Free Web NovelChapter 2051: Chapter 2051: Childhood Wishes
The flames danced in the eyes of five pairs, sustaining their survival here relied on the glow in the fire basin, but at this moment, everyone’s heart turned cold.
"Of course, it wasn’t me who lit it."
Professor Ivins quickly shook his head:
"I thought it was the girls who arrived earlier who lit it."
Miss Malone was an ordinary person, so this naturally had nothing to do with her. And Miss Teresa and Miss Maxim, who arrived first, also shook their heads:
"It wasn’t us, we were also attracted by the firelight. If not for this light, the waves are so big that we wouldn’t notice this floating plank either."
Miss Maxim, the maid with purple hair, although shivering from the cold, still provided further information:
"When we first arrived, I tried to light more new flames before I passed out, but this place completely suppresses fire and light."
As she spoke, she opened her almost bloodless palm:
"Fire~"
Not even a spark appeared. Miss Teresa and Professor Ivins also tried, and indeed, nothing happened. They seemed to feel even colder, as Miss Teresa almost clung entirely to Shard, who felt as if he were leaning against a great block of ice.
Although not a witch, Miss Malone had a box of half-wet matches with her. With the other four’s consent, she threw the matches into the fire basin before her, and everyone saw that the matches and the box showed no intention of igniting at all.
Professor Ivins flicked a finger, and the matchbox flew back out, perfectly intact and dried off.
"Silvermoon."
Shard murmured, a grain-sized glow appeared at his fingertip. Besides the unknown source of flame ahead, this was currently the only light they could "ignite." They all watched that sliver of light, their exhaled breath turning the already overly moist air into white frost.
"We still need to figure out how to get out of here ourselves."
Shard finally told them, and the witches agreed with his view. Professor Ivins couldn’t help his curiosity, shivering as he asked Shard how he got in, but Shard casually brushed it off:
"I went through a strange door and then fell into the sea."
It’s not exactly a lie.
Soaking in the seawater would attract dangerous things, and the seawater would drain spirit and stamina. Flying to the sky would cause even greater panic. The Twelfth Rank Grand Witch held the method to open portals, but, just as Shard thought, this chaotic region of time and space didn’t support portal creation:
"It’s very similar to Lost Lake here."
Miss Teresa shivering by Shard’s ear said, her breath touching Shard’s cheek, making him feel as if his skin would freeze. Their situation was abnormal. Despite the cold, they shouldn’t be reacting so exaggeratedly.
Shard held her gently in his arms, the witch symbolically struggled a bit, then sank into that heartwarming warmth.
"Did Miss Violet ever tell you, what exactly is Lost Lake?"
The girl with glasses felt the warmth of the embrace and shook her head slightly:
"Aunt said I wasn’t ready to know yet... She only mentioned it’s the ’boundary’."
Professor Ivins’ face turned even more grim as if he thought of something.
"I don’t understand."
Miss Malone raised a trembling hand to say, seeing the others look at her, she timidly pointed at the floating plank beneath her:
"Why can this board float here?"
Shard recalled for a moment:
"When I swam over just now, I’m sure I didn’t see any other shipwrecks on the surface, not even floating luggage or corpses."
Professor Ivins also recalled:
"Earlier, all four survivors of our shipwreck mentioned that when the shipwreck occurred, everything was sinking quickly. This floating plank is probably not from a shipwreck as we thought."
"By the way, where did the blankets you’re wrapped in come from?"
Shard asked again, and only then did the ladies look at the blankets tightly wrapped around them, subsequently remembering that they found these by the fire when they first arrived on the plank.
There were exactly four blankets, and four of them arrived here, as if someone had prepared them for them.
They stayed silent for a moment. Miss Teresa, feeling as if her soul was warmed up, remembered something more:
"When we climbed up here, I seemed to have touched some strange indentations along the edge of the plank, like some writing, around... roughly here."
She pointed to the edge of the plank, the surging seawater continuously rushing towards it, so that except for the spot where the group stood, the rest was all in a soggy state.
"You rest here first, I’ll go take a look over there."
Shard said, not daring to stand but crawling over, while Miss Teresa grabbed the hem of his coat, following closely:
"I’ll go with you, I remember the spot."
She simply couldn’t bear to leave that kind of warmth.
The continuous crashing of the waves made it difficult for Shard to see what was on the surface of the floating board. He could only rely on feeling around and the extremely faint glimmer from his fingertips to distinguish the subtle changes in texture.
