Chapter 2519: The Story of the First Fire

The figure in the mist was clearly a woman. As she drew closer, Xia De confirmed she was a witch, at least 12th-tier, and 13th-tier was not impossible.

Her footsteps on the black sand were very light. After walking over in a daze, she stopped only when stimulated by the light of the campfire, then looked up ahead.

Her eyes swept over the two men by the campfire on the left and moved away, then stared straight at the small boat beside the pier.

"I really have arrived here... it is time to leave."

Xia De and Mr. Nelson both heard her whisper. Just as she was about to continue walking, she suddenly turned her head to look at Xia De, as if she had just realized what she had seen.

The strange witch widened her eyes in disbelief:

"What?"

She had sensed something unusual about Xia De.

Regardless of her earlier thoughts, the witch abandoned the idea of boarding the pier immediately and walked straight toward them. Mr. Nelson immediately moved away from her, but the witch didn't care about him at all. Instead, she bent down, grabbed Xia De's wrist very rudely, looked into his eyes for a few seconds, then let go, looking at her own palm in disbelief.

Xia De was already used to their rudeness, and since she had grabbed him, he knew she was a genuine 13th-tier witch; he had no confidence in being able to dodge.

"I've been here for so long and never met anyone who wanted to sit by the fire. I didn't expect two to appear at once."

Mr. Nelson muttered, continuing to move aside to stay away from the clearly mentally unstable witch; this was common sense for survival in the Fifth Era.

Xia De didn't move. He thought to himself that since his mission this time was just to "wait with mortals for those about to depart," there seemed to be no need to communicate with others.

Of course, although he thought this, he still spoke:

"Miss, you are truly rude."

The witch widened her eyes and asked:

"What are you? Male or female?"

"Male, of course."

As he said this, he rubbed his fingers, and a small flame emerged from his fingertip. The three by the campfire looked at the flame, but their thoughts were completely different.

Xia De flicked his finger, and the flame flew into the campfire in front of them. The originally dim fire suddenly surged upward. A crackling sound finally emerged from the fire, and the lingering oppressive mood melted away silently amidst the dancing flames.

"First Fire?"

The witch was even more surprised, and Xia De looked at her with some surprise as well:

"You recognize the First Fire?"

"Of course, the contemporary Nun of Fire is my..."

The witch opened her mouth, then looked past the fire at the small boat lingering on the black water:

"Whatever you are, it doesn't matter anymore."

She shook her head and turned to board the pier, but after taking only one step, she turned back, seeing Xia De holding her sleeve:

"Willing to chat? Since you want to escape all this, why not talk a bit before you truly depart? You aren't worried that you'll give up the idea of leaving just because of this brief conversation, are you?"

He asked with a smile.

"Clumsy provocation."

Although she said this, the strange 13th-tier witch hesitated but didn't continue forward. Xia De knew he had to give her a way out, so he took out a cushion and threw it onto the pitch-black sand. Only then did the witch sit back down.

She stretched out her hands to warm them by the fire, closed her eyes, and let out a long breath as her eyelashes fluttered. Xia De didn't disturb her relaxation, and the witch asked after resting for a moment:

"What do you want to ask me?"

She had indeed seen through Xia De's purpose.

"Miss, do you know where this is?"

"The boundary... if you don't know this kind of place, it's best not to inquire. You only need to know that this boat can take you to a place from which you can never return.

When I first learned of this place, I thought the witches who actively sought it out were cowards. I didn't expect I would reach this step myself."

She laughed at herself, her expression much more vivid than before:

"Anything else you want to ask? Once you're done, I'm leaving."

"Do you know..."

He wanted to ask about the god, but the words were swallowed by Xia De. Talking about the god in front of the god seemed very rude, so the cautious Xia De changed the subject:

"I see you seem to be a 13th-tier witch, so are you a member of the Council? Oh, I am Xia De Hamilton."

"I am Anya Brock. I am not a councilor; I am a candidate councilor for the Death Seat, currently only holding the qualification to attend."

In other words, this lady had enough qualifications, but because the councilor seats were full, she had to wait for the corresponding witch to die or give up her seat for other reasons before she could fill it. This was the same as Miss Feilian, whom Xia De had seen in the "Forest of a Thousand Trees."

