novelraw Chapter 548: The Beacon
Chapter 548: The Beacon
With Anna's help, Lu Li steered as far clear as he could of the northern part of the Shadow Swamp, a course that forced them toward the domain of the Mother of the Swamp. Yet even when the Fallen Leaves Mountains appeared in the distance, the Mother of the Swamp made no appearance. Only the occasional feeling of an unseen gaze drifted up from the dark forest below.
It was only as they were about to leave the swamp path that the Mother of the Swamp finally reached out.
In a small clearing by the forest stood a shadowy figure, its head raised, gazing up at Anna and Lu Li as they soared overhead.
For shadow people, who feared the light, this was practically an explicit plea.
After a quick word with Lu Li, Anna descended with him, landing once again at the edge of the Shadow Swamp.
The immediate danger had passed; there was no longer a threat here.
"I... want... you... to help..." came a halting, hollow voice from the shadow person's lips.
Realizing it was the Mother of the Swamp speaking, Anna was the first to reply. "If you're talking about the creature in the northern swamp, it's beyond our power."
"Why..." Her voice held a note of bewildered urgency.
"You must understand our limits. If even you are powerless to resist it, we certainly can't handle it," Anna added. She had never considered herself or Lu Li to be truly powerful.During the earlier events in the Shadow Swamp, Anna had already been a vengeful spirit, but even then, she couldn't get close to the half of the Mother of the Swamp's body that was bound beneath the enormous ficus tree.
"I thought... we were allies..."
"Defeating a stronger foe is more a matter of chance," Lu Li said.
Both he and Anna were of one mind: in a confrontation with a monster like an Evil God, humans were no more than ants.
Then Lu Li asked, "What kind of creature has awakened in the northern swamp?"
Silence fell for a moment. Then, the Mother of the Swamp replied, "It is... a finger..."
"Can you be more specific?" Lu Li frowned.
A finger could be an anomaly in its own right, or it could be part of a monster, which was a far more terrifying prospect.
"They are the remains... of a great being... Its consciousness has awakened... and so have the remains themselves..."
"I can give you some advice," Lu Li offered, staring intently at the shadowy figure as if trying to meet the gaze of the Mother of the Swamp herself. "Find a new place. Abandon this land."
Lu Li knew full well that its domain was everything to an Evil God. Without it, the god would lose its source of power and soon perish. But if it left beforehand, it could try to find new lands; if it stayed, it would be utterly destroyed.
Since a mere piece of a dead creature's body could seize the Mother of the Swamp's territory, she herself was probably no more significant than an insect in its eyes.
"I will consider... your advice..."
The conversation ended there. Before the Mother of the Swamp's consciousness faded, Lu Li asked one last question: how much time was left before the Shadow Swamp was completely taken over?
The answer was ten days. That was how long it would take for the new invader to fully occupy her domain, regardless of any resistance.
It was this helplessness that had driven the Mother of the Swamp to seek Lu Li's help.
Ten days was enough time for Lu Li to return to Tenebrae and retrieve Adamfiya. Just in case, he told the Mother of the Swamp where she was and asked her to look after Adamfiya, if possible.
Just as they were parting, the quiet whisper of the Mother of the Swamp drifted on the wind:
"You are going... to the Main Continent...?"
Lu Li hesitated for a moment, remembered something, and nodded. "I will help you find out what became of Duke Aeddar's descendants."
Duke Aeddar was the Mother of the Swamp's father, back when she was human.
The whisper faded, and Anna, holding Lu Li, soared into the sky. As they departed, she glanced back; a faint human shadow still lingered in the clearing.
...
Fallen Leaves Town.
This small town was living out its last peaceful days. Here, on the edge of the swamp, passing caravans and travelers would stop to catch their breath.
Lu Li didn't linger, but immediately pressed on, following the road along the Fallen Leaves Mountains toward the coast and a small town by the sea.
This place was off the main road to the capital city of Ellen; Lu Li had come here for a different reason—he needed to verify something.
On the day of his final trial, Lu Li had resisted the temptation of the "Ancient God's body," then returned to the seaside cottage accompanied by that same star-like will and fallen asleep.
The cottage by the sea from his dreams was an exact replica of a real cottage in the coastal town.
He had to find out: was what he had seen a scene dredged up from his subconscious, or was the line between reality and dream blurring in this place?
As they advanced, the whistling of the wind in the treetops gave way to the sound of crashing waves. After passing through the Fallen Leaves Mountains, a smooth coastline and a small town stretched out before them.
Like the Sentry Post, this coastal settlement was almost completely deserted; its location and small population had driven the residents away. There wasn't a soul on the streets. Perhaps a few people remained, but Lu Li and Anna had no intention of finding out.
Without hesitation, Anna headed for the seaside cottage. The tide had long since washed away any previous footprints in the sand. Only the cottage itself and an overturned boat on the beach remained, just as he remembered.
Anna steadied Lu Li as he walked up the steps and pushed open the unlatched door.
A heavy smell of rotten wood immediately washed over them. Anna waved a hand, and a draft swept the smell away.
Standing in the doorway, Lu Li surveyed the cramped room: an unmade bed, a half-open wardrobe—the deep crack that had once split the floor was gone, and on the table by the window sat an old kerosene lamp.
It shouldn't have been there.
When Lu Li had left, the only thing on the table had been a plate of moldy food.
It was only during the trial, when the figure in the black cloak had visited him, that the lamp had been moved to the table.
The lamp itself seemed to have come from another, unreal dimension.
Anna noticed nothing strange about the lamp, perhaps because Lu Li was staring at it so intently. He stepped closer and picked it up.
The moment he touched the lamp, the wick flared with a dim light. It resembled fire, but was somehow different.
Anna felt a sudden sense of revulsion, as if the lamp itself were pushing her away.
It wasn't a supernatural force, but an internal feeling, like the way people instinctively turn away from things they find unpleasant. An urge to leave took hold.
Anna told Lu Li what she was feeling. He focused his thoughts, and the light in the lamp began to dim; with it, the sensation vanished.
"Is this from the black-cloaked figure?" Anna asked, well aware of his recent journey.
Lu Li nodded. It was as if the figure had known Lu Li would come and had left this item for him intentionally.
"But the price is burning away one's Humanity," he added quietly.
Two lines were carved into the base of the lamp:
[The light of humanity gathers in the wick]
[It must remain where it belongs]
The lamp's light obeyed Lu Li's will, dimming or brightening whenever he wished.
It was a truly useful item: it repelled minor spirits, but the price was the loss of a small piece of his Humanity with each use.
The stranger in black had left nothing else. Taking the lamp, Lu Li and Anna left the deserted coastal settlement and headed for the penultimate stop on their journey—the city of Typhoon.