Pillar of Yita

The girl slowly walked past the ashes of the priest’s corpse, not even glancing at him, simply moving forward in silence. Wherever she walked, the snow a foot thick melted on its own, exposing the black rock beneath.

It was only then that Fang Hong realized the girl was barefoot, stepping on the sharp rocks, as if blood was flowing from her feet and spreading out. But upon closer inspection, there was nothing there; everything seen earlier seemed like an illusion.

Yet this scene was enough to quiet the valley, as the Big Cat People and Dulun City Guards ceased their combat to watch the girl.

”It’s her...”

The City Defense Force whispered, their faces pale, suddenly retreating backward. The Noble Knights didn’t care about the others, a thought flashed through their minds, only raising their longswords with heavy expressions, uneasily pointing in her direction.

But the girl seemed not to hear, continuing to move forward towards her destination’s end, which was in the direction of the Dark Fairy Tale. The latter still held Delice, and upon seeing this, was startled. He hadn’t forgotten the tragic fate of the priest and Aille, knowing something was wrong, instinctively wanting to move back and escape the girl’s path.

Yet the next moment, the Dark Fairy Tale was horrified to find he couldn’t move, as if his feet had taken root in the snow. The little girl finally broke free from his grasp and ran away.

”Be careful!” Sophie shouted.

The little girl tumbled to the snow, but quickly clenched her teeth and got up.

Sophie instinctively wanted to help her up but suddenly changed her expression slightly. The Princess of Silver Weslan felt the Pale Flame in her hand as heavy as a thousand pounds, dropping it into the snow.

She wanted to hold onto it, but her fingers up to the tips seemed frozen stiff, unable to move. Just like the state of the Dark Fairy Tale, Sophie also found she had lost control of her body.

The girl continued forward, step by step, approaching the two.

When she passed by the Dark Fairy Tale, he finally couldn’t help but let out a heart-wrenching scream. Sophie saw that he seemed to melt, with his right eye first turning into a blob of black wax, falling from the socket.

Where the wax dripped, flesh burst and blood splattered, but as soon as the blood met the air, black flames immediately ignited. Within the flames, the Dark Fairy Tale wailed and turned to ashes, unable to twitch, like a burning statue.

Sophie watched the statue burn fiercely and then turn into flying ashes. She had witnessed death before, but such a gruesome demise was unimaginable, pondering the vast pain the other endured before dying.

The black-haired girl walked through the Dark Fairy Tale’s corpse, then towards her.

At that moment, Sophie could almost hear her own heartbeat. She wasn’t afraid of death, but the feeling of being unable to control her fate was unbearable. Moreover, that death scene made her a bit nervous.

Yet unexpectedly, the imagined scenario did not occur.

The other didn’t even look at her, just passed by, heading straight to Delice. The little girl retreated fearfully, looking up at the black-haired girl: ”Who, who are you...”

The black-haired girl looked down at her without answering. It was then that Sophie realized Delice seemed unaffected, and she looked up to meet the gaze of the other – the little girl also had a pair of golden eyes, albeit clearer and brighter – and looked at the other with concern.

Looking at the other’s eyes, Delice felt a touch of curiosity. Since she developed memory, no partners or relatives around her were similar to her. Adults always said things like ’Golden Star Fire, an omen of unrest.’

She was young but could see that everyone looked at her with a hint of fear that only Xiesta, Sister Hilveld, and the black-haired stranger in front of her lacked.

But the girl didn’t gaze at her for long.

The other looked for a moment, then turned and walked between the three – two people and one corpse. She continued forward and stood at a place, calmly looking in another direction.

Sophie remained motionless, naturally without knowing whom she watched.

But Delice saw clearly; the black-haired girl looked toward Fang Hong.

On the other end of the gaze, Fang Hong felt a sudden leap in his heart – like everyone else, he too was rendered immobile by her presence, as if caught in a nightmare suddenly binding his limbs – but at this moment, he distinctly felt her tranquil gaze settling upon his heart.

Within his chest beneath the armor and coat, hung a necklace using a ring as a pendant. Since entering the valley, the ring felt vaguely warm, and now, became scorching hot.

Fang Hong almost sensed that his chest might burst into flame, turning him to ashes, but he suddenly heard a tumultuous murmur around his ears. It wasn’t a single voice resonating but countless people’s words converging into a torrent, delving deep into his soul...

There was a woman’s voice.

There was a man’s voice.

There was an elderly voice.

And a young voice.

Crying, wailing, moaning, shouting, with the wind sweeping the flames, crackling loudly, as if there were sounds of buildings collapsing, reaching from afar, at moments placing him thirty years ago in Dolifen again, though the language was somewhat different from Dolifen.