Chapter 1357: Chapter 1357
There really was no sense of alertness at all; she stood up, walked out of the room, and then turned through the now dramatically changed cave corridor to the central council hall, which boasted a fluorite chandelier and unlit fire pits beside it, able to accommodate more than a thousand people standing densely together.
Seeing that cleaning had already begun, Tilan nodded slightly and continued past, heading towards the back of the council hall, passing through a long corridor to a pit leading underground.
At this moment, pipes were connected here, drawing relatively clean underground water from below to supply the camp's needs.
Tilan looked at the pit below and then leaped into the abyss, drifting downwards to the bottomless well below.
Minutes later, Tilan landed nearly a kilometer deep underground; fluorite crystals emitting a faint glow were embedded in the stone walls, with a pool connecting to an underground river at her feet.
Standing on the moist stone, Tilan approached the pool, letting her fingers immerse in it, feeling the frigid underground water against her fingertips.
Her fingers stirred the water gently, creating invisible ripples; Tilan assessed the water quality, deemed it decent, and then proceeded along the flow until she reached another side of the cave, where the sound of dripping water could be heard clearly. The rushing underground stream roared past the riverbed, creating splashes.
This underground water was rarely polluted, offering a sliver of hope for life on the prairie.
After inspecting the underground pumps and water sources constructed by the camp members during her absence, Tilan helped install a Rhythmic Crystal for purification and degradation, then returned to the surface.
At this point, a day of rest and activities had begun.
As there was no work today, many gathered in the hall, some playing chess on simple boards made of wooden planks, others sharing prized drinks with friends while discussing various topics, or sitting together in a corner watching old films projected by a tiny projector.
At this time, Ores also woke up; she was looking for Tilan, accompanied by five little creatures fluttering their wings, these silkworm moth species who essentially followed Tilan or Ores every day.
"Over there, Lord Tilan is there." Brenna, one of the silkworm moth species, cheerfully pointed out the direction.
Ores quickened her pace and reached Tilan's side, surrounded by the other silkworm moth species.
"Tilan~" Ores grabbed Tilan's sleeve, asking for Tilan to play with her today.
"Alright, alright, I'll play with Ores today." Tilan, wanting to rest well today, did not decline.
The two of them came to one side of the hall; Tilan took out a wooden board, and with a swipe of her fingers, a complex and splendid grid map appeared on it.
"Let's play a role-playing game today." With that, Tilan retrieved two wooden figures to represent them and then took out two dice.
The rules were similar to tabletop role-playing games, although simplified considerably.
"Thus, our adventure story began..." Tilan smiled, raised a hand, and drew and shuffled a deck of cards in front of Ores, with each card depicting events and characters.
Throughout the game, the two cooperated as partners, tackling challenges along the way, defeating enemies, befriending allies, obtaining powerful treasures, and ultimately beating the Great Demon King who threatened to destroy the world.
Unwittingly, time passed swiftly, and by the time they finished, darkness had begun to encroach outside.
After the game ended, Ores was somewhat absorbed and hadn't completely stepped out of her 'White Witch' role.
"Still want to continue playing, Tilan~" Ores said, slightly spoiled.
"We can't, the game is already over." Tilan shook her hand.
"Why can't we stop after defeating the Demon King?" She didn't quite understand.
"That's how the game is; it has to have an ending." Speaking of this, Tilan recalled something.
"But in reality, even if the Demon King is defeated, a new one will continue to emerge as long as the cyclical environment remains unchanged." She pondered.
"I used to be quite troubled by this issue; now, in hindsight, I feel like I was caught in a narrow mindset." Tilan slightly sat up to help Ores tidy her scattered skirt and hair.
"In truth, we're already progressing, aren't we? There are always new discoveries and new issues; but when you glimpse objectively backwards, you'll find that we've already accomplished more than enough."
Human civilization, even now with various issues, has progressed far more compared to the Fifth Epoch or the ignorant ages past.
Clean water, delicious food, rich entertainment, and stable living conditions, things that people in the past dared not dream of, are now almost easily attainable for everyone.
Even within the Federation, where fierce wars occur, these rarely affect ordinary people, making life much better than the completely degenerative Dark Age.
Only, people always desire more, and the anxiety atmosphere deliberately created by capital intensifies this, causing many to forget what it is exactly they desire or hope for, merely following the mainstream blindly and anxiously.
At night, lamps were lit, dressing the hall; people gathered in the cave, with occasional gusts of wind and rain heard from outside; yet, within the cave, everything remained calm and dry.
The temporary performances begun, although a bit humble, were received with an amiable attitude by everyone, with laughter occasionally ringing through the hall.
As night deepened, the grand finale and closing performance commenced.
Tilan wore a retro-styled indigo dress tonight, sitting on scattered boxes, barefoot with legs gently swinging in the air; she held a seven-stringed zither, eyes gently closed, with a harmonious expression that didn't render the setting overly formal or solemn, embodying a sense of intimacy and naturalness.
With the lights dimming, she lightly stroked the strings, which then emitted a sound carrying a distant melody.
The first song had no lyrics, just a rhythm as if sprinting across vast lands.
With the second song, Tilan gradually opened her eyes, plucking strings while various instruments appeared around her: a violin being drawn, a wooden xylophone struck gently, and a small bell occasionally ringing, making the tune more ethereal and distant, evoking scenes from ancient poetry and tales.
In the third song, the instruments gradually diminished, leaving once again only the maiden's gentle strumming of the seven-stringed zither, a soothing singing ensuing, marking Tilan's first time singing before an audience, the voice gliding through the distant mist, softly caressing the ears, leaving a faint lingering fragrance.
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The hero returns home
He goes where no one has gone
He ventures where no one has reached
The hero returns home
He knows of places unknown
He knows places unknown
The hero returns home
He goes where no one has gone
He ventures where no one has reached
The hero returns home
Amidst the song, the ending depicted the ancient epic where the hero, after vanquishing a monster that wrought countless disasters, fell, with companions placing his body onto a small boat, gently seeing him off towards the horizon.
The greatness of the hero wasn't in killing the monster, but in facing his unbearable mistakes and correcting them with his life, ending the cycle of perpetual sorrow.
True victory often isn't in the most fierce battles resulting in a collapse, but a forgotten pain ignored.
This pain is named hunger, disease, thirst, homelessness, and anxiety at night.
Beautiful things are akin to soft, silent melodies, always hidden in the least noticeable places of the background, only realized upon awakening from a hazy dream, revealing those seemingly bland things are precious and rare, dreams unattainable by people in countless past epochs.