"The avalanche could not hinder the determination of the travelers to reach the destination. All the travelers worked together to help you survive the avalanche. Although you feel physically and mentally exhausted, fortunately there is not much road left. At noon, you set up camp in a safe place to rest, and look forward to what you will encounter in this last day of adventure. After a short rest, you will set off again. What destination will the unicorn who obtained the map lead you to?"
The god signaled the witch to pick up the next card, but Shade asked the witch to wait a moment. He asked Chloe Yin beside him:
"Klo Yin, what are you doing in the snowy mountains?"
The firelight made her long silver hair even more elegant. The petite witch huddled up against Shade and shook her head gently:
“Don’t worry about me. Even if I can’t accomplish what I want to do this time, I can go again next time. Go do your things first.
She said sympathetically.
"No, no, I want to know in advance what else is waiting for us on the mountain."
So Chloe Yin nodded and introduced under the gaze of everyone:
"I came to this nameless snow mountain to explore an ancient legend here for the academy. According to the legend, a witch wandering on the top of the mountain has the chance to encounter an ancient temple. And that temple has the power to exchange itself for the happiness of others."
"Another wish?"
This reminded Shad of the bottle he encountered while traveling on the ship.
"No, it's not a wish, nor is it a malicious trap. According to local legends and the academy's preliminary investigation, the ancient temple on the top of the snowy mountain is most likely the place where the ancient god of fate, Mr. Huan, was once worshipped. This is a place to reverse and change fate, but it is also a place to pay a price. Therefore, the academy asked me, a demigod witch, to come and investigate in person, although I have not found any ancient buildings so far... Of course, I was asked to come because my country is the closest to here."
Mr. Ancient God Ring, also known as Ouroboros, is a god worshipped by the Prophet Association, in charge of the cycle of fate and other functions. So far, Shade's understanding of this ancient god only comes from Luvia's words. And the consequences of wanton manipulation of fate were already clear to the outsider last summer.
He looked at the witch Miss Andriana and the black-dressed maid Clara with some worry. The light from the swaying campfire made their faces flicker, and they also guessed what they would face next.
Chloe Yin said to them softly:
"I don't know what the current condition of the person you are looking for is, but if he can still be saved, I will help."
"Thanks."
Miss Andriana thanked him softly and reached out to turn over the card, but suddenly asked Xia De:
"Your Majesty said that the temple is difficult to find. Does this mean that even if we climb to the top of the mountain, we may not be able to find it?"
"Yes, so, we need clues."
The witch nodded slightly, picked up the Vientiane·Space with one hand and placed it in front of her eyes, and then turned over the next card. As expected, the card showed an ancient temple standing on the top of the blizzard mountain.
This is completely different from the sacrificial site where the spiritual sect is located. Due to the lack of activity and maintenance for many years, the temple depicted on the card has almost become a ruin, with only a small amount of building debris still standing stubbornly in the wind and snow.
The god spoke:
"The unicorn broke through the snow and finally led the travelers to the destination on the map. What greeted them ahead was the ruins of the ancient temple. Through the introduction of the silver cat, you know that mortals once sacrificed fate here, but that is a story of the old times. Now, all that is left for you is this ruin. So, on the afternoon of the last day of the journey, should we go around the ruins and continue on, or search the ruins carefully?"
God asked with a smile, and this question was directed to the brown-haired witch. Aleila Andriana answered with certainty:
"We need to search this ruin."
The surrounding scenery did not change, which meant that there was actually no need for everyone to take action:
"The unicorn made a decision, and the travelers got busy. The loyal dog sniffed the scent, the parrot flew into the sky to look for traces, the unicorn wandered alone in the ruins, and the traveler under the moon and the silver cat searched for the remains of the miracle together."
Everyone's senses were having problems at this moment. They were still sitting in the camp, but their vision, hearing, smell, touch, and perception of the elements and spirits seemed to have really discovered the ruins.
They saw a group of people coming to the top of the snowy mountain in the wind and snow. The unicorn used a card and its golden horn to open a road that did not exist before. So, the group of people passed through the narrow and winding icy path and came to the huge arch guarded by two wind-eroded statues.
Even though they had not been there in person, standing in front of the archway, it was as if they had really touched the trajectory of fate. The temple had become a ruin, but the ancient power still existed here. They all prayed softly for a few sentences before entering the archway to investigate separately.
"I smell my sister's perfume, she's definitely here!"
Clara, the maid in a black dress, said with certainty.
"There are no signs of fighting here, and I didn't find any traces of Lux's magic."
The witch said regretfully.
"I saw the most complete building remains in the direction of the top of the mountain in the center of the ruins!"
The bard shouted a warning, as if everyone was really in a blizzard on the snowy mountains.
"Yes, we got there."
