"The old horse left with the departed soul, and the departure of the soul made the boatman change direction and carry you to the safe shore. When the sun rose at dawn on the third day, you, who had a sleepless night, realized that your departed companions could not come back. You landed at the small pier, and in front of you was an endless scorching desert."
"Sorry, I have questions!"
Shade's voice sounded during the deliberate pause of the gods. The people who were listening to the story carefully looked at him, and then saw a man with golden cracks all over his body holding a cat on the cushion. The silver cat had disappeared, and the orange-white little Mia, who was held in Shade's arms, moved her head and squinted her eyes, looking very comfortable:
"I know that I will change back to my original form at dawn on the third day, just like I suddenly returned to my current form just now. But why am I wearing clothes? Oh, I'm not a pervert. What I mean is that this potion doesn't have the effect of making people wear clothes."
"Traveler, have you confused stories with reality? In this deep night, such confusion is very dangerous."
The dusty traveler smiled and asked him:
"We were just telling stories, and they were sound travel stories. How could you be naked in the presence of the ladies?"
What she said made so much sense that Shade couldn't even think of a reason to refute it. The witch smiled slightly, and the maid remained serious. The bard was sad while recording what happened here with a pen. He probably didn't know that after leaving, there would be no records or memories.
"Sorry, please continue."
"It's the third day of the journey. Since you didn't get enough rest the night before, your mental state is not good. But fortunately, you didn't travel long distances yesterday, so it didn't affect your physical strength. The departure of your companions still makes you sad, and the possibility of encountering corpses and undead things today has increased."
She motioned for everyone to draw a card, and this time the maid Clara drew it. Originally, Shade was worried that they would encounter pyramids or something like that during their trip to the desert, but fortunately, they were lucky this time, and the card showed an oasis:
"The travelers were lucky. They found an oasis right after entering the desert. You took a short rest in the oasis and replenished your food and water. The water replenishment made you confident that you could walk out of the desert, but the scorching sun was still burning your bodies."
It was still dark around them, but Xia De inexplicably felt his body getting hot. Fortunately, the scene described in the story was very different from the reality at that time, so the impact on them this time was smaller.
The god signaled everyone to continue drawing cards. This time, it was the witch Aleila Andriana who drew the card, and the card was actually a mirror.
"The scenery of the desert trip is boring and monotonous. The joy of discovering an oasis in the morning soon dissipates under the blowing of the wind and sand. When the scorching sun shines on you in the afternoon, you just want to leave here as soon as possible. At this time, the unicorn discovered a brand new oasis in the distance, but when you hurried over, you found that it was just a mirage."
"Mirages are not bad, at least they are not dangerous."
Xia De comforted the witch, saying that the lady seemed to have always had bad luck.
However, things were much more complicated than Shade thought:
"Travelers who strayed into a mirage soon discovered that it was not simply a natural phenomenon. Illusions and disordered space surrounded you, preventing you from moving forward. No matter where you walked, you would return to your original position. The heat and thirst were tormenting you. If you did not leave quickly, your journey would end here. Now, what would you do?"
God asked everyone, and the witch covered her forehead and said:
"What bad luck... Unicorns have the ability to break illusions. Since I have brought a group of people here, I will lead everyone out. The traveler under the moon taught the unicorn how to use his power. Now I will try to find the right way."
After she finished speaking, she saw Xia De and the cat in his arms looking at her, so Miss Andriana asked suspiciously:
"What's wrong?"
The maid beside her reminded carefully:
"Miss, there's light under your hands."
So she took her hand away from her forehead, and found that her forehead was emitting golden light. Shade and the bard on the other side tried their best to keep their faces straight, not to show any strange expressions, to prevent the witch, who was obviously in a bad mood, from getting angry.
The god smiled and reminded:
"Unicorns' abilities aren't omnipotent, but at least you tried."
Three silver mirrors, about the size of the mirror above the sink in the Shade family's bathroom, appeared in front of the witch. The three mirrors reflected the unicorn and the loyal dog beside the unicorn, not the witch and the maid:
"Your ability to break illusions allows you to see three exits in front of you. Unfortunately, the unicorn's innate ability does not include a strong sense of space. You can only choose once. If you make a wrong choice, you will not be able to try a second time due to the severe consumption of your spirit. And if you fail to leave before this night, something terrible will happen."
