The leaf was in front of his eyes for more than a minute before Shad took it away and put it back into his pocket watch. Now he had two leaves in his hand, but he had to give Dorothy one to "prove his innocence."
"I see. The Witch Council probably knows this, too. I see..."
He muttered.
"What's going on?"
Luvia asked as they continued walking along the courtyard path towards the garden at the back of the manor.
"If you kill the official chosen ones with your own hands, you won't inherit their power, but you can get a door through some means, a door that leads to the space left behind by the ancient gods."
Shad said:
"The special white fog space left behind by the ancient god Fuxing's Darkness is the Dark Dungeon. To enter this kind of space, at least three conditions are required: spirit runes, artifacts, and spells. In addition, some spaces require you to find the exact location of the door, such as the one in my basement, and the Witch Council that requires singing. The Dark Dungeon also has a door with a fixed location, which needs to be found. But there is a special way to skip finding the door, skip the restrictions of spirit runes, and skip special artifacts."
Luvia frowned slightly, not knowing what she was thinking about.
"There are actually many ways, but basically none of them can be done. One of them is to kill the Chosen One personally and obtain the Dark Door, which requires a very complicated ritual and assistance. But for some reason, the Vientiane Card seems to have the ability to directly absorb the door. Now, the door to the Dark Dungeon is here."
Shade shook the cards, then frowned again:
“But wasn’t it Iluna who killed Darkness herself? How come I am the one being blamed?”
"That doesn't matter, but I didn't expect the witches to care about these spaces."
"I don't think she cares too much. Miss Carina said that the council just asked her to do it if possible, but it's not necessary."
"So can you come in now?"
Luvia pointed at the card and Shade shook his head:
"The cards are just a container for the door. I need to choose a location and 'place' the door there before I can enter the Dark Dungeon. I plan to place the door in the basement of my home. Since there is a passage to the Corridor of Time on the wall facing the stairs, I will place the Dark Dungeon on the wall on the left."
Shade gathered the information and looked up at the moon with Luvia in the courtyard:
"The Darkest Dungeon's functions are somewhat complicated and dangerous, but also very useful. When you have time, you and Iluna can come to my house and I'll tell you about it... But it's finally over. I'm really tired after going through the last thing in late summer."
Shad said with a smile.
The two continued to walk through the withered rose bushes. Luvia nodded and took out the Eternal Youth Leaf from her pocket and wanted to return it to Shade, but Shade refused:
"Take this. I still have a lot of leaves."
"Xia De, it's you who solved the trouble again this time."
Luvia said in a low voice as she walked and looked up at the moon.
"Why do you think so?"
“It was you who defeated the Silver Eyed One, it was you who found Darkness in Coldwater Harbor, and it was you who killed the Chosen One in the Dark Realm… There is nothing I can do.”
"How can you say that? Without the information and divination you provided, what could Iluna and I have done?"
Shade asked, looking at her profile. In the distance was the glass greenhouse of the manor. But Luvia shook her head and looked at the starry sky with a somewhat sad expression:
"Sometimes, I really feel like I'm... useless. I'm determined to achieve my goals, but every time I take risks, I have to take them."
"Luvia, you should be happy now, what happened to you?"
Xia De stopped and saw the grape vines in front of them. For some reason, the grape vines were not seriously affected and basically looked the same as before under the moonlight.
"We have just completed our second goal. Shouldn't we celebrate? Look, the moonlight is beautiful, and the starry sky is beautiful too. Would you like to dance with me under the moon?"
But Luvia just shook her head. The air in the suburbs was exceptionally good. The sea of stars seemed to be right above her head. The dazzling galaxy was so spectacular.
"Don't try to comfort me. I was just thinking, what would have happened if I hadn't extended my hand to you in the carriage."
"The past won't change, so don't think too much about it."
Xia De said, intending to comfort her, but unexpectedly Luvia's face showed an even sadder emotion:
"It's okay, I just... ... I heard these words. The past cannot be changed... ... I don't know why I am so sad."
"The past cannot be changed, so we have to create the future. Luvia, please look at me honestly and answer this question - what do you think of the death of Ivan Darkness?"
"I am very happy."
Luvia adjusted herself, and the two of them looked at each other under the moonlight. There were servants working in the distance of the garden, but no one looked over here. There were faint gas lamps on the path, illuminating them together with the hazy moonlight and starry sky.
