novelonline Chapter 3410 Before the Tombstone
Chapter 3410 Before the Tombstone
Chapter 3410 Before the Tombstone
Before Shad used the key to set off, Sister Defulin deliberately blocked the ornament on her wrist with her left hand.
But now Xia De saw it clearly. It was a familiar golden bracelet, which he had just given to another person about twenty minutes ago.
"This"
He listened to his own heartbeat and widened his eyes. He wanted to sigh but his head felt buzzing.
He tried not to think about why, but Sister Develyn spoke up herself:
"After you first mentioned the Fifth Age predecessor, I searched for her in the Order's great library. About half a week ago, I found the record of Sister Beren and her grave in the mountain cemetery below the sacrificial site."
"grave……"
The fire-guarding nuns would not leave behind corpses. They were already part of the First Flame, and their bodies would be burned after death. Not to mention complete corpses, not even ashes would remain.
Sister Defulin once took Shade to see the nuns' graves (Extra 3). The cemetery was just down the stone steps at the entrance to the sacrificial ground. There were only tombstones on those graves, and a few of them had some of the nuns' personal belongings buried behind the tombstones as a memorial.
Carina looked at Shade with some concern, while Sister Develyn continued:
"The tombstone has been severely weathered, but the name can still be seen. It records that she was a thirteenth-level witch who eventually died during a containment mission to contain an unknowable-level relic that suddenly went out of control near the sacrificial site.
When I ordered other nuns to rebuild the tombstone, they found a small box buried under the old tombstone, and a motto was left in the box with flames. She told me to give you the items in the box after you say goodbye to her, and there is no need to bury them again.
Sister Defulyn paused for a moment, then took off the golden bracelet and handed it to Shad.
"Already passed away."
Xia De looked at the golden bracelet but was reluctant to reach out for it, and the nun did not urge him.
All mortals must die, but this is one of the few companions and friends Shade met in the Fifth Era whose cause of death he clearly knew. Since the First Flame was passed down from generation to generation, the death of Sister Belen was inevitable. It was just that he suddenly confirmed this fact, knowing that the nun who said goodbye to him with a calm smile half an hour ago had passed away many years ago, and he still found it difficult to accept it for a while.
After a long time, Xia De shook his head dejectedly:
"Sister Defulin, you should keep this. Although this bracelet is not the artifact itself, it was once worn by the gods. Keep it. It will be most useful to you."
Although Luvia and Carina didn't understand all the details, they could guess the general story.
The fortune teller observed Xia De's expression and asked again:
"Sister, is there anything else in the box under the tombstone besides the bracelet and the advice?"
Sister Defulin nodded:
"There is also a white feather that I didn't bring with me. It is now placed in the sacrificial field. The advice also has the second half: I am part of the flame. May the flame accompany you on your journey."
"Since the feather still existed, why didn't she use it to instantly revive herself?"
The feather of the fourth angel of death still has the ability to achieve instant resurrection even if it is out of the Tombstone Wasteland. This is an advanced version of Shade's "false immortality". But no one can answer this question. After all, Sister Belen left the only remaining feather of the three feathers to Shade in her own way.
Shad closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Carina looked at Shad and then at the bracelet, but finally did not point out that Shad had a strong smell of perfume on him.
Even though this adventure took place in the late Fifth Age, it was still a story from the previous Age. Apart from the power bestowed by the evil god, Shade took nothing with him. He had recorded some of the knowledge in the Eternal Sleeping Scripture, and now it was in the book. The bones in the coffin dropped by the gravedigger would surely become Miss Violet's test subjects.
Originally he thought that Sister Belen might leave some words through the [Spiritual Order], but he didn't expect that he would receive the last words left by the nun just after he returned.
He often advises others that "all men must die", but he is still sad when it comes to himself. He wants to pay respect to Sister Belen's grave, but Luvia stops him:
"You should rest well and get some sleep. Judging from your appearance, you can probably fall asleep if you close your eyes."
"I will wait for your visit at the sacrificial site."
Sister Defulyn also said so.
Shad's mental state was indeed very bad at this time, so he was forced to sleep for two hours on this Tuesday morning. When he woke up, it was already ten o'clock in the morning. Sister Davelin, Luvia and Carina had all left, but Tifa was left to take care of Shad.
The black-haired maid heard the sound in the bedroom and walked in quickly:
"Are you feeling okay now? Miss Sylvia came here an hour ago. She saw the letter you left in the council about the ice castle and the portal. Miss Sylvia saw that you were sleeping soundly, and Miss Emilia Sienord happened to come over. So she and Miss Sienord went to find Unicorn Ellie. They will deal with the matter of the portal."
