Similar to when he headed for the dark realm two months ago, Shad carried almost all of his belongings when he left home on Wednesday morning.
But this time, he didn't bring God's gift box. After all, he didn't need to prepare to imprison the devil this time, and this box had no effect on Joey Barton. But when he was packing up, he realized that he hadn't tried to get a gift this week. So he fished out the gift box and took out a book.
It was not a book for reading, but a book that could be cut into pieces for puzzle training. This was a contemporary print, and children from noble families loved this kind of book, so the price was not very affordable. As the price of the gift, Shade needed to complete at least two of the puzzles before the end of this week.
"Once we've got the Middlesbrough issue sorted out, I'll have plenty of time to work on the puzzle this week."
In addition to the gift box without God, because he still had two leaves of eternal youth in his hand, Shad did not go to Dorothy to borrow leaves.
He wanted to ask Luvia to take care of Mia temporarily again to prevent himself from being unable to go home tonight. But the cat struggled desperately this time and refused to leave Shade, so Shade could only turn the cat into a toy and carry it with him.
If he wasn't worried about being seen through by Dorothy and taking risks again, it would actually be better to leave Mia at Quill Street.
Of course, the most important thing is that Shade also brought the Soul Fishing Rod. Even though this fishing rod can be extended, it is still very troublesome to carry with you. But this time, Shade had to bring it. And this relic has two hooks at this time. One is the original hook of the relic, and the other is a curved hook taken out of the gift box last week, which is exactly the same material as the gift box.
Xia De roughly guessed why this gift appeared.
There was a small episode before departure. The carriage stopped downstairs of Shade's building, and the visitor was not a rare client, but Tifa who came in a hurry:
"Shad, it's a good thing you haven't left yet."
At this time, the coffee table in the living room was filled with relics and spellcasting materials, and the coat spread on the sofa was piled with small toys.
The black-haired maid followed Shade to the living room and handed Shade the red velvet jewelry box in her hands:
"The lady said she would lend this to you."
Xia De opened the jewelry box, and inside was the sage-level relic, the ancient witch's gold necklace.
"This is... ... "
"The lady said that she knew what would happen in Middleburg today, so she guessed that you had something to do. I'm lending this to you as a thank you for the rose that the stable gave to the lady."
Tifa smiled:
"Look, you are leaving. I was on my way and was worried that I would not be able to give this to you in time."
Xia De didn't know what to say:
"Thank Miss Carina for me."
He said solemnly, putting away the gold necklace. With this relic, he was more confident about his next move.
"The lady said that she will not stop you from taking risks. After all, the growth of a ring sorcerer cannot be without risks."
Tifa moved closer to Shad, then reached out to hug him, but they just hugged lightly before separating:
"The lady asked me to hug you for her and wish you a safe journey."
Xia De nodded:
"Tifa, every time you accompany me to play Rhodes with others, my luck will be better than normal. I think maybe you are my lucky girl."
The black-haired girl blushed slightly:
"Miss said that if you have the chance, kill Joey Barton. The others don't know what you will do, but Miss said that you must be doing what you are going to do for the sake of the Chosen One. Miss and I both know that you have incredible powers, but please take care of yourself."
She moved forward slightly and kissed Shad on the cheek.
"Is this also what Miss Carina asked you to bring to me?"
"Of course not."
Tifa shook her head slightly, and her hair on her forehead swayed together:
"Here is a kiss from me to you, and I wish you a safe journey... ... As for my thank you gift for that flower... ... Next time you visit the manor, would you like to go to that secluded corridor with me again?"
Although she was very shy, Tifa still looked up and looked at Shade with her black eyes. Her skin was white, there seemed to be light in her eyes, and the corners of her mouth were curved, which made people very excited.
Shade quickly recalled the secluded corridor where the candle was kicked, and felt himself blushing:
"Still five minutes?"
A smile appeared in the crooked eyes:
"This time, it will take ten minutes. So, you must come back safely."
