OBS Chapter 3831 Iluna's Third Ring
Chapter 3831 Iluna's Third Ring
Chapter 3831 Iluna's Third Ring
Luvia didn't publicize the New Year's gift Shad gave her, fearing other girls would say he was biased. As for what she left behind on the Pilgrim's Path, Luvia remained vague afterward, only saying, "Everyone has their own treasure."
But seeing this card now, Iluna knew perfectly well that it was something Luvia had left behind. Even knowing it was something Luvia had discarded, holding the card still gave Iluna a feeling of having stolen something.
However, Iluna wasn't the type to dwell on such things. Since she lost the leaf, whatever she found was hers. Now that she had this card...
She suppressed a laugh as she looked at the item in her hand, thinking to herself that the gift from Shad was truly unique. She wasn't jealous of Luvia, but she was worried that it might be inappropriate for Luvia to see the card after she put it away.
Don't forget, the war isn't over yet.
The voice in her ear reminded her, and Iluna, of course, knew:
"Anyway, I haven't fully recovered yet. Judging from the bell sound just now, I don't know if it was Shad or Luvia's backup plan. I might as well rest for a while before going over."
She thought to herself that although Iluna rarely made plans for major operations on her own among the original three, the eighteen-year-old girl was actually a very thoughtful person.
Holding that card and looking at the treasures scattered along the silvery mountain ridge, even Iluna, who was used to seeing top-tier relics and artifacts, couldn't help but imagine how generations of prophets who followed the trail of the god of fate to this place would feel upon reaching the summit and seeing this scene.
"Would someone be greedy enough to take a lot of things?"
Then Luvia's original description came back to mind.
What matters is not what you gain, but what you lose.
She looked down at the leaf Shad had given her, which she had discarded, then at the card in her hand. For some reason, strange thoughts began to stir within her:
“I threw away the gift that Shad gave me, but picked up the gift that Shad gave to someone else.”
The more Iluna pondered the matter, the more she felt she had done wrong. Ignoring the dim yellow light overhead and the sandstorm blowing from afar, the eighteen-year-old girl's regret quickly manifested in an unpleasant expression.
"Honestly, how could I do such a thing? I already had a gift, why would I take Luvia's? Especially since it was something Luvia didn't want!"
She complained to herself. Iluna was never the type to hesitate. Once she understood this, she immediately dropped the card and bent down to pick up her leaf again.
But the leaf seemed to have merged with the snow, and no matter how hard Iluna tried, she couldn't get it back into her hand. So, in a fit of anger, the girl summoned flames to try and melt the snowflakes beneath the leaf.
But as soon as she lit the fire, Iluna, who was bending over, felt dizzy and then stumbled and fell on the ridge.
Unfortunately, the ridge wasn't entirely flat, so Iluna slid down the leeward slope. Luckily, she only slid a few hundred meters before stopping. After stopping and looking up, she was astonished to see an archway standing on the snow slope.
There was definitely no archway when she slid down, so Iluna realized that this was the scene she should see when she reached the end of the "Path of the Pilgrims".
But at that moment, she was still thinking about her leaves, and didn't care about the archway at all. She walked quickly down the snow slope and passed directly through the archway, not caring at all about what it felt like to walk through it.
Afterwards, Iluna tried to find the place where she had dropped the leaf, but even in the dim light of the day, she couldn't find the emerald green "Leaf of Immortality," and even the card from before had disappeared.
Just as I was getting anxious, a voice came from behind me:
"What are you looking for?"
Iluna immediately turned around, only to find a stranger standing not far behind her. The person was wearing a black windproof robe and carrying a hiking stick, and also looked like a pilgrim who had come here.
However, the hood of the robe concealed her face, and the robe was quite large, so Iluna couldn't tell who it was.
Of course, she knew very well that no one should be here at this time:
"I'm looking for..."
Before she could finish speaking, the stranger extended his empty right hand, holding a card in it:
Is this the card you're looking for?
Iluna looked at the other person's hand suspiciously, sensing that it was a girl's hand:
"Of course not, this isn't mine."
"So, is this the ring you're looking for?"
After putting away the cards, the stranger had another white ring in his hand. The moment Iluna saw that ring, she felt her heart race.
However, she still shook her head:
"This isn't it either, this isn't mine. I'm looking for a green leaf."
The stranger, wearing a burqa, said:
"Since that's the case, I didn't see any leaves, so I can't give you any of these things."
