“No.”
Miss Chloe almost let the uncontrollable “not enough” slip from her lips.
Her heart hammered rapidly due to this abnormal sensation, pumping blood throughout her body as if her heart had become a sun warming her entire frame. An irrepressible impulse forced a soft moan from her; she struggled to overcome the urge to continue drinking blood. Blushing, she broke free from Shade’s embrace, feeling that her condition had indeed recovered by more than half.
“This feels wonderful.”
The taste of the fine wine lingered in her mouth. Not daring to look into Shade’s eyes, she could only whisper in admiration
“Just a small amount of warmth is enough to restore my health. Let us continue. Let us climb to that peak.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
Shade also stood up from the blanket on the ground. At Miss Chloe’s insistence, he packed away the severely damaged tent. With Mrs. Marques and the unnamed man carrying the luggage, Shade led the way, followed by Miss Chloe and the other two in a line. Braving the wind and snow, the party headed toward the higher peaks.
Strings of footprints were left on the snow, but they were quickly covered by the rolling grains of white.
The higher they climbed, the lower the temperature dropped. All four were wrapped in cotton clothing; the moisture in every breath of white mist seemed as if it would freeze into ice crystals the very second it left their mouths and noses. But the danger was not merely the extreme cold; the spiritual pollution at the summit, along with the intense elements of Whispers and Profanity, caused even Shade to feel a dizzying sense of discomfort.
He needed to look back from time to time to check on his companions, and at some point, Miss Chloe had begun clutching the hem of his clothes.
Mrs. Marques and the man seemed to be doing alright—at least they could keep walking—but Miss Chloe’s face soon turned deathly pale again, to the point where she could barely stand.
She leaned almost entirely against Shade’s back, nearly being carried by him. Shade had to stop temporarily and offered to bleed for her again, but she refused
“I am the Witch Chloe. I can climb this. This is the final stretch, the final stretch.”
She repeated this incessantly, supporting herself against Shade to stand up. Looking toward the summit, she bit her tongue to force herself awake, then struggled forward with Shade’s assistance.
The howling wind, beneath a depressing black sky, drove the snowflakes into a wild dance. The silver light radiating from all directions sometimes made it feel as if they were merely stepping in place.
Compared to the massive Silver Mountains, the four of them were like ants, crawling forward across the smooth snow surface. The wind whipped their scarves behind them, and the snow swept across their cheeks with a pain like knife cuts. Footprints formed and were then buried by snowflakes; though their progress was slow, they were indeed drawing closer to the peak step by step.
Shade truly admired the young witch beside him. The resolute spirit and conviction Miss Chloe displayed at this moment were as bright and captivating as a torch in the freezing snow mountains.
She bit a small lock of her long silver hair, her right hand resting on Shade, stepping forward by her own strength. Even as her whole body trembled, even as she had to bite her lips and tongue to stay conscious, she did not stop.
That radiant spirit and conviction also attracted the demons and ghosts lurking in the dark mountains. Naturally, the final arduous stretch would not be without enemies. Mrs. Marques and the man followed behind the two as if they didn't exist. Miss Chloe noticed the black mist swirling beneath the eerie black sky above, and Shade gave her hand a tug
“Just keep walking forward. Keep going. I’ll handle the rest.”
The swirling black mist transformed into streaks of light, stabbing toward the two. The exploding golden shields looked dim against the snow mountains under the night sky. A silver-white lightning spear was hurled into the air; as thunder crashed above, silver moonlight swept backward toward the strange dark shadows following them.
Majestic steam appeared amidst the thunderous boom of a bell and the piercing shriek of a steam whistle; the combined sound seemed capable of shaking the entire mountain. The massive Fate Ring radiated four-colored spiritual light like a sun at the peak, and the subsequent burst of silver moonlight nearly illuminated the entire black sky.
At the summit of the mountains shimmering with silver light, it seemed as if endless shadows were drawn to the lost souls attempting to scale the highest peak. This would be their last chance to stop mortals from touching the taboos they should not touch.
“You go first!”
Facing the enemies behind him in his strongest form, Shade gave Miss Chloe a push, the radiance of the Fate Ring illuminating him. Shade did not turn to look at the witch; instead, he gripped the Moonlight Greatsword in one hand, while silver lightning crackled in the other, echoing the Brass Wheel behind him which carried a heat that should not exist.
Miss Chloe pursed her lips, looking at him
“You promised me you would climb to the top with me.”
She lowered her head and, together with Mrs. Marques and the terrified man, continued upward through the wind and snow.
Behind them, the intermittent flashes of spiritual light and the moonlight illuminating the night let them know how fierce the battle was. But for Shade, facing the countless shadows surging from the base of the mountain alone, he did not feel the slightest bit strained.
