With the "gift" given by Sora, the two of them found a home belonging to Lin's "same race" without spending much time.
It was the top of the snow-capped mountains in the southeast of the mainland, more than thousands of feet high, and rarely seen among people. Lin sang softly in dragon language, and the words rich in magic drove away the illusion that shrouded the mountains, revealing the huge cave entrance behind it.
They walked inside, passed through an unusually wide corridor, and came to a hall with a radius of tens of meters. It was located in the upper part of the mountain. All the rocks above were removed, revealing thin clouds and the sky. A transparent force field shrouded it.
At the top, no matter the wind, frost, rain or snow, the place is still as warm as spring.
The tall woman in a silver dress stood up to greet the two of them without showing any signs of alienation. After asking her intention, she readily agreed to take them across the ocean to a continent that left no legend behind.
Yuffie also asked about Bo Yan and Yinis' previous emperors. It was similar to what the two guessed. Every dragon who had high hopes would go to the human kingdom and serve as emperor for thirty years. The term of office was
Their performance and evaluation will determine who can become the new leader of the "Dragon Council" in the next 150 years.
Judging from Yunyue's tone, Boyan's handling this time is obviously excellent. As for why the Dragon Clan formed a unified parliament, instead of the girl's impression that there was little contact between the various clans, and the other party had no positive attitude.
In response, she told the two that their doubts would be answered when the journey was over.
Then the next day, the two of them set off with Yunyue.
Flying in the wind under the warm sunshine is always a pleasant experience. Yuffie has done this more than once. Using secret techniques or made tools, most often while sitting behind Grace.
But the current method is still the first time.
The silver dragon's broad back is enough to seat dozens of people. Its scales are narrow and crystal clear, like gems that have never been seen before. Each one is indistinguishable from one another. The dragon flaps its wings gently, and the magic power rolls up the airflow and pushes her
Move forward quickly and steadily. A vague magic barrier surrounds the surroundings, blocking the invading cold wind, making the environment as comfortable as the surface.
"Speaking of which, was it His Highness Boyan who asked you to follow us that time in the Far East Wasteland?"
The blonde girl asked curiously while stroking a scale that was longer than her palm. Those scales were as smooth as a mirror, but slightly soft in the hand, and fit the silver dragon's body perfectly.
Yuffie remembered that only dragons that were old enough had such a trait. The magic penetrated their bodies, so much so that it changed the physical properties of the scales. These seemingly "soft" dragon scales have unparalleled protective properties -
—Whether it’s physical or magical.
For Yunyue - or Ilhara, the king of the silver dragon clan who has survived for thousands of years, this is proof of the gift of time.
"No." The giant dragon let out a sweet low cry, "Bo Yan told me, and I am somewhat interested in someone's "familiar family"." She waved her slender neck lightly, "Dragon Vein Warlocks are quite common. Through endurance,
As far as I know, less than one hundred people have succeeded in transforming themselves into dragons by using the blood of a golden dragon. As for those who mastered transformation at an early age, I have only seen you."
"Well... Dean Collens has helped a lot, and Yuffie is accompanying me." Lin seemed a little embarrassed and quickly changed the subject, "Um, Uncle Alaxia... you promised him
without?"
Yinlong was silent for a while, and his voice was slightly low, "I agreed, but for him... it wasn't timely enough."
The magic that enveloped the silver dragon was a little suppressed for a moment, and the blonde girl covered her mouth, feeling that she had asked an inappropriate question. But Yunyue quickly regained her composure and continued to fly across the vast blue sea to the continent far to the west.
"In your time, you should have heard the name "Sea of Storms"." A few minutes later, Silver Dragon spoke again.
Yuffie nodded - the dragon's magic perception is as sensitive as its vision, and it can see the movements of the two people without looking back. "Located on the edge of the magical network, the storm created by chaotic magic is constant all year round. According to the records of the Wizards' Federation
, the width is about one hundred and forty kilometers... Do we want to teleport there?"
"The records are correct. As for the past." The silver dragon spread its wings and the magic barrier that enveloped her slowly dissipated. "The "Sea of Storms" no longer exists."
The surroundings were still blue, but Yuffie was keenly aware that the scenery ahead was just a reflection of the surrounding environment, a huge illusion that enveloped the entire ocean.
"Five hundred years ago, the Dragon Clan used all its remaining strength to set up a barrier at the edge of the Sea of Storms. It prevented everything from spreading to the Far East, and also protected the lives of those daring explorers. They were basically Gurnor people." Yunyue
She narrated in a low voice, "The natural chasm that now separates the Aiur continent from the Far East is called -" She took a gentle breath, "The Continent of Peace."
The moment the words fell, the silver dragon flew over the invisible barrier, revealing the reality hidden behind the illusion before their eyes.
——It is an extremely calm ocean.
The sea surface is as smooth as a mirror, but it cannot reflect the figure of the dragon, it only emits a soft gray light; there is no wind in the air, the magic barrier has dissipated, but there seems to be something surrounding everyone; the top of the head is unusually gloomy, the sun, the moon and the
The stars were all invisible, and it was not even possible to see what was blocking them; in the dead silence, waves of weak tremors penetrated the space, formless and irregular, but they had not stopped yet——
Like the heartbeat of a dying person.
Although she was prepared, Yuffie couldn't help but take a breath - and so did her friend. The girl grabbed Lin's hand hard and tried to calm herself down, "How wide is it...?"
"Four thousand kilometers, all the way to the edge of the 'continent'." Silver Dragon said softly, continuing to fly forward rapidly, "Try to adapt to the environment here before we arrive."
Yuffie nodded silently, calmed down, and tried to feel the tremors coming from all around. As they moved forward, they slowly increased and became clearer, but the nature of madness and disorder has not changed at all. For any living being, that is...
