The lazy but majestic voice echoed between heaven and earth. Hiding in the shadows, Modir could feel the unimaginable power of mortals from the voice, as well as some kind of … heaviness that came with the passage of time. However, the owner of the voice seemed to be a far more peaceful and friendly existence than Modir had imagined. At least … she was willing to talk about adventures with a person who seemed to be the 'other Modir' as if it was nothing more than a casual conversation.
This friendliness also made Modir braver. He recalled what the leader of the Dragons had said to him and thought about the possible identity of the lady … A god who had lost contact with the present world in ancient times, a 'righteous god'. Was she friendly? Perhaps she would not attack an intruder like him who accidentally came in, or perhaps she had already known of his existence. Was the voice that talked to her really the other him? Or … was this related to his lost memory?
All kinds of thoughts ran through the mind of the great adventurer. He was passionate about the unknown all his life, and now the largest 'unknown' he had ever come into contact with was right in front of him. The itch in his heart made him more and more restless. Finally, when the conversation by the throne sounded again, he made up his mind and began to carefully approach the throne under the cover of the surrounding buildings.
He did not forget to cast layer after layer of protection and aura concealment spells on himself. He did not forget to hide in the shadows to avoid any prying eyes from the sky. He did not forget to hide his aura so that he would lose his sense of 'existence' like dust on the roadside. However, at the same time, he also knew that if the person in front of him was really a god, all the protection he had done at the moment was actually just a joke.
"Mr. Great Adventurer, what are you thinking about now?" The dignified and languid voice sounded again. Then, the other Modir beside the throne answered, "I am thinking about how long I have been in this strange place with you … My perception of the passage of time has greatly weakened, but I guess it must have been a long time, at least not as short as a year and a half …"
"Ah, there is no point in thinking about this. This is the deepest part of the deep world, a folded dream, a divine kingdom that is misaligned with reality. In this place, the ripples from the present world are so weak that they almost have no effect on you and me. The same is true for the passage of time. Relax your nerves. It is rare that the disgusting intruder is quiet now. "
"Thank you for the reminder, but I am a mortal after all. I even feel that my memories of my early adventures are starting to blur," the other Modir said helplessly. "On these 'tacky topics,' I can't be as free and easy as a god like you. But then again, how long have you been sleeping here? Do you even know? Oh, I mean, relative to the time scale of the present world … "
"… Who knows? I am afraid that only those pioneers who have left this planet can study and understand such a profound question, "the languid and dignified voice said with a faint smile." No one can know how long they have been sleeping in a dream. It is the same for gods. "
In the shadows of the buildings, Modir's footsteps were getting faster and faster. The voice from beside the throne echoed clearly in his ears. But compared to the conversation, the voice in his heart was the real roar.
"Crazy … I am most likely crazy … This is not a normal danger. That is a god who has lived since ancient times. Modir, he can kill you with just one look! There's no need, there's really no need. Adventurous spirit isn't to blindly throw away one's life. Asking around in front of an ancient god, is that a death wish … That voice is indeed very similar to mine, but that's not a reason to risk one's life. In those ancient and strange ruins, I've seen many similar things … I need to be more cautious, more cautious. I really can't win … "
The self-warning and denial in his mind surged like a tide, and in the end, it even became an uncontrollable whisper in his throat. But Modir's footsteps did not stop at all. He finally noticed the abnormality. As he approached the straight boundary at the end of the street, the abnormality was becoming more and more obvious.
He was being attracted by a deadly force. That force came from the voice beside the throne, which was almost identical to his own. He could not help but have an impulse to go to the place where the voice was. Like a crazed believer who had lost control, he chased after a dangerous destiny.
He was aware of the danger. Experience — although he could no longer remember when exactly this experience was, experience told him that this "impulse" that came from his heart, but which he could not control or interfere with, was definitely strange and fatal. It was usually the result of spiritual pollution, or the temptation of evil spirits!!
But at this moment, the strong spiritual power that the legendary mage was so proud of was completely defeated for the first time. His mind was clear, but he could not control his footsteps that were getting faster and faster. In the end, he was no longer hiding in the shadows, but sprinting on the street in the direction of the throne.
In just a few moments, Modir had rushed to the end of the street. The boundary that seemed to have been cut by an invisible blade lay before his eyes, and beyond the boundary was the desolate desert and the towering throne shop in the distance. He seemed to have smelled the scent of 'that place', and … he found that he had already taken a step forward without hesitation, and was about to step into …
A roar suddenly rang in his mind. Modir felt the world spinning, and in the moment before he fell into eternal damnation, he felt an immeasurably powerful force coming from nowhere, forcibly 'dragging' him out of that fatal vortex. Then, he sensed the specific existence of that force, and felt that someone had grabbed his arm and completely awakened him from his slumber.
The old mage abruptly opened his eyes, and finally saw the familiar and colorful world. He also felt a gentle shake from his arm.
He looked up, a little stunned, and a smear of white came into view. A lady with long silver-white hair, wearing a white velvet dress and a snow fox shawl, with a cold and elegant expression was standing beside him. She had one hand on his shoulder — he was sure that he did not know this lady, but the way this lady looked at him clearly did not seem like a passing stranger.
Who is this? When did such an extraordinary lady appear in the adventurer's camp? She did not look like a vulgar adventurer.
Modir frowned. He could not help but take a second look at the pair of eyes that seemed to be filled with magical light and had a texture that seemed to be condensed into ice crystals. For some reason, he felt that those eyes gave him a strange sense of familiarity and intimacy. At the same time, he also noticed that there were other figures beside this lady: the black dragon girl who served as Helagol's messenger, and a young woman with long black hair whom he did not recognize.
