Whispering Verse

Chapter 2739 Reunion in the Snow

In the thick white fog, the tall "boatman" in black robes had stood up, walked to the bow of the boat in the back, and caught the frozen soul thrown by Shade who was still rowing in front.

The soul disappeared in the black fog around the god, and the god asked Shade:

"Now, do you understand the meaning of ferrying?"

Shade, with a cat on his shoulder, looked in the fog in the direction he came from:

"Please let me think about it. Send people to other places?"

The god said:

"In the most ancient times, the intelligent beings who had just walked on the world built cities by rivers and lakes. Since then, traveling by boat has been the most important means of transportation.

Ferrying means the process of reaching from one shore to another. It symbolizes the journey across the long wait. Overcoming physical and spiritual obstacles represents breakthrough and transcendence. "

The [Sin Chain] connecting the two boats disappeared silently without any operation by Shade. Shade's boat remained stationary, while the boat the god was riding slowly retreated:

"When you pick up the oar, remember where you are going. It may be lonely, and the journey may be long, but stranger, this boat can only be ferryed by you."

The figure of the god completely disappeared in the thick fog, but some golden light flew out of the fog and entered Shade's body.

[Stranger, you have received the blessing of the ferryman: rowing on the water, if there is a goal, you know the direction.]

[Artifact: Ferryman's oar, becomes a component of the old wooden boat you hold. 】

This saved Shad from thinking about how to pass this artifact to the Sixth Era. He looked down at the item in his hand, sighed, turned around and looked forward again:

"Just now, I thought they would give me the "ferry" spirit rune directly."

[Isn't that a bit too greedy? 】

"She" asked with a smile, and the cat also called out:

"Meow~"

He thought of Chloe again, so in the thick fog, the intermittent golden light points had already pointed out the direction he wanted to go.

(Luvia is fortune-telling.)

Fifth Era, Winter of 925 in the Common Calendar, Northern Continent, Falling Star Lake.

Even though the maids cleaned up in time, the heavy snow for several days still covered the camp by the lake with silver.

Snowflakes fell between tents, unicorn huts, chocobo huts, and temporary storage cabins. In the distance, towering snow-capped mountains stand on the horizon. The river flowing down from the top of the snow-capped mountains forms the Falling Star Lake on the silver-white snowfield surrounded by mountains.

Even though it is daytime now, clusters of bonfires are still burning in the camp. Maids in long skirts are busy walking around the bonfire. Although their witch emperor is on vacation and does not need to handle too many official duties, they still have a lot to do.

From the window of the unicorn hut, the pure white little beast sticks its head out, and its sky-blue eyes look at the figure on the shore of the Falling Star Lake in the distance. Chloe stands alone on the snow on the shore, with her hands behind her back, looking at the calm lake like a mirror.

"Falling Star Lake" is named after a meteorite that fell here a hundred years ago. Now the meteorite has been fished away, but the strange star still changes the nearby landforms and makes this large lake formed by the impact not freeze even in the winter of the northern continent.

Although the snowflakes were blown down from the sky above her head, no one could fall on her hair or shoulders. The long silver hair was not bound, just floating in the wind. The golden eyes were looking at the lake, expecting the person who made the promise to come soon.

Elegant, mysterious, noble, although not tall, anyone who saw Chloe Marcus Marquez for the first time would not deny this cold charm.

She was wearing a black dress that was somewhat out of tune with the snowy day, but there were still white lace decorations on the cuffs and hem. Although her eyes were looking at the lake, her heart had already drifted away with the wind.

The wind whistling on the snowfield was not loud, but at a certain moment it suddenly brought a man's singing.

Chloe had thought about how to welcome Shade's arrival countless times, but when the singing really came from the lake, she still forgot the carefully prepared words and actions, lifted the hem of her skirt and stepped on her high heels, and hurriedly stepped onto the water.

"The princess in the castle will not understand that the freedom to walk in the world is what we pursue."

"Meet the witch at the intersection full of lavender, where are you going to pick that handful of herbs."

"Hold the white snow on the top of the snow mountain and watch the sun in the depths of the desert."

"If you can meet us, dear girl~~"

"Please call our names softly and ask your doubts."

"In the flowers where lilies are blooming, or, in the west of the sunflowers."

"Please wear a beautiful skirt and hold the purple thyme."

"The people who love you and the people you love are all here, in this palace full of sunshine."

