NOVPUBChapter 788 -788 Enlightenment – Slumbering Princess
The amber moon once again appeared above the bonfire, and Shard reached out to pull Miss Orland to her feet, who then looked around and said softly:
“I’m so glad that the first thing I see when I open my eyes is you, Shard. But have you recently… participated in the elves’ ceremonies? Why is there such a strong scent of nature on you? When I first opened my eyes, I almost thought I’d returned to the place where I lived as a child.”
When Miss Feliana first met Miss Orland, the latter was a flower seller on the streets. Therefore, the lady’s past story must be equally fascinating.
Shard evaded the topic, and Miss Samuel then recounted to Miss Orland what had happened during her unconsciousness.
With only thirteen minutes remaining, Shard pushed the ice coffin laboriously to the side of the bonfire. After Miss Samuel had finished explaining the current situation, he said to the two witches:
“Please believe me, I will do everything possible to awaken Miss Drago. If it really comes to an impasse… I will use other means to get you out.”
If the Maze Lock did not succeed, Shard planned to complete the ceremony to advance from Three Rings to Four Rings in the present of the Fifth Era. Based on past experiences, in the brief time after the advancement, due to the Divinity seeping into his soul, he could exert power not inferior to that of Divinity Overflow. With that bit of power, he would try his hardest to escort the witches out, until the thirty minutes were up and he was forced to return to his own time.
“What I could do in the Forest of Thousand Trees, I can do here as well.”
Shard said, not forgetting to remind them:
“After you leave, please remember to give my regards to Teacher Feliana, and I hope that the next time, I will have the chance to see her again. Miss Samuel, please help me record this story. I will take it with me as Spellcasting Materials.”
Of course, taking a manuscript from this point in time back to the Sixth Era could not be considered the first draft of the story. After all, only the years could grant civilization the Enlightenment of storytelling, which cannot be cheated by Time Travel.
Miss Samuel immediately nodded her head in agreement. Although she had not found all the knowledge she sought in the library, hearing Shard’s story made the journey worthwhile. Miss Orland, on the other hand, felt a tinge of melancholy – after this farewell, it was uncertain if there would be another meeting.
“Sage, please continue the story.”
“No, do not call me ‘Sage’.”
The deity in the grey robe gently reminded, his empty right hand stroking his beard, and his eyes, somewhat luminous, gave Shard a meaningful look:
“Especially you, refrain from using that title.”
He descended from the pile of old books to sit on the ground beside the bonfire. Then, he conjured a pipe out of the air and blew smoke towards the flames.
Mixed with the faint scent of premium tobacco, the flames shot up into the air. The fire delicately constructed a half-sized Princess beside it, with a face strikingly similar to “Desire,” her eyes tightly shut and a spindle made of flame next to her.
The deity stretched out his right hand and then pressed down slightly. The light emanating from the bonfire quickly dimmed until only the bonfire and a very small surrounding area in the dilapidated lobby of the library were still illuminated by its glow.
The four people beside the bonfire sat on the edge of light and shadow. Outside the hall, the wind howled, and Crimson Snow flew horizontally, plunging the surroundings into deep darkness, as everyone gazed at the flames.
“I love this atmosphere, sitting by the bonfire with young children, listening to fresh stories. Nothing could be better than this.”
The Divine General inserted his Long Staff into the crevices of the floor tiles beside him, and at the same time, a weathered and deep voice came from Shard’s mouth.
The only one who didn’t understand what was happening, little Mia, thinking the lights had been turned off, squinted and snuggled on Shard’s lap, sleeping soundly.
“The Princess finally touched the fateful spinning wheel in the attic on her eighteenth birthday. Just a light prick from the spindle caused her to fall to the ground, plunging into an eternal slumber.”
As Shard spoke, the flames created vines that emerged on either side of the half-sized Princess and then covered her body until only her head remained.
“But, there is a way to break the Curse of Fate. The kind witches who were invited to the birthday party came to the Sleeping Princess’s side.”
With a bursting sound, the fire reconfigured and once again constructed the likeness of the vast Kingdom’s castle. The light illuminated every person around the bonfire, and the fire danced in their eyes as they gathered around the castle’s spire, where the most finely detailed images were those of the twelve witches.
They wore long robes adorned with Stellar Patterns, and large pointed hats on their heads. Among them, some even carried cats that looked very much like Mia.
“The twelve witches brought their blessings to the Princess again—”
Shard cleared his throat, and the witches in the fire raised their hands high, with sparks sprinkling down: 𝔫𝖔𝖛𝖕𝔲𝔟.𝔠𝖔𝖒
“No matter how long, no matter when, no matter what happens in the future, to you, kind and beautiful Princess, we bestow our blessings.”
