Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 503 Is the memory recovering?

Saint Shaliya felt that she had a very strange dream. For someone like her, it was not easy to dream. She always closed her eyes when she slept, wandered in the darkness for a long time, and when she opened her eyes again, it was already dawn. There was nothing in between except emptiness. The old wizard of the Moryas said that dreams are luxury goods, because they may indicate some mysterious premonition or some magical prophecy, an inadvertent gaze from a god in the boundless universe, which instantly makes people's thoughts transcend the current dimension and reach a higher and farther place, overlooking the world under their feet like a chessboard.

In this rare dream, the time span was stretched out very long, from the endless war between dragons and giants in ancient times, to the first time that humans who ate raw meat and drank blood looked up at the starry sky; from the dark and ignorant legends in the Middle Ages fermenting in taverns and alleys, to the werewolves or vampires who fled in panic and died in the flames of steam rifles... The scenes seen in the dream were also bizarre. The light was cut by the infinitely extended time and split into countless tiny glass fragments. From each piece of fragment, Saint Shallia saw her own appearance.

Sometimes, there were wind fairies, traveler fairies, dwarf fairies, leaf patrol fairies and other lively and cute little creatures around her, chasing and playing with each other, making clear and tender laughter like silver bells, echoing under the dreamy sky. A seven-color rainbow river meandered upwards, and the shadow of a towering tree could be vaguely seen in the river. She sat quietly on the fragrant meadow, staring at the tree, then turned around and said to those people who were vaguely unfamiliar in her memory with a soft voice like the echo of a string: "After you leave, you can go there and rebuild your hometown under that tree, and protect those kind creatures from the claws of evil. As for my stubborn sisters, I will try to persuade them to give up that crazy plan, although the possibility of success is not great."

"What about you, mentor?" one person asked, "If you can't convince them, why do you still stay here? It's too dangerous. Please leave with us - only under your leadership can we find the right direction and walk on the right path."

"Don't belittle your own abilities. Everyone has the right to decide their own future direction and path. You should trust your own heart and not my will." She said softly, "Besides, we are sisters after all. We have been separated for many years, so there is no reason for us not to meet each other."

"...I understand, mentor." Although the man was somewhat unwilling, he knew that he could not change her decision, so he nodded helplessly and agreed. Then, he asked again: "If we do rebuild the hometown of the demon spirits at the place you predicted during this long journey, can you please give it a name?"

She stared at the ancient sacred tree for a long time, and slowly uttered two words: "Paradise."

"paradise?"

"Yes, let's call it Paradise Township. I hope each of you can find happiness in that paradise. And Green El."

“If you are willing to abandon your innocence, you can get the world; if you are willing to abandon your weakness, you can change the world; but if you are not willing to abandon anything, you will be changed by the world.”

Sometimes, she saw a battlefield full of corpses in the surrounding mountains, where blood gathered into rivers and flowed under the roots of countless trees, providing them with nutrients for excessive growth. She stood in the center of the battlefield, watching every familiar face turn cold in her sight. The vast sky and the boundless forest stretched out above her head and around her. She was the only one standing alone in the vast world. She felt very lonely and cold.

"..."

There was a sudden silence behind her. After a long while, she heard a heavy reply: "Yes."

A voice came from behind: "When people live in this world, it is a process of constantly gaining and constantly discarding. These two destinies exist at the same time and are inseparable. If you want to gain something, you must discard that thing."

……

She suddenly called out the man's full name, and he quickly stepped forward: "Teacher, is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"After Paradise is established, you will inherit the throne of the church. In the name of the King of Elves, protect your people. Remember... never give up hope."

"Saint Shallia, what kind of person do you want to be?"

"Are you ready to give up something and gain something?"

She asked. Saint Shallia pursed her lips and remained silent for a long time. The other party did not show any impatience and waited for a long time. The cold wind blew across the battlefield, making a hollow and shocking echo between each skeleton, which was creepy. Until the sky darkened as if falling down, the earth roared as if it was rising, and the world trembled as if it was about to end, the girl standing in the center of the battlefield with her long blue hair fluttering like a flag finally spoke and answered: "I..."

……

So, how did I answer at that time?
It had been so long that Saint Shallia had forgotten it, and she couldn't recall it in her dreams.

