22 Departure – To fulfill promises

Let's go back to May 27, 1806 in the imperial calendar...... It's May 28, to be exact, and Umi Stream has spent almost a day telling this long story. The listeners, Milo Entekoman, Erin Akayi, Koran Dutved, and Parret Chevalier, were not the least tired or bored, and were deeply immersed in this absurd-sounding and appalling story......

Kelan's body had recovered, and her brow furrowed, after all, the story involved her husband's ancestors, and it was also the reason why she was here.

Erin sat very close to the fire, but still didn't dry the cold sweat on her head - she was completely frightened by the twists and turns of the story, she originally thought that the "curse of the stars" was at most a more terrifying force than the Djinn Crisis, but now it seems that they will face a super power far superior to them in all aspects, and even the life on the planet has been created and destroyed several times by this force called "Earth". Erin can't imagine: how many times has her planet been "harvested" and "reborn"? When will the next one come? Even if we know they're coming, will the power of the planet be able to stand up to them who are already in control? …… There was another layer of cold sweat on Erin's face, and she couldn't help but understand how Milo's despair and cowardice came about when she faced the "Shaling Crisis", and she subconsciously clenched his hand......

Milo was more calm than before, his hand firmly and firmly gripping Erin's hand, trying to calm her down. He began to remember many of the things he had experienced: the djinn, the legend of the stars, the wind chimes and Lilith, the black buildings in the desperate desert, the Aube Meadows, and the Lyku Heights...... Umi's story gradually makes these seemingly unrelated and messy things clear, and they are connected to each other into a clue that can unravel this mess.

This clue also appeared in Kelan's mind, and she quickly sorted out the causal connection of these events, and peeled back the cocoon from them, and found several doubts that remained unanswered. She began to ask Umi questions:

"Excuse me, do you know how many years from now that voice from the future?"

"We can't judge this, if we have to say it: whether it's true or not, we can't be sure yet." Umi replied that there really wasn't any obvious evidence for that.

Kelan then asked, "What would happen if we found a purple comet?" ”

"Looks like you already know when and where the purple comet appeared?" Umi asked rhetorically.

Kelan was open and honest: "Hey↘, my husband once took me to see it and told me how many years it appeared, and my personal experience proves this. (Kelan pronounced "hey": ai↘ means yes, it's her mouth fetish)

Umi's eyes suddenly widened and he was looking straight ahead, apparently attracted by something, and the four of them followed his gaze somehow, but all they saw was the bare rock wall. However, Umi's eyes quickly returned to their original state, and he frowned, "We don't have any more information about the purple comet, and we don't know what it can be used for. ”

"Could it be the key to solving the 'Curse of the Stars'?" Milo asked suddenly.

Umi shook her head, the answer to this question was actually the same as the previous one—not clear.

Milo nodded understandingly, "So, I still don't know how to lift the 'Curse of the Stars'. Umi smiled wryly. The others were also filled with emotion - they had tried all their best to find the dragon and solve many puzzles in the desperate desert, but they still couldn't break the curse, which gave people the feeling that everything was in vain.

"Your husband ......," Umi suddenly asked Kran, "the surname Dutved?" ”

"Ah, Carl Dutwid." Kelan responded, his eyes full of nostalgia.

Umi nodded vigorously, took a deep breath, and exhaled again, "I see—"

"Oh, and the teacher who taught me my craft, I learned not long ago: she is a descendant of Pala Dax, and her name is Agatha Dax." Kran said that this surprised Milo and Erin, who had met Elder Agatha but had never connected her with the archmage of hundreds of years earlier. "What makes me strange is—" said Koran as she pulled out the last letter Elder Agatha had given her, and pointed to the last part to show Umi, "here...... She said that she and my husband had been following Parra's instructions to find me, and why? What is there in me that matches what they are looking for? ”

In the face of Kelan's questioning, Umi did not answer immediately, his gaze became condensed and deep again, obviously thinking about something, and after a while, he said leisurely, "Your teacher...... Is it a descendant of Para? ”

Erin and Parrett were surprised, and Umi not only answered the question, but also asked back, is he still proud of being a prince? But Klan and Milo weren't too surprised, and even their expressions didn't change.

Koran replied calmly, "Well, my teacher is Agatha Dax, she is a descendant of Para, and she says that she and my husband have been following Para's instructions to find me, and I wonder why?" ”

"I see—" Umi sighed again, and he quickly continued, "Perhaps Para has discovered something, she is a very clever person, but alas...... I can't tell you...... Alas......" he shook his head and sighed, as if annoyed that he couldn't answer the question. Umi's answer was hardly satisfactory, but Kran was not disappointed or apprehensive, as if everything was as she expected: all the unsolved mysteries. On the other hand, there was a more or less gloomy look in the eyes of Milo, Erin, and Parrett—they had spent so much effort and traveled from place to place, but they had not been rewarded accordingly, just like a seed that had been planted for many years finally failed to bear fruit.

