"I... understand..."
Roland spoke hoarsely.
"Thank you for your generosity.
May I ask what payment I should offer in return for your guidance?"
"If you insist on calling it payment, you have actually paid already."
Phinedites looked at Roland with a meaningful glint in her eyes.
Roland was astonished. "I have already paid?"
"Yes, but not here."
Phinedites's words carried an inscrutable ambiguity, and she offered no clear explanation.
"I think I know why I woke up here.
Countless possibilities drift through the river of fate, and the bond between us must have a starting point.
Fate chose this tributary as the beginning of our shared destiny.
That is why we met here.
But this fragment of my consciousness has endured for too long. It can no longer sustain itself. Come find me in the future."
As Phinedites spoke, her body, already as ethereal as mist, suddenly became even more indistinct.
Before everyone's astonished eyes, she gradually merged into the mountain wall, becoming once more the dragon outlined in simple strokes by the ancient inhabitants.
Only her final words rang through the air.
"You and I will certainly meet again!"
She spoke that final sentence in clearly enunciated Seris, rather than Draconic.
Her voice still held that unique cadence, almost a chant yet not quite, imbued with an indescribable mystery.
Roland sensed something, but could not quite grasp the flash of inspiration that crossed his mind. He could only do his best to memorize what he felt at that moment.
The others were astonished as well, then suddenly came to a realization.
Traveling through timelines could scramble cause and effect.
It was precisely this meeting that made their later reunion possible.
Would Sir Roland become a Legendary Mage, his fate entwined with hers, their paths crossing more often?
"The legendary