#99 - Chapter 99: The Lantern of Shandora
"On the vines?" Toki asked, looking up at the enormous vines piercing through the clouds.
Enel felt like Jin-An had taken him for a pointless flight. He was not only startled but also felt that coming to this golden city was completely meaningless to him.
"So… what's the point of us coming down here?"
"Hmm…"
Jin-An pondered for a moment, then looked at the city forged from gold.
"Is the gold not shiny enough…?"
"These yellow stones, other than being strangely colored, are useless." Enel couldn't understand Jin-An's perspective.
In the Sky Island region, the 'earth' was clearly more valuable. Stones couldn't be eaten…
Seeing the gold everywhere, Jin-An almost forgot that the Sky Islanders and Shandians had no interest in gold.
Well… it seems discussing gold with Sky Islanders is completely pointless.
Toki had a slight premonition. "So, are we now…?"
"That's right! Just like you're thinking."
Jin-An tapped his feet lightly, and his entire body instantly shot into the sky, flying straight towards the top of the vines.
The top of the vines, above the clouds, was where the Golden Bell was located.
…
'God's Island, the Shrine.'
Gan Fall sat upright in the Shrine.
"God, are you really going to do this?" The guard looked complex. He didn't understand why 'God' would do something so thankless.
"Just like I said to the people from the Blue Sea, whether it's the Sky Islanders or the Shandians, we can only live better here if we cooperate with each other."
Gan Fall was slightly lost in thought. He truly hoped people could coexist harmoniously.
The guard had been by Gan Fall's side for a long time and knew his character very well:
"You will be under a lot of pressure then."
"Hahaha, pressure is just fleeting clouds." Gan Fall waved his hand. "We don't know how the Shandians will react yet, so it's too early to talk about these things."
"No matter what decision you make, we will follow you as always." The guards' eyes were firm, and their respect for Gan Fall was deeply engraved in their hearts.
"Haha, let us place our hopes on those few people from the Blue Sea then." Gan Fall said, stroking his beard.
He got up from his seat, walked out of the Shrine, and looked at the sun in the sky. The light of hope bloomed when the people from the Blue Sea agreed to help.
Next, it would be up to fate and the cooperation of everyone on Sky Island.
…
God's Island, above the clouds.
The Shandorian Light, passed down through generations of Sky Islanders, stood quietly in this place.
The Golden Bell hung between two enormous pillars, its surface covered with complex and ancient runes.
Slender vines intertwined around the golden platform, giving it a trace of the passage of time.
Beneath the Shandorian Light was a stone tablet, covered with complex and ancient runes, each rune seemingly containing an unknown past.
This was the source of the song that the Sky Islanders heard over 300 years ago, the source of the golden land legend that had been circulating on Jaya Island – this Golden Bell.
Jin-An and the others stood before the altar, gazing at the stone tablet that had been passed down for countless years.
"I regret it so much… I knew I shouldn't have left Bilka today. If this continues, I… urgh…"
Enel couldn't help but regret it. Leaving Bilka meant running into three people who were always bullying him. He finally met a kind person, but he was taken to many places he had never been before.
That was fine, but first jumping off a cliff, then ascending rapidly, his little heart had endured too many things beyond his age. A few more times, and he might ascend on the spot.
Finally recovering, he raised his head, revealing his pale face.
"Are these words on here?" Enel reached out and gently stroked the words on the stone tablet in front of him, curiosity flashing in his eyes.
Jin-An also stared at the words and sighed. Although he knew the content, he still couldn't understand the writing.
Toki stared blankly at the stone tablet. She had only seen this kind of carving technique on things related to the Kozuki Family.
"This is a Poneglyph, recording some secrets about this world."
History only records the lives of the losers. Even if the missing 100 years were revealed, at most it would expose the darkness of this world.
It wasn't that useful to people living in the present, and might even attract deadly trouble.
Following the golden stairs up to the base of the Golden Bell, the three figures seemed exceptionally small in this environment.
"This is the Golden Bell that emits the song? Can ringing it really stop the conflict between the Sky Islanders and the Shandians?" Toki reached out and touched the lower edge of the Golden Bell.
"It should… probably…" Enel had also heard the legend.
However, he was still very young and not very sure about the thoughts of those adults.
Moreover, he was still an unpopular Sky Islander, and those people wouldn't open their hearts to him.
"…"
People's thoughts are diverse, and Jin-An wasn't sure what consequences ringing the Golden Bell would bring.
"According to legend, for the Sky Islanders, the sound of the Golden Bell is both a signal to start a war and a signal to end this nearly 400-year war."
"The Shandians also yearn to fulfill the dying wish of the great warrior Calgara."
"The descendants of Noland hope to clear their ancestor's name as a liar."
Jin-An looked at Enel, who was still a little ignorant.
In the original story, the Sky Islanders and Shandians were forced by Enel's threat to put aside their centuries of grudges and barely reach cooperation.
But now, without the threat of an external enemy, they would have to make greater efforts to reach a reconciliation.
Because there was actually a quick way to resolve the war caused by the 'earth', but Jin-An hadn't caused this incident.
If the Sky Islanders didn't solve it themselves, war would definitely break out again in the future.
"In my opinion, let's go to the Shandians first to convey Gan Fall's ideas." Toki also had the same concerns.
Conflicts stopped by external forces might lead to the Sky Islanders starting wars again in the future under other pretexts.
In the face of force, sometimes a small bottle of laundry detergent can plunge the weaker side into eternal doom.
In that case, everything would return to the starting point.
"…"
Enel looked lifeless. He knew that he would have to return to the White Sea from this vine again.
"Can you slow down this time?"
That was his only request.
