Walking out of the doorless gate of the ancient sacrificial site, standing on the steps covered with snow and gravel that were almost integrated with the ground, and overlooking the mountains, Xia De felt an indescribable sense of joy in his heart.
Standing here, you can almost touch the sky, the weather is exceptionally good. Turning around, you can look at Sister Defulin who is following closely behind. The nun walked out of the dark sacrificial site, her otherworldly temperament is truly in perfect harmony with this ancient relic.
Maybe you just think she's beautiful.
she said with a smile, but Shad pretended not to hear.
Shad had planned to return to Middlesbrough right now, as it was almost lunchtime, and Grace and Helen had made an appointment to have lunch with him. But the nun stopped Shad and said in a slightly indifferent voice:
"Can I take up some of your time?"
"Oh, sure, what do you want to do?"
Sister Devlin had helped him so many times, so of course he was happy to help the nun.
"It won't take too long, I just hope you can go somewhere with me."
"In Middlesbrough?"
"No, here."
The nun came to Shade's side, her silver mask gleaming in the winter sun. The temperature on the top of the mountain in winter was colder than in the city, even colder than the outskirts of the Randall River Valley, but her attire did not change much:
"plz follow me."
The area of the ancient ruins where the sacrificial site is located is very large, and the sacrificial site itself is probably at the top of the ancient ruins that rely on the mountain, occupying a very small area of the total ruins.
The nun led the way for Shad, passing the entrance to the oil painting of the basement of Snake Heart Hospital and continuing down the snow-covered road.
It was autumn when Shade first came here, so he knew what it looked like originally. The bare top of the mountain had no trees, and the old gray stone steps that were artificially carved but almost integrated into the mountain were shaded by the remains of the surrounding sacrificial sites, towers and other ruins.
The journey was not long. Sister Defulin walked silently on the snow without saying a word. Shade looked down at her footprints, guessed the size of her shoes, and felt that something was wrong with his behavior.
In just five or six minutes, Xia De saw a square or something like that, surrounded by gravel and a low wall covered with dry vines, in the middle of the path on the top of the mountain, not far below.
"It's a cemetery, the cemetery of the Fire-Keeping Sisters."
Sister Devlin said as if she knew what Shade was thinking.
The nuns' cemetery is roughly circular, but on the left and right sides are towering cliffs and cliffs. The low walls on the front and back sides have solemn stone gates, connecting the mountain paths up and down the mountain.
The stone door was not locked, but only ruins remained of the tall archway above.
The nun stretched out her hand to push open the stone door, but Shade politely said he would do it himself.
After applying a little force, he found that the door didn't move at all. Then he slightly bent down, lowered his center of gravity, and used force with both hands. With the harsh sound of friction between the stone door and the ground, he opened the door completely.
Entering the open-air venue, the diameter here is about half of St. Teresa's Square, but because there is nothing in it, it seems even more empty than St. Teresa's Square.
Although Sister Defulin said this was a cemetery, Shade did not see any tombstones or graves. Instead, the snow-covered ground was unusually flat compared to the mountain roads, and was almost the same as the interior of the sacrificial site.
"Sister Defulin, you said this is the nuns' cemetery, so..."
"Yes, the nun who guards the First Flame will rest here."
"But I don't see..."
"Our lives are blessed by the First Fire, and after death we will dedicate our bodies to the First Fire and become firewood for the burning flame."
Although she said some cruel words, Sister Defulin's tone remained unchanged. The primordial fire would burn the body and would not leave any ashes.
As they talked, the two had already walked to the center of the open space. As Sister Defulin waved her sleeves, the flames spread out in all directions with the two of them as the center, melting the snow on the ground and revealing the ground covered with old long stone bricks.
Xia De still believes that this place is more like a square or an arena than a cemetery.
"This is our destiny, and this is where we belong."
She put her hands together and looked at Shade through her silver eye mask:
"It's the same for me. If one day I unfortunately pass away somewhere else, please bring my body back here, burn it, and temporarily keep the First Flame until the order finds the next generation of nuns."
It seems that Sister Defulin has not found a qualified successor yet. After all, it is extremely rare for a ring sorcerer to be able to contain the power of the First Fire. But Shade knows one, Luvia, who had received the flame in the Sixth Epoch of the Past Life.
"Sister, you didn't ask me to come here to say these things, did you? Besides, we are partners, and I will not let you get killed."
For a moment, Shad seemed to see a gentle smile on Sister Defulin's face, but he was not sure whether it was his illusion.
The white face still turned towards Shade:
"There is something else. I know you have the power to open Death's Door at will, and I want you to be able to open it here."
Xia De nodded:
"No problem, but what to do?"
"With the power of the Chosen One of Death that I possess, I want to meet a dead person."
"The soul cemetery behind the door on the third floor of my house can actually do that."
"No, this is a special soul that can only be seen here. Call out your life ring and don't let it disappear before the end."
When she said that, Xia De understood, so he called out his life ring. As the spirit rune shone in the sunlight, Xia De raised his right hand high and slammed it down:
"Death's Door!"
The dark gap opened up, revealing the silent mudflats, the water illuminated by the dark moon, and countless souls who left with their backs to them.
The nun's life ring also appeared, and soon turned into a dark golden sickle and fell into her slightly burned hand. She handed the sickle to Shade, who also reached out to grab it, but the nun shook her head:
"Please, take my hand."
"Oh, okay, excuse me."
Although she was a very indifferent person, Sister Defulin's hands were very warm.
