Tess's sudden burst of words was like a bolt of lightning in mid-air, which caught Ed off guard, and his mind instantly became a mess.

He never connected it to his faith in Nesses...... Despite the many questions he had about being imprisoned, he subconsciously believed Scott - even after the incident at Stormstorm.

Moreover, doubting the actions of certain believers is quite different from doubting a certain faith itself. He instinctively refused to believe that things could be so serious...... The countless fragments of his memory began to uncontrollably piece together a vague but complete picture, faintly pointing to a conclusion that he could not accept anyway - that Lydia's power and Scott were probably from the same source.

There are many inexplicable aspects of their "resurrections": Scott has taken control of a necromancer and wants to do something with the bones of the Ice Man, it is an undeniable fact, although it is not human life that is desecrated, but it is not a righteous act that can be talked about in the sun, and in all seriousness, it is the plague spread by Lydia that has made Scott's name a sage, and Scott has spared her again and again, although he has destroyed her hiding place and hunted down the escaped necromancers......

and, the attack on the Temple of Collins at the May Festival, and the massacre in the fog a few months later, in which Lydia was present. Everyone thought it was a necromancer's trick, but it was clear that there was an even more mysterious enemy hidden in the shadows...... Ed had to think of the face he had seen in the temple outside the Elven Ruins in the Sidney Basin—one of the mercenaries that Eren and Narya had brought back. He tried to convince himself. It was just a plain face, and there were many people with similar appearances...... No, that's not "persuasion". That's self-deception.

He tried his best to keep things simple, but the world was complicated.

The mercenaries are suspected of helping the necromancers create the chaos on the night of Mayday. When the fog fell on Collins, they were not in their own cage...... "Coincidence" alone clearly does not explain everything.

So, Lydia and Scott...... Are they allies? -- but they are also incompatible enemies. If there is some kind of force that uses them at the same time...... What a force that must be!

Ed's panic was made by one logical, yet almost ridiculous speculation, and he couldn't even say which one was worse. Maybe he shouldn't have given up looking for Is...... He may well be left alone in unimaginable danger.

He involuntarily hugged his head and looked at Norway pleadingly. There was a rare hint of nervousness on the elf's seemingly calm face, as if he had thought of something. But he quickly calmed down. Shook his head at Ed.

"Kopas Fenton did say something similar...... But it doesn't feel the same. He told Ed, "We can come back to this later." Now, don't overcomplicate things. Let's start by telling us what you know. ”

His gentle voice saved Ed from the mire of chaos, drawing his attention to Naria's worried gaze and Alan's thoughtful frown.

"The elf is right. Alan nodded to him, "You just mentioned Felicity...... Why?"

It took Ed a moment to reorganize his thoughts before he could continue.

"Felicity has also looked for Ankland. He said, "Long before she became a saint." When I was a young pastor...... No. Rather, she was looking for 'another power', an unknown power that existed beyond the gods and hell, between light and darkness...... And that eventually led her to Ankland. ”

"How do you know?" she ...... Did you tell you?" Naria held out a finger and pointed it at the corner of her forehead.

Ed immediately understood what she meant.

"No...... It's not like that. He stared down at the textured tabletop, mixed feelings, "It's been a long time since she's been in my dreams. ”

He quickly pulled the conversation away before anyone else could react with any sympathy or understanding: "She spends a lot of time in the Blandi Library...... That old library has many treasured collections of books and scrolls that would not be open to the general public. Anyone who has the right to borrow them must leave their name, as well as the time when they were borrowed and returned. Just be patient and attentive enough. The records gave you a rough idea of what she was looking for...... Although she doesn't seem to find results in Berlanti. She never went there again after she became a saint until more than thirty years ago, when the Collins Temple donated a collection of books to the library in her name......"

He stopped, his mouth dry. He could feel his heartbeat as the scroll hidden under his coat burned his skin like a piece of charcoal still burning. The shock he had at first sight had turned into an indescribable panic that left him at peace for a moment.

He had to find out.

Tess coughed hard, reminding him to continue—reminding him that there was no turning back.

He pulled out the slender brass sleeve and held it tightly in his hand.

