Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 788 Will those who have left home return to their hometown?
"If you need to cross the river," the ferryman of the underworld, the sacred water beast Gernil, said softly, "I can take you back."

He paused briefly and added: "This is my mission."

Because it was a mission, he didn't need to worry about other things, whether it was the faint smell of blood in the wind or the bloody Sister Livia in front of him, they were not his concern. He only cared about where the passengers were going.

Livia shook her head slowly: "I have nowhere to go back to."

Before the operation began, the Judge Mufasa had already made arrangements to have ordinary believers in the Saint Anvil Cross Church evacuate urgently. This was perhaps the only correct decision he had made in many years, especially when his brothers and sisters from the Demon Sealing Department and the Sisters of Battle died with him, and the soul of Gabriel, the son of Sister Livia, was taken back by Carabosse. If the True Spirit Sect continued to occupy the ancient church, it would only be foolishly exposing itself and becoming a target for the enemy.

They probably retreated to the Gospel Convent in the Three Mountains. The Evangelical Convent, the Alien Shelter, has always maintained a good relationship with the St. Annville Cross Church because of its founder Pancras. Most of the aliens accepted by the shelter have prejudices against humans, but for the sake of old man Pancras, they will not embarrass the True Spirit Sect believers.

In fact, Livia could also return to the Evangelical Convent. It would be better to say that it was her only destination. But the nun did not dare to do so, because she could not be sure what role old man Pancras played in the experiment of nurturing the soul of the Son of God Gabriel. It was he who saw at a glance that young Livia had the qualifications to become the Son of God, but he also reminded her with a meaningful warning; he did not agree with Brother Mufasa's plan to take back the Saint's manuscript, so he did not appear again since the day the latter made the decision, but why did he refuse to state the reason for his opposition; did he know the nature of the soul of the Son of God Gabriel? Did he know how crazy the conspiracy behind Brother Mufasa's plan was? Did he...

Livia didn't dare to think further. She was afraid that the old man whom she had admired and respected after reading the book "White Mountain Monastery" would gradually collapse in the face of "yes" questions. She was even more afraid that if one day even the most staunch supporters of the True Spirit Sect quietly changed their minds, how would she continue to persevere? Or, was there any need to continue to persevere?
She was afraid of all this, even more than she was afraid of the dark witch Carabosse, so she was also afraid to go to the Evangelical Convent. At the same time, she also understood that she had rejected the final destination herself, so she told Gern that she had no place to go back to.

The homeless figure leaned against the sign of the Homeward Bound Station, and the thin shadow looked indescribably lonely and desolate. Gern saw everything, and suddenly he said: "Because there is no place to go back, so you resist moving forward?"

Livia looked up, and a splash of water passed through her blank eyes. The underground river network of Lunweiting was no different from the rivers on land. The water flow was fast and slow, but this was the first time Livia had seen such a turbulent river. Perhaps this indicated that the road home was not peaceful, but always full of twists and turns.

"A long time ago, when I decided to leave my hometown and head for another unfamiliar waters, my father once told me that the destination is not important, the meaning of moving forward is the most important." The scales of the sacred beast in the water shone with a warm luster under the flames. His voice was slow and full of calm wisdom: "I have always kept this sentence in my heart and have not forgotten it. But I remember it not because it comes from my father's teachings, but because I have personally experienced its true meaning. When I vowed to cross the distant land sea as the first step to conquer the waters, I never thought about where my future would go. The scenery on the sea is monotonous and boring, and you will always encounter some annoying things: human steam warships, chasing fish and whale sharks, deserted islands, and deep-sea monsters that try to bite a piece of meat from you... But when you have great ambitions, all the annoying things will not become an obstacle for you, but a kind of motivation."

"During that six-year journey, I not only crossed the Sea of ​​Indigo, but also headed west from the mouth of Vesuvio, and roamed freely in the rivers of Slabi, Massaegic, Romagna, and Asura until I arrived at Lenwitin. But the reason I stayed in Lenwitin was not because I lost the courage to move on, but because I had already found my home in my past journeys. The journey of life is the same, such as sailing on the water. Storms and huge waves may drown you at any time, but you can ignore these things and just move forward. There is no need to worry about getting lost. Whether it is a river, lake or ocean, they will all have their ends, and when you are mature and wise enough, you can leave the water and step onto your own shore."

"Same to you, Miss Livia."

He looked at the nun deeply and said: "Your sea is not lonely, even though it is sometimes overturned by storms, even though it seems so far away, even though it sometimes tries every means to stop you from moving forward...but the end of the sea is there, it will not move, and the distance depends only on your determination."

After listening to his story, Sister Livia murmured, "It's always there?" "It's always there," Gern said with certainty. He was so confident that he never doubted his judgment. Compared with him, Livia felt that she was still a young child, crying and shouting in grievance just because she was temporarily lost, afraid to move forward.

"It seems that you already know where you should go." Gernier looked at the change in the nun's expression and said meaningfully, "Now please tell me your destination and let me take you to the other side, because this is the mission of our Arkanian family."

Arkanae, the sacred beast of the water, was born to guide lost creatures. Regardless of race, strength, or status, they equally send every creature from this shore to the other shore. They are the ferrymen of all dreams, wishes, and long-cherished wishes.

"I understand." When he finished speaking, the first faces that flashed through Sister Livia's mind were those strangers whom she had only known for a few days. She was a little confused because she never remembered them leaving such a deep impression on her. But soon the nun's expression became firm again, and she said word by word: "Please send me to Mr. Ling and his men. Please, Master Gernier."

Gern was slightly startled when he heard her request, then he chuckled, "No, that won't do. You don't seem to understand the situation, Miss Livia. Mr. Linger and his companions are going through a severe test, perhaps even more severe than when you faced the Dark Witch Carabosse. They are facing the most dangerous enemy on this planet. Even if the giant beast from our Arkanian family is here, I'm afraid it won't dare to provoke her easily. So I won't take you to die, Miss Livia."

He seemed to know everything. Not only did he accurately describe the situation of Lingge and his group, he even knew clearly about Livia's defeat at the hands of the dark witch Carabosse. However, the nun was no longer interested in these details. She was surprised and said, "Mr. Lingge and his group...are they really in such a dangerous situation? But I..."

But I can't think of anywhere else to go except them.

"Don't worry, Miss Livia." Gernai said as he turned around and sank back into the water, revealing only his broad and solid back like a raft. He said to the nun, "Different roads lead to the same destination. There are many roads in this world that can lead to the same destination. This is true for roads on land, and there are even more roads in water. Now, you can take this ferry, and let me prove this to you."

Sister Livia opened and closed her mouth several times, but in the end she said nothing. She endured the pain in her abdomen, closed her eyes and said a short prayer for the foreigners in danger, and then climbed onto Gernier's back: "I'm ready, Master Gernier."

"Then let's go." Gernison smiled coldly: "It will be a long journey for you."

The next moment, he was swimming upstream, heading for the end of the waterway submerged in darkness, and soon disappeared in the dim firelight at the ferry. The sign of the Homeward Bound Station thus regained its brightness, and the blurred characters on it seemed to burn under the illumination of the flames, gradually outlining a motto that humans had only gained after thousands of years of journeys:

The lonely wanderer will find a companion, and the one who has traveled far away from home will return home.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)