"Yes, may I ask, is it possible for a mortal to become a god?"
Having his thoughts exposed, Shade did not deny it. While asking, he raised his head and faced the old god. The golden cracks on his body were like the afterglow of a bonfire, and were so similar to the bright gold in the god's hair.
Miss Feliana seemed to understand something at this moment.
The god still smiled, and he gave the stranger an answer:
"It's impossible. At least in this era and your era, it's absolutely impossible."
Xia De nodded:
"Then I..."
“That’s a question that can’t be answered.”
"Then you..."
"In the distant past, I was once a saint, walking in the material world with the great one, the Tree Father. At that time, I was Princess Taviel of the elven royal family. You should understand from the way mortals address me that I am only a god of space. The Kiss of the Tree describes the story of how the ancient god who has gone away, the Infinite Tree Father, gave me some of his power, allowing me to possess the priesthood of time and nature."
His voice is like an ethereal voice singing, or like the most peaceful lullaby in the silent night, or more like old pages in a silent and deserted library reciting stories of the past.
The Moon Witch had already closed her eyes, lowered her head, and covered her ears. Miss Felena closed her eyes and tilted her head. The golden cracks on Shade's body completely appeared. He still wanted to explore further:
"You are originally a god. The ancient gods are gods that have existed since the birth of the world. So what exactly are the old gods..."
“This is also an unanswerable question.”
The god said, and Shade knew that he was a little too greedy, so he nodded slightly:
"Thank you for your answer. Praise you, the Gate of the Ancient Radiance."
He still has many questions, and he will encounter more old gods to answer questions about the truth of the world. This is probably also a path of sublimation, representing Shade's approach to the essence of the world.
The god stopped talking, and Shade looked at Miss Felena:
"Do you have any questions? If not, let's complete the ritual."
"No, please wait a moment."
The witch said unexpectedly, she opened her dark golden eyes and looked at Shade:
"I didn't expect that you would help us in the end, but I thought that after the ceremony is completed, you will leave?"
This question also made the young Moon Witch look at Shade. Shade wanted to smile, but he couldn't do it:
"Yes, I think my mission is accomplished."
He didn't know what to say, and Miss Felena pulled out a book, or a notebook, from her robe:
“This is a gift for you.”
She handed the notebook to Xia De and blinked. Although she was helpless, Xia De really wanted to leave:
"Since you call me teacher, I will of course teach you some knowledge. However, your power system is completely different from ours, and the names of alchemical raw materials and potion materials have changed a lot over the long years. Here is some knowledge that I think may be useful to you, as well as some of my experiences. I think this will be useful."
"Did you prepare this in advance?"
Xia De took the notebook and was a little surprised that he had the honor of receiving an item from the founder of the academy.
“We prepared it together.”
She will look at her student... the real student. The Moon Witch smiled at Shade, and the desolate look on her face became even stronger:
"Well, goodbye, future man."
Miss Feliana nodded, and the "four" around the campfire stood up together.
When the Moon Witch stood up, she almost fell, and Shade reached out to help her. Then Miss Felena and the Moon Witch stood behind Shade, because as the god stood up, the almost overwhelming sense of oppression made it impossible for them to stand.
"But where is the door?"
The witches asked in a low voice.
Shade thought for a moment, then pulled out a card and threw it gently. The card flew toward the treetop, cut off three leaves, and flew back into Shade's hand.
He put the cards away and then opened his palm to catch the leaves.
Xia De distributed the leaves to the witches, and the three of them put the leaves in front of their eyes. The leaves blocked their sight, but also allowed them to see the door frame with a golden halo on the thick trunk of the ancient tree.
“It is true.”
Shade stepped forward and tried to use the key to open the door, but the power of the spell had no effect on the door. If opening Mr. Jude's safe in Coldwater Harbor was like pushing a big rock, then now it was like pushing the whole world.
He summoned his life ring and used the space spirit rune to illuminate the door frame, but there was still no response.
"What else did you prepare?"
Xia De turned around and asked the witches again. They leaned together and shook their heads slightly, obviously having forgotten as well.
There was no information about this step in the information provided by the Guiding Light Hermitage. Shad carefully recalled the fairy tale, searching his memory for the endings of the different versions that Dorothy had told him.
"In the flames, the princess and the tree came to an end..."