He seemed to understand in an instant.
When she was being examined, Victoria Wilde's eyes also fell on the ordinary-looking old man in front of her. In fact, she had been standing there for a few minutes. When the Dragons girl named Coletta brought her here, the old mage was immersed in his sleep. Whether he was her ancestor or not, she did not rashly disturb him out of respect for her elders.
Until the old mage's aura suddenly fluctuated violently, and an obscure power seemed to be going out of control in his body, as if a nightmare was eroding his spiritual world. Victoria could not help but step forward and try to wake the old mage up. But as she did not know what was going on, all she did was to go forward and gently shake the old mage's arm while trying to use her magic to help him calm down the mental shock. Unexpectedly, such a simple method was surprisingly effective. The old man woke up almost immediately, and the various abnormalities in his body were quickly calmed down.
"We meet again, Mr. Modir." Just when Modir and Victoria looked at each other and did not know what to say, the black dragon girl named Coletta finally stepped forward and broke the awkwardness. "I've brought you a guest. It's a little sudden, but you should have guessed the identity of the guest."
"Wait a minute … Is this really …" Modir had already guessed it, but now that his guess was confirmed, he could not help but widen his eyes. His gaze swept over Victoria a few more times. "Is this really her?"
"You are Mr. Modir, the great adventurer who has traveled to all the known frontiers of the civilized world?" Victoria finally reacted. She took half a step back as if trying to adjust her expression to face the old man in front of her. But this was not her area of expertise. In the end, she still maintained a stiff expression and said the stiff opening words as if she was reciting them. After that, her expression did not change much, but Maggie, who was standing next to her, immediately knew that her good friend had fallen into great embarrassment and annoyance. Her eyes were shaking like never before.
She had messed up — the wise, wise, and elegant Duchess of the Northern Territory had messed up something extremely rare. She had messed up the first meeting with her ancestor. It was the first time in many years that she saw Victoria so helpless.
Maggie could finally imagine how Heidi and Rebecca had reacted when they saw Gawain Cecil standing up from his coffin in the family graveyard.
"Err … I don't know what you mean by the title or honor, but my name is Modir," the great adventurer said a little awkwardly. A strong sense of unreality shrouded him. He even felt that his dangerous and strange dream had extended to the real world. "What's your name?"
"… Victoria. You can call me Victoria, or just call me Vicki. This is my …" Victoria blurted out, but halfway through, she awkwardly stopped, as if she felt that she should not be so flustered in front of her ancestor whom she had just met for the first time.
Modir obviously did not think so much. He just followed the words that came to his mind and said, "Ah, Victoria, right? Miss … Victoria … Ah, no, I don't think I need to call you that. Then I'll just call you Victoria. You should know the Dragons' … intention of arranging this meeting, so you are really my … descendant? "
The old mage's thoughts seemed to have finally stabilized. He looked at Victoria seriously, and the latter took a deep breath almost at the same time. The Duchess forced herself to calm down. Then, she waved her hand, and a dozen layers of 'Mechanical Mind' and 'Icy Mind' effects covered her body. Her previously shaken state of mind instantly stabilized as if it had been frozen for thousands of miles.
The corner of Modir's eye suddenly twitched. Although the situation was still unreal, this style of doing things — casting a dozen layers of magic effects on oneself without saying anything — looked a little familiar …
"Mr. Modir." Victoria's mind had completely calmed down. Her eyes were like ice in the mountains of the Northern Border, and her words were calm and organized. "Now there are many clues that point to this relationship between us, but we need to prove whether this blood connection exists. Please forgive my rudeness, but I need your blood."
As she spoke, she quickly outlined a few pale blue runes in the air. At the same time, she took out a mithril device the size of a palm. The surface of the device was engraved with complex runes and grooves. The moment it was taken out, the runes floating in the air flew towards it and accurately filled in the missing key nodes on the surface of the device. The complex magic circle on the mithril device gradually lit up, and Modir instantly understood what 'Victoria' wanted to do.
"Well said." The old mage immediately nodded and took out an enchanted dagger from his waist. The sharp edge of the dagger cut his finger, and a few drops of blood floated out of thin air and accurately fell into the grooves on the surface of the mithril device. At the same time, Victoria also condensed a sharp icicle. The icicle pierced the tip of his finger, and the blood also floated towards the brightening runic circle.
As the blood seeped into the grooves coated with arcane material, the genetic factors in the cells were instantly deconstructed and reorganized, forming a stable information signature circuit in the precise vibrating magic field. This was one of the few ancient technologies from the Gondor era that could still be used to this day. Victoria flipped the mithril device over. On the other side of the device that was as smooth as a mirror, a few bright runes were shining.
At this moment, even the dozen layers of Mechanical Mind and Icy Mind almost failed to control her emotions.
"Uh … Miss, have you come to a conclusion?" Modir appeared to be a little nervous as well, although he himself did not know what he was nervous about. He craned his neck and watched Victoria's expression with concern (or rather, there was no change). "You should relax. After all, this is quite sudden, and I'm not mentally prepared. It's okay if it's not. Even if we can't acknowledge each other as family, we still have to …"
Victoria suddenly looked up, and the solemn look on her face made Modir swallow his words before he could finish.
"Ancestor …" In the next second, as Modir looked on in shock, the current Duchess of the Northern Territory bowed deeply and said with a solemn tone never seen before, "We have finally found you."
"Finally? Found? "Modir appeared a little stunned." You have been looking for me? "
"Yes." Victoria slowly looked up and said softly with a rather complicated tone, "We have really been looking … for many, many years."
(End of Chapter)
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