Whispering Poems

Chapter 3882 Fate is a Double-Edged Sword (End of this Volume)
The path to the [Saint Cliff] was not long, and Shad and the doctor soon arrived at the edge of the cliff together.

At this moment, the snow falls softly from the cliff onto the undulating snow-capped mountains. After that long night last week, Mount Fatumunst seems unchanged, yet everything seems different.

Shad took out the pure white [Rebirth] Destiny Apple and looked out of the cliff with the doctor:

"Doctor, the price you paid for your power was guarding that thing; the price the priest paid for his power was collecting remains and being influenced by the power of those remains; the price the writer paid for his power was having another individual with whom he shared a soul, and together they were given a great responsibility."

The fortune teller, needless to say, gained the most, but also paid the highest price.

Shad casually tossed the apple off the cliff, then watched it dissolve in the snow.
"And what about me? What will be the price I pay for gaining this power and embarking on this path in life?"

After throwing the apple, Shad, with the cat on his back and his hands behind his back, gazed at the snow-capped mountains in the snow. The doctor asked him:

"Detective, are you worried about the future?"

"I worry about the past and the future. I don't know what I went through in the past, nor do I know what the future holds for me. All I can do now is hold on to what I have now and wait for some time in the future when I will learn about the past and pay the price I should pay."

The stranger didn't reveal a word of his fears about what had happened in the spring of 1853 to Luvia with long hair, but at this moment he was willing to tell his most honest thoughts to the psychiatrist beside him.

Although Shad hadn't gone into detail about the "fall" with the doctor, he had mentioned earlier that he would soon be visiting the ruins of a moon tower on Mount Karas. Combined with his knowledge of Shad's past experiences, the doctor easily understood Shad's fear:
“If you ever have to pay the price, all of us friends will be there for you.”

Xia De then asked with a smile:

"I thought you would comfort me by saying that there would be no cost in the future."

The doctor looked at him:

If I comforted you like this, would you believe me?

Outsiders wouldn't believe it, because he knew how lucky he was and how much he had gained in just two short years.

The help of the old gods, the girls' affection, drops of divinity, blessings, the ability to absorb external power to strengthen one's body, and a soul so powerful that it is almost invincible—all of this is certainly not normal.

Xia De knew that some of these things were earned through his own efforts, but the very fact that he had the opportunity to "fight" for them was a privilege that no one else could possibly obtain.

He had known for a long time that he would have to pay a certain price, and that feeling reached its peak after the story of fate had ended.

A biting wind, carrying snow, blew in from the left. Sunlight, refracted by the snowflakes, created a unique color on the snow-capped mountain peak that no ink could replicate. Beneath the vast sky lay the magnificent snow-capped mountain. At the edge of its summit, Xia De breathed in the air, feeling the snowflakes and the cold wind, remaining silent for a long time. The doctor, however, was optimistic:

"You're just anticipating paying a price, while I'm destined for a terrible future. Detective, I'm not worried, so what are you worried about?"

The doctor closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if savoring the moment of tranquility.
“I understand how you feel. In the years before I decided to start hunting demons to gain power, which were also the most confused years of my life, I was just as confused as you were. It’s just that my fears were more specific than yours.”

"So how did you adjust, doctor?"

Shad asked, and Bill Schneider opened his eyes and laughed as he looked out over the cliff:
"I haven't adjusted yet, and I'm still worried about the future. But twenty years have passed, and I've accepted my fate."

"Because you can't resist, you accept it?"

"No, because there is hope, I accept it."

The doctor asked:

"Detective, although it's snowing, is there still sunshine?"

"Of course, even in a blizzard, let alone snow like this, you can still see the sun."

"You see, you understand this principle too. Hold onto hope, and wait to seize the moment when fate might change. If fate is truly a double-edged sword, it gives us power but demands a price. And if we pay the price, what about the other side of that price?"

Behind them was a plaza and a tall tower. On the edge of the cliff, Shad carried the cat with his hands behind his back, while the doctor beside him stretched out his right hand forward, as if trying to grasp something in the air.

"I sealed that terrifying existence for this world, making that part of the primordial demon's power almost completely dormant; and you, detective, you have saved this world so many times, saved countless people, and defeated countless monsters that should not have appeared."

Shouldn't fate reward us for all we do? If fate only rewards people for what they gain, but doesn't reward them for what they give willingly, then fate is unfair.

The doctor said to Shad in a very serious tone:

"I'm not saying we should do nothing and just wait for fate to save us. I simply believe that everything has meaning, and since I've chosen this path, I will continue on it. As for the future, I believe we can find a solution."

Fate has two sharp swords, one is you, the other is destruction. When the world faces its destiny, whether it is you or destruction that faces it, I do not know, nor do others; the choice is in your hands.

After saying this, the doctor fell silent and stood with Xia De on the edge of the cliff, looking down at the scenery.

