Serana glared at Simon, then turned and jumped down the low cliff in front of them to the valley floor, walking along the edge of the lake basin towards its center.
She walked on the semi-dry, damp ground, the warm spring water covering her insteps, her trailing steps splashing water, echoing the sacred moths fluttering among the lush shrubs on the lake's edge.
She took two more steps deeper, disappearing into the mist, leaving only a faint, beautiful silhouette, weaving among the ancient stone ruins, her cape billowing behind her like a flying bat transformed from the mists of history.
Simon watched her, wondering if she had a simple happiness now.
Each place in this world has its own scenery, and admiring the scenery of each place also brings a different mood.
The landscape of the Ancestor Glade cannot be described as grand; after all, with the profound and ancient places like Apocrypha, Snake Mountain, and the Soul Cairn as precedents, there are truly few places on earth that can compare.
In contrast, this uniquely rugged place is like a delicate young lady; in the vast, frosty wilderness of Skyrim, such a delightful spot is truly rare, as exquisitely precious as a treasure, making one forget the mundane upon seeing it.
Just imagining the scene of cleansing body and mind in the hot springs and letting loose is comfortable enough.
"Let's go, Jonas, go get the scraper, scrape off some bark from the God-Tree, and then attract the sacred moths' attention.
Once the ritual is complete, we can read the elder scrolls."
Simon patted Jonas's shoulder, "Are you nervous?
If you're scared, then don't worry about it; I probably know where the destination is anyway, and this trip was just to try reading the scroll."
After repeatedly hesitating many times, Simon still couldn't bring himself to be ruthless.
"Don't worry, it's fine," the boy reassured him to remain calm.
The three of them, mimicking the Vampire, took an unconventional route, leaping from the high cliff edge.
Upon landing, Simon's martial arts were so superb that he landed silently, and Jonas secretly cast a flight spell to land smoothly.
Only Dilo landed on the ground with a thud, then slipped and fell into the hot spring, yelping as the eighty-degree underground heat scalded him.
Serana emerged from the mist, clutching a long, curved scraper with handles on both ends, looking more like bicycle handlebars than a scraper.
"Thanks!" Simon grinned at Serana and reached out to take the scraper, but it spun in front of him, flew high, and landed in Jonas's hand.
After successfully acting childish, Serana evidently intended to mock Simon; her slender eyebrows subtly arched, and she slightly tilted her head, adopting a condescending demeanor.
However, before she could speak, Simon pulled Jonas past her and walked towards the God-Tree.
The young lady crossed her arms and suddenly laughed, "You really are a petty fellow!"
Simon didn't answer, only nodded.
Jonas wandered around the glade, holding a piece of rough, fragrant bark.
Although there were many sacred moths, they mostly gathered in groups.
Attracted by the bark, they swirled around Jonas, making everyone vaguely feel a clear, pure light emanating from the boy.
It wasn't an illusion; a large spherical halo indeed enveloped Jonas.
After all the sacred moths were attracted, the mist covering the valley floor dissipated in an instant.
The pillar of light cast from the sky directly illuminated the dilapidated and crumbling ritual altar.
At this moment, the story of the ancestors was re-enacted upon their descendants.
"How is it? What do you feel?"
"It's very strange…"
Unlike a normal, colorful visual experience, the world before Jonas's eyes became blurry, like being half-blind, yet different.
Everything glowed, this faint radiance blurring the outlines of objects.
These were their spirits, whispering softly.
All things had the same radiance, no one was an exception: himself, his master, Didi, and Ms.
Serana.
If the spirits of everything were unified, then what was the form of the world itself?
He dared not think further.
Simon held the three scrolls in his arms and followed Jonas to the altar.
The boy stood in the center of the light pillar, and Simon handed him the scrolls in order.
First was the Scroll of Blood, carried by Serana.
Then came the Scroll of Snow, guarded by Valerica.
Finally, the Scroll of Dragon, from the Tower of Mzark.
These were merely rough names for convenience of distinction; the information within each elder scrolls was, of course, far from so singular.
As the scrolls opened, the complex graphic information pierced Jonas's eyes like knives, leaving deep imprints in his vision.
The sacred moths fluttered rapidly, as if the dance had reached its climax.
After the three scrolls, the chaotic information gradually receded, and a strong hallucination appeared, showing a blurred small map with patterns of mountains and rivers, and one or two landmarks—Markarth in the bottom left, and in the top right, what appeared to be Solitude.
A jumble of whispers emerged, as if dozens of people were murmuring in his ear, very terrifying, very frantic, and finally a man's voice appeared, "Drakfall (also known as Darkfall Cave)."
Jonas's face was pale at this point, his eyes bloodshot, and intense light burst from his brilliant irises, majestic like the heavens casting down their gaze.
He was now completely lost in the hallucination, deaf to others' calls.
For a full four minutes, Simon pursed his lips, carefully observing Jonas's state.
He had already put away the scrolls, but it seemed he hadn't managed to put away his sanity as well; he was completely immersed in a corpse-like "quiet."
Slowly, as if his soul returned, he let out a confused moan, "Where is this?
Oh, right, right…"
"Are you okay?" Dilo leaned in with a worried expression.
"Uh, I'm fine, why do you all look like that?" The moths around Jonas flew away, and the halo that enveloped him also disappeared.
He was completely unaware of his previous state, as if he had lost his memory—this gave Simon a strong sense of déjà vu, as if this were a disease, he would be considered a seasoned fellow patient.
Simon asked him, "What was it like to view the scrolls?"
"It was amazing!
There were all kinds of lights, people talking in my ears, and all sorts of smells, both fragrant and foul, and wind, hot and cold, all kinds of sensations…"
Simon initially judged that the overwhelming amount of information from the scrolls had caused his nervous system to become disoriented.
After checking the boy's body to ensure everything was normal, they set off for Drakfall Cave.
This place was located in The Reach, quite far from Markarth and also quite far from Solitude, and not on a direct line between the two.
It was, however, close to an Orc village.
It took three more days to find this place, during which Jonas remained restless.
"What's wrong?"
"I miss my mother."
"Where is she?"
"The last time I saw her was in Markarth," Jonas said, downplaying his past.
"Then let's go to Markarth."
"No, I don't think I'm ready to face her yet."
Simon nodded, realizing it was his rebellious phase.
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