Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 979: Is the traveler heading towards the sky?
"We are leaving." Ling Ge turned around and said to Songtaya: "Do you want to stay here?"

"Forget it then."

Songtaya shrank her head, got up from the ground, waved to him and said, "I'll go first. I wish you a safe journey!" Then she left the primrose field and quickly ran into the woods, disappearing like a nimble squirrel.

After Ling Ge watched her leave, he put the mountain bluestone amulet into his pocket, then walked to Saint Xia Liya and asked, "What's the situation?"

"It's... an incredible phenomenon." Saint Shallia used one word to describe the scene she saw. Perhaps she didn't know how to describe it, so she simply gave up her seat and said, "Take a look for yourself, Lingge."

The young man moved his eyes to the quartz lens of the astronomical telescope and looked into the clear sky. His sight spanned tens of millions of kilometers and he saw the edge of the observable star field in the vast and deep universe. The lights of the constellations of Feng Hou, Tian Gong, Serpent Caduceus, Phaedorum, Frost, Floating Leaves and White Grass were shining in the distance, and together surrounded the bright and holy silver moon Eldora. They formed a huge hexagram in the starry sky, which looked spectacular. Unfortunately, due to the lack of two moons, the hexagram also lacked two corners, losing some of its beauty.

I don’t know what a magnificent and majestic scene the celestial phenomenon that Saint Tumi witnessed back then was.

As if being called by some mysterious force, all the stars in the area covered by the Great Hexagram began to resonate and emit brighter and brighter light, even those dead stars that had long been extinguished and dim were no exception, as if they were awakened from their long sleep and given new vitality. If astronomers saw this scene, they would be so excited that they would doubt their professional knowledge. But for some reason, Linger always had a feeling: not everyone could see this wonder, just as not everyone could observe the formation of the Great Hexagram.

There is a law that governs people's destiny. The young man's expression became more serious. He stared at the miracle happening in the universe without blinking, not daring to miss any details. Time passed by, and the surroundings were so quiet that no sound could be heard. It seemed that everyone knew that it was the most critical moment and did not dare to disturb it.

Under Ling's gaze, the light of the stars became brighter and stronger, and finally broke away from the constraints of the stars themselves and gathered in the same direction, which was the center of the large hexagram. When all the starlight gathered at one point, the pure and majestic energy contained in it was beyond human imagination. The next moment, Ling'er suddenly heard a low humming sound in his ears, and then the air and the earth began to tremble, as if a long-sleeping soul was awakening.

The young man was startled for a moment, but he soon realized that it was an illusion. It was not the air and the earth that were shaking, but the entire universe, which in turn affected the mirror star world in a corner of the starry sky and was captured by the young man who was observing the starry sky at this moment. And this movement was not the awakening of a soul, but rather the moment when a certain power was about to explode.

Just as a similar thought emerged in his mind, the next moment, his sight was occupied by countless bright and incandescent lights, almost losing other colors. The light burst out from the center of the large hexagram, as if guided by a great will, ignoring all obstacles on the way forward, with such a clear goal, pointing straight to the coordinates of the mirror star. It came so violently and quickly, it might even exceed the speed of light itself, shuttling between space and space, and was still at the edge of the observable star field in the last second, and it was already above their heads in the next second.

Although it was daytime, the strong sunlight weakened the quality of the starlight, making it enter a state similar to high-energy magic and low-energy magic that could not be observed by the naked eye, but its arrival still had an impact on the world that could not be ignored. In an instant, the surging air waves roared and swept across the sky of the entire North Ashka Mountain Belt, like a stone thrown into a calm water surface, and the thousands of miles of clouds covering the East Alpis Mountains were swept away. The soft clouds piled together separated to both sides, and in the process of moving, they hit some invisible obstacles and had to rise up like huge waves on the endless sea, roll back, and then connect at the ends, forming an extremely magnificent huge cloud ring.