This was the content of this Saturday night class, and Xia De remembered it very clearly. Thinking of this, Xia De looked at the cluster of red-gold flames:
"Did you summon this flame using your witch power? I remember you said that this flame would protect you from being engulfed by the darkness of the Thousand Trees Forest."
Shade pointed to the bonfire, and Miss Felina gave the answer:
"We brought the flame in a small jar. All I remember is that it could drive away the darkness."
"That is, it is possible that it has another purpose."
Shade concluded, looking at the god who was standing silently beside him, and He smiled at him.
So he picked up a longer branch from the firewood pile, lit it with the bonfire, then Shad took the branch and walked under the tree, looking up at the giant tree.
He lowered his head, held the leaves in one hand and put them in front of his eyes, and stretched out the branch with the other hand to touch the trunk. But he stopped after thinking about it, and said to the nervous witches behind him with some regret:
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Teacher Mana Filianna. I hope you can continue to move forward along your path."
After saying that, he looked back at the Moon Witch and realized that he didn't even know her real name.
"My name is Brienne Olanod. It's an elven surname. I am one-eighth elven."
The young witch said in a low voice.
"Ms. Orlanod, I also hope that you can always stay with Miss Feliana."
Xia De said softly, hesitating for a moment whether he should speak or not. The god saw what he meant:
"After they leave this forest, most of their memories will be lost, except for the knowledge they sought from me about establishing a large-scale independent space. The Thousand Trees Forest will not allow mortals to take away memories."
"My name is Shad Suellen Hamilton."
He finally said his name, and Miss Carina and the Moon Witch nodded. Even if they might forget it, at least they would remember it now.
Listening to the rustling sound above his head, Shade seemed to suddenly think of something and said to the Moon Witch:
"Miss Orlanod, may I make a request? If you become the librarian in the future, please set a small rule that the position of librarian needs to be inherited by someone favored by the moon. This is because the ancient god, Silver Moon Sage, also possesses the power of knowledge."
Shad's request was not considered a violation of history, because Miss Danister did say that St. Byron's had such a rule. Shad's behavior was actually to seek benefits for himself. It was known that apart from the current administrator, Shad was the purest moon in St. Byron's.
"no problem."
Xia De took a deep breath, took one last look at the witches behind him, and then brought the red-gold flames burning on the branches closer to the golden door frame on the tree trunk. The flames ignited the door frame, and then all the flames in the bonfire burning behind everyone actually flew over.
The long stream of flames illuminated the four people under the giant tree, until all the flames gathered together, forming a red-gold door visible to the naked eye on the tree trunk.
The bonfire had gone out, and there was no other light source under the tree trunk. Under the dim and depressing tree, the witches and Shade bowed slightly to the gods.
He nodded in response, then walked towards the door. With a gentle push, the door of the tree trunk was pushed open, and the god walked in.
The door closed automatically, and the red-gold flame gradually died out. Without the protection of the strange flame, the strange and oppressive darkness of the Thousand Trees Forest surrounded him. Whispering voices appeared in his ears, and open eyes appeared in the air. It seemed that even the area of the open space was getting smaller, and the forest was encroaching on this place.
Shade stood with the witches. The temporary departure of the gods made the golden marks on Shade's body disappear, and they became more energetic:
"Shad, are you scared now?"
Miss Felina asked, and Shade shook his head:
"Actually, I have the ability to glow in complete darkness."
Although Luvia looks down on this special ability, Shade still needs to emphasize it.
"That's good. It means you will never be swallowed by darkness."
The Moon Witch said softly.
The treetops above were lowering, and the surrounding branches were like strange tentacles, reaching out to the three in the darkness.
"Shad, I am going to teach you one last lesson now. No matter how dark the future may be, you must always believe in your own light. That is the purest power that we, as extraordinary human beings, possess."
Miss Felina shouted in the darkness:
"Get ready, my students, I will call—
one two three!"
The darkness finally enveloped them completely, and the strange light on Shad's body illuminated their movements.
The three of them raised their right hands at the same time:
"Silver Moon!"
"The clear yellow moon!"
"Feliana's Witch Light!"
The three people on the ground leaned together, and the tips of their three fingers simultaneously emitted dazzling light. Dark gold, orange-yellow, holy silver, that extreme light illuminated the densely packed branches around them, illuminated the vines that were entangled like monsters, and illuminated the endless darkness.
The shadows of the three people overlapped and spread out in all directions, and the light illuminated everyone's face.