Kingdom's Bloodline, page 210
"Hah… Hah..." He panted heavily.
Thales felt Little Rascal desperately pulling him again.
'Damn it. This damned night.' He thought powerlessly as he shut his eyes.
*Whoosh, whoosh…*
The second prince raised his trembling hand and tried to prop himself up from the floor. In the end, he let it fall without strength.
*Woo… Whoosh…*
He panted weakly.
'Strange... Why is there… thunder?'
*Woo… Whoosh… woo…*
'No. It's probably…'
Thales opened his eyes fully as he was dragged by Little Rascal. His mind was in a state of confusion.
'Probably my ears ringing. Why-why would there be thunder in winter?'
*Whoosh… Whoosh… woo…*
The ringing beside his ears continued.
'Thunderstorms in winter?' He shut his eyes again and thought in his daze, 'Isn't there a poem in the Han Music Bureau…? Thunder rumbles in… thunder rumbles in winter…
'What comes after winter?
'Oh. Snow falls in summer. Not till… not till something ceases…'
At that moment, Thales felt the hand that was dragging him back relax its grip suddenly.
'Hah... Little Rascal… Is she out of strength and giving up, too?'
Despite the vague haziness, Thales opened his eyes a little. Little Rascal's stunned face appeared in his vision.
'Eh?'
He noticed something else: Sparkling droplets were falling from the sky.
'Is it raining? ...No.' Thales blinked his out of focus eyes. 'This is…'
His pupils suddenly narrowed.
'Rain that sparkles slightly with a dark green light? No, it's not rain.'
Once he was certain of what he was seeing, Thales giggled while his mind remained groggy.
'It's fire. Dark green fire. The sky is… raining fire? Haha, how funny.'
Thales blinked with a muddled mind.
'Raining fire?'
*Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh…*
'Thunder again? Haha. Not just Mystics, but also… thunder in winter, and fire raining from the sky. Haha, such an interesting trip to Northland.'
When Thales almost slipped into unconsciousness, other people in the city were also staring at the abnormality in the sky in shock and panic.
Flanked by White Blade Guards, King Nuven was totally stupefied when he looked up at the sky. Just like the White Blade Guards who stood behind him.
"This is impossible…" The king's voice trembled.
At the periphery of Shield District, Kohen mercilessly knocked the Phantom Wind Follower out. The latter lay limp among the ruins. On the other hand, Miranda had the prince's attendant, who drew his sword to strike back, firmly under her control.
In the next moment, all three of them raised their heads. Their eyes became as wide as saucers
"Oh God, oh God, oh God…"
Muttering continuously, Kohen was not even able to finish a sentence. He no longer cared about going after Ralf anymore.
Miranda and Wya, who were engaged in a swordfight, had their eyes and mouth agape in shock. They slowly lowered their crossed blades.
"Am I dreaming?" Wya subconsciously shook his head.
While under an eave nearby, the white-clad Raphael looked as if he could not believe his eyes. He raised his hands and rubbed his eyes repeatedly.
"Is this a joke…?"
After seeing everything before him clearly, he clenched his teeth and balled up his fists, in a state of disbelief.
In Shield District, Nicholas furrowed his brow and shook his head while in a daze.
Supported by Nicholas, Gleeward was, at first, shocked, then he trembled, unable to contain his excitement.
"I knew it, I knew it! We…"
All the residents of Dragon Clouds City were gaping with amazement. They all stared at the dark green fire that rained from the sky. A burnt smell lingered in the air and gradually intensified.
Thales detected the burnt smell and he opened his eyes with considerable effort.
He saw a giant tentacle not too far away. It was… burning in a dark green flame.
His eyes widened.
After recovering some strength, Thales finally took in what was happening.
Green flames continued to fall; they fell right on the hydra's body and its tentacles; the hydra began to combust.
Thales watched in amazement at the hydra roaring in pain.
The dark green flames were not huge in size, they were just tiny dots compared to the hydra's massive body. They were even smaller that the sparks from dying flames.
But the moment these flames came into contact with blood and flesh, they rapidly became larger, brighter, more brilliant. It was as though they were alive and conscious, and they would swiftly engulf all flesh in flames.
Cowering in pain, Kilika no longer had the strength to lift its tentacles, as if those green flames engulfed everything in its body.
