章節 20: Chapter 20
When Yume woke up, her first reaction was: why is her brother Asan crying?
Her second reaction was: who bullied her little brother?!
During the time she spent with the doll, she had never seen the doll display any emotions other than gentleness and tranquility. When she heard her most respected creator unintentionally utter puzzling words, it was the first time she noticed that he could also be in a low mood.
The second time was when they had an argument.
She watched the doll imitate and learn step by step, using its pure and flawless soul to interact with humans. From being ignorant and needing her guidance even for simple things like getting dressed and eating, to trying to understand human emotions and naturally pausing to enjoy a moment of tranquility, joking with her, making requests, expressing its thoughts... Yume observed the changes in the doll and felt genuine joy for it.
But as a human, she also had her own indescribable selfishness.
"If this world doesn't require killing... Can I be with you forever?"
"If I have been beloved by the highest person since my birth... Can I avoid a tragic fate?"
"If I can freely choose everything... Can I avoid sadness and sorrow?"
Humans cannot achieve perfection. Humans can experience joy and happiness, but they cannot avoid pain and separation.
But she hoped that her doll would not experience the latter.
So when she found out that his first bout of anger was actually because of her, even if it was just a misunderstanding, she still felt guilty.
—This was not what she wanted to teach him, nor was it something she wanted to bring upon him.
She had promised herself to pay more attention to his emotions, but she didn't expect to see him helpless and in tears just one day later.
When she was teaching him swordsmanship, she once marveled at how dolls were more resilient than humans. But it wasn't until now that she realized that dolls were even more fragile than she had imagined.
She only realized this when she gently touched the boy's back.
"As long as you're okay..."
As she loosened her grip on his arm, she felt the warmth leave her neck and shoulders. The boy knelt in front of her, wiping his face with his sleeve.
There were somewhat messy tear streaks on his delicate, porcelain-like skin. His beautiful purple eyes drooped, with long and thick eyelashes. There was an indescribable fragility in his exquisite appearance, like a small animal that had just been bullied.
"You've been sleeping for a long time, and no matter how I called you, you didn't respond." Thundering Fury felt more and more wronged, "You said you were fine. Why are you like this? Are you..."
"Hold on, hold on!" Yingjian raised her left hand to cover Thundering Fury's mouth, not letting him continue, "I'm really fine, don't overthink it."
'So in the end, it was her who made him cry.'
At first, Yingjian suspected that there was something suspicious about Albedo, but her gaze quickly returned to herself.
'Right now, I need to stabilize Thundering Fury.'
"You see, I'm perfectly fine, it was just a dream." Yingjian said, "Albedo said that what the sword said might be related to the source of contamination... Hmm?"
The sword was no longer in her hand, but quietly lying next to her, no longer arrogant as before.
"It has been completely purified."
Yingjian heard footsteps approaching and looked up, it was the alchemist.
"Are you done talking?"
For some reason, Yingjian felt that he was a little annoyed, so she became annoyed as well.
"Ahsan doesn't understand, don't you understand? Can't you explain it to him?" Yingjian said.
"Don't misunderstand me, I did explain it to him. But your companion didn't listen to me, just sitting next to you and feeling sorry for himself. It's really pitiful." The alchemist reached out his hand, "Do you need me to help you up?"
Yingjian squinted her eyes and before she could respond, she saw the boy by her side stand up and reach out his hand to her.
Seeing that Yingjian rose with the help of Thundering Fury, the alchemist tactfully withdrew his hand and embraced Thundering Fury, saying, "Tell me, what did this sword tell you?"
Although Yingjian didn't like him, she knew that what the boy said earlier was reliable, based on what she had heard Thundering Fury say. So she truthfully recounted what she had seen in her dream.
"...That person ran away, and then I woke up." Yingjian said, "Speaking of which, you said earlier that the contamination of this sword is related to the contamination caused by the Kamisato Clan. Does that mean the black mud I saw is the source of the contamination?"
"I think so," the alchemist nodded, "Humans cannot escape from it, but objects are different—especially objects with spirits."
