The bright yellow moon appeared above the bonfire again. Shade reached out and pulled Miss Orlanod up. The latter looked around and said softly:
"I'm so glad to see you right after I opened my eyes, Shade. But have you recently... accepted the elves' rituals? Why do you have such a strong natural aura? When I opened my eyes just now, I almost thought I was back to the place where I lived in my childhood."
When Miss Felina met Miss Orlanod, she was a flower girl on the street, so the story of this lady's past should be equally exciting.
Shad evaded the subject, and Miss Samuel told Miss Olanord what had happened after she had fainted.
There were only thirteen minutes left. Shade pushed the ice coffin to the campfire with great effort. After Miss Samuel finished explaining the current situation, he said to the two witches:
"Please believe me, I will do my best to wake up Miss Drago. If there is really no other way... I will use other means to get you out."
If the maze was unsuccessful, Shade planned to complete the ritual of upgrading from the third ring to the fourth ring in the fifth era. According to past experience, in the short period of time after the promotion, because the divinity infects the soul, he can exert a power that is no less than the overflowing state of divinity. With this little power, he tried his best to escort the witches out until the thirty minutes were over and he was forced to return to his own time.
"What I was able to do in the Thousand Trees Forest, I can do here as well."
Xia De said, and did not forget to remind:
"After you leave, remember to say hello to Teacher Feliana for me. I hope I can have the chance to see her again next time. Miss Samuel, please help me record this story. I will take it away as a spell material."
Of course, the manuscript brought back from this point in time to the Sixth Epoch cannot be considered the first draft of the story. After all, only time can inspire civilization to tell stories, and time travel cannot cheat.
Miss Samuel nodded immediately. Although she did not find all the knowledge she wanted in the library, hearing Shade's story made the trip worthwhile. Miss Olanord was a little melancholy. After this separation, no one could say whether they would have the chance to meet again.
"Sage, let's continue the story."
"No, please don't call me 'sage'."
The gray-robed god reminded softly, stroking his beard with his empty right hand, and looking at Shade meaningfully with his shining eyes:
"Especially you, don't use that name."
He walked down from the pile of old books, came to the campfire and sat on the ground. He took out a pipe from the air and then blew smoke into the flames.
With a faint smell of high-grade tobacco, the flames shot up into the sky. The flames delicately formed a half-human-sized princess, with eyes tightly closed on a face that looked like "desire", and a spindle made of flames next to her.
The god stretched out his right hand, then pressed it down slightly. The light radiating from the bonfire quickly dimmed, until only the bonfire and a small area around it could still be illuminated in the entire dilapidated entrance hall of the library.
The four people around the bonfire were all sitting at the edge of light and shadow. Outside the hall, the wind was howling, red snow was flying, and the surroundings were extremely dark. Everyone was staring at the flames.
"I just love the atmosphere, sitting around a campfire with young kids and listening to fresh stories, there's nothing better than that."
The god inserted his long staff into the gap between the tiles beside him, and at this time, a vicissitudes and low voice came out of Shad's mouth.
The only one who didn't understand what was happening was Mia. She thought the lights were off, so she squinted her eyes and curled up on Xia De's legs, sleeping soundly.
"The princess finally touched the loom of fate in the attic on her eighteenth birthday. She was only pricked by the spindle once, and then she fell to the ground and fell into eternal sleep."
As Shad spoke, flames formed into vines that emerged from both sides of the half-ling-sized princess and then covered her body until only her head was left.
"However, there is a way to break the curse of fate. The kind witches who were invited to the birthday party came to the sleeping princess."
The flames reorganized with the sound of explosions, and once again reconstructed the appearance of the huge kingdom castle. The flames illuminated everyone around the bonfire, and the flames danced in their eyes. People were gathered at the top of the castle spire, and the most detailed image outlined by the flames was the image of the twelve witches.
They wore robes with star patterns and large pointed hats, and one of them was even holding a cat that looked very similar to Mia.
"The twelve witches once again brought blessings to the princess—"
Xia De cleared his throat, and the witches in the flames raised their hands high, and sparks fell:
"No matter how long, no matter when, no matter what will happen in the future, kind and beautiful princess, we bless you."
Xia De also stretched out his hand towards the bonfire, with cracks on his fingertips and tiny specks of golden fire floating towards the princess in the bonfire.
