High Above

The bright moon is hanging high, the lake is swaying, and the clear water reflects the moon and stars in the sky.

The white-haired boy stared at the silent man.

--curious.

Others may think this term is nonsense and confusing, and may even think that Ian, who dissects people for this reason, is very scary.

But the old knight knew that this was a legitimate reason.

Especially for him, for all sublimates who practice the power of 'true form' and 'bloodline', being curious about their own body structure can even be regarded as a bonus.

"Anatomy, I can understand." Nodding slightly, the old man continued to ask: "But why are you here?"

"Create such a bloody piece of meat at home?"

Ian shook his head and complained: "Is it obvious that I killed everyone? Not to mention the need for water to wash the knives and hands. After tossing like this, the smell of blood is so strong that the neighbors next door can smell it."

Without a pause, the old man asked again, "Is it a whim, or did you have a plan?"

Without hesitation, Ian said, "I have both. I only came up with this idea after I killed my uncle. After all, it's a waste to throw away such a big piece of meat. Why don't I study it?"

At this moment, the old knight is quite satisfied.

But he still raised his brows and asked the last question: "Even if the lake forest is safe, wouldn't you be afraid of attracting wild animals if you dissect it like this?"

He said meaningfully: "If I'm not here, help you drive away the beast... what will you do?"

"Yi Lai... also eat the offal first."

Looking sideways at the bloody corpse, Ian turned his head and smiled casually: "What's more, I'm not without means. It's not sure who eats who."

He still has sleeping powder in his arms, and the ordinary beast is just delivering food.

Even if a large pack of wolves or tigers and leopards came, at least it was enough for him to leave the corpse and run to a safe place by himself.

The old knight was silent.

At this moment, he has made a decision in his heart.

"Why do you dare to invite me?"

But the old man still lowered his eyes, and he said lightly: "Ian... Even if your psychic ability can really see that I have good intentions, with your intelligence, you can also know that if necessary, I will not worry about a child's life .”

"It's not a thank you, and it's not a win-win situation. When you saw me, you already planned to invite and fail in your heart—please tell me the reason behind this adventure."

And Ian raised his head silently.

He looked at the starry sky overhead.

The sky of the world of Terra is extremely dark compared to the earth. Except for a moon that is too bright, there are only a small area of ​​the entire sky with stars, and it is also very dim.

This is obviously not a normal starry sky. The secrets above the sky of Terra are just as puzzling as the secrets above the land of Terra.

Also...curious.

——Just like a question yearns for an answer, he yearns for it without reason, wants to know.

"Except for one uncle."

Lowering his head, Ian stared seriously at the face of the old knight. The boy explained his thoughts smoothly: "I still need a guardian, a teacher who can tell me more knowledge."

"Although my uncle is a scumbag, without him, no one can teach me words and other knowledge in this world. Besides, there are no adults in the family, so it is very troublesome in Port Harrison."

"Indeed." The old knight nodded and agreed, "It's bad if there are only children in the family."

The customs of the empire are like this. After the parents of a child in the border area die, the inheritance of the family will be taken away and the fields will be distributed. Even the child itself is property, and no one knows the future fate.

"You can replace him——from the first moment I saw it, I knew that this was my best chance, and it was also a chance that could change my future life."

"An opportunity to gain more knowledge."

Ian smiled at the serious old man. He had already found a suitable area and started digging and shoveling: "And this requires your consent."

Originally, the boy planned to bury his uncle, but because of an accident, he needed to bury an extra native and a forest leopard, which not only doubled the workload.

However, just when Ian had just dug a few shovels, a hand stretched out and took the shovel from Ian's hand.

The frowning old knight motioned for Ian to stand aside, and then he started, fluently showing how to use a farm shovel to dig the soil - that movement is obviously more skillful than the boy who has never used a farm shovel in his previous life. It is obvious that he is proficient in agricultural chores.

After five or six minutes of demonstration, the old knight had already begun to take shape of the pit.

Afterwards, he handed the shovel back to Ian, and Ian took over the shovel smoothly, imitating the old knight's previous actions and continuing to dig the hole.

"In the empire, there are very few children like you who want to read and write...they don't even know the meaning of knowledge."

Observing Ian's movements, and opening his mouth to point out the boy's strength skills and correcting unqualified movements, the old knight said in a deep voice: "Even the children of nobles and bachelors are the same, they regard knowledge as boring and worthless , Compared with studying and learning to write their own names, they want to practice martial arts, make contributions, and become a member of the empire's government."

—even so, they do not allow the dissemination and diffusion of knowledge. He meditated in his heart.

"Understanding a civilization begins with words."

The pit was big enough to hold several corpses. The boy pushed the corpses of his uncle, aborigines and Lin Bao into it, and then shoveled soil to bury these guys who intended to kill him: "Only by learning to read and write can you truly understand a civilization. A world."