Watching the strange, dark green flames, fear rose in Thales' heart. However, as if they possessed the ability to see, these seemingly merciless flames only fell on the hydra's body, not even touching the ruins beside the tentacles.
The flames continued to burn… until the hydra stopped convulsing; until its massive body slowly crumpled on the ground; until all the tentacles turned into ash.
Lying on the ground, Thales blinked and shook his head with all his strength, trying to make his fuzzy mind clear.
At that moment.
*Whoosh… whoosh…*
The wind roared loudly.
It came crashing into his face and was deafening to the ears…
... and swept up soil, sand, snowflakes and ash.
This unusually strong wind made Thales and Little Rascal incapable of opening their eyes, they had no choice but to cover their faces.
The next second...
*BOOM!*
A deafening sound echoed. The ground shook.
Thales felt his entire body jolt. Their feet rose half a foot above the ground before crashing down heavily.
Lamenting his misfortune, Thales clutched his arm that had knocked into a slab of stone. Before he had the chance to caress his aching buttocks, a substantial gust of air rushed forward with the kind of fearsome momentum that could break anything.
*Whoosh…*
More dust and soil was swept up. Thales hugged Little Rascal tightly and pressed himself to the damaged wall to hide from the strong wind.
At that moment, Thales realized something.
'Asda, the Air Mystic is back.' His heart felt a little calmer.
The roaring wind died down.
Panting, Thales and Little Rascal raised their heads slowly. The second prince felt Little Rascal freeze suddenly, then she started to tremble.
'Right. After all, Asda left such a great negative impression on her.'
With a sigh, Thales stood up.
He looked towards the direction of the strong wind… and froze. He bit his lip and widened his eyes.
Among the combusting green flames, the sky full of ashes, and the incomparably dark night… he saw a pair of bright yellow eyes, as clear as amber.
The eyes stared at him without moving, exuding a type of aged serenity and wisdom. It was as if those eyes could see through the human heart.
He saw the creature's dark red, simple, and sturdy appearance. The dark red portion was made up of several patches connected together. They dazzled brilliantly under the light of the green flames.
He also saw the creature's erect body, and a long neck that formed a curve.
At that moment, he was a little amazed. The creature seemed so elegant and dignified to him, with a natural aura of stateliness.
Of course, Thales did not neglect the creature's most prominent characteristic. He shook his head violently and blinked as if his life depended on it. He then raised his hands to rub his eyes.
Thales inhaled deeply and, after eliminating all other possibilities, firmly and resolutely confirmed his judgement.
"That's right," he said softly to himself.
Thales forced his heart to calm down, which was beating even more intensely than when he faced the Mystics. He tried his best to stay calm and tremble less. He then took continuous deep breaths.
'That's right,' he repeated in his heart.
Finally, Thales gulped with some effort. Staring at the creature's massive body, Thales told himself, 'Thales, you're not crazy. You're really not crazy. You saw… You really saw, with your own eyes…
'A legendary... Real... Gigantic... A few dozen meters tall... A living…
'...dragon.'
Chapter 186: End of Arc: A Good Name |
The Eastern Peninsula. Somewhere in an unknown fishing village.
The winter sun hung in the middle of the sky. While a few seagulls cawed, a group of fishermen with skin darkened from fishing under the sun all year long, docked their special skiffs made for offshore fishing at a dilapidated jetty after coming back from the sea.
Getting to shore with their meager catch, they lamented about how hard it was to get through winter.
Winter was hard for them compared to those in the nearby towns, or even the cities a couple dozen miles away, with the resources and capital to mobilize galleons and catch rare fish in the ocean. Things were also easier for the people of status involved in the whale-hunting business, as well as the bureaucrats running the salt fields and the underwater dark copper mining operations. No matter what, the winter for these fishermen were difficult.
Even most types of seagulls had flown to the warmer sea to pass the winter, and the yield of those in offshore fishing were so bad, it was not enough for the fishermen to support their families at all.
So, many of the men had to look for other sources of income to feed their families after they return from the sea. They either collected conches and shells on the beach, helped out at the salt fields, engaged in hard labor at the whale oil harbors in town, or marinated dried fish at home. On the other hand, the women stayed at home to take care of the children, trying their best to earn some livelihood through sewing and mending of clothes.
A person in a bamboo hat sat on a worn little chair beside the jetty while she skillfully weaved a fishing net in her hands with the thick rope and flax in her hands. She greeted the passing fishermen affectionately.
