The ancient capital of the perpetually frozen smog is Tainia.
This city, which was built by humans and elves in the past, is now shrouded in a lingering cold fog, hazy and vague. From a distance, only the outline of the city wall and the complicated patterns of corrosion and weathering on the city gate can be seen. Flowers and vines, the moon and thorns, the symbols of the green empire still remain on it, silently narrating its ancient history.
Roland Hill and Vimiya fell from the high sky and slowly landed under the huge bronze door, looking up at this magnificent picture, feeling the silence of the city.
"It's just a few years, but it's like hundreds of years apart."
Roland Hill pressed his hand on the cold metal door. With the penetration of magic power, the complicated patterns on the city gate were illuminated one by one, and then the door was slowly pulled up, revealing that the interior had been closed for a long time. street.
"Two years ago, the conservatives in the forest elves sent people to enter here, but no one returned it, and no longer sent people to test it later." Roland Hill and Wemiya told the news that she knew.
"I have to be careful this time, too." Wei Miya nodded. Today, she is wearing a blue and black dress, her legs are all wrapped in black silk, which looks easy to move, and her blue hair is curled up at the back of her head. , covered with a layer of pearl gauze, only two strands fell from the side of the ear, which contrasted with the white collarbone.
After the two stepped into Tainia, an extremely cold breath hit their faces. There seemed to be a mist of extremely low temperature in the air. If it was inhaled by ordinary people, I am afraid that even the lungs would be frostbitten and frozen.
Fortunately, the two were witches related to the atmosphere and water, and the weakly swirling airflow surrounded them to filter the too wet and cold air.
The street was empty and cold, with no pedestrians, no sound, not even ants. The bustling main road in the past was unusually empty, and it formed a huge gap with the scenery in my memory.
The two walked on the street and looked around, then entered the houses and mansions on the side to check, and saw a different scene.
The residents of the city still maintained their normal daily movements, but their entire bodies had turned into ice and remained motionless.
As if overnight, the extremely low-temperature cold swept the entire city, turning the giant city of more than 2 million people into a dead silence.
After leaving the mansion, Roland Hill and Wemiya simply flew at a low altitude, inspected the surrounding situation, and found more ice withers. Some of them were residents of the city who didn't have time to escape, and some were on the battlefield that day. The soldiers still maintained the state of fighting the enemy.
There is no doubt that their lives are frozen at this moment, falling into a state of immortality and immortality. If these ices are melted rashly, they will flow into the sewers like snow water and dissipate without a trace.
The eternally frozen witch, Kerros, is an apt title.
Frozen green is a special evergreen plant, which symbolizes the magic of life in the folklore of the empire, and the source of the story is the young girl who walked on the snow thousands of years ago. It is said that she was accompanied by animals in the forest. , is a fairy or a god walking in the world, and will give blessings to people who walk in the snowy night.
If you are lucky enough to meet this girl in the forest, you only need to ask her devoutly, and she will give the frozen green branch that brings blessings, and then the people who get the frozen green branch will return home and weave the frozen green Form a ring and hang it on the door to obtain blessings.
This kind of behavior gradually spread, and later merged with other customs, and finally gradually formed a winter festival celebration in a broad sense, and the annual winter festival party of Emenas also came from this.
Compared with other witches who brought disaster, this frozen blue witch is undoubtedly kind and friendly in the legend. Therefore, in the spread of the story, the title of witch was gradually removed, and it was changed to the frozen green girl in the snow. .
Recalling the legend about Kerrose in my mind, Roland Hill and Wemiya are approaching step by step, which is the most central part of Tenya, where the Rose Palace is located.
This place where the emperors and royal families lived in the past dynasties is undoubtedly located in the center of the city's layout. There are several layers of palaces and walls and surrounds inside and outside, which are gorgeous and deep.
"Fairy Wood"
central square.
Thousands of guards and knights are still standing here. They are neatly lined up, burly and well-trained. It can be seen that even when Tenya is about to fall, there is still a group of loyal close friends. Guard guards this place.
Even after several turmoils and changes, the verdant royal family still has a very high prestige in the empire, and countless families follow and depend on it. Such a consensus has not been destroyed after the fall of Tenya, so even the Grand Duke Griffin, He had to support the two queens first and slowly replace the royal family's status in a curvilinear way.
Passing by the tall ice withers, Roland Hill and Vimiya seemed to be walking through a forest made of ice, and then entered the deep palace filled with smog.
Compared with the outside world, these extremely cold ice mists greatly hindered the girl's perception, making it impossible for Roland Hill to see through the interior of the Rose Palace at a glance.
The ground under their feet was covered with hoarfrost, and the two of them stepped on it and made a slight noise, and then left dazzling footprints.
The further you go inside, the heavier the cold air becomes. Even Roland Hill had to open a larger spherical air cover to isolate the perpetually frozen smog.
Passing through the Council Throne Hall, past the Emperor's residence and garden, the two walked in step by step until they stopped in front of a tall tower.
