Chapter 4251: Side Story 3: The Nun and the Hero

Side Story 3: The Nun and the Hero

(This story takes place after Chapter 1313, when Xia De learns about the Night Temple from Sister Daifulin by the First Flame, and the two plan to return to Mibao together.)

Walking out from the doorless entrance of the ancient sacrificial grounds and standing on the steps covered in snow and gravel that almost blended into the ground, Xia De felt an indescribable sense of relief as he looked out at the mountains.

Standing here, one could almost touch the sky. The weather was exceptionally good, and turning to look at Sister Daifulin, who was following closely behind, the nun who had walked out of the dark sacrificial grounds possessed a transcendent temperament that truly suited this ancient ruin.

【Perhaps you just think she is beautiful.】

"She" said with a smile, but Xia De pretended not to hear.

Xia De had intended to return to Mibao now; it was almost lunchtime, and Grace and Helen had arranged to have lunch with him. But the nun called out to Xia De, her slightly indifferent voice saying:

"Can you spare some of your time?"

"Oh, of course. What do you need?"

Sister Daifulin had helped him so many times, so he was naturally happy to help her.

"It won't take long, I just hope you can accompany me to a place."

"Is it in Mibao?"

"No, it's here."

The nun came to Xia De's side, her silver mask shimmering in the winter sun. The temperature on the mountain peak in winter was colder than in the city, even colder than the outskirts of the Randall Valley, but her attire hadn't changed much:

"Please follow me."

The ancient ruins where the sacrificial grounds were located were very large, and the sacrificial grounds themselves were likely at the very top of the ancient ruins that relied on the mountain, occupying a very small portion of the total area.

The nun led the way for Xia De, passing the entrance of the oil painting in the basement of the Snake Heart Hospital, and continued walking down along the snow-covered path.

When Xia De first came here, it was autumn, so he knew what it originally looked like. The bare mountain peak had no trees, and the old gray stone steps, artificially carved but almost blended into the mountain, were interspersed with the remains of the sacrificial grounds, high towers, and other ruins.

The journey was not long. Along the way, Sister Daifulin didn't say a word, walking silently on the snow. Xia De looked down at her footprints, guessing the size of her shoes, and then felt that his behavior was a bit inappropriate.

After five or six minutes, Xia De saw the square, or something similar, in the distance below, in the middle of the mountain path at the peak, surrounded by low walls covered in gravel and withered vines.

"It's a cemetery, the cemetery of the Fire-Keeping Nuns."

Sister Daifulin said as if she knew what Xia De was thinking.

The nun's cemetery was roughly circular, but on the left and right sides were towering cliffs and a bottomless abyss. The low walls at the front and back each had solemn stone doors, connecting to the mountain paths leading up and down the mountain.

The stone doors were not locked, but the tall archways above were only ruins.

The nun reached out to push the stone door, but Xia De gentlemanly indicated that he would do it.

After applying a little force, he found that the door didn't budge. Only then did he bend slightly, lower his center of gravity, and use both hands to push, opening the door completely amidst the harsh sound of stone rubbing against the ground.

Entering the open-air venue, the diameter here was only about half that of St. Deran Square, but because it was empty, it felt even more spacious than St. Deran Square.

Although Sister Daifulin said this was a cemetery, Xia De didn't see any tombstones or graves. Instead, the ground covered in snow was unusually flat compared to the mountain road, similar to the inside of the sacrificial grounds.

"Sister Daifulin, you said this is a nun's cemetery, so..."

"Yes, the nuns who guard the First Flame will sleep here."

"But I don't see..."

"Our lives have been blessed by the First Flame, and after death, we will dedicate our bodies to the First Flame, turning into firewood for this fire to burn."

Although she said something cruel, Sister Daifulin's tone remained unchanged. The Primordial Fire would burn the corpse, leaving no ashes behind.

