Alice in the Land of Steam

Carson Borg and Regina simultaneously looked up at the distant horizon, their pupils contracting sharply in shock.

The whale is rising from the forest and soaring into the sky.

The ancient and sacred behemoth, with an aura as if the world were being created, slowly broke free from the dark green sea of ​​tree canopies. Its enormous, fin-like limbs stretched out, stirring up the surging black waves of leaves below. Each slow but powerful flap brought forth a deep, thunderous roar. Rather than the vibration of the air, onlookers preferred to believe they were hearing the powerful breath of an ancient sea monster, long and oppressive.

Although the Gray Hills region is inland, it is not far from the ocean. Following the Ansers River downstream, it only takes a week to reach the estuary, where countless waters converge. No matter how fiercely they surge and rush, they merge silently into the sea, creating the spectacular sight of the so-called "Sea of ​​Tranquility." In his youth, the Eagle of Gray Hills had also traveled far from home, reaching as far as the Atoliga province of the Yalas Empire. During his long journeys, he witnessed firsthand countless sights and things that were unbelievable to ordinary people, and the whale pods at sea were but the smallest part of it all.

But none of the whales that Grayhill Eagle had ever seen, whether ordinary creatures or magical monsters, or even the calamity whale that had traversed a thousand springs and autumns in the sea, usually lurking in the deepest abyss, rising to the surface to feed at fixed times, and often stirring up tsunamis and storms, and thus being revered by sailors and fishermen as the "Abyssal Demon Fish," could match the awe and awe he felt from the whale before him.

It's probably because this whale isn't actually a real whale.

It is an island.

Its body is not covered by barnacles or seaweed; those seemingly dense and heavy slabs are actually rock layers covering a forest. Its back is not teeming with giant parasites and seabirds pecking at dirt, but rather with intricately designed, model-like structures. It looks so clumsy, yet flies so lightly, almost like a truly living creature. But perhaps it is this contradictory contrast between biological instinct and inanimate structure, that striking incongruity, that essence that evokes awe and reverence in onlookers?

The Grayhill Eagle, now a demigod with eyesight far exceeding that of ordinary people, could even see a flower field in the center of the island, with a windmill in the center of the flower field, and in front of the windmill, a young man stood quietly, holding a lamb in his hand, looking in the direction he had left, his expression indifferent, unmoved by the earth-shattering scene below.

Carson Borg froze, feeling a wave of dizziness. Chaotic fragments of memory surged wildly in his mind, like the sea unearthing prehistoric relics hidden in the deepest ocean floor and laying them out before him for examination. The overlapping and separating of chaotic thoughts brought a tearing pain. He instinctively wanted to see the young man's face clearly, but the other man seemed to sense the gaze from the surface and lowered his head slightly, glancing casually.

For a brief moment, their eyes met across the distance.

The next moment, the whale began to accelerate, its massive body soaring towards the higher and farther reaches of the sky with an elegance and power disproportionate to its size. Its speed increased rapidly until it became a shimmering dot on the horizon. Above the forest, only the swirling, chaotic vortex of forest and the still-unsettled black clouds remained. A straight trail in the air currents pointed far into the unknown world, as if announcing the traveler's departure, never to return.

“Big brother…” came Regina’s trembling voice from the side. Her voice sounded like it had been blown away by the wind, with a hint of a sob in it. Her fingers gripped Carson’s sleeve tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force: “That wouldn’t be the old friend you were talking about, would it?”

Carson Berg didn't answer. He simply stood there, staring blankly at the horizon where the flying whale had disappeared. A profound sense of loss welled up within him, only to quickly subside, like a storm at sea that always arrives fiercely but departs cleanly. The farewell was over. Whether old friends or passersby, perhaps their paths would never cross again in this life. In that case, why dwell on those ambiguous fragments of memory and neglect one's true self?

He took one last deep look in the direction where the flying whale had disappeared. "Let's go," he said in a low voice, his anxiety gone, replaced by a faint sense of relief and regret. "They won't be coming back."

This one scene alone will become a legend, like the countless tales of monsters, treasures, gods, magic, or prehistoric ruins that have emerged in the Evernight Grove since its birth, forever remembered and passed down by the people of Grayhill. Just like now, in a newly built chapel in Suarez, a boy and a girl saw that scene through the window. The boy couldn't help but get excited, his excitement mixed with an anticipation he himself wasn't even aware of: "Look, Kadora! I told you I saw it! That's definitely a whale, no doubt about it!"

Kadora also gazed at the sky where the whale had flown away, her eyes following the smaller and smaller point of light until it completely disappeared into the azure background. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, casting a faint shadow on her fair cheeks. Unlike the boy beside her, she was not excited; on the contrary, she felt sad.

"Goodbye."

The girl silently spoke in her heart, all her words ultimately condensing into these two wordless phrases. Even now, she still couldn't recall who she was saying goodbye to.

Only on the small altar behind the two, the rather simple statue of the goddess, whose memory was blurred by the sculptor, silently watched the stories of the human world, their endings and beginnings.

……

“Lingge,” Ieta controlled the whale to take off and fly towards the center of the continent. She was now very skilled at this, and unlike her first takeoff, she wouldn't have nearly caused the valley to collapse due to her lack of experience. Once the Cloud Whale Sky Island's speed gradually stabilized and it no longer relied on her control, flying autonomously solely on air currents and wind direction, she relaxed slightly and asked the young man beside her, “What were you looking at just now?”

