Chapter 2278: Desert Illusion

Chapter 2278: Chapter 2278: Desert Illusion

Old Lady Sianod and they looked at the White Bone Pit beneath the sand dunes, her body trembled slightly, and then she leaned on her cane and slowly sat on the dune.

The cane fell onto the sandy ground, and she covered her face, sobbing.

"Grandma, what’s wrong with you?"

After asking the question, Shard realized his inquiry was foolish; of course, Old Lady Sianod was sad because she saw so many of her kin tragically dead.

But the truth was more complicated than he thought.

"These, these are... elves of the Moon Creek Clan. I saw them, the necklace, the scar, and... the resonance of the bloodline. I left them waiting while I and others went out to search for a new place to live. They’re all still children, still young... How could this be, how could this happen?"

She cried and spoke intermittently, and Shard could only understand bits and pieces.

"But no matter how you think about it, this must be fake. So many elves, how could they all appear in this desert together, and we happen to encounter them?"

Shard comforted her from the side, looked at Miss Mister who remained silent, and then attempted to help Old Lady Sianod up:

"This is an illusion. Even if other elves of the Moon Creek Clan truly met with misfortune, their remains shouldn’t be here. This desert is not a graveyard, nor is it a guaranteed path to death. Clearly, all this is false."

Logically, the Thirteenth Rank Witch should not be so easily mentally defeated, so it’s obvious that the illusion specifically targets her; Shard doesn’t feel more mental contamination.

His comfort originally had no effect, although Old Lady Sianod was helped up by him, she still covered her face and sobbed in despair. She should have heard Shard’s words, but she didn’t believe them at all:

"It’s all true, those bones, those trinkets, those scars. The Moon Creek Clan is extinct."

Those bones indeed looked quite realistic, at least Shard couldn’t discern they were a product of the Illusion Technique.

He looked again at Miss Mister, the woman with light brown skin also smiled at him, her voice directly appeared in Shard’s mind:

"What, are you asking for my help?"

"Not at the moment. I’m not seeking any reward; it’s just that this matter has only just begun, and I don’t believe it’s unsolvable."

Shard thought to himself, trying to help Old Lady Sianod move forward:

"Anything can happen in this desert, Grandma; perhaps you need to calm down a bit physically to think clearly. Let’s head back, back to the temple, okay? We can’t stay here. Or, I can provide evidence to prove the Moon Creek Clan is not extinct; please listen to me."

The Old Elf struggled to control her trembling, but couldn’t listen to Shard’s words. Clearly, she believed Shard was merely comforting her.

She struggled with her cane and, relying on Shard’s support, could continue to move forward. The intense emotional fluctuations made her look more fragile under the scorching sunlight, and her pale skin made her already elderly face appear even more aged.

Of course, this could also be the result of an illusion.

[How do you know this is an illusion?]

"She" asked in Shard’s ear, and upon hearing "her" voice, beneath the glaring sun, Shard actually felt the coolness of night:

"Isn’t this precisely why I’m here?"

The sand pit filled with stark white bones was a necessary path to move forward; bypassing it would take more time, but they lacked time at this moment.

Therefore, even though Old Lady Sianod showed extreme resistance, ultimately the three of them still slowly slipped down from the top of the dune to the bottom. Although knowing it was an illusion, Shard still whispered an apology before assisting Granny Elf into the midst of the bones.

Miss Mister followed behind them, watching the Old Elf tremble with every step, and when the bones came into contact with their legs and feet, even though Old Lady Sianod was supported by Shard, she went limp and fell into the pile of bones, sobbing once more.

She knew these emotions were wrong, but the fact of the clan’s extinction lingered in her mind, refusing to fade away.

She tried to stand up, but the familiar corpses of her descendants around her made her want to stay here with them forever.

Suddenly, she felt her body lighten and realized she was carried on Shard’s back.

"Grandma, hold tightly to my neck."

Shard said, using the cane relic himself, greeting Miss Mister behind him, and continued to traverse the White Bone Pit:

"Grandma, let’s talk about something else to distract you; don’t think about what’s beneath our feet; it’s all fake.

You mentioned earlier you came here to find the Heart of the Oasis for the Far North Witch Academy of Saint Byrons to exchange for the protection of the powerful Witch Academy for the Moon Creek Clan. The Witch Academy you mentioned—I actually have some understanding of it. What happened in Saint Byrons, why do they need the Heart of the Oasis?"