Under a gloomy sky, the snow-capped mountains were entirely white, their rugged outlines and silvery ridges conveying an air of desolation. The two figures standing atop the majestic snow-capped peaks appeared no bigger than ants. The sunlight reflected off the snow, and the dense snowflakes created a hazy, dreamlike effect in the scene.

Snowflakes fell softly, staining their shoulders white. The wind on the mountaintop ruffled their clothes, but couldn't move them in the slightest. It was like a somber oil painting, the falling snow making the atmosphere exceptionally gloomy.

However, in the scene, Xia De suddenly raised his right hand, causing a slender pure silver flame to appear in his palm.

Then that ray of pure silver light illuminated the center of the picture, like hope blooming again in despair.

Shad gazed at the cluster of flames, as if seeing the past, present, and future reflected within them. The doctor's words did not comfort Shad, but they certainly inspired him.

This is far from the end. The story of fate may have come to an end, but the story of the outsider continues. Even if he has to pay a price in the future, as long as he keeps going, he will one day be able to pay the price for that "gift".

His furrowed brows relaxed, and he let out a long breath. Gazing at the pure silver flame in his hand, he composed himself. Even though doubts and worries still lingered in his heart, this outsider was ready to face new challenges.

"After all, I won again this time."

Her laughter drifted on the wind, and Shad, holding the flickering silver flame, looked through the swaying light at the snow-covered, undulating, silvery-white mountains that resembled the spine of a giant beast:
"Well then, let's say something."

Her voice softened the wind on the mountaintop and gave warmth to the snowflakes.

[The Sixth Era, 1855 in the general calendar, early spring, the windy month. The smoke of fate has cleared, but the winter snow has not yet stopped. The stage after the seven acts has drawn its curtain; behind the curtain, the serpent falls to the sword of fate, and the fallen moon also knows the truth behind the curtain. Stranger, the story is made more exciting by you, and fate has given birth to new possibilities because of you. Standing here at this moment of falling, do you look forward to the next chapter?]

Shad exhaled white smoke into the snow:

"Although your words this time are as skillful as before, I want to hear you comfort me."

She laughed in the wind, laughed under the desolate sky, laughed amidst the vast snow-capped mountains:

Fate has two sharp edges, one is you, the other is me. These two edges will never clash, but will be tempered together in the furnace, until they perish together. At this moment, you lean against me, and I lean against you.

Even though he had been feeling quite depressed just moments before, Xia De couldn't help but smile in the snow.

"But when we're facing the enemy, why am I always the one who has to confront them?"

He felt someone embracing him from behind again, and the feeling was very gentle:
As long as the blade remains intact, the sword will not perish.

"Since the two blades of a double-edged sword cannot clash, does that also mean they cannot come into contact?"

Her smile grew even gentler:

Fate is a double-edged sword.

"What do you mean?"

He asked in the wind.

[And you, my dear stranger, what you chose at the Tower of Vientiane was not destiny.]

With a smile and a long sigh, Xia De gazed at the magnificent scenery before him:
"Yes, fate is a double-edged sword."

The silver flame held aloft in his right hand flickered in the wind. The somber landscape atop the snow-capped mountain, amidst the snowy weather, was transformed into something bright and hopeful by this sliver of pure silver moonlight.

However, Bill Schneider did not look at the silver flame in Shad's hand. From the beginning, he had noticed the undulating silver light threads on Shad's back, as if hair had grown out of his back, or as if a figure with long silver hair overlapped with him, with only the hair being blown by the wind.

But soon, the golden light and shadow that emerged from the void replaced the silver light, eventually forming a huge and blurry ouroboros wheel.

But for some reason, the roulette wheel looked like an apple.

The doctor, who had witnessed the strange sight he had anticipated while waiting in the snow, nodded to himself, feeling that this made sense. He then continued to admire the scenery beyond the cliff.

The silvery light continued to drift behind the stranger, as if "she" was still gently embracing him. However, he did not turn his head; only the cat on his shoulder glanced sideways at the drifting moonlight.

It's been a long time since you turned around to look behind you while I was speaking.

She said again.

"So, will you be behind me?"

Xia De turned around to look back, but saw nothing. He sighed deeply and turned his head back, but at that moment, it felt as if the wind was gently kissing his face with snowflakes. The stranger covered his cheek in surprise, gazing at the continuous snow-capped mountain ridges, and then chuckled in the snow.

The snowflake that had kissed Shad's cheek then swirled and was carried by a gust of wind higher into the gloomy sky. The two figures on the desolate snow-capped mountain peak grew smaller and smaller, while the undulating, silvery-white ridges remained unchanged from ten thousand years ago, awaiting the next exciting chapter in their story.

Her voice drifted on the wind:

[Outsider, you have gained new strength.]

(End of this volume)