The dark pupils stared at the green smoke wafting from the candles, and the black-haired wizard with an expressionless face sat there like a sculpture, motionless as if half a century had passed.

Outside the window, the dark sky was already lit up with white light, and the long midnight was coming to an end.

Ariel stood in place with a desolate smile, her eyes as if she had made up her mind with some kind of determination, while Asriel on the side kept her eyes wandering over the two of them, trying to speak several times, but she stopped talking.

Finally, the dark-haired wizard with wide-eyed eyes slowly spoke with a very hesitant expression:

"How sure are you?"

As the words fell, there was still dead silence in the dark room.

Asriel was slightly stunned, and for the first time was glared at by those black eyes, and his delicate face reluctantly squeezed out a smile: "Dear, dear Loren, those words just now were just one side of the impostor, and you still don't know the whole truth!"

"You don't even know who your enemies are, what their plans are, what their goals and motives are, and that's not the same as you used to be......

The blonde boy's smile became more and more reluctant and his voice became smaller and quieter, until he finally disappeared to the point where only mosquitoes were left, and he could no longer make eye contact with the black eyes.

"It's not the same as I used to be, right......" The black-haired wizard said flatly, taking a deep breath: "The one in the past who was cautious and took a step to see a step;"

"I'm always wary, I'm always thinking that once I get a certain status, a lot of power, or join an organization, I don't have to worry about being someone's target or enemy;"

"But that's impossible, right? Yes, you can get rid of the enemies of the past by gaining a certain status, but you will soon meet new opponents of different levels from the past, and you will see me in front of him as a thorn in the side... Right?

"Uh, this ......" Asriel gave an embarrassed but smiling expression, "Maybe... Or... Probably... Is this possible?"

"And then ......" Staring at the blonde boy who looked uncomfortable, Loren silently spoke: "Even if I ask, you can't tell me everything, at most you will give me an ambiguous answer - about the Holy Cross, about the 'Black Cross' Serol, about everything you know." ”

"Otherwise, you wouldn't have been so eager to stand up and stop Ariel from going on, and obviously letting me know the truth of everything would hinder your plans somewhat. ”

The girl pursed her lips lightly, and there was a little more affection on her tearful face.

"But it is clear that our enemies have made you and me an alliance of the community, and I will not be able to get rid of you even if it is for my own survival, and according to Ariel, even if I open the third valve, I may still not be able to defeat them, and the best outcome is the same as Roland Torino. ”

"And you have a plan in your hands that might win. ”

"So well, I can ask too much – because right now, we have a common enemy. Loren's expression was surprisingly calm, but his gaze never shifted half an inch from Asriel's face:

"But I know, how sure are you?"

In the dark room, Loren's gaze passed through the drifting green smoke, and he stared at Asriel's every move without squinting.

With a long sigh, the blonde boy's face showed a very contradictory expression, but he couldn't help but want to explain.

"Dear Loren, I ......," Asriel muttered in a low voice, "First of all, Miss Imposter is exaggerating - at least overstating the strength of the 'Black Cross' Serol, he is not as omnipotent as you think. ”

"Yes, Roland Turin and Brunhilde failed, as did Rogan in the hat, but at that time, because their strength was too limited to break through their own limitations to reach the highest level, they had to regret it. ”

Biting his lower lip lightly, Asriel opened his mouth with a sincere gaze: "As long as you open the third valve, you can become the ultimate form of objective matter that transcends everything... In a sense, you've become something akin to... Well, something like ......"

"Ahh

Loren raised his head and said tentatively, "Wait, are we thinking of the same 'Heroic Spirit'?"

"I think so, because Asrael and Loren are best friends... There is a tacit understanding between friends. For a moment, the embarrassment and stiffness on Asrael's face were swept away:

"That's right, the overly powerful Seriel can use a power that is completely unmaterial in the material world, and conversely, it will be difficult for him to do any substantial harm to dear Loren... But, Loren, you can. ”

Asriel showed an incomparably elegant expression, as if admiring the admiration of a work of art: "The two diametrically opposed beings of the void and matter are completely one and the same in your body - in other words, Loren, who has opened the third valve, will definitely threaten the very root of Serial!"

"The stones of other mountains can attack jade... It doesn't mean that at all, but it's inexplicably appropriate in this situation, well, strangers are so good, Asriel loves strangers to death!"

So... That's why Asriel is so attached to himself.

The crossed ten fingers turned white under the unconscious force of the black-haired wizard, and slowly raised his head: "Pause a little... You still haven't told me, how sure are you?"

The blonde boy sat down again, facing the dark-haired wizard and exhaled from the corner of his lips.

"Dear Loren, I can only tell you one thing......" Asrael's voice sounded faintly, "We can win." ”

"You are not the hot-blooded Roland Turin, you are not the lonely Logan in a hat, Asriel is not Brunhilde, the reason why we are moving forward is not love and justice, and the time is not a hundred years ago. ”

"You don't fight an enemy with an endless arsenal of means, on the contrary, you survive on the brink of death every time, tearing Serol apart every time he thinks he has succeeded. ”

"You have a talent that no one else has, you have the courage to sacrifice yourself when necessary, but you can survive again and again - dear Loren, because of you, we can win. ”

"We... I can win. ”

Asriel's words are categorical.

................................................

"Snap ——!"

The sound of the metal lock bearing turning sounded, and the gray-eyed boy leaning against the corner subconsciously opened his eyes and collided with the black-haired wizard who walked out of the door.

The moment they looked at each other, both of them were stunned.

