"I don't understand what you mean."

After all, it took a while to understand what Duan Qing had just said, and Fortson, who was sitting in place, sat in place for a long time before he spoke again: "What do you want to say?" What is the deviation from the content of the prophecy? ”

"The content of the prophecy may not be biased." Duan Qing replied with a smile: "The black city wall, the blue brilliance, the fire, and the roar of the common people...... The keywords mentioned in these prophecies can be clearly referred to in the past history of the Free Continent, and according to our current intelligence and knowledge, many of these events have even taken on a clear point. ”

"For example, the death represented by this black city wall may refer to the war of defending the fortress decades ago, the blue light and burning lights, and it may refer to the top of the Falling Star Mountain." Speaking of this, he began to give examples: "All the way to the roar of the common people, in the eyes of us and the principality you represent, we should refer to the thug who assassinated the Pamirs in the battle of Tania in 795 AH. ”

"Yes, but that battle ended in Tania's victory." Lowering his head and being silent for a moment, Fortson finally agreed with Duan Qing's statement: "Represented by the Fool Adventure Group, the vast number of adventurers have become the mainstay of the future that dominates the destiny, they have rekindled the hope that should have been extinguished in the prophecy, saved Pamir's life, and brought Tania to a new one-"

"No, fate has not been broken at all."

Interrupting the other party's words with a wave of his hand, Duan Qing's abrupt voice was also particularly harsh in everyone's ears: "The reinterpretation I am referring to is exactly this—there may be something wrong about the way we look at this prophecy. ”

“…… Mistake? ”

"Yes, we may be the opposite."

Fingers gestured from bottom to top in the air, and Duan Qing's gaze gradually met with the old man's old eyes: "Think back to everything that happened before—isn't it easy to read this prophecy in reverse?" ”

"Taking the Battle of Tania: The Roar of the Common People as a starting point, let's take a look at every word of the prophecy." He ignored the look of astonishment on the old man's face as he continued in a low voice, "Fire leads the darkness, and fall means new life—after the Battle of Tania, the biggest event is probably the 'Star of Molnar' event on the night of the Free City, where we uncovered the secret of the Lord's identity and witnessed the destruction of the Lord's Mansion in the City of Liberty. ”

"There was a great upheaval in the City of the Liberty, but the candidates for the Twelve Thrones were united and heralded a new beginning for the city." The gray-robed magician's voice became deeper and deeper: "Isn't it very consistent with the words in this poem?" ”

“……”

As if he didn't know what to say about Duan Qing's remarks, Fortson's old eyes widened, and the thousand-fingered crane, who was standing on the side and also looked a little stunned, then clapped his palms and suddenly shouted: "That's right! The later Sky City incident, as well as the blue fire that Qing-Mo Shangqing finally cut out, is more in line with the sentence 'bring the blue brilliance back to the sky'! ”

"The official appearance of the city in the sky is also more in line with the symbol of 'blue brilliance'." Duan Qing also nodded his head in harmony: "The Free Continent finally has the qualification to fly at this point, and the human beings represented by the Mage Council can finally regain the legacy of the Magic Empire and raise their wings." ”

"And then the next is, and the next is—" The light in his eyes became brighter, and the Thousand-Fingered Crane's gaze turned to the east with a thoughtful expression: "The end of the pendulum points to the east, and the black walls represent death...... To the east, this wouldn't be referring to the Frey Empire, right? ”

"If you're referring to the apocalypse that happened in your country before, then it's very much in line with your interpretation." Fortson's eyelids slowly closed as the light gradually restrained: "I heard that the emperor of your country, Drenier, almost died because of that coup d'état, and the city also suffered great losses. But—"

"The Frey Empire is located in the west of this continent, not in the east."

He pointed in the direction that Thousand Finger Crane was looking at before, and his neat and orderly white beard also swayed slightly with the corners of his upturned mouth, but the momentum that gradually exuded did not shake Duan Qing's smile, but made his movements more confident: "So this is also where I came to consult His Excellency Fortson." ”

"Do you know the source of this prophecy?" He looked at the other man's face as if he were asking a question to which he already knew the answer: "Is it the Tadaya clan of Tania City who stayed?" Just within the city? ”

"As the head of the Fortson family, I don't really know the details of how this prophecy spread inside and outside the continent." After another unspeakable silence, Fortson finally chose to tell the truth: "But if you want to ask where this prophecy came from, I'm sure it must have come from Tania." ”

"They are carved sentence by sentence in the underground center of the city." The old man pointed to his feet, and a proud smile appeared on his face: "Our ancestors studied the civilization, history, and language of Tadaya for hundreds of years, and it took a long time to decipher the true content of those languages bit by bit. ”

"In other words, this prophecy was translated by your ancestors based on knowledge and experience?" The smile on Duan Qing's face became more and more confident: "And - according to the current situation of the city? ”

"The status quo?" Fortson seemed to be a little unable to understand the meaning of Duan Qing's sudden words: "What do you want to say?" ”

"I haven't studied the history of Tanya, and I don't know if there are any special ways in which the Tadaya language and script are used."

Waving his hand at the Thousand Fingered Crane beside him, Duan Qing then gestured around the temporary mansion: "However, judging from the situation of the descendants of Tadaya, that is, the people of your principality, your civilization and daily habits should be no different from other Free Continent natives in other regions. ”

"In other words, there should be no such thing as 'reading the text from the bottom up' or 'the east and west pointing in the opposite direction of people's normal beliefs.'" He said his thoughts bluntly: "This is too unnatural, and it does not conform to the laws of civilization development and inheritance at all, unless—"

"There are some unnatural factors that caused this unexpected situation to happen."

