Whispering Poems

Chapter 3830 Iluna and the Pilgrim's Path

Having already made up her mind, Emilia immediately chased after the rising fishhook and the ring.

She wouldn't normally be able to swim that high, but when she reached out her hand towards the ring, it vibrated with a whoosh, and Emilia felt her heart tremble in response—

"This belongs to me."

The emerald green ring burst into light in the water, dispelling the darkness beneath and allowing Emilia to briefly break free from the control of the relic properties caused by the whispering elements near the monastery, enabling her to grab the ring directly in the water.

The fate of [Nature] thus fell into Emilia's hands, and the Ring of Freedom, a gift from her elven kin, emerged from her serpentine shed skin. The two rings resonated, and Emilia, automatically entering the "Fate Stance," immediately re-sensed the severed connection with the "Throne of Heaven."

Then the chosen one of time returned to normal, and the little sprite, whoosh, flew out of the water with the fishhook, clutching the ring, and was then caught by a figure.

"I was wondering why the things in the water suddenly felt heavier; it was you!"

"Thank you, Professor Danist?"

The soaking wet little elf then realized that the one who had dropped the fishing rod was actually the librarian from his own academy, and behind Daniste was a squad of elven guards fully equipped and ready to go.

"Are you surprised? To be honest, I was surprised too. The ship informed me of the divination results and told me to take my fishing rod and wait here for the right opportunity to fish. I was wondering what the right opportunity would be when I saw you fall in."

According to the original plan, I was the main force protecting Kyle-Todd Town and Time Wheel City, so Luvia's temporary reassignment of me was indeed justified.

As she spoke, she helped Emilia dry her hair and clothes:
"Something big has happened at the top of the mountain, hasn't it? But since Luvia foresaw your presence here, I think the situation shouldn't be completely out of control yet."

However, the starry sky above them had turned completely yellowish-brown, the mist was gradually dispersed by the wind carrying sand and gravel, and even a layer of yellow sand was rolling on the ground. This did not seem like anything was wrong.

"I will go to the top of the mountain again."

Emilia spoke, and Daniste pointed behind her:

“They went with you, and everyone was wearing a curved or circular ring. I think the mountaintop needs support.”

This squad of twenty high-ringed elven guards was composed of the absolute elite drawn from various elven clans. Apart from those elves who had already been deployed to various parts of the island to participate in battles, these people were practically the core strength of the elven race in this era.

Emilia even spotted Granny Kisara and several high-ranking elves among them. They weren't wearing the ancient elven light armor that had been passed down for countless years; instead, they were all dressed as priests.

“Emilia, we’ll go with you. This team was originally left behind to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, and given the current situation, I think even we older folks have to do our part.”

Emilia nodded, pursing her lips, and was about to ask Daniste if she wanted to come along, when the red-haired administrator took out another ring:
"Take a look at this—the fate of the [Hero]."

The Ring of Fate began to glow even before Emilia touched it, which indicates that this ring, discovered by the Church just before the final battle, is Emilia's third ring.

Emilia had heard of this ring:
"But Professor, isn't this ring in the hands of the Dawn Church? Is it supposed to be left in the church in the city tonight as a last resort for our rear base?"

Danist handed the ring to the little elf warrior:
"An hour ago, the city's defenses were on the verge of collapse. A gentleman of the Dawn Church, a 12th-ringed being, used this ring to plug the gap in the defenses at the cost of his own life. Tonight, the sacrifices are not limited to that gentleman. Now, with the power of the [Hero], go where you should go."

Emilia looked at the ring in her hand with a hint of sadness, but she quickly nodded emphatically again:
"I understand, Professor. So, would you like to come with us to the top of the mountain?"

Daniste smiled and shook her head:

"The battle down the mountain is not over yet, and the situation down there has become even more dangerous after the incident at the summit. I must stay here. Go, Emilia."

With the three rings resonating together – [Freedom], [Nature], and [Hero] – Emilia rekindled the staff within her life ring and led the elven guards to the ruins atop the snow-capped mountain, where a dim yellow beam of light was still shooting into the sky.

Danist watched them leave; she would remain to protect the city and town until she received a signal from Luvia and the witch.

That was the signal that the music calling for the fallen moon to rise again was about to be played.

Of course, besides Emilia, Mr. Snake also focused his attacks on Iluna after successfully shedding his skin.

