Bofis patted her head with a touch of irritation, "But even if I answer you ... if you haven’t seen it, you wouldn’t understand."
She thought hard for a moment then awkwardly gestured with her hands, "It’s ... Generally speaking, there are many dispensers about this—tall on the ground. Here, water is pumped from the underground rivers, processed with an infusion of energy, and poured into the dispensers... and then, when night falls, the dispensers are opened.
"Water infused with curse energy, once activated, emits beautiful lights of various colors."
Bofis said with a hint of nostalgia, "But you all definitely can’t see it..."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because there is no curse energy reaction in your blood."
Bofis glanced at the two behind Xitan Pulan and the cat, and responded offhandedly, "If it’s because you’re the Pale Daughter... the same goes for those two. I think the curse energy technology has finally been terminated."
"...So what exactly is curse energy?"
Xitan Pulan couldn’t help but ask.
"Curse energy, huh..."
She couldn’t help but show a wan smile, "It seems if I don’t tell you, you won’t be able to let it go.
"Since I have to tell you, I’ll make it clear. Curse energy... must never be used again.
"Curse energy is the technology we relied on to survive in the desert. You can think of it as the ability to pump clear springs from the desert... the ability to accomplish whatever you wish under limited conditions.
"—It’s ’the incomplete power of creation.’
"But your teacher must have also taught you the iron laws of this world, right? ’For that which should not be had, there is always a price.’
Annan had indeed told her.
Although the words weren’t the same, the overall meaning was about the same.
Bofis took a deep breath and murmured softly, "Curse energy... is the Blood of the World.
"The contact between this world and the Dream Realm is not a tepid fusion. At the overlapping point of the two worlds, the world becomes exceptionally fragile... that is the inherent flaw of the world itself.
"That is the wound of the world—flesh unshielded by skin."
Bofis sighed, "And the Curse Cellar is like an empty wedge. Hammered into this flesh, extracting the plasma of the world. The world around the Curse Cellar will gradually become desolate, and people near the Curse Cellar will occasionally disappear... that’s them falling into the Dream Realm in the moment of the world’s collapse. Once the flesh enters the Dream Realm, there’s almost no chance of returning.
"Beyond the damage the Curse Cellar does to the world itself, those who suck the Blood of the World will be cursed by it. Or perhaps, what they are sucking in is the curse of the world itself.
"Those who have used curse energy will have their lifespans extended by sevenfold, but their youth will not extend accordingly; they are fated to be haunted by nightmares, carrying them even before death... with many different curses, each distinct. And once they wake from the nightmares, new Curse Bindings will be added, tormenting them until death... and even death does not end it.
"Once curse energy has been used even once, it’s impossible to ever free oneself from that craving. But in the desert, we had no room for such sentimentality. Curse energy was the poisoned blood that sustained our civilization... knowing that taking it would lead to death sooner or later, but without it, we would die of thirst on the spot.
"After we arrived in the resource-rich Aesirland, some of those with knowledge began to call for everyone to use curse energy sparingly."
"But the vast majority of elves were unwilling to give up the convenience of magic energy—because compared to the convenience it provided, its side effects were negligible. When a civilization used magic energy together, it further diluted these side effects. As for the world that would become riddled with problems in a few hundred years... that was a future unrelated to us."
"...Could it be that magic energy is addictive?"
Xitan Pulan asked subconsciously.
She faintly saw the shadow of the Sunwell and Quel’Salas...
"No, magic energy itself does not lead to addiction, but the convenience it offers is a terrifying dependency. The convenience of magic energy is even enough to make people forget the pain of death... Therefore, elves born after the Third Era do not view death as something to fear.
"To them, magic energy was not for survival, but for pleasure."
Bofis’s reply was even more frightening.
"Because of the mystique of this power and its increasing scarcity... the people of Aesirland fixed their gaze on this power. In some of the legendary stories spread by wandering bards, there are traces of magic energy.
"In your legends, magic energy has many magical aliases. Like ’Water of Eternal Youth,’ ’Fountain of Youth,’ ’Holy Grail,’ ’Styx Water,’ and so on.
"Eventually, despite the Elder Council’s complete opposition and under the persuasion of many Prophets, the emperor managed to control the situation. He reached a forced compromise with the Elder Council—not to completely stop the use of magic energy, but to concentrate the important population in the Royal Capital and only use magic energy there while prohibiting its use in front of the centaurs and the people of Aesirland.
"...But afterward, we launched a rebellion.
"It was not a rebellion of resistance, but one of self-destruction... For instance, this city where I live is an extreme city of magic worship. Before the Curse Cellar was finally dismantled as planned, people destroyed their homes, obliterated the traces of their lives... Using the last of the Curse Cellar’s power, they weaved an eternal public nightmare, halting time in its tracks.
"—It was an endless month, a wonderfully beautiful ’nightmare’... not to record important knowledge or heritage but to escape into it and enjoy a life that was no different from before."
Miss Bofis’s emotions gradually became more intense, then faded away again.
She remained silent for a long time before she said in a barely audible voice, her head lowered, "I’m sorry, I lied before."
"It’s not your fault."
Xitan Pulan said gently and softly.
Bofis took a deep breath to stabilize her emotions.
Then she continued, "My mother wanted to take me to the Royal Capital. But I ran away on the way because I didn’t want to use magic energy anymore, it was clearly wrong... My mother taught me that since I was little.
"Yet she herself wanted to move to the Royal Capital to live..."
At this point, her voice choked up.
Once again, Xitan Pulan said, "It’s not your fault."
"I just wanted... to live an ordinary life. But no one supported me... At most, I could only return to my hometown and die with everyone... preserving this time, this meaningless ’knowledge,’ as a specimen.
"...But I couldn’t do anything right. When I returned, I was late, I couldn’t participate in the ceremony... and when I wanted to leave, I couldn’t escape."
Bofis smiled bitterly, "I am alone here, without any grand mission or remarkable deeds. I’m just lingering in place, not knowing where to go, and in the end, not doing anything well...
"I lied, Xitan Pulan. I’m not impressive at all, I don’t have any companions, nor do I have any special abilities. I... can’t do anything right."
She murmured, "I’m just a half-hearted, indecisive wretch..."
Bofis looked at Xitan Pulan with a pleading gaze, her voice as faint as a ghost.
"...Will you come back for me?"