Milo pulls out his notepad and tries to jot down some information, which Umi notices.

"That...... Is there a stag on it? Umi asked suddenly.

Melo looked at the pamphlet in his hand and handed it to Umi, with a wrapper of candy sticking to it, and indeed a stag was drawn on it. Umi took the booklet, looked at it twice, handed it back, and nodded. Then, Umi slowly stood up and said, "It's time for me to go, there are still some things to do." ”

"We still have some questions...... "Parrett hurried to stop Umi, but his words came to an abrupt halt - Koran was gesturing him not to.

"Oh? Still have questions? Umi asked rhetorically, and the meaning was obvious—I had said it all, and I didn't know the rest.

Parrett was embarrassed and scratched her cheeks, but she still held back a question: "Is there anyone else who has studied in the desert besides you?" "It's a good question indeed, but it's very likely that Umi doesn't know.

Umi closed his eyes and thought carefully for a moment and said: "Although there is no obvious evidence, the leader of the Kulo people should have been one at the beginning, and his governing philosophy and command skills were excellent, and he also dealt a blow to the expansion of Splait...... It's a pity that he set himself on fire after the defeat...... Others don't understand. ”

"Ah...... Very...... Thank you. Parrett was answered, but his words became inarticulate when he heard about the Kulo.

Umi tells a story that is incredibly long, and with the fact that he is too old, it takes him a long time to fully stand up straight.

"Are you going back to the sea to continue guarding Dragon?" Erin asked.

"No, I'd like to go to see some old friends," Umi replied, "it's time to make good on my promise......

"Don't you want to know about the purple comet?" Parrett asked again.

Umi said expressionlessly, "That's not my business, someone will be in charge - let's say you." This answer was not surprising, he had already endured too much, and it was up to someone else to take care of the rest. Umi was just about to leave, but Koran gently stopped him and saluted him respectfully—

"Please take this," Koran said, holding the white wooden staff he had been holding with both hands, "You know what this is, you need it to enter the royal tombs of Dragon." ”

Umi stared at the white wooden staff in front of him, his deep eyes showed gratitude, and he reached out to pick up the wooden staff without hesitation and said, "I believe you still have something to give me." ”

"Hey, this—" Koran pulled out a slightly tattered roll of paper from the cloth bag, the patterns and words on it were vaguely visible, as if it were a map, "I've been there once...... It's beautiful there, he's under a big tree......"

A tear slipped down Umi's wrinkled face, he smiled with satisfaction, and the wrinkles on his face were soothed: "Thank you, please stick to doing the right thing next...... After speaking, he took the roll of paper, wrapped it carefully, turned to Milo and the others, and said, "You guys...... Can save the planet...... You can ......" He paused, lowered his head, then lifted it up again, hesitated for a moment, and said, "When I fled, I gave all my belongings to my servants...... All I know is that he planned to escape to Maruyama Island, and I wonder if my things will remain on the island after all these years...... So I suggest you go there and look for it, maybe it will help you......"

"Hey, we'll go." Koran gladly accepted Umi's suggestion, "Thank you for your story, Umi Liu, and may you keep your promise." ”

"Well, I'm leaving, don't send it, it's still very stormy outside." With that, Umi walked out and quickly disappeared into the hole.

……

Umi's departure left Erin and Parrett a little puzzled, but Milo explained to them in time: "Umi has told him everything he knows, and we won't get an answer if we ask again." ”

"I still think he's hiding something......" Erin questioned, but quickly changed the subject, "Koran, are we going to Maruyama Island next?" ”

"Hey, that's a very important clue, it's worth trying."

Parrett continued, "There doesn't seem to be any other clue...... By the way, the purple comet sounds critical, when will it appear? ”

Klan quickly responded: "I'll tell you about the comet later...... Next—"

Next, the four of them combed through a lot of information in Umi's story, and the biggest gain was to learn the specific content of the four murals in the desperate desert, that is, the cycle of "rebirth, development, testing, and harvesting".

"I think it's strange," Erin said, "I'm not sensitive to time, but it takes four or five thousand years to complete these four steps at a time, right?" ”

"Yes." Milo said.

"In that way, the 'Curse of the Stars' has gone through at least several four-step cycles, at least tens of thousands of years...... Why is this civilization called 'Earth' willing to spend tens of thousands of years on the so-called 'Stellar Project'? What is the purpose? ”

"Good question!" Kelan said appreciatively, but the conversation changed, "But this is not something we can explain, let's focus on Maruyama Island first." ”

Parrett spoke at this time: "Maruyama Island is not big, and there are only two small fishing villages on the island. But the trouble is that this island is on the southern side of the western continent. ”

"What's the trouble then?" Melo asked, confused.

Parrett suddenly said solemnly: "Because it belongs to the United Kingdom, don't forget that the United Kingdom is at war with Spreett!" ”

——

Outside the cave, Umi Ryu once again turned into a great black shadow and dived into the dark waters against the wind and waves—he was about to set out to fulfill his promise......