CHAPTER 615: CHAPTER 411: GWENDOLIN: HOWEVER, I REFUSE

When hearing Gwendolin’s voice, Fingerley’s steps suddenly halted.

He turned around in confusion, never expecting the other party to react to the Yurshika Holy Bell he was carrying.

He had long known that the residual shadow of Sain Dungeon was special, but could it be this special?

His feelings at that moment should have been of surprise and amazement, pondering how to respond, only to accidentally ponder for a little too long.

"Um, the atmosphere seems a bit off, why don’t you say something first?" Selene suddenly reminded.

"What’s off about the atmosphere?" Fingerley was completely immersed in thinking about how to respond. To him, Gwendolin was just quietly awaiting his reply.

"You should take a look outside!"

Selene forcefully turned his head, and only then did he understand why the atmosphere was described as tense.

Because outside the Dark Moon Spirit Temple, Yanor Londo was experiencing a rapid change between day and night!

In the adventurers’ understanding, everything in Yanor Londo was controlled by Gwyn through illusion, so the rapid change in day and night indicated extreme unrest in the caster’s heart!

An overwhelming sense came upon him, and his intuition told him that if he didn’t say something, Gwendolin might just dash out of the fog gate and shoot him!

Considering himself an honest man, Fingerley immediately explained the origin of the Yurshika Holy Bell, including the campaign against Shalivan and Elderly, and.... the incident of Gwendolin being devoured.

At the moment these words were spoken, Selene noticed the sky over Yanor Londo turning dark.

Oh no, could it be that Gwendolin was angry, but then again, he had no reason to be angry at us.

There was only silence beyond the fog gate.

Fingerley pondered if Gwendolin knew what would happen next, then what would he do?

Would he immediately take countermeasures, or could it be...

His breathing suddenly became heavier. Could there be a way to prevent the coming tragedy?

Right, since there was a reaction, there’s no reason why it wouldn’t trigger a series of subsequent events; it couldn’t just be a mere reaction.

"So, such things will happen..."

A sigh from Gwendolin came from beyond the fog gate, and the sky over Yanor Londo suddenly brightened and stabilized.

"What surprises me even more is your identities, and my presence here, I see."

Did he realize his residual shadow identity? As expected of a god’s residual shadow, without a trace of collapse!

Continuing his thoughts, Fingerley asked hopefully: "Don’t you want to prevent the things that will happen later, is there anything I can do?"

His idea was simple, everyone wants to change a tragedy, that is absolute!

"No."

The voice from beyond the fog gate carried a hint of sadness, yet with a faint acceptance and determination.

"If that is my fate, I will accept it without the need to change it."

This left Fingerley dumbfounded.

"Wh-why?"

He pressed, "Don’t you want to continue living? Don’t you want to continue guarding the fire transmission?"

"The matters you speak of, from this stagnant time, it’s unknown how much time has passed; even gods cannot glimpse future events."

Gwendolin’s tone became as calm as usual, merely speaking quietly.

"Like my father Gwyn, who never expected to sacrifice himself to prolong the Primordial Flame, yet could only sustain a brief moment for the world, requiring countless heroes to follow suit to keep the flame burning."

"The matters you speak of, whether person or place, are unfamiliar to me, even if it’s the future, that future is too distant."

"Perhaps in that future, the path I insisted on guarding can no longer adapt to the era, my demise being the testament."

"If so, then I will accept my end."

Fingerley frowned and asked, "Wouldn’t you be unwilling?"

"Naturally unwilling."

"The fire transmission was my father’s wish, and I guard here, determined to dedicate everything to this great cause, no matter what, necessary to ensure the flame persists."

"Even knowing the end, I will hold fast here."

He let out a sigh.

"But..."

The voice suddenly disappeared, the Dark Moon Spirit Temple was enveloped in silence, and no more voices came from beyond the fog gate.

"But" what? You’re supposed to finish your sentence!

What bothered Fingerley most was when a sentence was left incomplete, more so was how Gwendolin didn’t seem surprised by his own tragic end, nor did he have any intent to change it!

He originally thought the other party would immediately set out to rewrite history upon learning about Elderly!

But this composed determination left him not knowing what to do!

What is this, the grace of a god? At least ensure your survival before showcasing grandeur.

Just then, Selene beside him sighed:

"Truly worthy of being a god, such grace is unmatched by mortals, truly worthy of the god Ornstein once guarded."

"As for dignity or whatever, you need to survive first to have the chance to show it."

He floated back up to the bonfire, staring at it in a daze.

"What’s wrong, are you hoping he can make you do something and change the future?" Selene followed along, "But he realizes he’s just a residual shadow, right? What else can he do?"

