Whispering Verse

(The story of this chapter takes place in Chapter 1313. Shade learned about the Night Temple from Sister Devlin by the First Fire, and the two planned to return to Middleburg together.)

After walking out of the doorless gate of the ancient sacrificial site and standing on the steps covered with snow and gravel that were almost integrated with the ground, looking at the mountains, Xia De felt an indescribable sense of joy in his heart.

Standing here, you can almost touch the sky. The weather is exceptionally good. Then you turn to look at Sister Devlin who is following closely behind you. The nun who walked out of the dark sacrificial hall has her own otherworldly temperament and this ancient temple. The ruins are really matching.

[Maybe you just think she is beautiful. 】

"She" said with a smile, but Shade pretended not to hear.

Shade planned to go back to Middleburg now. It was almost lunch time, and Grace and Helen had made an appointment to have lunch with him. But the nun stopped Shade and said in a slightly indifferent voice:

"Can I take you some time?"

"Oh, of course, what do you want to do?"

Sister Devlin had helped him so many times, so of course he was happy to help her.

"It won't take long, I just want you to go somewhere with me."

"In Middleburgh?"

"not here."

The nun came to Shade's side, her silver mask shimmering in the winter sun. The temperature on the top of the mountain in winter is colder than in the city, even colder than the outskirts of the Randall Valley, but her outfit has not changed much:

"plz follow me."

The area of ​​the ancient ruins where the sacrificial site is located is very large, but the sacrificial site itself is probably at the top of the ancient ruins that is based on the mountain, and occupies a very small total area of ​​the ruins.

The nun led Shade in front, past the entrance to the oil painting in the basement of Snake Heart Hospital, and continued walking down the snow-covered road.

It was autumn when Shade first came here, so he knew what it originally looked like. There are no trees on the bare top of the mountain. The ancient gray stone steps that were artificially excavated but almost integrated with the mountain are interspersed with the remains of the surrounding sacrificial sites, towers and other ruins.

The journey was not long, and Sister Devlin didn't say a word along the way, walking silently on the snow. Shade looked down at her footprints, guessing the shoe size, and then felt something was wrong with his behavior.

Within five or six minutes, Shade saw not far below, in the middle of the path at the top of the mountain, the square, or a similar place, surrounded by gravel and low walls clinging to dry trees and vines.

"It's the cemetery, the cemetery of the Fire Sisters."

Sister Devlin said as if she knew what Shade was thinking.

The nun's cemetery is roughly circular, but there are towering cliffs and cliffs on the left and right sides. The low walls on the front and rear sides have solemn stone gates respectively, connecting the mountain paths up and down the mountain.

The stone door was not locked, but only the remains of the tall arch above were left.

The nun stretched out her hand to push open the stone door, but Shade very gentlemanly said she would do it herself.

After exerting a little force, he found that the door was not moving at all. Then he bent down slightly and lowered his weight, using both hands to fully open the door amidst the harsh friction between the stone door and the ground.

Entering the open-air venue, the diameter here is only half of that of St. Teresa's Square, but because there is nothing in it, it looks even more empty than St. Teresa's Square.

Although Sister Devlin said this was a cemetery, Shade didn't see any tombstones or tombs. On the other hand, the snow-covered ground was unusually smooth compared to the mountain road, almost like the inside of the sacrificial site.

"Sister Devlin, you said this is the nuns' cemetery, so..."

"Yes, the nun who guards the First Fire will rest here."

"But I didn't see..."

"We have been blessed by the first fire throughout our lives, and after death we will dedicate our bodies to the first fire and turn into fuel for this flame to burn."

Although she said some cruel words, Sister Devlin's tone remained unchanged. The original fire burns the corpse and leaves no ashes.

While they were talking, the two of them had already reached the center of the open field. As Sister Devlin waved her sleeves, the flames spread out in all directions around the two of them, melting the snow on the ground, revealing the ground covered by old long stone bricks.

Shade still believed that this place was more like a square or an arena than a cemetery.

"This is our destiny, and this is where we belong."

She put her hands together and looked at Shade with her silver blindfold:

"It's the same for me. If one day, unfortunately, I die somewhere else, please bring my body back here, burn it, and keep the First Fire temporarily until the order finds the next generation of nuns."

It seems that Sister Devlin has not yet found her qualified successor. After all, ring warlocks who can accommodate the power of the First Fire are extremely rare. But Shade knew only one, Luvia, who had received the flame in the sixth era of the past.

"Sister, you came to me here not to say this, right? Besides, we are partners, and I will not let you be killed unfortunately."

For a moment, Shade seemed to see a gentle smile on Sister Devlin's face, but he was not sure whether it was his imagination.

The fair face is still facing Xia De:

"There's something else. I know you have the power to open the doors of death at will, and I want you to open the door here."

Shade nodded:

"No problem, but what do you want to do?"

"With the power of the Chosen One of Death that I have, I want to meet a dead person."

"The soul cemetery behind the door on the third floor of my house can actually do the same."

"No, this is a special soul that can only be seen here. Call out your life ring and don't let it disappear before it ends."

Shade understood when she said this, so he called out his life ring. While the spiritual runes shone in the sun, Shade raised his right hand high and slashed it down:

"Death's Door!"

The dark gap opened, revealing the silent beach, the water surface illuminated by the dark moon, and thousands of souls leaving with their backs turned.

The nun's life ring also appeared, and soon turned into a dark golden sickle and fell into her hand with slight burn marks. She handed the sickle to Shade, and Shade reached out to grab it, but the nun shook her head:

"Please, take my hand."

"Oh, okay, sorry."