This was not only because his own power was specifically tailored to counter such eerie entities, but it was more as if these things happened to perfectly match his combat capabilities. They neither overly challenged Shade nor put him in genuine danger.
Their appearance felt like a deliberate attempt to keep him here, allowing Miss Chloe to climb alone.
Thus, while the scene appeared critical, it was actually no more dangerous than when Shade had ventured deep into the Pantanal Great Marsh hours prior.
“Do you know why this is?”
A voice reached his ears, but it was not “her” voice.
“Of course I do. The rest of the way, she must walk alone.”
Shade replied. As he swung his longsword, his peripheral vision caught sight of the deity [Winter Maiden], dressed in white robes, holding a white oak staff and barefoot, standing beside him.
In her divine descent state, the deity had long silver hair very similar to Miss Chloe’s, the strands fluttering in the wind.
“Since that is the case, can you make these enemies disappear? In my own time, I am also facing powerful enemies; I cannot exhaust myself too much here.”
The deity smiled. This was the first time Shade had seen Her smile; previously, this deity had always appeared with a cold expression
“Yes, the epic of the Sixth Epoch—that chapter concerning the fate of the world—you indeed should not consume too much due to the adventure here. But these enemies did not come because of my summons. They are the final demons in the depths of a certain mortal's heart.”
She stood there, but it seemed only Shade could see the deity; the strange enemies entwined in black mist only attacked Shade.
At least it was warmer now. Shade did not look back at his Fate Ring, so he did not know that the abnormal heat carried by the ring was rapidly melting the surrounding snow.
The steam seemed to be fighting against the environment; every spiritual rune on the surface of the Fate Ring trembled as it flowed across the brass body.
Boundless black mist surged toward Shade. He fought while struggling to retreat toward the higher reaches of the peak behind him. His spirit and stamina were depleting rapidly, but because of the deity's presence, fine golden cracks began to spread across his body, until his cuffs and hem left trails of light like golden embers in the wind as he moved.
He began to glow in the darkness, and the moonlight sweeping forward became more brilliant than usual. The appearance of the “Divine Afterglow” state made the battle simpler
“I know what they are. Rather than thinking of them as the malice of this mountain itself, it is more accurate to say they are a part of the Witch Chloe.”
The deity did not comment on Shade’s words, but instead asked softly
“Outlander from a distant land, have you ever envied the piercing cold of winter?”
“Yes.”
Shade nodded immediately. He was well aware of this manner of questioning; it meant the deity intended to grant him some power. But this time, the deity did not tell Shade a story. Instead, She leaned down and personally scooped up a handful of snow.
The crystalline, glowing snow was squeezed into a snowball in the deity's hand, which then floated toward Shade. Shade opened his mouth and bit into the snowball; the freezing snow almost instantly melted into water and flowed into his body
【Outlander, you have touched a “Miracle”.】
【Outlander, you have obtained the “Blessing of Winter”.】
【While in winter, the recovery speed of Spirit and Stamina is slightly increased, Luck is slightly increased, and the natural environment of wind and snow will not cause you harm. After eating snow, you will not sink into the snow. Snowflakes become your food.】
【Outlander, you have gained insight into “Winter,” “Snow,” and “Freezing.”】
The snowball personally crafted by the deity brought not only a blessing but also restored Shade’s spirit and stamina to an unprecedented state of fullness. He now knew exactly what to do
Taking a deep breath, the Enlightenment—[Sleeping Princess] on the Fate Ring behind him suddenly flared.
A silver coffin crashed down by his feet, and a giant castle appeared on the snow mountain, lifting Shade and the deity high into the air. Shade reached out his hand, gallantly allowing the Red Dragon Witch, who stepped out of the coffin, to place her hand upon it.
The white oak staff in the deity's hand lightly tapped the floor of the castle. The power of winter amplified Shade’s miracle, turning the castle summoned by the Maze Lock into a hue of glacial ice.
*Roar—*
The roar of a giant dragon appeared alongside a surging sea of fire. As the spirit within Shade rapidly depleted and the deity chuckled softly, the flames spewed by the witch swept away all the enemies.
“It turns out that even the soft laughter of a god is not as moving to me as your laughter.”
That was Shade’s final thought as the avalanche occurred.
***
PS: Souvenir List
Hope Town - Year 1068 - God's Gift Box Forest of a Thousand Trees - Year 3002 - Felianna's Notes Terror Castle - Year 1784 - Person of the Future Card Nightfall Manor - Year 3014 - Black and White Intertwined Hairband Silent Valley - Year 3024 - Moon Witch's Cloak Lost Lake - Year 5177 - Witch Emperor's Ring of Authority Silver Mountains - Year 903 -????
(End of Chapter)