"Thank you. I hope your day goes smoothly." A woman's steady and honest voice came from beneath the bamboo hat. She sounded old, but her voice had a quality that made others feel at ease, for some strange reason. "Oh, right, I have to repair these nets before spring. Andre and the others are waiting to use them."
With practiced ease, she chattered with the fishermen.
"Yes, we can drag them to the market to sell... Oh, why am I repairing the nets here? You know, I like to sunbathe."
After the fishermen left, the woman in the bamboo hat lowered her head once more. She drew up her drooping linen sleeves and revealed her brown skin which had either been darkened by the sun or had been like that since birth. She then concentrated on fixing the fishing net between her knees...
That was until, she raised her head and glanced at the beach, as if sensing something.
A small wave crashed against the wood-built jetty and turned into white foam.
After a glance at the horizon, she calmly lowered her head and continued to mend the fishing nets in her hands. However, her honest and steady voice traveled from beneath the bamboo hat once more across the empty jetty.
"I don't remember inviting you here."
If there were others around, they would probably think that the woman was talking to herself, but what happened next broke this hypothesis.
An insipid voice echoed mysteriously from the air. "To be exact, I did not come. Only my voice came. You can just pretend that I sent a messenger crow."
The woman did not even raise her head. She focused on tightening a part of the fishing net.
"The Trade Federation's white messenger crows sound very good." Her tone was steady and indifferent without any rise and fall, but with its own tranquil energy." Their caws are bright and clear. Your voice sounds like a parched drake."
She deftly shifted the fishing net and continued repairing another spot.
"A gentle insult." The insipid voice rang again, as if used to such a scene. "You're still the same."
"Get straight to the point," the woman said nonchalantly. "I have to put the nets under the sun soon."
There was silence around her for a while. During that time, there were only the sounds of waves crashing and seagulls cawing...
Until that insipid voice echoed airily again. "That person knocking on the Door just now, you felt it too, right? A new Mystic was born."
The woman in the bamboo hat snorted softly and tested a spot of the fishing net she had finished mending.
The voice that rang in the air was barely discernible. "We must look for him…"
"No." The woman in the bamboo hat was not interested. She interrupted the voice immediately. "I don't know, and neither do I care."
"A newcomer!"
There was no rise and fall in the insipid voice, it sounded especially bored, as if it possessed no strength.
"You know what this means: The two empresses will not let him or her go." The insipid voice sounded like it did not care for what it was talking about. "An unknown Mystic is too much of a threat to them. And since the newcomer didn't experience the Battle of Eradication, the two empresses could totally take him under their wings and make him a part of them."
"Go find L or Giza." The woman put down the fishing net in her hands and extended one hand to take another net. She started mending that one. "Asda, Solovski, and even Sora would be interested."
"This is what I wanted to say." The voice in the air echoed hollowly. "The newborn Mystic will either have the two empresses or these people as his companions. Do you want this to happen?"
The woman paid no heed to him. Instead, she stared at the net in her hands.
The voice in the air continued talking. "L or Giza… the ones under B will just drag him into their ridiculous circus of rabid dogs, reenacting the tragedy from over six hundred years ago.
"The Moderators aren't good people, too. Based on my understanding of Asda and Solovski, they definitely aren't lying low since the Second Mystic Civil War because of their love for peace…"
The woman raised her head and stared at the 'air'. Her voice became cold for the first time. "So, that's why you came for me?"
There was silence.
"You're different, Freuland. Everyone says that you are also part of the Moderators." A moment later, the uninvited guest in the air said flatly, "But I know that you're different."
Freuland did not say anything.
"You facilitated the unprecedented alliance between the Moderators and the Extremists twelve years ago." The uninvited guest's voice echoed in the jetty. "You saw something higher, further and more meaningful…
"Instead of just fighting against the two empresses, or reenacting the so-called glory of the Mystics… You knew that this was not the purpose of our existence. We can't erase our past, and neither are we higher beings," the voice in the air said flatly.
"Compared to how furious and indignant the others are, you chose to quietly weave nets in this unknown fishing village. I reckoned that you would be able to understand me."
However, the woman only shook her head slowly. "Then, you should also look for Kirei. He's the one who's in the same gang as you are. At least, both of you had fought together before."
The vacant voice stopped speaking again.
