socalfunplaces Page 52
Page 52
The wooden shield of the Hilichurl mob has been transformed into an abstract work of art by Gu Qian.
The grass shaman and its vines were tied into a bow gift box.
Ten minutes later, the four of them left the battlefield feeling refreshed.
The wind blows through the silent campsite:
The abyss mage, whose leg was stuck in the ground, was twitching.
The chained-up horde of thugs swayed in the wind;
The Chuqiu King still has a "water element commemorative javelin" specially made by Erkang stuck in its buttocks...
------
The thick fog around Heguan seemed to have a life of its own, enveloping everyone and reducing visibility to less than three meters.
Water droplets condensed on Qingyu's mask. He waved his hand irritably: "Wolf King, this fog is too annoying. Can you help me out?"
A silver-white mechanical werewolf appeared from the air beside him, its right arm armor slid open, and it took out a bright green clover—the very same iconic fog-blowing tool from Plants vs. Zombies.
"wait wait wait!"
Paimon's eyes widened.
"Why would such a thing exist?!"
The Wolf King's electronic eyes flashed: "Cross-dimensional tactical equipment, number PVZ-003."
The clover was tossed into the air, and its leaves began to spin wildly.
In an instant, a violent airflow swept across the entire Heguan with overwhelming force, tearing the fog to shreds.
The gloom that had lingered for thousands of years was blown away without a trace in just ten seconds.
"mission completed."
The clover vanished as specks of light, and the wolf king re-entered stealth mode.
The newly discovered Crane Pavilion reveals its true appearance: moss-covered dilapidated stone walls, rotten wooden boats half-buried in the sand, and those... eerie thunderbird statues everywhere.
"Aru should be over there at the sacrificial site."
Ying gripped her sword tightly, the purple feathers on the ground guiding her.
As the group continued along the path, Zhang Chu suddenly stopped.
Beneath his modified mask, he captured traces of residual energy on the ground—amidst the charred lightning strike marks, faint child footprints were visible.
"Foolish villagers..."
Erkang kicked away a stone slab engraved with a sacrificial ceremony.
"They prayed for divine protection, yet they offered the purest children to the altar."
Gu Qian's eyes swept over the tattered mural: "Thunderbird Capachelli... it never wanted to be sacrificed to humans."
In the center of the altar, a translucent figure of a boy is humming an ancient song.
Hearing footsteps, Aryu turned around, her eyes filled with a thousand years of loneliness.
"Are you... here for the festival?"
Aryu's transparent body trembled slightly, and her crimson eyes reflected the solemn faces of everyone.
"Do not......"
Qingyu shook his head, and wind elements condensed into a small thunderbird shape in his palm.
"We are here for you and Capachelli."
Gu Qian's enormous hand gently brushed across the altar, and the ancient runes inscribed with bloody rituals peeled away: "He never asked for sacrifices."
"Looking for me?"
Aru tilted his head in confusion, a gesture that made him look more like an ordinary child.
He stepped on the damp earth, with feathers accumulated over countless reincarnations scattered around his feet.
Zhang Chu knelt down, his gaze level with the boy's.
A stream of data flashed across his mask, projecting scenes from thousands of years ago into the air—
In the scene, young Aru is singing in the forest, surrounded by the huge figure of a thunderbird, with the lightning dancing gently between its wings.
"See, this is what she wanted."
Zhang Chu pointed to the holographic image.
"Your singing, your smile, not..."
The footage switches to the final sacrificial ceremony.
The villagers'狰狞 faces, the boy's pain as his tongue was pulled out and bones were ripped out, bleeding to death, and the thunderbird's sudden, furious cry in the sky.
"She simply doesn't understand what humans are doing."
Er Kang's water blade sliced through the afterimages of the villagers beside him, and those phantoms vanished after letting out silent screams.
"All she knows is that He saw your bones...you died because of them..."
Aru's body trembled violently as countless fragments of memories suddenly flooded into her mind.
