Destiny Mission of game 'Star Ring'

Not long after, she arrived at the edge of the Rare Beast Forest, where a dilapidated warning sign stood.

"Rare Beast Forest, beasts inside! Unauthorized entry is at your own risk!"

Icaroya ignored the warning sign and walked straight in. In her memory, this place had once been a forbidden zone in the Chaotic Land but later fell into disrepair for some reason.

Upon entering the Rare Beast Forest, the air temperature dropped a few degrees, becoming very cool and comfortable, and the air was fresh.

Icaroya felt her mood improve significantly as she stepped on the fallen branches and leaves, walking forward step by step.

The crunch of the branches underfoot occasionally startled some strange little animals into scurrying away.

After a long while, Icaroya ventured deeper, and at this moment ran into an Elephant Scale towering a hundred meters high, covered in silver scales.

Under the sunlight, the Elephant Scale’s entire body shimmered with Silver Light, dazzlingly bright.

The Elephant Scale seemed to sense someone trespassing on its territory, and its huge eyes glanced down, staring at Icaroya, then opened its mouth and let out an earth-shaking roar!

"Roar"

Icaroya did not panic or fear; she stood there, her gaze cold and indifferent, glancing at the Elephant Scale with a hint of icy killing intent instantly enveloping the massive creature.

The Elephant Scale’s pupils contracted as if it had seen a ghost, and like a startled bird, it turned and fled, crashing through giant trees along the way.

Icaroya was indifferent and continued toward the depths of the Rare Beast Forest.

The further she went, the more unfamiliar it became. Although she had been here once before, she hadn’t ventured very far.

The environment around her had transformed dramatically; the ground was covered with many peculiar plants, their surfaces fuzzy with hair-like protrusions that emitted different hues of light, floating in the air alongside mushroom-shaped airborne organisms.

Even the sky was obscured, with branches and leaves overhead dangling multicolored hair-like tendrils.

Icaroya continued walking, uncertain of the distance she had traveled, as the surrounding trees and leaves grew denser.

The available space to move in became more constrained.

Yet Icaroya was unconcerned. She continued forward, and after some time, the view suddenly opened up.

At this point, Icaroya stopped; she stood atop a cliff.

She looked up and gazed into the distance, taking in the peculiar scenery. In front of her lay an expansive sea of trees, with large rectangular Sky Pits filled with various vegetation.

At the center of the tree sea lay the ruins of a colossal tree spanning tens of thousands of meters, upon which a vibrant new tree was growing robustly.

Floating in the air around the new tree were creatures with faces resembling infants.

Icaroya stood motionless, somewhat entranced by the sight, the breeze brushing past, stirring the strands of her hair.

Just then, Icaroya leaped off, diving into the dense sea of trees, startling a flock of birds into flight.

At dusk.

Icaroya aimlessly wandered within the sea of trees. As she approached the collapsed tree, she suddenly noticed beside it a massive stone monument embedded in the ground, covered in moss.

She approached the stone monument, reached out her hand to touch it, and wiped away the moss on its surface.

Ancient texts appeared.

Staring at the texts, Icaroya’s cold visage revealed a hint of surprise; it was the language of the Divine Race, which she had studied since childhood.

Curious, she examined it carefully.

Due to the passage of time, some characters were illegible, but she could barely make out enough to decipher.

The Divine Race announces major policy changes, abolishing one hundred seventy-two subordinate autonomous regions, reclaiming tax, security, and other rights, and asserting governance through appointed Priests.

In XXXX year, more than seventeen nations, eighty-two inhabited stars, experienced a bizarre plague, transforming individuals into evil, greedy, bloodthirsty Monsters.

...

Icaroya grew increasingly absorbed.

Just then, a steady voice sounded.

"Do you like history?"

Icaroya’s body stiffened abruptly, her muscles instantly tensing but the next moment, she relaxed.

She turned to look at her father standing beside her, unaware of how long he had been there or when he arrived; she hadn’t sensed his presence at all.

"Father, why are you here?"

"Am I not welcome?"

Icarofa asked with a gentle smile.

"No."

Icaroya shook her head in response.

"Haha, as long as that’s the case. I initially wanted to bring you here to grandfather’s for a break, but your grandfather and Uncle Beckinholt were overly enthusiastic, and I got too carried away drinking to pay attention to you."

"It’s fine, I don’t mind."

Icaroya replied indifferently.

Icarofa bent down, while gathering the dry branches together, chatting with Icaroya as he did.

"Honestly, sometimes I wonder. When you were little, weren’t you quite cheerful and lively, following that rascal Luo En?"

"That was when I was a child, I didn’t know better."

Icaroya responded coldly.

"Really? Sit down for a while. Since you’ve been following the Moon Queen, we haven’t chatted one-on-one like this for ages."

Icarofa smiled and then lit a bonfire.

Icaroya didn’t refuse and sat by the fire, quietly adding one or two dry branches to it.

The atmosphere was somewhat stiff.

Icarofa continued to smile at Icaroya, saying, "I saw you earlier, completely absorbed in that stone monument. Are you interested? Those are historical texts, recording true ancient history. If you’re interested, you can visit the Cosmic Alliance Government’s archive room, where there’s plenty to look through. Learning real history can be beneficial."

"Hmm."

Icaroya nodded slightly.

"Just make sure you keep it to yourself after you read; don’t share it with others. Knowing too much can lead to unhappiness; history texts, in a way, are things not meant for public display."

Icarofa spoke somberly.

"Okay!"

Icaroya replied quietly, her head down.

Icarofa looked at Icaroya, his expression growing even more tender; he knew perfectly well what drove Icaroya.

Yet he understood her nature well enough, so he chose not to reveal more.

"Luo Ya, do you know why everyone respects me?"

Icaroya suddenly hesitated, then raised her head to look at her father, her lips moved as though she wanted to speak but stopped.

"I guess you might think it’s because of power, right?"

Icarofa asked with a smile.

Icaroya slightly nodded, acknowledging his words.

"Actually, it’s not. Remember this: power can only instill fear in others, and at most, it results in verbal submission without heartfelt respect. Pursuing power alone leads to losing oneself, ultimately losing everything."

Icarofa advised Icaroya with a smile.

Icaroya suddenly felt disoriented, gazing at her father.

"Then what is it, truly?"