Chapter 1449: Journey Together
When Roland came back to his room after the last of the day’s business, he found Anna sorting clothes beside a large leather suitcase.
“What are you doing?”
“Can’t you tell.” She patted a folded shirt flat. “Preparing for a long journey.”
“Then Neverwinter grinds to a halt.” He made it a joke. “Is it really suitable for the Minister of Industry to disappear without saying a word?”
“Don’t worry. The steam turbines aside, the piston engine improvements are already in the production stage — at most the qualified yield drops slightly. And the Society of Wondrous Crafts members you brought back are all genuinely talented. Letting them take over for a while won’t hurt anything.”
Roland looked more carefully at the case. Every piece she had chosen was plain and durable — nothing for a formal occasion, no silk, not even a skirt. She was not making a point. She was not joking.
“Where are you going?”
“To the floating island. With you.” The look she gave him needed no translation: did you really need to ask? “You’re not planning to wait in Neverwinter for news from the front, are you? I could tell you made your decision after speaking with the Three Chiefs of Taquila. And traveling to the Bottomless Land from the ridge of the continent is far more convenient from the island than from here — which gives you even less reason to come back first.”
“That won’t do—” The denial came before he had thought it through. “Leaving aside how this final battle with the demons resolves — no one knows what’s in the Bottomless Land. And Hackzord mentioned that the Sky-sea Realm has overrun the territory there. The risks are completely unknown, you don’t even—”
“Smack.”
Anna brought both palms lightly against his cheeks, held his face for a moment, and then released. Her hands dropped to his shoulders.
Her voice was quiet. “I know. That’s exactly why I’m going.”
He looked at her eyes. There was no opening there.
In that instant the image from their first encounter pressed itself over her current face — Anna still carrying the rawness of her nascency, nothing at her disposal but her ability and a resolve he had never quite been able to move once it was set. Years had passed. The resolve had not changed.
He made one last attempt. “You’re not who you were. As Queen, leaving Neverwinter for a risk this unnecessary isn’t—”
“If I were truly that mature,” Anna said, pressing gently against his shoulders, “I would never have agreed to let you go to the Bottomless Land knowing nothing about it.” She kept her voice level. “Anything could happen to you there. You could fail. You could disappear. All of it is possible. This attack might be the last time we see each other.” She met his gaze. “Do you think I’m willing to stay in the city? If everyone is taking the same risk, it isn’t so much for me to take it alongside you.”
Roland said nothing. He knew the final attempt had failed — and more than that, knew he had no right to ask. In a reversed situation, he would never have stayed behind either.
“If we don’t return…”
“Then it will be a situation bad enough that nothing worse was possible.” Anna let go of his shoulders and smiled. “Even so, I won’t regret it.”
Nightingale moved through the twisted black and white of the Mist and entered the empty office.
Late at night; most of the palace had gone to sleep. Through the windows, a few candle flames in the courtyard swayed with the breeze — the only light.
She drew the curtains and opened a drawer, placing the glowing magic stone into a light holder. The room filled with a soft, steady glow. The broken teapot and the ruined rug had both been replaced long ago, the incident erased as cleanly as if it had never happened.
Nightingale passed the telephone table and found what she had come for: a wooden case buried under the pile of files at the desk’s head.
In the Mist, she could see without light. That domain, parallel to the world she knew, existed in pure monochrome — black, white, and gray, without exception.
Except for this.
She opened the case. Inside: papers covered in notes, and several small stones, each giving off a distinct dark glow visible only in the Mist. She lifted one piece, placed it in her palm, and attempted to enter the Mist. The moment her magic power took form, it scattered — obstructed, dispersed, as though something had pressed a hand against it from the other side.
“As I expected.” She set the stone back and let out a slow breath.
This was one of the Magic Tower’s specimens. The report was likely from Agatha, Celine, and Isabella — possibly all three. With the Deity of Gods crisis resolved but Red Mist still lingering on the Hermes Plateau, the Taquila witches had been deep in the work of processing demon-derived technology and comparing it against the pure witches’ experimental findings. A report had been imminent for days. Roland would normally have read it the same day it arrived, but not today — North Slope Mountain’s separation and the bomber’s test flight had both fallen on the same day, and the case had not been opened.
