Chapter 1016: Soaring Through the Skies (Part II)
The explorer was dressed like a wanderer. Feathers sewn into his coat. An eye patch embroidered with rose petals over his right eye. Nothing about the figure in the corridor matched the man Roland had met at the banquet, and for a moment he couldn’t quite locate why the disguise felt slightly off—the surface was complete, the costume exact. Then he understood.
The costume was wrong on its wearer.
“When you’re disguising yourself as another person, you have to devote your whole being to the character,” Thunder said. He drew on the pipe in his hand; the ember made a dim firefly pulse in the darkened hallway. “You have to deceive yourself before you can deceive anyone else. I learned that first.” He exhaled. “I’m afraid I can’t concentrate on being Sander Flyingbird right now. She’ll see through it.”
That’s what was off. Not the feathers or the eye patch—the stillness beneath them. The man wasn’t performing. He was standing vigil.
“You’re not planning to keep hiding your identity permanently?” Roland raised an eyebrow. “You heard what Lightning was saying in there. She’s decided she’s going to be an explorer.”
The question sat in the dark for a long time.
“Your Majesty,” Thunder said finally. “Do you believe in fate?”
Roland almost smiled. In another context it would have been a sermon’s opening line. Or a letter from a lovesick student.
Thunder wasn’t asking for an answer. He continued: “I was told that geniuses always die doing what they do best—that God compensates for a short life by granting unmatchable talent. That’s fate. A road destined to run brilliantly tends to tempt the one walking it into going faster and faster, and eventually they fall. Ordinary people with ordinary gifts tend to live longer.”
“Who told you this?”
“Sander. The man who first showed me the explorer’s path.”
Roland glanced at him. “An explorer named Sander Flyingbird? Weren’t you concerned Lightning might have heard the name?”
“He died long ago. And he was never particularly famous—by Fjords standards, he didn’t even qualify as a real explorer.” The smoke swirled and thinned. “He never found a new island. Never charted an unmarked route. He didn’t care about reputation. He said the adventure itself was the point. And that without much talent, at least he didn’t have to worry about dying young.”
Roland said, “How did he die?”
“He saved me.” Thunder’s voice had gone flat and careful, the way voices go when they’ve been over the same ground many times and learned to cross it without stumbling. “Our ship encountered Sea Ghosts. When Sander dragged me back to the cabin, one of them caught him—the wound was small, but no herb touched it. His flesh rotted. He stopped breathing three days later.” He paused. “He told me he died doing what he was best at. His only real quality in life, he said, was his kindness. He had nothing else to be proud of.”
Roland had nothing to say to that.
“When Lightning was born,” Thunder said, “she showed talent from the beginning. Identifying routes, reading charts—she learned faster than anyone I’d ever watched. When I found out she’d awakened and become a witch—” He stopped. Started again. “You understand what that ability means to an explorer.”
Courage and curiosity were traits that anyone could build over time. Magic was something else. It was a gift you either had or you didn’t.
“So I made a decision.” Thunder raised his head; the ember of the pipe caught his eye like a reflection of a distant fire. “If fate is fixed, perhaps it can be interrupted by another route. If I can reach the unknown places before Lightning sets out—if I can map the east of the Sealine, and the bold cliff at the Shadow Seacity ruins—then when she eventually goes, the danger will be smaller. Less unknown. Less risk.” He let out a slow breath. “Leaving aside the demon-held territories, no one has set foot in either place. Once you defeat the demons, I should be able to reach them. Until then, it’s better I travel alone.”
Roland was quiet for a moment.
It was a kind of love that didn’t look anything like love from the outside—systematic, exhausting, turned entirely outward. If there were no more uncharted places, there could be no fatal expeditions.
Gravity held everyone to the ground. It didn’t constrain what people chose to dream. Thunder had dreamed his way around the problem, and the dream had taken the shape of the entire world.
“In that case,” Thunder said, placing a hand over his chest, “I leave her in your hands, Your Majesty.”
Roland opened his mouth to reply—
A sound hit them both. Not thunder, not quite: something rawer, like the sky had cracked at a seam. The force of it was physical, a pressure Roland felt in his chest and his teeth simultaneously. The snow on the castle roof sheeted away into white fog. Ice clattered down like thrown gravel. The glass of every window in the building gave at once—a dozen small destructions in quick succession—and then the echoes came rolling back from the Impassable Mountain Range, one after another, not fading, just bouncing and returning until the whole dark air seemed to ring.
