[Main Quest: [The Maiden, The Defier, The Death Crier] has been activated.]
[Task Description: In the upside-down tower, there are truths, answers, and choices.]
[Completing the main quest [The Maiden, The Defier, The Death Crier] will reward: Radiant Tide *20, Lustrous Tide *10, Astrite *1600, Shell Credit *100000.]
After a brief celebration, Noah removed his mask, squeezed out of the dense crowd, released his perception, and searched with all his might for Cartethyia's figure.
Gacha! Gacha! Gacha!
The resources he had painstakingly saved for over half a month were all for this moment's gacha pull. Noah hurried through the streets, unwilling to wait even a second longer.
He released his perception, striving to distinguish Cartethyia's figure from the dense array of various frequencies.
This frequency... that's Phoebe, no need to pay attention.
This frequency... that's Carlotta. Gotta avoid her—can't let Little Potato ruin his plans.
This frequency... Phrolova, playing the violin?
Noah instinctively wanted to draw his blade, but he ultimately suppressed the urge.
Fine, he'll stab Phrolova to death with one sword after meeting Cartethyia.
After all, Phrolova might not run fast, but Cartethyia truly couldn't stay in Ragunna for long.
After searching bitterly, a distinctive frequency finally appeared within his perception range. Noah immediately dashed toward it.
Even at the edge of Ragunna City, the atmosphere of this Carnevale celebration showed no restraint—colorful balloons adorned every corner.
Half of the tides gently lapped against the walls of this city on the water. Following the wall upward with one's gaze, a pair of slender, smooth, and exquisite long legs came into view, their flowing lines like the most perfect curves from a master's hand.
Moving the gaze higher, past the slender waist and the dense, waterfall-like golden long hair, through the delicate collarbone and elegant swan neck, that exquisite face—crafted as if by a divine being—finally came into sight.
It was a perfection that language could hardly describe: breathtakingly beautiful, flawlessly stunning, enough to make time stand still.
Her soft lips parted slightly as she sang loudly:
"The vast horizon is my love~"
Not far away, Noah's mouth twitched. In an instant, he snapped out of Cartethyia's beauty.
What a great girl—too bad she has a mouth.
But he also felt relieved. Since Cartethyia had appeared here just as in the plot, it meant the situation inside the upside-down tower likely hadn't deviated too much.
With that in mind, Noah no longer concealed his footsteps and strode quickly toward Cartethyia.
A line of small text emerged at the bottom of his vision.
[Limited Banner "Crown of Unyielding Destiny" has been opened.]
"Huh?"
Noah's expression instantly turned stunned.
Wait, why did it only open a weapon banner?
Where's my big character banner?
Oh— the Cartethyia in front of him was just a separated consciousness. The real Cartethyia was still imprisoned in the upside-down tower, right?
Outrageous! But logical!
"The winding river flows from the sky~ Toward that sea of myriad purple and red~"
He had already approached Cartethyia, but she continued singing to herself.
"Ahem."
Noah cleared his throat lightly. Cartethyia glanced at him sideways, then quickly looked away.
After all, she was just a segment of frequency—no one could see her. She was the freest existence in all of Ragunna; nothing she did would be discovered.
Thinking this, Cartethyia had no reservations and sang even more freely:
"You are the most beautiful cloud in my heart~ Fill the wine to keep you here~"
Noah caught the lyrics and shouted:
"Stay here!"
In an instant, Cartethyia froze as if someone had hit the pause button. Her voice stuck in her throat, her face visibly turning red as if all the blood in her body was rushing to her brain.
The feeling of being caught singing alone in private excitement was no different from public execution.
She turned her head stiffly, her eyes fixed intently on Noah, who stared back at her unblinkingly.
This person... could see her?
For real?
Cartethyia tentatively spoke, her voice becoming soft and timid, no longer as bold and carefree as before:
"Forever singing the most dazzling ethnic style~ The most beautiful posture in the entire sky~"
Noah caught the lyrics again and shouted:
"Stay here!"
Her exquisite little face grew even redder, even her delicate elf-like ears flushed pink. Emotions of shame, social death, and embarrassment were displayed to the fullest.
"Ah!!!"
Cartethyia covered her face and squatted down, her toes curling tightly as if she wanted to dig a three-bedroom apartment into the ground.
After a long while, Cartethyia finally lifted her head to look at Noah's face. While pretending to be busy adjusting the hair by her cheek, she carefully and earnestly asked:
"Um... who are you?"