"Death, huh~ Speaking of which, do you know where the boat here eventually goes? Mr. Nelson over there just said that this boat doesn't lead to death."

Xia De pointed at the churning water, and the witch looked over:

"Yes, this doesn't lead to death, but it's not the 'unknown' place written in books, nor is it a world outside of 'no return'."

She hesitated before continuing:

"The ferry boat collects memories, emotions, and all power, allowing the soul to return to the pure state of its birth. Afterward, the boat allows... those pure white souls who do not wish to look back to occupy the body of an unborn infant, letting them walk the path of life once more."

"What?"

Mr. Nelson looked over in shock, but he didn't see Xia De looking even more shocked:

"Isn't this..."

"A life walked once more will imprint brand new traces on those souls. In this way, when they reach the end, even the world will only recognize their identity from the second life.

This is truly abandoning everything from the past. It is a method of erasing one's own traces more thoroughly than shattering one's own soul. After entering death with a new life, no one will remember the original story... Hamilton, you look very surprised. You didn't know this?"

"I actually stumbled into this place by mistake."

The witch about to leave frowned slightly:

"That's a bit troublesome. Although I know how to get in, I don't know how to get out."

Xia De shook his head immediately:

"No, no, don't worry about leaving. Don't be in such a hurry to go, let's talk more!"

Xia De, who had always believed that the only way to die in this world was to "walk toward the end," said:

"What you just said, souls being washed clean and starting over, is this common?"

The witch turned her head, her golden eyes staring at him, then she suddenly turned away and closed her eyes. She tried to peek into his soul but was nearly burned by the fire; that was indeed the power of the First Fire:

"Of course it's not common. Souls are born from the womb and then reach the end as the body collapses, merging back into the world. This is one of the most basic rules of this world.

Starting a second life is equivalent to betraying one's own sacred soul, and it is also equivalent to extending one's life in disguise. This is a violation of natural rules."

The witch explained, her somewhat blurred vision seeing Xia De draw a circle in the sand with his finger:

"But, isn't the cycle of repetition also one of the rules?"

"That is the rule of fate, not the rule of death. Moreover, the souls of mortals will eventually decay. Even if one uses new lives to escape the end time and again, they will eventually fall, and what they become will no longer be themselves."

She wiped away the traces Xia De left in the sand with her hand:

"Don't think too much about it. The rule of time is to move forward constantly, but there are always those who can walk backward; the rule of death is that all things must die, but there are always those who think they can delay it. All who try to play with the rules will find that they are also being fooled by fate."

"Since you understand so much, why did you come here?"

Xia De asked very seriously, and the witch Anya Brock smiled:

"Is saying so much just for this sentence? Strange man, you want to persuade me to stay?"

"Since abandoning everything and never looking back is a mistake, why make the mistake?"

Xia De asked again, and the witch's peripheral vision caught the campfire enhanced by the First Fire, her expression softening somewhat:

"Only young people think this way. Sometimes, even if people know something is wrong, they must do it. Life is just this unreasonable... willing to listen to my story?"

Xia De sat up straight immediately; he loved listening to stories. Even Mr. Nelson, who was huddled to the side, was listening quietly, but the witch didn't mind:

"I lost my parents when I was young, and I didn't study at a witch academy in a big city when I was young. My sister raised me. After I awakened as a witch, in order to scrape together money for my witch education, she agreed to the request of an old nun who came to the door, willing to become a Nun of Fire. At that time, we didn't know what this meant."

So the sister of this 13th-tier witch was also a witch; Nuns of Fire could not be ordinary people.

"My sister and I parted ways there. I grew up bit by bit and became stronger and stronger. It took me 150 years to reach the current 13th tier, only lacking the final bit of luck to reach the highest seat.

My sister had always served as a Nun of Fire. Although we didn't meet often, we were always in contact. She once said she wanted to find those scattered First Fire sparks so the fire wouldn't gradually extinguish, so I really found one for her."

The witch's pupils dilated slightly as she warmed herself by the fire; it was as if she saw the past in the firelight. The crackling of the campfire and the surging of the tide became the background for her story, and a sense of emptiness and loneliness constantly poured into the hearts of the three. ===== CHAPTER 2520 =====