Ella cautiously approached the monstrous creature, seeking to collect its essence.Took out her sacred book and recited the words. "Chain of your memory and soul will belong to us. Return to the tower of God."A radiant essence enveloped her body, some of which flowed towards Eeon.Ella touched her own lips. She spoke softly, "Faye, the monster is already dead, but something strange is happening. The magic phenomenon is not functioning correctly."However, there was no response."Faye, can you hear me?" Ella called out."Yes, I can hear you," but the sound did not originate from the Link magic, but from Ella's own back.Faye approached slowly, her gaze fixed upon the massive python-like carcass before them. "Eeon, could you please remove the rocks surrounding its body?" Faye requested.Eeon, however, simply stared at the Red Witch and made no move."Eeon, do as Faye wishes," Ella commanded.Eeon stepped closer to the creature and pressed his hand against its body. Rumble! Causing the rocks and shell to crumble and disintegrate. A small cloud of dust floated in the air.Faye swept her hand, strong wind flew dust away.In front of the group, the creature resembled a snake, but with black scales covering its body. It was about a quarter the size of an Earth Python, standing at a towering two meters. Its body had many wounds."Is this the real body of an Earth Python?" Ella inquired, taking a cautious step back, fearing that something might crawl out or that its skin might be poisonous."No, it's not an Earth Python," Faye replied. "It's a neighboring species called the Obsidian Python. Its scales are incredibly sturdy and can craft powerful weapons and shields." Faye approached the monster and gave it a firm knock with the back of her hand.Clank! Clank! Sound resonated like metal."Ah, that's why it was so difficult to pierce," Ella observed, watching Faye's action. Intrigued, she tried it herself.Clank!"Good! Metal-like. This should be the boon of our church," Ella smiled, looking so proud that she could defeat this hard-scaled monster."Faye, did you know that during the last phenomena spell, something was twisted, something didn't work correctly?" Ella said, staring at Faye, wanting to know what had happened.Faye closed her eyes, waiting for a second before opening them again. "Let me check something," she said, gathering mana around her and pressing it into the monster scale. Suddenly, it spread wide and linked to the next scale, depleting it vastly.Ella gathered mana, attempting to mimic the way the Faye does it. The same thing happened. Her mana is depleting rapidly."I think because of this, maybe it used its last resort to try to blend the spell," Faye said."That makes sense," Ella replied, looking at the head of the monster. "You struggled hard, but only managed to blend it a little, just forcing it to tilt a little to the side.""But that's also a good thing. If it didn't blend with our spell, it would be flat and turn to dust. We would lose all the precious parts of the monster," Ella flashed back into a good mood. "Eeon, can you send the report back?"Without waiting, he took out the book and gathered mana to send it into the book. It shone, and the light strings floated into the sky, moving southward. After a minute, white mana balls circled around the link line, and he began the report "We are the Sky Piecer Unit, Unit Code X70153. Connected to the Holy Tower, we successfully slayed a level six monster named 'Obsidian Phyton' at Sun Rock, near the Sun Shire plateau. Send the examination unit. We used the Earth Burst spell, and the terrain has changed,"Monotonous answer "Affirmative, we will comply with the request. Unit X70153, the Holy tower will shine on you."Whirr! The conversation ended, and the mana scattered away.Eeon headed towards Ella, who nodded back, confirming the correction."By the way, have you seen Aria? She likes to examine monster parts. Why didn't she come with you?" Ella tilted her head, asking. Then she kicked at the dust, in a grumpy mood like a girl wanting to show her success to her parents.Faye looked at Ella for a moment and then said, "She's at the control area, near the merchant cart.""Okay, thank you," Ella replied, walking towards her sword that she had thrown out. She took it out, swung it a little to remove the dust and dirt, and then put it back in its sheath. She then walked back to control position.Eeon stared at Faye and asked, "Did you give us false information?"Faye's face darkened as she looked back. "Do not look at me with that eye," she said.Eeon retreated and walked back, following Ella.When both saints went away, she said, "What did he often say? Ah… friend, have a good life in the next cycle."
