RNP Chapter 3760 Claire's Fall
Chapter 3760 Claire's Fall
Chapter 3760 Claire's Fall
The howling wind couldn't drown out the corpse's voice speaking in Claire's ear. The corpse wasn't breathing, so its voice didn't generate any heat near Claire's ear.
"Because of many things that happened before, the great witches of the Witch Council are not in good condition. As for that very powerful friend, she is someone I met here after returning home from receiving a letter from my grandfather. She is very powerful. If she were here, I wouldn't have died in the snow mountain, but she has temporarily left the island to deal with other matters."
The corpse, who had been speaking calmly the whole time, showed an unusual fluctuation in its tone:
"She's probably heard the news and is rushing back from the island. I can't bear to see her grief when she finds this body. She was a lonely girl. At least I have Stella, my grandfather and my clan, and my fellow council members. Not counting the council. But she has nothing left. Although she said she had a cat that wasn't very close to her, I don't believe her."
Claire was at a loss for words. She wanted to ask who her "lonely friend" was, but judging from the pronouns, it was definitely not Shad. She wanted to know what other powers Mr. Snake possessed, but it sounded like her own experience was different from his.
"Do I really have no power to resist at all? I am, after all, an eleventh-level being."
She asked this question one last time, but the corpse denied it:
"No, I am not at the eleventh rank, I am a twelfth-rank Great Witch, and I have already seen the edge of the thirteenth rank."
"you"
"Without such power, it would be impossible to survive in this era for so long. I do not live in a peaceful time; the outbreak of various disasters has forced me to work hard to increase my power. But in the end, it is still not enough."
After that, neither Claire nor the body spoke for a long time. Claire could only hear her own rhythmic breathing as she climbed the mountain. She felt an unusual heaviness in her heart, so much so that she didn't even notice that her vision sometimes shifted from her own as she climbed the mountain to the image of herself being carried.
"Then, can you teach me how to gain power?"
She asked this question while her eyes remained fixed ahead:
"I am only an eleventh-level witch right now. Although I have someone by my side who can definitely protect me, I still want to gain power."
"So, Claire Reinhardt, what does power mean to you?"
The corpse whispered in Claire's ear and asked, to which Claire replied:
"It is a tool for survival in this world, but it is also an affirmation of my self-identity. The power of ice and snow represents my Fatu people origin, and the power of the sun symbolizes my identity as the Great Witch. Together, these have shaped who I am today."
The corpse asked again:
How much are you willing to give up for power?
"As long as it's equivalent, I'm willing to give. I don't want to end up like you, nor do I want the people around me to end up like you. And that dream last night, the dream of the snow-capped mountains melting and everything dancing in the fire, I absolutely don't want it to really happen."
The corpse seemed to be sighing, or perhaps expressing regret:
"Even with power, we can't do anything. We are destined to be minor supporting characters. The biggest role we can get for ourselves is to die protecting those more important characters."
This time, Claire disagreed with her pessimistic view. Shad's presence burned like the sun in her heart, and the progress and transformation of her many colleagues reminded her that the path she could take was far more than what she saw before her.
“Life’s drama is not just played out on the island of Fatummünster. Even if our role is not important in the story of fate, I still believe that I am the protagonist—I am the protagonist in the life story of Claire Reinhardt.”
The walking witch and the corpse on her back had different life opportunities, and their fates diverged in 1853. Therefore, Claire in the present world also has her own advantages:
“I have loving family, my own hometown, fairly friendly colleagues, respectful students, and him. Although my role in the story of fate is not important, I am still satisfied with everything I have now.”
As she spoke, she looked down at the higher part of the snow slope, beginning to wonder where she was going:
"If life is broken down into scenes of a drama, I am already the protagonist. Strength is still very useful to me. You have fallen here, but I will continue to move forward."
The corpse remained silent for a moment:
"Gaining power isn't necessarily a good thing. If you're only at the eleventh rank, you'll likely survive the story of fate in your current state. But once you reach the twelfth rank, you'll face even more dangers."
Claire certainly knew this:
“I understand, but someone has proven to me that fate can be changed. Although I have no intention of pursuing any higher role or status, with power, at least I can protect myself and those around me. He always says that fate is a double-edged sword, but when he acts, he often doesn't consider himself and only thinks of others. I can't become like him, but I also know what kind of person I want to become.”