There was a slight weeping sound from the ice fog in front. It seemed to be the sound of tears falling to the ground and then forming ice beads and rolling down. In the quiet environment, it was particularly clear.
Vimiya took Roland Hill's nervous hand, and the two walked in together.
The thick fog was broken open layer by layer, and the scenery in front of him gradually revealed.
A maid with silver and purple hair knelt on the ground, and on her lap lay a sleeping boy.
The slender fingers stretched out from the cuffs and slowly stroked the cold cheeks. Tears, like beans, slowly slipped and fell, landing on the slate floor beside them.
Behind the maid, there is a half-body melted ice wither, one of its hands is leaning forward, as if trying to grab something, but most of the upper body is melted, and the face is unknown, but judging from the dress, it should be The same maid outfit as before.
Standing in front of the maid with silver and purple hair, the two stopped. Although they had never seen each other before, they already understood that this was the eternally frozen witch, Kerrosi.
The slight sobbing continued, and Kerrose sat on her knees on the ground, never raising her head.
Looking at the sad scene in front of him, Roland Hill sighed slightly, then took a few steps forward and slowly crouched down.
"Maybe he's still saved, because you've given him a part of your power."
The new emperor Elio was able to kill the regent Edron during the battle that day because of his near-immortality.
"It's useless. I can't give him the world he wants. He must hate me because I deceived him."
Kerrose raised her head, the previous willful little witch had tears on her face at this moment, and she was extremely weak.
"Actually, I can't save Anna, the empire, or even him, but I really like this child and want to show him a beautiful world and watch him become a mature and powerful king step by step."
"However, Kerrose failed, Elio was angry with me, he hated me, hated me, and still refused to wake up." The beaten witch wiped her tears and said sad words.
Is that so? From Kerrous's sporadic words, Roland Hill guessed the story between the young emperor and the witch.
Although Elio is the emperor of the empire, Roland Hill does not hate or hate, on the contrary, there is a bit of favor.
When the Southern Territory was undecided, it was the new emperor's will to quickly stabilize the Southern Territory and put it under the command of the Fairy Tree Organization. This greatly reduced conflicts and left precious time for the development of the Southern Territory.
Unlike the emperors of the previous dynasties, Elio was an emperor from a commoner background. His early years of poverty and abnormal experience made him deeply sympathize with the lower-class people of the empire. After ascending the throne, even if it violated the interests of the nobles and supporters, he must do his best. Improve the condition of the ground floor.
It's a pity that fate doesn't care about the emperor, or the complicated form of the empire does not allow such easy changes.
It's not that there are no smart people in the empire who have seen the changes in Crancia and the South, but even if they do, they can only emulate it reluctantly and cannot change it completely, because the aristocracy is the foundation and skeleton of the empire, and change means suicide.
People can't stand without the ground under their feet, and the same is true within the empire.
The northern border suffered disasters, the southern border became independent, the east border suffered, and the west border set off a rebellion, and the imperial family gradually fell in this comprehensive conflict.
If Elio is not the emperor of the empire, he may be able to jump out of this vicious circle and cycle, but if he is not the emperor, he will not come to Tainia, maybe in a small town or city. Have a hard life.
Softly comforting the frozen witch, Roland Hill lightly touched the boy's forehead with his fingers to sense his condition.
Just as Kerrous said, his soul did not disperse, it just turned into a mist, rolling over and over, unwilling to gather again. It seems that only in this way can he avoid the cruel and desperate world.
After a while, Roland Hill slowly opened his eyes and looked at the boy who was still sleeping.
After pondering for a small meeting, Roland Hill stretched out his hand again, and a bunch of purple lotus flowers emerged in his hand, which was the nightmare lotus from Tehua.
For the young man who was still awake, she did not choose the lotus flower representing a beautiful dream, but gave the lotus flower representing a nightmare.
For those who are in a desperate situation, giving illusory beauty and hope can sometimes be a kind of harm. The more beautiful, the more distant, the more unreachable, the more sad it is.
So, just come and experience the pain, the real pain, the cruel reality.
This will indeed be more uncomfortable, but once you have experienced a more sinister environment and world, you will gradually find that what you have experienced in the past is far from the saddest time, and compared to the eternally dark world, There is still some real possibility in such a cruel reality.
The lotus flower of the nightmare turned into shimmering particles, melted into the tumbling mist, infused it, and then it surged more intensely, as if it was struggling and crying, weeping and weeping.
Looking at this scene, Roland Hill raised his palm lightly, and the gentle and clear magic power impregnated it, clearing his mind, body and consciousness.
The fog is still rolling, struggling and crying are still endless, but there is a little more roar and unwillingness in it.
Gradually, the fog began to shrink and condense. Although the degree of tumbling has not weakened, it seems to be much more condensed than before.
Slowly, the mist shrank and condensed in the churning, and finally converged suddenly, forming a hazy human shape again.