"Don't put me on the same page as that lunatic." For the first time, a hint of emotion was detected in the voice of this visitor in the air. "Not everyone who fights with you is your friend."
The woman in the bamboo hat smiled slightly.
"What's the use of saying so much?"
She lowered her bamboo hat to shield herself against the rising sun. "We all know how complicated the process to transform from 'matter' to 'essence' is, which is, coincidentally, the process to become a Mystic."
The voice in the air did not say anything.
The woman in the bamboo hat continued speaking in her steady voice, "He... That newcomer definitely has a guide who has spent an unimaginable amount of time to find him, six hundred something years after magic vanished. That guide would have prepared everything required and collected all the resources to help him become a Mystic eventually… Just like what Macinta did for you."
The woman sighed. "Regardless of which faction it is, I'm afraid that he has already found a place where he belongs."
Holding the net with another hand, she flexed her hand. She seemed a little tired. However, the woman's words were immediately refuted.
"No. I encountered him when he was knocking on the Door."
The insipid voice sounded a little unsteady. "At that time, he was panic-stricken and afraid, as though he wasn't prepared to knock on the Door at all. He wasn't adequately prepared to face the threat of the two empresses either. Which guide would make such a mistake?"
The woman paused. She raised her head slowly. "The Magic Empress…"
"He cannot be the two empresses' student… You, too, saw how they immediately knocked on the Door at the same time, striking violently in their basic forms without regard for anything." The stranger in the air seemed to know what the woman was about to ask. He continued speaking. "They had not been so flustered and disheveled ever since B and Errol returned to silence at the same time in the Capital of Triumph."
The woman in the bamboo hat was silent for a long time.
"I understand." A few minutes later, she said flatly, "Are you suspecting that the newcomer might not have a guide at all? After all, there are still places that retained the remnants of the Three Great Magic Towers and can help him in becoming a Mystic, aren't there?"
The visitor in the air confirmed her speculation.
"Of course… Until the top management of the three towers worked together with the Empire and the church to intervene…
"'Genius Gemini' gave thirty-six talks in the Convention of All Magic. The 'Introduction to Mystic Energy'—a compilation of the talks—was reprinted countless times, and that is if we do not take into account those undocumented hand-written copies and notes.
Thales felt Little Rascal desperately pulling him again.
'Damn it. This damned night.' He thought powerlessly as he shut his eyes.
*Whoosh, whoosh…*
The second prince raised his trembling hand and tried to prop himself up from the floor. In the end, he let it fall without strength.
*Woo… Whoosh…*
He panted weakly.
'Strange... Why is there… thunder?'
*Woo… Whoosh… woo…*
'No. It's probably…'
Thales opened his eyes fully as he was dragged by Little Rascal. His mind was in a state of confusion.
'Probably my ears ringing. Why-why would there be thunder in winter?'
*Whoosh… Whoosh… woo…*
The ringing beside his ears continued.
'Thunderstorms in winter?' He shut his eyes again and thought in his daze, 'Isn't there a poem in the Han Music Bureau…? Thunder rumbles in… thunder rumbles in winter…
'What comes after winter?
'Oh. Snow falls in summer. Not till… not till something ceases…'
At that moment, Thales felt the hand that was dragging him back relax its grip suddenly.
'Hah... Little Rascal… Is she out of strength and giving up, too?'
Despite the vague haziness, Thales opened his eyes a little. Little Rascal's stunned face appeared in his vision.
'Eh?'
He noticed something else: Sparkling droplets were falling from the sky.
'Is it raining? ...No.' Thales blinked his out of focus eyes. 'This is…'
His pupils suddenly narrowed.
'Rain that sparkles slightly with a dark green light? No, it's not rain.'
Once he was certain of what he was seeing, Thales giggled while his mind remained groggy.
'It's fire. Dark green fire. The sky is… raining fire? Haha, how funny.'
Thales blinked with a muddled mind.
'Raining fire?'
*Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh…*
'Thunder again? Haha. Not just Mystics, but also… thunder in winter, and fire raining from the sky. Haha, such an interesting trip to Northland.'
When Thales almost slipped into unconsciousness, other people in the city were also staring at the abnormality in the sky in shock and panic.
Flanked by White Blade Guards, King Nuven was totally stupefied when he looked up at the sky. Just like the White Blade Guards who stood behind him.
"This is impossible…" The king's voice trembled.