Miss Teresa grasped Shard’s sleeve with one hand, while the other hand joined Shard in the water, feeling about. They had to be exceptionally cautious as the floating board shook severely at the edges; no one wanted to fall into the water just like that.
"My aunt and I have been trying to find you these past few years."
In the wind and waves, the girl’s voice was somewhat soft. Shard turned his head to look at her, and Miss Teresa’s face slightly reddened:
"Aunt is preparing to ascend to demigod; she has seen her demigod road. She said maybe becoming a demigod would allow her to sense your presence in space-time, and perhaps the Witch Council might have records of you... This time, is it still staying three times?"
"Yes, I will send you out safely before leaving."
The young girl nodded gently:
"If possible, Aunt actually wishes to see you again."
Clutching Shard’s sleeve, she asked with a lower voice:
"You haven’t forgotten about us, have you?"
"Of course not."
The girl with glasses showed a smile, then exclaimed with delight:
"I found it! Here!"
Saying this, she guided Shard’s hand underwater, and Shard also felt those strange engravings.
He used his fingers to let "her" help remember those patterns, and after returning to the fireside with Miss Teresa, he summoned a phantom bookshelf, took out books to have those symbols branded onto them. Similarly, the originally Star Ocean-colored bookshelf and books dulled as if turned black.
The symbols looked like shells, and Shard’s linguistic comprehension immediately took effect, while the knowledgeable professor from the Zaras Literary Academy recognized this peculiar writing:
"Mysterious Language?"
"You recognize it?"
Shard asked in surprise. The bygone "Adel Isabella" was the one who had him use this language to question the Hope Diamond. But the issue was, his linguistic comprehension allowed him to recognize meanings and know pronunciation when seeing the text, but not to master the language just by knowing its name.
He hadn’t sought Miss Danester’s help either, and even that librarian lady had only heard of the text but couldn’t read it.
"Yes, Mysterious Language is an ancient text from the Second Era. I’ve mastered only a small portion of the vocabulary. Give me some time, I’ll translate them."
The professor was about to take action but was stopped by Shard:
"Let me decipher for you; I happen to recognize the words here. But later, could you thoroughly teach me this language, or at least help me translate a few sentences?"
Shard was somewhat suspicious – perhaps Tree Father specifically sent him this time to learn Mysterious Language.
The late Fifth Era’s writing is a compulsory subject for Saint Byrons, so Shard didn’t have much trouble communicating with the four ladies. Once Shard simply translated the odd text, the approximate meaning was:
[Sea of Darkness, Sea of No Dreams. Four childhood relics, calling the Giver of Dreams.]
Miss Teresa, Miss Maxim, and Miss Malone weren’t very clear, only Professor Ivins seemed thoughtful, shivering as she questioned Shard:
"Isn’t this saying..."
"It should be."
In the firelight, a smile already appeared on Shard’s face; he was initially somewhat worried about how to complete the task:
"What’s written here is the method to call a deity."
"Which one?"
Miss Teresa asked with considerable reverence.
"God of Wishes – Giver of Dreams."
As Shard spoke the name of that Old God, the flames in the fire basin surged upward, allowing the light to illuminate a larger area. Shadows danced on everyone’s faces, except for Miss Teresa held in Shard’s arms, and the brows of the other three ladies had unknowingly frosted over.
"So, what should we do?"
"Do you have anything on you related to your childhood wishes? You need four items to summon that deity. If I haven’t misunderstood, then this floating board and this fire basin are left to us by that deity. I think we probably need that deity’s help to leave here."
Shard said as he looked at them. Everyone’s luggage was lost to the sea, and surviving the shipwreck was lucky enough.
But he believed they must have items that met the requirements, for the Outlander had no childhood in this world, so he couldn’t provide a "childhood wish."
Sure enough, just as Shard thought, the four ladies all nodded.
Miss Teresa nestled in Shard’s arms and took off her round-framed glasses:
"This was a birthday gift from Aunt when I was little. At that time, I wasn’t a witch yet, and Aunt happened to visit my family, saw I was celebrating a birthday while selecting a future apprentice, and gave this to me. From that moment, I wanted to become a witch like Aunt."
Speaking of which, the last time he met Miss Teresa at Lost Lake, she was wearing these glasses. She hadn’t changed them for three years; that was the reason.
