The strong wind mixed with gravel blew towards him, and the sand on the roof surface rolled away like a tide. With his eyes narrowed, Shade raised his arm to cover his eyes, turned around and looked at the highest point of the roof, but there was no long-haired girl holding the silver-eyed cat that he missed.
Even though he had anticipated this situation, he still couldn't help but sigh.
So he bent over with great effort and walked up along the sloping roof, and then sat down where the long-haired Luvia in his dream had sat.
Looking up at this world filled with yellow sand, countless tiny pieces of building debris and corpses were floating in the dim yellow sky. The sun was hanging in the center of this horrific picture, but the sun was black, surrounded by white edges and a red halo on the outside. The black sun was like a cave entrance, with a fiery red line flowing down.
"It's exactly the same as in my dream, not exaggerated at all."
Even because this is the real world, this doomsday scene and that terrifying sun look even more shocking.
Looking up again, there was a huge floating island-like building surrounded by countless garbage and corpses. Gray clouds and storms enveloped it. Black lightning flashed between the rubble in the storm. Because the distance was too far, Shade could not see more details:
"Isn't this the floating island where the Zaras Academy of Literature is located?"
The sun and the floating island were far away, and the nearby city was still the same as in the dream. The wind and sand covered the wreckage of the buildings. Except for Saint Teresa Square, the buildings in other areas stood crookedly in the yellow sand. The western part of the city looked like it had been hit by a giant meteorite, and the black smoke in the northeast of the city was like dense tentacles dancing in the sky.
Even the houses around St. Teresa's Square, except for No. 6 where Shad lives, have suffered varying degrees of damage. The closer the house is to No. 6, the more intact it is.
But there are still living people here. In the city full of yellow sand, you can see people wearing cloaks and crouching, or things that look like people, moving slowly along the edge of the building. Xia De doesn't know how they survive here, but he thinks that these are the few survivors left.
He did not try to contact the survivors. Sound could not travel very far in the strong wind, and rashly using the "light magic" would probably attract something other than the survivors of the apocalypse.
Because he couldn't leave St. Teresa's Square, at this moment, Shad could hardly think of what else he could do here.
His eyes continued to move downwards, and finally looked at Saint Teresa's Square. The empty square was filled with old tables and chairs, the lower body of a human-shaped statue that had flown from nowhere and was deeply embedded in the ground, a damaged piano, and other miscellaneous items. In the center of the square, the fountain statue of a girl holding a water bottle was miraculously intact, but its body was also covered with fine cracks.
Since Treefather said that we can go back after defeating a strong enemy, then a strong enemy must exist. If the house is completely safe, then the only place where we might encounter a strong enemy is the square.
Looking at the square below, Xia De suddenly had a strange idea:
"I can't leave the square, the square is surrounded by houses, the square is very empty, and outside the square is the absolutely safe No. 6... With all these conditions added together, isn't Saint Teresa's Square an arena for the end of the world?"
With this thought in mind, he was almost certain that a "strong enemy" would appear when he entered the square.
His current condition was already very bad, there was no need to delay, it was the right time to face the enemy. If he wanted clues, he could come back next time.
But Shade also faces another problem, which is how to "defeat the enemy" with a key. Shufu never equivocates in the information he gives, and all the descriptions are very accurate. Therefore, Shade cannot defeat the enemy and then kill him with the key. The key itself must defeat the enemy. Although the outsider of the Sixth Ring has mastered many spells and magic, he has never learned the ability of "flying needle technique".
"This key must have another use that I don't know about, otherwise there is no reason to use the key to defeat the enemy. Although long-haired Luvia can't tell me about the past and some secrets, she certainly won't be unwilling to tell me even this. Has she ever given me any hints?"
Shade tried to recall every detail of the conversation with long-haired Luvia in the dream three months ago, especially the conversation before and after talking about this special time key. Because the two were making out at the time, Shade's memory went off track for a few seconds, and then he found a few key sentences from the conversation:
“You don’t belong to any era.”
He held the key and whispered, but the key did not respond.
"Hold me and discover my secrets."
Still no response, Xia De hesitated for a moment, because there was only one last sentence left:
"May the first silver moon guide the final direction."
