Inside the Tower of Nothingness, Levi and Flora walk up a spiral staircase.

The small black staircase was filled with huge stones, which did not look like messy pieces, but were rounded or straight, and all showed signs of carving with knives and axes.

"It's ...... Puppet. ”

Flora walked behind Levi's, occasionally reaching out to caress the black boulders, her dark eyes glittering with mystery, as if she had seen something extremely fresh.

Levi glanced at the boulders and asked, "Can you see them as they are?" ”

Flora was silent for a while, and said: "Roughly, the carved marks on these stones have the style of the Chaotic Stone Realm, they should be humanoid boulder puppets, with a simple, simple but exquisite structure." ”

"The Realm of Troubled Stones...... Levi narrowed his eyes, "if I'm not mistaken, it's the birthplace of puppet refining. ”

Flora nodded in agreement, it was easy to communicate with knowledgeable people. "The refining technique of the puppet has long been lost, but if you go back a thousand years, this alchemy creature was the most favored servant of ancient magicians and wizards, their bodies are very tough and painless, and their only flaw is that they are dull in their thinking. ”

"In your judgment, are the puppets here powerful?" Levi asked.

"I'm not sure, after all, all the puppets have been dismantled." Flora pondered for a moment and said, "According to my estimate, if it is a rank below the Sage, I am afraid it is not their opponent. ”

Is it an alchemical creature second only to the Sage...... According to a rough estimate, there are probably dozens of puppet remains in this tower, which is enough to deal a fatal blow to the explorer team.

"It's just...... Why are there so many puppet remains piled up in the Tower of Nothingness? Flora said suspiciously, "Don't you think it's strange?" ”

Levi nodded and said, "Maybe the Lord of Frost demolished them." ”

According to Saladin's design, these powerful puppets are enough to obliterate the intruders of the Himereung, and if there are other intruders of the Sage rank, they will be dealt with by the Lord of Frost.

According to Saladin's message, the person who enters Ozer from the pillar of light will awaken the "little golem", and if he is referring to these stones, it seems that the Lord of Frost has invisibly saved everyone a lot of trouble.

The two of them made their way through the gravel stairwell and finally climbed to the middle of the Tower of Nothingness, where they came to a steel gate several people high.

If Levi's guess is correct, the Frost King and the Crown of the Cracks are inside the Master's Hall behind this door.

"It's too late to regret it now." Levi turned his head and glanced at Flora.

Flora curled the corners of her mouth and said, "I'll give you back this sentence." ”

Levi smiled, no longer verbose. He put his hands on the heavy iron door and slowly pushed it open—

Like the main hall of the ruler on the exterior of the tomb, this black hall is also circular in shape, with a high curved roof and twelve long square windows.

The hall was surrounded by no weapons, but was filled with heavy books and huge inkwells, which filled the space around the hall like a hill, leaving only an open space in the middle.

Orange sunlight slanted through the three long windows on the west side, shining on the neat stack of book covers. In the clearing, a giant dragon with an ice-blue body coiled its body and rested its head on the dragon's claws.

It is about ten meters long, its limbs are long and slender, and the scales all over its body are neatly prismatic, each scale is the size of an adult's palm, and it shimmers with a beautiful metallic luster.

Behind it was a large man-high candelabra on the left, an inkwell the size of a water tank on the right, and beneath its dragon claws were a carpet-like roll of parchment and a spear-like quill.

It is the Lord of Frost.

Levi and Flora slowly walked into the main hall, gazing together at the metal dragon in front of them, and behind them, the tall iron door closed silently.

Sensing that someone had entered the temple, there was a "click" on the Frost King's body, which sounded like a sharp knife coming out of its sheath, but it was actually it that it retracted its ice-blue metal eyes and opened the eye facing the door.

It was a cold, dark blue vertical pupil.

The cold pupil turned, and its gaze fell on Levi's, and then on Flora, who was behind Levi.

Then, the Frost King stretched his front paws and slowly rose from the ground, revealing his elegantly slender neck, which looked down on Levi and Flora, its eyes radiating with gentleness and wisdom.

If you look at its face from the front, you can see that its jaw lines are supple and exude a charming feminine atmosphere.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Levi, Lady Flora."

The Frost King opened his mouth and let out a soft and pleasant female voice, which was judged by human standards to be close to forty years old and less than full, with an air of intellectual maturity.

