Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 225: When the time comes for awakening, will the heroes gather?
The girl sits alone on the crescent moon, gazing up at the images frozen in the night sky. Behind her is a huge gray-black root that pierces the mud and stone ceiling and the deep, dark night sky, hanging down from the top of her head. It reminds people of the huge vines hanging from the sky in fairy tales. If you climb along the vines, you can reach the kingdom of giants and see all the incredible things beyond imagination.

In all the frozen images that I saw, there was a girl with long platinum hair and a delicate but determined temperament. Sometimes she was holding a holy sword and bravely slashing at the enemy, sometimes she was holding a holy book and calling on storm fire and thunder to baptize the enemy, and sometimes she was waving a sacred golden chain, trying to restrain the enemy's actions in the silver moonlight... The stories depicted in these scenes were all about how she stubbornly resisted her own fate, and the enemy in the picture was the same, that is, herself.

In fact, at the beginning, she did not want to regard the Princess of Beman as an enemy, because a long time ago, her creator said this: You go and guard her and take care of her, don't let her get hurt, but don't let her leave here.

As a creation, she had no right to disobey her creator, so in the long years that followed, she firmly followed this command: turning into a curse to restrain her freedom was based on this, and restraining those ferocious shadow beasts from harming her was also based on this; awakening her when she actively threw herself into the darkness to seek death was based on this, and at the final moment, she was still unwilling to fight with her and just kept escaping, which was also based on this.

Being good to her also becomes her nightmare, protecting her also causes her pain... The created girl sometimes wonders why she has such a contradictory attitude. But she cannot understand that person's feelings, and has never been taken seriously by that person. If the princess of Bemang had not broken into the bottom of the seal and was about to break the cage, she probably wouldn't know that she has another personality.

This is also a very normal thing. Not everyone likes to have another person in their mind who is always against them. What's more, the emotions that gave birth to her were not needed from the beginning.

I thought that person's innocence, kindness, cowardice and guilt were all abandoned, but in fact they just moved to another place and beat in another heart - this is a very strange way of saying it, because the heart is something that only life has, and I am just the phantom of that person, and I have no heart from the beginning. But I don't know why, I still want to use this way of saying it, as if as long as the words I say are firm enough, those extravagant things will become reality.

What happens after you have a heart?

Perhaps, all the things that I didn’t understand in the past can be understood now.

Understand why that person cast a curse on the innocent princess and took away her freedom, but was so concerned about whether there was someone protecting her life; understand where Princess Beman's courage came from, and why she was still able to stubbornly resist fate after being sealed for so long; and then, understand the meaning of your own existence.

Even if I am alone, even if I have to face an extremely terrifying enemy, even if I only have a dagger in my hand...

What was the meaning of her existence? She was also the phantom of that person. Did she want to leave some traces through her existence? If so, why did she abandon all her emotions in the beginning and only keep the most rational part?

……

That's right, existence needs meaning. Even the most humble speck of dust or the smallest ant has its own meaning. Sometimes they constitute part of a majestic mountain, and sometimes they complete a link in the natural cycle... Even those phantoms born from memory have their meaning, which is to preserve traces of the past and help the princess regain her long-lost emotions.

I thought that by doing so, the princess would lose the reason to fight, but that person seemed to have underestimated the other person's belief.

She temporarily put aside the messy thoughts in her mind, and slowly stood up from the crescent moon. When she turned around, she saw a thin and slender figure stepping on the tree roots hanging from the night sky, just like walking on a ladder connecting heaven and earth, walking to the ground step by step. When he looked up at her, there was a similar determination in his eyes.

She only had a dagger in her hand, and the aura of other weapons had all disappeared. Those magical weapons, from whose power she didn't know, helped her defeat the guardians of the first four levels and come to her. However, in the end, she was still banished to the distant darkness by herself - by the power of "that person".

