Inside the stone chamber, the turbulent harp music gradually ceased.
What followed was the successive sound of harp strings snapping.
The ink-black strings broke one after another right in front of Saffu.
With the final string breaking and scattering, the stone chamber immediately fell silent.
At the same time, the black Nen on the harp slowly receded until it vanished without a trace.
Saffu, or rather, her real name—Eve.
Her eyes held deep confusion.
She seemed unable to comprehend the reason for her appearance here, yet vaguely remembered the death that had recently befallen her.
In silence, she looked at the harp with its broken strings.
She could see a piece of sheet music, its surface dirty and stained, embedded in the pillar of the harp, forming a stark contrast with the clean, jade-like body of the instrument.
Dark Sonata — a score for harp solo.
This phrase mysteriously emerged in her mind, which felt as if it were covered by a fog.
Eve stared blankly at the sheet music on the harp's pillar.
Some blurred memories suddenly appeared, piercing through the fog like sunlight.
"I am still alive."
A murmuring voice echoed within the stone chamber.
The confusion in Eve's eyes receded, gradually replaced by calmness.
She raised her hand and gently stroked the harp's body.
A star-like glow flickered between her fingers—the visible manifestation of Nen.
Returning to the world by having her body sketched and materialized through the sound of the harp, the Third Princess from the Kukkan-yu Kingdom, which possessed an ancient heritage, naturally awakened the power of Nen.
The memories regarding the harp and the sheet music, which should have been sealed away, resurfaced in her mind.
But before returning to the world...
Eve was actually unaware of the specific abilities of the harp and the sheet music, and naturally had not anticipated this scenario.
She held no awe of death and was naturally unconcerned about its arrival.
In her view, humans walking the path of confronting something are bound to face the risk of death.
This was normal and proper.
Somewhat ironically, the non-Nen users who most resisted death—the passengers—died like dust.
Yet, Eve, who was the most fearless and calmly accepted death, could still breathe the air.
"This is the power of 'Nen'..."
Eve's fingers slid past the harp pillar and reached beneath the soundboard.
The star-like glow seeping from her fingertips drew a harp string in the empty air.
She thus re-strung the harp with one string.
Perhaps due to the manifestation of her Nen ability, an extremely rare excitement appeared in her calm, water-like eyes.
A thick, lush forest.
This place was located on the border of the Minbo Republic, separated by sea from the continent where the Kukkan-yu Kingdom was located.
Moro was falling from a high altitude.
When he saw the highly dense forest below, the anxiety in his heart finally subsided.
A free fall of several thousand meters...
Although the versatility of Nen could be used to save one's life, there were still many risks from uncontrollable factors before a safe landing.
Fortunately, at this time, the airship was still over the territory of the Minbo Republic, not over the ocean.
Moro overlooked the ground, seeing an endless forest bathed in bright moonlight.
As the ground drew closer, Moro used a returning Gliding Star to negate the force of the fall.
Despite this, he still plummeted straight down from a height of one hundred meters.
In an instant, Moro struck the forest like a cannonball, making a huge sound in the quiet night.
Crackle, rustle—
Flocks of birds were startled by the sudden noise and scattered in all directions.
Nocturnal beasts on the ground also fled.
Thump.
A centuries-old tree was unfortunately Moro's precise landing spot.
Under the extremely impactful collision, it crashed to the ground.
A moment later.
Moro climbed out of the dense canopy and looked around.
Towering trees were visible everywhere.
Bright moonlight passed through the gaps in the forest, reflecting a faint mist.
Beneath the swirling mist were ubiquitous bushes, as well as moss-covered broken stones and old wood.
Further away was a meandering stream that cut through a pile of rubble.
Moro's gaze followed the stream to its end, where he could only see darkness.
After a brief glance at his surroundings, Moro withdrew his gaze.
Thinking he should check on Kanzai's situation, he pulled out his phone, only to find it already cracked in several places and automatically shut down.
"Kanzai should be fine, right?"
Putting the damaged phone away, Moro thought that if he could land safely, Kanzai must also be okay.
Unless Kanzai had extremely bad luck and fell directly into a swamp or a sinkhole.
"This place... should still be within the Minbo Republic, right?"
Moro walked toward the stream not far away.
The Minbo Republic is one of the five major powers, located two countries away from the Heavens Arena.
Judging by the airship's route, Moro speculated that he might have landed within the vast territory of the Minbo Republic, but he wasn't sure of the exact location.
In this situation, getting out of this unfamiliar forest would be no easy task.
If his phone hadn't been damaged, it would be a different story.
Moro sighed softly and walked along the stream.
After a long time, Moro emerged from the woods and reached a flat area.
In front of him was a lake shrouded in thin mist, with faint starlight reflecting on the surface.
Various wild animals were gathered by the lake.
Moro scanned the area from afar.
Among all the animals, the most striking were several white deer with massive antlers.
Their antlers resembled intertwined coral, and their bodies were pure white, glistening under the moonlight.
Moro had no intention of disturbing the animals drinking by the lake.
He simply looked around the nearby environment for a suitable place to rest.
Bang, bang, bang—!
Just as Moro was searching for a resting spot, gunshots suddenly rang out from the other side of the lake.
Startled by the gunfire, the animals by the lake scattered en masse.
Moro looked in the direction of the gunshots and saw the few massive-antlered white deer lying on the ground, followed by several people carrying rifles emerging from the forest.
Seeing this, Moro retreated behind a large tree.
He could vaguely hear the excited laughter of the few people, as well as their discussion about the loud noise.
Moro thought to himself that the sound they were referring to was the commotion he made when he landed.
Then he heard the people talk about making a fortune, suggesting that the white deer with massive antlers were quite valuable, which accounted for their excitement.
Moro thought for a moment, then walked out, deciding to ask these people for some information.
Meanwhile.
About a dozen kilometers on the other side of the forest.
A spherical object formed by over a dozen entangled human bodies heavily slammed into a lake, instantly raising towering waves.
As the waves subsided, human bodies gradually floated to the surface of the lake.
Splash—
Another splash of water exploded on the lake surface.
Kawahara emerged from the lake, slightly breathless, and looked toward the dense forest on the shore.
(End of this Chapter)
---------------------
Support me on P@treon
[email protected]/charaz
$10 -> 200+ chapters in advance
Check my pinned post on P@treon