Shard turned his head to look behind him, but the figure of the Witch was no longer there, and the remnants of the three stone archways had so subtle differences from before.
At the end of the three archways, on the ground where Shard stood, the patterns composed of the Sun, Moon, and stars were still etched there, but they no longer shone, appearing more like they had been painted on. Looking up at the starry sky again, after acquiring the [Witch Echo: Luvia], Shard had gained a certain level of mastery in astrology. He was well aware that the current sky was not the night sky of the 16th day of the Sparse Star Month in Common Era 1854.
"This is... contact with the Father of the Infinite Tree!"
A sound like the rustling of a tree crown in the wind reverberated in Shard’s ears, and then "she" revealed the precise ti:
[Bygone Era: Sixth Era, Common Era 1857 Winter, 17th Day of the Slumber Moon, night, 10:57 PM,]
"1857? The Present World: Sixth Era I’m in is only the Sparse Star Month of 1854..."
Before Shard could express his astonishnt, "she" softly prompted:
[Note, Outlander, you are currently undergoing an illegal ti travel.]
"Illegal?"
[Ti travel without the use of a Ti Key is considered illegal. Due to your possession of Tree Father’s aura and the assistance from the Ancient God’s power, you are permitted to remain in this temporal passage for 3 minutes, and it does not deduct from your Ti Key’s waiting period. Note, they cannot notice you, and you can only observe.]
"Is this really the only way, Luvia?"
The two girls by the cliff, with their backs to Shard, were unaware that soone was watching them, and their conversation continued.
The one speaking was Miss Lathis, and Shard observed her legs hanging over the edge of the cliff, gently swinging unconsciously. Despite the winter, she wore a short skirt paired with cotton socks. However, neither of them looked at each other while speaking, and the Miss Lathis Shard knew, even after the battle at Eldron Lake, would address Luvia by na, but not with such familiarity.
"Yes, it’s the only way, Third Candidate."
Even in a different era, Luvia’s voice remained as enchanting as ever:
"The Demon’s power is almost unstoppable, and tomorrow night, the Evil God will descend, initiating the feast that engulfs the entire Earth. The only way now is for the Chosen of the Earth to erge, only the Chosen One can save Randall Valley."
Compared to the voice Shard was used to, Long-Haired Luvia’s voice was slightly colder... yet Shard still very much liked it.
"The Third Candidate..."
Miss Lathis seed to lant or maybe she was just stating a fact:
"So, you have to kill ?"
Shard raised an eyebrow at this; Miss Lathis being the third candidate for the Chosen of the Earth had already been confird in the [Present World: Sixth Era]. He just didn’t understand why Miss Lathis being the third candidate was related to Luvia wanting to kill her; it didn’t seem like there was any conflict between them.
This isn’t about being the "Chosen of Death", as death does not signify anything in the Chosen One Ceremony.
"Yes, I will personally kill you. I have to complete this task before sunset tomorrow. If Osenfort gets ahead of us, you know what will happen."
"What does this have to do with Osenfort?"
Shard had even more questions, but he could only continue to listen to their conversation. Then there was a relatively short silence, as Miss Lathis gazed at the seemingly reachable Star River in front of her:
"So, how do you intend to kill ?"
"I will use a blade to cut open your fair neck. Your admirers in the theater might feel heartbroken at this scene."
Luvia stated this simply and added:
"I must do this."
Shard knew full well that whenever Luvia used such phrasing, it ant she was convincing herself as well; Shard was indeed very familiar with her.
Miss Lathis nodded as if the topic being discussed wasn’t about her life and death:
"The scenery here is so beautiful. In the future, I really hope to have another opportunity to co here, to admire this view in front of the Ancient Moon God’s Spirit Temple. Having lived in Randall Valley for so long, I never knew such a sight existed."
"It truly is a hidden place, even the Demon cannot fathom what’s actually here."
Luvia’s voice was sowhat somber. She crossed her arms over her chest, her brown hair swaying backward in the night breeze. Although her manner was rather suave, Shard knew this was her stance when she felt insecure:
"The gold mine below us represents more than just wealth... the Butterfly Family’s tomb is here, the passageway is here, the Ancient God’s Spirit Temple is here, and even the God of Space’s statue is here..."
Shard’s mind was still speculating about the connection between Osenfort and the Chosen One. When he heard this, he was stunned:
"What did she say?"
[I’ve already noted it down, you can analyze it slowly later.]
