Whispering Verse

The boat was silent as everyone was thinking about their own problems. Priest August suddenly raised his head and turned to look at the stern of the boat, at the depths of the water and the moon that was slowly falling into the water.

The old priest reminded in a hoarse voice:

"Look back now and miss those who have left. We can still see them. Let's try it."

The ship was moving forward, and Shade, Priest August, Iluna, and Sister Devlin all looked back.

The priest smiled and nodded gently to the young nun who was looking at him from a distance:

"You are still beautiful, but I am old."

Iluna raised her head and opened her mouth slightly, her eyes reflecting the light of the dark moon. Under the dark moon were the captain and teammates who were killed by the silver-eyed man and the tomb robber Hawthorne. These were her teammates from her training days at the Holy See, standing together and waving goodbye to her.

"I'm doing great now!"

There was no sadness on Iluna's face. She stood up and waved her right hand toward the depths of death.

Sister Devlin's silver eye mask reflected the moonlight, she folded her hands on her lap, and nodded slightly to show respect:

"I will continue to pass on the flame and mission you passed on to me."

Shade stared blankly at the soul standing on the water and Sparrow Hamilton under the moon.

The middle-aged detective, Carson Rick's ace spy Grey-Headed Eagle, is holding a cane in his right hand and pulling down the brim of his black deerstalker hat slightly with his left hand. He was not in the terrible state he was in before his death, but rather looked like an upper-class gentleman. He raised his head slightly, shook his head regretfully towards Shade under the moonlight, then turned around and continued walking towards the depths of the water.

Shade stared blankly at the figure there. Detective Sparrow passed by another soul with the same color, and the soul stopped and turned to look at Shade.

He has short withered hair, obvious signs of eyelids turning outwards, a thin figure, and wears a red glove on his right hand.

It's Ivan Darkness:

"I'll be waiting for you when this is all over."

His right eye showed a scarlet light, and then he turned around and walked towards Ming Yue.

Shade was in a trance for a while, suddenly stunned, thinking of something very important, and hurriedly called out softly in his heart:

"Shadow."

No soul looked back, and the outsider did not see the real, blind and foolish Shade.

He stared at the departing soul, and suddenly, like Iluna, he raised his hand and waved in the distance. Priest August put down his pipe and waved back with a regretful expression. Even Sister Devlin made the same gesture.

There was silence, and everyone saw the people who were missing them, but no one tried to take them away with them. Being able to see him again is enough. This is the difference between others and Joey Barton.

Cutting through the silver silk-like water surface, only the scale in Iluna's hand emitted a faint light. The surroundings were extremely quiet, but no matter what, the distance between the beach and the boat was always the same, and they seemed unable to return to the distant shore.

"What's wrong?"

Iluna noticed this first and asked softly.

Priest Augustus turned his head and looked at the front of the ship, having no idea about this. Sister Devlin also shook her head slightly. Joy Barton and the resurrected Miss Marilyn Handel didn't care about this at all. Shade moved from the position near the stern to the bow, standing on the ship looking at the weak bonfire on the beach in the distance.

After a little thought, the answer appeared naturally in my mind without even having to be reminded by "her":

"For our own selfish desires, we gave the dead a chance to resurrect. Although some people paid a price for it, it was a rule-breaking thing after all, so it couldn't be docked. Yes, I understand, there is still a final step needed."

Shade turned to look at Iluna:

"Judge, please judge them now to confirm whether this resurrection complies with the rules."

Iluna nodded hesitantly and stood up when Shade sat down, holding a dark golden scale.

Everyone looked at her, which made the seventeen-year-old girl a little uncomfortable, but she still looked at Joy Barton and Marilyn Handel and said in a clear voice:

"In the name of the Ancient God [The Hanging Judge], I will give you judgment."

The boat glides quietly, the pale golden light and the silver light of the dark moon are so quiet:

"Joy Barton, for your own desires and obsessions, you tried to break the balance of life and death. Assisting in the narrow space of life and death brought more deaths, disasters and victims to Fort Midhill, and may even lead to more disasters. A great disaster. Now, the old man has taken away your bones, the nun has burned your flesh, and the winner has taken away your soul, giving you the possibility of resurrecting the dead."

Iluna took a deep breath:

"Sacrificing your bones, throwing away your flesh, and abandoning your soul can only make up for some of your faults. From now on, you and this lady will walk in this world, carrying the curse of death. The Church of the Righteous God will be your enemy, Good people will hate your existence. Do more good deeds to make up for your mistakes; repent at all times and pray for those innocent souls. You bear the blood debt of Fort Midhill, and this will be a sin that haunts you throughout your life."

Joey Barton’s transparent soul lowered his head:

"I accept your judgment. I will be cursed and cast aside by all creatures before I come here again. I will do more good deeds to make up for all my mistakes."

"All things are mortal. What you ask for is a process, but it will not change the result. Instead, it will make you bear the curse of your life."

Mr. Barton paused:

"Yes, this is the meaning of my life. Since I can't grow normally and experience life in the order of living people, then this is okay. After reaching the end for the first time, I will carry the curse and experience the second period with her. Life, even if we come back eventually. But I still have her, and I still have a memory, and that’s what it means.”

"What's this lady's name?"

Iluna nodded and suddenly asked in a low voice. She didn't listen very carefully to Joey Barton's call from the water just now.

