"I can feel that the Sentinel is right here."
The closer they got to the mirror-like wall, the more certain Jinhsi became. After all, at such a close distance, even the Radiant Pattern couldn't completely cut off the connection between her and the Sentinel.
"You mean the Sentinel is right behind this wall?"
Zane jogged up to catch up with the group. He looked at the confident Jinhsi, then at the wall, stepped forward and knocked on it.
"Sentinel, are you home? If you are, make a sound."
"Zane, don't be rude.", Jinhsi didn't expect Zane to be so direct. She quickly stepped forward and pulled him back.
But Zane didn't care at all. "See, the Sentinel isn't home… how about we go look somewhere else?"
At the same time, behind the Radiant Pattern, the Sentinel's eyelid twitched when it heard Zane say that.
Based on its understanding of Zane, who knew what kind of nonsense this little white-haired guy might pull.
With that thought, it couldn't care less about dignity or image anymore and quickly revealed itself from behind the wall.
On the other side, Jinhsi looked at the massive dragon body that appeared behind the wall. A low dragon's roar came through the Radiant Pattern's seal.
"Sentinel, when did you turn into an ornamental fish… uh, I mean, an ornamental dragon?"
Hearing Zane say that, the Sentinel instantly felt anger rise up. If it hadn't been sealed inside the Radiant Pattern and unable to come out, it would have slapped him hard.
'What kind of way is that for a young person to speak?'
Even though right now it did look, sort of, maybe, possibly… just a tiny bit like an ornamental… dragon kept inside a glass display.
But it was the dignified Sentinel. Did it not have any pride?
Did he even know how much damage the title "ornamental dragon" did to a Sentinel?
Jue thought, 'Out of sight, out of mind.'
It turned its head away and stopped looking at him.
'"Rover, Rover, look, the dragon is huffing."
As the saying goes, what goes around comes around.
Just as Jue was stomping in anger, Rover and Jinhsi, one on each side, one in black and one in white, both struck Zane on the head at the same time with hand chops.
Jue, trapped behind the Radiant Pattern, immediately felt vindicated.
'See, see, the one who laughs last is the winner.', Jue proudly raised its head.
'I might not be able to hit you, but my Arbiter and Jinhsi can.'
As the saying goes, a true strong person never needs to act personally. With just a glance, countless people will rush to…
The next second, Jue saw a bright point light up at the center of the Radiant Pattern, then spread across the entire barrier like a plague.
Right after that, it watched as the Radiant Pattern trapping it turned into tiny blue particles.
Jue, 'Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?'
'Where did that huge Radiant Pattern go?'
Logically, shouldn't they have found the three corresponding Radiant Stones, shattered them, and then I would roar, "I am out!" and break through the wall?
How did it just get destroyed like this?
If the Radiant Pattern could be broken so easily, then what was I for, being trapped for so long?
While Jue was starting to doubt its entire dragon life, Zane had already dismissed the seal in front of Jinhsi's shocked gaze.
"I knew it. This seal must be a trap set by the devs to artificially extend playtime. Who in their right mind interrupts the story just to add a puzzle like this?"
Although none of them understood what Zane was saying, it didn't stop them from realizing that he had helped a lot.
Looking at the Sentinel breaking free, a firm look flashed in Jinhsi's eyes, "Zane."
Zane turned his head and looked at her.
"If things reach a point where there's no turning back, if I don't fight, Jinzhou will definitely be destroyed. If I do fight, I can not only protect the Sentinel, but also save Jinzhou. The cost would only be myself."
"At that time, I'll leave Jinzhou to you."
Hearing this, Zane opened his mouth, but didn't know what reason he could use to stop her.
After all, the Jinhsi in his memory was someone who would sacrifice herself for the people of Jinzhou without hesitation.
Moreover, this wasn't necessarily a dead end.
With a bit of hope, Zane looked toward Rover.
It wasn't like he could do nothing. At least he had brought Rover here.
The mark on Jinhsi's back suddenly burst into dazzling light. Pale radiance enveloped her white figure, lifting her body off the ground.
Immediately after, the Sentinel "Jue," now freed from its restraints, broke through the wall. Surging waves rose into the air, but due to the power of time, they remained suspended, unable to fall for a long while.
Only then did Jinhsi, having regained the power of time, slowly descend back to the ground.
"It has been a long time, Jinhsi."
'Wuwuwu, Jinhsi, you're finally here! Without you, that white-haired guy might do something outrageous!'
"And you, Arbiter, or should I call you Rover."
'Arbiter, you must keep an eye on that white-haired guy! You absolutely can't let him pull my dragon whiskers again!'
Although she had already suspected it, hearing the Sentinel use such an honorific still brought a hint of surprise to Jinhsi's face.
She had originally thought Rover was at most a friend of the Sentinel, but now it seemed they were actually in a master-servant relationship?
"Since you have appeared, it must mean that Jinzhou's future has reached a point of divergence."
'Jinhsi, you have to hold on! If Zane takes over as Magistrate, my dragon whiskers won't survive!'
"The 'child' who has lost their memories, will they take up the blade to fight fate, or retreat into a cradle of safety and fall into slumber."
"The seed of the future will be planted from this very moment."
"Hey, big dragon, who even understands what you're saying? Stop talking in riddles. The riddler next door is already down to just a spine."
Hearing Zane's words, the Sentinel's expression didn't change, but its body subconsciously shifted a little closer to Rover.
'Arbiter, look at him!'
Of course, none of them knew how much inner drama the Sentinel had.
This time, Rover didn't hit Zane, because what he said was exactly what she wanted to ask.
Jue seemed to sense Rover's intention. It glanced at Zane out of the corner of its eye and tried its best to maintain the dignity of a Sentinel.
"After everything is settled, I will give you an explanation. What you need to do now is only to intervene, choose, and then witness."
After saying that, it turned its dragon head toward Jinhsi, not giving Zane any chance to speak.
"Jinhsi, you came all the way to this dangerous place in Mt. Firmament. Besides helping me escape, you must have other questions you wish to ask."
"This journey of mine does not dare to ask for too much. I only hope that the Sentinel will tell me the truth," Jinhsi stepped forward, gently patting Zane, who wanted to speak but held back. She knew he was worried about her, but this was a path she had to walk herself.
"Right now, the flow of time is raging across Mt. Firmament, and living beings are suffering… about the time flow, about your injuries, there should no longer be any concealment between you and me…"
Jue had finally been waiting for Jinhsi to bring up this topic. Normally, at a time like this, it should have said something cryptic again, but from the corner of its eye, it saw Zane quietly hiding behind a rock, starting to sharpen a blade. It immediately changed its tone.
"Although now is not the best time… telling you will not hurt. My end is near."