Pillar of Yita

”But...”

”...what about Quistack?” After staying silent with his head down for a long time, Fang Hong lifted his head, looking at Ye Hua in front of him with burning eyes. ”The Southern Alliance’s plan in Istania has reached a critical moment, you cannot intervene in this war, right?”

Ye Hua fell silent. Fang Hong, between the other’s gaze, found the answer to this question.

Without much concealment, it seemed as if the other person merely placed these two choices in front of him, nothing more.

He went silent again.

Ye Hua spoke: ”So, you still want to go?”

Fang Hong pressed his lips together, gently nodded.

”My friends are still there...”

”Your friends?”

”Prince Aleph is one, Princess is another, as well as Mr. Saisheer, Bishop Faris...”

”I still owe them a favor, how can I escape alone?” Fang Hong seemed to be asking Ye Hua, and also himself, his voice was soft, as if talking to himself in the wind, ”Great God Ye Hua, if I walk away today, I will subconsciously escape again in the future, until pushed to the corner, with no retreat left.”

He softly asked: ”But since there’s always a day we will be pushed to the corner, why should we abandon our friends before then? We might be able to take every one of them along, and when we’re eventually pushed to a point with no retreat, there will always be someone who can pull us up.”

Ye Hua silently looked at Fang Hong, as if seeing a phantom of the past in those eyes.

Just like his younger self, standing before himself, questioning whether all his actions over the years followed that ideal from the day of departure? But soon he lightly shook his head, dispersing the phantom; each choice he made could be said not to betray his heart, perhaps some mistakes were made, but is there anything perfect in this world?

He might regret his mistakes, but he would never easily give up, because giving up might be the greatest betrayal—the one who chooses this path inevitably bears others’ expectations—that expectation, at times, is both praise and responsibility.

”But you still have to make a decision, Ade,” his tone softened, ”Once you choose one side, you are destined not to choose the other. And before you decide, the result is unknowable—it might be a path of flowers, but it could also be thorns everywhere, even a dead end—”

He looked at this young man before him, at that slightly boyish face, understanding that their discussion wasn’t about escape or not.

Instead, it was that the other could grow more, could better understand why he fights. It inevitably mixed with some of his youthful regrets and expectations for those he admired, hoping they could avoid unnecessary mistakes.

Yet Fang Hong softly spoke:

”But...”

A path of flowers doesn’t necessarily lead far.

A circle of thorns might be precisely the direction we seek.

The corner will keep retreating until we lose everything.

He softly said this—

A trace of surprised light flashed in Ye Hua’s eyes, but his tone remained calm: ”Words can sound nice, but they aren’t always effective.”

”But speaking is speaking,” Fang Hong replied firmly, ”Not only that, but I will also proceed to act.”

Suddenly, he recalled a brief conversation from not long ago, looking up towards the night sky, wondering if those twinkling stars were indeed Lady Marlan’s gaze?

And whether courage true to heart would guide him forward?

Ye Hua listened silently, paused for a moment, then broke into a soft smile.

He extended his hand, gently patting the other’s shoulder, his voice somewhat calm: ”Then let’s board the ship.”

Fang Hong raised his head, looking at the Ranger King with surprise, did he hear something wrong, board the ship? We?

He opened his mouth: ”But, Great God Ye Hua, the Southern Alliance...”

”I am myself,” Ye Hua strapped the Longbow on his back, ”Southern Alliance is Southern Alliance.”

Looking forward, his gaze remained steady. ”If the Alliance cannot even distinguish this, I will make them understand—”

Fang Hong heard, and felt a bit stirred at heart, wondering when might he himself say something so bold?

...

Luo Yu was leaning against the mast, organizing the cables.

As he looked up, he saw the two approaching the ship. ”Look, the Captain has coaxed another big shot,” Parker was helping nearby, nudging the Elementalist with his elbow. ”By the way, did you notice the Captain seems a bit different?”

Luo Yu glanced at the things in the other’s hands, silently taking them over to prevent Papalarians from making a mess of everything. He looked in that direction, feeling that there seemed to be something different about him from before, maybe a bit more composed, exhibiting a steadiness rarely seen before.

”Right?” Parker asked.

Luo Yu nodded quietly.

”See, I knew it,” feeling pleased as someone agreed with him. ”The Captain walking alongside that Ranger King seems to have shrunk, haha, ouch—”

”Who hit me?”

Up above, Pasha looked innocently at him, stammering:

”P- Paker, Sir, sorry, I- I slipped...”

”Forget it, forget it...”

Seeing the poor, little boy, Parker had no choice but to accept his bad luck.

...

The bright flames seemed to light a giant torch across the sky, reflecting in the eyes of each person watching this scene.