Under the pale moonlight.
Thick smoke billowed, and the blazing fire burned the night red.
The town was full of terrified cries and screams.
One after another gray figures were riding horses, moving forward. The long swords in their hands were reaping the innocent lives along the way from time to time. Even the old, the sicked, women and children were no exception.
These were mounted bandits.
In previous years, with the defensive strength of the town, it would have been difficult for mounted bandits to break into the town. However, in recent years, the turmoil had never stopped. The town had been devastated by war. Most of the young and middle-aged people had been killed and injured.
Although a very small number of townspeople stood up to resist, they were quickly killed due to their limited strength. Seeing this, the rest lost their fighting spirit and fled everywhere.
The mounted bandits emitted a whistle of bizarre rhythm. They beheaded the townspeople while looting their belongings. At the same time, they shot rockets and set fire to houses, further causing chaos. The only ones who could be spared were those pretty women. These women would be taken away and became slaves to vent their lust. There was only one final fate, which was to be humiliated to death.
In a yard, the surroundings were surrounded by fire. It was impossible to rush out. There was a woman holding a baby crying for help, but the people outside were too busy to take care of themselves, so no one came.
The hot air and thick smoke made the cry for help gradually weakened. This scene made Tiffany’s breathing thicker and heavier as her whole body was burning with intense light, trying to put out the flames, but no matter how hard she tried, it was futile.
To her, the world was like an illusion, but she could feel that it was definitely not an illusion. Rather, it was real.
However, as an ‘oracle’, she was more of a bystander, and her ability to interfere in the world was quite limited. Typically, at most once a day, and during the day, she had exhausted this ability while rescuing the wounded in another location.
If the nearby Tower of Faith was not destroyed by the disaster of war and if there was a corresponding faith in the hearts of these townspeople, then she could exert extra power and change some things. Unfortunately, after going through all kinds of hardships in the past… faith and belief among the villagers had plummeted significantly, so Tiffany could only watch all this happen without the ability to do anything.
Although the woman still used her body to protect the baby at the last moment, she was unable to change her tragic fate. Eventually, she turned to ashes together with the entire yard.
Tiffany clenched her fist. If she wasn’t a soul entity, the fist should have been bleeding from clenching.
There was a neighing sound from the other side, and an old man stood there in fright. The long sword waving over was reflected in his pupils. The cold light of death flashed.
Blood splattered everywhere. The head with the white beard flew high. The body without the head slowly collapsed. The few mounted bandits laughed as they continued to run forward on their horses. Soon, they found a new target very quickly: a couple who were trying to escape with several children.
The mounted bandit in the front stopped the mount before taking out a bow and arrow from behind. He aimed at the child running in the front.
At this moment, a little golden light shone from the sky, instantly illuminating the town brightly. Wherever the golden light shone, the fire was all extinguished, and the injured townspeople began to slowly recover.
The townspeople were in high spirits and shouted ‘miracle’ one after another. Encouraged by a special power in their spirits, some daring people began to resist, picking up sticks, axes, or throwing flammable objects to attack. Soon, more and more people joined the ranks. The mounted bandits panicked immediately. Many mounted bandits were directly kicked off because their horses were frightened or attacked. Some were hit by burning objects and caught fire. With a concerted effort, most of the mounted bandits were killed. Only a few escaped like a dog.
Listening to the cheers of the townspeople, Tiffany finally let go of the tense heart and glanced gratefully at Veronica who appeared beside her.
Veronica gave her a gentle smile, “Actually, you should know that I’m similar to you. The power I can exert is quite limited. The reason why these people can defeat the enemy depends more on their own strength. There is power only when there is faith and hope.”
Tiffany seemed to realize something, and she nodded silently. Veronica held her hand gently, “Time is running out, we should go.”
Tiffany’s grasped hand trembled slightly as she looked at Veronica’s encouraging gaze, but she finally did not break free. The figures of the 2 gradually dimmed before they disappeared.
In the blink of an eye, after crossing countless space distances, they had returned to the Galaxy Divinity Temple.
“Today is the last day, right?” Veronica looked at the towering Tower of Faith and asked.
“En.” Although there were not many words, Tiffany was no longer silent in front of Veronica.
“I don’t want to say superfluous words, but I hope that you can look directly at your heart and make the final choice.”
Tiffany nodded. Even though she was much older than Veronica, she was like a child in need of care in front of Veronica.
