LRAB Page 262
Page 262
A sharp rock, tumbling and rolling with the tide, hurtled toward him.
"Brother Niu, charge... cough cough!"
Latis's hoarse voice interrupted his safe word. He quickly swayed his body, trying to avoid the spike-like rock, but he was a step too late.
boom!
The rock slammed into him, the violent impact shattering it into countless fragments, yet surprisingly, Latis felt no pain whatsoever.
He remained silent for a moment, then suddenly came to his senses.
"I see."
Latis straightened up with a sudden realization, glanced around one last time to see if there were any remaining skeletons, and then murmured:
"It's time to go."
As you emerge from the tide, the white moon has already submerged halfway up the mountain. You step onto the mountain path of Sankturai, and with a teeth-grinding, crushing sound, Sankturai begins to tremble.
You hear a rushing sound coming from beside you; a white torrent accumulated within your massive body flows ceaselessly down your skeleton, like a smooth curtain draped over your shoulders, swaying with each heavy step.
"Mount Sankturai...you've become so small." You look at the mountain path beneath your feet and suddenly chuckle. The once vast cliffs, whose boundaries were indistinct, now have a visible, winding outline in your gaze. It seems that in the blink of an eye, Mount Sankturai has shrunk by dozens of times.
[You instinctively flicked your still-dripping bone wings, and after a series of crackling sounds, your large bone wings landed on the mountain path. However, you suddenly realized that the long path was no longer large enough to accommodate your bone wings.]
"This is..." You suddenly realized that it wasn't that Mount Sankturei had become small, but rather that you yourself had become unimaginably enormous.
You lifted your forelegs, leaping out of the torrent of white moonlight, and landed completely on the cliff face of Mount Sankturui.
[The powerful bone wings slowly unfurled, eventually almost exceeding your narrow human field of vision.]
How long is it? One hundred meters? Two hundred meters? You don't have time to think about it, because when you look up, you see many challengers running desperately for their last chance, carrying with them the upward currents that are barely visible, yet in your eyes they converge into an eternal and unchanging will to live.
This will resonates with the countless spirits residing within you, causing you to involuntarily feel a thrill of excitement.
"Are these fellow cultivators?" you thought to yourself. When you were among them, you couldn't sense the powerful, unified will. But now, within the enormous body formed by the fusion of all beings from the Bone Spirit Realm, you finally sensed the beings of the Bone Spirit Realm.
Your powerful hooves swelled and thundered, a surge of energy sending a jolt through your body, and then a surge of exhilarating passion filled your heart.
【Mount Sankturui, even that can no longer stop you!】
But deep down you know where it all comes from: those overlapping spirits, resonating within you both silently and clamorously, like an extremely high-frequency background sound, soaring through the clouds, soaring through the universe, filling your soul with a calm yet passionate intensity, filling it to the brim, filling it until you feel a slight ache for a moment.
The creatures of this world have given you those bewildering stories, and you wish to give them a truth beyond life and death.
However, you never expected that your impulsive action would bring you so much reward.
Perhaps what you give to the world, it will give back to you... This should be the truth of every world, shouldn't it?
The thought flashed through your mind, and then you pushed off with your hind leg and leaped into the air.
You are like a train speeding along a mountain road, unstoppable onward. Countless spirits reside within you; your talent grants you speed imperceptible to the naked eye, while the lantern bestows immeasurable power. Wherever you go, the undulating mountains become flat, the boulders that block your path crumble, and even the precipice is smashed into a path leading to the heavens.
All the fellow travelers you encountered on your journey have been taken away by you. Now you need no more words; the entire mountain heard your voice. They looked at you, across the towering mountains, across the distant sky. When you reached out your hand, they all reached out theirs.
Your body continues to grow, endlessly growing larger. Mount Sankturui has disappeared from your sight. You look up at the planet that brushes past you across the sky; it no longer seems as distant and unreachable as before. On the contrary, it seems you could touch it with a mere wave of your hand.
"But it's not the right time yet."
Latis said this to himself.
His surging body stirred up an extremely powerful hurricane, swirling around Mount Sankturui. For a moment, even the rapidly rising white moon had to give way to its sharp edge.
He could no longer slow down, nor did he need to!
The overwhelming torrent submerged the jagged rocks, the traces left by the challengers, and the remains of those who failed. The torrent had risen to the height of the sky, yet it could never reach the peak of Sankturui Mountain!
Latis was somewhat dazed. The white moon surrounding the mountain peak had obscured his vision, leaving only a hole above his head that revealed the planet's uneven surface, letting him know that he was still on the right path.
"Come on, all of you!"
He suddenly shouted loudly, waving his kilometer-long bone wings.
"I will take you all with me! There is no need to bury your unfinished journey in this Sankturai Mountain!"
A deafening roar echoed throughout Mount Sankturai, like a battle cry, awakening the weary souls of their comrades. In this confined space, like a whirlpool in a torrent, they turned to look.
A lantern, as bright as the sun, rose slowly amidst the white moon.
……
When you reach the summit, it seems there's no room left for your feet.
Your colossal form blots out the sky, its imposing presence even more majestic than the surging white moon.
Looking back on the path you've traveled, you think of Sisyphus on that man-made mountain. Now you are far greater than him, but you know there is no difference in status between you.
[You only spent a few seconds thinking about how high he had actually built Mount Sisyphus? Had it successfully reached the sky? And when the next white moon arrived, would the first fellow traveler successfully soar into the sea of stars emerge?]
The demonic wolf is now completely engulfed by the white moon. During the next lull, will the wolf spirit, which has merged with the demonic wolf, be able to control the pervasive fog?
