thefictionvixens Page 252
Page 252
Sai Leng rose two meters upwards, glanced around at the ground nearby, then her eyes lit up, and she drifted away in a flash.
After a while, she flew back like a little dog, clutching a long white bone.
"what is this?"
Latis tried to take the bone from her, but Seren dodged it.
"Hehe." Seren showed a rare, sly smile. She circled Latis once, then, feigning profundity, raised the bone and said:
"O bones teetering between life and death on this land, please offer my benefactor any assistance you may offer! We will carry on with all your will and last wishes, forever and ever..."
Having said that, she looked at the bewildered Latis, struck a perfect spinning pose, blew a breath into her palm, and then flung the piece of bone behind him.
Whoosh... Snap!
"Um?!"
Latis suddenly felt a movement behind him. He turned around and saw that the white bone had been flung under his horse's belly and was stuck to it as if it were being attracted by a magnet. As a feeling of being connected to a foreign object came over him, a bone leg suddenly grew out from under his horse's belly.
"..." He was silent for a moment, then squinted at Sai Leng, whose face was tense, and asked, "Hey! What have you done to me?!"
"This is... the power of Lord Sisyphus!"
Sai Leng's expression was serious, but the upturned corners of her mouth, her guilty averted gaze, and her slightly flushed cheeks betrayed her thoughts. Perhaps recalling the sight of Latis running around naked from the waist down when he first transformed into a centaur, she coughed lightly and explained:
"I discovered that the stone seemed to have a bone structure similar to that of Lord Sisyphus, and guessed that it was a product of his soul power crystallization, so I tried it out."
"As expected, after your body refined this stone, Mr. Bones, you were able to piece together external bone... Hmm, in the end, you might even become a giant like Lord Sisyphus!"
"Oh, Lego capabilities... that sounds pretty good."
Latis nodded knowingly, breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, and strode towards Seren, saying:
"In that case, shall we set off... hmm?"
He looked down at the fifth leg dangling under his horse's belly and frowned.
Then, with a burst of strength, his leg straightened and landed firmly on the ground, splashing up a clump of white sand.
In this situation, it feels as if a fifth leg is supporting the sky and standing tall.
"..."
Latis's brow twitched suddenly. He looked up at the Bone Spirit maid, whose face was slightly flushed from trying not to laugh, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly smiled with relief.
"How can you have such wicked thoughts, little girl? Who taught you that?"
He shook his head helplessly, then flashed a grin and said:
"Miss driver, I'm still a little unsure how to control this new car. Could you please take a little time to help me with the controls for the rest of the trip?"
"...Eh, eh?"
Seren was stunned. She opened her mouth and was about to speak when she saw Latis's large hand suddenly attack her.
With a wave of his hand, he instantly refined it!
"ah!"
"Bring it to you!"
Latis laughed heartily as he stuffed the weak, pitiful, and helpless little maid into his new bone leg.
"I've never felt so good! Cheers to me, applause to me, let's go!"
……
……
After becoming familiar with your new ability, you thought about it and decided to absorb Mr. "Sun's" soul bone as well.
The spirit bone was imbued with the heat of the sun; you could almost feel its exhilarating emotion as it faced a new journey, as vibrant as the sun itself.
You can't help but wonder about "the sun" and Artur's life. Sadly, he's gone, and his life, whether brilliant or ordinary, will forever be buried in the white moonlight.
You shook your head with a hint of regret, but after a moment's thought, you cast that regret aside. Memories are precious, life is more valuable, but for the sake of will, both can be sacrificed… You have already grasped the will of the “Sun,” Artur, and Sisyphus; even a single ray of sunlight has benefited you greatly.
After settling in, you've started to get used to the wings given to you by the "Sun" soul bone. Although it's a bit difficult for a human to learn to control so many extra organs, you're not a normal human. Back in college, you could take notes while playing games, focus with your left and right eyes separately, and have your left and right brains sleep alternately... The human body is amazing, isn't it?
Before leaving, you took a stroll through the village, intending to tell the challengers the story of Sisyphus. However, you hesitated, realizing they had never heard of Sisyphus and were unlikely to believe you.
[At this moment, you see the same ape-like creature again, trying to dissuade people from going up the mountain. After thinking for a moment, you finally decide to talk to it in full view of everyone.]
