"It's not a plague. ”

Naria said.

She pulled her black hair up high and cleaned it up so neatly that even the pouting made Ed feel refreshed and good-looking.

"Have you heard of the old priest of the Goddess of Dawn?" she asked, "Aurora? Lee...... To be honest, many people thought she was dead, after all, she hadn't been seen for almost ten years. ”

The High Priestess of the Goddess of Dawn was not as old as Hoyt Laval, but he looked much older. She was as thin as an old tree that was about to die, but still growing straight, and at the moment when it was about to fall, it was the last time it was in sight.

She made a ...... Probably a prophecy?" said Naria, "just the day before yesterday, at Stoke Fountain Square......

Stoke Fountain Square is one of the liveliest squares in Stonebuch. At first, not even many people noticed the old man sitting by the fountain with her head hanging as if she were sleepily basking in the sun, even though she was dressed in a crisp white robe—priests were not uncommon in Ston Buch.

But she suddenly got up, her cloudy eyes looking at the sky. When she spoke, the bright afternoon sun suddenly cooled down, and the sky was not cloudy, but the originally bright blue seemed to drip into the thick black ink, becoming dark and cloudy. In the frozen air, it was as if a huge shadow had fallen silently and enveloped the entire city.

Actually, no one fully understood what she said...... Except for the last sentence.

"The Black Tower will fall, and the water will dry up. She said, "The dawn will pass away, and the night will come." ”

That sentence was too clear. It rings in everyone's ears, rings in the depths of their souls, and the echo lingers and refuses to disperse.

The successive disasters and all kinds of bad omens have long made the people of Stonebugch panic all day long. And that sentence...... It's like a death knell that has finally been sounded, heavy and long, shattering all self-deception luck.

To make matters worse, after saying that, she died. "Nalya didn't want to be disrespectful to the dead, but in her opinion, the high priest was a little irresponsible," she fell straight to the ground like a stake, never closing her eyes. No one dared to approach her for a long time, until the priest of the Temple of Dawn arrived...... Among them was your friend, York Tracy. ”

Only then did it become known that it was Aurora, the forgotten old priest, who had died.

Fear spread like wings to every corner of the city, erupting into an almost uncontrollable panic that night.

"'A star fell in the northern sky and destroyed all of Balach. Naria pouted again, "Stonebutch is next." Aurora's death was punished for revealing the gods' arrangements - Stonebuch was cursed and its demise was inevitable...... That's pretty much what the rumors say. ”

Even if some doubt it, that the light was in fact piercing the sky from the ground, as it had been on that night not so long ago...... Soon after, news came from Lockburg that the city of Balach was fine and had not been unlucky enough to be hit by a star.

That's true. But the temple, which was supposed to come forward to calm people's hearts, was mostly eerily silent.

"Besides, everyone knows that the king has left Ston Buchi for Prolian's palace, and the Queen Mother will soon set off for the 'summer'......" Naria spread her hands, "what else can leave people in this city where 'eternal night is coming'? Moira has sent for you...... It was I who told her that since she couldn't stop them, let them go, and simply take them to Prolian and build a new city—which she was going to build anyway. ”

Moira was silent for a long time, then nodded in acceptance of her suggestion.

The gates of the city are open, and they will not be closed even at night, and there are soldiers to maintain order. Those who want to go to the place where the king is naturally arranged, and those who want to go to other places can also get permission quickly. As a result, there are not as many people as expected. It does look like there is a commotion near the city gate, but those who choose to stay can still live a normal life. The people of Stonebuge have a rocky stubbornness in their bones, and it won't be easy for them to abandon their homeland until the last minute.

"Some people have even just moved from the city to the outside of the city. Naria thought it was a bit ridiculous, "A lot of people are staying in the new town outside of the West Side...... I don't know what they're thinking. That's at the foot of the Black Tower! Are they so sure that even if 'the Black Tower is going to fall,' it will only fall into the city, and it won't fall outside the city?"

Ed was quiet for a moment, not knowing what to say. With Balach's example, he thinks it would be good to get people to leave Stonebugch before disaster strikes. But Balach has Krofler at his disposal, and everything seems to be under his control. And the situation with Ton Butch ...... Although it is not out of control, no matter how you think about it, it is a little weird.

In addition, Moira had to postpone her departure from Stonebutch - in this case, she stubbornly believed that she could only be the last to leave.

"I think you'd better go meet her. Naria hesitated, but told Ed anyway, "I don't think she's going to leave at all." ”

She always knew that Moira, the queen mother, was not doing it easily...... But I had never seen her so lifeless, like a flower about to wither, barely holding the last bit of color.

Ed nodded, changed his clothes and hurried to Lockburg, only to be stopped halfway through.

York Tracy, who suddenly appeared in front of him, no longer had the same radiance that they had unconsciously born because of their youth and confidence when they first met, as if even a white robe would shine with it. His face was gloomy and preoccupied, and he did not deny that he had been keeping an eye on the door of their house, waiting for Ed to return.

"I've been to you......" he said.

Ed knows. According to Naria, many people have come to look for him in the past two days, or wander around the neighborhood to peep. Even Dorian, his butler, had come running worriedly, but had bothered when Nalya asked, not as if he was worried about him, or to ask him if he should leave.

Ed was a little uneasy, but he really didn't care about that much at this time.

"If I may, please allow me to meet Her Majesty the Queen Mother with you. ”

After learning that Ed was in a hurry to go to Lockburg, the young pastor did not give up, "in fact she had summoned Pastor Bornser, but it was ...... at the time"

The Temple of Dawn was in chaos at that time—they didn't even know when the old priest had left the temple.

Ed didn't refuse. He also had a lot of questions to ask Tracy.

.