"But this is the Sain Dungeon."

Fingerley couldn’t even understand why he was sulking. "Everyone thinks Sain is different and is sure to do something worthy of being called a miracle. It’s not impossible for a residual shadow to change the future, right?"

Selene did not refute; she agreed with his assessment of Sain.

But—

"I think what’s already happened shouldn’t be changed."

Selene’s demeanor turned serious, as she said:

"Gwendolin, as a God, guarded the Fire Transmission in life, and after death, half of his soul was devoured by Elderly, eventually becoming firewood for the Fire Transmission. This is already a perfect divine legend, no, maybe it should be called a hero’s legend."

"People want to see good people rewarded." Fingerley argued back.

"It’s you who want to see it." Selene directly pointed out his thoughts, saying:

"The tragic ending elevates everything about the hero. The things born from the hero’s tragedy will become the power to propel future generations to grow. If you forcefully change the ending, are you looking at the hero himself or the hero in your heart?"

"That’s easy for you to say, like writing an article," Fingerley shook his head. "What if your beloved Ornstein also ends in the same tragedy? Can you be as calm as you are now?"

Selene smiled and said:

"Maybe not calm, but I would only love him more."

"Tch... I can’t communicate with you."

Fingerley shook his ghostly body and floated up.

"I think Gwendolin is different from those tragic heroes. He originally wanted to guard the Fire Transmission forever, but Shalivan’s conspiracy led to his failure. If given a choice, he would definitely choose to thwart the conspiracy and continue the Fire Transmission. The tragic end was not his choice but out of necessity."

"Since Sain Dungeon intends to make residual shadows react to future events, then I believe it’s not just about having new dialogues. There must be deeper developments; Sain has never let me down."

"Even if it’s out of selfish desire, I just want to see the possibility of an ending without tragedy."

When Fingerley was saying this, in fact, he wasn’t thinking of Gwendolin, but of his own homeland destroyed by the ’Evil Magician.’

If possible, if time could turn back, he would definitely do his utmost to stop that ’Evil Magician’ from turning everyone in his homeland into neither humans nor ghosts monsters, even if he ultimately fails and dies with his people.

In the case of Gwendolin, he was actually projecting his own feelings.

In some sense, it does indeed stem from selfish desire.

If they debated further, it might lead to a quarrel. Selene wasn’t here to argue, and she could tell that something was weighing on his mind.

She shrugged, with a smile on her face, sighed and said:

"I thought you were someone more rational, but it turns out you just haven’t encountered something that moves you yet."

"Tsk, Princess, you’ve seen enough already, can we leave now?"

"Alright, give me a few minutes."

Selene took out a book from her ring and began to read. The obscure characters filled her vision, and insane mutterings rang in her ears. This caused her mental state to plummet as if falling off a cliff, almost reaching the danger line.

This book was specially made for her by the Court Mage, containing esoteric advanced magic knowledge that would damage her mental state if forced to read.

But doing so allowed her to leave the Painting World quickly!

This technique was only studied after the appearance of the Painting World in Yanor Londo. Previously, there weren’t many Painting Worlds, and those who entered had no thoughts of leaving quickly.

Just goes to show that necessity creates the market.

Before long, a pale-faced Selene left the Painting World, and the ghostly Fingerley that was attached to her summoned beast was also brought out.

Not much time had passed outside, at most half a day.

Upon emerging, Aleya and Matilda, who had been bored nearby, had already drawn tic-tac-toe games all over the Onion Knight!

Seeing the Princess come out, they quickly took out various pre-prepared Spiritual Supplement Potions and fed them to her. Aleya even cast the corresponding magic, finally improving Selene’s complexion, making her look capable of fighting another whole day!

"Alright, now that our objective is achieved, can we leave now?"

Having regained his human form, Fingerley was still a bit uneasy; his mind filled with thoughts of Gwendolin, only wanting to return quickly and discuss with his companions.

But suddenly, Selene grabbed his sleeve, her eyes shining brightly as she said:

"How about we stay a little longer, just a while; I don’t want to go back so soon."

Why are you acting so nonchalant again...?

Fingerley held his forehead in frustration, looking towards his companions, who all nodded their heads.

Actually, the members of the Hasavi Team had long anticipated that Selene would have the urge not to want to go home and had prepared strategies for such situations.

They just needed to ensure Selene encountered danger within the dungeon, torturing her until she developed a desire to return home!

The person who came up with this idea was a genius.

And they had already planned the destination, just a few steps away from the kitchen bonfire:

Yilushier Underground Prison!