Midway through her story, Cyrene's eyelids began to flutter in Lin Qingyue's warm embrace. Her little head nodded drowsily until she finally drifted off to sleep.
Lin Qingyue carefully adjusted her posture to make the little one more comfortable. Then she looked up at Ilanier, who was leaning against her shoulder.
In the moonlight, the Elf Queen's profile was as soft and finely sculpted as a work of art, her long lashes casting a tranquil shadow beneath her eyes. She too seemed drowsy, her breathing deep and even.
"Ilanier," Lin Qingyue whispered.
"Hmm?" Ilanier murmured lazily, opening her eyes. Those wine-red irises shimmered with a hazy, sleepy mist, making them utterly captivating.
"My next quest takes me to a place called the 'Silent Forest,'" Lin Qingyue said, cutting straight to the point. "Do you know anything about it?"
It was merely a casual question. After all, it was a separate Dungeon, and there was no guarantee it was even part of this World Fragment.
But Ilanier's reaction was completely unexpected.
"Silent Forest?" Ilanier frowned slightly, a clear look of confusion crossing her face.
"This name... I feel like I've heard it somewhere before, but I can't quite recall."
She straightened her posture, as if trying to dredge up fragments from the depths of her five-hundred-year-long memory.
Lin Qingyue's heart clenched sharply.
Something's wrong.
This is deeply wrong.
Who was Ilanier? The Elf Queen, who had lived for over five centuries, her memory comparable to the Empire's most meticulously organized Library.
How could a place feel both "familiar and impossible to recall" to her?
"Think harder," Lin Qingyue urged, her voice dropping a few notches, laced with a subtle, guiding Magic Power. "That place is said to be inhabited by many Elves, and they're fiercely xenophobic."
"Xenophobic Elven Territory?"
Ilanier's brow furrowed even more deeply. "While our Elven Race dislikes outsiders disturbing our peace, we're far from being 'xenophobic.' Unless..."
Her voice trailed off abruptly.
In her wine-red eyes, something solid shattered, replaced by a flash of incredulous realization.
"No... I remember now!"
Under the moonlight, the color drained visibly from her face, leaving it deathly pale.
"The Silent Forest is a vital stronghold for the Elven Race on the Eastern Continent!"
"It houses a branch of the Ancient Tree of Life, which has been guarded for generations by our Moon Elf Race's most elite Rangers!"
"But..."
Her voice trembled with disbelief, as if recounting an impossible fairy tale.
"I... I haven't received any news from the Silent Forest in nearly six months!"
"This is impossible!"
She sprang to her feet and paced the pavilion, her face a tangled mix of shock and gravity that ultimately hardened into a chilling resolve.
"We maintain Magic Message Arrays connected to all our key strongholds. Our monthly routine communications have never been interrupted before!"
"Six months of silence, and I remained completely unaware?!"
"My memories... my memories of the Silent Forest have been veiled by something, blurred and indistinct!"
Watching Ilanier's stunned and self-reproaching expression, Lin Qingyue felt as if countless bolts of lightning had surged through her mind, instantly illuminating all the lingering doubts.
Countless clues now converged, confirming her earlier speculation about a "Dungeon."
At that moment, her conjectures received their most direct confirmation.
Just as I suspected!
When a portion of a world is forcibly detached for unknown reasons, forming an independent 'Dungeon,' it becomes not only physically isolated from the original world but also shielded at the rule level, erasing all memories of that part from the minds of the original world's inhabitants!
It's like cutting a file from a hard drive. No trace remains in the original folder—not even the concept of ever having possessed it.
Ilanier could still recall the Dungeon only because she is exceptionally powerful, her soul resilient enough to pierce the rule-imposed veil of amnesia with my prompting.
If it were an ordinary Elf, even if you slapped the words "Silent Forest" across their face, they would only stare blankly, utterly perplexed.
This discovery sent a chill crawling up Lin Qingyue's spine, yet it was mingled with the exhilaration of unraveling the ultimate mystery.
"Qingyue, I must send someone to investigate immediately!"
Ilanier halted, her gaze as sharp as a drawn blade.
"If something has truly happened in the Silent Forest, it would be the most serious dereliction of duty by our Elven Race in nearly a century!"
"There's no need."
Lin Qingyue shook her head, took Ilanier's hand, and gently guided the flustered queen back to her seat.
"I'll go."
"You?" Ilanier blinked in surprise.
"Yes, me."
Lin Qingyue nodded, succinctly explaining her current situation.
"To me, it's another Dungeon—meaning it's already become a separate 'World Fragment' that you shouldn't be able to reach."
"I was planning to go there anyway, so I might as well check on the situation for you and act as a temporary messenger."
"But... the situation there is unclear, and it's too dangerous!" Worry was etched across Ilanier's face.
"Don't worry."
Lin Qingyue smiled, reaching out to gently pinch Ilanier's ice-cold fingertips, their texture as smooth as fine silk.
"I'm quite strong, you know. And I still have the 'VIP Pass' you gave me."
She pointed to her Moonlight's Embrace earring.
Ilanier gazed at Lin Qingyue, her expression a complex mix of worry and hope.
After a moment, she struggled to regain her composure, the decisive and regal bearing of the queen returning to her.
"You're right. You are the most suitable candidate."
She raised her hand, and a vibrant laurel leaf drifted from the air into her palm.
Pristine moonlight flowed from the queen's fingertips, rapidly etching intricate and graceful Elven Runes onto the leaf.
"This is the Queen's Edict."
She handed the softly glowing leaf to Lin Qingyue.
"Give it to Iris, the Garrison Commander of the Silent Forest—an old friend of mine. When she sees this, she will understand everything."
Lin Qingyue accepted the feather-light yet immensely weighty "edict." It felt warm to the touch, still carrying Ilanier's body temperature and a faint, delicate fragrance.
"Iris? She sounds like a formidable woman," she remarked casually.
Ilanier smiled faintly, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes. "She's a Mage, indeed formidable. But rest assured, her loyalty is absolute."
"It's getting late. I should return now."
Lin Qingyue glanced at Cyrene, who was sleeping soundly in her arms, and reluctantly handed her over to Ilanier.
"We're leaving at dawn tomorrow. I need to go back and rest up."
Ilanier took Cyrene, her eyes filled with even more reluctance than Lin Qingyue's.
"Then... when you're done with your business..."
She looked at Lin Qingyue, a hint of barely concealed anticipation in her voice.
Lin Qingyue smiled.
"As soon as I return from that Dungeon, I'll come find you."
Leaning down, she gently pressed a kiss to Ilanier's smooth forehead.
"Wait for me."
With that, she turned without hesitation and activated the teleportation.
Ten seconds later, a white flash erupted, and her figure vanished from the garden.
Ilanier stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at the place where Lin Qingyue had disappeared. After a long moment, she lowered her gaze to Cyrene in her arms and murmured softly, "Qingyue, please come back safely..."
Meanwhile, back in her inn room, Lin Qingyue waved her hand, removing the Chronocognitive Anchor she had previously set.
With that done, she finally walked over to her bed and lay down.
Her mind was still replaying the information she had just acquired.
A Dungeon formed from a World Fragment...
And after the Purification is complete? Will this fragment remain as it is, or will it... merge back into the original world?
A daring idea, one that thrilled even her, began to form in her mind.
If it merges...
Wouldn't that mean her mission—ostensibly to purify the Dungeon—was actually helping Ilanier reclaim her lost territory?
Hmm, that sounds pretty badass!
Helping my Queen Wifey conquer the world?
This plot is exhilarating! I love it!