Chapter 2395: Story, Roles, and Audience

Although this is indeed a good idea, Shard believed there were issues:

“Miss Sander’s spirit is merely petrified, but it still exists, so this is indeed feasible. But we don’t know how to trigger an illusion targeting Miss Sander, and is this illusion powerful enough to reverse the Ancient God Divine Art?”

The lady laughed:

“When Old Lady Sianod and Miss Nate encountered the illusion, both of us were present. I could see some traces from that illusion, and I can use our tribe’s unique secret technique to summon a mist, just like the demon last time, actively calling forth the illusion.”

Shard listened intently, knowing this was when the lady would use the power of the deity:

“Are there any conditions?”

“Of course, to construct a real illusion, we need some actors. Old Lady Sianod, Miss Nate, you need to play roles within the illusion.”

“No problem.”

The Old Elf and Lady Knight immediately nodded in agreement, as they too wanted to rescue Miss Sander.

“And you, you certainly need to play a role in the illusion.”

The Saint with golden eyes said this to Shard, but laughed and added after Shard nodded:

“Of course, you have a more important task—since it is an illusion, it naturally needs a background story. Since the purpose of weaving the illusion is to bring back Leah Sander, then within the illusion, you need to accomplish this task: make the spirit of the Mermaid Princess shine like gold in the mist of muddy chaotic consciousness.”

This was clearly a kind of metaphor, and after careful consideration, Shard continued to nod:

“I understand, to give warmth to the stone’s spirit, to make the fixed soul form active again due to virtue.”

He already had his plan, even considering that if it still didn’t work, he would attempt to use “Soul Flogging” on the Mermaid Girl in the illusion… Shard thought it best not to do that.

Flames crackled, and the wind in the desert was almost silent. The silver glimmering sand granules rolled with the wind under the swaying shadows of the people. The cat head poking out from the Outlander’s chest yawned, then lazily curled back into Shard’s clothes.

And in this tranquil scene that almost lulled one into eternal sleep, the people around the fire light listened as Shard finished telling his woven story.

“How do you feel?”

Shard asked the others in the small campsite after finishing his ideas.

Old Lady Sianod nodded:

“A good story, but what roles will we play?”

Miss Mister’s smile was still mysterious and serene:

“Any role appearing in the story is possible, given your experience with illusions, you’ll need to support the new illusion.”

“Then I’ll play the Sea Witch.”

Remarked Old Lady Sianod, unconcerned with being the “antagonist,” whereas Lady Knight pondered a bit before speaking:

“Can we play roles of different genders? May I play the Prince?”

Her demeanor indeed didn’t suit any of the other main female roles in the story, but fortunately it’s the Fifth Era, and in Shard’s story, the “Prince” could certainly be female.

“No problem, then I’ll take on the role of the lucky Human Princess who ultimately marries the Prince.”

The Saint also chose a role for herself, then looked at Shard:

“And what about you?”

“Among the main roles, it seems there’s not much left, right?”

The story wasn’t complex, and Shard happened to have participated in the opera written by Dorothy:

“I don’t want to play another Mermaid Princess, and as for the King of the Mermaids…well, doesn’t feel right for me either.”

The lady with light brown skin softly asked:

“Think carefully, what exactly is missing from this ‘drama’ about to unfold?”

Shard immediately thought of the answer:

“Narrator? Audience?”

So the Saint extended his right hand in front of him, and with a gentle swipe, the sky filled with white mist surged directly from all directions, enveloping everything except for Shard and the campfire.

The Elf, Lady Knight, and Saint also disappeared into the mist. Shard did not attempt to peer through the mist of the God of Mist. His left leg stretched across the sand, his right foot on the sand, as he sat before the fire gazing at the flames.

After waiting for a moment, the steady voice of the Outlander began to recount a story that was not ancient:

“Long, long ago, in the depths of the sea lay the ancient Kingdom of the Mermaids. The King and Queen of the kingdom had seven princesses, and the youngest of them was the most beautiful. The innocent and lovely Little Mermaid spent her days playing in the sea with schools of fish, accompanied by dolphins and whales, weaving the most beautiful silk alongside octopuses and sea crabs.”

Bubbling water sounds came from the mist, and part of the thick mist dispersed. Shard looked up, feeling as if he were sitting at the bottom of the sea. Above, in the nearly transparent waters, Miss Sander appeared in human-form with a fish tail, smiling as she wandered with a group of red-and-white-striped perch.

Seagrass swayed on the ground beside Shard, while crawling sea crabs and shrimp slowly moved around, all avoiding the campfire and Shard.