The Far North might not seem suitable for survival, but the land of Saint Byrons used to be the city of the God of Night; Shard personally set foot there, knowing that region needs nothing but the dispersal of the night, and it becomes a very suitable place for humans to live.

The aging elf replied beside Shard’s ear:

"It’s not that Saint Byrons needs it—Zaras Literary Academy, which has risen into the sky in the form of a Floating City, has encountered some issues and requires some precious materials to maintain the ecosystem of the Floating City. The headmaster of Saint Byrons agreed to help them find some of these materials, of which the Heart of the Oasis is one."

While searching for a place to set his foot among the white bones, Shard continued to inquire, even in the pit under the dunes he didn’t feel any cooler; in fact, it felt hotter:

"Then why doesn’t the Moon Creek Clan join Zaras Literary Academy? Wouldn’t it be more direct to use the Heart of the Oasis to go directly to the Floating City?"

"Elves are a race that lives on the earth, trees without roots can never survive long."

She explained this way, eyes closed behind Shard, but her body was still trembling:

"The Moon Creek Clan itself has clues about the Heart of the Oasis, so they took on the task. Saint Byrons is not making things difficult for us. Once I bring it back, the Moon Creek Clan will officially become part of Baylens Comprehensive Academy."

"Granny, then you are the clan’s..."

"Before departure, I was the clan leader. When I left, I left the responsibility of the clan leader to my daughter, she is my most..."

"Oh!"

Shard exclaimed, interrupting her words because two hands had clearly grabbed his feet from beneath the white bones. Even though he had been vigilant against possible dangers from the White Bone Pit, he didn’t expect the attack to come so suddenly.

The two hands had immense strength, and caught off guard, Shard fell backward into the white bones taking Old Lady Sianod with him. But after he fell, the hands that grabbed his feet vanished, and they did not receive any further attacks.

"Oh dear... Granny, how are you? Oh, thank you."

A hand stretched out beside him, and Shard grabbed it to pull himself up, only to find it was Miss Mister.

Old Lady Sianod had slid off his back to the side, and as Shard tried to help her up as well, he noticed the elderly elf was staring dazedly at the skeleton she had landed on.

That skeleton’s wrist wore a silver bracelet, and a crown of fresh flowers adorned its skull.

None of the other surrounding skeletons had these items, so Shard immediately understood the implication of this skeleton, and gained a new understanding of the sickening nature of the illusion:

"This..."

"Leah..."

Old Lady Sianod hugged the skeleton and began to cry again. Cursing the dishonor of this illusion in his heart, Shard held his head as the feeling of heatstroke caused slight dizziness, realizing they must return soon.

Seeing Old Lady Sianod unwilling to stand while holding the skeleton, Shard bent down to lift the skeleton and then carried the startled Old Lady Sianod on his back:

"If you think it’s real, then let’s take it back. Miss Mister, let’s keep moving forward. I refuse to believe we can’t get out of here."

"Okay, follow me closely."

The smiling lady walked ahead, and Shard, carrying the elven skeleton and the old elf, stepped on each of Miss Mister’s footprints forward. Indeed, no more hands reached out from underground to grab him.

"I actually admire you."

He continued speaking as he walked, also hoping to distract himself and stay awake:

"For the future of an entire clan, you came here alone. Your perseverance and kindness are admirable to me."

"Moon Creek..."

The rasping voice was cut off by Shard:

"Believe this is an illusion, and follow me back to the Temple. It’s okay, don’t overthink it... Granny, do you know any elven nursery rhymes? I’m so tired right now, could you sing one for me to lighten my spirits?"

Gasping for breath, he could no longer form complete sentences coherently. Old Lady Sianod, on his back, gazed at the skeleton Shard was holding, its skull resting on his shoulder, and then looked at the sweat dripping from his forehead:

"No problem."

Then an aged but gentle voice began to sing behind Shard, a tale of young elves playing with unicorns during summer afternoons, napping on the grass, and finally saying goodbye by the lake in the evening.

The song did not bring Shard any coolness, nor did it clear his mind. Instead, the lullaby induced hallucinations, and he kept seeing Emilia riding a little unicorn, hopping around in front of him.

So they continued forward, seemingly never reaching the end of the White Bone Pit, despite its apparent small size from above.

The nursery rhyme echoed within the pit, and as the heat muddled Shard realized, the piles of white bones seemed to grow higher. Yet, seeing Miss Mister walking ahead in a blur, he gritted his teeth and continued following.