As they spoke, the two had already reached the center of the open field. As Sister Daifulin waved her sleeves, flames spread out from the two of them in all directions, melting the snow on the ground and revealing the ground covered with old, long stone bricks.

Xia De still thought that compared to a cemetery, this place looked more like a square or an arena.

"This is our destiny, and this is our home."

She folded her hands together, her silver eye mask looking at Xia De:

"For me, it is the same. If one day I unfortunately pass away elsewhere, please bring my body back here. After cremation, temporarily keep the First Flame until the order finds the next generation of nuns."

It seems Sister Daifulin has yet to find a qualified successor; after all, Ringed Shushi capable of containing the power of the First Flame are extremely rare. But Xia De knew of one, namely Luweiya, who had received that flame in the past—the Sixth Era.

"Sister, you brought me here, surely not just to say this? And, we are partners; I won't let you be unfortunately harmed."

For a moment, Xia De seemed to see a gentle smile on Sister Daifulin's face, but he wasn't sure if it was his imagination.

Her fair face was still facing Xia De:

"There is something else. I know you possess the power to open the Gate of Death at will, and I hope you can open the door here."

Xia De nodded:

"No problem, but what is it for?"

"Cooperating with the power of the Chosen One of Death that I possess, I want to meet someone who has already died."

"The Soul Cemetery behind the door on the third floor of my house can actually do that too."

"No, this is a special soul that can only be seen here. Call out your own life ring, and don't let it disappear before it ends."

She said this, and Xia De understood. So he called out his life ring. While the spirit runes flickered in the sunlight, Xia De raised his right hand high and slashed down fiercely:

"Gate of Death!"

The pitch-black crack opened, revealing the silent mudflats, the water surface illuminated by the Underworld Moon, and thousands of souls leaving with their backs to them.

The nun's life ring also appeared and quickly turned into a dark golden scythe, falling into her hand, which bore slight burn marks. She handed the scythe to Xia De, and Xia De reached out to grab it, but the nun shook her head:

"Please, hold my hand."

"Oh, okay, excuse me."

Clearly a very indifferent person, but Sister Daifulin's hand was very warm.

The two held the scythe together. As the handle of the scythe struck the ground, the sky suddenly became gloomy, and then snow fell without warning. The crack leading to death opened until it swallowed the entire nun's cemetery. The stone brick ground under their feet changed into the gravel ground of the mudflats, the light disappeared completely, leaving only the half-moon of the Underworld in the distance.

Snowflakes drifted slowly from the high black sky. Xia De reached out his free hand to touch the snow, then realized that he and Sister Daifulin had not entered true death.

This place was similar to the "Interstice of Life and Death," only closer to death than any other "Interstice of Life and Death."

"Please don't let go."

The nun said, her voice even more ethereal than usual. She looked up against the snowflakes at the Underworld Moon in the distance. The moonlight fell on her face, giving her already quiet and fair face a unique charm.

After a while, walking against the flow of the departing souls, a middle-aged nun wearing a similar gray-blue nun's habit walked over from the water surface in the distance, with her back to the Underworld Moon.

She also had long gray hair, but the tips of her hair had fiery embers, and the spirit's arms and clothes had traces of being burned.

"Teacher."

Sister Daifulin bowed slightly, and the nun on the water surface just stopped at a distance from the mudflats, watching the two silently, letting the departing souls brush past her.

"I have already recovered the first split flame, and the information that the world is about to head toward the end has also been confirmed."

Her voice was unexpectedly trembling, but the middle-aged nun still didn't speak, just watching the two.

"I have found a hero who can carry the First Flame, and he is also willing to walk with me."

Actually, Sister Daifulin had taken advantage of Xia De's inability to move after his deification state ended, forcing Xia De to come into contact with the flame. On the night of the Battle of Mount Sikal, when the nun said "I am willing to compensate you in any way" on the mountain peak, her trembling tone was very similar to now.

But the middle-aged nun on the water surface, burned by fire and with traces of embers on her hair, still didn't speak.

