Chapter 3 – The Mermaids in the Center of the Sea

When we look back at certain moments in time, we often find that the turning points of history come without warning, yet they redirect the flow of fate.

—“Chronicles of Time, Volume IX: The Rebirth of Magic”

“High-level magical beasts, dragons, and mermaids—these are the only intelligent races we can still encounter today.”

Under the night sky, the calm sea was a deep blue close to black. The moonlight and starlight fell together, and the people on the deck leaned against the ship’s railing, chatting.

“My mother and I live in the Astrology Tower. It has always been the home of prophets.”

“Can prophets really foresee the future?”

Haitie shrugged: “When I left, two old guys were still arguing fiercely about whether the Floating Sky Capital would fall or not. Whether it falls or not, one of them will always be right.”

Lin Wei chuckled: “Doesn’t that mean anyone can become a prophet?”

Haitie blinked mischievously: “Prediction is one thing, prophecy magic is another. They’re not the same.”

“What’s the difference?” Lin Wei’s curiosity was thoroughly piqued, and even Duan Yu, who had been silent, turned his head to listen.

Haitie said, “You’ll see in a moment.”

As she spoke, she took out a translucent crystal ball, chanted a few incantations, and the crystal ball slowly floated up, hovering in front of her.

Haitie gazed at the crystal ball, her tone calm and slow.

“Tonight, there will be no wind.”

Before long, Lin Wei felt the sea breeze that he had grown accustomed to gradually fade away, and he found himself in a windless space.

So, this was the true power of prophecy magic?

Within the range of one’s control, every word spoken would become reality?

Xipo sighed: “I’ve only heard my teacher talk about the prophecy magic of the Astrology Tower. I never thought I’d see it today.”

Haitie smiled somewhat triumphantly: “Prophecy magic can control all the rules within its range. I can only do this much for now. My mother’s Great Prophecy is far more powerful than mine.”

After some time, the windless sensation disappeared, and the sea breeze returned.

Lin Wei lowered his head, lost in thought.

If the Great Prophecy truly existed, why hadn’t he encountered it on the battlefield?

At that moment, he suddenly remembered something he had overlooked: the Northern Astrology Tower had never participated in that war.

The Floating Sky Capital was guarded by an Archmage, who ultimately died from the forbidden spell “Sunfall.” An Archmage from the Magic Academy was killed by the three great knights of the Imperial Knight Order. Yet, the Astrology Tower, which had two Archmages, had become an empty tower when the war broke out and the Magic Association called for aid. The prophets never showed up until the very end.

It was worth noting that an Archmage represented the pinnacle of magic, and only those ancient beings who had lived for centuries were qualified to wear the white robes symbolizing their status—though Duan Yu was an exception.

If the two Archmages and the other high-level mages had joined the war, the Empire’s chances of victory would have been significantly reduced. Were they alive or dead at that time? If dead, who killed them? And if alive, where had they gone? Did they leave merely to save themselves?

At that moment, Xipo was enthusiastically discussing prophecy magic with Haitie, while Duan Yu had stopped listening. Due to his eyes, he always appeared expressionless.

Lin Wei suppressed his doubts and glanced at Duan Yu, only to find that the guy seemed unusually still, which was strange.

When he extended his spiritual senses, he noticed that the magic elements around Duan Yu were unusually active.

Was he meditating?

Damn it, he could meditate even like this! Meditating with his eyes open!

Lin Wei’s mood was like that of an ordinary person discovering someone could sleep with their eyes open.

Well, Duan Yu’s eyes couldn’t see, so whether they were open or closed made no difference. But even so, being able to enter meditation in such an environment was still astonishing.

When Lin Wei was learning magic, he hated meditation the most. For most mages, it was the same—meditation required complete immersion, free from any distracting thoughts. Even the slightest sound could disrupt the state.

Especially as a summoner with a poor connection to magic elements, he relied on his spiritual power to survive. He often needed meditation to replenish his spiritual energy, but sometimes he would sit for hours without being able to enter deep meditation, and on two occasions, he simply fell asleep!

The meditation-struggling Lin Wei looked at Duan Yu, who was glowing with golden light, and felt his eyes were being blinded.

Truly, comparing oneself to others leads to despair, and comparing goods leads to throwing them away… Was there anything more hateful than a genius in this world?

—Yes, for example, a peerless genius.

Deeply frustrated, Lin Wei found an excuse to return to his cabin. He sat on the bed, cleared his mind, and tried to enter meditation. The result was no different from his past life—after a long time, he hadn’t even come close to meditating.

—He could only admit with frustration that he truly couldn’t achieve that state of mind free from distractions. Then, using the slight drowsiness from his failed meditation attempt, he drifted off into a hazy sleep.

In his daze, he seemed to hear someone singing in his ear.

The melody was faint, and he couldn’t make out the words, but it felt ethereal.

