He hadn't drawn far before Ed lost his direction completely.

They were completely surrounded by fog. The boat rocks gently on the water, far less reassuring than solid ground. Ed felt as if they were floating in the void, the whole world was in chaos, and no matter which direction they went, all that awaited him was endless mist.

They will never be able to leave here again.

He suppressed the panic that had been building up in his heart, and continued to row forward without saying a word—no, he couldn't tell the difference between front and back at all.

He paused, wondering if he should risk a little spell...... Then Eric's low voice came from across from him.

"Don't think about it. He said.

Ed was stunned for a moment, unable to understand what the paladin was talking about.

"Don't think about it. Eric repeated under his breath, but didn't explain much.

He sat motionless through the hazy mist, and a strange feeling rose in Ed's mind - it wasn't Eric at all, just a suit of armor...... A dummy, a phantom, like Herina in Eric's eyes, lures him step by step on the road to no return.

The boat was quietly anchored on the water. The mist embraced them coldly and wetly, devouring them...... Ed listened to his heavier heartbeat, gritted his teeth, and swung the plank again.

Whatever brought him here, he won't give up easily.

The sound of the water made him feel a little calm—at least proof that they were still navigating the blue waters of Starnestle. For a moment his mind was empty, not trying to find the right direction. There was no doubt that Eric's presence had another purpose, and there was no concern about the unknown dangers he might face...... Just paddling again and again, listening intently to the monotonous and peaceful. The sound of rushing water......

Then it dawned on him.

- "Don't think about it. ”

He is no longer obsessed with the "right direction", he simply empties his mind and paddles as he pleases.

The panic, anxiety and doubts in my heart gradually subsided. When I closed my eyes, the breeze blowing in my ears was as gentle as before, and the water condensed on my hair slid down my cheeks, and the itching was a little pleasant......

Maybe all the uneasiness only comes from the bottom of his heart.

The hull of the ship shook slightly. They landed. In the midst of the chaos, Ed was sure that they had reached the sacred island.

He could feel some chaotic force flowing through the air. It doesn't seem dangerous, but it's not friendly either...... He unconsciously remembered the black flower that bloomed in the tomb.

Is it still there?

Eric silently followed Ed and jumped off the boat, keeping his head down and not saying a word. Ed listened to his heavy, slow footsteps and stepped forward.

He had to think of the old priest who lived alone on the island - he should still be alive, even if the enemy had invaded it. Who cares about an old man who is aging like he's going to die in the next moment......

But he didn't dare to cry out. As if fearing that his voice would only call ghosts.

He walked slowly, but he still tripped over something like a tree root, and staggered forward a few steps.

When he was finally able to stabilize his body, the golden sunlight shone on his body.

Ed looked up in astonishment—he saw a blue sky.

Under a few white clouds, the warm sunlight is bright but not dazzling. There is no wind, the air is crystal clear, and there is a faint hint of pleasant coolness in the breath......

Ed spun around in a daze...... Another lap.

The fog lifted—or never existed. Eric was nowhere to be seen, standing alone on the path that led to the old temple. The whole world is as clean and fresh as it has been washed, and the remnants of snow are still covered under the ancient oak trees...... But now it's late spring. Even the snow in the northern ice fields should melt......

Ed stood dumbfounded for a moment, then suddenly calmed down after a moment of confusion, raised his eyebrows, and continued on.

He wondered how strange things could get.

There was no fog, and even the body seemed to be much lighter. Walking along the familiar forest path, Ed realized that the trees on both sides did not seem to be as old as he remembered—he remembered that the branches and leaves of the oak trees had intertwined, forming a natural dome above him, like a grand palace, which had impressed him when he first set foot on the island.

But at this moment, the sun was pouring down, and the big trees beside the road were stretching their branches vigorously, but it was not enough to shade the not wide road, nor was it at all the calm and solemn that he remembered.

They are all young.

A vague premonition made my heart beat faster. When the familiar meadow came into view, the sunlight illuminated the small circular pool in the middle of the meadow...... When a woman in a white robe by the pool draped the white hair behind her, Ed still stopped suddenly, and even stopped breathing for a moment.

"Felicity ......"

