The sky is as clear as washing, and the sun is as soft as satin. The grassland at your feet is vast and full of flowers. The brackish sea breeze comes from the northeast, blowing away the moist air from the south, sweeping away the petals and fragrance. Lily strolled to the west, and her mother loomed in the mist of a lake in the snow.

She chatted with her mother for a moment, then turned south.

Kaya landed on her shoulder, brushing her feathers with her long beak—Selene arguing with him, interrupting his work from time to time. The clouds swept across the sky, swift as lightning; Ryan galloped underneath it, blades of grass scattering, but not much slower. Louvile joined halfway through, sitting on Lily's back as usual. They passed by the woods where Ingrid lived, and a few fruit trees swayed their bodies and threw their plump plums into Selene's arms.

Soon after, the end of the forest came into view. There was a smiling Amberly, a sachet around her neck with Harlan's pine needles inside. Beside her was Bai Li, who had turned into a human form, filling her mouth with golden and soft snacks, and her face was full of happiness.

Lily trotted over, deliberately slamming Bai Li with her shoulder, as many times before. However, the white bear turned into snowflakes and melted into the ground, leaving only a touch of coolness. After a moment of stunnedness, Amberly also dissipated, followed by Louvier, Celine, Kaya, and even Ryan and Cangyun-

Everything returned to darkness, and she opened her eyes.

It was pitch black overhead, with dense pine branches obscuring the stars, and 'Tess' did not show her head at all. The silver-white wolf propped up its body, shook off the snow flakes that stuck to its body, and whispered softly.

The drooping branches lapped against her back, and it was Harlan, her father's earliest child.

Lily jumped back, tilted her head slightly, and snorted hot air from her nose. All along, this 'brother' seemed to be opposed to her. Hundreds of years ago, when persuading friends to leave the forest; On behalf of the Elna people, when they ask for help from them hidden in the desperate mountains; The same is true when he joins Fermir in inviting people to fight for the creation of a new world. He didn't like any change, Lily thought to herself—maybe his father had given him a stubborn and old-fashioned character from the beginning.

"Yu Wenyou." A deep voice echoed in her ears through the branches, "What is in front of you, are you satisfied?" ”

"Of course." She replied succinctly. Yes and no? The decision was made, the past was a foregone conclusion, and she didn't intend to change history again and again...... And even if it does, it won't necessarily be better than it is now. "We've chosen the path we want to take, and you don't want to follow, so just watch from the side, okay?"

"Thou hast deceived thee." The branches swayed from side to side, as if shaking their heads, "Yu is not blind, he can hear and see." Don't forget, we have the same father. ”

Lily retracted her expression and stared at the pitch-black sky, suddenly too lazy to hide anything. Harlan was right, even if she had always been dissatisfied with each other's stereotypes, they were still blood-related. There are many others...... Everyone who has lived here since hundreds of years ago.

"We do regret it, but so what." The mercenary swallowed, licked her lips with her tongue, and tasted a faint sweetness—a taste she was familiar with, with the scent of 'Father' Edda, but not the same. "We can't resurrect Bai Li, and we can't heal Ryan's injuries. In that case, why care about the past? ”

The branches froze for a moment, then shook slightly again, "It's different from the last time you came back, September. ”

"You don't need to talk too much." She interrupted Harlan impatiently. When was the last time he said that? Decades ago in history, hundreds of years ago for her? It's strange that there is no change, of course, I'm afraid the other party can't understand this, he hasn't made any progress for hundreds of years. "Don't think everyone is like you."

"It's a good thing to be cautious." Harron's branch waved at her, and she shook her head to bite it, but could not stop the voice from spreading, "How can you be sure of the future that Femir promised?" ”

Because she's seen it with her own eyes, Lily thought to herself. Even if it was just another memory—or a dream—but it was real enough that even more than she had ever heard of it. Such a beautiful world is worth anyone's yearning and even sacrifice...... Perhaps.

She didn't want to discuss it anymore, so she flicked her tail and left Harlan's side. She couldn't remember why she was here, like she couldn't remember many other things, but it didn't matter, they didn't matter that she thought about it.