The witch's expression immediately became serious. Seeing that the gods did not forbid her to cast spells, she tried to use her own power to check the three mirrors, but of course found nothing.
Shade, who was holding Mia, had almost completely understood the rules of this story. He reminded:
"This is the mirror of the story. No matter how powerful you are, you can't affect the story. You have to use the power of the story, the power of the unicorn."
“But I’m a human now.”
Miss Aleila Andriana said softly, but she knew that what Shade said made sense.
"No, you're not a human, you're a unicorn."
Shade said with certainty.
"Yes, miss, you are the unicorn."
The maid in the black dress beside her also agreed, and then the bard also expressed his agreement in a low voice.
Although the witch was unhappy about her race being changed at will, she did not say anything, but frowned and looked at the three silver mirrors in front of her. No one spoke for a while, and the golden light mark on the witch's forehead became brighter and brighter.
Until, the golden illusory horn actually appeared on her forehead. In an instant, her eyes saw a different scene in the mirror on the left. The witch groaned and lowered her head, and the light on her forehead disappeared:
"No, not the one on the left. I saw black dust, I saw the omen of death, not the left one."
"Miss."
The maid in the black dress supported her worriedly, and Miss Andriana quickly raised her head and said to Shade:
"Not only can we influence stories, stories can also influence us. Just now, I really found that I have the innate ability of a unicorn. It's not a temporary acquisition, but I really learned it. But I can be sure that my ancestors definitely did not have any unethical relationships with unicorns."
"In other words, the power in the story can also be obtained by us in reality?"
Shad raised his eyebrows, then lost interest. In the story, he didn't have any special abilities. The Moon Traveler was only part of his ability, and he didn't turn into a magical creature.
The bard was interested in the witch's point of view, but he had no idea what connection he had with the parrot. As for the maid Clara, she was more concerned about her master's safety.
"It's up to you now."
The witch continued to speak to Shade breathlessly:
"I can only see that the mirror on the left is not the exit. There are two left. You can pick any one."
"No, you just said that we outside the story can influence the inside of the story, just like on the first day of the journey, you bribed the old witch in the candy house with gems and let her let us go."
"But none of the items I have now can cope with the current situation."
The witch shook her head slightly.
"No, you do. Think carefully about what can give you guidance."
Xia De looked at her, and she suddenly realized and took out the cards that Xia De had just checked from her pocket:
"Yes, since this divination card led me here, it can continue to provide me with guidance... But how should I do it?"
Shade had never really used the power of the Vientiane cards, but he had seen others use these special cards:
"Put it in front of your eye, and then try to see through the remaining two mirrors again."
Shade guided the young witch, who then put the card on her face. She didn't quite understand how an ordinary card could discover its power, but when she focused her scattered mind and tried to capture the fleeting flash of inspiration with her inspiration, she suddenly found that an unusual scene really appeared in front of her:
"It's the mirror in the middle! I saw it. I saw the truth of the disordered space!"
She suddenly exclaimed.
Xia De smiled. If he found this card in the Sixth Epoch, he might be able to let the chosen one take it and uncover the secret of the chaotic space in the center of Green Lake Island.
"If you can still concentrate, please look at the woodland around us and see if you can see anything."
The witch did as she was told, pointing the cards at the surrounding woodland, and the gods did not stop them from wasting time doing so. The young witch frowned and gave her answer:
"I'm sorry, I can't tell. This place looks normal, but we both know it's definitely not normal."
Shade was not disappointed. After all, Miss Aleila Andriana was not the chosen one of the epic of the Sixth Era, but only the temporary owner of the Vientiane Card. It was still too difficult to peek into this lost forest related to the gods.
"The travelers chose the right direction and, led by the exhausted unicorn, finally walked out of the desert filled with illusions. They continued to move forward, and the sun gradually set in the distance of the horizon. When dusk came, the travelers set up camp to rest. So, will this night be peaceful?"
The god asked with a smile, and Shade looked at the bard, who nodded and reached out to touch the next card on the top of the deck. On that card was a lute.
"A relic in the shape of a lute?"
Xia De was suspicious and subconsciously tried to cover Xiaomia's ears with his hands, but the cat broke free.
The old knight's departure changed the bard. He mustered up his courage, lowered his head and asked the god:
"What kind of story will happen this night?"