Two Soul Stones erged from Broken's Inventory, both floating in the air, spinning rapidly with a powerful vibration.
"Broken, tell . Will sothing like Gaia erge from those Soul Stones?" Elincia asked urgently.
"No!" Ivana replied imdiately, stepping forward toward the floating stones.
"Ivana?" Broken said, moving closer to her.
"No, this won't harm us," she assured him.
For so reason, after hearing her words, Elincia and the others decided not to flee. Surprisingly, they trusted her.
[Two Soul Stones with identical entities are undergoing a fusion process...]
Broken received another notification, watching as the two Soul Stones seed to draw closer, rging together as lines of energy ford a cocoon, wrapping around them both.
"Could Elaine be reborn from these Soul Stones? Or maybe... will a spirit erge, like what happened with Gaia?"
Polly, still in her large form, walked up to Broken and pressed her head against his face. Broken stroked the fox's head gently.
"Polly, are you okay? Where's Pawpaw?"
Polly gestured toward her back, where the little kitten lay fast asleep.
Broken carefully lifted the kitten and placed him into his pocket dinsion.
They turned their attention back to the two floating stones.
"Master... I can hear a voice coming from over there," Polly said.
"Will a spirit be born from this?" Broken asked.
Polly was silent for a mont. "I don't know."
[A fusion process has stalled due to insufficient energy...]
[The two Soul Stones, once in the process of rging, are now in a new form: a Dormant Fae Seed.]
The floating stones had stopped vibrating, now fused into one and wrapped in a glowing green cocoon. Slowly, it drifted down to the ground.
Broken stepped forward and picked it up, studying it closely.
"A Dormant Fae Seed?" he murmured, pausing in thought.
He looked over at Alora, Ivana, and then Elincia, hoping one of them might have an answer. "No, I don't know. I've never heard of it," Elincia said, shaking her head.
"This is new for as well," Alora said. "I know Elves and Fae share the sa ancestry, but we Elves have evolved, becoming more human-like over ti. The Fae, on the other hand, stayed closer to their ancient roots, especially in the ways they reproduce and grow."
"I've heard sothing like that too," Broken replied.
Broken examined the item, but there was no description or explanation. Taking a chance, he tried channeling so Mana into the Dormant Fae Seed, which caused it to glow faintly blue for a mont.
"Does this need a Mana supply too, like Pawpaw's egg, for it to hatch?"
But there was still no response from the Seed, even as he poured more Mana into it.
Could Elaine really be reborn from this?
Broken decided to store the Dormant Fae Seed for now and figure it out later. He realized he'd missed a few notifications in his system and scrolled through, skimming the important
points.
[You did it! You totally crushed the quest "Can You End the Suffering?" with incredible success. It's like you were born to do it! Well done, you superstar!]
[The rating of the Quest has been upgraded to SS.]
[You have been awarded 100 Stat Points.]
"Damn, 100 stat points?!"
[Congratulations on successfully lifting the curse that has plagued the Moonlight Fae for centuries! Your affinity with them has risen to 47%.]
[However, be aware that so may still hold resentnt toward you. It's up to you to decide how to handle them; most likely, they will follow and serve you as their new leader.]
And the final reward... the Moonlight Fae. It seed the curse had been completely lifted, and the Faes should have returned to their normal forms.
Broken had seen Cedric and Cecilia escaping from here earlier in their Eternal Fla forms, and he hoped they'd both made it out safely.
He let out a quiet sigh, then turned to face his friends, who were watching him eagerly for an update.
"Well, the quest is complete, the curse is lifted, and I got a reward, another egg, I think," he said with a small smile.
"Looks like you're collecting babies faster than wives, huh, Broken?" Elincia teased with a smirk.
Broken didn't respond, but Alora and Ivana seed to take the jab to heart. The two of them looked away, each trying to hide an awkward expression.
[The ti has almost co for the Moonlight Land to expire, and anyone who is currently within its borders will be forced to leave within sixty seconds.]
"Well, they're telling us to get out now. Let's go," Broken said to the others, and they quickly started walking.