She was obviously a very indifferent person, but Sister Devlin's hands were very warm.

The two of them held the sickle together. As the handle of the sickle hit the ground, the sky suddenly became dark, and then heavy snow fell without warning. The chasm leading to death opened until it swallowed up the entire cemetery of nuns. The ground beneath the feet changed from stone bricks to gravel on the beach. The light completely disappeared, leaving only the half-round huge moon in the distance.

Snowflakes slowly fell from the heights of the black sky. Shade stretched out his free hand to touch the snow, and then realized that he and Sister Devlin had not entered real death.

This place is similar to the "narrow space between life and death", except that it is closer to death than any other "narrow space between life and death".

"Please don't let go."

The nun said, her voice even more ethereal than before. She raised her head against the snowflakes and "looked" at the moon in the distance. The moonlight shone on her face, giving her already quiet and fair face a different kind of charm.

After a while, going against the direction of those departing souls, a middle-aged nun wearing a similar style of gray-blue nun's robe walked over from the water in the distance, with her back to the dark moon.

She also had long gray hair, but the tips of her long hair had fiery red embers, while the spirit body's arms and clothes had traces of being burned.

"teacher."

Sister Devlin bowed slightly, and the nun on the water just stopped some distance away from the beach, looking at the two of them silently, letting the departing soul pass her by.

"I have recovered the first flame of division, and the information that the world is about to die has also been confirmed."

Her voice was unexpectedly trembling, but the middle-aged nun still didn't speak and just looked at the two of them.

"I found a hero who can take over the initial fire, and he is willing to go on with me."

In fact, it was Sister Devlin who took advantage of Shade's deified state to end and was unable to move, forcing Shade to come into contact with the flames. On the night of the Battle of Mount Sikal, the nun's trembling tone when she said "I will do anything to make it up to you" on the top of the mountain was very similar to now.

But the middle-aged nun who was burned by the flames on the water and had traces of embers on the end of her hair still did not speak.

Sister Devlin continued:

"I need your guidance to see if the path I am taking is correct."

This time the nun finally spoke, but this statement was not correct, because the spirit body’s mouth did not move, but the sound reached the two people’s ears:

"Devlin, trust the hero of your choice."

Shade, who was mentioned inexplicably, also looked at her, and "she" gave her evaluation:

[About nine rings during his lifetime. 】

"The nuns who guard the flame will surely appear in each generation under the pull of fate. But so far, there are only a few heroes who have inherited the first fire. The original fire has chosen the destined hero for you."

Shade felt that Sister Devlin's hand she was holding was very stable, and she nodded slightly:

"I see."

"The nuns who take care of the First Fire also have the obligation to serve and help the heroes who inherit the power of the First Fire. Devlin, you must understand your responsibility."

Sister Devlin nodded slightly again.

"There are not many opportunities to see you like this. Let me see you, Devlin."

The middle-aged nun said again, so Sister Devlin looked at Shade. Shade let go slightly, and then the nun took out her hand, and then Shade held the dark golden sickle.

This scythe is actually part of the nun's soul. This is the first time Shade knows that this weapon can be touched by others alone.

The nun didn't know what Shade was thinking. Her long gray hair slipped past her eyepatch. She took off the eyepatch that was made of mithril and had dense patterns, and then bent down and placed it at Shade's feet.

The chosen one walked towards death, and at the edge of the tidal flats and dark waters, he looked face to face with the middle-aged nun who was also walking.

Shade didn't know what Sister Devlin saw, but he discovered that a few moments later, the sickle in his hand emitted a glimmer of light. The glimmer of light made the surrounding darkness and death recede, and they returned to the brightly lit nuns' cemetery on the top of the mountain. In the center, the sky was really fluttering with snowflakes, and the ground that had been cleaned by Sister Devlin had been dyed white.

The dark golden sickle dissipated in Shade's hand, and the nun was standing in front of the cliff ahead. So he bent down, picked up the luxurious silver eyepatch that was more like a crown, and then came to the cliff and stood side by side with the nun.

Shade held the crown and handed it to the nun. The nun seemed a little embarrassed. She turned sideways and put on the eyepatch, letting the hair hanging from her ears cover the sides of the eyepatch. Then she turned to Shade and said:

"I gained a lot."

"It's not far from the Twelfth Ring Road, right?"

Shade asked with a smile, Sister Devlin nodded slightly:

"Hero of Chenghuo, please come and visit here more often when you have time. I can teach you a lot... This is my responsibility."

"Of course, I still need your help to learn my thaumaturgy - Moon Dream."

Shade nodded immediately, and Sister Devlin asked again:

"Do you have anything to ask me now?"

She was probably reminded by her teacher that she felt obligated to give Shade more help.

Shade thought for a while:

"How old are you?"

The indifferent nun just "looked" at him, and Shade smiled sheepishly:

"It seems that this joke is inappropriate. I really have a problem with it. I recently got a large piece of mithril, but it will take a while to melt forging. Sister, I know that your eyepatch is also made of mithril, so it can Can I put on your blindfold and feel the power of mithril alchemy items?"

This time, Shade was absolutely right. Facing the sunlight above the sea of ​​clouds in the distance, in the snow, the indifferent face of this young nun, who looked to be only in her twenties, showed a red glow.

The air seemed to be still for a second, and then, words that Shade had never thought of came out of the nun's mouth:

"abnormal."

She walked normally, turned around and walked towards the arch leading to the top of the mountain from the nuns' cemetery, leaving the astonished Shade standing there thinking:

"Is this request...unsound?"

Shade only heard "her" smile, but did not notice the real faint smile on Sister Devlin's face as she left with her back turned to him through the snowflakes.

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