Xia De looked at the air in front of him and added:
"Chloe Yin and I saw it. We saw a table and ... a stone statue, a female statue. She looked exactly like Miss Clara."
"Be careful. Even though the ancient gods are gone, the power of fate still remains here. This makes me very uneasy. Everyone should stay away from that table and do not touch that stone statue easily."
Chloe Yin reminded everyone.
After confirming what they were looking for, the abnormal senses of the five people disappeared. Amid the slight vibration of the ground, the table and the female stone statue that Shade and Chloe Yin saw appeared near the campfire.
Except for the god who was still sitting upright, everyone stood up and gathered around. The stone table had been exposed to the wind and sun for countless years, and was now covered with dense holes from wind erosion. The table was rectangular, and the female stone statue stood at one end of the short side. The lifelike expression on her face was a smile of relief, as if she was still alive the moment before.
"elder sister!"
The maid, who had been calm all along, ignored Chloe Yin's warning and hugged the statue, but she turned into a black hound in the middle of the hug. Because of her height, she could only lean against the statue's feet, but fortunately nothing happened. The light from the bonfire illuminated the two entangled shadows, one large and one small, but it could not melt the snow on the side of the statue's shoulder.
No one dared to touch the table. The unicorn came first and touched the stone statue with its horn. Then it said to Shade, who was trying to stop the two cats from fighting—mostly Mia was doing it:
"The soul is still inside the statue."
Shad's experience in the Randall River Valley earlier this year taught him a lot about these living people who were turned into stone statues.
He nodded:
"If the soul is still there, I can try to rescue it. I have a magical power that can turn stone and soil into living flesh and blood."
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and pressed on the arm of the stone statue. He did not sense any elemental reaction, which meant that the stone statue was just an ordinary stone:
“Active clay.”
A brilliant golden light burst out from Shade's hand, and the petrified arm actually turned into a pure white arm in an instant. But then the restored part of the body turned into stone again. Shade tried to use magic again, but it had no effect.
"Don't try to cast a spell. She paid the price and was turned into stone. It's not that your power has no effect, but after the magic took effect, she was petrified again. She is destined to be stone. Fate has given her such an ending, and you can't change it."
The silver cat that was driven to Shade's shoulder by Mia reminded him, and stretched out its paw to point to the other side:
"That is a very ancient power, connected with this table."
"Destiny?"
The black hound transformed by the maid was perched at the feet of the statue and refused to leave. The unicorn was still trying to cast a spell to remove the petrification, but she was not able to succeed even for a moment like Shade.
It was the parrot transformed by the bard who first discovered the clue:
"Look, there is a complete pattern under the dust on the table."
It flew in the air to see more carefully, so the silver cat in Shad's arms blew a breath. The strong wind blew away the dust on the table. Shad walked to the table and saw the criss-crossing patterns on the stone table, connected to each other to form squares, like a Rhodes card table, or the "Life Game" table he had seen with Mr. Riddle in the Dreadfort.
The dust that was blown away did not fall to the ground with the snowflakes, but instead gathered at the other end of the table to form a human figure without facial features. Because there was not much dust on the table, the human figure was quite thin, and the dust that made up its body was trembling all the time. Even through its body, one could still see the foggy forest behind it.
This was not the effect of Chloe Yin's spell. The power of miracles and fate made everyone alert. The trembling dust moved inside its body in a strange trajectory, like stars, or like dense raindrops falling into a pool, causing ripples.
The dust figure had no intention of attacking them. It placed its hands on the table:
"You have trespassed into the temple of destiny without permission. What kind of destiny is guiding you?"
Shade was most familiar with this kind of strange conversation. He coughed and replied:
"Lost relatives, lost lovers, we have come here to find the girl cursed by fate. Gatekeeper of fate, can you tell us why she turned into stone?"
The figure made of dust "looked" at Shade:
"It turns out that the moon's light shines here. This ancient light is so nostalgic. The cursed girl came across the extraordinary gate for her lover to gain more power and for her sisters. She gave herself and gained wishes."
The answer was so simple and clear that even Chloe Yin, who knew the least about the matter, understood it.
"You see, her wish has come true. The witch has gained the power of the unicorn, and the maid in the black dress has transcended the mortal world. Fate has always been so fair, and this has never changed."
The dust figure added.
"I want to get my sister back in exchange for me! I deserve it. I was jealous of my sister. It was me who gave her the advice to go out and find strength. It was me, it was me... I am willing to give everything as long as my sister can come back."
The black hound jumped onto the table and spoke to the dusty figure.
"Of course not. Fate has already made its choice and it cannot be changed."
"Then use me..."
The unicorn said, using his horn to pick up the hound from the table and throwing it onto his back:
"It's my fault. If I had discovered the problem in time, there wouldn't be any rift between the sisters. This is my fault. Please let me atone for it."