Sky Island

"We found it." Robin was extraordinarily excited. "And Noland was arrested because he protected them and defied the king's orders! Noland didn't willingly bring the army here. He realized what the king was plotting. Although he found the surviving Shandia, he didn't tell the king. Instead, he took the secret with him to his grave."

"So he openly rebelled against the World Government?" Miming finally understood. There was no way the World Government hadn't had someone following them in a matter like this. For all they knew, an ancestor of the dead panda family might have been aboard the ship at the time as a government envoy. Otherwise, why would the king use only Noland as a guide instead of one of the original adventurers who knew the route? Naturally, he had been afraid of sparking a large-scale rebellion.

"Then all the mysteries have been solved." Robin spoke in amazement. "But why didn't the island fall after it flew into the sky?"

"Because of Sky Island." Miming explained the knowledge he had about Sky Island, as well as the special geographical phenomenon of the water columns that rose into the sky.

Cloud fossils could condense into Sky Islands and float in the air. Occasionally, their shadows would be cast onto the ground, creating strange shadows and vast stretches of darkness. The water columns that had blown the Shandia away still appeared from time to time, suddenly erupting from the bottom of the sea.

"How incredible." Robin was utterly captivated.

"Once we've taken care of everything at hand, we'll go up and have a look together." Miming and Robin carried their lamps as they walked deeper into the altar.

When a golden-orange radiance entered their vision, Miming and Robin both widened their eyes.

"Gold?"

Gold piled up like mountains was stored