After bidding farewell to the maid, Shade entered Mount Sikar from the abandoned tower and headed down the mountain in the thick fog. The witches set out for the narrow space at about 10 a.m., so Shade met Sister Defulin at the Blind House before they set out. He had already written a letter to make an appointment yesterday.
She had already been told about the chosen one, so there was no need to explain further. This time, Xia De came to ask the nun for help and ask the spiritual order to help open another passage so that he could enter the narrow room alone.
"Why not go with the witches?"
The nun stood by the window, her hands folded in front of her, lowered her head and asked softly, with the thick fog in Middlesbrough behind her. Today, the city hall issued a city curfew, apparently to cooperate with the church's actions.
"There are some things I don't want the witches to know."
For a moment, Shad thought the nun in front of him smiled, but when he looked closely, she still had that expressionless look.
The head was slightly raised, and the textured silver-gray long hair was woven into an extremely complex pattern and hung behind him. The silver eye mask was aimed at Xia De, and the exquisite and elegant silver ornaments were still so amazing:
"Mr. Hamilton, you are participating in an epic."
"No, I'm just there to witness the epic. You are the protagonists, I'm just a spectator of this scene."
This time the nun actually smiled, a light and gentle smile beneath her eye mask:
"You look fully armed now, but you don't look like a spectator at all."
Shad took a look at himself. He had two guns on his waist, a soul fishing rod on his back, a night watchman in his left hand, almost all the fingers of his right hand were covered with rings, a witch's gold necklace hung around his neck, and his bulging coat was filled with various toys and relics.
"No need to explain, Mr. Hamilton. Perhaps others would think that you are just a spectator outside of fate, but as the guardian of the Primordial Flame, I can understand that you are the hero of this world."
This is the first time someone calls Shade like this:
"I'm not a hero."
The nun did not refute:
"I am the fire keeper who guards the First Flame. I look for firewood and new sources of fire for the First Flame. The First Flame will also give back the power of the world to me. The spirit of the world is reminding me that many incredible things will happen tonight."
"Then do you know who the chosen one of death is?"
Xia De asked, and the nun shook her head slightly:
“Maybe the answer is completely different from what you think.”
The overlap between the narrow space and the real world now far exceeds that of the first time Qiuchu Xiade came to Midhill Castle. Therefore, opening the passage to the narrow space does not need to be as complicated as when rescuing the Augustus priest.
Sister Develyn needed to go to the narrow mountainside with the witches, but she arranged for three other high-level sisters in the cult to help Shade. In addition, she separated a part of her own flame and sealed it in a worn-out portable kerosene lamp obtained from the transaction in the Sin Mansion.
This lamp is a relic that can store any form of flame. At this moment, it contains part of the initial fire. The slender flame dances quietly in the lamp, making the already old bronze kerosene lamp look more like it has traces of time and history.
The Order could send Shad into the narrow space, but leaving the narrow space required the guidance of the First Flame. At present, when Sister Defulin had no time to take care of Shad, sharing some of the flame with him was the best option.
After saying goodbye to Sister Defulin on the foggy street, the carriage the nun was riding in soon disappeared in the thick fog, and Shad unexpectedly discovered that the First Flame kerosene lamp in his hand could actually slightly dispel the surrounding fog.
"But carrying a kerosene lamp with me seems to make it even more inconvenient to fight."
Sister Defulin will notify the rest of the spiritual order and prepare to open a one-time narrow passage, and all Shad needs to do is wait patiently for news in the Blind House.
The city was not under martial law, but under travel control, so even in the Blind Home, there were not many disabled citizens with eye problems visiting. Sister Michelle, who was in charge of the Blind Home, arranged a lounge on the top floor for Shade alone. Shade then turned Mia back into a real cat, hugged the cat and read the Pink Book to kill the morning.
The city was very quiet, and the autumn sunlight could not penetrate the white fog with whispering elements. On the other side of the thick fog, the Orthodox Church, the Thaumaturgy Academy, the Witch Council, and even those ring magic groups that Shade did not know the name of were definitely taking action.