Looking again at Miss Sander’s expression, her smile appeared somewhat stiff and unnatural. Not to mention comparing it to professional opera actors, even an ordinary person’s forced smile would seem more normal than this.

Her smile seemed as if it were sculpted into a model, and her swimming movements were as if controlled like a marionette. With this thought, observing Miss Sander in her current state felt somewhat eerie.

However, Shard realized one thing; this being that mermaids in the deep sea didn’t only use shells and seaweed to cover their upper bodies. Fairy tales are indeed deceptive; mermaids wore proper clothing woven with special materials even in the deep sea.

The familiar scene of ocean life did not provoke any response from the petrified soul, and so the story by the campfire continued:

“Father and Mother always said that the world above the sea was dangerous for the Little Mermaid. But the adult sisters always eagerly told the Little Mermaid that the world above the water was so bright and colorful, and how amazing the ships built by humans who walk on two legs were. The wise Little Mermaid Princess always imagined unseen scenes from these stories. So, every night when she lay down to sleep, the world above the sea quietly slipped into her dreams. She thought and pondered, finally succumbing to temptation, and one day discreetly ventured alone to the surface.”

The scene in the mist’s water area became richer; first, seven beautiful mermaids gathered and talked, followed by a rapid transition of scenes, and then Miss Sander, in fish-tail human-form, swam upward with determination.

But in reality, her height didn’t change; it was the ocean scene in the mist that continually moved downward.

Shard watched this scene with his head raised, observing as an exaggerated brightness gradually appeared above the marionette-like Miss Sander.

When she touched that brightness, the scene was instantly filled with sunshine and then transformed back into mist.

The surrounding sounds didn’t vanish; instead, the bubbling sound disappeared, replaced by the clear echoes of seagulls and cruise ship sirens.

The white mist dispersed once more, revealing the sunlit sea surface scene before Shard’s eyes.

Miss Sander “joyfully” popped her head out of the water, “excitedly” gazing at the sky, the sun, and everything on the sea surface.

The distant siren sound became louder; she was “startled” by the massive cruise ship at first, then quickly hid beneath the water’s surface.

However, she didn’t swim away or return to the deep sea. After cautiously realizing the ship meant no malice to her and hadn’t even noticed her, she slowly swam beneath the cruiser to observe.

She followed the cruiser for a while, then emerged alongside its edge, smiling as she watched the enormous human creation, like an underwater mountain, moving slowly on the surface.

Her expressions and movements were so oddly eerie that the sunny scene seemed like a ghost story performance, and as more of the mist faded, the tall cruise deck revealed a figure dressed in men’s clothes—Miss Nate.

This grey-haired Lady Knight, originally skilled and poised, was now wearing a black suit, with short grey-white hair loosely styled, still identifiable as feminine but… starkly different from her armored appearance.

She held a glass in her hand, distracted, standing behind the railing on the deck gazing afar. Suddenly, with a moment of carelessness, the glass slipped and fell into the sea.

So the “Prince,” grabbing the railing with one hand, leaned out halfway off the deck to look below, and soon saw a mermaid in the sea, holding the glass with one hand and covering her forehead with the other, looking up half curious and half angrily.

She was initially a bit resentful, but upon seeing the sunlight spreading downward from above the “Prince,” making his already handsome face appear glowing at the edges, Miss Sander’s face flushed red. Naturally, this expression was odd, as if her cheeks had been overly painted with rouge.

After a bashful exchange of glances with her “Prince,” she placed the glass into the water. A water ball enveloped it, floating upwards until it was grasped again by the “Prince.”

When the “Prince” looked down at the sea surface again, the figure of the blue-haired maiden had already vanished.

The “Prince” scratched his head in confusion, then turned back towards the cabin.

The scene froze, and Shard continued narrating as he sat alone by the campfire:

“Returning from the surface to the deep sea Kingdom of the Mermaids, no one knew the Little Mermaid had briefly touched upon sunlight and the human world just moments ago. She kept the memory of the encounter in her heart, but the Prince secretly slipped into her dreams at night, driving away the familiar oceanic dreamscape.

She probed her sister for news about that ship and thus learned about the “Prince’s” identity. So, the Little Mermaid longed and longed, eager to return to the surface and meet the Prince she had just seen.

The sunlight profoundly attracted the maiden beneath the waves, and finally, she resolved to follow the frightening tales from her mother’s childhood stories and ventured to the deepest and most terrifying abyss beneath the sea.