—§—
Ella returned and looked for Aria. Aria was standing still near a big rock."Aria! I did it. I can defeat it." Ella jumped and grabbed Aria's arm, but as if she had grabbed a broken doll, her hand swing without weight and have no reaction at all, her arm felt cold like ice even in the sunny weather.Aria slowly turned her head and looked at Ella, her face blank. "... Ella, you're really back. Sorry, I didn't hear you coming."Ella felt anxious and shook Aria's hand slightly. "What happened, Aria? Are you hurt?"There was silence for a moment. "I'm alright..." Aria stared at Ella for a moment and then said, "Ella... can you do something for me?" Her voice had no tone.Ella sensed that something was wrong with Aria and tightened her grip on her arm. It felt like if she didn't hold on tightly, Aria would fly away. Aria's eyes had no sparkle inside. "Y-Yes, I can," Ella replied."Can you use your holy magic to heal... Rain... He has some of your insignia's holy wounds?" Aria then turned her head to the rock beside her.Rain was still sitting on that rock. Water balls were floating around his wound, but they couldn't heal it at all.However, Rain didn't seem to care about the pain or his wound. On his hand have sharpen Rock draw flowers on ground. Looked straight ahead with a faint smile. "It's called flower," he said.After Ella caught sight of him, her anger surged back. "Ha! You're here, you despicable scoundrel! How dare you steal our possession!" Her finger pointed directly at Rain. "You've brought this upon yourself! That wound is a cause of not know your own place. Fooling around the battlefield and taking you own damage. Now, go back to where you belong and whimper like a dog." With a swift motion, she kicked dust towards Rain, causing it to fly into his hair and make it messy.But Rain doesn't care or retaliate, he still draws more a flower. "Yes, it's called a flower."Aria didn't warned Ella about her mischief, then said, "He's just a peasant. He doesn't have mana to expel or receive your insignia. Please help him.""I don't want to help him. He is our burden, Aria. He's also a thief who stole our things," Ella tried to convinced Aria, but Aria's body feels cold like ice, with no sense of warmth or safety."Um... Ella, never mind if you don't want to help. It's okay. Please let go of my arm." Aria said."Aria! Trust me, he's not worth saving. He will attack us when the time comes. The only person you can trust is me," Ella exclaimed. stamped down feet.Aria looked at Ella, but her eyes are stilled it shadow. "That is the reason, why I'm still sane... please leave my arm," Aria said.Suddenly, Aria's arm feels cold like winter. Ella's hand felt like frostbite, and she instinctively lets go of Aria's arm and steps back a little.Aria sat close to Rain and said softly, "Rain, I couldn't heal you with magic. We had to do it the traditional way. I could only provide first aid, but we would find a healer later when we were in town, okay?"Rain didn't answer."Did you still have herbs?" She grabbed his sachet and looked for herbs. There were still plenty inside. "Um, good."Aria grabbed his right hand. This time, Rain looked back at Aria and said, "Ah, Aria, I taught her a new word. She was really smart. She had already learned the word flower." He smiled at Aria, his face still stained with blood.Aria bit her own lip, and blood seeped out. Her trembling hand firmly grabbed his hand, and she said, "It's okay, Rain. You still had time. Let me change the bandage, okay?""But—"Don't wait. She removed his old bandage, revealing blood, herbs, and pus sticking together. His wound looked terrible, with a purple bruise and a mixture of old and new injuries all around his arm. It was not a pretty sight. But what was worse was that he didn't seem to care at all. It was as if it was just another ordinary day for him.Ella took a step back, observing his arm that resembled a lifeless corpse with human flesh."Aria, I can do it myself," he said.Aria controlled a water ball and use it to clean his wound and remove flakes of stone. The wound appeared cleaner, but it also revealed a wrist strip tattoo, a sign of a cursed child. No matter how severe the wound or the cut on his arm was, the eternal prison sign was still clearly visible.Rain instinctively tried to hide his wrist with his other hand, but Aria quickly grabbed his hand. "It's okay. I don't believe it will bring me bad luck," she reassured him.A small water droplet formed in the corner of her eye, but she held back her tears. She continued cleaning his wound, wrapping the first layer with herbs and soaking it with a potion to prevent further bleeding. Finally, she covered it with a new bandage.She repeated the same process with his other arm and used a clean fabric soaked in potion to wipe away the bloodstains on his face."Thank you," Rain whispered softly.Suddenly, Aria stood up and walked away, followed by Ella. They left the cursed child alone.Only silence and sunset remain."Um... I know Rocky. She is kind," Rain said, turning to his left to look at the orange sunset. Beside him was a little girl dressed in black attire, peacefully sleeping in a field of flowers, with a pleased expression on her face. Rain gently caressed her head with his hand. "Sleep well."—§—
Far in the West, in a land covered in ice and snow, there stood a monster that resembled a normal-sized wolf. It had white fur and white eyes, but there was no spark of life or reflection in them. It turned its head to the East.Besides, it has a man. The man had the same appearance as the wolf - white hair, white skin, and a white peasant coat. However, contrasting with his appearance, he had black stripe lines on his wrists. He gazed in the same direction as the wolf, towards the direction of the East. A cracked voice escaped his lips, "Sister."