In the side palace, Hathaway knelt in front of the silver mirror, gently combing her long hair.
In the simple hourglass beside him, fine white sand was flowing slowly, and on the stone wall beside him there were dozens of clear marks.
This is the mark used by the golden elf to record time. It has been the twenty-ninth day since she was imprisoned here.
During this period of nearly a month, she became depressed and gave up on herself. She even thought about committing suicide and ending her own life.
However, after repeated futile attempts, as she lay on the cold ground, feeling the powerlessness transmitted from her limbs and bones——
Hathaway had just calmed down for the first time since the incident at the Council meeting.
My own self-abandonment and crazy attempts to commit suicide over the past month -
In fact, if you think about it carefully, this is not what he thought, the so-called atonement of wanting to help Char break his ties and get him out of trouble.
But he was just simply holding him back and letting him down for everything he had done for him.
...
...
Teacher Char is definitely not ignorant of the secrets and dangers that may be hidden on the Lost Island.
But for his own sake, he still came, willingly seeking the skin of the sleeping ancient god.
But before that, she had just given up on herself pathetically, and had sadly given up the chance to live that Char had fought so hard for her.
If Char were to see his decadent appearance through the veil of shadow, he would probably only feel heartache.
Even, it’s regret.
I regret having misjudged the person.
I regret having given everything and my true heart to a golden elf like me who didn't know how to cherish life.
So, at least during this time——
No matter how sad she was, no matter how intense the pain in her heart was, no matter how much she regretted and wanted to give up... but at least in front of Char, she had to appear optimistic.
She didn’t know when Char would look through the veil and see her—
So, force yourself to be calm and smile at all times.
Hathaway used clean water to wash away the dust on her long golden hair, and her untrimmed straight hair fell down like a waterfall, scattering on the soft bed.
Then, she changed into a black knee-length skirt.
There is a black butterfly ribbon around the waist and exquisite lace embroidered on the shoulders.
The clothes of the Golden Elves used to be pure white. This was because of the scarcity of supplies on the Lost Isle and the lack of sufficient dyes. Most elves wore white clothes, so even the elders continued this habit.
But in that small house drifting in the astral world, Char said that perhaps black would suit her better than white.
So after that, in her spare time from studying arcane and magic, Hathaway secretly found Yui and checked the fashion magazines and clothing matching information stored in Yui's database.
In Yui's database, those trendy and fashionable clothes dazzled Hathaway, who had been living on the Lost Island before.
This is the Lost Island, beyond the Endless Sea...
Is it the colorful scenery in the world called "Western Continent" that I have only heard of in ancient books and from my elders?
Looking at the gorgeous and dazzling information in Yui's database, and looking at the young and beautiful female models in the recorded photos who do not hide their fashion and beauty.
Hathaway actually felt like a poor girl from a remote village, feeling ashamed of herself when she saw the colorful world.
However, everyone loves beauty, even legendary golden elves are no exception.
After that, Hathaway spent several weeks customizing a black outfit for herself, imitating the looks of the fashion magazines in Yui's database.
She originally thought that the dress had been lost in the riot in the previous council chamber, but she never expected that Char had found a way to preserve it and sent it to the side palace where she was imprisoned.
Hathaway changed her clothes and looked at herself in the mirror carefully.
“It’s pretty nice.”
A familiar voice sounded in Hathaway's ears.
The golden elf looked back in surprise, only to see that the dark curtain at the entrance to the side palace had quietly disappeared at some point.
A human boy with black hair and black eyes was standing nearby, looking at the silver mirror calmly.
"Xia, why are you here?"
Such an unexpected scene made Hathaway a little confused for a moment.
"That guy...didn't He stop us from contacting him?"
"Even prisoners sentenced to death will be comforted by the jailer with a few kind words and given a full meal before execution..."
"Even these words of comfort and the full meal were not originally intended to be humanitarian... but simply to appease the dying prisoners, so that they would not cause trouble and save the executioners and jailers some trouble."
Xia smiled.
"In His eyes, I am no different from the prisoner on death row."
"Before that, please fulfill some of my little wishes and resolve some of my regrets... so that I can calm my instinct for survival, give up my self without resistance, entrust my body to Him, and smoothly complete the possession and fusion."