[The companions the strange bird brought up the mountain have been picked up by you and taken away, screeching as they departed. During the next lull in the season, will people still hear the terrifying legend of its predatory nature?]
You snapped out of your reverie and looked up at the narrow mountaintop, a flicker of surprise crossing your eyes.
[Two or three skeletons who had already reached the summit stood at the finish line, looking up at you. They hadn't chosen to rush into the sea of stars upon reaching the finish line, but instead waited for your arrival.]
"Lead everyone to the sea of stars, oh great will of life!"
[They said this, clearing the way to the final area that could only accommodate one person at a time, and following their own will, merged into your body.]
You stared at the empty finish line area, a final hint of bewilderment appearing in your eyes.
The world has already given you so much that you can't assess whether you've reciprocated with a satisfying journey.
You glanced back at the world one last time. The vast white moon had completely submerged it, leaving only the area where you stood, precariously perilous like a fragile bubble in water, under the moon's heavy pressure.
Even so, you still saw the scenery you experienced along the way.
"Was your journey a satisfying one?" you can't help but ask yourself.
The answer to this question will be hidden in the boundless years to come. It may, like humanity washed by the white moon, constantly change its form, but at least for now, you know the answer.
You are satisfied. And not just you, everyone else is too.
[Your body suddenly felt lighter; the heaviness of the process no longer made you feel tired. You shouted loudly and couldn't help but reveal a wide grin.]
[Then, you step into the now-empty finish line area.]
A powerful suction force came from above your head. You looked up at the planet that was almost within reach and relaxed your control over your body.
The air currents surrounding you clamored, carrying the cries of countless spirits, propelling you beyond the heavens.
Behind you, a faded banner of soul power is planted at the finish line, bearing the marks of those beings who once existed. Although this world once caused them endless struggles in the river of life and death, it was also this world that allowed them to embark on a long journey of self-discovery and ultimately return to the real world.
"We will definitely reach Mount Lierman! —Sirana"
The colorful banners of soul power fluttered in the wind; they remembered that it was these words that began your wonderful and long journey.
"We will definitely defeat Mount Amadeus! — Bluebell"
[This line of crooked handwriting looks quite cute. Bluebell isn't very good at writing, but she's incredibly skilled with a bow. Mount Amadeus is what she calls the mountain from her memories; later, you'll learn that its real name is Mount Sisyphus.]
"Only when you know the end of the journey can you understand the beginning. — Sisyphus, Artur, and the Sun"
[A philosophical journey that forced you to wear a mask of pain—even the Soul Power Banner couldn't help but let out a mocking laugh. These people are the sun of the Bone Spirit Realm; have you received even a sliver of light from them?]
["Drizzt," do you still remember the bard's hymns?]
"Birdman, Traveler, Misaya"—this seems like a love story.
["The Demon Wolf, the Wolf Spirit, and the Lantern-Bearing Skeleton Squad"—does this belief complete the final piece of your journey?]
"David, Olvera, Windsor"... these names you don't recognize were recorded by your Bone Spirit; they are all part of the powerful life you possess.
Countless names filled the gaps in the soul power banner. Some left a message, some had even forgotten their own names. Sai Leng filled both sides of the banner, not even leaving out the handle.
Among all the records of my encounters along the way, there is a line of text faded by time. The handwriting is bold and unruly, much like someone's grinning face.
【"What can I say bro!"】
The Soul Power Banner gazes at your departing figure, its faded banner tossed about by the lingering breeze of your presence. At this moment, it seems like a scene from tens of thousands of previous moonlit nights.
"What else can I say!" A laugh, tinged with a mix of sarcasm and satisfaction, brought the journey to a perfect close.
Then, the vast white moon poured down, engulfing it in the endless torrent.
……
……
"Holy crap, I'm about to reach the Roche limit!"
Latis tilted his head back, looking at the planet not far away, and shrank his body as much as possible.
After being ejected from the orbit, the powerful gravitational pull from both directions almost instantly tore his body apart. He was so large that the force on different parts of his body was completely different, which made him feel a muscle explosion sensation that was even more intense than doing ten sets of anaerobic exercise.
"Brother Niu, charge! Brother Niu, charge! Brother Niu, why are you useless? Brother Niu, save me! Brother Niu!!"
Latis cried out the word of safety in despair, but just as the word of safety could not resist the natural power of the white moon, it could not stop gravity from tearing Latis's body apart.
"No... at least get to that place, as long as I can get there...!"
His eyes widened as he looked at the approaching planet. Even if he were torn apart, he would make sure that his entire body fell onto that planet. That way, when the spirit within his bones was infused with soul power and revived, it would at least not drift in space.
"No, this is bad!"
However, because he started climbing too late, the planet had already deviated by too much of an angle, and by this calculation, it seemed that his current trajectory was about to miss the planet!
"This must not be allowed to happen!"
Latis gritted his teeth, staring intently at the planet's position, his mind racing with calculations. Then he reached out and adjusted the egg path.
With his current immense power, he only has one chance! If he deviates from the right path, he might end up somewhere unknown!
"Whoosh... Drink up! Brother Niu's Air Cannon!"
boom!
The gas ring, comparable to a planet-destroying cannon, exploded outwards, and Latis was instantly propelled out, almost along the tangent of the planet, plunging headfirst into the planet's ground.
"Well...what a clever way to skirt the line!"
He pulled himself out of the ground in a daze, and it took him a long time to come to his senses.
Three spirit maidens emerged from his body, surrounding him with concern. His massive body was torn apart by the terrifying gravity, leaving only fragments of his soul bones attached to his body.
"Sisters, help me up..."