BXBX NOVEL Chapter 287: Heavenly Cycle Clocktower
It's a hundred feet tall and made with precious materials. It also contained the Sun and Moon Disc, as well as the Velvet Starry Veil. He tied all these three entities together using something called the Heavenly Cycle Array, derived from the phenomena created by the Sacred Celestial Tree he planted on his farm.
Since the Sacred Celestial Tree is still a mere sapling, it couldn't be used for its purpose yet. It can't be transplanted to human territory for now since this world can't support its growth just yet. It will just wilt if he forces it, so he can only mimic its effects through this clocktower for now.
The Heavenly Cycle Array is responsible for the day and night cycles within the territory. In addition, thanks to Cedric's mastery over astral laws, the array also contains the charm of concept laws, which will allow humanity to greatly benefit from them.
"This will probably cause a large commotion, but well..." Cedric sighed and smiled wryly. "Whatever. If they ask, I'll just say that I just designed it and Acala did the rest."
Cedric stepped out of the farm and appeared at the House of Light's headquarters. He didn't even bother alerting Gabriel or anybody else of his presence.
After choosing a spot, he opened up a spatial portal and transferred the 100-foot tall clocktower unceremoniously, then he dipped.
As soon as it appeared, some people were already alerted by its presence. After all, such a tall building couldn't possibly escape the eyes of people.
"Hey, hey! Look at that!"
"What is it?"
"A clocktower?"
"Isn't that the headquarters of the House of Light?"
"Oh wow, they built another thing. I wonder what it does."
"Strange. I live close to this place, yet I seem to never recall them building something that big."
Dong!
A clear gong sounded across humanity's civilization, greatly alarming everybody, even more so the personnel of the House of Light, who were just as puzzled as everybody about the clocktower's sudden appearance.
Most people couldn't sense it, but a few did. When the gong sounded, all of the lighthouses dimmed for a brief moment before a network of interlinking lines appeared above the sky for a brief moment.
Such movement was enough to alarm not only the supervisors of the House of Light but also the army. Gabriel was already here; the High Marshals appeared shortly after; even Fiona, Lissandra, and Charles were here as well.
They all watched at the hands of the clock, which was automatically adjusted to display the current time. More importantly, they all felt the profound charm diffusing from the clocktower and, in conjunction, the other lighthouses as well.
**
"Is it just me, or is it getting warmer all of a sudden?"
"It's not just you. I can feel it too, but... I don't know; there's something about this warmth that I can't explain."
"You think so too? Strange, isn't it?"
"It feels more...real, for lack of a better term."
"The sun also looks more real than before; so does the sunlight."
"Even though the clouds look more vivid, the air also feels crisp and cool."
"Strange. When I try to scan the clocktower using the system, it only displays its name. It doesn't have a description."
"Yeah, you're right. I just say 'Heaven Cycle Clocktower', weird."
"Do you all think that the clocktower made all of these changes? Because I do."
"Nah, that should be a coincidence. It's just a clocktower; it's only responsible for displaying time. I think it's the positive side-effects of the Origin Energy Storm."
"Oh yeah, that makes more sense."
**
While the common people could only receive the name of the clock tower using the system, those who had a higher system authority were able to gleam more information, especially the known pillars of humanity.
**
[Heavenly Cycle Clocktower]
: Designed by the Sun Sage and created using precious materials.
: This clocktower is linked to all lighthouses and serves as the main gear that's responsible for the day and night cycles within humanity's territory. It's created using the Sun and Moon Disc as well as the Velvet Starry Veil, tied together by the Heavenly Cycle Array. This clocktower is also connected to the protetive formation that hid the territory from the Demon Race.
: This clocktower also contains the profound concept of the astral and celestial bodies, meaning that true sunlight, moonlight, and starlight energies are being diffused to its area of responsibility, elevating the quality of energy density and spirituality within the territory.
**
The complete information about the Heavenly Cycle Clocktower was displayed for those who had LV.8 System Authority and above.
Everyone who read its contents was awed by the sheer implications of what the clocktower could do. Of course, the one that's most affected was Archbishop Gabriel, who literally dreamt of this moment for decades.
"Oh, Holy Son, you did it. You actually did! You returned the blessing of the sun to us." Gabriel had tears pouring down his face as he kneeled in worship of the clocktower.
He stared at the sun, which conveniently moved directly above the clocktower, making it seem like it was shining down on it.
Gabriel thought that the sigils that Cedric gave to them before, which were based on the Aspect of the Sun and were installed at the lighthouses, were the best thing they could have for the foreseeable future.
The Archbishop had no complaints about that since, thanks to the sigils, the fake sunlight that they created felt so close to the real thing. That was already enough for the old man. Never did he imagine that not even a year later, through some fortunate causes, their Holy Son would actually pull through and create a true miracle.
While it is true that the sun they're seeing isn't the real one yet, the sunlight's energy they felt wasn't fake. It's as real as it could get, perhaps even better because it contains the charm of the Astral Laws.
Seeing this, Gabriel couldn't ask for more. He doesn't have any complaints, even if he were to die tomorrow.
He tried contacting Cedric. Most of them did. They wanted to hear it straight from his mouth. Unfortunately, he's not responding. According to Acala, he's resting (lies) because the creation of the clocktower drained him completely. She told them that she's watching over him, so they should just go on about their business.
[Since we're on this topic, I'm informing you that I pulled him out of the draft. He's on the verge of maturing his Sagehood.]
[I gave him missions that would guide him to mature; he will also be on a spiritual journey from time to time, so try not to disturb him too much. He'll show up when he's needed.]
High Marshal Raven Armstrong asked: "Would there be any danger to his life? Also, how long would this take?"
[The Young Sage knows the value of his life more than all of you combined. He's sensible and knows how to pace himself well. His missions aren't life-threatening given his cautious nature.]
Everyone sighed in relief upon receiving this response.
[As for how long it would take him, it depends.]
[He's young, and he has plenty of time ahead of him. I don't want him to feel burdened by this war too much before he's their target. I don't want us to lose another sage, especially someone this young, talented, and sensible.]
[That's why I pulled him out of the draft.]
[Rest assured, when he completes his maturity, I have no doubts that he will be the strongest sage humanity ever had.]
[But since he's still in the process of maturing, the rest would depend on you a lot for now. Do your best.]
"You don't have to tell us twice," Armstrong strongly responded. He then turned around and looked at Gabriel, asking, "You good?"
Gabriel nodded with a sharp look in his eyes.
"I will etch this miracle into my memory. The House of Light will always stand by the Holy Son, even if the world turns against him." Gabriel took a deep breath after making that declaration.
The rest of the personnel behind them didn't say anything, but judging from their looks, they meant the same thing. The position of the Holy Son became unshakeable in their hearts from this moment on.
"He visited me a few days ago bearing gifts." Gabriel stated before taking out one of the array discs Cedric gave him. "He gave us another installment on the altars."
"He said that he received an epiphany and solved the problem of not being able to convert Demon Lord Souls. In addition, he also discovered how to convert Demon King Souls to Essence Souls."
This shocked everybody who was listening to him.
"During these past couple of days, we've been busy adding the new installment to the altars. It's also during this time that the Holy Son has been designing this clocktower."
"With this, we can harvest more Essence Souls and because of its neutral attribute, it's a great supplement to the newly introduced Cultivation Techniques."
Gabriel looked at the majestic clocktower behind them and whispered loud enough for everyone to hear:
"Great changes are happening to us, and our Holy Son is determined to leave his mark behind."