The Law of the Silent Gentleman

The hall was once again plunged into darkness. The cry of a woman came from the void, and the mournful whimper lingered between the pillars and dome of the temple, and echoed on the walkways and corridors. A light blue shadow glowing with faint light appeared in the hall, and her words were entwined with tears, almost inaudible.

"Why is this...Darian, how can I help you? I have been witnessing your plight all these years, but I can't help you, what should I do!"

She sighed helplessly. Antoine shrank to Giuliano's side, tugged at his sleeve and whispered: "It's really a ghost! Amandina's ghost! Damn it!"

A voice came: "An-Dumana, mortal woman, why are you weeping?"

Amandina's ghost stopped crying and followed the sound to look around. The voice said again, "Here, mortal woman."

The ghost came to her own coffin, and the ghostly light from her body illuminated the statue of herself, making its upright and beautiful features ghastly, almost unlike herself. "Are you talking? Are you my statue? How can you talk?"

The statue spoke: "I am indeed your statue now, but not so long ago—for us only a brief time—I was something else extraordinary."

Amandina covered her mouth to hide a cry of surprise. "Idol gods of ancient alien races! Do you really exist?"

"We have been mobilizing divine power to protect your body before, and now we open our mouths to talk to you, why do you still think we don't exist?"

"Forgive me, alien god. I was so surprised. I thought you would punish me for destroying your idol for my sake."

"It's not your fault, don't worry about it. My mortal, we have heard you crying day and night all these years. Why are you sad? You are dead, who can hurt you?"

"I weep not for myself, but for my friend. He lives in terror, and I can't help him."

"So, assuming—let's assume—that you're still alive, and have the same power as before, how are you going to help him?"

Amandina thought for a while: "Darian is afraid of Reshtani, and afraid of being manipulated by her after death. If possible, I will hide Darion in a place where no one can find it, even Resh Taney can't find it either, so she can't manipulate Darion. But I'm dead and there's nothing I can do for him."

"I admire your will, mortal woman. Since you have expectations and we have needs, why not make a contract between us?"

"What contract?"

"I am Moriya, the immortal god, in charge of all things that live forever. I can resurrect you and give you eternal life and great power, so that you can help your friends."

"But I think there must be a price to pay."

"Of course. We make your dreams come true, and you have to make our wishes come true. After you are resurrected, you must act according to my will and help us accomplish our great cause."

"Your great cause?"

"We were once worshiped by all the creatures of Fagus and held supreme status, but the dragons destroyed the homeland of our family and forced them to embark on the road of exile. The dragons destroyed our vision, and we must take revenge. Our wish is to bring The dragons will be expelled from this world forever! When all the dragons are expelled, your friends will naturally be free, and you will no longer have to worry about being controlled by the white dragon Reshtani. It can be described as a win-win outcome!"

"Your proposal is indeed very good, but..."

"Fantasy, what are you hesitating for?"

"I want to keep guarding Darion's tomb, so that even if Rashtani approaches, I can move the tomb to another place immediately without worrying about being found by him. But if I do what you want, I must leave him , I'm afraid Rishthani will take advantage of that time..."

"Don't worry. We will arrange proper work for you and won't let you leave him for too long. When you don't need to be on duty, you can stay in his tomb. We will also use our divine power to serve You look for the desired location."

"That would be great! I am willing to accept the contract!"

"Mortal girl, you have to think carefully. Once the contract is established, it will never be lifted unless the earth falls, the universe collapses, and the gods collapse. Therefore, even if we achieve our vision and your Darion regains freedom, you cannot Meet him again, because he will be blessed in heaven, and you can only wander on earth. We have had many messengers in the past, who at first accepted the call with joy, and then gradually grew tired of it, and some even turned their backs on the oracle and fell into evil ways. Mortal girl, have you thought it through? Do you really want to give up your freedom and become an immortal envoy?"