Levi smiled and greeted cheerfully, "Good afternoon, Ms. Ornos." ”

Flora smiled as well, politely greeting the Frost King. Then, she glared at Levi and quickened her pace past Levi, sitting on a stack of books.

Levi looked at Flora's face, shook his head helplessly, and slowly walked over to her side and sat down.

"Did you quarrel with Madame again, Mr. Levi?" Ornos, the Lord of Frost, lay lazily on the ground, very anthropomorphically extending a metal dragon claw to support his jaw.

Levi sighed and said, "It's still because of that." ”

Flora crossed her arms and said angrily, "That thing? Don't put it so lightly, don't you understand how important children are to me? ”

At some point, her severed arm was reborn.

Levi touched his nose and smiled wryly, "I'm sorry." ”

Ornos looked at Levi and Flora quietly, and it smiled softly and said, "You have been married for so many years, and Mr. Levi still doesn't want to have children?" ”

"That's right!" Flora lifted her chin, she looked at Ornos, a hint of annoyance flashed in her dark eyes, "I wondered why I couldn't get pregnant for so long......

She turned her head to glare at Levi and said hatefully, "Why are you asking me to talk about this?" Can't you spend less time on those damn magic? ”

In the face of Flora's anger, Levi's eyes dodged, and he stretched out a hand to cover his face and look in the other direction.

"Mr. Levi, what exactly have you done?" Ornos asked curiously.

"Nothing, just a little contraceptive magic." Levi smiled reluctantly.

Ornos "smiled", it tapped the ground with its sharp dragon claws, and said, "Your face doesn't look very good, didn't you rest last night?" ”

On one of its pointed claws, a twisted ring rests on it.

Levi said with trepidation, "After Flora found out that I was using magic contraception...... Ahem, I haven't had much time to sleep lately. ”

Listening to Levi's words, Flora's face flushed, she grabbed a book and threw it at Levi, saying, "If you want to sleep, you don't play those little tricks, why run away?" It was the same back then, you refused with your mouth, and in the end you didn't honestly obey me......"

In the end, the look of anger on her face gradually disappeared, and she couldn't help but sneer.

Levi held his head and dodged, sighed, gritted his teeth and said, "What you said is not the truth, besides, you didn't say that you must have children before you got married." ”

Ornos whispered, "Actually, I've always wondered why you don't want to have offspring, Mr. Levi?" ”

Flora looked at Levi and did not complain again, but quietly waited for his answer.

Levi glanced at Ornos, then at Flora, hesitated, and said slowly: "It's not a complicated reason, it's just that I don't think I'm ready to educate a child, Flora likes children, but love alone may not be enough." ”

He paused, then continued: "I always feel ...... I still have some things left to do, but I can't tell what it is. ”

Flora looked at Levi's side face, the annoyance in her eyes had long since faded, she looked at him gently, and said softly: "You always think too much, everything must be thought through before you are willing to make a decision, if you continue like this, you will get sick." ”

Levi smiled, and he looked into Flora's eyes, which seemed to be filled with her figure, but also seemed empty.

"You only have one life, and time doesn't stop waiting for your decision, Mr. Levi." Ornos's elegant and wise voice came, "Sometimes, you need to be brave and learn to trust others, like your wife, Lady Flora—she is the most loving person in the world, isn't she?" ”

Ornos's dark blue vertical pupils shone with a deep light: "You always think of yourself as if you were alone, but that's not the case, try to rely on her." ”

She reached out a sharp claw and nodded in Flora's direction.

Flora pursed her lips, she stood up, walked behind Levi's, sat down gently, and then stretched out her arms around him, placing her head on his shoulder.

Levi looked up slightly, and he gently grabbed Flora's wrist, feeling the warmth and softness of his body behind him.

"It's okay, Levi." Flora whispered in his ear, "I can wait for you." ”

"Thank you, Flora." Levi relaxed, closed his eyes, and leaned into Flora's arms, looking like a child.

Ornos looked at them kindly, her long metal tail gently slapping the ground, looking very cheerful.

"Let me read a poem to you." Ornos reached out and picked up the parchment between two fingers, "It's my latest chapter, do you want to hear it?" ”

Flora looked delighted, she nodded, smiled and said, "I like your poems very much, and I have always liked them. ”

Levi gladly accepted.

