The whimpering little whirlwind was truly rare. After explaining The Sage’s words to Angel, the Sand Hawk observed the little whirlwind for a while before clicking its tongue and flying back in front of the Gondola, leading them to the final stage.
Ten minutes later, the desertification of the land had completely disappeared. Although the ground was still somewhat dry and cracked, the water element in the air began to gradually thicken, suggesting that the Green Wilderness must be ahead.
The Sand Hawk circled the sky and called out several times, and faint rumbling vibrated from the ground.
Looking down from the Gondola, one could see vast expanses of land with at least a hundred indifferent faces emerging, the largest being several dozen meters wide.
Without a doubt, these were earth elemental creatures.
Angel speculated that they might be the last line of defense on the borders of the Baya Desert.
The Sand Hawk called a few more times to the faces below, and with another rumble, all the faces sank into the ground, and the earth returned to tranquility.
The Sand Hawk then flew back to the Gondola.
"I’ve had the border’s Keepers remember your presence, sir. Next time you come, they won’t give you trouble. However, if you still intend to travel by air then, you’ll need to find a companion to fly with." The Sand Hawk paused and continued, "A hundred miles ahead is the territory of the Green Wilderness. This is as far as I’ll take you."
The Sand Hawk didn’t linger further; as soon as it finished speaking, its body exploded, transforming into a cloud of flying sand, dissolving with a breeze and disappearing without a trace.
Angel used the Cleansing Spell to sweep away the sand particles clinging to the Gondola and then looked towards the distance, setting off again.
The Gondola flew at full speed, and within a minute, Angel had completely left the barren land and saw the greenery ahead.
Here, Angel started to slow down the flight, casting his gaze towards the little whirlwind still trapped in the cage of yellow sand.
"We’re about to reach the territory of White Cloud Village. Wouldn’t you like to introduce yourself?" Angel initiated a greeting. Though every Sage he encountered along the way said that the gentle breeze Uranus of White Cloud Village had a mild temperament and wouldn’t make things difficult for him, mere words couldn’t dispel his doubts. Gaining some prior understanding, especially from the mouth of a wind elemental creature about the situation in White Cloud Village, certainly wouldn’t go amiss.
However, as soon as Angel’s words fell, what answered him was only the sound of sobbing.
"Don’t cry."
"It’s come to this, crying won’t help."
Angel felt he was consoling, but whether he did so or not, the little whirlwind would still be sobbing. As he began to console it, the little whirlwind cried even more fiercely.
Looking at this whimpering brat, Angel also felt a bit at a loss. He had grown up so big, yet had never dealt with such a crying child.
Watching the little whirlwind cry with increasing intensity, Angel was silently speechless inside: Alas, troublemaker kids are truly troublesome.
In the future, when selecting elemental companions, he must avoid this type of troublesome kid.
It seemed that Kelonkcro was indeed not bad; although a stuttering oddball, at least he could give Angel some peace and quiet.
Just as Angel felt helpless, his peripheral vision suddenly caught a severed hand lying on the table.
Dangross was still immersed in the Illusionary Realm, but unlike its initial frozen state, it seemed to understand the intent of the Illusionary Realm and shifted into a more comfortable pose, watching the Illusion Scene with a "watching a show" mentality.
Seeing Dangross comfortably roll over, Angel seemed to think of something and his eyes suddenly brightened.
He seemed to have a way.
Angel extended his finger and gently pointed at the little whirlwind.
The Nightmare Illusion’s light points with many Illusion Nodes surrounded the little whirlwind.
The little whirlwind was crying sadly, suddenly hearing a voice full of childish innocence near its ear: "Sister Wendy, I—I still want to hear the story of Flying Long Nose."
"Mike is so dumb, Sister Wendy is not telling the story of Flying Long Nose, it’s Dumbo." Another voice responded, still a child’s voice.
After a burst of laughter, the child who spoke later said again: "I’m sick of Dumbo already. I heard from my classmates that these are all fake; there’s no elephant in the world that can fly."
The initial childish voice said: "There are, for sure there are flying long noses in the world, and there are flying people too."
"Mike, listen to me, no, there isn’t! If you don’t believe it, ask Sister Wendy, whether besides birds, there are no other organisms that can fly? Humans and elephants are absolutely impossible!"
When the little whirlwind heard this, a major question popped into its mind: Isn’t flight normal? How could there be no flying creatures?
The external dialogue didn’t cease due to the little whirlwind’s crying, so the little whirlwind was curious—didn’t they hear me crying?
Plus, since the little whirlwind was curious about their conversation, it secretly opened its eyes and found that although it was still in a cage of yellow sand, the surroundings had changed, turning into a strange room it had never seen before. The room was filled with intricate living items it had never seen before, which looked very harmonious and beautiful.
Where is this place? Wasn’t I on a weird flying boat before?
Before the little whirlwind could ponder this question, it was attracted by the three human forms in the room.
Among the three, the smallest was only four years old, named Mike. Another was a few years older than Mike; according to their dialogue, he seemed to be named John. The third, the sleeping-gown girl who hadn’t spoken, was their sister, Wendy.
Faced with Mike and John’s inquiry, Wendy tilted her head and thought for a moment: "We haven’t seen it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I believe there are flying humans; it’s recorded in books."
John pouted: "Those are fairy tale books, fairy tales are fake."
Just as Wendy was about to refute, suddenly a voice emerged in the room: "It’s not fake; humans can fly—I can."
The appearance of a stranger startled the three children, and they turned their heads to see when a little boy wearing a green hat was sitting by the opened windowsill.
Seeing the three turn around, the boy smiled, leapt lightly, and flew hovering above the room.
He really flew up!
In the eyes of the three children, filled with surprise, he raised his head and said, "My name is Peter Pan, and not only can I fly, but there are also many fairies that can fly, right on Neverland. If you don’t believe me, I can take you to see. Trust me, it will be a marvelous adventure!"
Hearing the word adventure, the three children still in their innocent and joyful phase immediately jumped up with excitement. On the other side, the little whirlwind watching this scene, whose big eyes were originally teary, now shone like little light bulbs.
Adventure, adventure... it is an adventure!
...
"Peter Pan" is exactly the illusionary realm Angel prepared for the little whirlwind.