"I've thought it through. Even if it's an eternal curse, I'm willing to accept it."

Amandina's shimmering ghost vanished. The hall fell into darkness. However, it didn't take long for the alchemy lamp above the coffin to light up automatically. It can sense the approach of people, automatically turn on and off, and now there is no living person around, but it turns on by itself.

This means that either the light ball is malfunctioning, or there are people nearby who can be sensed by it.

Inside the white sarcophagus, the witch of the lake, Amandina, opened her eyes.

"After Darion died, people built a magnificent royal tomb for him. I sneaked into it, stole his remains, and put them in this coffin of mine. Then I put the entire temple—or mausoleum— Moved to another place to make sure that Rishthani could not find it. Over the nine hundred years, I moved the mausoleum several times, and changed to this small island about a hundred years ago. Only some pirates cruising around knew about this island, They guarded the supply port's secret, and did not reveal its location."

Giuliano and others came back to their senses and found that the interior of the mausoleum had become what they were familiar with. Darion's broken sword rests on the lid, and the resurrected witch stands behind them. She walked up to Barsano and stroked his cheek. The pirate stiffened, unable to avoid her touch.

"Eternal life is not a gift, but a deep curse. Are you willing to let your lover wander in the world for the rest of his life? Are you so selfish?"

Barsano didn't answer. But everyone could tell from his expression that he accepted the witch's statement.

"Go back, and take your guests with you. Bury the dead to rest in peace. According to the customs of sailors, a sea burial should be given, but I think you would rather leave a grave as a memory. Go west from where your ships are moored. , you will see a bay, and standing on the cliff there, you can witness the breathtaking sunset every day." The implication is that it is a good cemetery.

Barsano nodded, picked up Fernando's body and walked out of the temple. The others quickly carried the elf onto the stretcher and left with them.

"Wait a minute! I have something to say!" Antoine shouted, "Witch of the Lake, are you showing us the real scene? You are so powerful, will you make up false illusions for us to see? Even the walls Maybe you painted the murals on it yourself!"

"Believe it or not, it's all up to you. It may be all true, it may be all false, or part of it may be true, and the other part may be fabricated by me."

"Are you not afraid that we will reveal the location of the mausoleum?"

"Will you tell?" the witch asked back, "Will you tell others what happened today, so that Darion will be captured by the man he fears again?"

"But... why is Darion afraid of Rashtani? Isn't it good to be a heroic emperor blessed by God?"

"If I have to make an analogy...it's like people yearn for the love of their lover, but if the lover's desire to control is too strong and wants to control everything about you, and you have no chance to resist, then anyone will feel hatred and fear in their hearts. .”

Antoine bit his lip, "Dragon God can control humans, isn't it the same for Ancient God? How do you know that being controlled by Ancient God is better than being controlled by Dragon God?"

"There is a saying among our mystics: human beings are the only intelligent creatures that can gain true freedom. Although the ancient races have received the blessings of the gods, their fate is also dominated by them, just like being cared for by their parents. As for children who cannot be independent, the Dragon Clan firmly believes that there is an incomprehensible mysterious force in the universe, and has planned a path for every living being. But human beings are different from them. Although human beings are also bound by "destiny" and "gods" and other influences, but far less profound than other races, so humans have the opportunity to get rid of all shackles and move towards ultimate freedom. In this case, I think it is better to get rid of one of them first than to be oppressed by both at the same time."

"But you are willing to be enslaved by the ancient gods."

The witch turned her head sideways and looked at Broken Sword, with a look of doubt flashing through her pupils. "I can help Darion, that's enough. I have gained far more than I have lost."

"Antoine!" Giuliano's voice came from outside the temple, "What are you dawdling about! Come here!"

Antoine glanced back, as if he wanted to say something more, but finally swallowed his words, nodded curtly at the witch, and turned to catch up with his companions.