Noah held back his laughter and took out his mask to put it on:
"I am this year's Carnevale Laureate, Noah. What's your name?"
"My name is Flu... no, Cartethyia. My name is Cartethyia!"
...
Ragunna, another side.
"Where's Noah? How did he disappear right after the performance ended?"
In the crowd, Carlotta looked left and right but couldn't find the person she was searching for.
"Hey, Miss Carlotta."
A man with curly golden hair hurried over to Carlotta holding a camera and handed her a photograph:
"I'm a staff member from the Pioneer Association, Fulmine. Your performance just now was truly amazing. This is a photo I took for you all."
Fulmine looked very excited and spoke quickly:
"I'd really love to shoot a documentary for your troupe, especially about that Laureate. Could you please introduce me?"
"Oh~ no problem. Let me see the photo first."
Carlotta set aside her thoughts of searching for Noah, lowered her head, and carefully examined the photograph taken by Fulmine.
In the photo, Noah was held high by the troupe members. The photographer had cleverly captured the moment, freezing everyone's enthusiastic smiles.
Noah was laughing, Brant was laughing, Roccia sitting on Pero's box was laughing, and even Phoebe in the far back along with many troupe members were laughing.
Not bad, not bad—great shot.
Carlotta smiled in satisfaction and began looking for her own figure in the photo. Finally, at the edge of the picture, she spotted a pair of gloved small hands.
Those were her hands.
She only had those raised hands in the frame!
Carlotta's smile instantly froze on her face.
"What kind of shot is this? Absolutely terrible!"
Carlotta tossed the photo back into Fulmine's hands and turned away angrily.
"Miss Carlotta! Hey, Miss Carlotta!"
After calling a few times, Fulmine scratched his head in confusion, picked up the photo he was proud of, and muttered to himself:
"My lighting, my composition, my scene... completely flawless! How could it be terrible?"
...
In a corner of Ragunna, two figures sat on swings.
"A Carnevale of this scale—it's been a long time since I've seen one."
As they gradually talked, Cartethyia had forgotten her earlier embarrassment. She grew more excited as she spoke, her eyes seeming to sparkle:
"Especially when you all were singing just now—everyone in Ragunna, including me, was joining in the chorus. That exhilarating feeling is truly thrilling."
Noah opened the banner, tapping on ten-pulls while gathering information:
"As long as you like it. By the way, I don't think I've seen you in Ragunna before. Where do you live?"
"This..."
Cartethyia lowered her head, unsure how to begin:
"The place I live... you might find it hard to imagine. Have you heard the story of Cinderella?"
"Cinderella lives in a place without freedom. Every so often, the prince in the castle holds a ball. With the help of magical power, Cinderella can attend the prince's ball."
"But before the midnight bell rings, Cinderella must return and stay in the place that confines her, waiting for the next ball."
After spending 50 pulls and successfully obtaining the signature weapon Crown of Unyielding Destiny, Noah closed the panel and fell into thought:
"A place without freedom... Can you tell me more about it?"
"This..."
Cartethyia's gaze dimmed, but she forced a smile:
"On such a celebratory day, let's not talk about unhappy things..."
As she spoke, the Tacet Mark on her forehead began to glow. A trace of bitterness flashed in Cartethyia's eyes:
"Sorry, it seems the midnight bell is about to ring. I have to go."
"...Wait."
Noah suddenly spoke:
"Cartethyia, do you know the ending of Cinderella's story?"
"The... prince picks up Cinderella's glass slipper, goes house to house comparing it, finally finds the owner of the slipper, and marries her back to the palace."
Cartethyia answered, then suddenly laughed. Her figure gradually became ethereal:
"It's the ending I've always longed for. Unfortunately, I'm not Cinderella. Laureate claimant, I'm just a segment of frequency—I can't even leave you a glass slipper."
"You're not Cinderella, Cartethyia, and I'm not the prince."
Noah exhaled and smiled faintly:
"But even without a glass slipper, there's a crystal sword."
Under Cartethyia's puzzled gaze, he reached out and summoned a slender sword blade sheathed in flowing water.
Crown of Unyielding Destiny!
The moment she saw the sword, Cartethyia's gaze trembled. She opened her mouth to speak but could make no sound as her frequency rapidly dissipated.
Noah flipped his hand to put away the long sword, waved goodbye to the fading Cartethyia, and curled the corners of his mouth slightly:
"See you, Lady Maiden."