He whispered the name in disbelief, then raised his voice uncontrollably in a spontaneous ecstasy: "Felicity!".

The white-haired woman slumped back suddenly.

It was indeed Felicity. Young and energetic like an oak tree by the roadside, with a tall figure and a slender waist, holding a humble wooden cane in his right hand, his muscular forearms exposed under the long sleeves that slipped, and his blue eyes were bright and sharp......

But she didn't seem to see him.

Her brow furrowed in confusion, and her gaze was in Ed's direction, slowly scanning back and forth, but it was as if she hadn't seen anything.

“...... Felicity?"

Ed tentatively called out again, but she only lowered her eyes thoughtfully and turned her head back.

...... She really didn't see him.

A deep sense of loss welled up from nostalgia and joy. Ed stood motionless, staring at the familiar and unfamiliar back. She no longer wore a high, dangling ponytail, and her long loose hair made her look much more mature...... She was neither the lively maiden he had seen two hundred years ago, nor the apparition of the cheerful and kind old man he had faced in the temple of Collins, nor the little girl who had appeared in his dreams......

He believed in her with all his heart, without the slightest doubt. But what does he really know about Felicity Amber?

Felicity stood in front of the pool and faced the door of the old temple, which looked like it had not changed at all.

It didn't take long for two men wrapped in heavy robes to come out of the temple. The robes were more gray than white, and looked like their owners, weather-beaten, old and cold.

The face hidden under the cloak was blurred, and Ed looked curiously for a few moments before realizing that one of the men was talking...... And he didn't hear anything.

It was only then that he realized that from the moment he fell into the sunlight, he felt that something was not right...... It's not just the change in the environment, it's that he can't hear anything but his own voice. It's like he's being sealed in a transparent cocoon...... Or he doesn't really exist in this world.

He could only stare at the man's lips, annoyed that he couldn't read lips.

But he could at least tell that the conversation between the two men, who were supposed to be priests, and Felicity was not pleasant. There was not much expression on their faces, but their eyes were always cold—cold, indifferent, statuelike without a hint of warmth.

Ed cautiously approached, rubbing his way to a point where Felicity's face could be seen—and was startled by the look of anger on his face.

He didn't know that Felicity would also be angry.

When Felicity landed and stuck his cane into the dirt and spread his arms, Ed involuntarily stepped back.

The white-haired female pastor exuded a compelling momentum for a moment...... It can almost be called the momentum of "killing intent".

The power of the spell seemed to distort the entire space. Ed stood to the side dumbfounded, watching the other man who had just been silent suddenly step forward, casting a gorgeous shield of light in the void with both hands, watching the flaming arrows shoot straight into Felicity's chest, and watching the other two younger priests run out of the temple, one of them holding a long sword......

From beginning to end, he couldn't help but watch a silent battle.

The flat grass, which was already faintly green, was marked with strange traces. A corner of the gatehouse of the temple was blown down...... He remembered the gap, but he thought it had collapsed naturally with the passage of time......

There was a rumbling in his ears, like a herd of wild horses running back and forth, trampling his brain into a puddle of mud.

He couldn't figure out what was going on at all.

The chaotic currents lifted Felicity's white hair, making her look sharp and ferocious. She looked so strange...... It's as strange as another person Ed doesn't even know.

He didn't even realize when the fighting stopped.

The two priests fell to the ground, dead or alive. Felicity stood upright, and the other three priests, after a moment of stiffness, bowed their heads deeply towards her, half-on their knees.

Ed licked his dry lips, his heart pounding.

He thought he knew what he was seeing.

It was the moment when Felicity set foot on the Holy Island and was recognized as a saint by the isolated priests...... But the process was clearly not as peaceful and solemn as the legend suggests, and Felicity was not holding the Staff of Eternity in her hand.

So, did she use her pure power to earn the name of "Sage" for herself?

Ed stood there blankly, watching Felicity stride towards the temple door, only to suddenly turn back the moment he stepped up the steps and look in the direction he was standing.

She shouldn't be able to see him...... But after hundreds of years, in silence, Ed felt in a trance that they really looked at each other.

And then the fog hides everything.

(To be continued.) )

PS: Six hundred to reach ...... It's 600, do I want to nibble on a chicken leg to celebrate......