Whispering Verse

"You'll know everything you need to know."

Shade was still lying down at this time, so he barely supported the ground with his left hand. He raised his right hand to touch the flame, but the severe pain in his arm made this action fail.

Sister Devlin held the flame with one hand and wanted to help Shade, but Shade refused.

He tried hard to change his position, trying to kneel on one knee to make his body more stable. But then I thought about the nun in front of me kneeling on one knee:

"Sister Devlin, stand up."

After the nun stood up, he knelt down on one knee with great effort. Sister Devlin knew what he meant and carefully stretched the flame she was holding forward.

Shade could no longer raise his head due to the severe pain. He could only rely on instinct to stretch out his palms.

The bonfire illuminated the silhouettes of the two of them. Shade now just wanted to use this flame to fill the emptiness in his soul. Sister Devlin was extremely serious, but her voice was very soft. The ancient grammar asked softly in Drarian language:

"Shad Suellen Hamilton, are you willing to bear the power and will of the First Fire, assist me in collecting flames, and light the firewood. This is the contract between the nun who guards the flame and the fire-bearing hero."

[Promise her. 】

It was very rare that "she" gave Shade the answer before he made a choice.

"Yes I do."

Shade said softly, beside the bonfire, beside the road where thousands of souls left, under the boundless galaxy, his palm rested on Sister Devlin's palm.

The shadows of the two people shook violently on the cliff, because the flames followed Shade's arms and swept through his body, as if to completely ignite Shade. But the fire did not harm Sha De, because Sha De's body surface was cracked.

The divinity has disappeared, and there is no golden light in the crack. The flames of the first fire penetrated into the surface of Shade's exposed skin and the cracks in his clothes, and the blazing flames gradually converged, just like Sister Devlin in front of her.

When the night wind blew by, the fire on the two of them dragged fire marks in the same direction. The fiery red embers swayed into the darkness with the wind, and Sister Devlin's face showed a clear smile she had never seen before. Behind the silver eyepatch with fine patterns made by mithril from the ancient Death Cult, those eyes were definitely looking at Shade:

"Sure enough, you are the hero who can bear the first fire."

The soul feels warm and full, as if it had just eaten a delicious meal. The terrifying sense of emptiness caused by the loss of divinity has been slightly abraded, but the severe pain and weakness that seems to be about to disintegrate the body are still there. This flame filled the vacancy of divinity, but Shade was still seriously injured.

[Outlander, you have accepted the power of the primordial fire. 】

[The original fire burns the body, purifies the soul, removes curses, and defends the will. Your fire resistance has been greatly improved, your soul strength has been greatly improved, and your physical fitness has been improved overall. 】

[The trend of gradual disappearance of the afterglow of divinity caused by the lack of divinity has slowed down, but once the afterglow of divinity disappears, the first fire can no longer fill that power. 】

It seems that First Fire can be regarded as an extremely degraded version of divinity, but unfortunately it is not divinity after all, and can only be used as a substitute until Shade finds the next drop of divinity.

[The ancient voice is triggered, and you learn the story of the original fire——]

[Since the beginning, fire and the nuns who guard it have always existed. The original fire is a symbol of civilization, and the nuns who guard the fire carry out the will of the original fire. This is a contract, a contract created by the world itself for the continuation of civilization. The ancient flame comes from the very beginning, even older than this world. 】

The life ring appeared behind Sha De amidst the faint sound of whistles and bells. The fire spread toward the life ring. Because of Sha De's soul being seriously injured, the life ring seemed to be cracking, showing mottled marks. But there are faint traces of gold in the cracks of the brass.

The flame envelopes the life ring, and the primitive and ancient power is enriched with the elements of miracles, blasphemy, enlightenment and whispers. As the life ring rotated at high speed, the fire left a bright mark of the fire ring behind Sha De.

But bathing in the First Fire did not allow Shade to obtain spiritual runes, thaumaturgy or spells.

"Sorry, the power of the First Fire is no longer enough to provide you with more powerful power."

Sister Devlin apologized quietly.

"It doesn't matter, the power of this fire is enough now."

Shade wanted to smile, but he couldn't maintain his kneeling position and fell down. This time Sister Devlin supported him.

"Sister, how did you find me?"

"My clone was fighting above the Mibao, and my real body ventured to the shores of Lake Bena, where the gods appeared, to get the truth. I knew it when I saw the red butterfly twins and the cat."

"Then you know what I just did?"

