Due to the announcement about the Rite of the Chosen One, the ball at Sanssouci Palace was hastily postponed. Under the gaze of excitement, restlessness and greed, the young chosen ones ushered in the dawn of December 31st.
Early that morning, the chosen ones boarded the ship and set sail from Beyeland. As the process in the first stage was accelerated, only 7 of the 24 selected people were eliminated in the competition in these days (actually 8 people). After a short but intense trial, the remaining 14 people formed multiple camps and set off separately.
Their destination is the ruins of the Anok city-state located in the Eastern Continent.
There it lies between towering snowy peaks and a dark sea. In the summer of 1425, there was a small conflict between the city-state and the elves. A few days later, a small group of wizards started a ritual to summon the ancient gods, and the city-state was destroyed.
Griffith dressed up as Miss Laura, and at the invitation of Galadia, boarded the magic clipper "Typhon" sent by Canaan and headed rapidly towards the east.
A large area of territory in the east has become the territory of the Anatolian province of Beyeran. The coastline there is rugged, with numerous harbors and densely populated islands. The ancient folded mountain range "Pontine Mountains" stretches across the north, dividing the vast land into two. Even at the height of the war in the East, the areas north of the mountains were not affected by the war.
The ruins of the city-state of Anok lay dormant for more than ten years, surrounded by mountains and the Sea of Tranquility, until a revelation from the gods awakened it.
Galadia leaned on the lounge chair next to the porthole. Not long after everyone left Beyeland, dark clouds and strong winds began to roll in the sky, which seemed to indicate that a strange storm that should not appear in the Sea of Tranquility was about to come.
A strange flute-like shriek came from the far east, like the ominous sound of a night owl in the wilderness. Accompanying this scream was a strong wind blowing across the sea, making people shiver and send chills straight to the bones.
Galadia's superior perception could vaguely detect that in the direction of the ship's sailing, an ominous black cloud steamed up into the sky, shrouding the ruins of the lost city-state in darkness. It is it that disturbs the calm sea.
The lively farewell ceremony at the departure is still vivid in my mind. Famous dignitaries from all over the world have focused their attention on this once-in-a-century memorial ceremony, looking forward to the chosen ones bringing back miracles that can change the world.
Galadia stopped the divination ritual in her hands. On the mithril plate filled with dew, the water stains outlined a strange and disturbing picture, which flashed by and then disappeared.
She scratched the water with her slender jade fingers, as if to drive away the remaining omens and uneasiness.
"Miss Valannoy," Tarkin Yamon, the extraordinary elf of Canaan, the Sequence 6 "Collector" asked from the side, "Has the Queen of Silver Moon and Starlight given you any revelation about the future? We will witness What kind of miracle is it?"
"Miracle……
"It has endless temptation for those noble people who want to use mysterious gifts to eliminate all difficulties.
"Little did they know, what a mind-destroying trembling truth is sealed in that desolate and broken ruins."
Galadia murmured, then raised her head and said in a friendly tone: "Amon, I made an appointment with Miss Laura for afternoon tea. See you at dinner."
Amon, who was full of expectations, couldn't help but look a little unhappy after hearing this. But Miss Laura was already standing at the door. Amon made no secret of his disappointment and turned to leave.
Griffith, dressed as Laura, wore a cool orange long coat. By changing his appearance, he could use this method to minimize the mental confusion caused by cross-dressing.
However, even so, the black tights under the coat make her graceful waist and curves more attractive, the green belt and headband are decorated with heart-shaped gems, and the purple lip gloss adds a lot of mystery and temptation.
Griffith, who was forced by fate to dress up like this, felt that he was one step closer to going crazy every time he looked in the mirror.
"You are so charming~" Miss Elf held up a cup of fruit tea to hide her smile, "Which foundation did you use? Did you choose the purple lip gloss yourself? I can't control myself anymore. !”
Griffith ignored her.
What lies ahead on this trip may be a mystery that challenges the bottom line of physiology and rationality and tramples on the laws of the world. His nervousness and vigilance prevent him from joking.
Galadia laughed for a while before she stopped, suppressing her smile and talking about the business: "To be honest, before I knew you had the means to participate in the Chosen One's Festival, my mother had already started working with some allies, trying to I’ll arrange a spot for you.”
"oh?"
Galadia dispersed her spirit, checked the safety of the cabin, and then took a case file and spread it on her lap.
"It looks like an official document from Canaan." Griffith glanced at it and said.
"Yes, it is indeed the official record of Canaan, and there is an investigation report on a mysterious incident.
“To be precise, it is less than ten days after June 17, 1443, in the Second Age, a record of events that occurred in Canaan shortly before we knew it.
"My mother and some of Canaan's senior officials have studied the clues in depth and regarded the investigation as the most urgent and priority matter. It seems that this matter is closely related to you. I will tell you about it now."
June 1443? Galadia and I met on June 30th... Griffith leaned back on the chair, the fingertips of his hands naturally touching each other, closed his eyes, and showed an expression that sounded like spontaneous combustion. .