"Marilyn Hendel."

Shade reminded in a low voice, so Iluna coughed and said again:

"Marilyn Handel, the dead should not be resurrected. But someone paid for the bones, flesh and soul so that you could walk the world again. Therefore, you are burdened with the curse of death and haunted by a sinful soul. You will never be able to escape until you come here again. All mortals are mortal, and this is the price you pay for resurrection." Gu Hai

"I will be with him. He made a big mistake for me. It is my responsibility to walk the next road with him again."

She grabbed Mr. Button's soulful hand, and the two looked at each other, speechless.

Iluna shook her head slightly and said in a serious tone:

"You are a soul that bears the curse of death and sins, but you have also touched the transcendent. Your soul is different. Death is staring at you, lady. Go and redeem those souls wandering in the world, this is yours The path to atonement.”

"yes."

"I see."

The living and the dead said at the same time. At the same time, Shade saw a golden chain extending from the dark golden scales, tightly binding Joey Barton and Marilyn Handel together.

Priest August, Sister Devlin, and Iluna also saw:

"This is."

"Contract, from now on, they will be sinners who bear the sin of death, and they will redeem the souls that have not left in the world in exchange for the relief of the curse. This is what I, as the chosen one who has inherited the 'balance', given The result of their trial is that I actually still have such power?"

Iluna also seemed to have just found out.

Everyone's story seems to be exciting, and there will be many more stories to come about Joey Patton and the resurrected Marilyn Handel. But those stories probably have nothing to do with Shade. But maybe many years later, he will find them in their old age, who can never be separated, to listen to the story of their final death.

"Is this okay?"

Iluna asked Shade in a low voice. Before Shade had time to speak, he felt that the ship shook slightly as if it had hit something.

Everyone looked at the bow of the ship together, and before they knew it, they had reached the shore.

"I seem to understand something again."

Iluna patted her head:

"It's such a strange feeling. I can use more balanced power. It turns out that the chosen one uses this method to tap into the power of the chosen one."

"Miss Bayas, this was a fair trial and it really opened my eyes."

Priest August praised, and Iluna lowered her head in embarrassment and smiled.

A group of people came to the shore from the boat. Except for Shade, everyone returned to the Kiss of the Tree bonfire and sat by the fire. Shade looked at the double stone door. His time was very tight:

"The problem now is that the church's 'Scar of the Holy Tree' ritual has sealed three passages. How do we go back?"

he said with a frown.

Last time he used the "Door Key" to unlock the door, but this time there was a seal outside, and his condition was unable to compete with the door again:

"Priest, can you?"

"No, if we push the door open, it is equivalent to destroying the church's seal. But don't worry, when the resistance in the Hazama is over and the Hazama is temporarily stable again, we can force the door open again. Although that will also destroy the seal, But at least it won’t lead to irreversible consequences. It seems that we will be missing for a few days.”

The priest said, his face reddened by the firelight. The old priest was not very worried:

"If you are afraid that others will worry about you, my thaumaturgy [last words] can help you send some news to the outside world. Yes, it is just like me breaking into your dream."

"I have to get back to Fort Midhill now. There are things only I can do."

Shade held the red butterfly pendant that was broken into two pieces and looked at Sister Devlin, who shook her head slightly and then looked at Joy Barton. He didn't pay attention to Shade at all.

Shade thought for a moment and asked again:

"Priest, you mean that if we force the door from the inside to the outside, it will damage the ceremony, but what about opening the door from the outside?"

"No, no more losses on the three channels."

The priest hurriedly denied it, but Shade didn't mean it this way:

"I mean, what if someone, from outside Fort Midhill, opened the door to here?"

Priest Augustus was stunned and nodded slowly:

"That's no problem. After all, only the narrow rooms of Fort Midhill are problematic, and other areas are safe. However, apart from the three passages of Fort Midhill, is there any way to easily get here in the material world? Nope I said it”

"Of course, I heard a librarian mention this at the other end of time. Oh, priest, use your thaumaturgy quickly, I want to send last words to two people!"

Shade said with a smile, he was really relieved. He also sat back by the campfire and warmed himself up with a few other people. Iluna moved towards Shade carefully, looking happily at the flames in front of her.

"The original effect of thaumaturgy [last words] is to realize the wishes of the remaining souls, allowing them to safely enter the dreams of the people they miss, or to use water, mirrors, etc., to say their final goodbyes. We are all now It is as easy as dreaming for a dead person. However, it cannot be a dream in the Middle Hill area. Midhill Castle, now shrouded in a narrow space, cannot be regarded as a normal world."

"It doesn't matter. The people I want to give my last words to are all in Tobesk City. I hope I didn't disturb their night's rest. It's already very late."

Shade said, then looked at the other people around the campfire:

"There's still some time before someone comes to rescue us. Now let's collude, ahem, I mean discuss the details of what happened here tonight."

He took a long breath and looked at each person's face in the firelight:

"But the most important thing is the topic of the chosen ones after death. Resurrection after committing suicide in the narrow room can complete the ritual. Now everyone here is actively entering death, so the first candidate to leave here, It’s the real thing”

The firelight shines on the living people in death, and the light of the dark moon shines on the ground and water. The epic of the Sixth Age has once again entered an important juncture, and this time, Shade can finally take control of the situation by himself.