She said as she gave Shade a gentle hug:
"Are you still in such a bad mood?"
Xia De shook his head. He had a dreamless sleep just now. After waking up, he felt a little better, but his mood had not changed at all:
"When the nun said goodbye to me, she said she was part of the flame. She probably knew that it would be the last time we met. Flame. This is a story about encounter, jealousy, separation and relief. The fire-bearing nuns all know their fate and accept their fate. They are truly noble people."
"You were just talking about the nuns' feelings, but you didn't talk about your own situation."
Tifa then asked softly in Shade's ear:
"So, do you need me to comfort you?"
Shade blinked, feeling that his heavy mood was easily affected by this sentence, but this time he rejected Tifa's kindness:
"I'm not the kind of person you know, who doesn't need this to get better every time I'm in a bad mood."
He put his nose close to Tifa's neck and took a deep breath. Tifa smiled and didn't move, but then still disobeyed her "master"'s thoughts and gave him a very gentle and wet kiss.
This made Xia De feel better.
He still had to meet Mr. Mortis in the afternoon, but he didn't stay at home in the morning. After letting Tifa and the others return to Carina, Shad took the cat alone through Midhill Castle to the sacrificial site on the top of the mountain.
Sister Defulin had already been waiting with her head down at the entrance of the sacrificial site. The two of them walked down the ancient stone steps, pushed open the door at the end of the steps, and finally arrived at the cemetery of the Fire Guardian Sisters.
The cemetery is circular in shape, with the stone wall at the gate roughly curved, and a towering cliff to the right and a cliff to the left. The low tombstones standing under the cliff each represent a nun who endured the burning flames alone.
But the cemetery is not just here. There is a curved stone wall opposite the entrance gate. Outside the gate on the wall, a path extends along the cliff to a farther place. There is a large area behind, where there are more tombstones. Most of the tombstones in this circular area are from the past 500 years, and some of the tombstones in the back can even be traced back to the Second Era.
The legacy of the Fire Sisters has never been broken.
The silvery-white snow still covers this place, and Sister Belen's tombstone stands in an inconspicuous corner deep in the cemetery, behind a collapsed low wall.
Sister Defulin took Shad to the place. When Shad put his hand on her tombstone, his melancholy almost reached its peak. At this moment, even the cat did not disturb him.
Many of the friends that the stranger met in the Fifth Era had passed away, such as Mr. Riddle, the luckiest mortal, and Miss Knight, who died after slashing a sword in the Sea of Gravel and Gold. He even saw the church where Sister Perry of the Church of the Sun, whom he met in the Worm Cave in the year 4791 of the Fifth Era, was buried.
But only this time, when he stood in front of this tombstone, he felt a feeling he had never had before. There were so many tombstones standing in the Tombstone Wasteland, and the outsider admitted that he only thought of them as "danger and treasure" at that time. But now that he has left the wasteland, when he stands here, he truly understands how deep the stories represented by each tombstone are.
If this is also a kind of fate, this should be regarded as the last time that the [King of the Tomb] tells Shad what the tombstone really means.
Sister Defulin, wearing a mithril eye mask, clasped her hands together and hung them in front of her, standing silently behind Shade. The weather on the top of the mountain was very good today. Although it was winter, the blue sky and white clouds made people feel that it was another peaceful day.
"Do you need to bury the bracelet? It was your gift to her after all."
The nun behind him asked softly after a long while, and Xia De shook his head:
"Since Sister Belen hopes that this bracelet can still be used, Sister Defulin, please keep it for the time being."
He looked at the words on the tombstone again, thinking about the story that had just ended in the Tombstone Wasteland. It was definitely impossible to let it go in a short period of time, but at least he knew the reason why Sister Belen left those items under the tombstone. The nun hoped that the nuns of the future generations could carry this strength with them.
She had completely accepted her own death, and now that she thought about it, even when they said goodbye at the door of Miss Violet's bedroom and she said, "I have become part of the fire," she might have realized that this would be the last time they met.
"Sister, if you hadn't met me, would you have felt lonely too?"
he asked softly.
“Fire is our destiny, solitude is our fate.”
She said with her head slightly lowered.
"So if you meet me and I leave, will you feel more lonely?"
Shade asked again, and the nun raised her head and "looked" at Shade's profile. The bright sunshine shone on her back, making her shadow pass by Shade. The remains of the low wall gave half of the tombstone a cool shade. Although the ground behind the tombstone was still covered with snow, in spring, it would probably be covered with flowers like in previous years.
"No, after all, I have gotten a moment's rest, which is already a miracle for the fire-bearing nuns. Long-term companionship is good, but even just a moment of understanding and comfort is enough for us."