The recurring nightmare for millennia, the mournful cries of Capachili in each cycle of reincarnation, the thunderstorms he misunderstood...
"So... those thunderbolts..."
The boy's voice was fragmented.
"She's crying."
Ying said softly, holding a glowing Thunderbird feather in her hands.
“Every bolt of lightning is her asking 'why'.”
Aryu knelt on the ground, her clear tears falling onto the altar.
His centuries-old obsession crumbled at this moment—it turned out that the “perfect” ritual he had desperately sought was an absurd mistake from the very beginning; it turned out that the gentle deity who sheltered him from the wind and rain never intended to harm him in the slightest.
“Kappachiri…”
The boy looked up at the overcast sky, where huge shadows of wings were gathering.
"I'm sorry... I only understand now..."
The thunder rumbled through the clouds, but no longer carried anger.
The falling raindrops were as warm as tears.
Paimon looked up at the suddenly falling raindrops, blinking in confusion: "Strange, why would Crane Pavilion...?"
"Guess where the wolf king went."
Er Kang suddenly interrupted her, tiny arcs of electricity crackling across his body.
"The Wolf King? Could he be...?"
Paimon suddenly covered his mouth, pointing his little finger at the churning clouds in the sky.
Er Kang nodded, unusually abandoning his nonchalant expression: "Thunderbird died at Tianyun Pass, but her soul is still imprisoned in rage... The Wolf King went to take her home."
The rain intensified, but it no longer carried the usual chill.
Each raindrop shimmered with a faint flash of lightning, and felt warm as tears on the skin.
"This is......"
Aryu reached out and caught the falling raindrops.
The water droplets in his palm transformed into tiny thunderbird shapes, then dissipated into tiny specks of light.
A long, drawn-out cry suddenly came from the sky. It was not a thunderous roar filled with resentment, but a trembling call that had traveled through a thousand years.
The thick clouds were torn apart by some enormous force, and a twenty-meter-tall silver-white giant stood in the air, holding a giant bird formed from pure lightning element in its arms.
Kapaciri's wings were incomplete, but the savage purple lightning in her eyes had transformed into gentle flowing light.
"Ah... Ru..."
The voice of the deity was like a broken string on a musical instrument, yet it instantly brought tears to the boy's eyes.
The wolf king slowly descended and gently placed the Thunderbird's soul on the altar.
The mechanical voice calmly reported: "Mission complete. Target soul integrity detected at 22%. Stabilization recommended immediately."
Zhang Chu immediately opened the medical kit, and Qingyu's wind element began to weave a repair barrier, while Gu Qian took out a spray bottle filled with a strange liquid: "Special soul adhesive..."
But before they could make a move, Aryu had already pounced on them.
The boy's transparent body merged with the Thunderbird's spirit, and the song from thousands of years ago finally resounded once more:
"La la la~ la∽ la la∽"
A shocking scene unfolded—as the song played, the Thunderbird's tattered wings began to regrow, and the wounds scorched by rage gradually healed.
Rainwater gathered on the ground to form luminous streams, and withered cherry blossom branches sprouted new buds.
Paimon suddenly found himself unable to stop crying: "So this is... the true ritual..."
Ying silently clenched the feather in her hand, watching Aru and Kapachiri being surrounded by the rising pillar of light.
Countless souls of the dead, trapped in the cycle of reincarnation, emerged from He Guan and transformed into starlight in the rain.
On the distant beach, the purified Thunderbird statues turned towards the altar, water droplets sliding down the corners of their stone eyes.
The wolf king's sensors indicated that the curse of reincarnation, which had lasted for thousands of years, was finally lifted at this moment...
Chapter 53 The Aftermath of Crane View
Qingyu looked up at the sky, and a faint purple light slowly drifted down, like a star falling from the clouds.
He reached out his hand, and the light gently landed in his palm, transforming into a feather shimmering with lightning.
"Everyone... thank you..."
Aryu's voice came from the distant horizon, gentle and relieved.