At this moment, all the creatures in the northern Ashok Mountains, from the 5,000-meter-high ice and snow of the Eastern Alps to the thousands of miles of Alois, Mountain Castle, Burnia, and Shuriman in the Ishmir Sea of ​​Trees, witnessed the birth of this scene. In Heidblosburg, the mountain town where the saint had visited, the Chattoto people came out of their tents one after another, feeling an incomparable shock at the miraculous scene engraved in the memory of their ancestors; in Winkelland, the city of a thousand springs famous for its one thousand hot spring hotels, travelers who were enjoying a relaxing time in the open-air hot springs were vying to make noises, uttering exclamations in different accents from different countries and regions... The ascetics in the countryside stopped and looked up at the sky, and the farmers in the fields dropped their farm tools and knelt down to pray, as if they regarded it as a god from the sky showing his majesty.

When the last cloud shadow was swallowed up, the sky became extremely clear, even transparent, showing the luster of gemstones. The huge cloud rings extended to the distant universe in circles, as if building a bridge between the infinite universe and the tiny human world, welcoming travelers to explore the unknown starry sky. Through the quartz lens of the astronomical telescope, Linger clearly saw that even in the universe, this bridge was not interrupted, but the cloud rings were replaced by star rings. They were composed of the scattered starlight after the light beam separated and disintegrated just now. In fact, they were the afterimages of light reflected in the naked eye. Therefore, even if the large hexagram disappeared, it could still exist for a long time.

The area called "universe" had never been so close to Lingge that he felt that he could touch the hanging stars by just stretching out his hand. This was of course an illusion. In fact, the distance between him and the stars could still be described as a chasm. The brilliance of the stars was only reflected in his eyes, but never fell into his palms.

The universe has no visible edge, and the infinitely expanding space has a magnificent beauty that is enough to shock people, making every creature on the ground immersed in it and unable to extricate themselves. However, when the legendary ancient star road is awakened, the fulcrum connecting the tiny earth and the infinite universe is no longer just a fantasy in people's minds, but has a real carrier.

It is an ancient, majestic, sacred, grand, magnificent bridge that can be described in any words. It is surrounded by clouds and stars, as if it is made of the purest light, spanning the sky and the earth, and connecting to the deepest and most distant shore of the universe. Because of its existence, the two worlds are connected, and the fantasies of living beings finally have a place to return to.

"That is... the Ancient Road of Stars?"

The young man murmured in a low voice, the Ancient Star Road was a name mentioned by the witch Fei'er herself, but in some ancient texts, such as the handwritten records of the Spirit Prayer Society, it was also called the Ancient Star Road.

The ancient stars used their brilliance to guide the people on earth. Their light came from countless light years away, so this scene may have happened ten or even a hundred years ago, but it only caught Linger's eyes at this moment.

A romantic miracle.

It was founded by Saint Tomi, and now it is time for these foreign travelers to inherit it.

When everyone was intoxicated by this spectacle, Saint Shalia was the first to react. She had used the astrology of the Moryas and witnessed countless magnificent scenes in the universe, so she was more sober than everyone else. She realized that now was not the time to marvel. The opportunity was fleeting and must be seized in time. So she walked to the windmill tower in a few steps and shouted inside: "Yieta, don't sleep, it's time to set off!"

The bulge on the bed moved a little, and then a head popped out, staring at the messy white hair, and replied blankly:
"what?"

……

Ieta was fussing in bed and fell asleep without realizing it. She was woken up by Saint Shallia in a daze. When she learned that the time to set off had come, she hurried to the roof of the windmill tower and was also shocked by the ancient star road formed by the cloud rings.

For the angel lady who was used to seeing the blooming primroses in the fields and could make all the windmills in the Saizeriya field turn with just one breath, this scene seemed to be a beautiful sight. She stood there in a daze, quietly admiring it for a few seconds, and then she came to her senses and realized that she actually had an important task on her shoulders, so she quickly controlled the Cloud Whale Sky Island to turn around and fly towards the straight cloud ring road in the sky.

