Bright light leaked silently into the dim and silent room, and before Ed could see anything, the dark shadow in front of the bookshelf suddenly moved startled him. But he quickly reacted and exclaimed in surprise:

"Scott!"

Scott nodded to him slightly, standing up straight, but his face was in a trance as if he had just woken up from a dream—if that was the case, it didn't look like a good dream.

Ed hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking, "You...... When did you come back?"

It was an inconsequential question - compared to other questions he wanted to ask but didn't know how to get out. It wasn't so much that he wanted to know the answer, but that the silence between the two of them made him feel a little awkward.

Scott stood silent, as if he hadn't heard at all, and when Ed thought he wouldn't get an answer and was about to change the way he communicated, he suddenly whispered:

"At the time of his death. ”

Ed was stunned and blurted out, "Bloomer?"

Scott nodded, the trance in his eyes finally receding, revealing the deep exhaustion beneath him.

"Filly said you could feel ......," Ed remembered, "that's why you can find me." ”

"I found him too...... However, it is of little use. Scott smiled wryly, "When I arrived, he was dead." ”

He slumped back in his chair, hung his head and muttered, "I can't stop ......"

His next sentence was so low that Ed almost suspected he had misheard something—"I don't even know if I should stop it." ”

Isn't it "how" but "shouldn't"?

The heart pounded, and countless questions came flooding up, like a flood that bursts its banks in the summer, and it can no longer be controlled. Ed thought blankly for a moment, cautious...... But he closed the door probably unnecessarily, cleared his tight throat, and asked softly in the most tactful way he could think of:

"Did Iss ever tell you the name of a dragon?...... An ancient flame dragon that should have been dead for thousands of years—"

Scott looked up suddenly, and Ed's voice was cut off from his overly aggressive gaze.

Wrong question—he thought in a panic.

Wrong timing...... Or the wrong person.

He couldn't tell.

He tensed and stopped breathing for a few beats. Scott's eyes lit up terrifyingly...... It was not the inhuman golden yellow he had ever seen, but still with a light blue, but it had lost its transparency, more like a blade calcined by fire, and in the midst of hardness and coldness, it revealed a strange, shattering fragility.

Danger - instinct screamed sharply in Ed's ear. Not the danger of being locked in sight by a devouring beast, but the danger of standing on the edge of a cliff and looking at the bottomless abyss or churning magma beneath your feet. He even unconsciously prepared an escape spell, and frustrated himself that it probably wouldn't be of much use...... Where could he run away? He had so much that he couldn't give up, and his life wasn't in his own hands.

- How could he have such a thought?

Ed came to his senses in shock, and a layer of cold sweat was already forming behind his back.

Scott lowered his eyes and leaned back in his chair. Ed struggled to calm his breathing and heartbeat, unsure of what was going on—for a moment, fear that seemed unto belong to him swirled in his mind.

It was a strange, unsettling feeling. It's like the forbidden place in the soul that no one else is allowed to set foot in is inexplicably invaded, even if it's just an accident, it makes people tremble. Even his stomach twitched, as if he wanted to clean up yesterday's dinner.

He didn't know what Scott was feeling...... He didn't know what he was feeling.

Countless questions poured into my lips and were swallowed back. For a long time no one spoke, until Scott let out a low sigh and finally stood up as if he had made up his mind.

"Follow me. ”

He said, in an unusually calm tone.

After following Scott for a while, Ed began to twist his head and look around curiously.

The place was as quiet as a tomb...... For a moment, Nia's warning slipped through his mind and he kicked him out again.

In any case, at least he could be confident that Scott would not hurt him.

As Scott hurried, the sturdy stone walls stretched around them into unilluminated darkness and turned abruptly, crisscrossing the road like a chessboard, and those caught up in it were likely to never find an exit...... He had heard of this place. Just a day earlier, Filly had tapped on the map of Lockburg and told him the secrets that had been hidden underground, born with the city. It was in this dark labyrinth that Fili was attacked by Lydia, and the mark of the magic still remained on the back of his neck, and no one knew what the consequences would be......

Filly's narrative is extremely brief, with unspeakable chagrin and resignation. But even for a few brief sentences, he paused several times, blinking as if he couldn't remember anything. It didn't take Niya's keen eyes for Ed to see that he was hiding something...... But who among them is not like that?

He didn't ask, just wanted to see all the places that had been marked. This labyrinth and the altar in Lockburg, where Scott's blackened blood still remains, were originally arranged at the end, after all, the situation is a bit complicated now......

He walked a few quick steps, followed Scott closely, and involuntarily began to wonder how Scott's return would change the situation - it was no longer a chaos that could be suppressed by absolute force, not to mention that Scott's own situation was so delicate.

All kinds of uneasiness are entangled in the bottom of my heart like water and weeds, and it is difficult to separate. Ed stared blankly at the huge sarcophagus that suddenly appeared in front of him, and for a moment he realized that they had reached their destination.

Scott's gaze on his face was met with forbearance. He ducked weakly, allowing himself to stare at the rune-carved sarcophagus in front of him. Excitement and curiosity quickly overcame fear and uneasiness, and he cautiously drew closer, tempting to reach out and touch it.

"Is this the one?" his voice was filled with exclamation that lacked tension, "Doron Bofford, the sarcophagus of the 'Mage King'?"

“...... Yes. Scott sighed weakly, "But I didn't bring you here to show you this...... Besides, it's empty. ”.

(To be continued.) )