"I felt relieved, as if a stone had been lifted. Shade, I don't know if you can understand, but this feeling is like knowing the date of your death, but suddenly finding that the date has been changed. Yes, I should be happy. Today is a day worth being happy about. We really did it."
Luvia's metaphor was a bit strange, and Shade didn't know how to respond for a moment. Before he opened his mouth, the pair of purple eyes looked at him:
"Thank you, Shad."
The thanks at this time made the atmosphere even more weird.
"I said I would stay with you till the end. After midnight tonight, it will be the harvest month of September. The night may be a little chilly, let's go back."
"OK."
So the two of them turned around and walked back to the manor house, all the way back to the guest room where Luvia was staying temporarily. The purple-eyed girl adjusted her mood very well, and she also knew that she should be happy now:
"Next, it's the third chosen one's turn."
There was no light in the room, only the open window casting moonlight into the room. The two stood on the carpet, Luvia turned her back to the window and looked at Shade:
"Once I find the Human Pus tomorrow, I will start preparing for divination."
"Maybe you could take a break, Luvia. You've been really tired lately."
"but... ... "
"Nothing but, Luvia, be careful and don't lose control."
Xia De looked at those purple eyes. Her mood was very up and down tonight:
"Iluna and I are very worried about you. You seem to be carrying some responsibility, and you keep running forward, fearing that you will be overtaken by the things behind you. Although you are unwilling to share your secrets with us, at least let us move forward with you. And now, take a rest for a while, Luvia, take a rest for a while."
Luvia bit her lip.
"Perhaps you have noticed that every time something happens to me, the Chosen Ones will appear. This shows that the most important thing on the stage is the audience. As long as I, the audience, don't run around and there are no witnesses, the Chosen Ones will not appear."
Shade joked:
"I'm going to play in Big City Players next. After Big City Players is over, we can discuss what to do next."
The two looked at each other, and Shade was very fascinated by the pair of purple eyes. Although Luvia was very charming, her appearance was still not as good as those witches with extraordinary charm. However, no matter whose eyes, they were not as attractive as hers.
Luvia saw herself in Shade's eyes, seeing herself in panic and anxiety. She didn't know why, but she didn't dare to look directly at the man in front of her.
Suddenly closed his eyes and took a deep breath:
"Okay then, I'll take a break. The association also has a lot of work for me to do. We'll make other plans after the big city players are done."
Xia De heaved a sigh of relief:
"Among the three of us, Iluna will be responsible for suppressing the Chosen and fighting, you will be responsible for divination and providing intelligence, and I will be responsible for daily operations. So, don't blame yourself for not being able to do anything."
"Um."
She nodded slightly, then opened her arms and hugged Shad.
Mia on his shoulders was forced to jump onto the bed, and then she looked at the soft bed with surprise and bounced up. The bed at home was not so elastic.
Shad also hugged her. Luvia stood under the moonlight with her back to the window; Shad faced the moonlight, but stood in the darkness that the moonlight could not illuminate:
"It's okay. I will always be with you. This is what I promised, until the very end. Witness the thirteen chosen ones and open the door that decides everything."
"Will you regret it? Because of me, you were forced to be involved in all this."
"Even without you, I have a feeling."
Shade loosened his hold on Luvia, and Luvia let go of Shade. He placed his hands on the girl's shoulders and looked into her eyes. The two were so close:
"Even without you, I would have been involved in all this. I am outside of fate, but only outside of the original fate. When I made up my mind and walked out of No. 6 Saint Teresa's Square for the first time, when I opened my hands in panic and leaned against the door to see everything in this world, I understood-"
He frowned slightly, his eyes firm and powerful:
"I have stepped into a new destiny. I have come to this world, this era, this country, and I cannot escape... The Four Elements, the Ringwitch, the Word of Ascension... I am destined to be in the Steam Age, and I am destined to participate in these major events that affect the world, because I have to do so. Luvia, I am not helping you to achieve your wish, but you are helping me."
"What helped you?"
“Help me get on this path.”
The moonlight outside the window shone on Shade's body, and his body seemed to be glowing slightly. Luvia looked up at Shade, with countless words in her heart that she wanted to say at this moment, but when she opened her mouth, she couldn't say anything.
So she stood on tiptoes and gave Shad a gentle kiss on the corner of his mouth.