My destiny will not end on the island of Fatumunst; you will rest here, but I will continue on my way.
"OK then."
"That's what the corpse said."
Claire stopped abruptly, realizing that the snow slope ended at a sheer cliff. She had never been to this area before and didn't know why such strange terrain existed here, but it was clear that the path had come to an end.
"Throw me down."
The corpse behind her wrapped its arms around Claire's neck, whispering in her ear. Only then did Claire feel a chill run down her spine and realize what she had just done:
"How could I have carried my own corpse for such a long distance through unfamiliar areas of the snow-capped mountains?"
"Throw me away, abandon the tragic future you have never faced, and you will be able to create a new future on your own."
The corpse continued to speak in Claire's ear, while the gradually regaining consciousness witch asked suspiciously:
"If I threw you off a cliff, what if, when I looked down, I suddenly realized that it was actually me who fell, and you who was looking up at me?"
“But you and I are both Claire Reinhardt.”
The corpse offered a reminder, but the Great Witch of the Sun shook her head:
“No, something’s not right. I remember I was in the fog, and I had a companion with me. How did I suddenly carry you here? Oh, I must have lost my mind. This is very strange. That man who called himself ‘The Lost One’ said that it’s possible to reach a realm beyond space and time in the fog. Maybe that’s what I am now.”
And now I realize, if you're a corpse, why can you talk?
Claire shuddered violently, feeling a sense of dread akin to the fear she felt as a child, huddled under the covers listening to her mother tell scary stories on stormy nights. She turned to look at the corpse pressed against her cheek; the pale face with its eyes closed seemed to be staring back at her.
Two almost identical faces were now pressed together. Claire felt that the scene was not only terrifying but also bizarre. She was looking at herself, and one of her versions of herself was a corpse. She had never even dreamed of such a scene.
"More importantly, he has said many times that time in the material world is very stable and it is absolutely impossible for parallel worlds to split off. Everyone is unique, so where did you come from?"
Claire's eyes widened slightly:
"Okay, I get it—you really aren't me. What exactly are you, you liar?"
The corpse was expressionless; in fact, it hadn't made a sound or made any movement the entire time. If there had been a third person present, they would have only seen Claire talking to herself the whole time, then suddenly turning to speak to the corpse.
The corpse said:
"It's not a parallel world; it's a spacetime that has been abandoned."
"what?"
"I mean."
The corpse embraced her from behind, its legs touching the ground before it suddenly lunged forward, causing both Claires to plummet off the cliff together.
"Even if you don't fall in my trap, can't I push you down myself?"
The momentary feeling of weightlessness made Claire even more lucid; she could see the cliff above her receding into the distance. Struggling to take flight again, she was caught in the body's embrace.
Or rather, the body didn't move; Claire simply unconsciously grabbed it during her struggle.
The witches embraced tightly, and the "Calamity Card - The Last Fatu" flew straight out of Claire's pocket. At that moment, the head of the corpse with its eyes closed returned to Claire's shoulder, and she heard the corpse's words:
"Claire Reinhardt, you have the courage to overcome fate. The future will be rewritten by you. I wish you can truly become the protagonist of your own story, just as you said."
She and the corpse fell into the thick fog below the cliff. The corpse disappeared from her arms, but it was as if she herself had disappeared, as if she had become the corpse.
The Ring of Fate emerged from behind her, and the miracle—[Faith]—was inscribed on it, completing the final step from the eleventh ring to the twelfth. Then, the glowing card was placed in front of her from above, and a massive ritual array of the sun, moon, and stars unfolded in the thick fog, centered on Claire.
The legacy, embodying the last strength of the Fatu people, acknowledged Claire Reinhardt's identity. Although this power might seem insignificant to some, at least for this moment, the secret arts and powers of the Fatu people, which Claire had never even heard of, flowed continuously into her mind and soul.
As she fell from the height into the snow, the somewhat bewildered witch got up, holding the card and looking behind her. Without any ritual, her life rings had changed to twelve. Although the witch's golden staircase still only had eleven steps, she was now a genuine twelve-ring sorceress.