Chapter 2279: Bones, Maiden, and Flower Crown

Chapter 2279: Chapter 2279: Bones, Maiden, and Flower Crown

The increasingly high white bones eventually seemed to stand upright on both sides as towering white bone walls.

In the sweltering summer heat, Shard felt as if he had unconsciously walked into the narrow path flanked by those towering white bone walls. Shadows emerged, yet the heat remained unchanged.

Everything before his eyes was becoming blurry. Hands extended from the white bone walls trying to grasp him, but Shard shook them off. As they reached for Old Lady Sianod behind him, Shard shouted and swung the just-summoned [Sunlight Greatsword] wildly, shattering them.

Holding a skeleton with one hand and swinging the greatsword with the other, Miss Mister’s figure unknowingly vanished from sight ahead. Despite being exhausted, thirsty, and hot, Shard mechanically continued walking within the encircling bones, only occasionally wondering, "With so many undead around, why isn’t it cooler?"

He traversed the white bone high walls, crossed the terrifying temple made of bones, and stepped through the courtyard and treehouses of the elves made from bones—within these white bones lay everything that existed in Old Lady Sianod’s memory of her homeland.

But everything here was made of white bone, with not a living soul in sight.

With one hand hugging the elf skeleton, Shard felt increasingly fatigued, yet the heat his body felt only made the glow from the Sunlight Greatsword grow stronger. He knew he was likely fighting wits with air, but it didn’t matter. He was too hot to think.

Miss Mister had completely vanished, and Shard didn’t know how he ended up climbing the hill made of bones before striking down the charging bone-formed giant elf. He continued toward the mouth of the giant’s skull, sensing a long road ahead.

Suddenly, he felt Old Lady Sianod on his back grow heavier. Upon turning his head, he astonishingly found Old Lady Sianod’s head had turned into bone, with only grayish-white hair and some patches of flesh still attached:

"Why does the body turn heavier after turning into bone?"

Shard thought, his consciousness becoming unclear, then continued forward. After the transformation of Old Lady Sianod into bone, the obstructive bones diminished significantly. The [Sunlight Greatsword] needed no longer be swung by Shard; it had nearly transformed into a blazing torch within this world of golden gravel and white bone, as battles became sporadic until Shard no longer needed to swing his sword:

"If I keep going, will I inadvertently comprehend the [Sun] Spirit Rune myself?"

But clearly, no such good fortune awaited; even the deepest pit must have an end. When Shard saw the young elf girl standing ahead in his sight, he finally knew he was nearing his destination.

"Huff~ Huff~"

Every step felt like his legs were filled with lead, and the bones of Old Lady Sianod on his back finally moved:

"Leah..."

The barefooted elf girl smiled warmly at the edge of the sandpit, greeting both of them. She gently embraced the now water-thirsty Shard and then attempted to take down the bones from his back:

"You’ve worked hard. Let me take care of mother from here."

"No way."

Though dizzy, Shard was not foolish:

"We need to return to the Sun Temple. You’re not real; I can’t leave grandmother with you. Can you let us pass? I know you’re not real, please don’t waste time. Otherwise, next time I’ll have a cat bite you."

The elf girl’s smile remained unchanged:

"Neither you nor I have the right to make choices for mother."

She then turned to look at the bones on Shard’s back:

"Mother, you have been so adamant about finding a way for the clan, but now that the clan is no more, you can put down your responsibility."

She gently patted the old elf’s scapula:

"Stay with us, mother. There’s no need to move forward anymore."

Shard, however, spoke:

"Grandmother, you’ve come so far with such determination; why not continue on? Be it real or fake, only by completing the journey ahead can we know the truth. You’re not one to give up midway, and your persistence won’t let you linger here.

Even knowing the outcome might not be good, will you give up before actually seeing the results?"

The flower-crowned elf girl glanced at Shard, mockingly:

"This man is surely glib, but my mother, I’m here, we’re all here, everyone from the Moon Creek Clan is here. Do you really wish to leave us?"

Shard sensed the bones on his back seemed like they wanted to get down, so, eager to return as soon as possible, he said:

"Moon Creek Clan... Seems like someone is missing here. Actually, I wanted to tell you earlier but you wouldn’t listen."

He dropped the Sunlight Greatsword and reached aside with his left hand, where radiant starlight appeared beneath the sunshine, and an illusionary bookshelf appeared more transparent than usual.