Since he had been so focused on meditation before falling asleep, Lin Wei instinctively slowed his breathing and cleared his mind. After a few breaths, he felt his consciousness gently float—a sign that he was about to enter meditation.

Unfortunately, this faint hint of meditation was quickly snuffed out.

The culprit was the knocking on his door, accompanied by a young girl’s clear and cheerful voice: “Lin Wei, come out and see the mermaids!”

Lin Wei was rudely interrupted by the girl, but he wasn’t angry. Meditation was good, but the allure of mermaids was far greater.

These legendary, beautiful, and mysterious creatures were something one could never see on the mainland.

When he hurriedly followed Haitie onto the deck, he saw a silver moon casting its light on the sea, making the water appear clearer than before. In the sea, there were glowing dots floating slowly, accompanied by the faint, distant song, creating a dreamlike scene.

Xipo said, “That’s the song of the mermaids. You can only hear it in the center of the Siren Sea.”

Haitie asked, “Do the mermaids sing while floating on the water?”

“Exactly. When the ship gets closer, you’ll be able to see them. The mages and the mermaid tribe have a good relationship, so the mermaids might even come over to greet us.”

Suddenly, Xipo’s hand held a large wooden box. When he opened it, Lin Wei and Haitie were stunned to see it filled with delicate and beautiful necklaces, bracelets, and other women’s accessories.

“I bought these at the dock. The female mermaids like these,” Xipo blinked. “This is also one of the ways humans can tell the gender of mermaids—they’re all too beautiful.”

Soon, as the Magic Wheel advanced, the song grew clearer, and small dark figures appeared on the distant sea. As they drew closer, the outlines of the figures became distinct—these were the mermaids of the Siren Sea’s center.

The upper bodies of the mermaids, which were above the water, looked no different from humans, and they all had long, flowing hair. Sensing the magic element fluctuations around the Magic Wheel, the mermaids stopped singing and gathered together to look at Lin Wei and the others.

One of the mermaids suddenly leaped high out of the water, revealing a beautifully shaped tail covered in bright silver scales. It drew an elegant arc in the air before plunging back into the water, creating a large splash.

“She recognized us. That was her way of greeting us.”

As Xipo spoke, the other mermaids also leaped out of the water and dove back in, one after another. The scene was breathtakingly beautiful, and Lin Wei even felt a bit sorry for Duan Yu, who couldn’t see it.

So he leaned over to Duan Yu and said, “Their way of greeting is to jump high out of the water and then splash back down.”

Haitie, hearing Lin Wei’s rather unimpressive description, shot him an exasperated yet amused look.

Duan Yu, however, didn’t seem to mind and simply replied, “Mm, I heard it.”

After the greeting, the mermaids began to swim toward the Magic Wheel in small groups. There were about ten of them, each incredibly beautiful. If such looks were seen on the mainland, many self-proclaimed beautiful noble ladies and women would be too ashamed to leave their homes.

Xipo said, “Look, they’re coming over to ask for gifts now.”

With that, Xipo gathered magic elements, and a staircase made of ice and snow formed, extending from the deck to the sea. Xipo stepped onto it first: “I don’t know when it started, but the Magic Academy has to prepare gifts for the mermaid tribe every year. Otherwise, they won’t let the Magic Wheel pass.”

Lin Wei and Haitie laughed. So, after sailing the Siren Sea for so many years, the Magic Academy still had to pay a toll.

Soon, the accessories in the box were all distributed among the mermaids. Most of them, after receiving their gifts, swam back to their original spots and continued singing. Only two mermaids remained by the ship.

One of the two mermaids was noticeably smaller, with a round, childlike face.

“I haven’t seen this one before. Maybe it’s her first time on the surface. The other one is probably her elder.”

As he spoke, the little mermaid swam closer, her large eyes filled with curiosity as she looked at them. The adult mermaid swam nearby, seemingly unconcerned that they might harm the little one.

“Mermaid children are very sensitive to soul auras and can accurately distinguish between good and bad intentions.”

Lin Wei crouched down curiously and reached out his hand, wanting to touch the little mermaid.

However, Lin Wei didn’t expect that when the little mermaid saw his outstretched hand, she immediately straightened up.

Lin Wei was still saying, “Huh? Why does she look so puffed up?”

Then he saw the little mermaid’s slightly pouted mouth suddenly open, and a stream of seawater sprayed directly into his face.

Lin Wei: “…”

He stood up helplessly, only to see Haitie laughing so hard she could barely stand straight. Xipo’s smile was also quite obvious. Even Duan Yu, that guy, probably guessed what had happened from the scene and sounds he sensed with his spiritual power, as the corner of his eye slightly curved.

As everyone finished laughing at the unfortunate Lin Wei, they saw the little mermaid swim to the ice staircase closest to Duan Yu, where she swam back and forth in small movements, seemingly especially curious about him.