Chapter 29 - The Farm in Irttat
Lucita's heart skipped a beat.
Could she say it was because the pocket watch's song suppressed the mental attack?
If Amala then asked why only she could hear the pocket watch's song, how should she answer?
Lucita fell silent for three seconds, then suddenly realized these three seconds of silence were enough for Amala to determine she had hidden something.
She looked up to meet Amala's smiling eyes.
She had secrets, both of them understood that perfectly well.
Amala didn’t press her. Instead, she spoke leisurely: "You probably don't know, when we saw you, you were holding up that pocket watch, calling King Acquanetta's name."
Lucita: !!!
She'd been seen, how long could she hide her secrets?
"After that, the pocket watch started singing. It sang the blessing song that's been passed down in the merfolk race for a long time. Legend has it that in prehistoric times when the merfolk race flourished, this blessing song would be heard in the palace every day. The court orchestra's performance began with it and ended with it. Those were the merfolk race's most carefree days."
"Those polluted kinswomen surprisingly didn't continue going mad and gathered there to listen for a long time. After that, we brought all three of you back. Oh, right—you didn't faint because you were swept away by the waves. If that were the case, you'd already be dead. You passed out because of mental energy depletion."
"You woke her, child."
"Perhaps the merfolk's plight has nothing to do with you. Of course you have the right to remain silent. Why you're unaffected by mental attacks, why you could wake Acquanetta, perhaps these aren't big deals to you."
"But to the merfolk, to every child here still yearning for land, yearning to sing, this is very, very important."
Lucita looked up.
"After singing that song, the pocket watch has shown no reaction since. I don't know if King Acquanetta's true spirit has been exhausted, but I have no way to call her out. In my hands, it's just like an ordinary pocket watch."
Amala propped her arms on the clam bed, looking up at the water surface: "Child, do you know that feeling? We've endured five hundred years of lonely deep sea life. Because we can't use our innate abilities, only our strong bodies remain. We've fallen from deep sea overlords to homeless dogs hiding everywhere. A single shark is worth our entire race's effort to resist. We live such lives. More and more tribespeople can't bear it and embark on paths of self-destruction. We're about to be drowned by hatred."
"What is more longed for than a bit of firelight in eternal night?"
In Amala's deep blue eyes, a trace of mist faintly arose, then quickly dissipated.
Lucita looked at that pocket watch: "I don't understand. Even if King Acquanetta is in this pocket watch, so what? Even if she's revived, so what? The curse already exists. Unless the curse is lifted, it doesn't matter who leads the merfolk."
Amala shook her head with a bitter smile: "You think I'm expecting a king to lead the people? I've already been the Merfolk King for three hundred years. I personally led everyone to build this new palace, establish territorial defense lines, and preserve the merfolk's last spark. Honestly speaking, even if the God of War, King Acquanetta herself, returned, she wouldn’t do better than I have."
"Moreover, King Acquanetta can't possibly be revived." She looked at the pocket watch sadly. Meeting Lucita's confused gaze, she explained: "Don't you know, child? Compared to humans, long-lived races have stronger bodies, longer lifespans, and powerful innate abilities. But the gods are fair. We can't monopolize all the benefits."
"Long-lived races don't have souls. After death, they won't have other possibilities like humans—you mixed-bloods are the same. Inside here..." She hesitated, then said: "If it's not her last bit of true spirit, it's probably an obsession that hasn't yet dispersed."
"Then what is that fire of hope you saw? I don't understand."
"Do you know how the merfolk were cursed?"
"The history books write about it. I've read it." Lucita recalled while cautiously watching Amala's expression, carefully saying: "King Acquanetta's corpse was placed in the curse altar. Humans scraped off her scales, stripped her bones, collected her blood, and finally dug out her heart. A hexagram curse formation, the heart placed in the center, scales, bones, and fresh blood placed at three corners, forming the necessary elements to curse the merfolk race."
"Humans lit oil lamps filled with laurel essential oil, roasted blessed herbs dry, and placed them around the altar, thereby deceiving divine perception. Using divine power, they imposed an inescapable curse on the merfolk race."
Hearing these things, Amala's expression was somewhat gloomy, but she still forced herself to say: "Do you know why humans had to use components of Acquanetta's body to complete the curse ritual?"
"Why?"
"The most important component of a curse ritual is an important item of the curse target. The more precious this item, the more closely connected to the curse target, the stronger the curse's effect."
