The observation deck on the third floor of the Tower of Babel is completely filled with rags and tree branches, and today it is the lair of gargoyles.

Although the original owner is completely dead and has fallen less than a meter from the edge of the observation deck, there are still three eggs the size of wheels, and when they break out of the shell, they will completely take over the territory left by the mother.

Sadly, they're all dead. Just two hours ago, a metal machine that should not have been in nature descended and crushed them into a pulp. The metal machine also left behind the shattered wreckage, piled up in a corner of the beast's nest, covering the bodies of the two innocents.

Jeanne lay in the room where the tower meets the observatory, where she collapsed, to be exact. All she remembered was that she had ended the life of the gargoyle, and that the moment it fell to its lair, she was thrown more than a dozen meters away, crashing into the cold stone wall behind her.

She lay there half-lying like a numb doll, losing the strength of her clenched fists, and all she could do was struggle to lift her eyelids and stare at the moonlit observatory.

I don't know if it's because of the tenacious vitality of Licus's life or the adrenaline rush caused by fear, Jeanne completely woke up, the heavy iron ingot that pressed on her chest before gradually disappeared, and the joints of her hands and feet could slowly move with the manipulation of her brain, but she still couldn't completely get rid of the numbness brought by the cold

"Mr. Delano ...... Leonia? Her wandering thoughts suddenly converged, and she almost struggled to push away the shattered bones around her, and slowly moved towards the observation deck.

……

"Leonia...... My dear child, you have nightmares again. ”

The familiar voice echoed in Leonia's mind, but it was now a ghostly murmur, feeling no warmth other than that looming tenderness.

She opened her eyes and looked at the sea of stars, which had not yet been completely covered by dark clouds, and it seemed that a broken gear was hidden in her heart, causing blood to pump into her body in a disordered rhythm.

Just a moment ago, she had a very real nightmare, dreaming that she and her father were thrown into prison by demons. And when she caught a glimpse of the bones and rocks around her, she was convinced that this was the reality.

The pain of peeling nails came from her fingertips, and she noticed that she was clutching something tightly, with sharp edges and corners, it was a broken glass bottle.

"Daddy."

Her father's thin, yet secure arms clung to her, and she called softly, but received no response.

There was a pungent smell of blood in the cold air, and an ominous sadness welled up in my heart. Leonia gasped and turned her head to the side, and she saw her father's familiar face, a smile on his face, as if he had saved the world's most precious treasure.

"Daddy?"

Leonia repeated, her arm gently touching her father's waist, which was as cold as a stone, and her breathing, her heartbeat, any signs of life were completely gone. She stubbornly denied the reality in front of her, and continued to follow her father's silhouette downward, and then, a cold liquid soaked her sleeve, which was empty, and she couldn't feel the presence of her thighs at all.

"Leonia!!"

Jeanne stumbled over, and she saw the father and daughter clasping each other, while Leonia was covering her face and crying bitterly. When Jeanne looked at the left side of his body again, she found that Leonid's height had been cut in half, and the entire lower half of his body was curled up in blood, and the blood stains dragged from the entrance of the observatory to Leonia's side.

Poor Mr. Leonid...... Jeanne felt a twine in the corners of her eyes, and she walked over to Leonia's side and knelt down gently, hugging the girl's body.

"Sister Jeanne...... Daddy he ......."

"I'm sorry......" Jeanne let Leonia's tears wet her chest, she couldn't wipe away her grief for the young sister, the only thing she could do was to use her body heat to dispel the torment of the cold wind.

Leonid is dead, but he still struggles to crawl to his daughter's side with only his upper body left, which is the only thing that can make him resist death, even if it is only for a few seconds, he must protect his daughter's life with his broken body.

Young Leonia dried the last tear and unfolded the letter her father had written to her in a glass jar years ago, staring at the words with blurred eyes.

"Dear Leonia, my dear, my pearl...... Unfortunately, as an explorer, I have never had the opportunity to take you on a trip. Now, if you've seen this letter, this unrealistic dream has finally come true...... I want you to remember your hometown, whether it's Luna Ormon or Eichenryder, and you can't give up on your dreams of adventure, even if they become elusive forever......

"And I may die on a certain trip, when tell my mother for me: Leonid has left in search of the unreachable dawn. Niasa was right, I was a coward and had to live on my dreams all my life, but at least I tried, and finally ran in the dark at the last moment of my life...... Forgive me for saying goodbye and taking care of your mother and brother. Love your father forever - Leonid. Goodberg ......"

Leonia remembered that when she was very young, whenever she dreamed of something terrible, her father would see in her expression that something was tormenting his daughter, and he would gently put his arms around her and sing lullabies to her in a hoarse and gentle voice until the night was gone.

And now she never shed a single tear, no matter how terrible and cruel this nightmare was, she would not cry again, because there would be no one to put her to sleep again. The harsh reality tore apart the cocoon she had dormant within, and she knew she had to go, following in her father's footsteps towards the dawn he never saw again.

The scattered iron plates of the climbing car were made into a rudimentary coffin by the two, and the broken seat backs were padded at the bottom, and Leonid's body was gently placed inside.

After doing this, Jeanne walked silently to the gargoyle's corpse and pulled the dagger from the hideous head. She looked at Leonia, who was lying on the side of the coffin, and saw her slender hand reach into her father's coat pocket and fumble for something.

"Sister Jeanne, do you think we will be able to return to 'home' alive?"

A deep voice came from the front, and Jeanne reacted for a moment before she was sure it was Leonia's voice, but it was not mixed with any emotion, it seemed overly stable, and there was a sudden sense of maturity

"I'm sure it will." Jeanne replied to her in a reassuring tone.

"Impossible, because even if we were alive, our home would have been in ruins." Leonia stood up, looking down at her father's cold face, "So we're going to put an end to this and build a new home with the other survivors...... Mr. Delaenor and they'll be coming, and if we're threatened by the beasts before then, let them come. ”

The moment she raised her hand, Jeanne was convinced that she was holding a short torch, her father's only weapon of self-defense, now in her hand, enough to be used as a torch to dispel fear, even if the flare gun had completely lost its purpose.

Leonia gave her beloved father one last glance and lifted the heavy iron plate over the rough coffin.

In the space of twenty minutes, Jeanne seemed to witness the birth of a new explorer, believing that Leonia was ready, and that they were going to enter the tower and survive before Draenor arrived.

"It's time for us to go." Jeanne patted Leonia on the back and said to her as if she were a comrade.

Before leaving the observation deck, Leonia looked back at the coffin one last time. The stars in the sky brought light to the dark land, and they seemed to stare at her like her father's eyes.

She closed her eyes and remembered what her father had repeated in his dreams for countless nights:

"This nightmare, never picky when it comes to eating rao......"