Inside the room, everyone had gone perfectly still.
Roland turned to the door, pushed it open.
One side of the outer wall panel had already been swung wide, but there had been no blast of magic—no discharge of the Sigil of God’s Will.
“Your Majesty.” Wendy was bright-eyed, breathless, excited in the particular way she got when a theory proved true. “Lightning’s magic—it’s consolidated.”
He crossed to the bedside. Lightning sat up on the bed with the alert posture of someone who had just arrived from somewhere very far away and was still taking stock. Her eyes were vivid.
“Was there any pain?” he asked.
“None at all.” She pressed a hand to her sternum, feeling something there. “I feel—full. The only thing I couldn’t do was the Sigil. Lighting the fourth stone was already the limit.”
“That’s good.” He exhaled. “You should rest today. Tomorrow we can—”
“Your Majesty, can I try it now?”
She was already on her feet.
“Something is calling me. I can’t describe it—I just need to fly. Right now.” She looked at him with the absolute sincerity that only Lightning could produce, the kind that made refusal feel like an actual act of cruelty. “May I? Please?”
He looked at the witches around the room. At the wide-open door panel. At the cold black sky beyond it.
“Take Maggie with you. Don’t fly far.”
“Yes!”
“Coo!”
Maggie transformed mid-leap—pigeon, landing on Lightning’s head—and Lightning scooped her into both hands. They were through the open wall and into the night sky before Roland had fully turned back to the room.
“I don’t know what her ability will look like now,” Wendy murmured, watching the dark. “We’ll have a busy day tomorrow.”
“Please let me observe with the Five-Colored Stone as well,” Phyllis said.
“In any case, tonight is—”
The sky split.
Not thunder. Something beyond thunder—a crack that filled the entire mountain valley, that pressed against every surface in the room simultaneously, that sent the snow from the rooftop sheeting away in one breath and brought the ice down on the window frames in sharp bright pieces. The castle glass held a moment, then didn’t. The echoes seized on the Impassable Mountain Range and would not let go, returning and returning, the sound looping back on itself until the whole night was made of it.
Everyone stared at everyone else.
Chapter 1016: Soaring Through the Skies (Part II)
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
The explorer was still dressed like a wanderer. He was covered in feathers and wore an eye patch embroidered with rose petals on his right eye. No one would be able to recognize that he was Thunder from his appearance. Roland could not figure out why, but his image was a stark contrast from the way he was at the banquet.
“When you’re disguising to be another person, you need to devote your heart and soul to become that character, so that you can deceive even yourself. Only then would you be able to fool other people. This was the first thing that I learned when I was learning how to disguise myself.” Thunder inhaled his cigarette, and the weak red light looked like a looming firefly in the dark walkway. “Your Majesty, I’m afraid I can’t concentrate on disguising myself as Sander Flyingbird right now… She will certainly see through it.”
So that sense of strangeness was due to this. Roland realized that because there were certain dangers in a witch’s adulthood, Thunder could no longer pretend to be an outsider and be pay no attention to his daughter.
If he showed too much concern, then it would become obvious that he was not the real Sander Flyingbird.
“Don’t tell me that you want to keep hiding your identity?” Roland raised an eyebrow. “You should’ve heard what Lightning said just now. She’s destined to become an explorer.”
This question made Thunder silent for a long time.
Just as Roland thought that he would not reply, Thunder suddenly spoke up: “Your Majesty, do you believe in fate?”
At that moment, Roland had some doubts about the identity of Thunder the Explorer.
Isn’t this a classic starting line when preaching?
Of course, similar questions were also common in the love letters of high school students.
However, Thunder was certainly not seeking for an answer. “I’ve been told that geniuses will always die doing what they are best at, and God would make up for it by giving such people an unmatchable talent—This is fate. A road that’s destined to be good will cause the one who walks on it to succumb to temptation because of one’s extraordinary talent and eventually fall from grace. On the contrary, those ordinary people without much talent will tend to live longer.”
“Who said that?” Roland could not help but ask.
“Sander, a person who introduced me to the path of an explorer.” Thunder then breathed out a puff of smoke.
“Wait, there is such an explorer in the Fjords? Aren’t you afraid that Lightning might’ve heard of his name?”
“He’s been dead for a long time, and his identity remained obscure until and even after his death… By the standards of the Fjords, he couldn’t even be considered a true explorer.” With the smoke swirling around, Thunder almost merged with the shadows on the walls. “Before he died, he still hadn’t found a brand new island or an unmarked route on the map. Sander didn’t care about reputation. He said that adventure itself was fun and that the lack of talent didn’t matter. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about having a short life.”