Shard then grabbed a semi-transparent book tinted with starlight from the shelf. Upon opening it, the faces of Emilia and the Little Unicorn peering from a train window last Sunday morning appeared within the pages.

The elf girl and Old Lady Sianod both looked at the book, while Shard confidently said:

"This is also a girl from the Moon Creek Clan, a High Elf, supposedly qualified to become a priest or something... I don’t really get it. But anyway, not all of the Moon Creek Elves are here."

"You lie! Who is this? Why have I never seen her?"

The Elf Girl retorted, Shard originally did not want to speak:

"Emilia Xenode, an elf living in the future, grew up in Saint Byrons, yes, the surname is Xenode. Grandma, you know I have the Tree Father’s blessing, in the name of the Tree Father, I won’t lie."

The skeleton of the elf behind became light again, and the flesh on that skeleton seemed to flow back in time, being refilled:

"She is also called Xenode?"

The Old Elf confirmed, and the quickly heated Shard nodded affirmatively:

"Yes, she said her mother, grandmother, grandmother’s mother, and so on, all hold this surname... It dawned on me that the Moon Creek Clan is, in fact, a matriarchal clan."

The body of the elderly man, now restored to normal, watched the book in Shard’s hand, and then turned to his own daughter before him:

"See, this is the descendant of the clan, truly beautiful, just like you were when you were young."

The Elf Girl shook her head helplessly:

"It just appears silly, like someone who might easily be deceived by this man."

Finish speaking, she gave Shard an inexplicable glare, then shook her head, and the flesh dispersed into golden sand and vanished.

Shard said no more, carrying the Old Elf and the skeleton in his arms, continued to climb the dune with effort.

When he finally reached the top of the dune, Miss Mister, who vanished earlier, was already there waiting for them. The woman with brown skin even kindly pulled Shard up, preventing him from falling back into the sand pit.

The three of them took several more steps forward, and seemingly in the next moment, the Sun Temple appeared before them, Miss Nate and Miss Sander were anxiously waving at the door awaiting their return from the journey.

Turning back to look behind Shard, behind him lay rolling golden sands, no deep pit in sight, nor any glaring white bones upon the scorching golden sand surface.

He looked again at the skeleton he carried, only to see sand continuously falling from his clothes and palms. Some of the golden sand even seeped directly into Shard’s skin, and he heard "her" indication:

[Outlander, your sorcery "Fossil to Mud" has been enhanced, you can now transform rock into mud and sand.]

When the sand dust dissipates, what remains is only the flower crown woven with blooms.

Shard placed the flower crown atop the head of Old Lady Sianod he carried, the latter already half-asleep with her eyes squinted.

"Is this the first illusion?"

"Yes."

Miss Mister laughingly replied:

"It is also a trial for Xenode; she passed, now she has the qualification to continue searching for the Heart of the Oasis."

"Is this a trial for her or for me? Grandma was merely carried by me the whole way!"

The smile on Miss Mister’s face grew brighter, and the two quickly walked forward, the temple growing closer, and then—

"Oh~"

Once entering the temple’s cool interior, Shard breathed a sigh of relief, feeling this was the happiest thing. Leaving the sweltering environment, his skin stuck with sweat still felt a bit uncomfortable.

Miss Sander helped Old Lady Sianod behind Shard to sit down, while Shard restrained the impulse to lie flat on the floor and barely sat down, Miss Nate handed over a cloth for Shard to wipe his sweat.

The two girls left to guard did not immediately ask what happened earlier, but nervously checked Old Lady Sianod’s current condition instead.

Shard was not very worried, though Old Lady Sianod had fainted, it was but due to extreme emotional flux, she would soon recover, for she was indeed a Thirteenth Rank Witch.

Miss Mister had also sat down nearby on a bench, and smiled as she thanked Miss Nate while receiving the water bottle.

Shard placed the towel for wiping sweat beside him, and also took the water bottle, gulping it down in one breath, feeling the heat within him dissipate somewhat.

His shirt was completely soaked, intending to change when he returned home. Miss Nate standing beside asked what else Shard might need, Shard shook his head:

"Not needed for now."

As a common person, Miss Nate could not make much of a contribution, thus she consciously took on these chores that didn’t require witches. This was also the survival method for ordinary people in this era.

Putting the empty water bottle aside, feeling himself recovered somewhat, Shard thought and then spoke:

"Help me tidy up some supplies, I have some provisions here, you might need these."

Before departure, he took out food and water, initially unfamiliar, it wasn’t suitable to take out clothing for changing aside from that.