"This is one of them. He said.

“...... Oops. Tess cried out, her eyes curious and excited, "You stole it?"

Ed was stunned for a moment—it was true that the rare books in the Branti Library were not allowed to be taken out, and the books donated by Felicity were undoubtedly treasured.

"Not really!" he instinctively blurted back, "I didn't steal it...... No, it can't be considered stealing...... It was mine!"

"I understand. Tess smiled meaningfully and nodded, "Really, Ed, I understand." ”

Ed held his forehead helplessly, crying and laughing—but this little episode unexpectedly lightened the weight of his heart.

"Of all the donations to the Temple of Collins, it is inconspicuous. He looked down at what was lying in the palm of his hand, with mixed feelings, "It has five volumes, it is not very old, and the content is only a few short stories made up by a not very clever playwright, probably for some wandering theater troupe. There's a story ...... there's a story."

He unconsciously glanced at Eren and cleared his throat: "There is a story about a team of adventurers who inadvertently broke into the ruins of a cursed elven city, and one of them was seduced by some mysterious and powerful force, and finally fell into the darkness and became an evil mage...... To stop him from destroying the world, his companions paid a terrible price, some dead, others crippled...... And at the end of the story, the evil mage is killed, and everyone thinks it's over...... I didn't know that was the real beginning. ”

"Rotten story. Tess scoffed, "Even Borena doesn't make it up as good as ...... But why does it sound familiar?"

Naria turned her head to look at Eren in disbelief, but didn't say anything.

“...... Oh. Tess said, finally reacting.

“...... That doesn't mean anything. Alan hesitated, "I've heard many similar adventure stories, and they all have some similarities - evil forces, betrayed companions, and mysterious endings......

"Yes...... Ed smiled wryly, opened the copper sleeve, poured out the scroll he had carefully tucked inside, and slowly unfolded it on the table, his gaze once more over the familiar handwriting on the yellowed page, "It's just ...... I know this author. ”

His fingers trembled slightly as he pushed it towards Alan and Norvi, and the elf glanced up at him in amazement.

Tess threw herself on the table, leaned out for the most part, tilted her head and stared at the scroll for a moment, then looked back at Ed with a hellish expression.

"Is this a joke?" she asked exasperatedly, "not funny at all, is it?!"

"Trust me, I hope it's a joke too. Ed smiled weakly, "...... But that's my handwriting. ”

One by one, he looked at each of the stunned faces, repeating the fact that even he could not believe: "I wrote this story...... About 200 years ago. ”

Naria jerked to her feet and reached for the scroll, the screeching sound of the slammed chair on the floor.

She carefully read every line over and over again, then looked up at him in disbelief.

Ed could only give her an ugly smile back.

"Perhaps...... Someone faked it?" Naria apparently refused to believe such a ridiculous thing.

Ed shook his head: "Except for myself...... No one can fake this. ”

He's not a fool - not that stupid. He had double-checked the scrolls, and had returned to the Branti Library to inspect the other volumes...... It was all in his handwriting, and many of the words he used were completely his habits, including the way he smeared when he made mistakes...... There's even a story he heard from a sailor in Singel's fleet a few years ago, and the name of that sailor, and several other sailors, was taken by him lazily as the name of one of the characters in the story......

There could never have been such a coincidence, and no one else knew about him.

He stood in the storage room of the Branti Library, shivering in the bright magical light, staring at his own shadow on the ground in a cold sweat...... It was as if he suddenly found himself standing there as a ghost.

When he finally calmed down, he vaguely guessed what was going on - he had indeed gone back two hundred years, in his memory...... In the part of Felicity's memories that he gave him, he had only been there for a day or two before being sent back by Celebrien.

What if that's not all?...... What if, that wasn't the only time he went back in time?

He remembered Celebrion telling him that the rules of time were delicate and cold, and that any attempt to make any change would come at an unforeseen cost - he was definitely not writing these in vain, and Felicity was definitely not pointlessly putting his own stamp on the end of the scroll and sending them to the Blandi Library.

That's some kind of warning...... And he had to find the real threat.

(To be continued......)