The two held the sickle together, and as the handle of the sickle hit the ground, the sky suddenly became dark, and then heavy snow fell without warning. The crack leading to death opened up until it swallowed up the entire nun cemetery. The stone brick ground under their feet turned into a gravel ground on the beach. The light completely disappeared, leaving only a huge half moon in the distance.
Snowflakes slowly fell from high in the black sky, and Shad reached out his empty hand to touch the snow, then realized that he and Sister Defulyn had not entered into real death.
This place is similar to the "narrow gap between life and death", but it is closer to death than any other "narrow gap between life and death".
"Please don't let go."
The nun's voice was even more ethereal than before. She looked up at the distant moon in the snow, and the moonlight shone on her face, making her already quiet and fair face look even more charming.
After a while, a middle-aged nun wearing a similar style of gray-blue nun robe came from the water in the distance, with her back to Mingyue, walking in the opposite direction of those departing souls.
She also had long gray hair, but the ends of her hair had fiery red ends, and the spirit's arms and clothes had signs of being burned.
"teacher."
Sister Defulin bowed slightly, and the nun on the water just stopped some distance away from the mudflat, looking at the two in silence, letting the departing soul pass by her.
"I have recovered the first split flame, and the information that the world is about to end has been confirmed."
Her voice trembled unexpectedly, but the middle-aged nun still didn't speak, just looked at the two of them.
"I have found a hero who can take on the First Flame, and he is willing to go on with me."
In fact, it was Sister Develyn who took advantage of the fact that Shade's apotheosis ended and he could not move, so that Shade had to touch the flame. On the night of the battle of Mount Sikar, the trembling tone of the nun when she said "I am willing to compensate you in any way" on the top of the mountain was very similar to the current one.
But the middle-aged nun whose hair was burned by the flames on the water surface and had traces of hair loss still did not speak.
Sister Defuline continued:
"I need your guidance to see if the path I'm taking is correct."
This time the nun finally spoke, but this statement was not correct, because the mouth of the spirit did not move, only the sound reached the ears of the two people:
"Devlin, trust the hero you choose."
Xia De, who was inexplicably mentioned, also looked at her, and "she" gave her evaluation:
He was probably around nine rings when he was alive.
"A nun who guards the flame will appear in every generation under the guidance of fate. But there are only a few heroes who can inherit the first flame. The original fire has chosen the destined hero for you."
Xia De felt that the hand of Sister Defulin that he was holding was very stable. She nodded slightly:
"I see."
"The nuns who look after the First Flame also have the obligation to serve and help the heroes who inherit the power of the First Flame. Daveline, you must understand your responsibilities."
Sister Defulyn nodded slightly again.
"It's not often that I get to see you like this. Let me take a look at you, Daveline."
The middle-aged nun spoke again, and Sister Defulin looked at Shad. Shad loosened his hand slightly, and then the nun pulled her hand out, and then Shad held the dark golden sickle himself.
This sickle is actually a part of the nun's soul. It is the first time that Shad knows that this kind of weapon can be touched by someone alone.
The nun didn't know what Shade was thinking. Her long gray hair slid over the blindfold. She took off the blindfold made of mithril with intricate patterns, then bent down and placed it at Shade's feet.
The chosen one of death walked towards death, and at the edge of the mudflat and the dark water, he faced the middle-aged nun who was also walking towards him.
Shad didn't know what Sister Defulin had seen, but he found that after a while, the sickle in his hand emitted a faint light, which made the darkness and death around them recede. They returned to the center of the brightly lit nun's cemetery on the top of the mountain, but there were real snowflakes dancing in the sky, and the ground cleaned by Sister Defulin had been dyed white.
The dark golden sickle disappeared in Shade's hand, and the nun was standing in front of the cliff. So he bent down, picked up the luxurious silver eye mask that looked more like a crown, and then came to the cliff and stood side by side with the nun.
Xia De held the crown and handed it to the nun. The nun seemed a little embarrassed. She turned sideways and put on the blindfold, letting her hair by her ears cover the sides of the blindfold. Then she turned to Xia De and said:
“I gained a lot.”
"Not far from the Twelve Rings, right?"
Shade asked with a smile, and Sister Defulin nodded slightly:
"Hero of the Fire Bearer, please come visit here more often when you have time. I can teach you a lot... This is my responsibility."
"Of course. I still need your help in learning my thaumaturgy - Moon Dream."
Xia De nodded immediately, and Sister Defulin asked again:
"Is there anything you want to ask me now?"
She probably felt obligated to give Xia De more help after being reminded by her teacher.
Xia De thought about it:
"How old are you?"
The indifferent nun just "looked" at him, and Xia De smiled embarrassedly:
"It seems that this joke is inappropriate. To be honest, I really have a problem. I recently got a large piece of mithril, but it will take some time to melt and forge it. Sister, I know that your eye patch is also made of mithril, so, can you let me wear your eye patch and feel the power of mithril alchemical items?"
This time Xia De was definitely not mistaken. Facing the sunlight above the sea of clouds in the distance, in the snow, a blush appeared on the indifferent face of this young nun who looked only in her twenties.
The air seemed to be still for a second, and then, the nun uttered a word that Shade had never expected:
"abnormal."
She walked normally and turned to the archway leading to the top of the mountain from the nun's cemetery, leaving the shocked Shade standing there thinking:
"Is this request... very unhealthy?"
Shad only heard "her" smile, but did not notice that Sister Defulin, who was walking away with her back to him, had a real smile on her face through the snow.