Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 335: Can the White Whale Fly in the Sky?
The sky was dark and chaotic. Under the rolling clouds, a huge monster was approaching with a rumble. Its hard and sharp feet crushed all the fragile soil and rocks on the ground, swallowing up all the dust visible to the naked eye. Blue flames could be vaguely seen spitting out from behind the light knight, attacking the monster from all sides. Intensive gunfire could be heard in the smoke and dust. Thick beams of light cut through the haze and bombarded the ugly rock-like surface, knocking off countless pieces of rubble and debris, but it could not stop the monster or give up the chase.

Far away in the security post of the Ronin Rift, Arthur David watched this scene through a simple telescope he made himself, and he could not help but feel despair. He numbly put down the telescope in his hand, but the huge and blurry shadow was still flickering in his eyes, proving that its oppressive feeling was actually enough to penetrate the limitations of space and directly descend on everyone's heart.

The rest of the Rift Valley Security Patrol had already fled, and he was the only one who stayed here, not out of any noble sentiment, but for very practical reasons. First, Professor David was still staying in the ruins of the old windmill village. That man was the only guarantee for his life to get back on track, and he would not allow himself to give up; second... even if he wanted to escape, he didn't know where to escape to.

Can human footsteps really escape the hunting range of the terrible monster? Arthur David was very skeptical about this, but he also understood the actions of the other team members, knowing that they chose to escape not because of reason but because of an emotion called fear. In any critical moment, fear has a more firm and profound power than reason, and can dominate all people's thoughts and actions.

Although sometimes reason overcomes fear, it will not bring any changes to things.

Just like me, can't I just stay here and wait to die?

Arthur David smiled bitterly, and suddenly missed his life at Nimsher University. At that time, he thought it was ordinary, but now it is doubly precious. Unfortunately, a sudden family change made his life go to another path, and it seems that there is no possibility of returning to the right track.

Many things are like this. If you don't know how to cherish them at the time, you will regret it later. But every time people understand this truth, they are already regretting it - or is it just the opposite, it is because they regret that they deeply understand this truth?

A sudden shake disrupted his thoughts. The ground beneath his feet was shaking violently as if it was about to be torn apart. The rocky terrain, which had become fragile due to the expansion of the rift many years ago, was groaning, and the dead branches and leaves of the trees were trembling in the cold wind.

Again.

Decayed, rotten, worn out… those windmills that could still vaguely see their past appearance were erected on the top floors of the dilapidated and collapsed towers, like white giants rising from the ruins, and now they were slowly rotating under the push of the wind. Those old bearings and blades made unbearable groans when they were in operation, making people worry whether they would break and collapse in the next moment and become part of the dust of the past.

But as time went by, in less than half a minute, the shaking of the ground became more and more violent, as if it was going to tear a bigger crack in the entire rift valley. In the scene that Arthur David could see, it seemed that everything was shaking: the dead trees that withered in winter were shaking, the iron railings surrounding the ruins of the old windmill village were shaking, and the sentry behind him was shaking. If he looked up, he would see that the wooden windmill on the roof was like being blown by some invisible airflow, slowly rotating, making a low sound of wheels.

All the windmills are turning.

Arthur David was stunned when he saw this scene. He remembered that when the house was just built, the other members of the security patrol insisted on adding the windmill, because it was a custom in Avion, and as locals, they were no exception. He didn't care about such a trivial request, and agreed casually. He was a little disdainful in his heart, thinking that such a custom was actually meaningless. Later events proved that his idea was correct, because the windmill had never moved. The howling wind in the Rhonin Rift was fierce all year round, but it never vented its anger in the city just a stone's throw away, causing all the windmills on this land to lose their meaning, and they were silent and bowed all day, missing a memory of the past.

Arthur David felt the shaking getting stronger and stronger, and the sound of the blades spinning became clearer and clearer. It was definitely more than just a windmill. He seemed to have a premonition of something, and ran out of the shadow of the house in two or three steps. He stood on the winding gravel road, looking through the rusty iron railings towards the ruins of the old windmill village. He suddenly opened his eyes wide, as if he had seen an incredible miracle.

Arthur David shook his head helplessly, no longer feeling any panic or fear. Perhaps at first the noise coming from the ground would be like a countdown to life, and even the human heart would tremble and gradually tear apart. But when you really accept the arrangement of fate, you will feel that it is just a trivial matter. Such things happen every day in life and are not worth making a fuss about.

In other words, he has become numb.

Now, those windmills are starting to turn again.

But this did not happen. As the airflow from the rift became stronger and stronger, the speed of their rotation gradually increased, and in the end, they even stretched out a blurry afterimage. A series of violent air currents penetrated the ruins between the windmill and the tower, blowing the withered summer cherry trees on the ruins to sway, which reminded people of the time when they were in full bloom.

The wisteria leaves, bellflowers and tendrils entwined with the ancient wings and brackets, due to the strong centrifugal force, broke away from the "soil" where they originally grew, and flew away to the distant sky with some sincere blessings placed on them. Their lightly turning figures under the gloomy sky seemed to depict the trajectory of the wind passing by, which would be engraved in the eyes of a young man for the rest of his life. Although he was never an Avionian and never believed in any legends about the wind, he was stunned and lost in thought when he saw the windmills turning all over the ground.