"No matter how you look at it, this is a sure win."
He turned his head and glanced behind him, into the darkness of the night.
"After all, he is the creator of the Glorious Era. Even if it is just his current body, he is still the true master of this Elf King's Court."
“When He was still in self-sealing and deep sleep, He still needed to remotely control the elders of the elves to exercise His will, but now He is close to fully reviving…”
"In His eyes at this moment, even if He allows us to meet, or even allows us to plot... He can easily destroy the waves that are created."
What they are talking about is clearly a topic that is very relevant to them.
But Char's voice was very calm, as if the person whose self and body were about to be taken away was not himself, but he was merely talking about an insignificant matter.
"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore."
"Anyway, I didn't come here today to discuss a plan to escape with you."
"If I really want to discuss escaping, I won't choose such a dignified way."
"Anyway, he has promised me that he will rebuild my body after I recover my original status... I think I can still trust the promise of the Creator of the Glorious Era."
He just smiled faintly like this.
Then, he extended his hand to Hathaway.
Behind Char, an illusory and hazy door was slowly materializing.
The bright sunshine shines through the illusory door and falls into the palace shrouded in the darkness of eternal night.
It also illuminated the golden elf's dim eyes.
"Although my time is running out, there is still one last day."
"Let's go."
"There are some things I have been planning for a long time, and I want to take you to see them."
…
The moment Hathaway held Char's hand and walked through the illusory door.
The incomparable light flooded into her sight like a tide.
What came into view was a scenery that Hathaway had only heard of in ancient books and volumes in the royal library, and could only dare to imagine in her dreams at midnight.
However, the world before her eyes was far more magnificent and gorgeous than what she had imagined in her dreams, hundreds or even thousands of times more gorgeous.
This is a bustling city.
The sky is blue and pure, dotted with a few white clouds.
From time to time, loud cries of birds were heard and a few flying birds passed across the blue sky.
And farther up in the sky, a huge magic airship was spinning its blades, slowly passing through the dome of the sky, briefly blocking the sunlight and casting a shadow on the city below.
However, the people in the city shrouded by the shadow of the airship did not show any fear, but only cheered for the huge airship.
Hathaway looked at the huge magical airship in the sky.
Then I looked at the bustling city in front of me, which was bustling with people and noisy and lively.
Such a dreamlike scene washed over her mind like a tidal wave, making her a little dazed for a moment. However, deep in her heart, she inevitably felt a longing and yearning for the world before her.
"This city was named the City of Knowledge - Lukia."
"Today is the city's festival held every five years, the 'Arcane Festival'. ”
"People from all over the Western Continent, of different races and ranks, all chose to become wizards. Whenever the Arcane Festival is held, they will gather here."
"They exchanged ideas about their respective schools and arcane advances, and displayed the latest magic props, extraordinary items, and magical creations..."
"This is a grand gathering of wizards and also one of the most famous festivals in the entire Western Continent."
Xia pulled Hathaway and poured into the bustling crowd.
…
"A humanoid golem created by Master Bobby, a legend of the dwarves, from the Golem School. It can fight against fifth-tier opponents and warm your bed... The starting price is only 50,000 Rhine gold coins..."
"This is a booth opened by the chief reader of the astrology school. The magic of divination can be used to ask questions about astronomy and geography, marriage and fortune, and everything in between..."
The constant stream of voices around her made Hathaway a little dazzled.
"Arcane Festival?"
Hathaway looked at the bustling places in the city and the airship floating in the sky relying on the magic array, and asked Char in a very low voice.
"In other words, this city is full of wizards who practice magic?"
"It's a bit exaggerated to say that they are all wizards."
"After all, you know that becoming a wizard requires more than just soul aptitude and elemental affinity. In addition, every wizard is a big spender... If you don't have a mine at home, you generally can't afford the expenses of a wizard apprentice."
"But this whole city is related to wizards and magic...it is indeed true."
Char and Hathaway stood side by side, looking at the bustling city in front of them, and answered.
"Wizards have a demand for various rare spellcasting materials, so there are adventurer teams in the Knowledge City that go out to hunt for precious spellcasting materials and then sell them to wizards..."