She smelled the breeze with a slight smell of soil, and a few small grasses playfully scratched her cheeks and neck, reminding the girl that it was time to wake up from her dream. Although she felt a little regretful, she did not force it, and slowly opened her eyes. Two different faces suddenly came into view. One of the faces was that of the lamb, who was looking at his owner with concern, and bleated happily when he found that Saint Xia Liya had woken up; the other face was a little unexpected, it was Lingge's, but when he saw Saint Xia Liya wake up, he took two steps back, distanced himself, and disappeared from the girl's eyes.

Saint Xia Liya was somewhat disappointed. Perhaps it was Ling'er's evasive attitude that made her feel that she was disliked, or was it actually some other reason that she couldn't explain? Anyway, she sat up from the grass, reached out and touched the lamb's head, and after calming its emotions, she turned her gaze to Ling'er.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were waiting for me." Saint Shalia said apologetically.

"It's nothing, because I didn't wait too long." Ling Ge passed over the matter as if nothing had happened.

"Bah!"

The lamb looked at the hypocritical young man with contempt and bleated at him a few times, as if to demonstrate and to remind its owner not to be deceived by this guy's lies!
However, Lingge just looked at the guy calmly, and it tucked its tail and fled behind Saint Shallia, gently nudging its owner's neck with its head, asking her to do justice for it. This bullying and cowardly look always gave Lingge a hallucination, as if what he saw was not a sheep, but a maid lady with golden hair who loved playing games and did not want to reveal her name.

Saint Xia Liya smiled slightly, hugged the lamb with some difficulty, held it in her arms, and gently stroked its hair that was as soft as white clouds. The lamb was comforted by its owner and stopped fighting with Ling Ge. It lay obediently on the girl's thighs, looking very obedient. It would occasionally cast a provocative look at Ling Ge, as if to say: Can you do this kind of thing?
I can do it but I won't.

Lingge had a blank expression on his face. He found a flat piece of grass and sat down, still keeping a distance of two or three steps from Saint Xia Liya. This cold-tempered young man was always reluctant to get too close to others, even though the relationship between him and the young girl Wang Quan was too distant to be called a simple partner, and it seemed not that simple to be called a friend.

Saint Xia Liya didn't care. She stroked the lamb's hair and looked up at the blue sky that kept passing by her eyes as the cloud whale flew. She said, "Actually, I just had a dream, Lingge."

The young man knew that this was actually her hint to start a conversation. Apparently, the shepherdess who had just woken up from her dream had a strong desire to talk. This was also a good thing for Lingge, because if Saint Xia Liya always remained silent, he would not know how to comfort her. So, he followed the topic and asked, "What kind of dream?"

Saint Xia Liya told Lingge about the bizarre scenes she saw and the incredible words she heard in her dream, and then a thoughtful look appeared in her eyes: "The old wizard once told me that the revelation that appears in a dream is called a dream revelation, and it may also be a prophecy. Lingge, what do you think this dream wants to predict to me?"

After Lingge finished listening, he fell into a long period of thinking. Saint Xia Liya was not in a hurry and quietly waited for his answer. The cool wind blew in her face, and the grass and trees on the hills swayed slightly, rustling. The shepherdess felt that the wind was very comfortable, so even if the wind messed up her bangs on her forehead, she did not intend to cover them with her hands. In her eyes, first there was a green meadow, then a dense forest, and there was a winding path leading to a flower field in the forest. Further away was the edge of Yunjingkong Island, where all kinds of steep and magnificent trees grew, and all kinds of raptors who dared to fight against the ten thousand meter sky lived. Beyond these trees, the line of sight was the winding coastline, the horizon where the sky and the sea met... all were incredibly far away.

She suddenly felt relaxed and happy, and felt that her body and mind were free of any burden. Perhaps even without the cloud whale, she could still fly in the vast blue sky. At this time, she heard the young man's conclusion after careful consideration: "Perhaps, this is not a prophecy."

"What is that?" She turned her head, her golden eyes showing no concealment of her closeness and trust, as if she would believe whatever Lingge said.

Somehow, the young man felt a little uncomfortable with this gaze. He silently looked away, deliberately not looking at the girl, and said, "I think your memory is beginning to return."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)