The more I thought about it, the more confused I became. The more I pursued it, the more painful it became. In the end, even my chest felt like it was being pressed down by a stone, and I couldn't breathe. At this moment, I suddenly heard footsteps behind me, thump thump thump, stepping on the rough roots, step by step, I walked towards this world penetrated by tree roots, towards myself.

She didn't need to look back to know who the person was. It would be better to say that she had been waiting for the other person for a long time. Ever since the huge tree pierced through the castle with its branches and roots and supported the cage with its body, she had already started waiting. She knew that the other person would definitely come here and would definitely choose to fight.

If she chose to give up so easily, she should have given up long ago. When she encountered difficulties in the first four levels, she had many opportunities to give up, but she never did. This means... there is a power in her body that is more powerful than "giving up" and supports her to keep moving forward.

"Will you continue to fight as well?"

Facing the question from the ruler on the crescent moon, the princess, who had already walked from the tree roots to the ground, was stunned for a moment, and then replied without hesitation: "Of course!"

Why would she come back here if not to continue fighting?
"But," the Ruler said softly, "You look very sad. Is it because you cried?"

Hearing this, Aoweila subconsciously reached out and rubbed the corners of her eyes. She felt that she had clearly wiped away the tears, so why could the other party still see them? As if knowing what she was thinking, the ruler spoke again, his voice light and floating, like elusive moonlight: "I didn't see it with my naked eyes, but... I felt it."

What she felt, did she mean to say that she felt the same way?
Olvera's expression suddenly turned cold. She remembered that Linger had said something similar to her, even until the last moment before he disappeared. The princess also felt that he was indeed qualified to say so. After all, when they were talking by the fire, the loneliness vaguely revealed in the young man's cold tone was an emotion that only people who were also deeply troubled by loneliness would have. And what right did the ruler in front of him have to say that he felt the same way as her?

"I don't think so," she said coldly.

The girl on the crescent moon was startled for a moment. After she came to her senses, she lowered her head silently, with a trace of disappointment flashing in the depths of her eyes: "I'm sorry if this sentence offends you. I just think that if fighting makes people feel sad, why should we continue to persevere? I..."

I don't want to see you so sad.

Whether it is based on one's original intention or from that person's mood.

"You're wrong." She was interrupted by Ovilla before she could finish her words. She refuted word by word: "It's not because fighting makes people sad, but because even if you are sad, you must continue to fight. Otherwise, the sacrifice is meaningless!"

Sacrifice... The girl looked into the princess's firm and clear eyes, and recalled the powerful aura that flashed across the upper floors of the castle. Suddenly, she understood something and said with a sad tone, "In other words, this battle is inevitable?"

"Of course."

"Are we enemies?"

“There is no second relationship.”

"..."

The girl was silent for a while, then nodded slowly: "I understand. Then please at least end this battle as soon as possible, preferably before she finds out."

If she finds out, what happened before will happen again. No matter how strong your faith is, you can't resist that person's power, because this is darkness, and she is the god of darkness.

Thinking this in her mind, the girl's voice gradually lowered, until only she could hear it. On the ground, Olvera only heard the previous words. She felt a little strange. The ruler in front of her seemed to be a different person, completely different from the cold and indifferent image in the previous game. But she didn't think much about it. She raised the holy dagger - Grass and Tree Scourge with both hands, and her eyes reflected a bright and dazzling light: "You don't need to tell me, I can do it too!"

In the attribute panel, the ATP gauge with a value of ∞/∞ flickered violently, and in the end even overshadowed the other attributes, dyeing the entire panel a brilliant golden color. At the same time, the fruit condensed from past memories took effect in the princess' body, urging the most sacred and solemn power to be fully released.

The last hero combo skill is activated.

It is also Ovira's hero linking skill.

When the teacher sacrificed himself and turned into the power to inspire the Grass and Trees Star, this sacred dagger lost its original owner and became Olvera's weapon. Then, she who possessed the hero's weapon naturally also had her own hero-linked skills.

Its name is——

[Heroes gather and the power of the four sacred artifacts].

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)