Arknights' Lock of Heaven

487 Memories Before the Bonfire

"what is that?"

Three days after leaving the Storm border, and traveling over a hundred kilometers south, Fujimaru Ritsuka and his companions finally found a trace of civilization in the vast snowfield.

It was a dome.

Perhaps they could have seen the dome yesterday, but the weather was terrible, and the low clouds completely blocked their view, preventing them from seeing it.

After a long and arduous journey, the clouds finally parted at dusk, revealing a radiant dome on the horizon bathed in the glow of the setting sun.

“This thing… is very special,” Holmes said thoughtfully. “It can’t be a natural creation. There must be traces of civilization over there, including this strange clearing up. There must be human interference.”

"Why does this thing look so familiar?" Just then, the communication from Storm Border resumed, and Sion looked suspiciously at the distant dome through the device. "But if it really is what I'm thinking of... that doesn't make sense!"

If we're no longer on Earth, how could that technology possibly exist? But if we are still on Earth, what about our surrounding environment?

There isn't even the slightest bit of magic in it?

Although modern magicians rely on small sources of energy, the small sources of energy from just a few magicians are not enough to satisfy the energy needs of Storm Border.

Supplying even a few Heroic Spirits is a struggle, especially for Captain Nemo. His Nautilus has become such a large warship that maintaining the necessary magic power would exhaust even the magicians.

Sion, his face full of questions, racked his brains but couldn't figure out the reason.

“Let’s explore first,” she finally said, exasperated. “We’ll find out when we get to the bottom of the dome.”

“But now they need to rest,” Holmes interjected. “They’ve been traveling all day, Ritsuka and Mashu both need a good night’s sleep.”

"Since we can see it, it means it's not far away. We need to be fully prepared to deal with any possible crisis."

Upon hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mashu had no objections. After finding a campsite, she and Mashu set up their tent on the spot, while Holmes went hunting in the surrounding area, as they couldn't rely entirely on supplies from Storm Border.

As the sun set and the last rays disappeared below the horizon, they had skillfully set up a simple camp. Mashu pitched the tents and prepared food, while Ritsuka, who had also grown over the years, set up various early warning and reconnaissance spells around the camp.

Through constant practice and refinement, she has become a qualified magician.

Holmes also returned home laden with a snow hare.

After a simple preparation, it became a delicious dish in front of the three of them.

Under the firelight, the simple campsite looked very lively.

“Senior,” Mash clearly enjoyed the atmosphere, “It’s so nice to be able to sit around the fire and share food so leisurely.”

"This reminds me of the Sixth Singularity. Back then, we were all gathered around like this, watching Mr. Omotota bring out an endless supply of food, and we ate and drank in front of the fire."

“There’s also the fourth singularity,” Fujimaru Ritsuka recalled. “We were sitting around the fireplace in the room, and when we weren’t familiar with each other yet, Mordred was pretending to be aloof and saying that she wouldn’t eat food of unknown origin, while secretly glancing at the roast meat in Andersen’s hand.”

"At first, it's like a cool but greedy cat, but once you get to know it, it becomes super affectionate!"

"Altoria was so cute back in the Fairy Kingdom!"

"Um, I think if Miss Mordred heard your evaluation of her, she would definitely challenge you to a duel," Mash couldn't help but retort.

“Well, don’t worry about the details,” Fujimaru Ritsuka patted Mash on the shoulder. “But if we’re talking about memories, the Seventh Singularity is still the most memorable.”

Hearing this, Mashu fell silent.

The clever girl knew that in that singularity, there was a friend of her senior who she could never forget, and he died there.

It was just to help everyone slow down Tiamat.

Along the way, the two witnessed many sacrifices, but the most unforgettable one was that person, and Miss Artoria from the British Lostbelt.

Fujimaru Ritsuka will probably never forget those four handshakes in the British Lostbelt.

They also can't forget the childish kidnappings and being kidnapped time and time again in the Babylonian forest.

The reason is that everything Artoria carries is so similar to what she has. Ha, both are saviors, both were forced onto this path.

Mashu knew how soft the heart was beneath her senior's strong exterior.

Why does it have to be myself? Why can it only be myself?

These thoughts were deeply buried in my mind.

Therefore, the senior and Miss Artoria, the prophesied child of the Avalon Lostbelt, have a lot in common.

As for Mr. Jingu... that's another matter entirely.

Although the predecessors at that time had made a firm decision, they still felt confused when faced with the unknown and powerful enemies.

Coincidentally, a senior who was good at perceiving others' feelings discovered someone there who was just as lost as he was.

Both buried their confusion deep in their hearts; one disguised himself as a villain, while the other was genuinely saving the world.

The absurd kidnapping and being kidnapped continued to play out between the opposing sides.

Mashu felt that this was what it meant in novels to meet the right person at the right time.