Miss Samuel looked at the golden embers and blinked suspiciously, while Miss Olanord kept her eyes on the bonfire, the dancing flames forming large shadows on her face.
“The witches all wished in unison: One day, a foreign prince from a distant country will come and wake you up with the kiss of true love. At that time, the frozen kingdom will see the light of day again, and the castle in the weeds will be revitalized.”
The perspective in the flames was raised, and the flames depicted the entire kingdom in great detail. The god beside the bonfire blew a puff of smoke toward the flames again, and the smoke enveloped the kingdom of fire for a long time, as if a cloud of fog symbolizing decline and destruction had covered the kingdom.
Under the smoke, the changes in the tiny details of the kingdom symbolize the passage of time.
“It’s a great story.”
The god holding the pipe commented, looking at Shade with shining eyes:
"But this is unreasonable. Although fairy tales should not pursue rationality, it is a bit too hasty to save a princess cursed by a witch with just a kiss of true love."
Xia De nodded. He knew that this was a hint from the good god. He also knew what the story would be like next:
"I don't know how many days, months, and years have passed. When weeds have covered the castle, when the kingdom has fallen into decline, when the sleeping princess has become the story of 'Sleeping Beauty' and spread throughout the world, the dusty foreign prince has come from a foreign land to the palace where the birthday party was held in the past."
In the flames, a young man with his back to the campfire was swinging his sword at the vines:
"He overcame all obstacles and finally found the princess in the ice coffin in the ruined attic of the castle."
Above the flames, there appeared an ice coffin that was almost identical to the one next to the campfire, except that the princess in the ice coffin did not have a big tail.
"Oh, what a beautiful princess," the stranger exclaimed.
Although the witch, Shade and the gods were sitting separately around the campfire, no matter who they were, they could only see the prince's back.
"The prince decided to save the princess sleeping in the ice coffin and decided to save this dying country. He reached out his hand to the sleeping girl..."
Xia De felt that this statement was a bit strange, as if the prince in the story had a special hobby, but fortunately this plot was not the focus.
There was a whirlpool in the flames, and in that whirlpool, the old witch who was also made of flames appeared.
"The witch arrived at the last moment, and she wanted to stop the prince's action. But the righteous and resolute prince defeated the witch and her servant with the sword in his hand."
The figure in the flames, holding a sword that looked like the Silver Moonlight Sword, fought the witch skillfully.
"Justice triumphed over evil, but the witch laughed: Oh, foolish man, how could you save the sleeping princess without paying a price?"
Xia De paused for a moment. His recent experience made him think of many things:
"She who should leave cannot be kept. She has fallen into the deepest eternal sleep. To save her, are you willing to pay a price you cannot afford?"
He recited the witch's lines, and the witch in the flames disappeared. The prince approached the ice coffin again and picked up the princess.
"Yes, awakening the sleeping princess requires love and price. But the stranger is determined to do it, for the girl in his arms and for this kingdom."
The sound of steam and whistles appeared behind Shade. In the thick steam mist, the life ring of the three-ring warlock appeared. The rapidly rotating life ring was enriching the brass-colored enlightenment elements.
The spiritual light vaguely echoed with the light of the campfire. Miss Samuel turned her head to observe Shad's life ring. Miss Orlanod stared at the princess in the campfire. The god looked at everything in front of him with a smile. Mia, who was awakened by the noise, looked at the fire.
"The prince kissed the princess, and with this kiss, the princess opened her eyes. The wild grass and dead vines retreated, the frozen kingdom regained vitality, all things revived, and this land once again ushered in prosperity and prosperity. The prince who gave the kiss of true love, his golden hair turned silver, and he never touched his sword again for the rest of his life."
The kissing princess and prince separated, and then the flames formed an arch. The princess and prince, dressed in their best clothes, had their wedding amid the cheers of the people formed by the flames.
“This is a story of love and sacrifice. Even if fate has imposed a curse, when selfless sacrificers step forward, true love will save everything.”
Xia De's words gradually became softer, ending the story, and behind him, the life ring had stopped spinning at some point, and Enlightenment - Sleeping Princess quietly appeared.
Time inspires stories, and civilization gives them power. Across five thousand years and two eras, Shade, standing at one end of time, has gained the power of fairy tales that is integrated with civilization at the other end of time.
－－－－－－－Off-topic－－－－－－－