Shard too extended his hand toward the bonfire, and specks of golden light from his cracked fingertips floated toward the Princess in the fire.
Miss Samuel looked at the golden embers, blinking skeptically. Miss Orland, on the other hand, had been paying attention to the campfire all along. The leaping flames cast sprawling shadows across her face.
“The witches in unison blessed her: ‘One day, a prince from a distant land will come, and with True Love’s Kiss, awaken you. Then, the icebound kingdom will see the light of day once more, and the castle amidst the overgrown grass will burst back to life.'”
The perspective from within the flames soared, the fire meticulously outlining the entire map of the kingdom. The deity next to the fire breathed a puff of smoke into the flames once more, covering the fiery kingdom above in a long-lasting fog that seemed to symbolize decay and doom, already engulfing the kingdom.
Under the smog, the subtle changes in the tiny kingdom signaled the passage of time.
“That’s quite a good story.”
The deity holding the pipe commented, gazing at Shard with glowing eyes:
“However, it’s not sensible. Although fairy tales need not pursue reason, just a True Love’s Kiss reviving a princess cursed by a witch seems rather hasty.”
Shard nodded; he knew that this benevolent god was giving him another hint, and he understood the kind of story that would follow:
“Who knows how many days, how many months, how many years had passed? When the castle is shrouded in overgrowth, when the kingdom has already fallen into decay, when the sleeping princess has long since become the tale of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ that spread throughout the land. The weary foreign prince from a distant realm arrived at the once festive hall where her birthday celebration was held.”
In the midst of the flames, the young man with his back to the fire outside was swinging his sword at vines:
“He hacked through the brambles, and finally, in the decaying attic of the castle, he saw the princess in her ice coffin.”
Above the flame, an ice coffin almost identical to the one beside the fire appeared, only the princess inside didn’t have a large tail.
“Oh, what a beautiful princess,” the foreigner exclaimed.
Although the witch, Shard, and the deity were spread out around the fire, no matter who it was, they could only see the prince’s back.
“The prince decided to rescue the princess sleeping in the ice coffin, to save this kingdom on the brink of extinction. He reached out to the slumbering girl…”
Shard found this wording a bit peculiar, as if the prince in the story had some special predilection, but fortunately, this plot point was not the focus.
In the flames, a whirlwind appeared, and within the fiery vortex, an old witch made of fire emerged.
“The witch arrived at the last moment to stop the prince. But the righteous and steadfast prince, with his sword, overcame the witch and her servants.”
The figure in the flames, holding a sword that closely resembled the Moonlight Greatsword, deftly battled the witch.
“Righteousness prevailed over evil, but the witch laughed heartily: ‘Oh, foolish man, how could you think to save the sleeping princess without paying a price?'”
Shard paused for a moment; his recent experiences brought many things to mind:
“The departed cannot stay; she has fallen into the deepest of eternal slumbers. To bring her back, are you willing to pay a price you cannot bear?”
He recited the witch’s lines, and with that, the witch in the flames disappeared, and the prince approached the ice coffin once again, lifting the princess.
“Yes, awakening the sleeping princess requires both love and a price. But the foreigner resolved to do so, for the girl in his arms and for the kingdom.”
The sounds of steam and whistles emerged from behind Shard. In the thick steam mist, the Three Ring Sorcerer’s Ring of Fate appeared, its brass-colored Enlightenment Elements being swiftly concentrated.
The Spiritual Light faintly echoed with the campfire’s glimmer. Miss Samuel turned to observe Shard’s Ring of Fate while Miss Orland focused on the princess within the fire. The deity watched everything with a smiling gaze, and the awakened Mia looked towards the light.
“The prince kissed the princess, and with that kiss, she opened her eyes. The wilderness and withered vines receded, the frozen kingdom was revitalized, all things revived, and the land once again welcomed a time of prosperity and bloom. The prince who had given the True Love’s Kiss, his golden hair turned to silver-white, never again touched his treasured sword.”
The embracing princess and prince parted, and then, in the shape of fire-formed arches, the elegantly dressed princess and prince held their wedding amidst the cheers of the people crafted from flames.
“This is a tale of love and sacrifice. Even though fate inflicted a curse, when a selfless sacrificer steps forth, true love will save everything.”
Shard’s voice gradually softened, bringing an end to the story. Behind him, the Ring of Fate had at some point ceased to spin, and Enlightenment – Slumbering Princess silently took shape.
Time endows stories with enlightenment, civilization gives them power. Shard, who stood at one end of time after five thousand years and across two Eras, gained at the other end of time, the power of fairy tales intertwined with civilization.