At the periphery of Shield District, Kohen mercilessly knocked the Phantom Wind Follower out. The latter lay limp among the ruins. On the other hand, Miranda had the prince's attendant, who drew his sword to strike back, firmly under her control.
In the next moment, all three of them raised their heads. Their eyes became as wide as saucers
"Oh God, oh God, oh God…"
Muttering continuously, Kohen was not even able to finish a sentence. He no longer cared about going after Ralf anymore.
Miranda and Wya, who were engaged in a swordfight, had their eyes and mouth agape in shock. They slowly lowered their crossed blades.
"Am I dreaming?" Wya subconsciously shook his head.
While under an eave nearby, the white-clad Raphael looked as if he could not believe his eyes. He raised his hands and rubbed his eyes repeatedly.
"Is this a joke…?"
After seeing everything before him clearly, he clenched his teeth and balled up his fists, in a state of disbelief.
In Shield District, Nicholas furrowed his brow and shook his head while in a daze.
Supported by Nicholas, Gleeward was, at first, shocked, then he trembled, unable to contain his excitement.
"I knew it, I knew it! We…"
All the residents of Dragon Clouds City were gaping with amazement. They all stared at the dark green fire that rained from the sky. A burnt smell lingered in the air and gradually intensified.
Thales detected the burnt smell and he opened his eyes with considerable effort.
He saw a giant tentacle not too far away. It was… burning in a dark green flame.
His eyes widened.
After recovering some strength, Thales finally took in what was happening.
Green flames continued to fall; they fell right on the hydra's body and its tentacles; the hydra began to combust.
Thales watched in amazement at the hydra roaring in pain.
The dark green flames were not huge in size, they were just tiny dots compared to the hydra's massive body. They were even smaller that the sparks from dying flames.
But the moment these flames came into contact with blood and flesh, they rapidly became larger, brighter, more brilliant. It was as though they were alive and conscious, and they would swiftly engulf all flesh in flames.
Cowering in pain, Kilika no longer had the strength to lift its tentacles, as if those green flames engulfed everything in its body.
Watching the strange, dark green flames, fear rose in Thales' heart. However, as if they possessed the ability to see, these seemingly merciless flames only fell on the hydra's body, not even touching the ruins beside the tentacles.
The flames continued to burn… until the hydra stopped convulsing; until its massive body slowly crumpled on the ground; until all the tentacles turned into ash.
Lying on the ground, Thales blinked and shook his head with all his strength, trying to make his fuzzy mind clear.
At that moment.
*Whoosh… whoosh…*
The wind roared loudly.
It came crashing into his face and was deafening to the ears…
... and swept up soil, sand, snowflakes and ash.
This unusually strong wind made Thales and Little Rascal incapable of opening their eyes, they had no choice but to cover their faces.
The next second...
*BOOM!*
A deafening sound echoed. The ground shook.
Thales felt his entire body jolt. Their feet rose half a foot above the ground before crashing down heavily.
Lamenting his misfortune, Thales clutched his arm that had knocked into a slab of stone. Before he had the chance to caress his aching buttocks, a substantial gust of air rushed forward with the kind of fearsome momentum that could break anything.
*Whoosh…*
More dust and soil was swept up. Thales hugged Little Rascal tightly and pressed himself to the damaged wall to hide from the strong wind.
At that moment, Thales realized something.
'Asda, the Air Mystic is back.' His heart felt a little calmer.
The roaring wind died down.
Panting, Thales and Little Rascal raised their heads slowly. The second prince felt Little Rascal freeze suddenly, then she started to tremble.
'Right. After all, Asda left such a great negative impression on her.'
With a sigh, Thales stood up.
He looked towards the direction of the strong wind… and froze. He bit his lip and widened his eyes.
Among the combusting green flames, the sky full of ashes, and the incomparably dark night… he saw a pair of bright yellow eyes, as clear as amber.
The eyes stared at him without moving, exuding a type of aged serenity and wisdom. It was as if those eyes could see through the human heart.
He saw the creature's dark red, simple, and sturdy appearance. The dark red portion was made up of several patches connected together. They dazzled brilliantly under the light of the green flames.
He also saw the creature's erect body, and a long neck that formed a curve.
At that moment, he was a little amazed. The creature seemed so elegant and dignified to him, with a natural aura of stateliness.