Panting tiredly, Ian said lightly: "Similarly, they are also needed on the journey of exploring the unknown, whether it is interpretation or recording, recollection or development."

"Your name? My teacher, if you agree, my exploration of the future must start from the knowledge you imparted."

He raised his head and looked at the man, and the old man looked at the pair of light blue eyes again.

He heard the childish and clear voice: "I want to know."

--curiosity.

The knight stared at the light in Ian's eyes.

Pure curiosity about what to know, what to explore, what to go to a distant place, to explain the unknown.

This is a child with endless possibilities.

Or in other words, human beings.

He may become an adventurer who slays evil beasts, buries monsters, and walks in the wilderness; he may also become an explorer who travels across thousands of mountains and rivers and travels throughout the continent of Terra.

He may study the mysteries of psionic energy, and explore the truth of the world left in the dust for mankind; he may also dig out the source of human genes, and analyze and find out the divine power bestowed on all beings by the civilization of the previous era.

You may become a hero, you may become an explorer, or you may become a pioneer of a generation... more likely to be unknown, just an ignorant child on the frontier, with the blood of your relatives on your hands, and the future is uncertain.

Even worse. Be a crazy monster driven solely by your own curiosity.

And all of these futures and possibilities depend on your own choices.

Just like what my own king entrusted to me fifty years ago.

【—— Hilliard, my knight... take 'it' away, the farther the better, leave the imperial capital, leave the Quinnor Plain]

【——After everything is over, you can use it yourself, or hand it over to anyone, it doesn’t matter if you bury it... As long as those rebels don’t get it, there is hope for the future】

【—Human beings... still have the hope of returning to the starry sky】

hope……

curiosity……

And, the courage to choose.

"My name is Hilliard. Hilliard Lessie."

Master, knight.

The tired man raised his head, his gray-brown eyes met the blue ones.

Hilliard looked at Ian seriously, and answered his student's question: "Don't worry. After all this is over, I will teach you whatever you want to learn."

"Thanks!"

So he saw that the boy was smiling happily, and Ian didn't hide his expression at all. He smiled when he wanted to, because he was really happy.

A golden halo reflected in the boy's eyes, a color only Ian could see.

The wind blows across the land by the lake, causing the waves to roll, reflecting the trivial and dim stars.

The hot wind of hot summer is still surging among the forests, and the brilliance above the sky dissipates one by one, just like the torch that lights up and then goes out suddenly on the earth.

Raising his head, Hilliard saw only the dark sky and bright moon in his sight. Although there were no dark clouds, the dark shadows were still covering the stars, depriving human beings of the things that represent eternity and the distance.

In the year 766 of Terra, most of the stars that can be observed in the star field of Terra were covered. Except for the sun, the moon and the few remaining planets, when humans looked up at the sky, they could only see darkness.

Fourteen great star warlocks from the Star Observatory of the Capital of Learning committed suicide by jumping off the Yunjing Sky Tower; The Fang forces stood still at the border, and the undercurrent was surging.

The Huaiguang Church's exploration team returned from the Endless Ocean and the New World, bringing ominous signs, while the farmers in the Quinol Plains complained about the lack of rainfall, and the sea descendants of Whale Song Cliff were waking up from their dreams, looking into the depths of the deep sea , full of vigilance and fear.

The fishermen in the frontier celebrated a bumper harvest, and the old Khan of the Royal Court of Heaven began to hold a birthday banquet for his 90th birthday.

The sorrows and joys of everyone in the world are not connected, and the Prisoner Star Prison has already taken shape.

The channel for human beings to return to the sky is gradually being blocked, but no one knows it.

But there are still people who look to the stars.

"I don't know if that's right."

Help Ian shovel the soil and bury the body. Hilliard closed his eyes.

But those eyes reflected in his mind, the flame burning in Ian's water-colored pupils is not just the brilliance of spiritual energy, but a curiosity that is more dazzling than the sun, a desire that is more dazzling than anything else, and is more dangerous .

Just like him in the past, and His Majesty in the past...

That is, the light of hope.

[If he meets the conditions, then I will hand over all my knowledge and the key to the future to him]

"If I do something wrong, I won't say I'm sorry." Only Xingkong could hear his words.

...

Port Harrison, next to Ian's house.

The moist and warm night wind blows through the street, and the ever-burning lights at the intersection shake slightly, making the light of firefly oil in the lights uncertain.

A small figure emerged from the shadow of the house, and walked out from the cover of vegetation. He had an obsidian knife on his waist, and there were dark lines on his dark brown skin, faintly shining with a strange luster.

And there are a few blurred figures following him.

Before they came to the door of Ian's house, there was no sound.

The door was opened, and the figures stepped into it.