What Yingjian didn't say was that when she saw that rolling black mud, she felt a familiar sensation welling up inside her.
It was all too familiar, because it was something that had entangled her when she first arrived in this world.
"The vengeful deity born from the objects has not been consumed by the contamination, but its divinity has been worn away, leaving only the hatred of its master being killed..." The alchemist shrugged, "Isn't it interesting?"
"Oh, I don't think so."
The alchemist: "..."
"This did indeed solve a mystery, but it has nothing to do with the Kamisato Clan, right?" Yingjian's gaze was skeptical, but the alchemist didn't seem nervous because of it.
"The Kamisato Clan's Sacred Sakura Tree is located in the Narukami Shrine, and the scattered Thunder Sakura Trees in Inazuma are extensions of its roots," the alchemist's lips curled up, "But how do you know that there is no Thunder Sakura Tree in Kanazuka?"
Yingjian's crimson eyes widened slightly.
"Since you are aware that the sword is already like a vessel for a funeral god, you should understand that he has his own reasons for showing you this memory." The alchemist stooped down to pick up the broken sword and extended it towards Yingjian, who had yet to say whether she would take it or not, when Raiden Shogun had already grabbed her wrist.
The alchemist glanced at the young man's actions. "If you continue to refuse to listen... with his current power, he can probably only last for less than an hour."
Yingjian had been thinking about taking the sword back and discussing it later, but the alchemist's words immediately extinguished that thought.
"It spoke to me," said the alchemist, gripping the broken sword. "It said that ever since that incident, the island of Kannazuka has been shrouded in mist. No one who came after could reach there no matter what. Until hundreds of years later, when the current wanderer encountered a shipwreck and found it there. So he attached himself to the wanderer and came onto the land along the roots of the Sacred Sakura Tree, and so—"
The alchemist looked at Yingjian. "It is willing to tell you the way, as long as you promise to reveal that hidden truth. This is an exchange."
"Why doesn't it tell you then?"
"Oh, it says that I'm an outsider and cannot be trusted."
Yingjian: "..." Huh, doesn't sound convincing.
If she disagreed and waited for its spirit to dissipate, she would lose the opportunity to learn the way. This mission could be considered a great failure.
If she agreed... since the alchemist could easily grab hold of it, it meant that it had no power to resist.
"I promise."
Raiden Shogun naturally weighed the pros and cons, even though she was still worried about what had just happened. But she still let go of her hand.
The broken sword was once again held by Yingjian.
The spirit within the sword was already so weak that it couldn't control her. Yingjian followed its intent and went along with it. When she stopped, she had already arrived beneath the Thunder Sakura Tree, and the heavy tachi in her hand was raised.
"What are we doing?"
At a place unnoticed by Raiden Shogun and Yingjian, the alchemist's lips curled up.
At that moment, the spirit within the sword, which had almost no presence, became restless again. Before Yingjian could react, the sword had already struck horizontally.
In the remaining sunlight, the Thunder Sakura Tree in front of her was cleaved in half, and the sound of the trunk falling to the ground rang out before Yingjian snapped back to her senses.
"Clang—"
The broken sword slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground. Yingjian widened her crimson eyes.
In an instant, the fallen Thunder Sakura withered completely, and the thunderstorms contained within the lightning dissipated, followed by a violent earthquake. Almost at the same moment that the ground sank, Yingjian retreated backward. The spot where she had just stood had already been scorched by the lightning, and she could vaguely see the complex and interwoven roots emitting black smoke. Just as she still couldn't see their appearance clearly, the purple thunderstorm transformed into a vortex. It spread out like a passage to a hidden realm.
"The passage has been found, but... it seems that the contamination has spread once this Thunder Sakura withered."
He was right.
Because it carried the "contamination" from the start, which possessed its own consciousness, Yingjian had an extremely acute intuition regarding the existence of the "contamination."
She felt the "contamination" gradually surging beneath her feet, as if it were a living being, ready to burst forth at any moment.
As she stood there in a daze, she saw the broken sword lying on the ground.