Seeing this scene, Kerrosi opened her mouth in a daze, then wept with joy and hugged the young man.
"Elio, you're awake, woohoo, Kerrose is wrong, forgive me, okay? I can be a maid for you for life."
The young man slowly opened his eyes in Kerrose's arms, looking at the gray sky above his head, his eyes were quiet, his lips moved slightly, but he didn't speak after all.
After a long time, he slowly stood up from Kerrose's arms, looked at the silver-purple witch who shed tears for him, shook his head slightly, and then stroked the tears on the girl's cheek.
"Okay, don't cry anymore, Corres."
"If you cry again, you will be like a cat. A maid like you is unqualified, far inferior to Sister Anna."
"Well, don't cry anymore." Kerrose obediently wiped away her tears with the back of her hands, and then stood beside him.
Then, Elio turned around and looked at the two girls.
"Hello, I'm Elio, who are you two?"
"I'm Roland Hill, this is Vimiya." The girl introduced herself.
"Is it the witch of stars and miracles? No wonder." His voice was full of emotion.
"I'm making you laugh, I'm an ugly person." He turned his eyes to the surroundings and the sky. Although he didn't know what happened after he jumped off the tower, it was definitely not a good thing.
"Is the empire still there?" He finally asked hesitantly.
"It is still there, but it is ruled by two queens, the former Princess Aveline and Princess Teslyn."
"Those two aunts... They must be more suitable than me." Elio felt relieved.
"However, the empire has also entered the countdown to its destruction. The two queens are just puppets in the hands of the great nobles."
"Is that so..." he repeated.
"What about you, His Royal Highness Roland Hill, I have heard about your deeds a long time ago. Are you ready to overthrow the entire empire?"
"Yes, in fact, this time is also for this." Roland Hill replied.
"It's time to end, time keeps moving forward, even if there is someone you like and forget, you can only put it in the cupboard behind you and watch it from a distance."
"It was my obsession that troubled Kerrose. In order to reassure me, she 'resurrected' Sister Anna. At that time, I was amazed at the magic of the witch, and I also felt a strong self-confidence."
"Maybe I can bring some changes to the country."
"However, I woke up very quickly. The reform of the previous generation of Aimanke Brothers was actually the most ideal result under the original structure, but I thought more, and the result broke the balance, and the conflict could not be suppressed. Eat your own fruit.”
"Sister 'Anna' is nothing but a doll made by Keluosi. Although Keluosi disguised it well, I finally found it."
"Actually, the real sister Anna is not so good. She sometimes feels silly and sad, sometimes feels uncomfortable, and doesn't even want to talk to me when she's irritable. She even teaches me aloud, asking me to learn a skill. some type of."
"But the 'Anna' sister made by Corus was so perfect that I finally realized the illusoryness in it. It was so sad that it was even more sad to be together."
After saying this, he tried to walk again and walked out of the courtyard, wanting to see the city.
Knowing Elio's thoughts, Kerrous helped him up and lifted him up to the sky, the whole city's scene also reflected in his eyes.
"Is this all made by Keluosi?" He asked the maid with silver and purple hair beside him.
"...Yes, yes." Uneasy hesitated, the maid replied in a low voice.
"Can it be lifted and let everyone return to their original state?"
"it should be OK."
"Then let's begin."
"Yes, my master." The witch closed her eyes and chanted softly, the ancient and empty song echoing in this dead city.
The smog slowly dissipated, the gray color of the sky dissipated, the brilliant and bright sunlight gradually shone into the city, and the still figures on the streets gradually regained their color.
Finally, there was a slight noise in the city, which quickly spread.
"Where is this, where?"
"what happened."
"It's a strange feeling."
People were talking to each other, and the soldiers who had fought before looked at each other in astonishment, exploring the surrounding situation.
"Sure enough, she is a witch of miracles. Loren can always do things that we can't imagine."
In the tall clock tower, two witches looked at the scene in the city, one had a pink and white dress, the other was like a delicate doll, sitting on a high chair.
"The flower in her hand was given by Tehua. Even I have never seen it before, so I can only guess based on vague perception." Si Ye looked at the figures in the distance.
"It seems so. When I grabbed Keti, I saw a similar flower, but it didn't seem to have such a function at the time." Chris recalled the past.
"It is estimated that it was also the result of Loran helping Tehua cultivate. You know, she is very good at this. At that time, the extraordinary fruit of the Tisilan Mountains surprised many people."
"Yes, I didn't expect this junior to grow up in the blink of an eye."
"Now that they have solved the seal of Tanya, our whereabouts should have been exposed." Chris looked at the petite witch beside her.
"It's time to prepare for battle, Si Ye."
After speaking, a silver mirror suddenly appeared in the air, and then was torn apart, revealing the cat-eared figure behind the broken silver mirror.
The usual beautiful blue-eyed boy turned into a wandering red glow, and with the rapid afterimage, his slender fingers were like sharp claws, shredding the silver mirror, and slammed into the two people in the clock tower.