The nun still shook her head gently:

"I don't know what the relationship between you and the Godcaller is, but now that you have bathed in the First Fire, we are unbreakable allies. Don't worry, everything tonight will be spread according to the version of the story you tell us."

"Okay. After I left Cassandra Auction House, I wanted to go up the mountain, but you stopped me. Then I stayed with you, and we both saw the Godcaller appearing on the top of the mountain."

"Yeah, that's what happened tonight."

"Well, give me the leaf in the pocket watch quickly."

The emptiness in the soul is gone, but the weakness and pain in the body are still there. Last time, Iluna poured a whole bottle of "Holy Water No. 1" into Shade to save him. But now he only has Holy Water No. 2 obtained from the narrow church. Between No. 1 and No. 2 The gap was too big, so he could only use the two remaining [Eternal Youth Leaves] in his hand.

Sister Devlin reached for the pocket watch on the ground, but suddenly stopped and "looked" at the deep night sky:

"I think no need to."

"What are you going to do again!"

In an instant, a brilliant white light rain poured out from the broken light path under the sea of ​​stars, and the dots of light, like fireflies on a summer night, sprinkled on the cliff on the top of the mountain.

Under the deep night sky, under the sea of ​​stars and the tranquil waters, the light rain is so dazzling.

Those jumping white lights merged into Shade's body like a waterfall of light, completely illuminating the cliff on the top of the mountain.

Warm power poured in, but this power was not violent at all. Instead, it nourished every scar in Shade's soul and body. It was as if he suddenly slipped into a hot spring in extremely cold conditions. Shade even wanted to moan uncontrollably:

"Oh~"

He gradually took control of his body, broke away from Sister Devlin's support and stood up. Bathed in the white light under the night sky, he raised his arms and stretched his body.

He gently bent down and picked up little Mia from the ground and held him in his arms:

"What's this?"

Reaching out to touch the brilliant light that gathered, the white light seemed to envelop Shade in the galaxy.

"A more sincere thank you than the tears of the soul. This is the gift given to the helper before the soul leaves."

the nun said softly.

Shade stood by the bonfire, looking up at the sea of ​​stars in the stream of white light that was constantly healing him. He saw countless souls standing on the path of broken light waving goodbye to him. He saw the corporal who died in the narrow room. He saw Professor Higgins, the spy of Carson Rick, and Henry, who was killed by the serial killer. The innocent ladies whom Val murdered also saw the third nail, Count Darak.

They all turned around at the end of the broken light path and waved to him with a smile, then walked onto the water and headed towards the dark moon.

The dark moon does not guide all the souls to leave, but at least 99.9% of the souls in Hazama are heading towards the end through this star sea road.

"teacher!"

There was a voice from behind, it was Grace and Helen. The pale girls came to life, helped each other to get past Sister Devlin who was behind Shade, stumbled to Shade, and looked with him towards the nearby path.

The five people who walked out of the cocktail party in 3014 of the Fifth Era met again under the thick night on the top of Mount Sikar in the late autumn of 1853 of the Sixth Era.

"It's like a dream, and we are always the little butterflies on the wine table."

However, the witch and the armored old man turned into ghosts, the twins turned into relics, and only Shade was still Shade.

The middle-aged witch stood on the path with a smile and waved to the twins, while the armored old man looked at Shade with satisfaction and nodded slightly as a farewell:

"Don't forget us."

They didn't say anything more, turned around, and together with the thousands of souls, walked into the distance along the path in the sea of ​​stars. This is the direction that should have left thousands of years ago.

A steady stream of souls poured out, and a steady stream of white light points entered Shade's body, healing the body and soul injured by the burning divinity. The expanding spirit gave him the illusion that he was about to advance to another level. He was also waving to the sky, waving to the souls who were willing to say goodbye to him. He knew that he had done the right thing.

All mortals are mortal, all things are mortal, and this is the true end.

Mia the cat stood curiously on Shade's shoulder, looking at the white spots of light around it, and even stretched out its little paws to touch them.

[Outlander, the quality and weight of your soul have been greatly improved. No spiritual creature will take the initiative to attack you, and at the same time, fate will favor you more. 】

"I can understand the improvement of the soul, but why does fate favor it?"

[This is the world’s gratitude. 】

Shade put his hands in his pockets and wanted to smile, but found that red butterflies were flying on the starry path:

"Huh? Where did the butterfly come from?"

Looking around in shock, Helen and Grace stood in front of him, closer to the edge of the cliff and the path of broken light. Their bodies are becoming transparent, and the colors in their bodies are turning into red butterflies, flying into the deep night sky along with the white shadows.