He pointed to his feet, as if he was telling some firm conclusion, and the wrinkles on Fortson's face, who was looking at Duan Qing, became deeper and deeper, as if he was hearing something he didn't want to believe at all: "I don't want to continue to listen to you talk about nonsense here, so you have one last chance: what exactly do you want to say?" ”

"We've been to the Underworld to investigate before." Duan Qing spread his hands indifferently: "I won't go into detail about the specific details and process, even if I make it clear, as the inheritor of the Tadaya clan, you shouldn't choose to believe it." ”

"So I'll just say the conclusion: the underground structure of the city, now the other way around." He flipped his outstretched hands and pressed them down: "When Tania first appeared here, the whole city was probably upside down. ”

“…… Do you want to say? ”

"It is very likely that the prophecies that your ancestors saw and interpreted were the opposite." Duan Qing raised his fingers again: "If they are carved on the wall." ”

"It all makes sense."

He let out a slight sigh, then looked at the old man's face with an inexplicable gaze, and then the obvious silence once again occupied the air between the old man and Duan Qing, and finally turned into a sneer as Fortson closed his eyes again: "It's just nonsense, hateful and pathetic Imperial people, do you want me to let go of the secrets that my ancestors and my fathers have worked so hard to keep with your words?" ”

"I understand that it is very difficult to get your Excellency to deny the efforts of your ancestors because you 'see it backwards.'" The smile on Duan Qing's face still didn't change: "I just want to confirm to Your Excellency the questions I want to ask, you don't need to have too much psychological burden for this." ”

"If, I mean if." After another unspeakable silence, Fortson finally spoke up again and asked, "What if all this is really as you say, and the prophecy needs to be read in reverse?" Is there any other plan for your empire? ”

"We don't dare to say anything about the plot, but we do intend to change our strategy based on what is mentioned in these prophecies." Duan Qing replied uncertainly: "And I personally think that since it is a prophecy left by Tania's ancestors, then every sentence in it should contain its own meaning. ”

"For example, the opening sentence 'The threads of magic are everywhere, and the existence of power is gradually dying', it may indicate the emergence of the Restoration." His voice began to grow muffled: "But if you consider the Battle of Tania as a node and re-rummage through the previous events, the Emerald Tower incident and the Emerald removed by the Restorer will become very suspicious......"

"You seem familiar with all these things happening in the Duchy." Interrupting Duan Qing's words as if talking to himself, Fortson's gaze full of essence fell on the other party's head again: "Could it be that you deliberately investigated the history of the principality?" ”

"If possible, I'd like to know more about the history of the Principality." Duan Qing replied undeniably, "In this way, maybe more signs will be found, which are enough to prove the correct argument of my interpretation." ”

"I don't have time here to continue to decipher this pointless content with you."

Waving his hand, Fortson, who had been looking at Duan Qing for a long time, finally curled up his body back into his seat: "If there is nothing else, please go back." ”

"Okay, then we'll talk about it later." Duan Qing also showed a helpless expression: "I originally wanted to confirm the matter of the 'Four Emperors' to you again......"

"Four emperors?"

"The four stars are about to go out, and the four emperors are about to be lit."

The movement of turning around to leave paused for a moment because of Fortson's voice again, and Duan Qing then repeated the sentence in a low voice: "According to my interpretation, this should be the next content that the prophecy is about to reveal to us, but I still know too little information about what the 'four stars' and 'four emperors' refer to. ”

"What exactly do the four emperors refer to? Does it refer to the content related to the four elements, or does it simply refer to the four emperors on the continent? He put on an interested expression and looked at Fortson's face with curious eyes: "There is only one known emperor on the Free Continent, and that is Emperor Derainier of our Frey Empire, and if you have to count it, there should be Pamir, the speaker of the Principality of Elnifia, and Van Gaal, the lord of the Free City......"

"It's hard to find a fourth." The gray-robed magician blinked his eyes and looked at Fortson's face expectantly, "It doesn't seem to make sense again." ”

"Maybe there's a fourth." His gaze fell to the ground as some thought extended, and Fortson's voice then became muffled: "There was a legend a long time ago that there existed another vast land in the east of our free continent, which was not only as vast as our land here, but also had the same human existence as we did. ”

"There should be a kingdom there." Speaking of this, his face seemed to have become a lot more yearning: "Another emperor who rules another continent that has no quarrel with the world, and has countless lands and people......"

"You mean across the Bridge of Freedom, right?" Breaking the illusion that the old man had fallen into inexplicably, Duan Qing said with a smile on his face: "We have also heard this rumor, and we have even seen people displaced from that continent. ”

"What? Have you seen people from that continent? Fortson's voice was really full of surprise this time: "How is this possible?" This, this is clearly just a legend! ”

"As I said earlier – legends are never unfounded."

Recalling the two figures who had said goodbye to him on the seashore of that city before, Duan Qing's voice was also full of memories: "Since even you have heard such rumors, then the New World may really exist, but no one has been able to break through that bridge for so many years, so no one can confirm its existence." ”

"Are you going to prove its existence?"

"How is that possible?"

With a wave of his hand, Fortson's ensuing questions aside, Duan Qing started his steps to leave again: "The current situation is so chaotic and complicated, and our empire still has a lot of troubles to deal with—hmm. ”

"Unless there's a real need to confirm."

Holding the body of the Thousand-Fingered Crane in the doorway for a moment, he left one last smile at the old man: "When the time comes—"

"I'll take your share and go to that bridge."