Buzz!
The key in his hand suddenly vibrated, and then it broke away from Xia De's hand, wrapped in a ball of silver light and came in front of Xia De. Xia De stood up from the roof in shock, but the key wrapped in the small round silver light ball did not undergo any other changes, but Xia De could feel the power contained in it, eager to show its true form.
"Is this really the Word of Ascension of Long-haired Luvia? Wait, this key wasn't born naturally at all, was it made by Luvia herself?"
Although this sounds incredible, it is entirely possible if Long-haired Luvia really inherited everything as he thought.
The knowledge in the Witch's Resonance·Chloyin and the Witch's Resonance·Filiana tells Shad that the things in front of him require specific responses and recognized qualifications before they can be used. This is a very high-end technology that combines alchemy, divine arts, and relic containment.
Since Long-haired Luvia asked Shade to obtain the key, Shade was certainly qualified to use it. So he coughed, opened his arms seriously, and said to the key wrapped in silver light in front of him:
"In the name of your master, Luvia Anat, please show me your power."
The huge circular ritual pattern of the sun, moon and stars that had appeared in the ruined tower, the Night Temple and Edwards' letters appeared under Shade's feet, composed of golden lines. At the same time, the black key merged with the silver light, and then deformed and stretched to both sides in the light like a seed sprouting.
Grab it.
"She" reminded softly, and Shade immediately reached out and grabbed the glowing long staff lying flat in front of him.
The light and the pattern under his feet disappeared together, and what he grabbed was indeed a long black staff. The staff was made of the same black wood as the key, and was about the same length as Shade's height, and about the same thickness as Shade's wrist. The staff itself looked like a newly sprouted sapling, except that it had no roots at the bottom and branches extending in all directions.
Although the stick itself is not very straight, when it is erected, at least the line connecting the upper and lower ends is perpendicular to the ground plane. The reason why the upper and lower ends can be distinguished, in addition to relying on basic botany to judge, is that the downward end of the stick is inlaid with a black wooden ball of almost the same thickness as the stick body; the upward end of the stick is a curved wooden hook, or in the shape of a question mark.
The shape is simple, and the surface has naturally formed wood texture, but it feels surprisingly smooth to hold. It is different from the simplicity of the Night Watch, the complexity of the Smallwell Code in the hands of Miss Pavo, the vice president of the Truth Society, and the sharpness of any other mundane weapon.
This wooden stick itself possesses the most primitive and simple power.
Because the black time key itself is a relic, this wooden staff with a natural and dilapidated beauty is also a relic. In other words, it is simply a staff that enhances the effect of spellcasting. Although similar weapons are not common in the Sixth Age, there are many descriptions of such weapons in the lore of witches in the Fifth Age.
"Like the Night's Watch, it can also enhance the effects of magic and hexes. What level of relic is this?"
Shade stroked the surface of the wooden staff, gripped it with his left hand to feel the power, and adapted to the characteristics of the element:
"Also, how can I turn this back into a key?"
The existence of the wooden staff form requires Shade's spirit to maintain, but not a lot. According to Shade's estimation, if he lets go of it, it will turn back into the key form in about ten minutes, but Shade thinks there should be a more convenient way to directly transform.
However, since he couldn't figure it out, he might as well solve the current problem first. He looked down at the square covered by yellow sand and said softly:
"Life Ring."
The burning steam mist seemed to be dyed by the yellow sand, and a huge brass wheel ring emerged in the whistle and bell. Xia De rarely had the opportunity to show his life ring and fight in the strongest form. At this time, no one else was present, so he could use his power at will.
He dropped the frog legs, then leaped suddenly, jumped from the roof to the square and landed lightly.
The sand and gravel hitting his face caused a slight pain. The chaotic elements and spirits reduced Shade's keen perception to the lowest level.
He did not look around, but waited patiently. Sure enough, the sound of a huge force hitting the door soon appeared. Shade turned his head to look at the house next to his own, and saw that the door of the house belonging to his neighbors, the old couple Smith, was being hit hard from the inside.
Finally, with a loud bang, the door panel was smashed into pieces and flew everywhere. The monster with ragged clothes on its body also squeezed out of the door frame.