"Adventurers need to train pets, rent places to rest, drink and have fun, and they will get injured and need medical treatment when they go out on adventures... So there are pet training grounds, taverns, hotels, white houses, weapon shops and pharmacies..."
"But even if I'm not a wizard, I know nothing about the arcane..."
"But this does not prevent them from enjoying this festival and experiencing the beauty of this arcane festival."
Wow——
Suddenly, there was a commotion in the distance, as if a famous legendary wizard had arrived, attracting countless people from the knowledge city of Lugia to watch.
What followed was a dense flow of people.
In order to avoid the crowded crowd, Xia Ya and Hathaway randomly found a roadside shop and walked in.
This seems to be a shop selling magic wands.
Slender wooden staffs were placed on the shelves on the wall.
The golden elf stood on tiptoe, picked one from the shelf at random, and looked at it curiously in his hand.
Given her current status, she could naturally see that this wooden staff had the function of amplifying the power of spells, and also had the auxiliary effect of speeding up the chanting of spells and the construction of spell models.
However, the forbidden spells that the golden elf currently possessed, as well as the technique of "High-Speed Divine Words", were far superior to this small staff and had no actual benefit to her. But speaking of it, with Xia's status, he has also reached the point where he no longer needs a staff to cast spells.
But Hathaway remembered very clearly that when the two of them first met in the astral realm, he took out a magic wand and released a ring of "fluorescent flashes".
It is said that it is for the so-called wizard's sense of ritual.
"Fifteen inches, Elder."
"The core of the staff is...Yeqi's tail feather."
The old shop owner stood up from the shop, looked at the wand, then looked at Hathaway, his gaze pausing for a moment at Hathaway's long ears that were faintly visible among her golden hair.
"Half-elf?"
"Um."
Hathaway was stunned for a moment and nodded.
She was not a half-elf, but a pure-blooded gold elf. However, pure-blooded elves were on the verge of extinction, and most people did not know the difference, so she did not need to explain it specifically.
"That staff is exclusive to the School of Necromancy... If you are a half-elf who is good at elemental or nature spells, I recommend this one."
"Eleven inches, holly wood, with a core made of phoenix feathers..."
"Thank you for your kindness, but no thanks, I'm just taking a look."
Hathaway thanked the shopkeeper politely and put the wand back on the shelf.
Then, she put her hand back into Char's palm and walked out of the store with Char.
The noisy crowds on the street had dispersed.
Even in the Western Continent, this is a rare good weather. The sun makes the green shade on the street translucent, and thousands of fiery red maple leaves fall with the wind.
What's more, Hathaway has been confined on the Lost Island for almost her entire life and has never seen the outside world.
This city is very big.
Hathaway and Char walked around the city, stopping along the way to visit various stalls and shops in the Arcane Festival.
She bought the candied haws from a street vendor that she had heard about before from Xia but had never had the chance to see in person.
Also, in the amusement center, Char and I caught a few dolls in an entertainment facility that used a magical device to transmit power, and could remotely control the extension and delivery of a mechanical claw with a handle.
They kept walking around the city like this.
In weather like this, you should just run around without a destination and go wherever you go.
By the time Char and Hathaway finally stopped, it was already dusk.
The bustling stalls during the day have closed down, and the tourists, who have been busy enjoying the Arcane Festival for a day, have also begun to leave one after another.
This previously bustling city returned to a brief silence.
The fiery red glow shone down from the end of the sky, and Char and Hathaway's shadows were infinitely stretched under the glow.
"How does it feel?"
"Today's journey, and the world before your eyes."
In his hand, still holding the rag doll that the gold elf had caught earlier, Char spoke softly.
"It's beautiful, even more beautiful than the outside world I imagined through the few words in those ancient books."
Hathaway lowered her head slightly: "It's just that, because it's too beautiful, it also seems out of reach."
She turned her head slightly and looked back at the city behind her.
The setting sun is gradually taking away the afterglow from the city, and soon, night will cover the city of knowledge again, like the Lost Island, representing the end of the day.
However, unlike the Lost Island, no one in this city panics as night falls.
Because everyone knows—
Tomorrow, the sun will rise as usual.
"Yeah?"
"Then I am satisfied."
There was a hint of satisfaction in Char's words.
The two continued walking aimlessly. Hathaway didn't know where Xia was going, but she just followed him.