When they boarded the white crescent boat, Amandina raised her finger, and the temple gate was quietly closed. Most of the light bulbs were extinguished, except for the one above her head that was still on. She picked up the broken sword on the coffin lid, and stroked the frost-like lines on the blade. Those wonderful patterns glow under the white light, and they seem to flow as the angle changes.

"This sword has its breath... yes, it is it. I think so, this sword was lost on the battlefield after it was broken, who else would have the heart to pick it up. I almost thought it was attracted here, Fortunately not."

She stared at her own statue, "So the young man encountered it and accepted its gift. He is the chosen one of the new generation? And it lacks legendary material? I'm curious, this time it What kind of poetry will you write?"

Giuliano and his party returned to the beach where the boat was parked. The pirates were both surprised and happy to see them returning safely. Barsano ordered his men to take care of the elves, and took shovels, chisels and other things by himself, and prepared to find the place pointed by the witch. Giuliano volunteered to go with him. Barsano gave him an odd look, but didn't refuse.

The two carried Fernando's body westward along the coast, through the dense virgin jungle, and finally found the cliff pointed out by Amandina. It is facing the vast ocean, with a very wide view. The tide beats the coast day after day, making a calming sound of the waves, which can't help falling asleep just listening to it. It is indeed a place suitable for the rest of the dead.

They stopped and dug the grave until late in the evening when Fernando was finally buried. Because there was no suitable stone to make a tombstone, they picked up many stones and put them on the grave. Perhaps Barsano will erect a tombstone later. Having done these things, they sat before the grave and rested for a while. In addition to the ancient mausoleums, there is now a new tomb on the island, which can be described as an out-and-out "mausoleum island".

According to the customs of the Jord cities, relatives and friends attending the funeral should say a few words of their own, reminisce about the life of the deceased, and take turns presenting flowers. There were no suitable flowers for the funeral on the island, so Giuliano had to pick two random flowers in the jungle, one for Barsano, and one for him to put on the grave himself.

Barsano sat cross-legged all the time, turning the flower stem with his fingers: "Why did you do this? Don't you hate him?"

"Of course I hate him. He killed my whole family, so I don't hate him."

"If you hate him, you should destroy his grave and tear him into pieces instead of digging his grave."

"Well, if he betrayed our family for his own glory and wealth, I would congratulate him when he died. But he had to do it for your sake. Thinking about it this way, I don't think he is unforgivable."

"Then you shouldn't hate me?"

"You were not arrested voluntarily, so there's no reason to blame you." Giuliano glanced at him. "Of course, I think it's wrong to be a pirate. You should change your career to make a living."

Barsano smiled, not knowing whether he was laughing at his innocence or himself. He placed the flowers on the grave side by side with the one Giuliano offered. "It's too late to say anything now. It's a pity! If we met in other circumstances, or if there was no enmity between you and him, we might be able to become friends."

He stood up, wiped off the dirt on his body, and picked up the shovel: "Go back."

They returned the same way. Although the pirates were afraid of the witches on the island, they camped on the beach in order to collect supplies. It was already the hour of the rising stars when they arrived at the camp. There were several campfires burning in the camp, and the aroma of food and spirits wafted into Giuliano's nose along the wind from afar. Only then did he remember that he had been busy all day today and had hardly eaten anything, so his stomach could not help but growl.

He would have liked to join any group of pirates at random and share their food, but the ship's old doctor scrambled to get between Giuliano and the food as soon as they returned.

"Captain, you are back."

"What happened while I was away? Got a fight?"

"That's not true. Everyone is very quiet, much quieter than usual, even if there are conflicts, they don't dare to quarrel."

"Then why are you stopping me? I'm starving to death, if there's nothing serious, let me eat first!"

Giuliano gave the pirate chief a grateful look.

The old doctor wrote lightly: "Oh, it's nothing serious, it's just that the elf woke up."

Barsano glared at him.

The ship doctor lifted up his apron and wiped his hands, "Are you still in a hurry to eat now?"