But when that figure stood between Babylon and Tiamat at everyone's most desperate moment, he used his own life to buy everyone enough time.

Mashu still remembers the look in her senior's eyes back then—hesitation, self-blame, regret, guilt—and how she knelt on the ground, biting her lip, unable to speak…

Now, upon hearing her senior mention Babylon, Mashu hesitated.

Will my own memories touch upon the wounds of my predecessors?

"Hmm? Mash, why aren't you saying anything?" Fujimaru Ritsuka asked curiously, looking at Mash's silence. "You must have been quite happy during that time of kidnapping and being kidnapped, right?"

“Hmm…” Hearing this, Mashu nodded slightly, “I was really scared when I first found out that my senior had been kidnapped. After finally redeeming him with my knowledge…”

At this point, she gave Fujimaru Ritsuka a resentful look, "Senpai actually came to me again..."

"Hey, I just found out he's not an enemy, so I went over to make some connections," Fujimaru Ritsuka waved her hand casually. "See? My approach worked pretty well, didn't it?"

“Senpai, please stop talking,” Mashu suddenly noticed a hint of guilt in Fujimaru Ritsuka’s eyes and quickly interrupted her, taking her hand and saying, “It’s not your fault, Senpai.”

She understood that this guilt had always been hidden in her senior's heart. Once you got to know him, you would find that he was a person who only thought about escaping. But such a person would actually stand in front of them in the end and charge against Tiamat.

The senior believed that everything was because of her; without her, King Gu wouldn't exist...

“It’s alright, Mash,” Fujimaru Ritsuka said gently as she took Mash’s hand in return. “It’s really alright. I have a feeling that one day we will meet again.”

"He's probably enjoying himself somewhere right now."

“…” Mash fell silent upon hearing this.

Holmes, who was standing nearby, heard some interesting information, but seeing the atmosphere, he ultimately chose not to ask any questions for the time being, and instead tried to ease the tension.

"Didn't you two notice something was wrong?" He took an elegant sip of the broth and looked at the two girls opposite him. "Ritsuka, don't let the past occupy your mind. With your keen senses, you should have noticed it long ago."

"What's wrong?" Hearing this, Mashu jumped to her feet, grabbed her shield, and warily scanned her surroundings. "Is there danger?"

“No, of course not,” Fujimaru Ritsuka said, looking helplessly at Mashu. “If there were real danger, Holmes wouldn’t be taking so long…”

Before she could finish speaking, she seemed to see something incredible, then suddenly turned her head to look at the fire in front of her, and finally looked up at the sky.

Thanks to the clear, cloudless skies tonight, the cool moonlight from the two bright moons blankets the entire snowfield like a thin veil, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

Following her gaze, Mashu also looked up at the sky.

Then they all gazed at the two bright moons without prior arrangement.

Holmes was still leisurely sipping his hot soup.

“Well, Mr. Holmes, even if the Lostbelts are cut, something this outrageous shouldn’t happen. It’s still something that happened on Earth.”

“Two moons…” she asked in a hoarse voice, “Is this still Earth?”

“Unfortunately, it’s highly unlikely,” the communication from Storm Border rang, and Da Vinci’s image appeared before them. “We’ve systematically analyzed the surrounding climate, biodiversity, and every other aspect that can be analyzed…”

"All the data shows that although the similarity is very high, this is no longer the home we are familiar with."

"Ritsuka, perhaps we are honored to be among the first humans to leave the solar system."

“I don’t want this honor,” Fujimaru Ritsuka said, plopping back down. “This is awful. I’m starting to hate this weather.”

"Can't you just let me spend a few days in ignorance?"

"But... this is unbelievable!" Mashu asked, completely bewildered. "Imaginary Number Submarine... can it really do something like this?"

“Theoretically speaking, it’s impossible,” Leonardo da Vinci shrugged. “It’s simply impossible.”

"But now that the facts are in front of me, all I can say is, I don't know."

"Look on the bright side, maybe we'll run into little green men soon," Sion comforted them. "Third kind of contact, aren't you excited?"

"Not at all!" Fujimaru Ritsuka shouted upon hearing this, "Alien God, Alien God, I've already suffered enough from third-kind contact. Now, have we fallen into their lair?"

“That’s unlikely,” Da Vinci reassured him. “After all, the surrounding ecosystem doesn’t seem to have been affected by magic at all, and alien gods are still creatures within the realm of magic, no matter what.”

"In short, let's go to that dome. I have a feeling that all our questions can be answered there."

488 Starving, routed soldiers

"Stop! Stop! Stop!"

A dozen or so ragged men, brandishing knives, surrounded Fujimaru Ritsuka and his companions.

"Robbery!"

The three exchanged a glance, then turned to look at the ears on their heads. They were at least 99% similar to human ears, if not 100%. They were speechless.