Of course, Thales did not neglect the creature's most prominent characteristic. He shook his head violently and blinked as if his life depended on it. He then raised his hands to rub his eyes.
Thales inhaled deeply and, after eliminating all other possibilities, firmly and resolutely confirmed his judgement.
"That's right," he said softly to himself.
Thales forced his heart to calm down, which was beating even more intensely than when he faced the Mystics. He tried his best to stay calm and tremble less. He then took continuous deep breaths.
'That's right,' he repeated in his heart.
Finally, Thales gulped with some effort. Staring at the creature's massive body, Thales told himself, 'Thales, you're not crazy. You're really not crazy. You saw… You really saw, with your own eyes…
'A legendary... Real... Gigantic... A few dozen meters tall... A living…
'...dragon.'
Chapter 186: End of Arc: A Good Name |
The Eastern Peninsula. Somewhere in an unknown fishing village.
The winter sun hung in the middle of the sky. While a few seagulls cawed, a group of fishermen with skin darkened from fishing under the sun all year long, docked their special skiffs made for offshore fishing at a dilapidated jetty after coming back from the sea.
Getting to shore with their meager catch, they lamented about how hard it was to get through winter.
Winter was hard for them compared to those in the nearby towns, or even the cities a couple dozen miles away, with the resources and capital to mobilize galleons and catch rare fish in the ocean. Things were also easier for the people of status involved in the whale-hunting business, as well as the bureaucrats running the salt fields and the underwater dark copper mining operations. No matter what, the winter for these fishermen were difficult.
Even most types of seagulls had flown to the warmer sea to pass the winter, and the yield of those in offshore fishing were so bad, it was not enough for the fishermen to support their families at all.
So, many of the men had to look for other sources of income to feed their families after they return from the sea. They either collected conches and shells on the beach, helped out at the salt fields, engaged in hard labor at the whale oil harbors in town, or marinated dried fish at home. On the other hand, the women stayed at home to take care of the children, trying their best to earn some livelihood through sewing and mending of clothes.
A person in a bamboo hat sat on a worn little chair beside the jetty while she skillfully weaved a fishing net in her hands with the thick rope and flax in her hands. She greeted the passing fishermen affectionately.
"Thank you. I hope your day goes smoothly." A woman's steady and honest voice came from beneath the bamboo hat. She sounded old, but her voice had a quality that made others feel at ease, for some strange reason. "Oh, right, I have to repair these nets before spring. Andre and the others are waiting to use them."
With practiced ease, she chattered with the fishermen.
"Yes, we can drag them to the market to sell... Oh, why am I repairing the nets here? You know, I like to sunbathe."
After the fishermen left, the woman in the bamboo hat lowered her head once more. She drew up her drooping linen sleeves and revealed her brown skin which had either been darkened by the sun or had been like that since birth. She then concentrated on fixing the fishing net between her knees...
That was until, she raised her head and glanced at the beach, as if sensing something.
A small wave crashed against the wood-built jetty and turned into white foam.
After a glance at the horizon, she calmly lowered her head and continued to mend the fishing nets in her hands. However, her honest and steady voice traveled from beneath the bamboo hat once more across the empty jetty.
"I don't remember inviting you here."
If there were others around, they would probably think that the woman was talking to herself, but what happened next broke this hypothesis.
An insipid voice echoed mysteriously from the air. "To be exact, I did not come. Only my voice came. You can just pretend that I sent a messenger crow."
The woman did not even raise her head. She focused on tightening a part of the fishing net.
"The Trade Federation's white messenger crows sound very good." Her tone was steady and indifferent without any rise and fall, but with its own tranquil energy." Their caws are bright and clear. Your voice sounds like a parched drake."
She deftly shifted the fishing net and continued repairing another spot.
"A gentle insult." The insipid voice rang again, as if used to such a scene. "You're still the same."
"Get straight to the point," the woman said nonchalantly. "I have to put the nets under the sun soon."
There was silence around her for a while. During that time, there were only the sounds of waves crashing and seagulls cawing...
Until that insipid voice echoed airily again. "That person knocking on the Door just now, you felt it too, right? A new Mystic was born."
The woman in the bamboo hat snorted softly and tested a spot of the fishing net she had finished mending.
The voice that rang in the air was barely discernible. "We must look for him…"
"No." The woman in the bamboo hat was not interested. She interrupted the voice immediately. "I don't know, and neither do I care."
