"Can you control her temporarily?"
Sirius, who was in the shield with Shade, asked, and Shade nodded:
"Imprisoning Light!"
The silver halo flew out and directly covered the neck of the smoking Hillis. The real Hillis had a strange look on his face, but still took a few steps forward and hugged her to prevent her from falling to the ground:
"I know you hate him, but he is a father after all. Before he left, I was not raised by wind and rain."
The figure with black smoke seemed to sob a few times, and then disappeared. Some white threads attached to Shiris's wrists. She did not avoid them, but felt the resentment and memories of the past.
"For us, the ring sorcerers who believe in our Lord the Forgotten Old Man, the power of memory is more important than for other ring sorcerers."
As if afraid that Shad would worry, Hillis explained to Shad, and Shad also understood that Hillis's power had been enhanced.
When Hillis fully realized her new power, she looked at Shade behind her. Shade could not understand the meaning of her eyes at this moment:
"Let's get on with it."
There was no enemy in the third confession cabinet, but the same male voice with a hint of lake was heard from it.
So Shad and Hillis went in again, and after closing the door, Hillis made a second confession in the darkness:
"Father, I am guilty. I know that only my own sacrifice can save this land, but I am greedy for the warmth of the living and the prosperity of the world. There are people, many people who have volunteered to sacrifice, but I... resist this choice."
"you... ... "
Shad tried to speak but the blonde simply covered his mouth.
A voice from the other side of the inner wall said:
"Cherishing our own lives is the best way for us, as mortals, to be grateful to the world. Maybe sacrifice is effective, but maybe there are other ways."
"Yes, there are other ways... but they will cost others their lives. I..."
"I understand. So if it really comes to the last moment, are you willing to sacrifice yourself?"
"Yes, to save those I love."
"So, you are not selfish."
There was the sound of metal rubbing against the ground again, and Shad took the second piece of mirror fragment from the gap under his feet.
He said to Hillis very seriously:
"I've already said it, I have a way to solve the problem, it's not your turn to sacrifice yourself."
The young girl looked at him in the dark, at a very close distance:
"I will obey you. But what if, what if you fail?"
"I will not fail."
“Pride is the original sin.”
Shade blinked:
"If I fail, it means I'm already dead. After that, I can't control what you want to do. But someone has to sacrifice. If I sacrifice, I hope my death will have some value, at least there won't be a second sacrifice... ... The premise for all this to happen is that I'm already dead. Do you want to discuss this topic with me? Do you want to talk to me about how I will die?"
The blonde girl's pretty face showed a little sadness:
"You won't die. No one will die."
Shade smiled:
"You see, this topic does not need to be discussed. So, whether you need to make sacrifices or not, does not need to be discussed either."
Together they walked out of the third confessional and opened the fourth.
Because of his previous experience, Xia De immediately dodged to the side after opening the door, avoiding the memory threads shot out from the inside.
This time, the person who walked out of the door was Hillis, shouting "I don't want to die".
Shade still subdued her with the Light of Confinement, and Sirius stepped forward and hugged the girl who looked exactly like him:
"Don't panic, don't be sad, we all crave the warmth of the living, but I'm sure I won't die, because..."
She looked back at Shade and said nothing, and the girl she was holding, who was smoking, also looked at Shade. After a moment of silence in the dark confessional, Shade heard someone say "thank you".
The girl with black smoke disappeared again, and the white memory thread was still attached to Shiris's body. And this time, the life ring behind Shiris was directly revealed. The brass enlightenment element representing the power of civilization engraved the seven-ring enlightenment spirit rune sacrifice for her.
The blonde girl pursed her lips and looked at her empty arms. It took her a long time to stand up. Although she didn't look at Shade at this moment, Shade somehow understood her inner weakness. So he walked over and wanted to hug her, but was dodged by Sirius:
"I think I can still hold on."
So the two of them came to the fifth confession cabinet, and it was still the same vague voice that asked what they wanted to confess.
After entering the confession cabinet this time, Hillis was silent for a long time before saying:
"Father, I am guilty. I am... jealous."
"Who are you jealous of?"