At that time, Iluna had just ended her fusion with Shad, and was still somewhat weakened by the powerful blow of the Crimson Lightning Spear slamming into the mountain, so she was unable to defend against Mr. Snake's attack.

However, compared to Emilia, who had just become a Chosen One, Iluna had wielded the Chosen One's powers the longest, having climbed her way up step by step from the lower rings. Therefore, although Iluna was also knocked away by Mr. Serpent's power, she broke free from the black light's restraint while in the air.

Although she still fell from the top of the ruins at the highest point of the mountain, unlike Emilia who whooshed down to the foot of the mountain, Iluna simply landed in another part of the snow mountain.

Bang!
Iluna, who was not seriously injured but extremely angry, struggled to her feet, but then staggered again. The snake's apocalyptic power had still affected her.

At this moment, she was particularly worried about the situation at the top of the mountain. Looking up at the summit, she saw a dim yellow beam of light piercing into the sea of ​​stars. The continuously spreading dim yellow light gradually dyed the starry night into a terrifying apocalyptic color.

Iluna struggled to take off again, but the "other me" whispered a reminder in her ear:

Don't rush, look around.

Just now, Iluna was feeling dizzy and anxious about the situation at the summit, so she hadn't paid attention to her surroundings. Now that she felt a bit better and looked around, she was surprised to find herself on a towering ridge that resembled a silver thread on a snow-covered mountain.

At first glance, the mountain ridge resembled a winding silver serpent, stretching for miles to the left and right until it disappeared into the darkness. The wind blew constantly from outside the ridge, stirring up the snowflakes underfoot, making them tumble like silvery sand beneath Iluna's boots.

On this snow-capped mountain ridge, which resembles a silver thread, countless treasures from different eras lie quietly in the snow, reflecting the dim starlight of this moment.

Even though she had never been here before, Iluna immediately knew where she was:
"The end of the pilgrim's path?"

One scene in the story of destiny involves candidates being guided by fate through snow-capped mountains, following the paths trodden by devout pilgrims, until they reach the end of the pilgrim's path and come to understand their own destiny.

Luvia and Adele had been here together, as had Shad and Ellie, but Iluna had never been here.

Looking at the treasures scattered across the snow, she was first stunned at how she had been suddenly blasted to this place, then she realized—

"Does this mean I've completed the pilgrim's journey?"

It should be counted.

Iluna had heard Luvia share her reflections after completing this journey, and Shad had lamented things like "gain and loss," but now that Iluna was actually standing here herself, all she could think about was returning to the summit and smashing Mr. Snake's head in.
"We were ambushed just now, so that doesn't count."

However, she wasn't in a hurry to leave. Instead, she thought that since she was already here and hadn't yet recovered to her best condition, and there seemed to be more than one powerful force of destiny erupting on the mountaintop, she might as well find some handy tools or weapons here first.

Luvia had mentioned the rules at the end of the "Path of the Pilgrims," ​​so Iluna didn't intend to take more. Reluctantly, she took out the "Leaf of Immortality" given to her by Shad and tossed it onto the snow. The wind was so strong, yet it couldn't blow away the leaf that emitted a faint green glow.

"Let me see what I should take. Luvia found the [Stadium of Destiny] here."

She gazed out over the long mountain ridge, where hundreds, even thousands, of treasures lay dormant. Even with Iluna's equally powerful senses, she was momentarily at a loss as to what to take.

At this moment——

Ding dong!

The clear sound of bells rang out. Unlike Claire, who was in the sea, and Emilia, who was underwater, Iluna, who was not far from the top of the mountain, turned around and saw a golden ripple spreading out from the top of the ruins.

When that ripple reached me, the "other me" whispered in my ear about my temporary improvement in luck.

"Has the Ring of Fortune that Shad mentioned in the center of Oracle Square been activated? That bell sound must be the sacred bell borrowed by the hermits. Was it Shad or Ellie?"

The eighteen-year-old girl seemed lost in thought, and subconsciously looked down at her feet, only to find a card stuck diagonally at her feet:
"what?"

She picked up the card with suspicion, and saw that it was written in two languages ​​on each side—

[Command Card: Make Shad do whatever he wants]

[Valid until: December 31, 1855 (Gregorian calendar)]

Even the bottom right corner of the card features a hand-drawn "cat running" design as a stamp.

Iluna was stunned for a moment, then looked around warily like a thief who had stolen something and was worried about being discovered. But then she remembered that she had only picked up the card, not taken it from someone else.

(End of this chapter)