"I see what you call the city walls," you said.
Everyone was startled upon hearing this and instinctively wanted to question it, but upon seeing the bone wings beside you, they all fell silent.
Seeing how persuasive the bone wings were to them, you're a little curious why "The Sun" didn't use the bone wings to prove to Artur earlier that he had reached the summit. Did he have something else he needed to wait for and prove?
The thought flashed through your mind. You looked at the astonished and uncertain ape-like creature and said with a smile:
“That wasn’t a city wall, nor was it a demon. You must have forgotten the specifics from those past white moons… It was a sun, a very bright sun. Even Mr. Artur, the most indecisive man in town, began climbing towards it.”
"Is...that so?" the ape-like creature muttered hesitantly to itself, scratching its head and whispering, "I do lack this part of my memory, but I remember...it was something terrifying, awe-inspiring, and those kinds of feelings still fill my heart."
"That's normal. On such a land filled with death, when people smell the vitality of life from afar, their hearts are filled with fear. It's because they yearn for it but dare not approach..." you persuade, pointing to the distant mountaintop, and say, "Why don't you take a closer look now?"
Everyone squinted towards the mountaintop. After a long while, the ape-like creature suddenly cried out in shock, "The sun?!"
……
[You left the village amidst the clamor. Although the challengers may not necessarily reach the summit before this white moon, this feeling of hope will be etched into the depths of their memories, unforgettable even after being washed away many times.]
It's kind of funny, actually. Only when you're leaving do you learn that many long-time residents call this mountain "Mount Sisyphus." When asked about the origin, they only say it comes from an ancient legend passed down orally among the residents, but they've long forgotten the specific details.
"So it seems that even if I don't publicize your deeds, people will always remember you, Sisyphus," you thought to yourself with a smile, shaking your head.
You didn't ask if anyone would be willing to go to Mount Sankturai with you, since it's an uncertain destination, best suited for a solo challenge.
[No...it's not just one person. Looking at the spirit girls who have appeared beside you, you suddenly laugh. You're now a public bus comparable to an AE86!]
With hearts full of excitement, you and your group set off again. The journey ahead is only vaguely oriented, without concrete guidance. You don't know how many mountains you'll cross or how many rivers you'll leap over, where you'll find rest, or who you'll encounter. The only thing you know is that you will be flying across this land like a swift sun!
……
The white sand of the Bone Spirit Realm shimmered with a dazzling light. As you raced headlong into the distance, you occasionally felt symptoms similar to snow blindness, unable to see your surroundings clearly or discern directions.
Fortunately, your pilot, Sai Leng, had already developed an excellent sense of direction through wandering through tens of thousands of White Moons. It was very easy for her to engrave a fixed coordinate (such as your respawn point) in her mind. Therefore, she was able to move in a straight line along the line connecting Mount Sisyphus and Mount Sankturi without deviating at all, thanks to this ability.
You crossed a plain, climbed several steep slopes, witnessed a few battles between wanderers, chatted with some alien species who had no desire for conflict, and then continued your journey.
The white waters on the Bone Spirit Realm, which had been distributed as a network of tiny veins, transformed into crisscrossing streams, eventually converging into rivers that meandered along the terrain.
You climb a mountain that looks like the source of a stream, test the depth of the mountain lake with your massive bone spear, and then frown with a hint of worry.
[This break in the white moon's duration may only have 20% remaining.]
Chapter 257 Stars and Mountains Appear on the Horizon
You flapped your bone wings and soared across a very deep canyon.
[You see that the underground river at the bottom of the canyon has exposed some of the bedrock. The submerged skeletons are stuck in the overlapping ravines, and it is unknown when they will be washed out of the canyon and resurrected on the land of the Bone Spirit Realm.]
[Bluebell, seated sideways on your horse, wields a phantom bow and arrow, shooting down rocks thrown by wanderers at the edge of the canyon. She then infuses your bone wings with soul power, accelerating your flight away from the area.]
Although you've always wanted to build a giant Latis using Lego, after experimenting a few times with the scattered bones, you discovered that piecing the bones together on yourself greatly increases your stamina consumption, and consequently, the stamina consumption of the spirit girls also increases.