Probably because she didn't want to see her mother for the time being, the mercenary told herself.

In fact, when she returned to the forest, she went to Hisza much less. Because it reminded her of something from the past. At some point, she was dissatisfied with the fate of the Thatchi people and angry at the arrogance of her companions. Leaving her mother and going to the South was also to find out the cause of the war and try to make the tragedies of the past not happen again. And yet now......

"There is nothing wrong with it." She said to herself, "My father has given us this power, and we must make good use of it." Only after trying can we know how far we can go? The mercenary's voice was very soft, and there was no audience around except her anyway, "The future is there, we can see it." So all that's left is to work towards it, step by step—"

She ran to the village in the forest, and the sweetness in the air became clearer as she walked. It was the smell of "water of life".

Femir Stark took part of Ingrid's body, plus the feathers of the clouds, the horns of the dragon, her hair, and all kinds of rare magical materials. Later, he combined the secret records of the White Tower family, Lily and others' understanding of 'father', and even Cole's memories of Mar's knowledge to brew this potion. One afternoon not long ago, it was distributed to all the Saatchi people who lived in the village.

Femmer told her that the soul and body of the user were one and the same, and that even if the body was broken, the soul would not go to the outer realm—a similar idea that her father had told her about a long time ago. Combining the soul with the body to create a body that relies on magic to survive and can constantly repair itself is equivalent to achieving immortality.

If the latter is not possible, the effect will be the same as in the forest: the pieces of flesh are not dead, and they cannot be considered alive. But Lily was sure—she tried to convince herself that the end of Femir was still ahead, and that all she saw was the scenery on the way.

There was silence in the village. Brown-skinned figures came and went, no one talking, crying, or laughing, only the rustle of stepping on the dirt. It was inhabited by about half of all Thatchies, and one sixth of them disappeared in the last battle. Their bodies were reduced to ashes, and their names ...... Perhaps it was forgotten sooner.

The other half also left the wasteland, seemingly following the guidance of "Whisper of the Wind" Jill, to somewhere in the east. The fact that the men were still alive gave Lily a little reassurance, even if the cause had nothing to do with her.

She pushed open the door of the wooden house, and the black-robed wizard turned around, his eyes dancing with a soft light, green and warm.

"Just in time, September." He put down the reagent in his hand, lifted his fingertips, and took a small bottle out of the air, "Help me go to Volcano Castle and give it to Durac Rockfire." ”

"The king of the Perons?" Lily thought of Bell and Groom, who were unfortunately not born at this time, "What's in that bottle?" ”

"True water of life." Fermir whispered, "The materials are a bit valuable, but they are worth it for a king." He took out several more of the same vials and lined them up on the bench, "And the emperors and dukes of the empire, the white-robed bishops of the Church...... There must be some of them who are interested in eternal life. It's your job to win their trust. ”

"And then—what will happen to them?"

"You will have eternal life. No sword, spell, illness, or longevity can kill them. The black-robed wizard said calmly, "Soon, the souls of all drinkers will be drawn together to compete for dominance of this massive 'body'. He grinned slightly, "The winner gets everything, and the rest will lose everything." ”

“…… You drank it too, right? ”

"Nature." Fermier's voice was steady and confident, "It's a pity that there is only one winner, otherwise I would be happy to share it with you, September." ”

Lily licked her lips and felt a faint chill in her back, accompanied by more doubts...... It seems that she had memories of it, but they are vague. "We've never heard of this spell, where did you learn it?"

"Not long ago, the day the Golden Spike City fell." Fermier replied, "It's a blessing in disguise." ”

The mercenary stared at Fermir, a question rising from her mind, and then blurted out, "You know that the Elna will fail and become your enemy, right?" ”

The flame in the black-robed wizard's eyes brightened, and then nodded, "I never saw it, but it was expected. ”

"Thou ...... What exactly do you want? "Lily recalls some vague 'history' in the books, and every bit of the two of them since they got along. She looked at Fermier without blinking, trying to see him through—of course it couldn't be," you wished...... And what does the future look like in your eyes? ”

Fermir Stark smiled. He approached her, took a dark oil lamp from his bosom, and placed it carefully and gently in her hand.

