After a moment of tenderness, Ash noticed a pile of jewel-like trinkets placed in front of Tilly and asked curiously, "What are these?"
"Come," Tilly patted the spot beside her, "I'll show you something interesting."
Ash sat cross-legged next to her and saw her put on a white silk glove, with a glittering ruby embedded in the back of the hand.
"This is... a tracking magic stone?"
Tilly didn't answer, but instead smiled and reached out to the open space. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning leaped from her fingertip and struck the ground, making a crackling sound. Then a puff of green smoke rose from the ground, leaving a palm-sized patch of black scorch at the point of impact.
Ash couldn't believe her eyes for a moment, "You... have a new ability?"
Tilly Wimbledon was an Extraordinary, whose magic acted on herself, manifesting as exceptional intelligence. It was impossible for her to release it like an ordinary witch. And the lightning just now meant that she had a brand new ability – and it was common knowledge among the sisters that witches could not possess two main abilities at the same time.
Tilly took off the glove and handed it to Ash. "It's not that I have a new ability, but this stone." She curled her lips. "It changes the way magic works, allowing it to manifest in completely different ways."
Ash stroked the gem in the center of the glove, greatly shocked. She knew that Tilly would not lie to her – this meant that non-combat witches could also have combat capabilities, and the witch community's ability to resist external enemies would be greatly enhanced. "How many of these stones are there?"
"There's only one," Tilly seemed to have guessed Ash's thoughts. "And it's not that easy to use. You can try it. Imagine magic as something that actually exists, let it fill the stone, and then release it."
Ash pondered for a long time, but not a single spark of electricity appeared.
"See?" she smiled. "We are still Extraordinaries, and we can sense magic ourselves. It's even more difficult for other witches. It requires exhaustive imagination and understanding. In fact, I've looked for many people to test it, and only about two or three out of a hundred can quickly comprehend and release lightning."
"Are you mocking me for being stupid?" Ash took off the glove.
"Sort of," Tilly raised her eyebrows. "I only used -- um --"
Ash kissed her, making her only able to utter a little groan... After separating, the latter took a long breath. "Okay, not too stupid."
"What about the other stones?" Ash licked her lips with lingering interest. Only in front of the Fifth Princess would she completely relax. "Do they all have different abilities?"
"Different manifestations," Tilly corrected, with a blush still on her cheeks. "It won't give ordinary people the abilities of witches, only magic can activate it." She paused. "This makes me wonder."
"What question?"
"What exactly is magic?" Tilly calmed her emotions and explained word by word, "For a long time, witches' abilities have been diverse and highly uncertain, and they are perceived differently by Extraordinaries. But this strange stone completely unifies magic. Any witch can release the exact same ability through it, so I may have been thinking in the wrong direction before. Magic itself may be an omnipotent force, and what witches possess is only one manifestation of it."
"What about these magic stones?" Ash asked.
"They can only release magic, but cannot gather it. It is not yet clear whether they are man-made or naturally formed," Tilly said regretfully, "It is said that they were all excavated from ruins. Most of them have now been scattered among the people, and I have only been able to collect so few... I heard that there is an ancient ruin in the Eastwind Forest of Seawind Region. I really want to go inside and see it myself, maybe I can find more information about magic and the historical fracture."
She was saying things she didn't understand again, Ash thought helplessly. As long as she could survive, who cared what the situation was more than four hundred years ago, "It's best not to. Seawind Region is probably one of the most dangerous places in Graycastle now."
"Why?"
"Before I set sail from Clearwater Port, I heard the sailors chatting that Garcia Wimbledon's Black Sail Fleet had been dispatched, and the destination seemed to be Seawind Region – that's Tyferko's territory. She probably wants to use the flexible and hidden advantages of the sea to directly attack his rear camp." Ash advised, "I only had a chance to leave the port after the curfew was lifted. If their information is accurate, I'm afraid Seawind Region is already engulfed in flames."
"They are still killing each other," Tilly looked worried. "This will only allow the church to take advantage of the situation. If they cannot unite, Graycastle will be swallowed up by the church like Eternal Winter."
Ash was stunned by this sentence. The Fifth Princess quickly noticed her abnormality, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," she blinked. "You looked a bit like Roland Wimbledon just now, he said the same thing to me."
"Oh? You actually saw him?" Tilly became interested. "By the way, you haven't told me what you gained from this trip to the Western Region. Tell me quickly!"
"I went to Border Town after hearing the news about the Mutual Aid Society. Shadow should have told you about this," Ash put her arms around the other. "But when I got there, I found that the so-called search for the Holy Mountain was actually a trick set up by Roland. He took over the Mutual Aid Society and was secretly recruiting witches..." She briefly recounted what she had seen and heard in the following week. "In the end, he said to me that we must unite to resist the church's attack. If we can't stay in the Fjords, he welcomes us to Border Town at any time."
"Hmm..." Tilly pondered for a moment, and suddenly said, "This person is not Roland Wimbledon, he has been replaced."
"Ah?"
"You said that a large number of witches gathered around him, right? I guess a witch controlled him, or simply transformed into his appearance." Tilly said bluntly, "I grew up with Roland, and I know this very well – compared to the other two brothers and the Third Princess, he is the least good at hiding things. He is full of loopholes when lying, and it is impossible to pretend to be another person. As for the weapon that can fight against the Divine Punishment Army you mentioned, it proves this even more... A person can hide their personality, but they cannot fake their knowledge. The court tutor never taught these things, so how would he know?" Tilly said bluntly, "There is no one in this world who can be born with knowledge, so he must not be my stupid and annoying brother."
"Is... that so?" Ash frowned.
"Even so, I still need to contact them," Tilly sighed, "Roland Wimbledon is still my brother after all. Although he is uneducated, he is not hopeless in essence. Compared to the other few, he is the most harmless one. I hope the witches of the Mutual Aid Society haven't buried him yet."
"I don't think they would do that." Ash couldn't help but think of Wendy. "And I left Maggie there. At the end of the month, she will bring us more news about the town."
"That's the only way, after all, our focus is not here now," the Fifth Princess stood up from her arms, walked to the garden, and opened her arms. "Now that you're back, the cleansing plan can begin. I want to make sure that there is no trace of the church in the Fjords, and eventually all the Fjords islands will become a haven for witches."
The sunlight shone on Tilly from behind, as if gilding her silhouette. Gray hair caressed her cheeks, like strands of light gold silk. Her expression was full of confidence, as if no difficulty could knock her down.
"I am willing to serve you, my Queen." Ash smiled. (。)