"I couldn't sleep anymore, my soul was getting weaker day by day. The old mage's voice was so calm that it lost its undulations, and he murmured like a revenant, "I gradually lost sight of whether I was alive or dead, and whether the world in front of me was real or dream. This body ...... It's almost to the limit. ”

He raised his hand slightly and put it down, smirking at himself: "I'm not a god after all." ”

Under the long sleeves that slipped down, there were faint patches of blue and gray on the dead white arms...... It was flesh that was about to rot.

Tumus's ambitions have long been in his eyes. He wasn't even averse to activating Harold's legacy – success or failure could be one end and another.

What he couldn't stand was that there were outsiders secretly manipulating all this.

Able to climb to the position of the Lord of the East Tower, Tumus is not the impatient and impatient man he seems. If no one pushes him, he may not have the courage to activate the circle in another ten years.

Another force formed an invisible and intertwined net under the turbulent undercurrent of the ** Division Tower, and he realized at the slightest touch that it was no longer something he could solve alone.

He didn't have much time left. Before the dead body collapsed completely, he chose to take a desperate gamble.

"Since they are so eager...... Then I'll just help them again. He told Ed, "I used to think I should be thankful for your presence. You ruined Tumus's setup at the Gate of the Storm, and in his opinion, you probably ruined his deal with the Black Sail Pirates...... And if a group of pirates could use the ancient ruins to gain unimaginable power, why shouldn't he—and besides, a pride like him wouldn't allow the pirates he thought he had caught in the palm of his hand to climb on his head. ”

"...... 'ever?'" Ed didn't mind asking another fitting question at such a time.

"'Ever'. Verona smiled at him with satisfaction, even though the smile that belonged to the dead would make Ed's body tense unconsciously.

"Now that I think about it, from the moment your father was 'kidnapped' by the Black Sail Pirates, both you and the ** Shi Tower have been caught in the net. ”

"But I don't think they seem to have succeeded. Ed spoke cautiously, "I've been around the corner. Because the entire ** division tower has been transferred to another world...... The world has not been affected in any way. ”

"What do you think they want, like your uncle, to break the old rules and create a new one?" Verona asked unceremoniously, "whether it succeeds or not depends on the other party's purpose, not your self-righteous speculation." Or do you think your uncle is behind the scenes?"

Ed was choked with nothing to say.

"And what do you think their purpose is?" asked Iss, coldly.

"What do you think the pirate's purpose is?" Verona replied with another rhetorical question.

...... Revenge?

Ed thought silently, and ashamedly shoved the thought into the deepest corner. The imprint of his youthful ignorance was always unforgettable, but just as he could realize that Rafferty was not that important to him, how important could he be in the heart of the "Nine Toes" who had become the leader of the Black Sails?

The memories of the past can never be worth the benefits of today.

"He wants to ...... Possess enough power. He said, "The power that is not controlled by others." ”

"Look. Verona spread his hands, "How simple. The world may be about to collapse, but that doesn't stop some people from thinking they can take advantage of the fire and survive. ”

“...... You know everything. And that's more than a compliment, Ed said.

"So you think I can plan everything and tell you the facts, or Stobel, and tell everyone 'you' feel you can trust, to work together to put an end to the enemy's plan before it has even begun, and to win the victory at the slightest cost?" Verona looked at him and was truly incredible: "How did you survive until now, despite your great talent, but so naïve?"

Ed opened his mouth and closed it again, slowly blushing.

"He's lucky. Is's fluttering explanation is more like falling into a rock.

"That's really...... Congratulations. Verona said.

Ed almost wanted to grab his head on the ground and burrow into a crack.

"Even if I tell you what I'm telling you now, it won't necessarily be heard by no one else. Verona let him go, "something...... Everywhere. ”

It's just that it doesn't matter anymore.

"Maybe it's too late...... But I did my best. He said that it was a real relief in this moment.

He didn't know where his soul would go...... It may drift around, and eventually dissipate between heaven and earth, like the first life of this world.

That's actually good, too.

.

When the ice dragon took to the sky again, the sun was rising from the distant sea level. Clouds obscured its outline, but it did not block its light. The sea and the clouds seemed to be burning, the night was unwilling to recede, the sky and the earth, the light and the dark, at a certain moment seemed to have no boundaries, and they melted together in the faint fiery red.

“...... Is that part of the 'rules'?" said Ed, a little dazed, "one day, the sun will no longer rise...... Or is it another sun that is rising?"

"There has always been only one sun. The ice dragon replied very seriously, "But it seems that the moon once had two ...... That was long before our memories could be passed on. ”

"If you don't remember the ancestors of the ancestors, also used to write down what they remembered. ”

“...... Well. ”

“...... Will magic really go away?"

"What if it disappears?"

"There's no magic...... We can't even draw a map that's accurate enough. ”

"There's always another way to draw it. ”

“...... Oh. ”

The wind was cold from above, and Ed huddled up and fell to his stomach.

"Is......" he said, "I'm scared. ”

“...... Are you just starting to get scared now?"

Ed smiled wryly.

"I've been scared. He said

He refused to accept it...... He single-mindedly told himself that all his efforts were nothing more than to protect his relatives and friends. His heart is small, his abilities are limited, and he can't afford to carry heavier burdens...... It's as if if you don't look up and don't care how deep the darkness is.

However, he could no longer deceive himself, just like Verona and Stobel, even if they were reluctantly pushed to their current position for various reasons, they had something to carry to stand in this position.

Even if it's just a pawn...... I can only try to be the one who can stand until the last moment.

"Is," he asked, "you...... You've always known where Scott is, right?"

.