Veronica also had this feeling. In fact, when she first entered a planet with Tiffany as an ‘oracle’, she had been observing Tiffany, observing this girl whom Chen Rui said ‘had lost the courage to live’.
On that planet, they just witnessed a huge natural disaster. Countless people were suffering in pain and despair. There were famines and sorrows everywhere. It was impossible to describe the extreme tragedy in texts or words.
Tiffany just watched quietly previously, but the scene was too shocking. When she saw the parents exchanging their children for food, tears finally poured out uncontrollably.
Afterward, Tiffany followed Veronica silently as she learned to use limited power to inspire and help these victims.
Veronica was very pleased with this because when some people were in despair, their own pain would be relieved in contrast when they see other people’s pain and despair. They would even try to create others’ pain to try to ease their own pain.
Veronica herself had such a personal experience back then. Fortunately, this girl still had a trace of sunshine in her heart even if she had fallen into the abyss of despair; just like she used to be.
Compared to the many ordeals she had witnessed, some experiences were actually nothing. They were just fleeting and vague like the flame of life in the universe.
To live was a kind of meaning in itself, even if it was just moments of beauty.
Life was so short yet so long. From birth to growth to death, one would experience countless joys, sorrows and rage. Each stage would have different senses, feelings and comprehensions.
The absolute today might only be a relative period in the eyes of tomorrow. As long as there is faith and hope, one will get out of the trauma again.
Under the guidance of Veronica, Tiffany mastered the knack of activating the oracle power, then she said the first sentence, thank you.
In the next few days, Tiffany seemed to put aside the pain in her heart and just devoted herself to the work of ‘oracle’ to spread the faith and support the weak.
Veronica knew that she only temporarily ‘forgot’ and couldn’t really let go, but she believed that in the process of helping others build hope, her heart would truly touch hope. This was a successful start.
In the last 2 days, Tiffany and Veronica, who had fully mastered the oracle power, split up. However, due to lack of experience, Tiffany still had some shortcomings for limited power distribution, so the scene just now appeared.
“Veronica…”
“En?”
“What if a person loses his purpose in life?”
“I have also lost it before, but losing is not everything, nor is it equal to losing everything. Some things don’t belong to you, maybe you should be thankful… My experience is, stretch your mind and find a more important life purpose. Then, learn to let go of some past losses.”
“En…”
Veronica and Tiffany walked hand in hand toward the Galaxy Divinity Temple while talking, just hapin time to see Chen Rui appearing at the door.
“Chen Rui, you came on time.”
“It’s not that I’m on time, it’s that her body can’t wait any longer.” Chen Rui’s eyes swept over their holding hands and he smiled, “I’m very happy to see some gratifying changes. Okay, Tiffany, now is the final moment. Before you make a decision, let me state that as a friend, um, maybe this friend is just my wishful thinking… But, no matter what, I will respect your choice.”
Tiffany lowered her head and moved her lips before she finally spoke, “What if I want to stay here?”
“Then you will forever lose the chance to leave.”
Tiffany looked up, “If I get out of here, what can I bring you?”
Veronica smiled slightly, it seemed that a certain ‘friend’ was not wishful thinking.
“I believe you already knew something before. To be precise, you will become the empress of the Bloody Empire, and…” Chen Rui shrugged, “You will become my wife, which is the condition of the 3 empires’ alliance. I’m very sorry. To put it bluntly, this is a political marriage.”
Tiffany was silent and said nothing.
“I think she still wants to stay.” Veronica said something unexpected to Chen Rui, “Because staying will allow her to regain the meaning of her life.”
Tiffany nodded, but Veronica’s tone changed, “However, Tiffany, have you ever thought about it? As an oracle, we can exert very limited power. What if you are an empress?”
Tiffany trembled. There was the light of enlightenment in her eyes.
“What’s more, you are not alone. Although I can’t help you, I will always be by your side.” Veronica shook her hand and looked at Chen Rui. “And I am not your only friend. You will take care of and protect her, right? Chen Rui.”
“I promise.”
The tone of these 2 words was extremely solemn. Tiffany couldn’t help thinking of the most profound scene in her mind. The outstretched hand and the sentence ‘Follow me’.
That person stretched out his hand to her again. Tiffany’s heart involuntarily beat a little faster as if some scenes in her memory overlapped.
Slowly, the somewhat hesitant fingertips finally touched that touch of warmth, and her consciousness suddenly became hazy.