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound in the rift valley, like a huge monster floating out of the sea, with seawater pouring down from the edge of its body and falling into the sea. Arthur David subconsciously looked up and saw a huge shadow gradually rising from the bottom of the rift valley, leaping over the storm sounds that he had become a little tired of hearing for more than a decade, and appeared in front of him. His stunned expression was perhaps comparable to those villagers in the old Avignon village who saw the mountains being blown away in front of them. He unconsciously murmured: "...whale, fish?"

Leaping up from the rift and flying into the sky was a whale made of soil and gravel, mountains and mudstone. Its head touched the steep cliffs on both sides, and its huge tail fin was visible at the end of the rift, gently flapping the storm and disturbing the howling storm. Its back was wider than the wilderness, with lush seven-color primroses and tall and prosperous trees growing on it. One could even see the shadow of a tall white windmill through the gaps between the branches and leaves. Its two fin-like forelimbs were different. They were wings covered with thick rocks and transparent colorless crystals floating on the edges. They looked very heavy, but they swayed gently with the howling wind in the rift as if they had no weight, supporting its huge and heavy body and flying easily and comfortably in the sky.

A solemn shadow emerged from the ancient sea, flapping its wings, vibrating the air flow, and stirring up a fierce cold wind, and flew towards the distant horizon under Arthur David's stunned gaze. It flew very fast, but because of its size, it looked more like a heavy dark cloud slowly passing over the head, so shocking.

The young sheriff could see the seven-colored petals and transparent crystals attached to the wings of the giant whale, the roots of trees and the slightly trembling branches in the cracks at its bottom that looked like islands, and even clearly saw someone standing on the back of the giant whale, looking calmly at the dark sky in the distance. When the whale in the sky brushed past the mortals on the ground, the young man in front of the white windmill seemed to be aware of it, looked down at him, but quickly retracted his gaze, and then his back, along with the giant rock whale, disappeared at the end of Arthur David's sight along with the faint scent of primrose.

The giant whale flew over the Ronin Rift, the ruins of the old windmill village, the suburbs of the city, the watchtowers and the big windmills of Sandam... It flew over every ancient relic with a name. The violent air currents visible to the naked eye crouched gently under its wings, casting a huge shadow along the way, and even covering the entire block. When people heard the noise and looked up, they were surprised to find that a majestic rock whale was flying across the sky of Avion, flying over their heads, and flying to the end of the disaster in the distance. They opened their eyes and mouths wide in disbelief. But the children cheered and forgot their fear for a while, and were excited about this beautiful but powerful life that they had only seen in storybooks.

"Look, it's a whale!"

“Can whales fly?”

"Look, there's someone on the whale's head!"

"Really? It's a person! Someone flew away on a whale!"

The children who were originally cheering and excited also opened their eyes and mouths wide, but they were not dull. Instead, they fell into a deep envy and yearning.

For children of this age, perhaps being able to ride a huge whale and fly freely under everyone's gaze is the most majestic thing in the world, right?
The heavy tail fin of the whale swept across the city park where the windmill stood. The flowers that were still emitting fragrance bent their waists, and a few petals were gently plucked, and the fragrance seemed to stick to the heavy soil and stones. The strong wind brought by the heavy wings swept across the streets and alleys, and the withered autumn chestnut leaves were blown off the branches, like agile butterflies, stepping on the footprints of the wind, chasing the whale away, drawing a bright track on the ground, as if guiding someone's direction to return. The clear river water spread out circles of ripples, and the ancient stone road trembled slightly. On the hillside covered with barren rocks and weeds, the sheep raised their hooves and gently tapped the hard stones, making a crisp and pleasant sound. When I looked up, my simple and tiny soul recalled the time when the girl smiled at them on the ridge of the field.

In the ruins of the New Windmill Village, an old man with gray hair heard the sound of a giant whale roaring past, and walked tremblingly to the village square. He looked up, his eyes passed through the sky that spanned seven centuries and two eras, and saw a white-haired girl riding on the back of a giant whale. When she looked at this land and its people, her eyes were sad, hesitant, nostalgic, and full of gentle recollections. His already somewhat vague memory suddenly began to trace back, and in an instant, he recalled, muttering: "The wind is blowing again..."

The tone is emotional.

The streets and alleys of Avion are still surrounded by lush summer cherry trees and dense spring ivy, shrouded in a warm atmosphere. The ancient streets are filled with time, but they are clearly no different from the past. Holding a basket of harvested primroses, the girl's innocent and warm smile seems to be living in that beautiful story.

When the whale flew over the statue of the girl in the countryside of Avion, it deliberately slowed down its speed, so the wind blew slowly, and the bright primrose flowers in the basket began to sway, but they were not broken or blown off. The majestic shadow loomed over, and the girl on the ground seemed to sense something. She looked up slightly and saw a white-haired girl with the same face as herself standing in front of a windmill tower, looking at her quietly, without saying a word, but pursing her lips and nodding to her.

At that moment, the leaves of all the summer cherry trees on the street were blown up, all the spring ivy trees in the park found the direction of memories, all the flowers that had withered in the wilderness bloomed, and all the windmills in the city that had been completely depressed after the fierce wind disaster in the 17th century began to turn, and all made sounds of longing... Such a beautiful and amazing scene is the only one that the residents of this small wild city have ever seen in their lives, and perhaps they will never see it again.

They were still standing there, but the giant whale and the girl on its back had already flown away.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)