Chapter 30: The Rose Kingdom
The starry sky blanketed the heavens; and beneath that sky, the people remained the same as they had been the night before. The starry expanse above the crown of the Tree of Life lacked the dreamlike etherealness of Mirror Lake, yet it was far more awe-inspiring than the latter.
"I wonder what it looks like up there among the stars? Could it be the realm of the gods?"
Xianyue suddenly turned her head and asked Du Xin.
"Uh..."
At the mere thought of those glowing orbs—tens of meters in diameter—that he had conjured using the power of the world, Du Xin felt a sudden pang of awkwardness; he simply didn't know how to explain it to Xianyue.
"Oh, what could possibly be there? Just stars, really. Besides, gods don't live *in* the stars; they reside within the Divine Realm."
Du Xin deftly steered the conversation away from the topic of stars, redirecting the discussion toward the Divine Realm instead.
"What is the Divine Realm like? Is it beautiful? Are there lots of stars there? I've heard that there are people with wings living there—is that really true?"
He had succeeded. Xianyue turned her body fully toward him, leaning forward eagerly as she bombarded him with a flurry of questions. Du Xin felt his cheeks flush in silent embarrassment.
"Why don't you sit down first?"
Du Xin hurriedly helped Xianyue settle down beside him; rubbing his nose sheepishly, he began to explain.
"There are indeed winged beings within the Divine Realm—they are called Angels. But they aren't quite like you."
Xianyue abruptly unfurled her own wings, gesturing to Du Xin as if to ask whether the Angels' wings resembled hers.
"Their wings are just like a bird's. Originally, the Divine Realm was home to many different kinds of creatures—races like the Dragons, Elves, Unicorns, and Treants—but the God of Creation eventually sent them all down to the mortal world."
"Treants? What are those?"
Xianyue interjected. Even the Rose Kingdom—situated right next door to the Druids—wasn't necessarily aware of the existence of Treants; naturally, Xianyue, having grown up in the North, knew nothing of them either.
"Treants are basically just tree spirits, I suppose. In any case, aside from the Angels, there are no other sentient beings left in the Divine Realm now. Nor are there any other gods—only the one God of Creation..."
Xianyue listened in quiet fascination as Du Xin recounted the wonders and magnificence of the Divine Realm—describing the strange and exotic creatures that once inhabited it, as well as that solitary God of Creation, whose loneliness remained a mystery. The starry sky gradually faded away. The Ice Falcon remained perched beside Du Xin; Xian Yue had already fallen asleep in his arms. Slowly, the horizon began to lighten to a pale gray—the color of a fish's belly—and the sun rose. The mist in the distance thinned ever so slightly. Finally, the Ice Falcon stood up, rubbed its head against Du Xin's face once more, and then slowly flew toward the depths of the Monster Beast Forest—a place where thousands of high-level beasts congregated.
Xian Yue sat up as well. Glancing at the damp patch in Du Xin's arms, she wiped the corner of her mouth and blushed with embarrassment.
"Let's go! To the Rose Kingdom."
Du Xin spoke. As she gazed at his face—radiant with a golden glow in the sunlight—Xian Yue's heart fluttered, and a strange, wondrous sensation arose within her.
"Mm..."
Both of them spread their wings. Du Xin informed the fairies that he would be departing, and then the pair flew southward.
A full half-hour later, Du Xin suddenly slapped himself on the cheek. Xian Yue, flying alongside him, had no idea what had happened.
"Oh, man! I'm such a goofball! I could have just teleported there directly! How long is it going to take to fly all the way?"
"'Goofball'? What does that mean?"
Xian Yue asked, completely missing the point.
"It's just an exclamation—a dialect from where I come from."
"A dialect from the Divine Realm? Is it the language of the angels?"
*Sigh.* Another perfect miss. Du Xin had no choice but to steer the conversation back on track.
"What I meant was that I could have simply used spatial magic to get there. If we fly the whole way, who knows how long it'll take?"
Seeing that Xian Yue was about to ask yet another question, Du Xin quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her through an open spatial portal. Before their eyes lay a vast valley. The valley floor was carpeted with flowers, and nestled within it sat a small village. Scattered farmlands and a gently flowing stream dotted the landscape; the people coming and going here possessed a demeanor entirely different from those in the cold North.
Having left the frigid North behind, Xian Yue shed her heavy, thick clothing and changed into a lighter garment Du Xin had given her—though, naturally, she did so with her back turned to him.
The pair landed some distance away and walked into the village, where they approached an elderly man to ask for directions. "Excuse me, sir—where exactly are we? We seem to have lost our way."
"This is Flower Valley Village. Which village are you folks from?"
"Um... we aren't from around here. We actually ended up here by accident while experimenting with spatial magic. I was hoping you could tell us the way to the nearest major city?"
"Ah! My Lord! Please forgive me! I meant no offense! This region falls under the jurisdiction of White Moon Province. All I know is that if you head out this way, you'll reach Yu Town; beyond that, I really couldn't say!"
Upon hearing the word "magic," the old man immediately dropped to his knees, begging for mercy as if he had committed some heinous crime.
"Do you have customs like this back where you come from?"
Du Xin turned to ask Xian Yue, who responded with a frown.
"No, we don't. While people back home certainly respect mages, they wouldn't go to such extremes."
"It seems the Rose Kingdom is a more complex place than it appears!"
Helping the kneeling old man back to his feet, Du Xin handed him two standard gold coins from the Mage Guild, then—taking Xian Yue with him—set off in the direction the old man had indicated.
Putting the recent unpleasantness behind them, Du Xin and Xian Yue chatted and joked as they walked, making their way leisurely toward Yu Town.
About an hour later, the pair arrived at Yu Town, located several dozen kilometers away. However, they found the streets looking utterly desolate. Puzzled by the scene, Du Xin decided it would be best to find a place to stay for the time being.
After finally locating an inn, they explained the purpose of their visit. Upon spotting the Mage Guild badge pinned to Xian Yue's chest, the innkeeper adamantly refused to accept any payment. Du Xin could tell that this wasn't born of respect or gratitude—it was pure fear.
Only after Du Xin firmly insisted did the innkeeper accept the gold coins. He then escorted them to the finest room in the establishment. Feeling a bit awkward—and not wanting to further terrify the already trembling innkeeper—neither of them pointed out the obvious fact that they no longer required sleep; at most, they would simply meditate.
As night fell, the pair gazed out at the desolate streets but chose not to venture out. After a brief discussion, they decided to head for White Moon Province first thing in the morning.
The night slowly passed as the two of them engaged in meditation, and in the blink of an eye, morning arrived.
Having packed up and prepared for their journey, the pair continued onward toward the central metropolis of the province: White Moon City. Neither of them had any appetite left for sightseeing. Pressing on with their journey, in less than half an hour—and without even needing to reveal their wings—they arrived at the gates of White Moon City, located hundreds of kilometers away.
What first caught their eye in the distance was not the towering city walls or gates; rather, Du Xin and Xian Yue's attention was immediately drawn to a colossal tower rising from within the city—a behemoth easily rivaling the un-evolved Tree of Life in sheer magnitude.
"What is that?"
A question arose simultaneously in both of their minds.
Upon entering the city gates—where the usual steep entry fee was waived after Xian Yue flashed her Mage's insignia—Du Xin and his companion were ushered inside with the utmost deference by the guards. Although the city was far more bustling than Yu Town, it still fell far short of the vibrancy one would expect from a major metropolis; many shops remained shuttered, and only a sparse handful of people could be seen walking the streets.
"I suspect this must have something to do with that tower."