Silent footsteps landed on the icy steps, and in the darkness, the silent visitor could almost hear the whispers of the ancient stone walls, just as he had heard in his childhood.

As a child, he had curiously delved into every corner, trying to find the imaginary "friend" who was always hiding in the shadows because of his shyness, and he had been familiar with every stone of this castle and knew every story of it...... But when childhood passes away in a sudden disaster, those memories seem to be buried with it.

Now he walks on a carpet woven with intricate patterns from a distant and foreign land, and the only clear picture in his memory seems to be the child who likes to run barefoot in the hallway.

He stopped at the door of a certain room, reached for the doorknob and retracted it - he didn't need to open it.

In the fireplace in the room, a warm flame danced. The attentive hostess of the castle did not know that the man who slept in this room tonight never needed such warmth.

He approached the bed carefully. The young man on the bed almost kicked the quilt under the bed completely as before, and there was a faint sweat on his forehead.

He subconsciously stretched out his hand, but the young man's eyelashes suddenly fluttered slightly.

Ise sat up abruptly.

There was someone in the room...... At least just now.

He looked around at the familiar room—the room he had been in. Vala had kept everything intact, and now in his eyes, it was full of nostalgia, but it was also a little strange.

It's clear that everything is different...... Time seems to have stopped flowing here.

He rolled over and jumped out of bed. The aura of magic that had been there had completely dissipated, but he knew what it was.

Scott has been here. Gone again. He had probably come to make sure he was okay, but he didn't want to meet him.

Iss stood dumbfounded by the bed for a moment. The words that Scott said in his ear when they parted weighed heavily on his heart.

He didn't understand what that meant...... I don't want to understand either.

Bursts of heat made him more and more upset. He raised his hand to extinguish the fire in the fireplace with a simple spell. But he hesitated for a moment, feeling that this seemed to have failed Mrs. Singall's good intentions.

After a moment's hesitation, he simply opened the door, letting the cold air of the night flood into the room, and walked out barefoot.

He walked along, not noticing where his feet were taking him. When he came back to his senses, he had already followed the narrow. Rotate the steps upwards and climb to the platform of the West Tower.

Before Mrs. Singer repaired the bell tower with a spire to the south, it was the highest point in all of Christenburg. Isis remembers that when he was younger, he also liked to sneak up on it. Sit on the edge of the platform and look out over the forest beneath your feet, the rolling mountains, and a shimmering ribbon of the Vinez River in the distance.

He still remembers what was surging in his heart at that time. Some strange craving. That almost drove him to jump off the platform...... Now he finally understands that it is the desire to fly. Even when he didn't know he was a dragon, he instinctively longed for the sky.

It was Leda who first discovered his little secret, and Scott forbade him to climb up again, even locking the door to the place - fortunately, Scott didn't seem to know how Nia had taught him how to pick locks.

Iss jumped onto the stone wall and sat down. He could feel the wind blowing by his feet hanging from the wall, and it made him feel comfortable.

There's a bit of an itch in the back. He felt as if his wings wanted to come out, too.

If he hadn't resisted the temptation to jump from here, would he have instinctively turned into a dragon in mid-air, or would he have fallen to his death on the rocks below?......

"Hey, you're not trying to jump, are you?" asked someone behind him uneasily.

"Are you worried that I'm going to fall to my death?" asked Is, without looking back, with a smile in his voice.

Naria didn't answer, but walked straight to his side and sat down easily beside Isis with one hand.

"I know you can't fall, but if you run like this, I won't be able to catch you. The girl hugged her shoulders and looked down at the black rocks beneath her feet.

“...... I won't. Isis could only respond so clumsily.

Naria tilted her head to look at him, her gaze containing so much that Iss became more and more overwhelmed, almost literally wanting to jump off the tower and run away.

"It doesn't matter, if you really don't say goodbye and run somewhere I don't know...... I'll get you back again, too. Naria's tone was light and firm.

Iss is sure of this - he has a sister who never knows how to give up, and a friend who never knows how to give up.

"Ed!" he called back, unnecessarily loud, glad that someone had come to break the panic that had made him there, "are you going to hide there all the time?"

Another figure emerged from the darkness. Ed walked over with his cloak wrapped in embarrassment.

