The cracks in the ground gradually closed, burying the bones in the earth. Above the charred plain where the flames gradually died out, the sun appeared in the sky, and life gradually emerged on the barren land. However, this had nothing to do with Shade and Miss Higgins in the Black Mist Camp.
The crack on the top of the bell tower disappeared, and the Black Mist Camp was still the same Black Mist Camp.
"Could this old god have known this would be the outcome when he first made the deal with the knight?"
Xia De thought silently in his heart, but he didn't ask this time. The story ended in a relatively satisfactory way. If you are too curious about the hidden process, everyone will be bored.
As for himself, he already had all four six-ring spiritual runes: Miracle - Charm, Blasphemy - Indifference, Enlightenment - Clock Tower Lovers, Whisper - End. He was only one step away from promotion.
But he still needs to wait, wait for the six-ring puzzle to appear because of the touch in his heart, wait for the puzzle to achieve physical fusion because of love and reluctance, and become a part of "Fairy Tale Town".
The fusion of physical bodies and the effect of "Thorn of Eros", once the two-in-one is achieved, he will have completely new options for the choice of the chosen one of space.
The transaction between the mortals was now complete, and the purpose of Shade coming to the Black Mist Camp had been completely fulfilled. There was not much time left for this adventure, and it was time to say goodbye.
As he sighed softly in his heart, the god pointed to the burning bonfire:
"Go away. I am very satisfied with this deal. Cherish your last 365 days. When you walk hand in hand towards the end of death, I will be waiting for you there and ask you whether you think this deal is worth it."
The souls of Mrs. Miles and Mr. Jackman bowed to the gods again. The door opened in the flames and pointed to their departure. This time, the gods did not charge them any price.
"Thanks you."
Then the two souls bowed to Shade and thanked him. Shade shook his head slightly:
"Your story also answered my doubts. I wish you happiness. Although a wasted life cannot be recovered, please cherish the last 365 days."
"No, it was definitely not a life wasted."
The knight said to Shade, and Mrs. Miles smiled and nodded. They thanked Shade for the last time, then walked towards the door hand in hand.
The two souls disappeared, and Miss Higgins slowly picked up her backpack from the ground before saying goodbye to Shade. She seemed really reluctant to leave:
"That's right. If someone like you really existed, the Witch Emperors might start an all-out war over it."
She said this to Xia De, with a serious look on her face:
"I also learned a lot from this adventure. Not all men are bad. The boy who wanted to kill me lost his heart because of hatred, but Mrs. Miles's lover proved that true love knows no gender. When I have money in the future, I will probably find a way to push the witches to not discriminate against men so much..."
This is of course difficult, because this kind of "discrimination" is not derived from cultural and psychological factors, it is a real curse. However, since she wants to do something, maybe she can really bring changes to the world:
"Good-bye then, Mr. Shad Hamilton."
Because Shade had just said his name, she could also pronounce Shade's name in the language of this era. She waved at Shade and tightened the straps of her bag. Then, the witch did not forget to say goodbye to the god in a reserved manner. She took a last look at Shade, and just as she was about to step into the door in the fire, she turned back and said to Shade:
"You have a lot of witch lovers, right? You mentioned that, and I can sense that you'll be very popular with the witches."
Xia De nodded:
"Yes."
"Witches' views on love are different from those of normal girls."
She winked at Shade:
"Although people always say that witches' love is short-lived, if a witch really falls in love with a person, loves her body and is attracted to her soul, then their love will become very persistent, no worse than Mrs. Miles's."
She gave Shade her advice:
"If you can win the love of the cursed witches, please cherish it. But at the same time, don't hesitate. If they choose you, they will definitely not regret it. If you hesitate, you will be laughed at by the girls."
After saying that, he waved to Shade again and walked into the door in the fire. Shade could not see what was on the other side of the door, but he could hear sentences like "They are back" and "Hurry, His Majesty will be happy to hear this news, maybe the injury will get better" before the door disappeared.
"I wish her good health."
Shade said softly, there was not much time left and he and the god were the only ones left on the top of the bell tower.
The black scale had already floated in front of him, but God asked at this moment:
"If I give you two choices now, first, take away this ordinary scale, second, take away the most important rib in the fused skeleton, which one would you choose?"