"Don't touch it." The black-robed wizard whispered, "Let me tell you everything about it. ”

Lily didn't say a word, concentrating on the object in front of her. She recognized the lamp, in the half-plane of Count Stark, dusty and broken. She also had a general idea of what it was for: in the 'memory' of this lamp, Femir Stark used it to make a wish and destroy the White Tower family, and even her hometown.

The oil lamp in front of me looked much newer, and the surface of the metal was shiny, and there was hardly a crack to be seen. As Edda's daughter, Lily could feel the immense magic within, as well as the fact that its power was only a fraction of it, and if fully restored, it might be enough to rival that of its father.

"I thought you would have asked me this earlier, September." The black-robed wizard's voice pulled her out of her memory, "You've seen it, haven't you?" ”

"Of course." The mercenary withdrew her gaze from the oil lamp and landed it on Femir's face as she raised her chin, "In our original world, you used it to take revenge on the White Tower family, and you used it to take the life of the Lugrand Forest...... Right? ”

"That's right, when I first got it, I really thought of revenge." Fermier's voice was calm, and his expression was still gentle, "But this time, because of your presence, my second wish is no longer the same. It has nothing to do with the forest, and it has nothing to do with your 'old friends'. ”

Her gift as a living god told her that Fermier wasn't lying. She still didn't know what the other party had made a wish, but it didn't matter. "What the hell is it?"

"It is a relic of the previous era. Contained in it is the soul and power of Ellot, the mother of dragons. "Like the dragon lich, the people of the last century deceived and killed her, and then created this artifact. He looked into Lily's palm and sighed softly, "At that time, humanity was so powerful, but it was still unable to resist the wrath of 'Father', and it was impossible to escape the fate of destruction. ”

"We don't care about that." Lily shook her head, "How is it going to be used?" ”

"You make a wish to it, and it makes it happen." The black-robed lich simply said, "As long as the magic is sufficient, there is no wish that cannot be fulfilled." He smiled a little mockingly, "But it can only fulfill the ideal of destruction, and only death can give it strength." The person who makes the wish must pay a price, perhaps for the people and things he cherishes, or for himself. ”

Lily blinked, holding the oil lamp up in front of her eyes. "What if we wish to it now that you will perish?"

"I'm going to die." "As for the price you pay...... he replied without hesitation," he tapped his fingertips to Lily's cheek, "probably just losing me." ”

This was exactly what she had wanted, and a voice told her to kill the 'Earl Stark', stop the Grey War, and change history. But the mercenary shook her head slightly, put the oil lamp back on the table, and looked at it no more.

"How do you intend to fulfill your promise...... It's also the future we see. She asked, "Using this thing that can only bring destruction?" ”

"I'm not sure." "But you see it, and the price we pay for it." His voice was unbewildered, vaguely fanatical, "If the future is good enough, everything will pay off." ”

Lily was silent. At this moment, she is also part of history, so there is no way to judge right or wrong this time. He and the man in front of him have come a long way, and even if they look back, there is no point in turning back. Whether it's a dream or not, she does yearn to see it again – and even realize the 'future' of her memory with her own hands.

She patted the wizard on the shoulder, then leaned closer. "Okay, tell us who they are...... I'll leave the rest to us? ”

Fermier took her hand, and through the cold skin, Lily seemed to feel the heartbeat and warmth. The black-robed wizard named many names, covering the entire continent, and all of them were either rich or noble. Finally, he muttered for a moment, staring at her face with a slight seriousness.

"No one likes to be sacrificed. We will have the same responsibility, both in life and after death. The green flame flickered in his eye sockets, as if it had life, "I think you get the idea, September. ”

"Probably?" She nodded disapprehantly, "In that case...... Thou shalt live well for those people. ”

"The same goes for you." Fermir Stark told her, "Also, that girl in the village south has mentioned you several times. If you're in the mood, you might as well take her with you. ”