"Avalanches cannot hinder travelers' determination to reach the end. All travelers work together to help you survive the avalanche. Although you feel physically and mentally exhausted, fortunately, there is not much left to go. At noon,
You camp and rest in a safe place, looking forward to what else you will encounter on this last day of adventure. After a short rest, you set out again. What destination will the unicorn who obtained the map lead you to?
?”
The god signaled the witch to draw the next card, but Shade asked the witch to wait a moment. He asked Chloe Yin beside him:
"Kloe Yin, what did you come to do in the snowy mountains?"
The firelight made her long silver hair more elegant. The petite witch shrank her body and leaned against Shade and shook her head gently:
"Don't worry about me. Even if you fail to complete what I want to do this time, you can go again next time and do your things first.
She said understandingly.
"No, no, I want to know in advance what else is waiting for us on the mountain."
So Croyin nodded and introduced under the gaze of everyone:
"I came to this unknown snow mountain for the academy to explore an ancient legend here. Rumor has it that the witch wandering on the top of the mountain has the opportunity to encounter an ancient temple. And that temple has the power to use itself in exchange for
The power of happiness for others.”
"Making a wish again?"
This reminded Shade of the bottle he encountered while traveling on the ship.
"No, it's not a wish, nor is it a malicious trap. According to local legends and the academy's preliminary investigation, the ancient temple located at the top of the snow mountain is most likely the place where the ancient god of fate, Mr. Huan, used to worship.
This is a place to reverse and change your destiny, but it is also a place to pay a price. That is why the academy asked me, a demigod witch, to come and investigate in person, although I have not found any ancient buildings so far...
..Of course, let me come because my country is closest to here."
The ancient god [Mr. Huan], also known as [Ouroboros], is the god worshiped by the Prophet Association, and is responsible for functions such as [destiny] and [reciprocating cycles]. So far, Shade’s understanding of this ancient god
Understand, only a few words from Luvia. And the consequences of wantonly manipulating fate, the outsiders already knew very well last summer.
He looked at the witch Miss Andreana and the black-dressed maid Clara with some worry. The light of the swaying bonfire made their faces uncertain, and they also guessed what they would face next.
Chloe Yin said to them softly:
"I don't know what the current condition of the person you are looking for is, but if he can still be saved, I will help."
"Thanks."
Miss Andreana thanked her softly, stretched out her hand to open the card, but suddenly asked Shade:
"Your Majesty said that the temple is difficult to find. Does this mean that even if we climb to the top of the mountain, we may not be able to find it?"
"Yes, so, we need clues."
The witch nodded lightly, picked up [Impermanent Space] with one hand and put it in front of her eyes, and then turned over the next card. As expected, on the card was the ancient card standing on the top of Blizzard Mountain.
temple.
This is completely different from the sacrificial site where the [Spiritual Cult] is located. Because there are no activities all year round and lack of maintenance, the temple depicted on the card has almost become a ruin, with only a small number of architectural ruins still standing stubbornly in the wind and snow.
middle.
The god spoke:
"The unicorn broke through the wind and snow and finally led the travelers to the destination on the map. What greeted them in front were the ruins of the ancient temple. Through the introduction of the silver cat, you know that mortals were once here
We have sacrificed to destiny, but that is already a story of the old times. All that is left to you now are these ruins. So, on the afternoon of the last day of the trip, should you go around the ruins and continue, or should you search the ruins carefully?"
The god asked with a smile. This sentence was addressed to the brown-haired witch. Arela Andriana answered affirmatively:
"We're going to search this ruins."
The surrounding scenery has not changed, which means that there is actually no need for anyone to take action:
"The unicorn made a decision, so the travelers got busy. The loyal dog sniffed the scent, the parrot flew into the sky to look for traces, the unicorn walked alone in the ruins, and the travelers and the silver cat under the moon searched together
The remains of a miracle.”
Everyone's senses had problems at this moment. They were still sitting in the camp, but their vision, hearing, smell, touch, and perception of elements and spirits seemed to have really explored the ruins.
They saw a group of people coming to the top of the snow-capped mountains despite the wind and snow. The unicorn used a card and a golden horn to open a road that did not exist before. So, the group of people passed through the narrow and curved ice.
The path leads to a huge arch guarded by two weathered statues.
Even if they didn't arrive in person, standing in front of the arch, it seemed that they had really touched the trajectory of fate. The temple had become ruins, but the ancient power still existed here. They all whispered a few prayers in unison, and then
After entering the arch, investigate each one.
"I smell my sister's perfume, she's definitely here!"
Clara, the maid in black skirt, said firmly.
"There are no traces of battle here, and I found no trace of Lux's thaumaturgy."
The witch said regretfully.
"I saw the most complete building ruins in the center of the ruins toward the top of the mountain!"
The bard warned loudly, as if everyone was really in a snowstorm in the snowy mountains.
"Yes, we got there."