Amala cherished the pure silver pocket watch case as she stroked it: "Lifting the curse is the same. Since ancient times, lifting curses has always been very difficult. Aside from divine favor and miracles occurring, to lift a curse, you must use that item from when the curse occurred—it must be the same one to reverse the ritual setup and eliminate the curse."
"A curse is like making a lock. The key to this lock is unique and cannot be replicated. If you can't smash this lock, you must use the key to open it."
Lucita thought of the elven race's curse.
The elves' Mirror Lake rely on blessings from the divine to smash that lock, but the merfolk didn't have a Mirror Lake.
Too bad the merfolk couldn't come ashore. Otherwise, they might be able to borrow Mirror Lake’s power.
But Mirror Lake was the unique birthplace of elves. Who knows if it would work for merfolk…
She pulled her thoughts back, looked down at the pocket watch in Amala's hand: "It's that key?"
"Maybe." Amala couldn't be certain either: "If it really contains Acquanetta's true spirit or obsession, if she hasn't completely dissipated yet, if you can still wake her... then maybe we truly have the key."
Lucita remained silent for a long time before saying: "Maybe I can try."
She could roughly guess why she could wake Acquanetta.
Only she could hear Acquanetta's song, for some special reason she'd never figured out... Then, perhaps she could cross the mental world layer and briefly communicate with Acquanetta?
But she'd shown she could hear Acquanetta's song and gotten no response, so she couldn’t be certain she could wake her again.
It felt as if the entire merfolk race’s hope had been placed on her shoulders, Lucita felt like she carried a mountain on her back and actually didn't dare meet Amala's earnest gaze.
"Don't be too nervous, child." Amala saw her nervousness and spoke soothingly: "Even if you really wake her, our curse can't be lifted in just a short time."
Lucita looked up to ask: "Why?"
"Because merfolk cannot perform the curse-lifting ritual."
Under Lucita's puzzled gaze, Amala said: "You should know that ritual magic is a kind of magic created by humans, belonging to the category of magic. Long-lived races cannot use magic."
"But it's just called that." Lucita remembered the magic introduction book she'd read and asked: "Isn't it said that ritual magic has no threshold? You don't need to perceive the magical world layer, nor explore any knowledge and rules. Anyone with the appropriate method and materials can complete the ritual."
"That's for humans, child." Amala shook her head: "Do you think we haven't tried ritual magic? Many tribespeople have tried, it's useless. The divine won't respond to us in rituals. Even daily prayers are more effective than that so-called ritual magic."
"We speculate it might be because long-lived races don't have souls. In rituals, communicating with the divine through souls is easy for every human to do, but long-lived races can't. As for you—you probably can't either, child. Mixed-bloods are like us, only having scattered true spirits, not condensed complete souls."
"Therefore, finding the key is only the first step." Amala smiled bitterly: "As for where to find humans willing to lift the curse for us, that's beyond reach."
I can! I have a soul!
Lucita cried out in her heart, but of course she couldn't say it.
She just smiled and said: "What if? Perhaps I can try later. You haven't tried with mixed-bloods, right? What if what makes the difference isn't the soul but bloodline? I also have part human bloodline."
Amala was somewhat moved.
Lucita's heart settled slightly. Her worry for her friends even lessened a bit.
If the merfolk’s curse could be lifted, she wouldn’t have to learn mental healing herself. The restored merfolk could wake Sylvette and Lily.
Her gaze fell on the pocket watch.
The pocket watch's song still faintly lingered, but the sound was much lower. Without listening carefully, it was almost impossible to hear.
She tentatively called out: "Hello?"
No response.
"Your Majesty?"
No response.
"Are you the Merfolk King?"
Still no answer. The ethereal song continued uninterrupted.
Lucita fell into self-doubt.
Her gaze touched Amala's somewhat doubtful eyes. She felt even more frustrated.
Could she really not communicate with her? Were the previous times all coincidences?
She thought for a moment and repeated what she'd said before losing consciousness: "Acquanetta!"
Before she could gather the courage to say her next line "Acquanetta, open your eyes and look at your people," a faint female voice came from the pocket watch.
That voice sounded very drowsy, as light as a gossamer: "You called me?"
!
Lucita and Amala exchanged an excited glance. Clearly Amala had heard it too.
This time the voice wasn't only in the mental world but came to reality!
Lucita confirmed: "Are you Acquanetta?"
The female voice hesitated for a while. Just when Lucita and Amala were both starting to doubt, she said hesitantly: "Acquanetta... I think I am?"
"Call me again?"
Lucita: ?
What kind of strange request was this?
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