Nightingale had noticed the stone from the beginning. In the Mist, only two things remained unaffected: magic power, and the pure dark void created by God’s Stones. Isabella’s research suggested the two phenomena might be connected. The stone in the case produced a black void visible in the Mist — smaller in range than an ordinary God’s Stone, the result of Isabella’s modifications. Nightingale had noted it when Roland received Banach Lothar and dismissed it as a specimen, irrelevant.
Except.
The stone was the reason she had been too slow when the teapot fell. The black void had shielded the falling object, and in the Mist her body had registered the situation as already resolved before she could respond. That alone she might have put down to accident.
But she had seen something else. A line — the kind that represented an object in motion — had emerged from contact with the table, passed through the black void, and struck the teapot, altering its falling trajectory.
Distortions in the Mist were not controllable. Even she had to move with care around unstable lines; the wrong touch could sever anything, including herself. She had never seen anything like what she’d witnessed with the teapot.
She was not sure if it had been coincidence, or if something in her had changed.
She pressed her hand against the edge of the table in the Mist and tried again. And again. Mimicking the situation from before, searching for the same sensation. Nothing came.
I’m overthinking this. She withdrew her hand, feeling slightly foolish. Agatha was right — just because many witches can evolve doesn’t mean it comes easily. At least I didn’t say anything. If Roland knew I almost announced an evolution that didn’t exist, he would never let me live it down.
She returned the magic stone to the drawer and left the office the way she had come.
Behind her, in the room’s silence, a faint sound.
Crack.
Hidden from view, behind the table’s edge: a thin fracture running with the grain of the wood, branching outward, unmistakable.
Chapter 1449 - Journey Together
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
After dealing with all official business, Roland returned to his room and saw Anna arranging her clothes, with a large leather suitcase at her side.
“Uh… What are you doing?”
“Can’t you tell.” She patted the folded clothes. “Preparing for a long journey.”
“Then Neverwinter has to stop everything.” Roland cracked a joke. “Is it really good that the Minister of Industry is able to leave without saying a word?”
“Don’t you worry. Aside from the steam turbines, the few finished products to strengthen the piston engine, the factory is already in the production stage, and at the most, the number of qualified products will drop slightly. Also, the Society of Wondrous Crafts members you’ve brought back are all talented. Letting them take over for a while isn’t a bad thing.”
“Wait a minute…” Roland sensed something amiss. Anna had picked out all the plain and durable clothes, with not a single party dress or formal silk gown. There was not even a single skirt within them, and she did not appear to be joking. “Where are you going?”
“To the floating island, with you.” She revealed a “do-you-still-need-to-ask” expression. “You’re not planning to wait in Neverwinter for the outcome at the frontlines, right? I can tell that you’ve made that decision after conversing with the Three Chiefs of Taquila. Furthermore, traveling to the Bottomless Land from the ridge of the continent is far more convenient, so that gives you more of a reason not to come back here.”
“That won’t do—” Roland subconsciously denied her. “Firstly, ignoring the fact of how this final battle with the demons will turn out, no one knows what
is in the Bottomless Land. And Hackzord mentioned that the land there has been overrun by Sky-sea Realm; the risks are too much, you don’t even know —”
“Smack.”
Anna extended both arms to gently slap his cheeks, then shake his head by force before caressing them. “I know. And because of that, I’m going.”
Her voice was soft and gentle, but Roland knew from one look in her eyes that she was accepting no as an answer.
And in that instant, the image of her during their first encounter overlapped with her current appearance.
At that time, Anna still had a trace of her nascency. She had nothing but her ability. Even so, her resolve once she made up her mind had always been difficult to change.