"You came with me?" asked Narya, confused, she hadn't heard anything, it seemed that the little tracking technique that Ed had learned from the elves was not in vain.

Ed shook his head: "I just can't sleep and come out and shake around, who knew you were all here......"

He rubbed against the wall and looked down, hesitated for a moment, carefully climbed up, and sat down on the other side of Is.

"Why, you're not afraid of heights when it's dark?" Narya teased.

She knew that Ed hadn't liked heights much ever since he fell off a wall and broke his leg while "practicing" climbing.

"If I do fall, Iss will catch me. Ed smirked at her, "That's the good thing about having a dragon as a friend!"

But he moved back nervously, straightened up, and tried not to look at his feet.

"Can't you sleep too?" he asked.

Before noticing Scott's presence, Iss had unexpectedly slept well, but he could only nod.

"The bed is too soft, the room is too ......warm," said Naria, "and I think I'm probably used to sleeping on twigs and hides." ”

"Me too. Ed sighed sadly, "I thought I'd die as soon as I got under the covers, I hadn't slept in months, but I couldn't sleep!

With a smile on his face, Iss looked at him without speaking.

“...... At times like these, as friends, you should ask, 'Why?

“...... Are you a girl?" Naria raised an eyebrow and asked another question.

Ed was stunned, apparently choked.

"It's obvious that your brother looks more like a girl!" After reacting, he fought back angrily, "I have a long beard!"

There was a moment of silence, then Naria laughed out loud. She really couldn't deny it.

Remembering the awkward scene at the Bayou Hotel, Is's face turned slightly red, and decided to quickly end this strange conversation, so he asked kindly, "Okay, so, you have something on your mind?"

- Still weird......

"Not anymore. Ed replied with a sneer, "It's ......."

He paused and began to look at the gentle silence of the Vinez River in the moonlight in the distance.

Ise waited patiently for a while, and Narya began to yawn, and Ed suddenly spoke:

"Is...... If I run away to be a pastor, will you still be my friend?"

It's a stupid question—even for Ed.

"What do you say?" Iss glared at him angrily, "My brother used to be a knight of Nior, and now he is a priest of a god who came out of nowhere, if I would be angry about this, I would have flown back to the ice sea to sleep!"

Ed laughed, seeming a little embarrassed and a little happy.

“...... You want to be a priest of Ni'o?"

Although she had long realized that it was almost inevitable, Naria couldn't help but ask, "Can you really stand those long-winded and rigid rules?"

Iss nodded approvingly: "You know, to be a true pastor requires a very 'religious' faith, and absolute loyalty. ”

He didn't know for what reason Ni'or had given Ed powers that many of the high-ranking priests didn't have, and he had no intention of interfering with his friend's choice—but he still felt a little unwilling to be robbed of his best friend by a cunning goddess...... and a faint uneasiness.

He also knew very well that Ed's belief in God was far from religious, even after receiving God-given strength.

"Well......" Ed thoughtfully wrapped his cloak a little tighter, "sometimes I feel like it's not really that important......

"You say that in front of Sean Fletcher. Naria threw him a disdainful look.

"If he dares, I'll go and get Ni'e's Tears as a gift for him. Iss smiled and agreed. The Tears of Ni'o, one of the most powerful artifacts in lore, was lost long ago, but Sean ...... That's a character that even Alan and Scott want to stay out of. He was sure Ed wouldn't dare to make the bet with him.

Sure enough, Ed couldn't help but wince and didn't dare to answer.

After a long pause, he spoke softly:

"But I can be in Felicity...... Say this in the presence of the Holy One. She'll understand...... Or, she'll tell me, what the hell to do......"

He wanted to see Felicity again, and that desire grew stronger and more urgent.

"You don't need her to tell you what to do, Ed. Isis looked at his friend quietly, "You always knew what to do. ”

He'd always thought Ed Singal was an incredible guy. Not strong enough, not strong enough, not very smart...... But in any situation, try to make the right choice.

Ed was stunned for a moment before he realized the trust contained in this sentence. And he could only look back at Is's light blue eyes, speechless for a long time.

If only he could believe in himself like that.......

(To be continued......)