“This city, this world.”
She opened her mouth and hesitated for a long time before asking again: "In the Western Continent... does it really exist?"
Of course Hathaway could see that the city and the world before her did not exist in reality.
Char also does not have the ability to actually move an entire human city to the Lost Island.
This is just an illusion created by one party using magic.
On one hand, it is a fantasy world so beautiful that one wants to indulge in it forever.
However, with such complicated and almost rigorous details and a complete city scene... God knows how Char created this illusion that is almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
"How should I put it..."
Xia thought about it.
"This is not the scenery that exists on the current Western Continent. The human civilization on the Western Continent is just beginning and is far from being so prosperous."
“But that’s the world of my dreams.”
"and."
There was a slight pause in his words.
“I believe that one day this scenery will become a reality.”
Even Char put a lot of thought into planning this trip.
In the real timeline, not long ago, the Arcane Festival was actually held in the city of knowledge, Lugia.
Char used up all his mental energy to scan and simulate bit by bit, and then reproduced the entire picture of the city and the festival in his mind.
The amount of information about an entire city, down to every detail, was extremely difficult even for Char's current status. His mental strength dried up several times before he was able to complete it.
"Of course, this city is just a byproduct."
“My real dream is to be here.”
Char spoke softly and stepped aside.
It was only at this moment that Hathaway saw the magnificent black tower.
The pitch-black tower stands tall and straight into the sky, as if connecting heaven and earth.
And on the square outside the Black Tower, there is an ancient obelisk.
The red-gold ancient Aramaic words were engraved on the obelisk.
"The truth and destiny are in the depths of the stars"
Although this pitch-black tower is the center of the entire city, Hathaway had previously focused on the bustling Arcane Festival in the city, so it was not until this moment that she discovered the location of this pitch-black tower.
She had never seen the magnificent tower before her.
However, when the black tower actually came into view, Hathaway knew where she was.
That was what Char had mentioned to her before, the tower he wanted to build, a tower that belonged only to wizards, arcane, and magic.
At that time, Char had invited her to become the first member of this wizard tower.
They passed the huge obelisk in the square and walked into the magnificent black tower.
It seemed that it was time to get off work, and the Black Tower was empty.
Only volumes of magic classics and arcane knowledge were quietly displayed on the bookshelf, exuding the unique scholarly scent of paper and ink.
"I have always dreamed of building such a tall wizard tower."
"Humans, half-elves, dwarves..."
"Humans and sub-humans no longer have racial barriers, and have put aside the chains of interests, hatred and contradictions. Instead, they can gather together in peace and harmony, and what they discuss is not war and the division of territory, but the truth above the stars."
“This is a tower of knowledge built by humans and intelligent life. It is self-reliant and everlasting.”
"There is no room for gods to intervene, and there is no need for gods."
I heard the magnificent scenery described by Char.
The golden elf also spoke involuntarily: "Teacher Xia's dream is also my dream."
"Yeah……"
"In that case, I'll rest assured."
There was a hint of relief in Xia Ya's words.
And, a barely perceptible sense of relief.
"I used to think that your elders were irresponsible. They entrusted the mission of reviving the elves to you and then died without caring about anything."
"But now, at this moment, I can understand what they are thinking."
"That responsibility, that mission, is not so much a task or a burden that is forced upon you...but rather, it is a blessing."
"Because they know that they can no longer accompany you...but you are too young, so they are worried."
"So, I just used this method to give you motivation and direction in life."
"In fact, they may never care whether you can really revive the Elf King's Court..."
"As long as you don't give up on yourself, don't give up on life, don't lose yourself... and can live healthily and happily, they will be satisfied."
He suddenly stood up, touched the head of the golden elf girl in front of him, turned around and walked out of the magnificent black tower.
boom--
At the entrance of the black tower, the huge metal door slammed shut behind him.
In the golden elf's heart, that spiritual intuition detected something wrong without any warning.
But all this happened so quickly.
By the time she came to her senses, the huge metal door had slammed shut, and the human boy could no longer be seen.
Only Char's final words remained, echoing in this windowless tower.
"So, please don't forget it."
"My dream, our dream, the dream called the Black Tower..."
"besides--"
"goodbye."
"Ms. Hathaway."
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