This time, Hillis was not as determined as the previous two times:
"My best friend. I'm jealous of her beauty, her courage, and her relationship with my other best friend."
"She" suddenly chuckled in Xia De's ear, and Xia De immediately understood what was going on. So he pretended that he was deaf at the moment, and shrank into the corner without saying a word.
"I know it's wrong, but I'm still jealous. She has almost everything, and I have nothing. She is still my best friend and always will be, but she and him..."
The man in that Mohu voice actually laughed:
"In love and war, any means, any emotions, can be forgiven... as long as it is legal. Sirius, there is nothing wrong with this. Go after your heart. Don't, absolutely don't, feel guilty about your life."
With a friction sound, the last piece of the mirror slid out from under his feet. After Xia De picked it up, he found that the three pieces just formed a complete mirror.
The mirror was not a relic, but some kind of strange alchemical item. Unfortunately, Shade was not its owner, so even if he used the mirror to look at himself, nothing happened.
After leaving the fifth small prayer cabinet, Shade handed the mirror to Hillis. The latter pointed the mirror at her face, and then her hand suddenly shook, causing the mirror to fall directly to the ground. She stepped back in fear, and after being supported by Shade, they saw the mirror on the ground radiating white light.
A figure emerged from the light. It was not a stranger, but Mr. Lathers, the father of Sirius. He was wearing a brown robe and looked exactly like a guardian. However, when Shade noticed his expression and saw the concerned look on his face when he looked at Sirius, he inexplicably understood that this was definitely not a guardian without emotions.
"Father... ... "
Hillis seemed to squeeze out the word from his throat, and Shade was wondering which version of Mr. Lathers this was. Fortunately, he didn't need to ask, and Mr. Lathers who appeared from the mirror light took the initiative to speak:
"Sirius, you have grown up... I am really happy to meet you, but your appearance also means... I am the memory separated by the magic of the cult before taking the last step on the road to the guardian trial."
The expressions of concern, sadness and guilt on the middle-aged man's face were definitely not fake:
"I left my last memory here, hoping to guide you to move forward in the possible future, and also to... Sorry, Hillis, I know what decision I made and what it means, but sometimes, adults have to face choices that they have to face."
"Can you talk?"
Xia De finally asked, and the figure looked at Xia De:
"It has not been more than fifteen years since I left this memory, and the memory is not worn out very seriously. I can have a simple conversation."
He noticed Shad's action of supporting Hillis, but did not comment.
"You left me and the sect because..."
"For this land. During my investigation, I learned about the existence of the guardians, realized the power of the Heart of the Earth, and understood the significance of their actions."
"Why don't you just leave without saying goodbye? At least you can leave a letter."
Shade also asked, then noticed that the girl in his arms was trembling slightly.
"All the previous guardians disappeared inexplicably during their lifetime. We cannot leave any clues about our departure. If you want to find us, you can only go through trials and tests step by step."
Mr. Lathers's expression turned serious when he said this:
"Sirius, now that you have come this far, you should understand what I am talking about. If you are willing to continue, I will bless you and I am very happy that my daughter has chosen this path. The next target is in the basement of this church. You need to solve the riddle I left behind."
"What if she doesn't want to?"
Shade asked, and Mr. Lathers seemed to have expected him to ask this question:
"Siris has grown up. I have given her the responsibility and the right to choose. Although I am still her father, I no longer have any power to restrict her or plan her life. If Sirius is unwilling to proceed to the next step, I respect her decision and hope..."
Looking at his daughter:
"I hope you will be happy in your life, my daughter. I'm sorry that I can't watch you grow up, but if you have made up your mind, just leave, get married and have children like normal people, and then watch them grow up healthily. Don't become like me, an irresponsible adult. Don't care about this church, take the Golden Dawn, leave the Randall Valley, and never come back, ever..."
The last sentence was very vague, and the white light emerging from the mirror began to flicker until it suddenly went out. In the last vague words, Shade only heard the word "sorry".
The disappearance of the light plunged the prayer room into darkness again, but Shade could still see Sirius's face. The blonde stared at the mirror in front of her in a daze, and then Shade sighed.