Iluna then said reproachfully:
"According to the story's plot, shouldn't I get all of these as a reward for my honesty?"
Winnie pulled down her hood and said with a smile:
"If I really don't give it to you, are you going to try and take it from me?"
As she spoke, she handed the "Leaf of Immortality" to Iluna, who immediately put it away and then asked:
"Winnie, what are you doing here, and why are you dressed like that?"
The ice maid transformed herself back into her crystalline form from her human state:
"Ms. White relinquished almost all of her power, temporarily entrusting it to me to protect the snow mountain, and so I took over other duties. In fact, besides guarding the seal, she also had the responsibility of waiting here for the pilgrims."
Did you know that besides Kamiizumi, this pilgrimage route also offers candidates an opportunity to gather the Ring of Destiny? If someone successfully gathers their destiny here, Ms. White will awaken—that's the normal procedure.
Iluna looked on with a sigh, and the ice maid continued to explain:
"It's a pity that Miss Annette gave up her candidacy here, and Miss Larson at that time was not qualified to assemble destiny."
Later, although the prophet Zarathustra arrived at this place, he was guided by Shad and thus almost missed it. The other three, distracted by other matters, such as searching for the Apostle of Desire, being pursued by the Church, or hiding and afraid to come out, were completely unable to find this place.
That's why Ms. White was only awakened when fate struck. Now that you're qualified and understand the meaning of giving up and gaining, I'm temporarily here in Ms. White's place.
Iluna winked:
"But I'm not a candidate."
Winnie joked:
"But in Shad's eyes, you are the most dazzling one on the stage, aren't you?"
As she spoke, she flicked her cane, which transformed into a white halo, and handed over both the halo and the "command card." Then, she asked very seriously:
“Miss Iluna Bayas, what have you learned here?”
Iluna then replied:
"To answer in the way of fortune tellers—after traveling so far, I realize that what I have is the best. Fate is unpredictable and ever-changing, and getting here is enough. In my own words—I have already gotten what I wanted, and being too greedy is not good."
As she spoke, she took the two items. The cards were obvious, but the ring surprised her.
"A blank ring?"
This is not a "blank fate," but rather that this circle does not represent any fate; Iluna clearly feels that it is empty.
Winnie nodded:
"It was originally intended to be given to the first candidate to arrive here as a reward for this act, since this act is the most special and everyone has a chance to get the highest score. But the first one to arrive was Luvia. Now that the battle of fate has come to an end, Ms. White originally planned to give it to Shad after the card game in Act 7, but the sudden appearance of the snake disrupted her plans, so it belongs to you."
Winnie then added:
"At this moment, you can give it a destiny that suits your heart, according to your own thoughts. Even if the third ring you resonate with is [Hero], that destiny has not yet taken shape in the sword, so you can choose other destinies for yourself."
After she finished speaking, she stopped talking and gestured for Iluna to decide for herself.
The eighteen-year-old girl stared blankly at the empty ring in her hand, lost in thought. Suddenly, she remembered the secret words that "what if" had given her to save Shad—fire, power, resurrection, cards, and love.
The flame refers to the completeness of the First Flame, the power refers to Iluna breaking through the shackles of the thirteen rings, the resurrection refers to the resurrection of the World Tree, the cards refer to the thirteen cards of the Myriad Manifestations, and the love refers to making Shad fall in love with her.
Iluna has made many preparations to fulfill these requirements, but "what if" also said that these five are only the five most important ones, and even if they are fulfilled, it may not necessarily save Shad.
At that moment, Iluna realized what she truly wanted: to save the world was Shad's job, and Iluna Bea's only thought was to save Shad. She couldn't let the one who saved the world end up in the most tragic situation.
Holding the command card in her left hand, she stood on the ridge facing the mountains and raised it high:
"Shad, I want you to live, to be able to..."
I originally wanted to say "always be with us," but the words that came out were:
"I want you to live happily forever."
The card emitted a faint glow, and Iluna gently tapped the blank ring with the edge of the card. The card then disintegrated into a cluster of light fragments, which adhered to the white ring.
The ring was then stained with a color, a silvery moonlight hue as pure as the moonlight of Shad.
At the end of the Pilgrim's Path, she relinquished the title of "Hero" and gained "Happiness." The fate of "Happiness" resonated with Iluna. Lacking the powerful active abilities that come with the title of "Hero," the nature of this circle simply brings happiness to Iluna and those she loves, and that is enough for her.
(End of this chapter)