When Xia De occasionally raised his head from the knowledge in the books and looked out the window, what he was thinking in his heart was whether the actors on the stage of unknowable fate could know how people would evaluate today thousands of years later.
The city was quiet in the morning, and nothing happened except a group of soldiers passing through Luffy Lane.
After lunch, the cat took a nap beside Shade. Shade put away the parchment and took out the "Crazy Thunder Book" to continue reading. This was a book of thunder spirit runes prepared by Saint Byrons for Shade, which was part of the second grade course.
At 1:30 pm, a knock on the door temporarily stopped Shade's study process. But it was not that the spiritual congregation was ready to "open the door", but Sister Michelle wanted to ask Shade for help.
The story is this: this morning, Mr. Beirut, who lives in the southern part of Midhill Castle, visited the Blind Home to receive treatment and psychological counseling from the Blind Home. Because the fog was thicker at noon, the carriage that came to pick him up did not arrive, so Mr. Beirut, who is a teacher at a school for the blind, temporarily took a lunch break at the Blind Home.
But after he took an hour's nap, the servants of the Blind House were unable to wake him up again. Later, after an examination by the ring magicians, they found that he had dreamed into the narrow room.
"Do you need me to go deep into the narrow space to find him?"
Shade pointed at himself in surprise.
"To retrieve ordinary people who have dreamt of entering the narrow space, there is no need to actually enter the narrow space. The cult has a formal method, but it requires a sorcerer of at least the sixth level to perform the ritual and risk having his mind contaminated by the narrow space."
Sister Michelle seemed a little embarrassed. The House for the Blind was a local base of the sect, and she was the highest-ranking one among them, while the others were mostly of low level.
"I see. Let me do it. It's just a piece of cake."
He put down his book and stood up, startling the cat on the sofa. It opened one eye and looked at Shade. Seeing that he wanted to leave, it immediately yawned and got up to chase him.
When this cat yawns, its mouth opens very wide.
To rescue ordinary people who have fallen into the narrow space through dreams, we use a method similar to "clairvoyance", which allows living people in reality to see the scenes in the "dream", and then communicate with them in the dream to wake them up.
There was no need for Shad to even lie down. He sat on the armchair next to the bed, and after drinking the potion with the emblem of the Spiritual Order, he placed his hand on the forehead of the sleeping Mr. Beirut.
The lower-ranking nun of the House of the Blind, with her eyes wrapped in linen strips, lit the incense in the room, and Sister Michelle unfolded the parchment and placed it in front of Shad's eyes.
He leaned back slightly in his chair, his eyes fixed on the parchment, which showed a strange image that looked like a goat but also like a unicorn. His mind gradually became dizzy and he fell into a semi-comatose state.
He could sense that he was still sitting in the chair, but at the same time he could see a blurry scene in the narrow space.
His sight followed Mr. Beirut, who was running up the stone steps on Mount Sikar. In front of him, in the blurry fog, a transparent woman's figure was moving forward. The surrounding scene was very familiar, with dark forests standing on both sides of the stone steps, and the stone steps were dilapidated as if no one had stepped on them for a hundred years.
"They're heading for the top of Mount Sikar?"
But there were signs of human activity around. On both sides of the stone steps at the top of the mountain, there were traces of the church's ritual arrangements. Even on each stone step under the feet, there were divine runes engraved. There were no evil spirits in the surrounding fog, because the large group of ring sorcerers from the Five Gods Church were conducting the final inspection of the ritual.
But these living people who went deep into the narrow space did not notice the souls of Mr. Beirut and the woman in front of them. After all, the former was just a dream, not even as real as Shade's state yesterday, and the latter was just an illusion caused by missing someone.
The souls trapped in the narrow space cannot enter death through the three passages in the narrow space. However, the phantoms caused by longing can lead the living to death. Once in the dream world, following the longing and falling, Mr. Beirut will really die. There was such an urban legend in Midhill Castle a long time ago, but recently such things have become more frequent.
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