Chapter 1657: The Last

"Ms. Eisberg."

The two priests of the 【Winter Anthem Troupe】 hurriedly saluted, and Xia De and Luweiya also respectfully greeted the Thirteen-Ring sorcerer.

Ms. Elsa Eisberg was still wearing the dark blue dress she wore when they met last time, but the decoration on the skirt edge was changed from shiny broken gems to a simple white lace edge. She smiled and said to Xia De:

"See you again, Mr. Hamilton. 【The Remains of the Nameless】 has now successfully entered the extreme north and will probably arrive at St. Byrons in a few days. A few days ago, I met your teacher again, and she praised you endlessly."

Xia De remembered that he hadn't reported to Ms. Dannister for more than a week about the investigation progress in the Green Lake area.

"Good morning, ma'am, this time I want to..."

"Yes, I already know. That item is very ancient and very valuable. I cannot easily decide the ownership of the troupe's property, even if you are Dannister's student. Fortunately, that item is very special and is stored in a container sealed with ancient secret arts. From the outside, one can only observe that there is a card inside. Predecessors have tried many methods but failed to open it. The data passed down by the troupe says that whoever wants to get that card, as long as they can open the seal, they can get it, and the troupe is only keeping it on behalf of others."

"Then what are the requirements for opening the seal?"

Xia De asked curiously, and the Thirteen-Ring sorceress showed a meaningful expression:

"A key, a key in the shape of a card. But no one knows what card it is. Mr. Hamilton, since you are so concerned, I think you should have the answer."

"So that's it..."

Xia De had already understood. If this is the case, he must complete the Time Key of the Lost Forest in 923 of the Fifth Era to obtain that gift of the Fifth Era.

"In this case... Ms. Eisberg, I think I do know what the key is. Tonight, I am going to St. Byrons to see Ms. Dannister. May I ask if you can bring that item to the library of the academy?"

Xia De asked, not worried that the other party would question why he had the key. He believed that Ms. Dannister would give a reason. The librarian lady was very good to him.

So the lady in the dark blue dress nodded:

"Of course, I also want to know what that card is."

She took a step back, and the body disappeared into snowflakes. Afterwards, the old Mr. Hammer and Ms. Feller who came to visit also said goodbye and left. They obviously had other things to do when they came to Tobesk, so they didn't stay at Xia De's place for long.

After Xia De sent the visiting guests to the door and returned upstairs, Luweiya reminded:

"If you really get that Tarot card, you will have seven cards of the Tarot. Silver Moon, Balance, Darkness, Death, Knowledge, Earth, plus Space, officially exceeding half of the thirteen cards."

"Not necessarily, maybe that so-called card is not what I am looking for. Tarot, can it really be so simple?"

Xia De asked back, and the purple-eyed girl showed a smile:

"I was worried that if it wasn't, you would be very disappointed. In this way, you have already understood the meaning of Tarot. Very good, very good, my eye for people is really accurate."

Although he didn't care whether it was really his goal, Xia De still couldn't wait to pick up the Time Key. It was still early, and Luweiya was not in a hurry to go to the Diviner Association to work, so she decided to wait for Xia De to come back before leaving, so she could listen to his experience. 【1

As for Little Mia, the last time she followed Xia De to the Lost Forest, it clearly didn't make her feel bored, and this time she was meowing again, wanting to go along.

And given that there were no major problems last time...

【Really?】

Xia De recalled the Wishing Demon encountered on the ship, seeing Detective Sparrow again in death, the danger in the desert, and the final thrill of almost melting into sunlight in the sandstorm.

"At least there were no problems that threatened our safety."

Moreover, this time there were alchemical items given by Yin Luna that could be used, so Xia De still brought along the cat, which rarely had the initiative to go out.

Watching Mia being turned into a toy by Xia De, Luweiya was quite envious, but also very puzzled as to where she fell short of this cat in trusting Xia De.

"Then Luweiya, see you in three seconds."

He packed his things, took the key covered in cracks, and arrived in front of the bedroom door, his heart filled with excitement and trepidation:

"I don't know if I can really meet Chloe again this time, and I don't know what meaning the end of the seven-day journey will have... May the World Tree protect me in the infinite time."

Click~

Behind the door was silk like cotton wool, and he stepped inside.

Luweiya watched Xia De disappear, counting in her heart:

"Three, two, one."

And so, the door downstairs was opened by the key.