Roland could only attempt one last time. “You’re different from the past. As Queen, leaving Neverwinter to take on this unnecessary risk is not the mature thing—”
“If I am truly mature, I would not have agreed to let you go to the Bottomless Land without knowing anything about it at all.” Anna pressed down on his shoulders, cutting him off. “As to what would eventually happen to you, be it you failing or disappearing, all of them are possible outcomes. In other words, this final attack might possibly be our last time seeing each other again. Do you think I’m willing to stay in the city? Since everyone is taking the same risk, it isn’t much for me to join.”
“…” Roland knew that his last attempt had failed. After all, in a flipped situation, he would never be willing to wait alone. “If we don’t return…”
“Then it will be a situation so terrible that it can’t get any worse right?” Anna released her hands and laughed. “But even so, I will not regret it.”
…
Passing through the contorted black and white lines, Nightingale entered the empty office.
With it so late at night, most people had already fallen asleep, leaving only a few flickering flames in the courtyard dancing to the night breeze.
After drawing the curtains, she pulled open a drawer, taking the glowing magic stone and placing it into a light holder.
Very quickly, the room was lit with a mild light.
The broken teapot had been cleared long ago along with a replaced rug, as though the little incident had never occurred.
Nightingale walked past the telephone table and found her target—a wooden case covered up by the messy files at the table head.
In the Mist, she could distinguish objects without light. In this unique domain that felt like a completely different world, it was forever in its monochrome state. Black, white, and gray constructed the entire world even without any light source.
Except for this.
She opened the case; in it were filled with papers with scribbling written all over, and a few bright stones.
Nightingale took one stone piece and placed it in her palm, then attempted to enter the Mist. Just as the surging magic power took form, it immediately scattered, as though obstructed by something.
“As I’ve expected…” She sighed as she placed the stone back into the case, feeling somewhat depressed.
It was a report from the Magic Tower; if it wasn’t not from Agatha or Celine, then it was from Isabella. But the possibility of it being written collectively by the three of them remained—the crisis of the Deity of Gods had just been resolved, but the Red Mist on the Hermes Plateau had not dissipated completely. The Taquila witches had to digest the findings and experiments
done by the pure witches; thus, Isabella chose to temporarily live in Neverwinter. Together with the technology obtained from the demons, plenty of results were obtained, with a report due to be sent in the coming days.
Typically, Roland would complete reading the report on the same day, but this day was an exception. With the separation of North Slope Mountain and the test flight of the huge plane arranged on the same day, Roland never had the opportunity to open the case.
But Nightingale noticed the existence of the stone right from the beginning. After all, there were only two things that were not affected in the Mist, one being magic power, and the second being the pure dark cavity formed by God’s Stones. According to Isabella’s research, the two might even be connected.
Thus, Nightingale had long noticed the black blob of light when Roland had met with Banach Lothar, just that compared to a God’s Stone, its range of influence was on a much smaller scale, obviously a result from Isabella’s alterations. As it was a specimen related to the report, she did not pay much heed to it.
The small stone was the reason why Nightingale was unable to react when the teapot dropped—the black light shielded the falling teapot, and inside the Mist, her body had deemed the situation ‘irreversible.’
If it were merely so, Nightingale would had attributed it as an accident. However, she had seen a line that outlined a table being ejected upon her contact, passing through the blob of black light to collide with the teapot, ultimately altering the falling trajectory of the teapot.
Distortions in the Mist could not be controlled. Even she had to be careful around unsettled lines; otherwise, she might be the one to be severed.
It was her first time witnessing such a thing.
But Nightingale was unsure if it was a coincidence, or if something had changed within her.
She attempted to manifest the ability again by touching the edge of the table in the Mist repeatedly, mimicking the situation a couple of times but to no avail.
Seems like I’m overthinking this. Nightingale awkwardly retracted her hand. Agatha’s right, just because many of the Witches are able to do it, I shouldn’t assume that evolving is a simple thing. Fortunately for me, I hadn’t said anything, otherwise Roland would have made fun of me.
She put the glowing magic stone back into the drawer and departed the office by retracing her steps.
“Crack…”
The room that had regained its silence suddenly produced a soft sound.
At the table side that was hidden from sight, a crack blossomed along the wood grain.