"nothing."

Lin Ge withdrew his gaze, not feeling it was something that needed to be specifically mentioned. Human destiny is so wondrous, often taking unexpected turns. For the characters in the story, wanting a happy ending is natural, but learning to accept an imperfect ending is a lesson one must learn to live in this cruel world. Only a few possess the right to be stubborn, not because they are particularly strong or resolute, but because they simply don't care about the ending. Those who are easily satisfied are not easily defeated.

Linger wasn't that kind of person, but the lamb he was leading was undoubtedly one of them.

So it still faithfully waits for its master's return every night on that small hill, never tiring of it. Fortunately, the young man's companionship seems to have finally had some effect. Even though it never sees its master return each night, the lamb no longer throws a tantrum. Now, it has completely regained its former liveliness and energy, unknowingly breaking free of its rope and chasing butterflies in the flower field. Its little hooves lightly tread across the soft soil, trampling down a few innocent primroses.

Watching the small figure hopping and skipping among the flowers, the young man's gaze was peaceful. For some reason, he had a feeling that the girl had never left, that she was always by his side, watching him.

“Ling Ge…”

Ieta called his name hesitantly. When the young man turned around, her somewhat uneasy expression was reflected in his clear golden eyes. The angel bit her lower lip, her fingers fidgeting nervously with the hem of her clothes. After a while, she spoke softly, "I haven't had insomnia these past few days... Actually, it was very difficult at first. Every time I closed my eyes, I would think of all sorts of random things. For example, if I had been able to defeat Caraboss back then, would Sister Xia have had to fight in my place? Or, if I could have delayed it a little longer, until Xino came back, would it have been better than now? I kept thinking about it, even though I knew I shouldn't think like that, I couldn't help but think about it. I kept thinking like that, and I couldn't fall asleep. What were my feelings back then? Sadness? Pain? Regret? Maybe even I don't know..."

She spoke slowly, her tone initially calm, but gradually lowering as if she were talking to herself. But Lin Ge was very close, so he could hear her clearly, even the rapid thumping of her heart, like the whistle of a train before departure. Perhaps even the angel herself didn't understand what she was trying to express; she was simply pouring out all the emotions that had been building up in her heart for so long. To avoid bore her listener, she tried hard to finish her sentence in one breath, but the effect seemed to be the opposite. She stammered, rambled on, and her words were incoherent, reminding the young man of shy students blushing under the gaze of the entire class after being questioned by the teacher.

They are shy, so they work very hard; but because they are shy, they often have to put in even more effort, yet they still don't get the results they want.

Fortunately, Lin Ge was a patient teacher, so no matter what, he would continue to listen, remaining silent and focused, without showing even the slightest impatience.

This silent yet gentle attitude brought Ieta a sense of peace, calming her down slightly. Although her fingers continued to fidget with the hem of her clothes, it was merely a habitual action. As long as she hadn't completely wrapped herself in her wings, it meant that the angel still possessed courage and could bravely express her thoughts: "...But later I realized that this was wrong. It's not that I can't be sad, nor that I shouldn't be sad, but that I can't just focus on being sad and forget what's truly important. If... if Sister Xia saw me like this, she would be very disappointed, wouldn't she? Once that thought arises, I feel guilty about what I did in the past, and then I want to change... Or perhaps it's not about changing, but rather, going back to the past. Just like Sister Xia always told me, to eat well, rest on time, wear more clothes when it's cold, and go for a walk when the weather is nice..."

Only by returning to that state can one say that they have truly let go, because the past is not meant to be indulged in, but rather exists as a reference point for the future.

Miss Angel was the first to think of it and the first to do it. Perhaps it was because she was always very obedient and kept her sister's words in mind, never disobeying them; or perhaps it was a familiar memory from the past that helped her grow up, and the tears she shed at that time seemed to be prepared for today.

“I will no longer cry, Linger, so,” the angel looked up, gazing intently at the young man’s face, and said, word by word, “please don’t cry either, okay?”

Facing those clear, sky-like eyes, Lin Ge neither flinched nor avoided them, but remained silent for a moment before slowly replying, "I didn't cry."

Upon hearing this, a hint of sadness flashed in Miss Angel's eyes.

As the young man's daughter, Wang Quan, fell into a deep sleep in his arms, he finally learned to cry again amidst unspeakable grief. But no one witnessed this moment, except for the young knight Hino, who happened to return from beyond the heavens. However, she was an upright and honest person; the young man did not demand that she keep this secret, and the moral code of a knight had bound her from easily revealing even a whisper to outsiders. Therefore, he could indeed tell the girl before him with complete honesty that he had never cried.

If it had never been seen, heard, or known, then such a fact would naturally never have existed.

However, he completely overlooked the girl's feelings.

Without seeing it with her own eyes, hearing it with her own ears, or even touching its tears and loneliness, Ieta, with a pure feeling, so clearly realized that this young man had shed tears for a girl who wasn't her, in a place she didn't know. Was that the first tear of his life? Had he never felt sadness before? Or was he, at that time, merely a soul wandering outside the mortal world, who, even knowing the meaning of tears, had never learned to cry?

Only then, because of her departure, did he finally become a true human being.

Ieta gazed silently at the young man before her, noticing his calm expression, as if every word he spoke came from the heart, without any deception. For some reason, despite being so heartbroken, so suffocated, she still lifted her face and gave him a bright, happy smile: "If that's the case—"

"That's wonderful, Ling." (End of Chapter)