From the perspective of maximizing benefits, the second option is of course the best. The symbolism of the skeleton at this time is almost equivalent to the original text of the ancient fairy tale "Clock Tower Lovers".
But Shade still shook his head:
"I chose the first one. This is the decision I made when I first came here. After all, what kind of gift would you give a girl for her eighteenth birthday is human bones?"
The golden apple obtained from the Darkmoon Circus and the scale in front of him were the birthday gifts he prepared for Yin Luna.
"Look, since you've made this choice, what have you been confused about all this time?"
The golden god asked, and Xia De asked in surprise:
"What did you say? Wait a minute, speaking of which, the price of Miss Higgins's transaction was transferred to me just now, which was also your doing, right? What do you want to do by targeting my view of love?"
To be honest, he was indeed angry at the time, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he got. After all, not only was he scolded by the girls, but he also almost fell down and couldn't get up again. But the gods were willing to give the couple a relatively perfect ending, and even indirectly helped him gain the power of "Clock Tower Lovers". The price was just that he answered a simple question, so he was not angry anymore.
"Wait, this isn't some kind of trading routine, is it?"
The god just smiled and gently pressed the scale pattern on the front of his robe with his right hand, completely ignoring his question:
"You are leaving too. I just promised to give you a gift. Now you can choose. My followers are very fond of the power called the Midas Touch. Are you interested in it?"
Shade wanted to agree, but then he thought of another thing Luvia had mentioned:
"The Midas Touch seems to be related to the Philosopher's Stone's ability to transform items into gold. If possible, I would like you to give me some knowledge on how to make the Philosopher's Stone."
The god of wealth and trade smiled even more:
"Greedy, you are indeed greedier than I thought. I cannot give you the method of making the Philosopher's Stone, but if you do not want to pursue power, I can prepare another gift of knowledge for you."
The huge bronze bell that was leaning against the wall floated up, and then quickly shrank to the size of a palm. The rust on the surface peeled off, revealing rows of golden carvings. The small bell came in front of Xia De, and Xia De looked carefully, and there was actually written on it the purpose of the Philosopher's Stone.
There are three uses described here. The first is to make an elixir of life. Of course, the potion cannot really make people immortal. The specific effect depends on the amount of Philosopher's Stone used. But even if it is only a fingernail-sized amount of Philosopher's Stone, the effect of making the potion is quite amazing.
The second is to use the Philosopher's Stone as a disposable item, to assist in casting spells, and to make the effects of the spells reach unimaginable extreme effects;
The third use is how to use the Philosopher's Stone to transform gold. Although this use is extremely wasteful, the knowledge is absolutely precious.
Although the small bell contained valuable knowledge, it was still an ordinary object, so it could be taken away by Shade. So Shade took the scale and the small bell and thanked the god again.
The white fog had already wrapped around him, and the last adventure of the Black Mist Camp had ended. Thinking about it now, the old god he encountered in this adventure was indeed different. Shade knew very well that the other party was definitely not a standard good god, but he did not feel any resentment towards this god.
With such thoughts in mind, before leaving, Shade asked the god standing by the fire one last question:
"Excuse me, do you know 'Desire'?"
This time God finally spoke personally:
"That was a story from a long time ago."
The white fog filled every corner of the field of vision, except for the illusory tree in front that seemed to connect the sky and the earth. In the windless environment, the sound of rustling branches and leaves swayed.
Not counting the black time key that led to the past, "Fifth Era 1576 - Black Mist Camp" is the 11th time key that Shade has experienced so far. Having seen so many stories and experienced so many adventures, when he saw the giant tree that symbolized the "Shadow of the Father of Infinite Trees" appear before his eyes again, he still felt infinite melancholy.
This time investigation is unique compared to the past. The boy who was killed was the first person who was targeted by Shade in the past, while the remaining old man and the witch Miss Higgins both had a good ending.
He has been thinking about the meaning of these past stories to himself.
At first, he thought that Tree Father wanted him to witness stories from the past and make up for the gaps in history; later, he realized that these adventures would bring him huge benefits and unexpected power; and now, the more he knows and understands, he realizes that Tree Father seems to want to rely on himself to connect and penetrate the discontinuous Fifth Age and Sixth Age.