"If this contamination can corrode objects to this extent, then if it were directed at living beings..."
"Only the one who can purify the impurities can calm the calamity hidden within the 'Abyss.'" A warm breath reached her ears. The alchemist spoke with a voice that only the two of them could hear. "This is the trouble you've created—Lady Yingjian."
Yingjian looked at the alchemist in astonishment, but he only smiled lightly.
"When did he find out about his own identity"... no, it doesn't matter anymore.
She felt the danger lurking underground, seemingly approaching step by step along the opened "passage."
She seemed to hear the sound of her own heartbeat.
"If I were to go back now..."
Just as the alchemist said, once the contamination spread over this land, she would be the only one at fault.
"The contamination within the 'Abyss' is something even the gods cannot control."
[I tried to use divine power to cleanse the impurities that have tainted you. But divine power has always been able to slay demons, so I didn't have much hope either.]
Raiden Shogun seems to have said the same thing.
[I also want to do something for you all, so please trust me.]
If they were to find out... The palms were pierced by nails, but the owner didn't notice at all.
She seemed to have no room to retreat.
"Kamisato?"
The voice of the Raiden Shogun brought her back to her senses.
"Is this the passage?" Raiden Shogun approached the tree roots curiously. "It's quite fascinating... but it will be very dangerous on the other side, in the Kamisato Estate."
"If you give up just because it's dangerous, you might as well stay in the palace for the rest of your life without ever coming out." The alchemist shrugged. "If someone has to solve this problem, it can only be Miss Kamisato, who won't be tainted by impurities."
"Are you serious?"
"Of course, I don't think I've ever lied to you from beginning to end." The alchemist replied to Kamisato. "But you'll need some techniques for purification. Here, try this."
Kamisato took the scroll handed to her by the alchemist. Just like last time, the language she couldn't understand appeared in her mind, and when she opened her eyes again, she raised her hand.
Just like a falling stone. The originally surging waves subsided with each ripple, and the ringing in her ears disappeared, replaced by calmness and tranquility.
Rather than purification, it was more like they were all driven away before they even had a chance to arrive. Kamisato heard the voice of the alchemist again.
"This is something only you can do."
Kamisato lowered her gaze.
"Kamisato?" Raiden Shogun saw Kamisato standing up and asked anxiously, "What do you think?"
"Not bad." Kamisato's tone was light. "If I had known how to purify from the beginning, I wouldn't have been tainted by that curse. It's a pity I only learned now."
"Well! That's good." Raiden Shogun grabbed the girl's hand and said, "Then let's go."
"No, you can't."
Hearing the voice, Raiden Shogun looked in the direction of the alchemist.
"Your abilities are not enough to solve this."
"But I can't just let Kamisato..."
"I will accompany her." The alchemist said.
Raiden Shogun seemed to want to say something more, but his shoulder was tapped. Raiden Shogun turned his head and saw Kamisato.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Kamisato shook her head and smiled. "You're going to the Miko Shrine tomorrow, remember? You promised me before. Are you planning to break your promise? Not keeping your promises is not a good habit for a good child."
"I don't want..." Raiden Shogun paused and then sighed. "Okay, I trust you."
"That's right~" Raiden Shogun took off the Golden Feather and put it around Kamisato's neck. When the other party looked surprised, he said, "When we come back, let's go to the celebration together."
He prepared a gift, he thought Kamisato would like it.
"No problem." Kamisato raised her hand and held the Golden Feather in front of her chest. She smiled and said, "Then it's a promise."
*
"If I remember correctly, the Doctor should have returned from Teyvat to execute the mission, why haven't we seen him lately?"
"The Puppets were commissioned by Her Majesty to go to the Abyss. After the Doctor returned from Teyvat, he went to the Abyss as well and hasn't come back yet."
"Heh, is he worried about his unfinished experiment?"
"According to the Doctor, he wants to try something interesting."
"Oh? What is it?"
"I'm not sure about that, but... it seems to be related to the 'remnants' of the temporal domain that the Captain found last time."
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
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