1.
In the distant future, Earth is ruled by a newly born intelligence of technology, reducing humanity to a mere adjunct. To begin anew, the "Kunpeng" sets off into the vast cosmos, carrying the Nuwa System designed to reboot civilization.
"Elementa...
"Let me start with the most fortunate things," Arlinwood began. "It's that at the lowest points of my life, I always met the right people."
She recounted the tale of a girl with mediocre talent in the Elemental Magnetic Mainland, struggling to carve her own path in a world that only valued innate abilities.
Like most, Arlinwood spent her days in the City of Benevolence in a routine manner. Born with only average elemental magnetic potential, her life was predetermined: live quietly, and when of age, move to the Water Realm to earn a living as arranged by the Elemental Magnetic Domain. At most, she could advance to the Earth Realm, but she was destined to spend her life within the bounds of the Elemental Magnetic Surface Domain.
Yet, Arlinwood was a girl brimming with ambition. She firmly believed in her exceptional latent talent, which just hadn't been discovered yet. To change her fate, she endeavored to connect with everyone she could, especially those with influence, displaying immense enthusiasm and vitality. This demeanor repelled some but endeared others.
Despite her efforts leading her to the Earth Realm, the strictly regulated and uneventful life of the Surface Domain predefined everyone's path, using a false sense of prosperity and peace to make people accept their fate. Arlinwood refused to accept a life whose end she could foresee from the moment of her birth. She was unwilling to conform and submit.
Her unyielding passion for life and the challenge it brought influenced one person in particular – Jade , a girl with exceptional talent and luck. Jade had everything Arlinwood tirelessly sought but took for granted, naively believing in Arlinwood's rhetoric about "the passion of life" and "endless possibilities." Jade even claimed to admire Arlinwood.
Arlinwood seized this opportunity – she always clung to anyone who might turn her life around.
Then, a chance encounter with the Free People revealed to her that there was more to life than just the Elemental Magnetic Mainland. But this contact also triggered surveillance from the elemental magnetic force net.
When Arlinwood was enveloped and immobilized by the force attack, feeling utterly hopeless, Jade appeared with a magical elemental magnetic cloak, shielding her from the attack and freeing her.
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Sensing the cloak's significance as both her lifeline and a symbol of freedom, Arlinwood and Jade planned to use it to explore broader horizons and showcase their potential.
However, being a target of the force net, Arlinwood couldn't leave the cloak behind.
To avoid a life of hiding and to seek better prospects, Arlinwood decided to venture into the Verdant Thistle Forest, the territory of the Free People. She secretly prepared everything, including contacting the Free People, planning the smuggling route and timing, but knew she couldn't just leave; she needed Jade and her cloak.
Persuading Jade to accompany her, Jade agreed but wanted to bid farewell to two close friends first, with whom she had planned to go to the Sky Domain. Since she was no longer going, she owed them an explanation.
Arlinwood had met Jade 's friends, marked by their disdain for her and their perception of her ulterior motives. Arlinwood accepted their judgment; befriending Jade was indeed initially purposeful, but Jade 's sincerity and kindness had genuinely touched her, and she considered Jade a true friend.
A true friend? Arlinwood questioned herself – perhaps it wasn't so pure. Not only that, Jade was willing to abandon a promising future to venture into the unknown with her, burdening Arlinwood with the responsibility for Jade 's future.
Why would Jade give up a clear path to advancement for the unpredictable Verdant Thistle Forest? Jade 's naive response: "Following a predetermined path is pointless."
As for Jade 's comments about people in the Surface Domain wearing masks and living in a small space, playing a game set by unknown rules just for small temptations, Arlinwood didn't fully understand and chose to ignore. Her main concern was how to face Jade 's friends' questions and prevent them from taking back the elemental magnetic cloak.
On the day they planned to leave, Arlinwood hesitated. At the last moment, when they were about to leap over the Elemental Magnetic Abyss, she decided to persuade Jade not to go with her. When persuasion failed, she took the cloak and fled alone.
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"I will always remember the look in Jade 's eyes. It wasn't disbelief or hatred for betrayal, but a kind of understanding pity," Arlinwood recalled. Over time, she began to understand Jade 's look. Jade likely knew this would be the outcome, yet Arlinwood had always thought herself the cleverest.
"The elemental magnetic cloak was just a tool, but Jade 's
friendship held the real power. Ironically, I let go of the most precious thing. Later, as I strayed further, I deviated from my initial purpose and soul, forgetting what freedom meant, mistaking power for freedom itself, eventually deceived by power."
"Are you referring to the chieftain's intention to possess the elemental magnetic cloak, forcing you to be possessed by the Terra Grove tribe?" Raina had heard about Arlinwood's fall.
"The chieftain..." Arlinwood shook her head. "After so many events, I don't know how to judge him. But the Free People's Tribe is where I spent most of my life; it was my dream and responsibility, and many tribe members trusted me."
"I can't rest easy. I fear the tribe will gradually become a vassal of the Terra Grove tribe, losing even the identity of humans. Can they still be called people?" Arlinwood grew weaker as she spoke, struggling to breathe, yet unwilling to stop.
"This is my biggest regret. Of course, there's also my concern and guilt for Jade , but I believe with her character and talent, she must be doing well. But the people of the Free People's Tribe, abandoned by human society, are they now to lose even the freedom to be human?" Arlinwood coughed relentlessly, her words seeming to aggravate her condition, coughing until her heart ached, until death silenced her.
"Okay, I promise you," Raina assured, knowing what Arlinwood wanted and unable to bear her endless coughing and stubbornness. "I'll try my best to find a solution to the Terra Grove tribe's possession of humans."
Arlinwood finally ceased, along with her coughing and breathing. Her last words were, "You are my second fortune, Raina..."