Galadia looked at him, picked up the case file, and told the strange and dangerous story in a voice as clear as a mountain spring:
"There are many opinions about Canaan's beliefs. The generally accepted view is that with the rise of magical power, almost all pure-blood elves pursue exploring the mysteries of psychic energy. The belief in the Seven Gods has continued to decline over the course of thousands of years.
"The miracle of Canaan comes from the inexhaustible spiritual energy manifested in the form of magic, which is different from all other spiritual forms-magic can simulate almost any kind of energy and characteristics. However, the source of magic is too confusing Uneasy, to the point where simply discussing the source of unease is taboo.
"The benefits of magic to extraordinary people and mysterious creatures are unmatched by other powers. This can be easily known by looking at the number of distinguished demigod members of the Arcane Council. In other words, since the source of magic is so generous , powerful, spell casters just need to be careful, lest they go astray due to excessive curiosity and cause deep pain to us, the dependents of the gods.
“In June 1443, things changed. A danger we never anticipated was spreading in Canaan.
"Late in the middle of the night on June 18, Antiha, the front-line executive officer of the Canaan combat force, drowned in the shallow water of the lake. According to the testimony of his colleagues, he had been mentally unstable for a long time, and his diary also showed signs of mental disorder. There are signs, there is a line of bloody writing on the wall of the residence——
"'The price will be paid'.
"On June 20, Harandil and Pelotis, members of the half-elf combat force who once belonged to Antiha, arrived in Canaan. They participated in the investigation of the subsequent death of the commander."
Harandil? Is that Harandil? Harandil, who is very familiar with Roland.
Griffith immediately opened his eyes and raised his eyebrows when he heard the familiar name. He was unfamiliar with another name that was obviously female.
It's very strange, but there is a kind of trembling from the depths of the soul, just like the instinctive trembling of a field mouse carrying rice grains when it encounters a poisonous snake at the corner.
"This is just the beginning," Galadia said, "The focus of what I want to say is the experience of these two half-elf investigators.
"That was June 17th.
"Harandil and Pilotis of the Frontline Ranger Force were deployed to the front line of the battle with the Orc Clan Alliance. After a short and brutal fierce battle, they got a short rest.
"A fallen wizard of extraordinary rank appeared on the battlefield without warning. Logically speaking, extraordinary people should not appear in a battle of this level. Powerful psychic fluctuations will be detected by the front line, and an early warning can be issued even if there is no time to stop them. .However, the intervention of the fallen wizard was not forewarned. He slaughtered the half-elves with frost and arcane spells, and also transformed into extremely powerful ball lightning.
"Soon, only Harandil and Pelotis were the only two rangers present. They were both wounded and about to be killed.
"At this moment, a faint, weird sound came from the scene, like some kind of wild beast howling, coming from an extremely distant world.
"The howling was approaching, the blasphemous notes were amplifying, like the howling of hounds and wolves, getting closer and closer.
"A strange fog arose on the desolate battlefield, and the almost desperate half-elves saw the slender and twisted head, and then the body.
"Its shape is indescribable, like squirming liquid, like drifting smoke, and vaguely like a ferocious beast. The razor-sharp teeth and claws, shining eyes and staggered jaws, like a wolf , the undulating light brown and cyan cortex, the open organ that could barely be called a mouthpart, with a hollow straw flapping among the mucus. But when it left the fog and started to move, the image quickly distorted.
"All the creatures present were frightened by the appearance of the monster. The fallen wizard took the lead in attacking and immediately started fighting with the twisted monster. They attacked each other with lightning, fire and acid. The monster's resilience is amazing, and it even corrodes the skin of the extraordinary. Magic shield.
"Seeing this, the fallen wizard used the power of time and space. Countless tentacles emerged from the deep darkness and expelled the monster. Then, he also withdrew from the battlefield due to excessive consumption."
Griffith listened silently.
This seems to be just a monster appearing in a certain position on the battlefield. Unrecognizable monsters appear in the world every day, and it is not worth disturbing the higher-ups of the elves for a monster.
Galadia took out a piece of drawing paper and handed it to him.
"This is?"
"This is a picture of the scene drawn by Pilotis, one of the parties involved at the scene."
Griffith looked at it and saw only messy lines drawn on the paper, a monster with a wolf's mouth fighting against a pitted, moldy orange.
There is also a portrait of Pilotis herself on the drawing paper. She is a young woman with long silver hair, beautiful appearance and tall figure.
"Okay, what does this have to do with us?" the knight asked, "Do we need to investigate this monster?"
Miss Elf took back the case file and drawing paper and put them on her lap:
"Some of the most daring researchers have observed things that are not of this world. There are twisted dimensions, angular discontinuities outside of the linear continuity of space and time that we live and know. In other words, It is in a different dimension than us and is governed by different laws.
"According to speculation, if creatures leave their own world, go to the extremely distant shore through a tunnel across planes, and enter 'their' territory.
“They are endless, the embodiment of rules as old as the universe, hounds of the chase.”
Griffith was even more strange: "Hound...I admit that this monster is scary. But, so what?"
"It's not the monster that's scary~" Miss Elf said, "It's the prey."
"prey?"
Galadia looked at Griffith for a while, and when she answered, her voice was as low as a whisper:
"Griffith, this monster had a clear goal when it appeared. What it was following was——
"Pilotis."
