Chapter 258: Two Promises
The Forest of Eternity was in the southern part of the continent.
Vigorous trees grew around one another, forming a ma.s.sive tree that obscured the sun and sky. There was gra.s.s all over the ground beneath the gigantic tree. The gra.s.s and foliage were dew-stained, and colorful flowers and groups of b.u.t.terflies and bees fluttered around.
That was the deepest part of the Forest of Eternity, the sacred land of the elven kingdom. An ancient well stood in the center of the area; it was more than ten meters wide and engraved with elvish characters that emitted a faint light.
A female elf in a long dress made of leaves sat by the well, combing her golden hair. Her figure was slimmer than a human’s, and two pairs of transparent b.u.t.terfly wings were on her back. It was almost impossible to see her if one did not look closely.
“How many years has it been? This is the first time he had used the spell since I taught him that. I thought he would never use it.”
The elf combed her hair and turned to look at the Moon Well. The water in the Spring of Life was crystal clear; it even reflected her beautiful face. However, there was not much water in the well, and the level was barely half of the well.
“Vivian, I detected a change in the Moon Well just now. Did you do something?”
A deep male voice echoed from behind the female elf. A male elf in an emerald-colored robe and a crown had appeared. His snow-white hair was so long that it touched the ground; he looked angry.
“Your Majesty, I did not do anything.”
That female elf was Vivian; she blew into the well. The Spring of Life immediately rose to the well’s opening. She turned her head and spoke in a calm voice.
The crowned elf did not believe her. He rushed to the well and looked into it. The man was relieved when he found nothing wrong with the Spring of Life.
“Are you sure? Then why did the trees outside the forest wither? Vivian, as the guardian of the Spring of Life, it is your duty to protect everything here. Don’t play any tricks, especially today! The Winter Nation’s envoys have arrived; they want to buy some water from the Spring of Life. I have already promised to sell some to them. If anything goes wrong, don’t blame me for being impolite.”
“Your Majesty, isn’t the Spring of Life part of our kingdom’s fate? We shouldn’t give it away to outsiders. Why is this time—”
Vivian was interrupted before she could finish her words. “Shut up. Don’t you know why I did that? The world had changed. Someone created a seventh magical element that does not belong to this world. According to the prophet, the person who created that element is now in the Holy Dragon Kingdom. The world will experience an unprecedented disaster, and our tribe is also part of that disaster.”
The elven king raised his head to look at the distant sky; his expression seemed solemn. “The Holy Dragon Kingdom is not necessarily the strongest among the five kingdoms on the continent, but it has always been the richest. The Winter Nation’s envoys are not only here for the water from the Spring of Life, but they also brought news with them—the Dragonspine Snow Mountain was destroyed a few days ago! The Winter Nation thinks that it is a conspiracy by the Holy Dragon Kingdom, and they are hoping that we can contain them. They even sent troops to the Holy Dragon Kingdom to get more information.”
“Your Majesty, are you sure that they are only trying to find out why the Dragonspine Snow Mountain collapsed and not taking the opportunity to occupy the Holy Dragon Kingdom?” Vivian asked expressionlessly. Her words made the elven king’s face darkened; it was a long time before he spoke.
“Vivian, don’t think that I don’t know what you’re thinking. You’re worried about that person, aren’t you? The despicable thief who stole the water from the Spring of Life 400 years ago. Oh, now he has become the most famous mage in the Holy Dragon Kingdom. He’s also known as the astrologer. I advise you to give up on him. Elves and humans can’t be together. I had believed in the words of the Holy Dragon Kingdom’s emperor ten years ago, and that caused my beloved daughter, Avril’s tragic death.”
The elven king gritted his teeth as he said that, his face br.i.m.m.i.n.g with anger.
“Our kingdom has suffered so much because of the Holy Dragon Kingdom. This time, it’s their turn. The Dragonspine Snow Mountain’s collapse is a good opportunity to attack them! I will make their emperor, along with that person, pay the price!”
Landhar I, the Holy Dragon Kingdom’s founding monarch, had been unstoppable about 400 years ago; he had founded the territory with the help of a young platinum-tier mage named Antonio. No one could kill the mage because he had drunk from the Spring of Life; he would be resurrected even if he died.
The Holy Dragon Kingdom had resolved to mend the conflict more than ten years ago by establis.h.i.+ng diplomatic relations with the Elven Kingdom. The elf race’s prodigies, Avril and Sylvan, visited the Holy Dragon Kingdom’s capital as amba.s.sadors to meet with Landhar III, who fell in love with Avril at first sight. Then, Landhar III ascended to the throne and proposed to Avril.
At that time, most inhabitants in the elven kingdom had opposed the marriage. However, the elven king had managed to suppress the public’s opinion and even facilitated the marriage of his daughter to Landhar III. He thought that the two kingdoms could see peace for generations and would grow stronger together. No one would have thought it would end that way.
The elven king snapped back to his thoughts and snorted at Vivian.
“Look at you now. You were once the glorious guardian of the Moon Well, but you are now imprisoned here forever. Did the astrologer come to see you? He did not. He used you to get water from the Spring of Life and then abandoned you heartlessly. It’s time for you to wake up. A lowly human should not have been able to fool a n.o.ble elf. That’s all I have to say. You’d better take care of yourself. I don’t want whatever had happened in the Forest of Eternity to happen again.”
Then, the elven king turned around and left without looking back.
“Your Majesty, perhaps you’re right. I’m not very clear-headed, but I have never regretted what I did.”
Vivian stared at the Spring of Life after the elven king left. “Antonio stole water from the Spring of Life for a promise. And it’s because of that promise that the elven kingdom has managed to survive until now! Now, he’s using a spell to ask me for water from the Spring of Life for another promise. It has been more than 200 years, and this is the first time he took the initiative to look for me. How could I refuse him?”
The Forest of Eternity was a lively scene, but the girl’s sorrowful murmurs floated in the air; it did not fit in well with the environment there.
…
At the same time, on Mount Creation.
“It looks like I have advanced to the diamond tier.”
Antonio raised his right hand and opened the six wings on his back. The feathers on each wing were as white as snow as they burned with blazing light. He looked excited as he continued to get younger.
It had been so many years since he took the Spring of Life, and his strength had not improved. The water was a gift to him, but it was also a curse.
“Vivian…”
The moment Antonio advanced to diamond-tier, the image of a woman —flashed in his mind. He closed his eyes as he heard the sentence again.
“Antonio, I can give you water from the Spring of Life, but you have to promise me that you will always protect it and the Forest of Eternity; I will not let any harm befall the elves here! If you can’t promise that, then I will kill myself along with the Spring of Life.”
Those words and the woman’s shadow turned into a memory that flashed in his mind repeatedly. He had promised the woman two things—the first was that he would protect the Forest of Eternity if he were to drink from the Spring of Life. The second one had something to do with the woman—if he were to use the spell that the woman had taught him, then he would make his way to the woman immediately.
He had thought that he would never fulfill that promise in his lifetime, and Watson had prompted him to make that decision.