The Cornflower Witch

Chapter 112: Departure from Misty Mountain

The morning of the farewell day.

Sylutia stood before the city gate, bidding farewell to Scholar Hyde and the others behind her. Lady Franne, Viscountess Xuefeng, Ray, Winnie, Talier, and others were also present.

"Tia, once you leave this time, I'm afraid it will be our final meeting." Scholar Hyde spoke his parting words with a gentle, smiling tone.

He was advanced in years, with little life left, and was now exceptionally open-minded, likely having no regrets left.

"Teacher Hyde..." Sylutia looked at this old man, unsure of what comforting words to say.

"Hahaha, don't worry about me. I came to terms with it long ago." His tone was smooth and unburdened, carrying no unresolved issues.

"The Hours have arrived; none can stop them."

"My time will also come to an end one day."

"Childhood, the past, and many things will slowly dissipate like mist and clouds, leaving only an empty sky."

"Tia, you will come to understand this slowly." He gazed into the distant sky, his robe and white hair fluttering slightly in the wind."But your lives are just beginning. You will encounter many things in the future, some possibly excruciatingly painful, or you may face tremendous blows."

"Always be strong, no matter when. Never belittle yourself, never bow your head to your enemies. Even running away is better than giving up in despair."

"Life is like a winding road; there will always be various surprises and changes."

"Go, Tia. Go find your life and future, like a bird, climbing that mountain." After these final words, he let go of everything, waving to this student of his twilight years, also seemingly bidding farewell to the many faces of the past.

Sylutia's heart was also filled with a thousand emotions. She looked at the others seeing her off: Lady Franne who had cared for her, Sister Winnie, Talier, Ray, Mick, and gave a slight nod. Then, she brushed aside the hair at her ear that had been tousled by the wind, turned, and boarded the carriage.

The wheels rolled over gravel, slowly starting, moving downward along the mountain road outside Scorchstone City.

Inside the carriage, Sylutia, dressed in a black dress with white trim, sat on her trunk, closing her eyes to recall everything she had experienced over the past half year or more.

Wind passed through the carriage window, lifting the white gauze curtains, making them billow and dance along with her long silver hair, unfurling within the carriage compartment like a nostalgic photograph, frozen in a single moment.

...

The carriage traveled onward, leaving Scorchstone City for several kilometers, then crossed over the mountain ridges, arriving at the summit of a tall hill, that triangular cliff that slanted toward the sky.

At the top of the cliff where small white flowers bloomed, the carriage slowly stopped. The knight driving it jumped down and lightly knocked on the carriage door.

"We've arrived, Tia."

"Alright, Sir Knight Morick." Sylutia opened the carriage door, stepping down while carrying the heavy suitcase in both hands.

This knight clad in silver-grey full plate armor effortlessly took the suitcase from her hands and led Tia slowly toward the platform at the mountain peak.

At the edge of the grassland here, there was a wide stone slab. The inscriptions carved upon it had long been blurred and eroded by rain. Directly in front of the slab, an ancient stone sword was thrust into the ground, weathered by time.

"This is the place where, in those days, the former King Regard and a group of knights made their vows. There are over thirty such places within the borders of Regas." The knight walked ahead, set down the suitcase, and explained to Sylutia.

"He enfeoffed those knights as the guardians of various regions, which is the origin of the many noble families within Regas today."

"The knights who received land also swore to protect this land and the people upon it, to shield them from the invasion of night demons, from being hunted by beasts, to maintain lighthouses amidst the chaotic mists, to become the sturdy walls upon this continent, maintaining the borders of civilization."

Knight Morick slowly walked before that stone slab, knelt on one knee, and gently touched the wind-eroded inscriptions with one hand. An invisible ripple spread out, as if a beacon had been lit, illuminating this vast world.

"We reside on a continent above a sea of clouds. This world still faces the danger of falling into the abyss. Every established nation must build walls and towers in various places to hinder the erosion of the chaotic mists from the Twilight Sea."

"This is a struggle spanning three epochs, ever since the fall of the Seven Dragons."

"The place you are going to is the shadow beneath this continent, the world reflected in the Twilight Sea."

"There, many organizational schools gather. They recruit and absorb outstanding young people from various places, delving into the endless depths of the abyss to seek vitality and resources."

"There will be many dangers, but you will also gain much."

"This is where I see you off today, Tia." The knight stood up.

He walked slowly down the hillside, and the silver-haired girl also waved goodbye to him in the wind.

"Thank you, Sir Knight Morick."

The knight's closed helmet nodded to Tia. Then, leading the carriage, he walked slowly down the hillside, leaving the girl and her suitcase standing alone amidst the sea of grass and wind.

After a few minutes, an extremely distant sound came from the far reaches of the mountain range.

Sylutia lightly shielded her eyes from the sunlight with her hand, but her gaze could not see any figure.

Then, in an instant, as if an invisible watery membrane was slowly tearing, a colossal figure several hundred meters tall slowly emerged from the side of the mountains and sky. Its entire body was wreathed in lingering mist that spread for several kilometers.

The six long legs of the enormous figure were about a hundred meters high, stepping between canyons and streams at the mountain's base, roughly fifty stories tall. On the back of this giant, camel-like figure were even more towering, layered buildings. Their eaves and window lattices reached high into the sky, casting a massive shadow, as if the sky instantly changed color and everything darkened.

This beast-like camel walked among the mountains as if it were one of them, immensely tall. Where it stepped, mist also spread, causing its entire form to exist somewhere between illusion and reality, incredibly mysterious.

This gigantic, mountain-like camel carried a distant ringing of bells as it slowly passed through the mountains, gradually approaching the place where Sylutia stood.

Merely its movement stirred up invisible air currents and water mist. Sylutia, standing in place, now felt as if she were in a sea of clouds, with a constantly rushing river of misty water flowing past her sides. Her tiny form was submerged in this vast sea of misty clouds, like a mere speck.

Finally, the giant camel slowly arrived before Sylutia. Now the girl could clearly see the pavilions on the camel's back.

It was a twenty-seven-story tall building, layered and stacked, its style different from any architecture she had seen in Regas. Each floor hung with colorful long ropes, and on these ropes were bells of varying sizes.

Some of the bells were extremely old, like rusted bronze, while others were brand new, as if just hung up. As the camel moved forward, these bells swayed, producing sounds like the ocean.

The camel's six tall legs stood in the canyon below the cliff, its back perfectly level with the cliff top. When it finally stopped and stood still, the previously clamorous ringing of bells also ceased.

Everything suddenly fell silent. Sylutia noticed the 'Hidden Grove Badge' pinned to her chest was now emitting a faint halo, glowing in this mist-filled grassland.

Then, a clear, crisp bell tone came from the layered high building, breaking the silence.

Sylutia pressed down her fluttering hair, looked up at the high building at the top. One of its closed doors opened, and then an invisible force lifted Sylutia up, along with her suitcase placed to the side, slowly raising them toward the high building on the camel's back.

Watching herself getting higher and higher from the ground, Sylutia instinctively stretched out her arms to grab the suitcase beside her.

Not long after, she slowly landed inside the opened door. When the tips of her toes touched the ground and she and the suitcase landed together, the door behind her closed once more.

Then, this camel rose again, strode forward, heading toward the distant mountains, its form slowly dissipating within the mist.