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The Heavenly Cycle Clocktower—that's what Cedric called his creation.
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."
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."