…but I am lonely, and I long for a guest with whom I can share this beauty.
I can give you countless treasures, mountains of gold, and the most perfect pearls in the sea.
I can give you a safe journey home, endless glory, the king's title, and the love of the people.
I just want one guest I desire.
As long as this guest doesn’t leave me.”
After hearing her words, people showed expressions of desire and greed.
Mountains of gold, pearls in the sea...all of these will bring great help to their future.
Just hand over one person.
As long as one of them remains.
The rest of them can return safely with the supreme treasure promised by the siren.
There's no better deal than this.
"Who do you want?" a crew member, eager to leave, asked impatiently.
They took the wax out of their ears one after another, revealing greedy expressions.
The Siren smiled.
Her finger slowly pointed to the young captain in the center of them, who was still holding the sword towards her.
"I want you," she whispered, "young guest."
Su Lin was the focus of countless gazes in an instant.
The deputy captain beside him stared at him with eager eyes. The first mate he trusted silently drew the sword from his waist. Even the ordinary crew members beside him surrounded him.
He looked around at these people who had suddenly changed their stance.
Amid countless eager gazes, his hand holding the sword trembled.
At this moment, he heard his own extremely calm voice:
"good."
…
The crew left the island excitedly with pearls and gold, singing and dancing as they sailed towards their great future.
Su Lin stayed, but the Siren did not force him to do anything.
She offered him delicious fruits from the island, sang for him, told him stories like an innocent little girl, and treated him like a guest.
There were fewer deaths at sea, and the storm seemed to have subsided.
When the process suddenly slowed down, the Siren's voice sounded:
"I kept you here because I was about to die." The siren said, "You made me very happy these days. Thank you."
“…”
"A few months ago, your royal girl also met me, but unfortunately, she was disobedient and only wanted to steal my soul. I gave her a false soul so that her knights would stop harassing me." The siren said, "And now, as I am about to die, I will give you my entire real soul."
Su Lin stared at her beautiful face.
She placed her cracked hand on his and whispered to him.
She said that she was a siren and was supposed to make a living by seducing passing travelers and sucking their souls.
But she was too lonely, too lonely. The long life became a shackle that bound her, and no matter how beautiful the flowers on the island were, they could not make her happy, so she asked him to stay.
She no longer sang the sinful song that had caused the ship to run aground; her voice became melodious and moving, and she sang only for her only guest.
She said she was aware of the disaster in Praia and the difficulties they faced - the storm lingered near Praia and people were forced to look for new resources.
She raised her hand and asked Su Lin to look at the sky.
Su Lin looked up and saw a circle of shadow floating in the sky.
It is a legendary city in the clouds that is protected by gods and is not destroyed by storms.
"Is that true?" he asked.
"No, I guess, that's false," said the Siren, "but my guest, you can make it 'true'."
"you mean……"
"Those who betrayed you, how hateful!" said the siren. "Go back, my guest. Go back to your hometown, go back to your native land. Deceiving people - saying that there is a long-lived god hiding in the city of heaven, he is extremely merciful, he will bless you, will protect you from the storm.
——You can lure those people who once betrayed you, trick them into boarding the airship, boarding the city, and let them die to save your resources.
My soul can give you special powers and a long life. From now on, you will no longer be afraid of special terrifying races, you will not die from strange poisonous gas, and you will not be trapped by all kinds of human diseases...
You can even have the ability to cultivate your own "next generation" and make people your "petri dishes" so that you can achieve immortality.
You can exploit people's hatred, start wars, stir up their emotions, and create large-scale deaths to prolong your life.
You can use this to deceive people, build an airship to the city on the clouds, and send those you hate to hell. Then, you can turn the remaining people into your "petri dish", and you will be able to rule your hometown and become the only and eternal king of Praia."
She was still singing softly, her voice was melodious and moving.
Her words were so alluring that they were almost impossible to resist.
But her guest sighed softly:
“…But this is a wrong approach.”
The mermaid's dark eyes widened slightly, she was a little bit unbelieving.
"They deceived you first." She didn't understand why.
"But what did the others do wrong?" Su Lin said softly, "The royal family that allowed people to live and work in peace and contentment did nothing wrong, and the same goes for the people who were unaware of this. The brave soul hunters and the people who struggled to survive did nothing wrong. Since I am returning with power, I will naturally lead them into the future."
"What are you going to do?" the Siren asked.
Looking at the very puzzled Siren, Su Lin said slowly:
"You have already given me... a long life, the power of the Soul Clan, a body that is not afraid of poison gas, and the ability to cultivate 'petri dishes'.
Then, I will use these abilities to climb up to the city in the clouds and find a suitable way to save my hometown. Why does it float in the sky and why is it not afraid of storms? I will use this indelible body to get the answer above the city. "
"Don't do this." The siren was puzzled by her guest's behavior. "You will endure a long and lonely life like me."
Facing the mermaid whose body was gradually cracking, Su Lin stared into her dark eyes and smiled.
"As long as I have a homeland to protect, I will never be alone," he said.
…
The blood-colored crystal cracked in front of him.
In the painting, a priest with a burning flame raises his hands high toward heaven. A white dove flutters at his fingertips, and the flames are like his outstretched wings.
Su Mingan opened his fingers and the fragments of the crystal slowly fell.
He suddenly became aware of a sound behind him.
"Rin," she said.
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