Sister Daifulin continued:

"I need your guidance. Is the path I am taking correct?"

This time, the nun finally spoke, though this phrasing wasn't quite accurate, as the spirit's mouth didn't move; the voice just reached the two's ears:

"Daifulin, trust the hero you have chosen."

Xia De, who was inexplicably mentioned, also looked at her, and "she" gave an evaluation:

【Probably around the Ninth Ring during her lifetime.】

"Nuns who watch over the fire will inevitably appear under the guidance of fate in every generation. But heroes who carry the First Flame have only been a few so far. The Primordial Fire has chosen a fated hero for you."

Xia De felt that the hand of Sister Daifulin he was holding was very stable. She nodded slightly:

"I understand."

"Nuns who watch over the First Flame also have the obligation to serve and help the heroes who inherit the power of the First Flame. Daifulin, you must understand your responsibility."

Sister Daifulin nodded slightly again.

"There aren't many opportunities to see you like this. Let me look at you, Daifulin."

The middle-aged nun said again. So Sister Daifulin looked at Xia De. Xia De let go slightly, and then the nun pulled her hand out, and then Xia De held the dark golden scythe alone.

This scythe was actually part of the nun's soul. This was the first time Xia De knew that this kind of weapon could be touched by someone else alone.

The nun didn't know Xia De's thoughts. Her long gray hair slid over her eye mask. She took off the eye mask made of mithril with dense patterns, and then bent down and placed it at Xia De's feet.

The Chosen One of Death walked toward death, at the edge of the mudflats and the dark water, looking face to face with the middle-aged nun who also walked over.

Xia De didn't know what Sister Daifulin saw, but he found that after a while, the scythe in his hand emitted a faint light. The light made the surrounding darkness and death retreat, and they returned to the center of the nun's cemetery on the mountain peak with bright light, only the sky was really fluttering with snowflakes, and it had already dyed the ground that Sister Daifulin had cleaned white.

The dark golden scythe dissipated in Xia De's hand, and the nun was standing in front of the bottomless abyss. So he bent down, picked up the luxurious silver eye mask that looked more like a crown, and then came to the edge of the cliff, standing side by side with the nun.

Xia De held the crown and handed it to the nun. The nun seemed a bit embarrassed, turned her body to put on the eye mask, and after letting her side hair cover the side of the eye mask, she turned to Xia De and said:

"I have gained a lot."

"Not far from the Twelfth Ring, right?"

Xia De asked with a smile, and Sister Daifulin nodded slightly:

"Hero who carries the fire, when you have time, please visit here more often. I can teach you many things... This is my responsibility."

"Of course, that would be great. My wonder-Moon Dream's learning still needs your help."

Xia De nodded immediately, and Sister Daifulin asked again:

"Is there anything you want to ask me now?"

She was probably reminded by her teacher that she had an obligation to give Xia De more help.

Xia De thought for a while:

"How old are you this year?"

The indifferent nun just "looked" at him. Xia De smiled embarrassedly:

"It seems this joke is inappropriate. Speaking of which, I really have a question. I recently got a large piece of mithril, but it will take some time to melt and forge. Sister, I know your eye mask is also mithril, so, can you let me wear your eye mask and feel the ability of mithril alchemical items?"

This time Xia De definitely didn't see it wrong. Facing the sun above the sea of clouds in the distance, in the snow, a red glow appeared on the indifferent face of this young nun who looked only twenty-something.

The air seemed to freeze for a second, and then, a word Xia De never expected came out of the nun's mouth:

"Pervert."

She walked normally, turned and walked toward the archway leading to the mountain peak of the nun's cemetery, leaving the stunned Xia De standing in place thinking:

"Is this request... very unhealthy?"

Xia De only heard "her" laughter, but didn't notice that Sister Daifulin, who was leaving with her back to him, had a real, faint smile on her face as she walked through the snowflakes. ===== CHAPTER 4252 =====