Roland seemed to suddenly realize something. “How did he die?”
“He died trying to save me,” Thunder said slowly. “The ship encountered an attack from the Sea Ghosts. When Sander dragged me back to the cabin, he got clawed by the Sea Ghost. Although the wound wasn’t big, the herbs were useless in treating it. His flesh quickly rotted and stopped breathing three days later. At that time he said to me that he died anyway doing what he was best at—He had no other outstanding qualities in life, other than his kindness.”
“…” Roland suddenly did not know what to say.
“After Lightning was born, she had shown outstanding talents as an explorer. Whether it was identifying routes or drawing charts, she learned much faster than the average person.” When Thunder said these words, his face revealed his complicated emotions. “When I learned that she’d awakened and become a witch, I became extremely worried. You should understand what this ability means to an explorer.”
Indeed, if courage, curiosity, and knowledge were the intrinsic natures of human beings, that meant anyone could acquire them, given time. But having magic power could be said to be a gift from the deities.
“That’s why I made this decision,” said Thunder said as he raised his head, and the light in his eyes seemed to reflect the red light in the pipe. “If fate is hard to avoid, I might be able to cut it off in another way—if I can uncover the veils of those mysterious places before LIghtning sets out to be an explorer, the chances of her encountering danger would be greatly reduced. Leaving aside the land occupied by the demons, no one has yet set foot in the east of the Sealine, and the bold cliff seen from the Shadow Seacity ruins. Once you defeat the demons, I should be able to draw a map of these two places. Before that, however, it would be the best if I traveled alone.”
If there was no more need for expeditions, there would naturally be no risk. This logic made Roland dumbfounded for a moment.
Although the world might be much larger than even what Thunder had imagined, it was still amazing for him to have such thoughts. This took more than just courage.
Gravity firmly anchored everyone onto the ground, but it certainly could not limit the wild dreams of some people
Thunder was obviously amongst the most capable of those who dared to dream.
—Flying was not just a witch’s privilege.
“In that case, I shall leave her in your hands, Your Majesty,” Thunder said, grabbing his chest.
At this instant, a loud noise came from inside the room.
Roland nodded at Thunder before returning to the bedroom.
One side of the wall had already been pushed open, but he did not hear the Sigil of God’s Will being triggered.
“Your Majesty,” said Wendy excitedly. “Lightning her… her magic has consolidated!”
Here was another witch who was evolved on the Day of Adulthood. He saw a clear excitement in the eyes of Agatha and Wendy, as this meant that their research was indeed feasible.
“Really?” Roland walked over to the bedside and looked at the eagerlooking girl. “Was there any discomfort?”
“Not at all,” Lightning patted her chest and said, “I feel like I’m full of power! It’s a pity that I couldn’t release the Sigil. Lighting the fourth stone was already the limit.”
“That’s good to hear,” Roland let out a deep breath and said, “then you should take a rest today, and tomorrow you can—”
“Your Majesty, I’d like to try it now. May I?!” Lightning jumped out of bed. “I feel like my something is calling me and I can’t help but want to fly immediately!”
“Is she talking about the magic power within her?” Roland couldn’t help but laugh. She was certainly the most energetic member of the Witch Union. Since she had already said that, he had no reason to refuse. “Take Maggie with you, and don’t fly too far away.”
“Yes!”
“Coo!”
One side of the wall was still half-open, and after Maggie became a pigeon, she landed on Lightning’s head—Lightning then held the pigeon with both of her hands and swiftly flew out of the room and disappeared into the cold and windy night sky.
“I don’t know what her ability will be like after her consolidation…” Wendy murmured as she stared into the night sky. “We’ll be busy tomorrow.”
“Please also let me observe with the Five-Colored Stone during the test,” Phyllis said.
“Anyways, let’s stop here for today, and the rest can wait until tomorrow—”
Just as Roland was in the middle of his sentence, a thunderous explosion sounded through the sky!
The force of the sound was so strong that it was if all those present could actually feel it! The snow on the roof was shaken and became white fog. Ice was falling like raindrops. The glass windows of the castle cracked as if they had been smashed by an invisible giant hand.
While the witches were looking at each other dumbfounded, the echoes caused by the thunder roared back and forth continuously in the Impassable Mountain Range and did not disappear after a long time.