"You guys just stay here,"
"and pick up the swords ant to kill each other."
The brothers following closely were startled by these words.
For a mont, they looked at Noen, puzzled.
"Do as Noen says, children."
The Oak Sage spoke slowly.
After a mont’s hesitation, the brothers nodded heavily and picked up the scattered swords from the ground.
They were weapons fashioned from bones and sharp stone flakes, and killing soone with them would require great effort, inflicting prolonged, imnse pain before death.
Noen saw the two slowly walk to the giant pit and asked from above in a cold voice,
"Tell , do you hate each other?"
The brothers shuddered violently, twisting their heads to look at Noen.
"Answer him!"
The Oak Sage said sternly.
"We, we don’t know."
The elder Druid stamred.
"Then rember the aversion you feel towards each other."
Noen persuaded gently,
"Rember, every mont when you loathe each other, recall the tis you wanted to kill your brother."
The Oak Sage watched from the side as the brothers in the pit shivered.
Under the gaze of the two, the brothers couldn’t help but recall every bit of their loathing.
No pair of brothers in the world could be close every mont.
In their mories, there were certainly tis when they couldn’t stand each other.
In the pit, the brothers looked at each other, their hands trembling slightly with their swords.
Under Noen’s guidance, they rembered their grievances.
The elder brother looked at his younger brother, recalling slowly how his brother had once taken the ga he had caught and dried—
it had been hard-earned food, a gift for his wife, yet his brother had taken it without asking.
The rage in his eyes was gradually awakened.
The younger brother also glared at his elder brother.
His brother had scolded him in public countless tis, lectured him, even resorted to beating...
But were not these mories obscured by ti? Had he not also despised him?
The brothers’ vendetta slowly erged from the earth, their hands moving from trembling to gripping their swords tightly.
The tips of the swords pointed at each other, seemingly just one motion, one sound away from fulfilling the curse’s prophecy by killing each other.
Just at this critical mont,
Suddenly, Noen’s voice reached into the blood-stained pit.
"Look into each other’s eyes, patiently look into each other’s eyes."
The brothers were startled, their accumulated anger interrupted.
Noen continued saying,
"Rember the brotherhood between you, rember how your father used to teach you when you were young, recall how many tis you have each supported one other’s shoulders."
Noen’s voice seed to have a magic power. Under his guidance, the tightly gripped swords once again started to tremble.
"Rember, you are brothers connected by blood."
Yes...
We are brothers connected by blood.
The wrath in the brothers’ eyes gradually faded.
"How many grievances did you have?
Now say to each other: I forgive you,
No matter how many tis, no matter how many occasions.
I choose to understand, I choose to forgive you."
The brothers slowly lowered their swords, no longer pointing the tips at each other.
"You are to embrace each other as hunters of hawks and falcons.
Be close as brothers, love your brother."
Clang.
As the words fell, so did their swords.
The Oak Sage watched the pit incredulously.
Suddenly, a wisp of dark-purple energy rose from the center of the pit; the Oak Sage gazed at it.
"That’s... the source of the Curse."
Suddenly, the mass of cursed energy in the center of the pit burst open, creating a massive gust of wind that scattered the limbs in the pit, with Noen raising his hand to block and swaying in the wind.
After a while, the source of the Curse was no longer visible; it had completely dissipated.
"The Curse... is lifted..."
The Oak Sage suddenly knelt on the ground, muttering unbelievingly.
A familiar feeling surged from within, and the old Druid felt the gloom in his heart abruptly disappear, the tornt brought by the Curse no more.
The Curse that had tornted three generations was lifted!
"Thank you...praise you...Noen, praise you..."
As he spoke, the Oak Sage prostrated himself, kissing the ground with his lips,
"Also thanks to Yikabe’s rcy...thank you for the noble curse sparing us..."
.................
The news of the curse being lifted spread instantly throughout the entire Druid tribe.
Druids of all ages gathered together, and when they heard the news from the Oak Sage, they were collectively stunned, for a very long ti.
It was only after a while that soone finally rembered to celebrate.
The Druids cried with joy, cheering and praising Noen, who lifted the curse.
"Noen...listen to their cheers."
The Oak Sage looked at Noen, barely containing his excitent as he quavered,
"What reward do you want? Anything."
"Wish Stone...Sage...I want the Wish Stone."
Noen slowly stated his demand.
The Oak Sage hesitated for a mont, but after a while, he clenched his teeth, steeled his heart, and shakily reached his arm toward the box on the altar.
"It’s in here, take it."
Noen took it, a great joy rushing through his brain.
Now...
Only three short days were left until the deadline.
If he could not lift the curse, then he and his companions would all lose their souls and die here.
Suppressing his excitent, Noen, holding the Wish Stone, slowly walked out of the Druids’ altar square.
The crowd gathered around, excitedly looking at the Wish Stone in Noen’s hand.
After these days, they had roughly guessed Noen’s plans.
"Don’t open it here, go sowhere else."
Noen looked around and said.
The people all nodded in agreent.
Thus, a group of people walked through the forest, with Noen heading towards the secluded Green Lake.
Regarding the golden horn, he had already prepared everything.
Standing by the lakeside, caressing the box in his hand, Noen couldn’t help but mutter:
"God...we can finally return to our holand."
As the words slipped out, Noen extended his hand and slowly opened the wooden box.
Crack!
Noen stared in utter shock at what lay before him.
"Empty...empty?!"
Everyone suddenly stood dumbfounded, a chill rising from their feet.
The wooden box was completely empty, containing nothing.
"How is this possible?!"
Suddenly, sensing sothing, Noen abruptly looked up.
There, a mysterious figure erged from the Secret Forest.
"Nice to see you again."
Slaier, while smiling, tossed a stone up and down in his hand.
Noen widened his eyes, the stone faintly emanating a colorful glow.
It was indeed the Wish Stone!
"Slaier?!"
"It’s ."
Slaier bowed to the crowd,
"I know you’re puzzled."
"What...what exactly did you do?"
Casas asked, his voice trembling.
"It’s simple, I had stealthily stolen the Wish Stone before you received the box."
Slaier showed a mocking expression,
"Once you fulfill the contract, I will take you unhard to the Ancient Kingdom.
However...
I never said I wouldn’t stop you from fulfilling the contract,
nor did I promise you would get the Wish Stone."
Cold, shivering sweat erged from everyone’s necks.
Fear occupied every hair on their bodies.
Slaier gripped the Wish Stone, giving a sly smile,
"Rember,
when making a contract with the Divine,
no matter what consequences occur,
you can only bla yourselves for not being careful enough."
Reviews
All reviews (0)