Ark, they don't revolve around you

The swaying branches brushed off the snow and wrote secret words on the ground.

"This is?"

"The cipher board." Typhon glanced at him and explained, "We trust the giant trees because they can give us strength and some revelations about the future and destiny."

Zhuang Ning smiled and said, "You just said that the Sami people don't want to see their fate."

"I am just afraid of seeing a fate that is too complete. However, if the code can be deciphered, it will be a weapon to resist the evil." Typhon leaned down and stared at the code.

She uttered ancient words, like a spell, with a sacred and solemn expression: "The warriors on the expedition were buried in the shadows, and the return of the demon king is far away."

Zhuang Ning raised his eyebrows: "Is this also considered a secret code?"

He felt it was almost explicit.

Typhon didn't find it strange. She was a very serious girl, and her frowning expression was very interesting. "I don't know, but this is Sammy's notice to you."

——Sammy’s notice.

Zhuang Ning lowered his head and looked at the ground beneath his feet.

Rumor has it that the entire Sami land is alive.

The Sami has a spirit, that is, a giant beast that stretches for hundreds of kilometers.

This giant beast took the initiative to resist the invasion of evil spirits and protected millions of lives.

Those trees are the incarnation of Sami, and Anma, the Lord of Deer, is Sami's child.

Now it seems that this is not a story, but rather a very likely possibility.

"The devil's return is nowhere in sight... Why be so blunt? You have to give me some fantasy." Zhuang Ning chuckled, but did not react much.

Typhon stopped and said seriously, "Doctor, I want to know the purpose of your visit."

Zhuang Ning was silent for a moment: "Of course it's about the evil spirit."

"Sammy doesn't think you should go."

These words made Zhuang Ning smile: "But Alqi said I am the key."

"I'm just stating Sammy's thoughts." Typhon bit his lip, obviously also entangled in the seemingly contradictory prophecies of the giant tree and the Cyclops.

Zhuang Ning did not comment: "Take me to see your adoptive mother first, then I can know my fate, right?"

……

……

What surprised Zhuang Ning was that the Cyclops Elki who could predict the future lived alone in a not-so-special wooden house.

The house is simply decorated, but fortunately there is electricity and a heater, so the winter is not so uncomfortable.

The protection of the giant beast has kept the Sami people from natural disasters, but the overly harsh living conditions are still a challenge to civilization. Perhaps the supplies here are not sufficient to allow individuals to enjoy luxury.

After the water boils, the aroma of tea wafts out.

Zhuang Jing stared at the Cyclops quietly.

She was very tall, the tallest woman he had ever seen in his life, with long loose hair and a gentle temperament, but her eyes were very ethereal, as if she could see things that ordinary people could not see.

She held her staff in her arms and smiled gently at Zhuang Ning.

"Typhon, please leave for a while. Let me talk to the Doctor alone."

Typhon was a little uneasy, but he didn't reject Elki's request.

She stood up and left, but did not go far, as if she was keeping watch for the two of them.

"This child has a serious personality." Elki explained to Typhon with a smile.

Zhuang Ning nodded: "He is a very good guide."

"But she is sometimes too serious and often scares people outside." Elki pursed his lips and his voice became ethereal. "So, should I call you Doctor or Demon King?"

"These are all references to me, and I don't mind."

Zhuang Ning did not avoid Elki's eyes, "It's just that the Cyclops has put down the black crown of the Sarkaz after all, and chose to leave the Sarkaz tribe, so you should just call me Doctor."

Elki nodded absentmindedly, with amazement on his gentle face: "You have accomplished a feat that previous demon kings could not do, but you are not proud in your heart."

"Elki, I'm not here to listen to compliments and nonsense."

Zhuang Ning spoke word by word, "I want to know the future."

As soon as he finished speaking, Elki's eyes couldn't help but become sad.

It's like a dying patient witnessing his death with his own eyes.

"The future is just a deduction, Doctor. You understand that better than anyone."

"But when has the prophecy ever been wrong?" Zhuang Ning sneered, "In the prophecy, the demon king of the alien race put shackles on the entire land... Isn't that what I did?"

"but……"

"I don't need to be polite, Elki, just speak frankly."

Elki remained silent, brought the hot tea to his mouth, and said softly: "Perhaps this is also a kind of fate."

"Doctor, I will show you your destiny...but I still want to tell you that destiny is not absolute."

The moment she finished speaking, her expression became calm, like the earth after a snowstorm.