[Furthermore, perhaps because inanimate objects don't count as passengers, your bus talent wasn't triggered. Therefore, after piecing yourself into half a Kamen Rider, you found your speed actually saturated. Left with no other option, you removed your external armor, breaking off your newly acquired fifth leg in the process.]
After landing, you fell into thought, wondering if attaching a living skeleton to your body might trigger the "bus" talent. However, living skeletons that can be interacted with are hard to find, and those willing to become components are even rarer. Most wanderers will turn into dead skeletons after exchanging a few words with you.
[But this isn't your fault. After all, the interval of this white moon is nearing its end. Most of the sentient skeletons have already found places to hide, or are already chasing the mountaintop. Those left wandering the ground are mostly incapable of communication.]
Time flew by, and the rivers on the earth gradually dispersed and converged, eventually forming a vast river.
[You are no stranger to this river, though not at the same time or in the same place. This vast white torrent has left a deep impression on you; this is the "Styx" that Sereng once used to wash the handle of your Halberd of Truth.]
[Perhaps she was also thinking of those days tens of thousands of white moons ago, Sai Leng, sitting on your shoulders, seemed somewhat nostalgic and shy. She stroked your head with her cool little hands, gazed at the surging river for a long time, and then smiled as she told you what the baptism of the "Styx" was all about.]
[It turns out that when you first arrived in the Bone Spirit Realm, the then Lord of the Void Spirit City mocked Sai Leng for impersonating royalty. You didn't pay much attention to it before, after all, these spirits all seemed pretty much the same to you—illusory and cold. Although they were semi-solid and tangible, they were basically like permeable air.]
[Sai Leng tells you that there are significant differences between different spirits. Hai Yue'er and Lan Ling, whom you created using your talent, are ordinary spirits. They don't possess any strange characteristics, but they are also unaffected by the power of other attributes.]
[Other spirits also exist in the Bone Spirit Realm, such as sheep spirits and wolf spirits created by magical abilities. These spirits exist solely based on their abilities and will dissipate when washed away by the White Moon.]
As for the Bone Spirits, they are the very foundation of this world. They can merge with the bodies of the dead and control them. They are like intelligent beings born from the river of life and death, existing eternally in the torrent of the white moon.
[The royalty among the Bone Spirits do not possess the authority to rule over regions like human kings. Instead, they have a special ability to resonate faintly with the White Moon.]
This is the significance of the baptism with the waters of the River Styx. At that time, you were a complete skeleton. If you could find even a trace of your consciousness in the white moon, it would greatly help in the Bone Manipulation Competition.
However, by now, Seren has already discovered your "abnormality," namely that your sanity is not diminished by the washing away of your body.
[Haiyue'er and Lanling certainly wouldn't doubt this, but Sai Leng has witnessed far too much of this influence, so she's very perceptive in recognizing your trait.]
……
"Mr. Bones, do you think your lost memories will be found in the River Styx?"
On this rare flat terrain, Seren did not control Latis from within his body. Instead, he sat on Latis's shoulder, watching the river rushing past him, and asked curiously.
"Probably not?" Latis raised his hand and pinched Seren's calf, which was hanging down in front of his chest, and said:
“My memory is complete, so there’s no need for you, Sereng, to perform any Styx water baptism for me. We can just focus on running towards Mount Sankturui.”
"Mr. Bones is really special..."
Seren felt the warmth emanating from his calves, gently wiggled his legs, bent down, and whispered in Latis's ear:
"Speaking of which, Mr. Bones seems to remember everything that happened when we first met, doesn't he?"
"Of course!"
Latis flapped his bone wings, leaped into the air, glided for a distance, and laughed, saying:
"I still remember the scene where you saved me from two wanderers. I was almost boiled into bone soup, but thankfully you came running up to me with a poker face, shouting, 'Are you my contractor?'..."
"Wait, what do you mean by 'expressionless face'?"
Selene angrily pinched Latis's thick skin, only to receive a burst of arrogant laughter in return. She snorted in annoyance and crossed her arms.
"It completely disrupted my emotions...!"
She shook her head helplessly, muttered a sentence to herself, thought for a moment, then leaned back and floated upside down on Latis's back.
"Then we signed some kind of contract, which I didn't understand, and just set off recklessly. Along the way, we encountered some kind of skeleton unit, and I just showed off my skills..."