All the sounds around them floated far and near, and the flickering candlelight revealed a bleak white, but it was unusually dazzling. The unfinished soufflé fell to pieces on the plate between his suddenly clenched fingers, but Ed didn't realize it.

He stared straight at a certain point, his heavy heartbeat ringing in his ears like a drum, and his whole body was hot and cold. Birth and death, creation and destruction...... He remembered the races that had existed and were extinct, the legend of how the world had given birth to dragons, the statue of the Eyeless God in the Wind Fortress, the Saxes who should not have been born, the father of Anclan who was treated as a blasphemer, and his only fault was to create creatures that never existed...... He thought of Anklan's unknowingly powerful power, of the symbols used by the necromancer that were too similar to the language of the gods, of the notes left by the mad mage of Romuen West, who had been thrown to them by the crows in the Valley of Ambition, of the walls of souls that he had written, the eternal sea of nothingness beyond the edge of the world...... He remembered Nia's recreated body.

The scattered fragments in his mind suddenly found some kind of connection, piece together a picture he had never thought of. Fear was like icy water, from his mouth and nose...... Poured into his body from every pore of his body, infused his soul, and made him tremble involuntarily, so that even his teeth were chattering.

“...... Ed...... Ed?"

Someone called his name, someone grabbed his wrist.

He jumped to his feet, almost overturning his chair, and met all the doubtful and concerned glances, and suddenly felt unbearable.

"I ...... I ......"

His throat was terribly dry.

After a moment of silence...... He turned around and ran away.

Isis and Naria stood up almost at the same time, trying to chase them out, but they couldn't help but look at each other in unison.

Isis lowered his eyes and stood still. Naria stamped her foot and ran out.

There was a dead silence in the dining room for a while. Eth glared gloomily at Bertram—all of them glaring at Bertram, as if they all thought it must be his fault. Confused, Bertram spread his hands innocently: "You should have heard what I said?...... What the hell did I say?"

His voice was not high but not very low, and even if others couldn't hear it clearly, Iss could definitely hear it. They are nothing more than talking about barbarians...... Ed wouldn't have run away just because he suddenly thought of something terrible that had happened on the ice field, right?

Isis looked out the door. That certainly won't be because of the barbarians...... What kind of mess did that idiot suddenly come to mind?

.

Ed didn't go very far—the house near the dock wasn't big in the first place, and the small garden in the atrium was crowded with lush flowers and trees, casting dark shadows.

He sat down on the steps under a laurel tree by the hallway. The early-blooming osmanthus flowers are scattered and exude a faint fragrance. The cool night breeze finally calmed him down a little, but the rapid heartbeat still beat against his chest, again and again, a heavy reminder of the possibilities that made him unbearable.

When Nalya chased after her, she almost didn't see the shadow cowering under the tree.

She stopped, hesitating, not knowing whether to walk over or not.

She leaned against the pillars and looked at him. His hair turned back to black...... He still didn't like those surprised or sympathetic glances. However, at this moment, the cold moonlight seemed to pierce the camouflage of magic, covering his black hair with a hazy gray, and also clearly illuminating his exhaustion, fear, and confusion.

She remembered the boy she had first met when she was sixteen, innocent, frank and carefree...... She had always felt that he was too naïve, and still was too naïve, but she watched him have to walk into the misty land of thorns, and even though he could be at a loss, she never gave up.

She didn't know why he had run out so suddenly. If she asked, he would tell her that they had sworn that they would not hide anything from each other, but she knew that she could not help with many of the problems he faced...... Sometimes she struggles to even understand.

She stood quietly for a long time, and finally she could only walk up to him and sit down.

At least, she can still keep him company.

It was a moment before Ed seemed to be aware of her presence.

“...... I'm sorry......" He subconsciously spoke, then remembered that Naria didn't like to hear him say sorry.

"I just...... Thought of ...... Something not so good. He said, trying to pull out a stiff smile, "Did I scare everyone?"

Is...... Quite humiliating.

"It's fine. Naria propped her chin and replied nonchalantly, "You know what? Gichel looks so powerful that she can jump up in fear of a mouse." ”

Ed smiled dryly.

He knew that her carelessness was faked, but the calm and casual tone still gave him gentle comfort, just like the warm and sweet smell that permeated the bustling kitchen of Kriesburg when he first met her.

"You...... Did you quarrel with Iss again?" he asked, trying to pull himself out of the darkness that was too heavy—and he was genuinely curious. He always felt that it was about him...... I can't tell what kind of "related" it is.

"Want to know?" Naria tilted her head to look at him.

Ed nodded vigorously.

"I won't tell you. ”

“...... Didn't you say 'there are no secrets'?" complained Ed half-truthfully.

"yes. Narya pouted, "Didn't you say there were no secrets?"

Ed was silent for a few moments.

Naria was apprehensive. She didn't really want to ask, she just couldn't help but want to know everything, even if it was useless to know, she still wanted to know...... She really didn't like to be hidden.

"Do you believe that there will be a god in hell?" said Ed, softly, "a fallen god...... Like a fallen paladin. Darkness and death are his powers, but he still has the power of creation......"

Or worse - or that angry and unwilling flame dragon is not in the Sea of Nothingness at all. Maybe Scott really went to hell, like Niya...... Perhaps the world has long been polluted by darkness, but no one can see it.

"Sounds pretty bad. Naria said, not asking him why he had such speculations, "but the worst thing is the destruction of the world...... Haven't we been prepared for this in the first place?"

Hope for the best and prepare for the worst – as Norway said.

Ed smiled wryly and lowered his eyes.

He didn't dare tell Naria that it wasn't this what he was really afraid of...... What he feared was that he too would fall into darkness – he feared that he had fallen into darkness without even realizing it.

Just like Baie Young.