Shade looked at the air in front of him and added:
"Chloe Yin and I saw it. We saw a table, and...a stone statue of a woman. She really looks like Miss Clara."
"Be careful, even if the ancient gods have gone away, the power of fate still remains here. This makes me very uneasy. No one should approach that table, and don't touch that stone statue easily."
Chloe reminded everyone.
After confirming what they were looking for, the five people's senses disappeared abnormally. Amidst the slight vibrations on the ground, the table and female stone statue seen by Shade and Chloe appeared near the bonfire.
Except for the god who was still sitting upright, everyone stood up and gathered around. The stone table had been exposed to wind and sun for countless years, and was now covered with dense wind-eroded holes. The table was rectangular, with a female stone statue standing on the short side.
On one end of the body, the vivid expression was a relieved smile, as if she was alive just a moment ago.
"elder sister!"
The maid who had always been calm ignored Croyin's warning and hugged the stone statue, but it turned into a black hound midway. Because of her height, she could only cling to the foot of the stone statue. Fortunately, nothing happened. The light of the bonfire illuminated the statue.
It illuminated two intertwined shadows, one large and one small, but it could not melt the snowflakes on the shoulders on the side of the stone statue.
No one dared to touch the table. The unicorn came first and touched the stone statue with its horn. Then he said to Shade who was stopping the fight between the two cats - mainly Mia:
"The soul is still inside the stone statue."
The experience in the Randall Valley at the beginning of this year allowed Shade to know a lot about these living people who were turned into stone statues.
He nodded:
"If the soul is still there, I can try to rescue it. I have a thaumaturgy that turns stones and soil into living flesh and blood."
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and pressed it on the arm of the stone statue. No reaction from the elements was detected, which meant that the stone statue was just an ordinary stone:
"Activated clay."
A bright golden light bloomed from Shade's hand, and the petrified arm actually turned into a white arm in an instant. But then the restored part of the body turned into stone again. Shade tried to use thaumaturgy again,
But it has no effect anymore.
"No need to try to cast a spell. She paid the price and was turned into stone. It's not that your power has no effect, but that after the thaumaturgy took effect, she was turned to stone again. She was destined to be a stone, and fate gave her this
In the end, you can't change that."
The silver cat who was driven to Shade's shoulder by Little Mia reminded, the cat stretched out its paws and pointed to the other side:
"That's a very ancient power, related to this table."
"Destiny?"
The black hound transformed by the maid lady was entrenched at the foot of the statue and refused to leave. The unicorn was still trying to cast spells to lift the petrification, but she failed even for a moment like Shade.
It was the parrot transformed by the bard who discovered the clue first:
"Look, there is a complete picture under the dust on the table."
It flew in the air to look more carefully, so the silver cat held by Shade took a breath. The strong wind blew by, sweeping away the dust on the table. Shade walked to the table and saw the criss-crossed pictures on the stone table.
eucalyptus, connected to each other to form boxes one after another, like a Rhodes gambling table, or like the "Game of Life" gambling table he had seen with Mr. Riddle in the Dreadfort.
The blown dust did not fall to the ground along with the snowflakes. Instead, it gathered at the other end of the table and formed a human figure without facial features. Because there was not much dust on the table, the human figure was quite thin, and the dust that made up the body was everywhere.
Trembling, even through his body, he could still see the scene in the foggy forest behind him.
This was not the effect of Croyin's spell casting. The power of miracles and fate made everyone alert. The trembling dust moved inside its body in a wonderful trajectory, like stars or like dense raindrops falling on it.
I caught the ripples in the pool.
The dust humanoid had no intention of attacking them. It pressed its hands on the table:
"You have trespassed into the temple of destiny. What kind of destiny is guiding you?"
Shade was most familiar with this kind of strange conversation. He coughed and replied:
"Lost blood relatives, lost lovers, we came here to find the girl cursed by fate. Gatekeeper of fate, can you tell us why she turned into stone?"
The figure made of dust "looked" at Shade:
"It turns out that the moon's light shone here. This ancient light is really nostalgic. The cursed girl gained more power for her lover and crossed the extraordinary gate for her sisters. She gave herself and gained something.
desire."
This answer is quite simple and clear, even Chloe Yin, who knows the least about this matter, can understand it.
"You see, her wish has come true. The witch has gained the power of the unicorn, and the maid in the black dress has become otherworldly. Fate has always been so fair, and this has never changed."
The dust figure added.
"I want to get my sister back, use me in exchange! I deserve it, it's me who is jealous of my sister, it's me who gave her the advice to go out and find strength, it's me, it's me... I'm willing to give everything,
As long as my sister can come back."
The black hound jumped up on the table and said to the dust figure.
"Of course not, fate has already made its choice, and it cannot be changed."
"Then use me..."
The unicorn said, using its horn to pick off the hound on the table and throw it onto his back:
"It's my fault. If I could have discovered the problems at home more promptly, I wouldn't have caused any discord between the sisters. This is my fault, please let me atone for it."