"Such a special place, so, Luvia, are you planning to kill here?"
Miss Lathis’s voice was as light as the wind at this mont. The starlight and moonlight fell on the faces and bodies of the two girls; they were both beautiful.
"Yes, in the center of the ritual circle behind us."
Which was precisely where Shard was standing.
"This place has an extrely special significance in mysticism. A soul deprived of life here will receive the blessing of the Nether Moon. This is the best place to take your life. Afterward, you will follow to the ruins outside Osenfort Estate to fulfill your destiny, Ciris... Chosen of the Earth."
Shard felt he had heard so even more shocking information:
"Killing Miss Lathis is a step for her to beco the Chosen One? Wait, she’s the third candidate, what happened to the first two candidates? And did they really say the Chosen of the Earth?"
Shard suspected this was Midshire Fort, but the surrounding landscape was undoubtedly Randall Valley. Thus, it seed that the most unbelievable of all his speculations was correct.
Miss Lathis swung her legs, supporting her body with her hands, and looked up at the starry sky:
"The second Chosen One, the Chosen of the Earth... fate is truly interesting, isn’t it? Luvia, you witnessed the fate of the first Chosen, the Chosen of Silvermoon, what did you really understand from that?"
"My fate and my Sublimation Incantation — the First Silvermoon leading to the ultimate direction. What I must do is guide this world to its final direction."
Luvia’s voice was very light, and Shard thus understood that the order in which the Chosen Ones appeared in the last Sixth Era was entirely different from this one.
"I’ve known you for so long, you always have your secrets. So, why did you choose this place?"
Miss Lathis asked again, while the wind also brushed her hair, but her golden long hair, styled in a beautifully complex design, only swayed in the night breeze.
The backs of the two girls were so beautiful, no one would expect that one of them was planning to take the life of the other:
"I want to complete a ritual here, leaving an item. This will ensure that even if I fail, there’s a chance to overturn the situation next ti."
Luvia hesitated for a mont, finally opening her clenched palm, and Shard leaned forward to look, becoming even more shocked to see it was a black wooden key.
He thought he probably wouldn’t be more surprised tonight than he was at that mont:
"Alright, so it’s here! Wait, this isn’t my tiline, how can I get it?"
"Ti Key? Why is it black? It seems... dead."
Miss Lathis finally turned her head, raising her eyes slightly to look at her hand, a puzzled expression on her face.
"Yes, it’s dead because it represents five segnts of history that were forgotten by everyone, erased from mory."
The Sixth Era that Shard was in was the seventh ti; this segnt of history referred to the sixth ti’s Sixth Era, which was the last one.
"Everyone has forgotten, but I still rember. You, the current High Priest of the Cult of the Forgotten, should understand more than anyone that mory itself is a kind of power for a Circle Sorcerer.
The place where we stand, this location of the material world, gathers the powers of the Sage of Silvermoon with the authority of the ’Recorder’, the Earth Mother Goddess with the power of ’mory’, this key has been contaminated by the power of [Crawling Darkness] who wields the authority of ’History’, and it is inherently a Ti Key of the Father of the Infinite Tree who holds the power of ’Ti’. Additionally, the statue of the Ancient God [Primordial Rift], who has the power of ’Fracture and Connection’, is also here... among the thirteen Ancient Gods, all who could help transmit this history and mory have gathered at this place..."
Luvia looked at Miss Lathis, her purple eyes flickering with a transparent light in the night:
"To use you — the final High Priest of the Old God [Forgotten Old Man], who governs mory, the future Chosen of the Earth, your dying body as a sacrifice for the ritual, to split a part of this key into seeds and bury them deep within this land. This is a very ancient ritual, knowledge I read from the tree patterns on the dead trunk of the World Tree, which happened... a long ti ago. And in a very long, long ti, soone will eventually extract it from this land, transforming it into yet another withered black Ti Key. My Low Ring Ascension Words ’The First Silvermoon Leads to the Ultimate Direction’, if wanting to use it to its full extent, is related to this key."
Miss Lathis looked at her in surprise:
"You remain as terrifying as always, killing has so many purposes, just how many plans do you have... Wait, the strange ritual you made cooperate with two years ago, was it to extract the key in your hand?"
Luvia curled up her lips, revealing a stern smile that Shard had never seen before:
"Yes, only I know the key is here."
Though the smile was odd, Shard still liked it very much.
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