"A newcomer!"
There was no rise and fall in the insipid voice, it sounded especially bored, as if it possessed no strength.
"You know what this means: The two empresses will not let him or her go." The insipid voice sounded like it did not care for what it was talking about. "An unknown Mystic is too much of a threat to them. And since the newcomer didn't experience the Battle of Eradication, the two empresses could totally take him under their wings and make him a part of them."
"Go find L or Giza." The woman put down the fishing net in her hands and extended one hand to take another net. She started mending that one. "Asda, Solovski, and even Sora would be interested."
"This is what I wanted to say." The voice in the air echoed hollowly. "The newborn Mystic will either have the two empresses or these people as his companions. Do you want this to happen?"
The woman paid no heed to him. Instead, she stared at the net in her hands.
The voice in the air continued talking. "L or Giza… the ones under B will just drag him into their ridiculous circus of rabid dogs, reenacting the tragedy from over six hundred years ago.
"The Moderators aren't good people, too. Based on my understanding of Asda and Solovski, they definitely aren't lying low since the Second Mystic Civil War because of their love for peace…"
The woman raised her head and stared at the 'air'. Her voice became cold for the first time. "So, that's why you came for me?"
There was silence.
"You're different, Freuland. Everyone says that you are also part of the Moderators." A moment later, the uninvited guest in the air said flatly, "But I know that you're different."
Freuland did not say anything.
"You facilitated the unprecedented alliance between the Moderators and the Extremists twelve years ago." The uninvited guest's voice echoed in the jetty. "You saw something higher, further and more meaningful…
"Instead of just fighting against the two empresses, or reenacting the so-called glory of the Mystics… You knew that this was not the purpose of our existence. We can't erase our past, and neither are we higher beings," the voice in the air said flatly.
"Compared to how furious and indignant the others are, you chose to quietly weave nets in this unknown fishing village. I reckoned that you would be able to understand me."
However, the woman only shook her head slowly. "Then, you should also look for Kirei. He's the one who's in the same gang as you are. At least, both of you had fought together before."
The vacant voice stopped speaking again.
"Don't put me on the same page as that lunatic." For the first time, a hint of emotion was detected in the voice of this visitor in the air. "Not everyone who fights with you is your friend."
The woman in the bamboo hat smiled slightly.
"What's the use of saying so much?"
She lowered her bamboo hat to shield herself against the rising sun. "We all know how complicated the process to transform from 'matter' to 'essence' is, which is, coincidentally, the process to become a Mystic."
The voice in the air did not say anything.
The woman in the bamboo hat continued speaking in her steady voice, "He... That newcomer definitely has a guide who has spent an unimaginable amount of time to find him, six hundred something years after magic vanished. That guide would have prepared everything required and collected all the resources to help him become a Mystic eventually… Just like what Macinta did for you."
The woman sighed. "Regardless of which faction it is, I'm afraid that he has already found a place where he belongs."
Holding the net with another hand, she flexed her hand. She seemed a little tired. However, the woman's words were immediately refuted.
"No. I encountered him when he was knocking on the Door."
The insipid voice sounded a little unsteady. "At that time, he was panic-stricken and afraid, as though he wasn't prepared to knock on the Door at all. He wasn't adequately prepared to face the threat of the two empresses either. Which guide would make such a mistake?"
The woman paused. She raised her head slowly. "The Magic Empress…"
"He cannot be the two empresses' student… You, too, saw how they immediately knocked on the Door at the same time, striking violently in their basic forms without regard for anything." The stranger in the air seemed to know what the woman was about to ask. He continued speaking. "They had not been so flustered and disheveled ever since B and Errol returned to silence at the same time in the Capital of Triumph."
The woman in the bamboo hat was silent for a long time.
"I understand." A few minutes later, she said flatly, "Are you suspecting that the newcomer might not have a guide at all? After all, there are still places that retained the remnants of the Three Great Magic Towers and can help him in becoming a Mystic, aren't there?"
The visitor in the air confirmed her speculation.
"Of course… Until the top management of the three towers worked together with the Empire and the church to intervene…
"'Genius Gemini' gave thirty-six talks in the Convention of All Magic. The 'Introduction to Mystic Energy'—a compilation of the talks—was reprinted countless times, and that is if we do not take into account those undocumented hand-written copies and notes.