【Outsider, you have stepped into the "Corridor of Time."】

【Message from the Ancient God "Father of the Infinite Tree":】

【Spring, 923 of the Fifth Era, Central Continent, Lost Forest.】

【Event: The Travelers' Story Meeting.】

【Duration: Fifty minutes (3/3).】

【You have obtained additional information.】

【The figure of the Father of the Infinite Tree continues to watch you.】

【The trial given to you by the Ancient God of Time will continue.】

【Assist the travelers in ending the story with the "God of Journeys."】

【The Father of the Infinite Tree will grant you a reward: Miracle - Enhanced Spatial Perception, a piece of true information - Dragon.】

Endless white fog shrouded the surroundings, and the familiar environment made Xia De feel inexplicably at ease:

"Not half an hour, but fifty minutes?"

Although the change in time surprised him a little, this wasn't the first time such a thing had happened; he had even used the previous key five times. Without needing too many concerns, Xia De took a step forward and entered the forest in the dark night, where white fog drifted and the air was filled with the smell of rot.

The Lost Forest, the final resting place of the lost. In a location never heard of in the Sixth Era, high-level witches in the current Fifth Era seemed to be able to find information about it. Xia De felt puzzled by this, but such locations hadn't appeared for the first time, so he didn't delve into it.

He continued to run forward without stopping, ignoring the darkness and malice chasing behind him. Various corpses nailed to trees reached out with arms or claws, as if knowing this was the last time Xia De would appear, trying to keep him there, but the cold silver moonlight attached to his body still protected the Outsider as it had in the past.

The darkness and malice grew closer, and Xia De's footsteps became more hurried. Just before the danger was about to occur, the heartwarming light of a campfire appeared in the forest ahead just in time.

Pushing aside the bushes and crossing the vines, Xia De arrived once again at the simple camp composed of a campfire and tents. The old knight Zafir Yelen had chosen to leave with his long-dead relatives during the last journey. Therefore, the only ones waiting by the campfire for Xia De to reappear were the witch Alera Andreana, the black-dressed maid Clara, and the bard Mr. Dika Enrikes, who called himself a baron.

Although the sound of boots stepping on the ground was slight, it still made the witch, who was frowning at the fire in front of her, raise her head. For Xia De, it had been a week, but for those by the campfire, a long time had passed.

Seeing that the strange man had returned, the witch immediately stood up, leaning on the ground, and revealed a smile:

"You have finally appeared again."

"It seems that the time you waited this time was a little long."

This time, the mental state of the three was clearly worse than last time. It wasn't obvious on the brown-haired high-level witch in front of him, but looking at the black-dressed maid who was getting up—she had just awakened as a witch last time—and the bard who was still holding the lute played by a god, both of them had dark complexions, looking like they had just come into contact with a relic after severe sleep deprivation.

The black-dressed maid clasped her hands together in front of her chest and nodded to greet Xia De, and the bard, who was the last to get up, spoke:

"Sir, I am very happy to see you again."

"I am also very happy to see you all again."

Saying this, he restored the toy cat from his pocket. After Mia recovered, she immediately looked around, snuggling in Xia De's arms, interested in everything around her.

I don't know if it was Xia De's illusion, but after this cat appeared, everyone's mental state seemed to improve; this cat really possessed magical power.

The four of them moved to the open space by the tent and campfire, sitting in a circle, but still reserved the seats for the god and the departed old knight.

"Did anything happen here while I was gone this time? Or was it the same as last time, did you encounter lost souls?"

Xia De asked curiously, his right hand stroking Little Mia's back. The cat let out a soft purr, her large amber eyes looking in front of Xia De—because the god hadn't come out of the tent yet, she looked directly at the campfire.

The strange firelight made the cat very happy; she liked fire and heat, liked light and power. Of course, she liked Xia De even more.

"At first, it was still some lost souls coming here. We knew we couldn't change the fact of their death, so we just let them rest here and then watched them leave. But later, some strange things also came. At first, I thought they were the souls of alien creatures I didn't recognize, but then a shadowless person wearing a black robe and holding a scythe appeared and took those strange things away..."

The witch pursed her lips, trying to describe what she saw at that time more carefully:

"That shadowless person was very similar to the boatman who carried us across the river in the description. When he appeared, it was as if all the joy and emotion in the world had disappeared. Even though the campfire was still burning, the death and coldness still left us at a loss. After he took away those strange souls, it took me a long time to recover, and I used the potions I carried with me to help my maid and the bard over there recover their health... That was..."

It was clear that even just mentioning the other party, uncontrollable terror immediately surged up:

"I have heard other witches from the Zalas Academy mention it: the messenger of the ancient God of Death, the soul-reaper who guides the dead, the living dead walking in the world."

When she said this, Xia De understood; it was the enhanced final version of a combination of Ms. Marilyn Handel and Joy Barton.

"This lute, when I play it, everyone's spirit can be soothed."

The bard held his lute and also said in a low voice:

"That feeling was truly terrifying, as if I had already stepped into death. I even saw my long-dead grandmother beckoning to me. I originally thought I was a strong person..."