When the first line of lyrics appeared, the singing seemed to come from the top of a very distant snowy mountain. But when Chloe ran onto the water with her skirt lifted, the figure holding the boat had already appeared like a black dot in the distance of the Falling Star Lake in the snow.

The singing had become so clear that the girls in the camp also looked towards the lake. The boat was now sailing smoothly on the lake, and the figure of a cat holding an oar and standing on its shoulder was clearly visible at the stern.

It was a song that everyone could sing, but the witches felt so different when it was sung by a man. The little silver-haired figure had already come to the center of the lake with her skirt lifted. When Shade finished singing the last sentence, she pounced on Shade in the heavy snow.

So, with the cat's "meow~" cry, the girls in the camp saw their master hugging the man and falling on the boat. They smiled and retracted their sight, not daring to see what would happen next.

Because Shade was thrown down, the cat could only stand on the side of the boat and cried in dissatisfaction. Shade, lying on his back on the boat, looked at the falling snow like elves dancing under the blue sky, and smiled and hugged the silver-haired girl lying on his body.

[There are still eighteen minutes. 】

"The mission has been completed. Can I discuss with the tree father now? Extend the stay. I will not stay in this era to change the past. I just want to accompany her more."

The shadow of a big tree seemed to flash in the snowy sky, and Shade got "her" reply:

[Please wait]

[If you are willing to give up the miracle spirit rune-tree, you can stay for 6 more hours. 】

After just a moment of hesitation, Shade agreed. In order to rescue Fiona in the Evernight City, he took the initiative to give up the "night", but the night eventually became his power. Although the "Miracle-Tree" is equally precious, if it is to accompany Chloe, he is willing to pay such a price.

If he needs this power, it will be his sooner or later.

[Countdown: 6 hours, 17 minutes and 12 seconds. 】

Chloe didn't know about Shade's decision. She put her face against Shade's chest, feeling his body temperature and heartbeat:

"I knew you would come, Shade~ I knew you would keep your promise."

She struggled to sit up again, then let her body move forward, pressed down Shade who also wanted to sit up, and kissed him.

Golden eyes smiled at him, and the cold kiss still felt warm. She hugged him tightly in the heavy snow. Although she knew he would leave, at least she didn't want to be separated from him at this moment, and didn't want to wait for a long time.

"Chloe, you're a little too excited."

When the silver-haired witch finally let go of Shade, the stranger expressed his dissatisfaction a little:

"Can we go to the shore first? This boat is too small. Mia, what's that expression on your face? I didn't throw you off my shoulder."

Chloe still remembered this warm cat, and she hugged Shade's neck:

"No, right here. I know you can't stay for too long, so I don't want to waste a minute before you disappear again. Don't tell me how long you can stay, otherwise I will waste a lot of seconds thinking about how long you can stay with me."

"It's different this time, I can stay for six hours, so can we go to the shore?"

Chloe, who was pressing him, sat up with a surprised expression on her face:

"Six hours? What did you pay for?"

"It doesn't matter."

Shade combed her long silver hair with his hands. Chloe's long hair was very textured. This doesn't mean that it doesn't look like hair, but her long hair feels cold:

"Six hours is not a long time, Chloe, do you really want to waste time discussing this kind of problem? Moreover, if we don't move, I feel that Mia will be really angry."

"Meow~"

The cat's cry echoed on the calm lake, causing the snow bird that was originally preparing to land and rest to fly farther away.

Chloe's appearance in the Falling Star Lake was not accidental or because the scenery here was good, but because the time and space stability in the Falling Star Lake area was weak, and it was easier to achieve time and space communication in such a place.

At first, Chloe just wanted to come here to try out her new idea, but she didn't expect to really encounter a small boat drifting from the water and Shade on the boat.

Therefore, after Shade left last time, she called more maids to build this huge camp by the lake. In this way, even if she couldn't wait for Shade, she could arrange people to wait in the long years to come.

The camps are located on the north side of the lakeshore. Judging from the scale, it is probably more than enough to accommodate three or four hundred people. Most of the girls are wearing maid costumes. In the cold winter, the skirts only reach the knees. The calves are wrapped in white socks and black leather shoes.

They are at least of intermediate level, so they are not afraid of such a cold winter.

In addition to the maids, there are some relatively weak civilian staff in the camp. Although they are also witches, they can only handle some small clerical matters.

PS: This chapter is "Ice Witch Chloe".

There was a version of Chloe's illustration before, but I was not satisfied with it. Now I use this one more in line with the character's appearance and temperament.