Looking down at the Calamity Card: Curse-Eroded Great Tree in his hand, Shade sighed softly. Lady Helena Carter's memories from the Past certainly could not be shared with Daniste. The current world differed from the Past, and for now, he did not want more people to know about "the Past."
He tossed the card forward and, as it spun around its vertical axis, touched it with a finger burning with First Fire.
This allowed him to suppress the calamity's power while partially using the Calamity Card's abilities. After testing it, he found that the newly acquired card granted him the Wither-Bloom Curse.
It could make plants rapidly grow or revert to their seed form. Its essence was not the manipulation of Life Force, but the influence of time. Though it could only be used on plants, it was still highly useful to Shade.
To avoid wasting time, the meeting place he had agreed upon with the Elders was the highest peak of Fatumonst Snow Mountain. Standing on White Dragon's Ridge and gazing at Peak of Fate, Shade realized this was his first time ascending the snow mountain's highest point.
Setting out from Sylvia's High Tower was much closer than departing from the town at the mountain foot. Shade chose to fly there directly, but out of respect for Fatu People traditions, he landed early on the steps below the summit and walked the final stretch.
The Elders attached great importance to the Ten Thousand Spirits Festival ritual. Shade had assumed they would arrive before him, but upon reaching the summit, he found that he seemed to be the first one there. No Elders, no Claire, and no climbers were present.
As for the summit of the snow mountain, it was as empty as Claire had once described.
The summit connected