind!!"

Arix heard a noise and strained to look over her shoulder, only to see a tiger charging desperately towards her. Tears welled up in her eyes for reasons she couldn’t understand, and she whispered, "Cupid..."

Just before she hit the ground, the tiger caught her. As Arix’s body started to fade, panic filled the tiger’s eyes.

In disbelief, he asked, "What did you sacrifice? Where is your soul? Why is it disappearing so quickly?"

"Had no choice," Arix weakly pushed at the tiger, "Not enough flesh and blood, had to give up my soul too. I’m dying. Leave me, go!"

"Sylvana, I can’t leave you," the tiger said quietly, shaking his head.

"Are you stupid?!" Arix, if she had the strength, would have knocked on the tiger’s head like her brother used to.

"You think you’re the only one who can be foolish?" the tiger huffed.

"You knew you’d die." Arix’s vision blurred, and her voice wavered.

The power of the sacrifice was eating away at Sylvana’s soul. Arix felt her senses dulling, her consciousness slipping. In her last moment of awareness, she weakly murmured, "Go... go..."

When Arix’s consciousness plunged into darkness, she found herself floating out of Sylvana’s body, now in soul form. She looked at the tiger and saw his mouth moving, chanting something.

"God of gods, mother of all, I offer my flesh and soul in exchange for Sylvana’s life, without regret."

Understanding his words, Arix panicked and tried to stop him, but her soul couldn’t touch the tiger. "No! How could you be so foolish..." Arix cried, but it was useless.

She collapsed to the ground, watching helplessly as the sacrificial power consumed the tiger. Unlike Arix’s despair, the tiger seemed content, as if he had achieved his goal.

Seeing Sylvana stop fading thanks to his sacrifice, a satisfied smile crossed his face. With his now-transparent head, he gently nuzzled Sylvana and, in a soft voice, said, "Sylvana, you want to save the world, but I want to save you..."

Before he could finish, the tiger closed his eyes and fell beside Sylvana, powerless. Arix’s eyes widened, tears streaming uncontrollably. She reached out with her transparent hand, gently touching the tiger, who had lost half of his soul.

Seeing the tiger and Sylvana, both having lost half of their souls, Arix suddenly understood everything. "So, the tiger and Sylvana each gave up half of their souls. That means I am both Sylvana and the tiger," Arix said, her voice trembling.

She then looked at the tiger’s soul, which seemed to be split into three parts. At that moment, something clicked for her. With a mix of crying and smiling, she called out, "Cupid, Vita, Sophia, come back."

At her words, the tiger’s soul, which had left its lifeless body, floated out and flew into Arix’s forehead like a bird returning home.

...