"Lord Loren, why are you here?" Lusen almost blurted out.

"That's what I'm asking, right? First of all, the black-haired wizard frowned slightly: "Haven't you been in the barracks all along, how did you come to the wizard tower?"

"Lord Dalton Candle asked me to come over for a trip, saying that I was going to prepare—the Witcher Legion's combat power has basically taken shape, and now it's time for actual combat. Lusen replied honestly:

He said that he was going to spread all the witchers to the various principalities in the same way as the Night's Watch, to train them in actual combat and to investigate the anomalies in each principality. ”

"Of course, everything is done in private, but I'm afraid that the Heavenly Dome Palace already knows about it, and since they haven't stepped up to stop it until now, it means that at least they have acquiesced to us doing so. ”

Loren looked at him and nodded subconsciously.

Mentor Dalton's approach is correct, but in addition to intelligence and military training, I am afraid that there is also a hidden purpose; even if the target is small, it is still easy to be found when gathered; scattering and spilling out will make some people lose their target.

In addition, the departing witchers also made room for the next group of mentors to choose good candidates - even if he acquiesced to Lusen's dominance in this legion, Dalton could not easily give up his idea of training real witchers from scratch.

"And what about you, why are you here?"

The gray-eyed boy raised his head and glanced at the room behind Loren with a very confused expression: "If I'm not mistaken... This is supposed to be Ain Rand's room, right?"

"It's nothing, just stop by and ask about the progress of the floating city when you have time. Loren casually responded: "I heard that the progress is still quite large, and they have already started to build the most basic floating facilities." ”

"Really?!"

Lusen's eyes widened in surprise, but his suspicious gaze never meant to leave—although the floor of the room was clean, three or four different footprints could still be faintly seen, and the candle on the dining table seemed to have been extinguished not long ago.

In addition to Ain, Lord Loren had just met with one or two other people here, but this was Ain's room, who could show up here without saying hello?

"Any questions?"

If it weren't for the fact that he was an outsider and knew Lord Loren, would it be ......

The black-haired wizard's voice sounded coldly, and the gray-eyed boy was startled, and hurriedly said, "It's nothing!"

"Since you're here, that means Mentor Dalton is in the Wizard's Tower right now?" Loren asked.

"Uh, yes, yes!" Lusen nodded, "It's not just Lord Dalton, Isaac and Lena are here too—but they've all come back from the construction site in the early hours of the morning, so they're already asleep as soon as they come in." ”

Looking at the still suspicious expression of the gray-eyed boy, the black-haired wizard's eyes flickered, and he hesitated for a long time.

He remembered what Haringvan Ashamai had said;

reminds of the endings of Roland Turin and Brunhilde;

I thought of the emotion and confession of Count Eckert of Castle of Fury after conquering Silverhelm Mountain;

Remembering Charlotte's questioning of himself, the little wizard's tolerance again and again, Isaac pretending to be stupid to himself;

And......

And the eyes that look at me every time I avoid their questions.

“... Become stronger, become stronger than we once were, and then break the destiny that was originally destined... I'm sorry, but that's all I can help you......"

“... The next road is for you and your friends to walk... I hope it's a little different from ours......"

“... Let them see you as a friend in need, rather than a god to rely on... You are not an omnipotent God, God cannot save us, but only ordinary and sick people with limited abilities can save another person like Him......"

“... If the Black Duke had chosen to be honest with the Dragon Empress in the first place, instead of choosing to hide everything in order to protect her, and betrayed her trust in him, all of this might have been avoided......"

Loren clenched his fists, clenching them so hard that every knuckle began to turn white, his arm trembling slightly, and he exhaled between his teeth.

He looked up at his friend, who trusted him.

It's really hard to tell if it's the right thing to do.

But at least one thing, I was convinced by Master Ashamai - if you really regard them as friends, as friends that you can trust absolutely without thinking about it, then you shouldn't hide it from them.

The gray-eyed boy pursed the corners of his mouth, his concerned and puzzled gaze kept wandering back and forth between Loren's face and body, not daring to speak easily.

"Lusen, can you... Do me a favor?"

The black-haired wizard spoke slowly.

"Huh?!" The gray-eyed boy was slightly stunned, and he didn't seem to have fully reacted: "Of course you can, please command." ”

"I need you to find some people, and call them all over as soon as possible, in the Wizard's Tower... Well, it's here. Loren's chest rose and fell violently, and he tried his best to suppress his voice:

"Please tell them that I have some... Very important things to announce. ”

"Understood. Lusen nodded without hesitation, vaguely sensing that something was wrong with Loren, he still chose to remain silent:

"That's... Who are they?"

"Everyone. ”

Well?

"I said... All of them. Loren let out a long sigh, "Mentor Dalton, Ain, Isaac, Charlotte, Earl Eckert of Fort Fury, Master Ashamai...... And you, all the things you can think of, everything you can find, call them in, and not a single one will be missed!"

Lusan was shocked, and looked at the black-haired wizard staring at him in astonishment.

"It's... It's ——!!!!"

The words of the general fall were accompanied by a gust of wind, and the figure of the gray-eyed boy had disappeared, leaving only a series of footprints on the ground.

Slowly retracting his gaze, Loren raised his head and looked at the silent Red Blood Castle outside the railing with mixed feelings, the dawn had broken in the east, and the long dark night had finally come to an end.

Suddenly, there was a cold touch, and in his lowered gaze, a crystal hexagonal shape was gradually melting on the back of his hand.

Winter is coming.