When the huge whale turned around, its head lightly touched the edge of Mount Osor. This unintentional movement stirred up a white tide, and the snowflakes that had been frozen on the top of the mountain for many years seemed to come alive again and fluttered down. Snow filaments, white-necked round-jawed ants, winged lizards and other small creatures, disturbed by the trembling of the earth, emerged from the cracks in the rocks or tree holes, clung to the surface of rocks and tree trunks, and looked up in a daze, watching the huge whale flying through the magnificent cloud rings, gradually moving away towards the more distant sky, becoming smaller. At this moment, their vague memories suddenly traced back to the era of their ancestors, and found a sense of déjà vu in their blood.

Songtaya stood in the snow, looking at the whale flying across the cloud bridge. She remained silent and motionless, letting the wind blow through her black hair. There was a hint of confusion and absent-mindedness in her eyes.

Suddenly she lowered her head and put her hands together in front of her chest as if in a prayer gesture. She tightly grasped the bell that Lingge had given her. Because she held it too tightly, it hurt a little.

When she opened her eyes again, the whale had disappeared, the snowflakes had gradually stopped, and the only thing she could see was the eternal star road, still silently watching the direction the travelers had left. She felt lost.

"What are you thinking about, Sontaya?" A familiar voice came. Leader Wilhelm had been standing behind her without her noticing and asked in a deep voice.

"I—" Songtaya opened her mouth, her expression seemed a little embarrassed: "I am blessing them."

"Oh?" Chief Wilhelm was a little surprised: "Do you know how to bless?"

Mountain folks rarely leave their homeland, and there is no blessing for travelers in their culture, so Chief Wilhelm asked this question.

"Of course!" Songtaya raised her voice with a hint of pride: "I am very smart, Dad!"

"Then how did you bless?"

"that is--"

Songtaya looked in the direction where the whale left and softly repeated her prayer: "May this be a satisfying journey for you."

"My dearest friends."

……

On the back of the cloud whale, Leticia seemed to have a premonition of something and looked back, but she only saw the earth getting farther and farther away. Everything became smaller than the model on the sand table. Only at the edge of her sight, the horizon gradually outlined a curved arc, and the full picture of the planet gradually appeared in her eyes.

The oval-shaped star filled with sea blue, turquoise and yellow-brown is the world they have always lived in.

"What's wrong?" Countess Nevill noticed that her granddaughter was not in a good mood, so she lowered her head and asked her, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"No." Leticia replied: "I'm just wondering when I can come back here."

Nevile fell silent for a moment.

Although the journey to the universe is long, will I come back one day? She wanted to say this, but suddenly she thought of Leticia's true identity. She was not only her granddaughter, but also one of the fourteen young queens who controlled the laws of the world. For her, the universe was her original destination, and the Holy Temple of Heaven hidden in the depths of the universe was her true home.

So, for others, this is a new adventure; however, for the young royals, it is a journey home, right?

She looked around: Saint Charlia was holding the lamb, gazing at the starry sky that was getting closer and closer above her head, with a faint smile on her lips; Olvera was holding a book in one hand and a pen in the other, excitedly writing something on paper and muttering to herself; Ieta was clinging to the railing on the edge of the roof with her mouth wide open, shocked by the increasingly distant view that seemed to stretch forever; Rorona replaced Ling's position and sat in front of the astronomical telescope, leisurely appreciating the magnificent scenery she brought; Xino was standing with her beloved white horse Brandi, and for the first time, a look of longing and yearning emerged in her eyes that were always calm and composed. The mystery and vastness of the universe amazed the knights of the Godafu family.

The countess felt something and reached out to touch her granddaughter's head. She didn't answer, but it seemed that she had conveyed some emotion.

Leticia blinked blankly, standing among her sisters, overwhelmed by the emotions that came over her, and seemed to be at a loss. But Nevelle looked at her reaction, feeling lost but also a little relieved.

The lonely wanderer will find a companion, and the one who has traveled far away from home will return home.

Maybe this is the meaning of traveling?

……

"Dad, what do you think of my blessing?"

"good."

"Hey, I'll just say it!"

"Sontaya."

"what?"

"It's time to go home."

"Won't you watch it a little longer? Well, it seems there's nothing to see, so forget it. Come on, come on, Dad, don't leave me alone!"

Mount Osor bears silent witness, and at this moment, fate is still undecided.

Give me some meow