Chapter 14 : Fragments of Memory

The moonlight fell on the grass of the wilderness, reflecting the two lonely figures. Leo and Luna were a little tired from their walk, the difficulty of the journey and the unknown future both made this night seem particularly silent. There was no wind in the air, only the occasional rustle of grass blades being brushed by the breeze. The story of Crescent Lake was already far away, but the heaviness it brought to them still hung in their hearts, hard to let go of.

"We should be almost there, the 'Sea of Broken Winds' that Dan spoke of is just ahead."Luna turned back and whispered. Her eyes scanned the distance through that mechanical eye, and she could vaguely see a blurry outline at the horizon.

Leo didn't respond, just nodded silently. His mind was a bit disorganized, as if there was some kind of power invisibly tugging at him, and that kind of feeling, was not the first time it had appeared. Ever since he wore the Void Ring, Leo always felt that there was an unexplainable force that was constantly trying to guide him, taking him in some unknown direction. From time to time, when he fell asleep at night, he felt something wriggling within his body, like a long ago memory that was slowly reviving.

The two continued to travel until the night gradually fell, the temperature in the grass gradually dropped, and the night dew began to condense at the tips of the grass. Eventually, they found a relatively flat clearing, set up a temporary tent, and built a fire. The firelight from the campfire pulsed, illuminating the dark night sky and mapping their tense and confused faces.

"We can rest for a while."Luna carefully arranged the tent with a calm tone, yet from her occasional glances, Leo could feel the complex emotions within her.

Leo sat by the campfire, unconsciously holding in his hand the emerald shard that he had received from the village chief of Luna Lake. The emerald flickered in the firelight, emitting an emerald green glow as if it contained some kind of mysteLeous power. As he gazed at the emerald fragment, a question suddenly surfaced in his mind - what exactly did this fragment have to do with himself? Why did the Village Chief of Crescent Lake give it to himself?

He held the shard closer and scrutinized it, his fingertips feeling the cold touch. Under the moonlight, the surface of the emerald shard seemed to become even more crystalline and translucent, the strange luster becoming more and more apparent to Leo's eyes. Suddenly, the pentagram brand at his collarbone vibrated slightly, as if sensing the call of some power, and a small mass of black energy slowly emerged.

"What is this?"Leo frowned, his fingers unconsciously touching the branding. Only to see the black mass of power slowly surging under the guidance of the pentagram, like a long-lurking tide, emanating a gloomy aura from Leo's body.

The black power seemed to possess some kind of consciousness, and the moment it touched the emerald shard, a violent vibration spread throughout Leo's body. The emerald green light emanating from the emerald fragment became more and more brilliant, while the black energy did not have the slightest intention of retreating, instead, it seemed to be attracted by a certain force, and began to frantically come into contact with the emerald fragment.

Just as Leo's consciousness was occupied by this energy, the Void Ring suddenly shook violently, as if some kind of powerful gravitational force drew it in. The energy heart inside the Void Ring that had previously been sucked in emerged from it like a beating heart, and as the emerald shard came into contact with the black energy, the energy heart began to emit a buzzing sound as if it was echoing the chaotic force.

"What's going on?"Leo felt a wave of dizziness as pain spread through his body as if it was being torn apart. The collision of those three forces seemed to be causing his entire body to disintegrate, and he clutched the emerald shard tightly, wanting to stop this uncontrollable force, but he was unable to resist.

Just then, that energy began to spread, quickly penetrating his skin and drilling into Leo's brow. Instantly, his consciousness was pulled into an unfamiliar space - a world full of memories.

His vision blurred, the sound of wind gusts came from his ears, and a scene of broken walls floated before his eyes. There, trees were clustered and green, and a huge tree towered over the clouds, its spreading branches and roots seeming to hold up the entire world. Leo felt like he was in the middle of it, yet as if he was a bystander, unable to make a real connection to these memories.

He saw himself and a group of companions with blurred faces, growing hard together on this land, erecting a facility and building giant trees. In the memories, time seemed to stand still, and everything was like an old dream long forgotten. The faces of those who had fought side by side with him remained blurred, as if erased by some unspeakable force.

Leo reached out with difficulty to touch those people, but whenever his fingers got close, the images dissipated like mist and turned into nothingness.

"So this is what ... Dan calls 'memory fragments'?"Leo whispered to himself as he tried to sort out the chaos in his mind, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall who the group of people were, nor could he uncover the truth about that time.

He felt a strong pull, as if he was being pulled out of this ocean of memories by invisible hands. A moment later, Leo snapped his eyes open and realized that he was still sitting by the campfire, the emerald shard in his hand still emitting a faint glow. And the energy heart within the Void Ring had also returned to calm, as if everything had returned to tranquility.