"So... looks like you cleaned up pretty well in that whole battle, huh?" Elincia nudged his shoulder as they walked.
lliandra chid in. "You should share so of that loot with us too, Broken!"
"What exactly do you want, lliandra?"
"Craft sothing! A new weapon," she said eagerly.
"But, you know I'm a Blacksmith, right? I can't just craft a new Sniper Rifle for you."
lliandra scowled and huffed, "Tsk! Well, then maybe you should learn whatever class you need to make one, don't you think?"
Broken chuckled. "I promised I'd craft sothing for each of you after this expedition, and I'll keep my promise. But learning a whole new class? Might be a bit much to ask."
"Ugh, you're such a pain."
Suddenly, a massive crack split open in the sky, and within seconds, more fractures spidered across its surface, as if reality itself were breaking apart. In a flash, everything around them
seed to shift.
The forest had transford dramatically; trees lay toppled in every direction, and the scars of the recent battle were painfully evident.
After a mont, Broken and his companions noticed figures erging in the distance. At the head of the group was Cedric, unmistakable, with perhaps a dozen Faes following closely
behind him.
Cedric stopped in front of Broken and held silent for a mont.
"You have fulfilled the promise you made to our tribe, Mr. Broken," he finally said.
Broken searched the group for Cecilia, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Slowly, he asked Cedric, "How many from you survived?"
"Fifteen, Mr. Broken," Cedric replied in a subdued voice.
A heavy silence settled between them. Broken took a step closer, the unspoken question -"Where is Cecilia?"-hovering on his lips, yet he held it back.
After a pause, Cedric lowered his gaze and murmured, "Cecilia didn't make it. I failed to protect her." His fists clenched tightly as he struggled to hold back his emotions.
The area fell still, and everyone could feel the weight of Cedric's grief as he fought to contain
his tears.
Without a word, Broken stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Cedric, patting his back gently. No words were necessary.
He had taken down several Fae Beasts in the battle, but he had made sure not to target Cedric or Cecilia. Yet, the chaos of the fight had been overwhelming, and in the end, the outco was beyond anyone's control.
After a mont, Broken stepped back, and Cedric lifted his face, trying to mask his sorrow.
"You're free now. So what do you plan to do?" Broken said.
Cedric t Broken's gaze and answered firmly, "Allow us to follow you. Now that the curse is lifted, we can still shift into our Eternal Fla form and control it consciously, so we can be of use to you, Mr. Broken. Please, let us serve under your leadership."
Broken nodded. "I have a small town in the southern part of the Dissidia Kingdom. Co with
and help build it."
The faeries smiled at the offer, clearly relieved. They had managed to return to their true Fae forms and could even control their Eternal Fla forms now. For those who had survived, it
truly felt like a blessing.
"Alright, let's head back."
After so ti, the rest of the party finally arrived, including mbers from the kingdom, warriors from Deadbay City, knights loyal to Broken, and other mbers of the Ass Guild. To everyone's relief and joy, their expedition had been a trendous success.
As they began their journey back, Livelywood approached Broken.
"Broken..."
"Yes?"
"I have sothing for you," Livelywood said, extending his hand to reveal an object.
It was a Soul Stone.
"Whose is this?" Broken asked, but Livelywood simply handed it over without a word.
***
(Author's Note:)
Alright, folks, that's a wrap! [Volu 4 - Blood on Enchanted Soil ends here! Hoorah! I couldn't be happier (or more exhausted).
I'd love to hear your thoughts and feelings on this volu. Drop a comnt, let know
what parts hit the hardest! And if you feel inspired, maybe leave a quick review? Nothing makes happier than seeing your reactions, and who knows, it might even make treat our dear MC a little better in the next volu.
So, what's coming up? Eternal Challenge, anyone? Or perhaps it's finally ti for Broken to officially establish his Guild? And we can't forget that little "toy" he's been ignoring for a whole volu... Yes, I'm talking about that golem class, xi xi xi xi xi...
See you in Volu 5, and thank you for all your support![]
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