He lay sideways in the middle of a pile of books, his head resting on Flora's lap, a hand on top of her knee, eyes closed ready to listen.

Flora also looked at Ornos with bated breath, her delicate fingertips gently brushing over Levi's cheek.

Ornos straightened her neck and cleared her throat gracefully, holding the parchment and giving a gentle glance at Levi and Flora.

In a quiet and peaceful atmosphere, it began to recite:

"Windmills are cars

The wind is the passenger of the windmill

Its neighbor is a scarecrow

Guarding a rice field

He was a good man with dedication to his duties

Except for friends like Mr. Scarecrow

It has also had love

It was a wind

It understands where she came from

But I don't know where she's going

It's spinning very slowly, very slowly

But she left anyway

After that, it encountered a lot of wind

But no one else is as gentle as she is

Make it turn that slow. ”

Ornos's voice has a strange magnetism, which silences the listener's heart unconsciously, immersing them in harmony and tenderness.

"It's so cute." Flora said.

"Really?" Ornos looked very happy, "Then I will give this poem to your future children." ”

"Really? Thank you. Sensing Ornos's kindness, Flora smiled happily.

As if it weren't enough, Ornos stretched out its claws and tugged at the pile of books, picking up a book, then pouring a yellowed piece of paper from the page.

"And a poem that I'm going to give you." Ornos smiled, its gaze falling on Levi's face, "To be exact, for Mr. Levi, in the hope that he will forget his past wounds sooner, although I don't know what it is." ”

Levi opened his eyes slightly and said, "Thank you." ”

Ornos nodded with a smile in her eyes, staring at the contents of the paper, and slowly recited:

"Someday we will be parents

Mother of my child

A great girl

I love her as much as I have loved you

Or different

You were far away from me then

I won't write to you either

Maybe I'll become steady

Maybe I'm still unkempt

I've been to a lot of places

It is also possible to stay here

When the seasons change

The rain brings your breath. ”

Flora listened intently, her fingertips slowly combing Levi's hair, her eyes closed lightly, as if she was appreciating the emotions in the poem, and she seemed very intoxicated.

On her lap, Levi slowly opened his eyes, a look of confusion in his eyes.

He sat up abruptly, looking up at Ornos, the Lord of Frost.

"What's wrong with you?" Flora was startled by him, she put her hand on Levi's face, looked at his side face, and asked worriedly, "Did something happen?" ”

Levi ignored Flora, he was silent for a while, and said lightly, "Can you answer me a question, Ornos?" ”

Ornos looked down at him and did not refuse.

"You look weird, Levi." Flora frowned and slowly withdrew her hand.

Levi took a deep breath, he stood up and looked up at Ornos's cold pupils—

"Who am I?"

His tone was flat, unquestioning, like a scholar intent on philosophical questions, with only a contemplative light in his eyes.

Ornos's vertical pupils radiated a light of wisdom: "You are Levi David, born in Özer, and will die in Özer, and I am here to witness your life, from beginning to end." ”

Levi tapped his middle finger with his index finger and playfully said, "You know what, Ornos?" From the time we entered this hall to the present, I can vividly recall every word, every action, and every trace of emotion we have spoken. ”

He lowered his head and glanced at the lines of his palm: "If I'm not mistaken, my memory is actually very good, so good that I will bother myself." ”

Ornos didn't say anything, just listened quietly to Levi's words, while Flora looked at him with a puzzled look in her eyes.

"There are a few books behind you, and a few words in the two poems you just had...... I remember it very clearly. "But in the first twenty-five years of my life, my memories were very vague. ”

"Maybe time has made you forget those things." Ornos said.

Levi smiled and said, "Really? Maybe so, maybe you can change all reality, but you can't change it. ”

He pulled an hourglass out of his sleeve, the top half of the hourglass was empty, but the bottom half shimmered with brilliant starlight.

On the cover of the hourglass, a line of small letters is engraved with a sharp object:

"Levi Hammurabi, the last prince of Shamer, a nightkin who has vengeed the flames of destruction."

Levi stared at the familiar handwriting on the cover and whispered, "Sure enough." ”

"Libra Hourglass?"

A look of surprise flashed in the Frost King's dark blue pupils.