It is a fatal and chronic poison, and its potency is much stronger than most of the items in the college laboratory that are labeled "Danger".
Fortunately she is a witch.
In the Far East Wasteland, she learned how to cast secret spells in the wild magic zone. What she needs to do now is somewhat similar, but she changes from constructing spells in the body to using magic power to ensure the normal operation of the body. The difference is that it only takes a moment to cast the spell.
Maintaining the body from damage...is a long-term task.
Lin was better at doing this than she was. Her transformation back into a human was a similar method, requiring only a few adjustments at most. Under the guidance of her friends, Yuffie spent three or four hours to finally establish a stable protection. She opened her eyes
, looked into the distance again, and found that there was already solid ground below.
"I'm ready, Ms. Yunyue." Yuffie said softly.
The silver dragon roared in response and landed smoothly on the ground. Yuffie held Lin's hand and walked quickly down the dragon's right wing, looking around at the desolate surroundings.
Except for the endless gray and black, there is no other color in front of me. The only light source comes from under my feet, ignited from the gray soil. There are shadows all around, tangible and intangible, like black pages of 'things' in groups, aimless
They wandered back and forth on the ground. They kept twisting their shapes, decomposing and then devouring each other. The larger and smaller individuals were more than a thousand times different, but they could not identify what they belonged to.
A black 'wall' several meters high passed by everyone, and Yuffie smelled something like a burnt corpse, which then turned into a spicy and sweet smell. A pinprick-like pain swept through the skin, and the 'wall' came from the other side.
One side left, leaving only the bone-chilling coldness.
She shuddered, squatted down, and held a handful of soil in her palms. They danced in her palms, glowed dimly, and quickly turned into ashes and drifted away.
"Magic deposition." Yuffie murmured. She had only learned about this scene in books. It is a unique feature of the inner world - following specific rules, energy and matter can be freely converted, "...but here
It’s the material world.”
"There are also elemental creatures living in the inner realm. I heard that there are many fish in the water elemental realm." Lin drew patterns on the ground with her fingertips. They disappeared in an instant and returned to nothingness. "There are only those shadows here."
Yuffie discovered this when he was still at sea, and now he is even more thorough. There are no beasts, no insects, no plants, no fungi... and of course no humans. Even the most adaptable microscopic life cannot survive here.
This thrives.
Even with magical protection, the air she inhaled continued to burn her whole body. In the environment in front of her, she could only survive for a few days at most, and then she would weaken and die. Lin and Yunyue might last longer, but it was equally impossible to live there for a long time.
"How long will it take for it to return to its original state?" Yuffie put her palms on the ground, trying to find a trace of her hometown - but she failed.
The low cry came again. "Thousands of years, or longer. Maybe...it won't be reborn until everyone forgets this history."
She looked up at Yunyue. Yinlong looked at her, and Lin did the same. She suddenly knew the origin of everything in front of her, maybe it was intuition, maybe not.
"A war, right?" The girl straightened up and silently recited those familiar names in her heart, "It happened between the gods..." She shook her head, "among the 'gods'."
Gentle clapping reached her ears, and she turned her head and saw a familiar figure she hadn't seen for a long time, standing in front of her without any warning.
She was a slender and elegant woman, who looked like a Kamal, wearing a light tunic coat, with her long hair tied into a ponytail. She was about the same height as Yuffie, and she wore a strange bracelet on her right wrist, like
The paper ring turned over in a circle gave off a soft luster. Although the surroundings were dark, Yuffie could still clearly see the gentle and beautiful face of the woman, the hair of the same color as hers, and the bright red pupils with a smile.
Just like the memory from seven years ago, there is no difference.
"Long time no see." Alicia said softly, "Welcome back."
The girl took a step forward, held out her hands, and then buried her body in her mother's arms. The coldness and desolation instantly dissipated, and warmth and courage returned to her body. She exhaled slightly and felt that her vision was a little blurry. So she closed her eyes.
She didn't know how the other party got here, and how he knew she was here. But if it was her mother, everything seemed to be natural. No matter what the scene in front of her foreshadowed, as long as she stayed with the other party, there seemed to be no difficulties or challenges.
However, Yuffie knew that was not possible.
She is no longer the child she was seven years ago. Her mother sent her to Eagle College and guided her all the way here, not to let her stop here. Escape may solve the temporary problem, but someone must choose to face it.
, in order to avoid the worst thing from happening.
The surroundings were unusually quiet, reminding her of the nights in the academy before she met Lin. At that time, she knew nothing about adventures. In addition to studying occult knowledge every day, she just read her favorite books. The library in the academy tower was equally quiet, where she collected
There are countless books of all kinds, each of which is enough to while away several nights.
She originally thought that finding her mother was just a short and wonderful journey. After that, whether she returned to the academy to be a tutor, entered the Wizards' Union to participate in research, or opened a store with her friends, it would be a more stable life for her.
Life.
Looking at it now, one of the goals has been achieved, while the other...has become further away.
Perhaps her mother had foreseen all this. The girl had a little complaint in her heart, but she was not dissatisfied at all. Unknowingly, her thoughts changed. Maybe it was the insights brought to her by the trip, maybe it was Anya's determination that infected her.
In a nutshell——
That is growth.
Yuffie opened her eyes, letting the mist in her pupils dissipate, then took two steps back and looked at her mother's face again. This time, the eyes that met hers were warm and soft, with clear expectations.
"Are you confident?" Alicia curled her fingers and gently held her chin, "My daughter?"
The girl shook her head.
"I don't know." Yuffie said calmly, as if she were chatting everyday, "After all, I can't predict the future. But -"
She raised her arms, grabbed her mother's and Lin's hands respectively, and led them towards Yunyue.
"Let's get out of here first—and then return to where this journey began."