It was as if an invisible eye opened and touched Zhuang Ning's spirit.

Under that gentle gaze, Zhuang Ning's eyes slowly closed and his consciousness continued to sink.

Sinking into the future.

When he opened his eyelids again, Zhuang Ning felt the chill.

But how could he feel cold? After he merged with the original source stone, he shouldn't feel cold.

Before me was discrete darkness, suspended in this netherworld.

Here was the future, the silent place of his destiny.

His body refused to obey his will and he walked, each step seeming so exhausting.

Until a light appeared in the distance.

Under the illumination of that beam of light, he could finally see clearly where he was.

This is the palace. On both sides of the magnificent hall are endless bones and heads of dead demons.

All the heads were piled up into a small hill, and the broken bones reminded people of the legendary country of the dead.

After death, people may enter such a miserable hell.

Zhuang Ning leaned down expressionlessly and looked at his chest, where there was a big hole. The source stone embedded in his body was taken away and he was seriously injured.

The blood was flowing and frozen.

He suddenly felt very painful and tired... Suddenly, anger surged in his heart, and he moved forward supported by the anger.

At the end of the hall, he saw the culprit of all this, shrouded in shadow and emitting black mist.

Although he couldn't see the enemy's face clearly, Zhuang Ning knew that his Originium was taken away by her.

There was a snap.

Zhuang Ning fell to his knees and spat out blood. Unprecedented fatigue swept over him, as well as resentment and sadness.

It’s as if the evil demon himself knows it.

The evil demon walked slowly, the black mist covering his body disappeared bit by bit, and his face became clearer.

Zhuang Ning was almost able to see its face clearly, but his vision became blurred.

His body was getting colder and colder, and he was dying.

Before dying, the evil demon hugged him and whispered, "I finally found you."

"No, you came to me, Doc."

"Yes, we promised that even if the satellite falls, the sun expands and swallows its children, even if the world is destroyed, we will meet again."

"We... finally meet again..."

He suddenly woke up from the nightmare and looked at Lin Shi, with a subtle heat in the corners of his eyes.

"It is you."

Zhuang Ning murmured subconsciously, "You are indeed there, Precious."

PS: There are fewer words today because I need to think carefully about the plot of this volume.

Chapter 2 Let Him Sleep with Me in the Shadows

Zhuang Ning woke up from the hallucination and was in a trance for a few seconds. He breathed repeatedly and felt the red light burning in front of his eyes.

The light reminded him of a fairy tale, the little match girl.

If it is just hope, then when the last match goes out, will my dream end?

He shook his head to drive the thought out of his mind.

This result is not surprising. There are too many clues. Zhuang Ning might have guessed it a long time ago.

Precious.

When did he first recall this girl?

——When you swallowed up the fragments of the evil demon king.

After swallowing it, you saw her in the bizarre dream you had.

"You found me." Zhuang Ning whispered, "It turns out that so much time has passed."

It is actually ten thousand years long.

"Cough cough."

A light cough drew Zhuang Ning's attention.

Elki's face turned pale, as the prophecy hurt her.

"You have seen the future. What do you think, Demon King?"

Zhuang Ning was silent for a while, then whispered, "I should feel terrified, right? After all, in that future, I seemed to have been beaten... um, quite badly."

"I have no way of knowing the details. I can only let you see the broken silhouettes and guess the possible future from them."

"I know you want to comfort me, Ms. Elki." Zhuang Ning interrupted him.

He grinned, as if it was a matter of course: "I'm not afraid."

His calm face showed a strange indifference, as if such a future was really not worth fearing...

Elki was stunned.

After a moment, she remembered that this man was the devil. Perhaps he was walking on a tightrope and was already accustomed to so-called failure.

Thinking of this, she felt ridiculous for her own sentimentality.

Elki was about to speak again, but before she could do so, Zhuang Ning interrupted her.

He turned his gaze and looked outside the wooden door, and felt something bad through the barrier.

"A guest is here." He stood up, smiling, "Let's go take a look."

"Look at that enemy..." His voice was lost in the crackling sound of the flames.

……

……

ring.

The wind chimes hanging on the wood were blown up by the whistling cold wind, making crisp clanging sounds.

Whether as a guard or as a hunter, Typhon performed his duties conscientiously.

As a hunter who grew up in this land, she was used to the cold winter, but somehow, today she felt so cold that it almost froze her fingertips.