At this time, Levi's mind surged with countless memories, like a sink that opened a valve, and was instantly filled with running water. When those erased memories returned to his mind, the clothes on his body also changed: at some point, he wore a plain and loose cloth garment, but now he returned to a pitch-black cloak, just as before entering the main hall.

The crown of the cracks can change reality, the king of frost is the king of the spiritual realm, how could Levi not be on guard against this? As early as the time he realized that this ice dragon was the true ruler of the Ji Tomb, he had already taken into account the current situation.

Only Saladin's Libra Hourglass was a reality that the Lord of Frost could not distort, so Levi engraved his most important secret on the hourglass cover.

Once he realizes that the reality he is in, the experiences of the past, are rewritten fakes, he no longer recognizes this reality, and even the crown of the cracks cannot continue to maintain the distorted "truth".

"Metal Body...... It seems that you do not have a physical body, Lord Ornos. Levi's eyes narrowed, looking at the Frost King's metal body, and couldn't help but be struck by the alchemical technique it represented—the work of the alchemists of Saladin's era.

He turned to look at Flora, who was full of confusion, and couldn't help but have a look of embarrassment on her face. Although he was awake at this time, the reality and memories that the Frost Lord had modified were still in his mind......

In that reality, he and Flora were husband and wife, spending countless nights together, sharing happy memories.

"Isn't that bad?" Ornos looked at Levi calmly, "In the reality I have written, are you not happy?" ”

Levi didn't look at Ornos, but simply replied, "Maybe erasing painful memories can make people happy, but I don't intend to let go of the past." ”

He paused, stared at Flora and said, "It's like you made me fall in love with her, but now I'm finally back to the reality of the moment, and those feelings have disappeared without a trace." ”

"But she's already your wife, and under the shape of the crown of the cracks, your memories with her are facts that really happened." "I didn't create illusions, I changed reality, and even if you get out of the reality I wrote, you can't deny its existence." ”

Ornos raised her dragon claws, and the twisted ring on its claws was none other than the superior relic [Crown of the Cracks] with infinite power.

"I have lived in Oze for thousands of years, and during that time I have created many people to live in this city." Ornos's eyes revealed a faint loneliness, "But these Eze people are not as good as living people after all...... I don't want to kill you, I just want to keep you here, and with just a few small modifications, you outsiders can live and thrive in the tomb without worry. ”

"Then, we will give birth to offspring and bring life to your kingdom?" Levi scoffed, "Your idea is beautiful, but let me refuse." ”

He reached out and dragged Flora in front of him, staring her in the eye and exclaiming, "Remember the Void Temple, Keeper of the Mystery?" ”

There was a mental shock in his voice, and Flora's memory valve was shattered, and countless forbidden knowledge and ancient secrets emerged at once, reminding her of her original identity.

The Eze costume on her body vanished, returning to its original attire, and even her left hand disappeared again, abandoned in another reality.

"What the hell am I ...... What went through? Flora's face became very complicated as she grabbed the severed arm, and she recalled the thousands of days and nights she had spent with Levi, and for a moment she was ashamed and annoyed.

What drove her maddening the most was that these memories were ironclad facts and not false hallucinations...... Although this reality was denied with the recollection of her memory, she could still vividly remember how she felt in her body and mind, and she wanted to crash headfirst against the wall.

On a theoretical level, they have been combined, but they have not.

"Don't overthink it." Levi held back his embarrassment and said expressionlessly, "Let's just think it's a dream." ”

With that, he turned his head to look at the Frost King, and the magic in his body stirred.

"We're here to put an end to this."

Annoyed by Levi's persuasion for no apparent reason, Flora glared at his back and said in a voice that only she could hear, "A dream...... Just a dream......"

Ornos, the Frost King, the Herald of Winter, the Scholar of the Bitter Cold, and the Heart-Shaking Poet, looked down on Levi and Flora and let out a sigh of regret.

"It's okay, I can kill you, erase your reality, and create the perfect Levi and Flora." Ornos got up from the ground, her dark blue pupils looking particularly cold and deep, "At that time, you will be able to live forever in Öze, in my poetry!" ”

("It's hard to imagine what I experienced in the Himereung...... Sometimes I really don't want to recall, but I can't erase those memories, is that also a quality of distorting reality? —The Hidden Record)

(The two poems in the article, "Windmill" and "Clouds", are from my own poetry collections, "Letter of Letters" and "SIX•SIX•SIX", respectively.)