"What took me out of the darkness was a beam of light, a glimmer of light that was not dazzling but quite warm. The same is true at this moment..." The young man raised his head and looked up at the wind lanterns flying into the distance.
"It's so beautiful!" Artolis exclaimed as she looked at the lights covering the sky.
"I am a traveler, and I will not do anything that is not beneficial to me. Over the years, I have experienced a lot, and I have cried bitterly because of my powerlessness more than once, but I have never regretted it. Only That time, it was all within my power. I was thinking about what would have happened if I had not rejected the pleas of those guys at that time and fought side by side with them?" The other party said, turning his head to look at Artolis.
"It's a pity that history cannot be rewritten, and your regrets will only be regrets after all."
Speaking of regrets, Artoris has never regretted anything. She regretted leaving without saying goodbye that day. If not, she would not have been unable to see everyone for the last time when the Knights were destroyed. But in that case, maybe I would die there too.
In response to Atoris's answer, the other party just shook her head, her eyes moved up and landed on the night sky again.
"You know, no matter how far the wind lantern flies, it can never reach the distance where the stars are..."
"[This is an object of longing, and it will definitely send words to infinite distances.] At least people believe that, it has always been the case." Before the other party could finish speaking, Artolis interrupted:
"Even if the wind lantern cannot reach where the stars are, the thoughts in it can definitely be sent to a place further away than the stars. Perhaps, this is the meaning of this festival."
The evening breeze blew by, gently swaying the girl's hair. The peaceful face looked particularly beautiful under the light of thousands of houses.
Listening to the words coming from his ears, the other party hesitated for a moment, and then showed some relief.
"grateful……"
Watching everything in front of her disappear into nothing, and white mist gradually filled her field of vision, Artoris turned around while standing at the crossroads.
"So, this is what you want me to see?"
"It's just a story, or it can be said to be an unpleasant past event." The ethereal voice came from the Pillar of Jing with a hint of sobs.
"But thank you for untying this knot that has troubled me for so many years."
"I shouldn't have...didn't do anything, right?" Artolis didn't understand why the other party said that.
Looking at Artoris' confused look, she could hear the other party letting out a faint sigh of relief, but instead of explaining anything, she changed the subject and returned to the subject.
"Do you still have many questions you want to ask? Before I let you leave the illusion, if there is anything else you want to ask, please tell me now."
The sudden change of topic made Artolis a little surprised, but it was only when the other party said these words that she breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the opponent did not go back on her promise. To be honest, her current state was not as good as 40% of her usual strength. If not, it would be difficult to fight again now. And since the other party took the initiative to bring the topic to herself, Artolis would not be polite at all.
"Then I would like to ask first, is there anyone else who enters this illusion besides me?" This is what Artolis is most confused about. If she is the only one, then the game she played earlier will not be the same. It's a little too strange.
"You are the only one." Although she had guessed it, Artoris was still a little surprised when she heard the other person say it in person. After seeing the other party's experience of the previous situation, Artolis had some insights.
The cornerstone talent of being able to read other people's memories, it's no wonder that the "dolls" created by the other party can perfectly replicate the behavior of the people around him. She was confused all the time, and it wasn't until the last two rounds that Artolis finally understood.
But she couldn't figure it out here. She frowned slightly and looked at the Pillar of Jing. Artolis continued to ask, "Can you explain why you asked me to play this game?"
After hesitating for a moment, the other party said: "Maybe we should start talking about this from two years ago..."
From the other party's mouth, Artolis learned the whole story. Going back to that day two years ago, Artolis, Gawain, and Kaguya came to Credos for the first time to explore the situation inside the barrier. It was also at that time that the other party noticed Artoris's existence.
"I can read the memories of everyone who enters this city, and this is also one of the joys of being a spirit body now, but among the people I have met, you are the only one who is extraordinary! Only your memory, I can't Complete interpretation.”
"Why?" The other party asked, both Artoris and the Wolf King were quite surprised. To say that it is different from others? Artoris could think that it was because she was in the human world that the other party couldn't read the memory. In that case, it would be understandable.
But in this case, how can we explain Gawain's memory? He is also from another world. Why can his memory be read by the other party but not his own?
"It's not impossible. I can also see your memories in the so-called human world, but for some reason it always feels a little strange. I always feel that what I see is just the tip of the iceberg."
"Tip of the iceberg?" Since the problem does not lie here, Artolis is even more puzzled. My only memory is the seventeen years in the human world and the three years in the phantom world. There is nothing more than this. Where does the tip of the iceberg come from?
Seeing that Artoris was also full of doubts, the other party continued: "In order to solve my doubts, I used my own power to interfere with your memory at that time, making you think that you came here alone. And I will You are introduced into the illusion of the crossroads that I control."
Speaking of this, Artolis suddenly remembered the story about her headless horseman from two years ago.
"Isn't that the ability of the Headless Horseman?"
"That guy was also a poor man. His regret before his death lasted for a long time. Perhaps it was out of regret for not being able to save Rosen and others during his lifetime. At that time, I thought that before answering the question, I hope that as a knight, you can give me some help. The other party is liberated.”
"It's a pity that I was still too weak at that time."
"Yes, you failed to give that guy redemption and you passed out first. Since I didn't want to hurt you, I could only let you go for the time being. But I didn't expect that you would appear here again two years later."
"So, in order to solve the problem, you trapped me in the illusion again, and then played such a game?" This way it can be explained, Artolis nodded.
"Your performance at the end of the game was completely beyond my expectations, and I'm still surprised even now. But there's one thing you didn't say right, that is, I didn't plan this game."
Then the other party said something that surprised both Artoris and the Wolf King:
"In the fantasy, the characters I created are not under my control. They act autonomously entirely from their memory!"