"Leo? Are you alright?"Luna's voice broke the silence of the night as she crouched down in front of Leo with worry in her gaze.

Leo slowly exhaled a breath, forcing himself to stabilize his emotions, a hint of confusion and bewilderment in his eyes, "It's fine, it's just that ... I just now seemed to have entered a memory, a memory in which I built the Giant Tree together with some people, but their faces...I couldn't see them clearly."He looked down at the emerald shard in his hand, his tone a bit heavy, "I think this shard has something to do with my past."

Luna nodded silently, she could feel the doubt and uneasiness in Leo's heart. "These memory fragments ... you will find them, Leo. We'll find out the truth together."She said softly, a glint of determination in her eyes.

Leo looked at her, his eyes complicated. Yes, no matter what, he was going to figure out everything about his past.

Night gradually descended, and starlight flooded the night sky, illuminating the streets of Broken Wind City. The waves in the distance lapped against the shore, making soft sounds as if they were whispering some unspoken secret.

Leo and Luna passed through a bustling market, the streets bustling with people, shouting, and the lively atmosphere made the city seem full of life. However, Leo's mood couldn't get a moment's peace with this bustle. With a part of his memory restored, he felt that he was stepping into a path set by fate, and at the end of this path, there seemed to be a certain mystery hidden that he could not control.

"This city doesn't look simple."Luna's voice broke Leo's contemplation. Her eyes were still vigilantly scanning the surrounding crowd, sensing any abnormalities. As a well-trained adventurer, her keen observation skills allowed her to detect almost every tiny detail.

Leo nodded slightly as his gaze swept along with hers and landed on the soldiers around him. Those soldiers wore uniform armor, but the quality of that armor was something that one couldn't help but frown at. The cracks and patches on the armor, as well as an incomplete power emanating from the armor itself, caused Leo to feel a sense of unease. He had seen something similar in the Emerald City, but he hadn't paid much attention to it then, and now, he realized that there was some sort of unknown crisis hidden beneath the city's apparent prosperity.

"We have to be careful."Leo whispered, a hint of caution in his voice, "This city doesn't look as simple as it appears."

Luna nodded, her expression becoming grave, "I understand, let's find a place to stay first, and we'll continue inquiring about Dan tomorrow."She turned and pulled Leo into a quieter street, ready to find an inn. The two walked through the marketplace and through a narrow alleyway before finally finding an inn that was shabby in appearance but looked reasonably clean.

After nightfall, Leo and Luna sat quietly in the inn's room. The two didn't rush to rest, but instead discussed their next plan in low tones. Luna showed the memory fragment she had gotten from the Emerald City, which was a clip related to Dan. She remembered clearly seeing that Dan was a mermaid with a slender figure and deep eyes that seemed to be filled with mysterious power.

"Dan's identity seems to be hidden by some kind of power."Luna said softly, her gaze lingering on the shard of memories.

Leo nodded, but his brow was furrowed, "But the city doesn't seem to welcome talk of merfolk. After asking so many times on the streets today, no one is willing to reveal half of the information. Even the soldiers didn't dare to say much."

"Maybe it's because the mermaid race is related to some secrets of this city."Luna's tone remained calm, but the sharpness in her eyes made Leo feel an inexplicable pressure.

"We have to figure these things out tomorrow."Leo stood up, his eyes determined, "Tomorrow, we'll go and keep asking around."

However, the next day on the streets, the situation was far more complicated than they expected. On the streets of the downtown area, they began to ask about the mermaid race, but every time the topic was brought up, the faces of those citizens would become embarrassed, and then they would turn around and leave. Some even deliberately avoided them, as if they were filled with fear of the topic.

"What's going on here?"Luna frowned, "Is there some unknown secret here?"

Leo's eyes became even deeper as he felt as if there was some sort of huge shadow creeping behind him. Just as they were about to leave the market and continue to another area of the city, they unintentionally walked into a sparsely traveled alley.

The alley was dark and damp, and the air smelled of decay. Leo and Luna carefully walked through the alley, when suddenly, a figure flashed out from the shadows. It was a beggar in rags, squatting in the corner, his face covered in dust and dirt. Seeing Leo and Luna approaching, he suddenly opened his mouth, his voice low and hoarse, "You two, why are you inquiring about things regarding the mermaid race?"

Leo and Luna both froze and looked at each other for a moment. The two did not respond immediately, but stood in silence, observing the beggar vigilantly. The beggar looked like a wanderer with nothing to rely on, but his tone was unusually calm, as if he knew some unknown secrets.

"What do you know?"Leo asked calmly, his tone calm but with an intimidating tone. His intuition told him that this beggar was not as simple as it seemed.