"Now, can we talk?"
Those calm words seemed to carry even more weight than the Reject Dial from earlier, even with its tenfold power. They pressed heavily on the hearts of every Shandia warrior.
Absolute silence followed.
Clang! Several guerrilla fighters could no longer hold onto their spears, and the weapons fell to the ground.
The Chief remained on one knee. Blood kept pouring from his mouth. He gripped his shattered arm and breathed heavily.
Forcing himself to endure the intense pain, he lifted his head and stared fixedly at Aiden. The hostility in his eyes was no longer simple hatred. It was the look of someone staring at something he could not understand.
"Cough, cough..." Smoker crawled out from the pile of broken trees in the distance. He held his still-aching chest and stared at Aiden's unharmed back. He had even forgotten to light the cigars in his mouth.
"Damn it... just how strong is he now? That was... ten times the power..."
At that moment, Gan Fall, who had been circling overhead, finally found an opening. Riding Pierre, he slowly descended and landed between the two sides.
He looked at Aiden seriously, then turned to the Chief and raised both hands. "Chief! Stop! Can't you see this gentleman is not an ordinary invader? We should at least hear why they came first!"
Gan Fall's appearance only made the Chief angrier.
"Gan Fall!!" The Chief rose to his feet despite the pain. Using his only good hand, he pointed at Gan Fall and glared. "You are the leader of the invaders! And you still dare to step onto our homeland! They... they are the new accomplices you brought here!!"
"That's right!"
"Get out!"
The Shandia warriors raised their weapons again and pointed them at Gan Fall.
"Enough."
Aiden's calm voice cut through the four-hundred-year standoff. He slowly stepped between the two men.
He looked at Gan Fall first. "You are a good man, but you are also a failure. After all these years, you still couldn't stop this meaningless war."
Gan Fall froze, and a look of shame appeared on his face.
Then Aiden turned to the Chief. His gaze remained calm. "Chief, you are no different. Four hundred years of fighting have made you almost forget why you started fighting in the first place."
"What did you say?!" The Chief's eyes widened in anger.
"You Shandia have continued fighting generation after generation, shedding blood to reclaim Upper Yard. Was it for revenge?"
Aiden looked at him and said quietly, "No. You were fighting to reclaim your homeland... and to fulfill a promise."
"A promise?!" The Chief was stunned.
"Four hundred years ago, an explorer named Mont Blanc Noland arrived on Jaya."
Aiden continued, directly bringing to light the truth that had been buried for centuries. "When Noland left, Kalgara made a vow to him."
Aiden's voice was not loud, but every person present heard it clearly. "I will keep ringing the Golden Bell. Even if you are caught in a storm, the sound of the bell will guide you. It will make sure you never lose your way on the vast sea."
"When you return here one day, the bell will tell you..."
"We are still here."
At those words, the spear in the Chief's hand slipped from his grasp and hit the ground with a clang.
The old warrior's body began to shake violently.
Aiden looked up at the sky and continued calmly, "Unfortunately, the Knock Up Stream sent this island ten thousand meters into the sky. Until the day he died, Noland believed the City of Gold truly existed. But the world laughed at him and branded him a liar. He died carrying a false accusation."
Then he looked at the Shandia warriors, whose faces were already soaked with tears. "You have fought here in the sky for four hundred years to reclaim your homeland... and to ring that bell once more."
"You just wanted to tell him..."
"We are here."
"Waaaaah!!!"
The Chief could no longer support himself. He dropped to both knees and let out a cry from the depths of his heart. All the Shandia warriors let their weapons fall and knelt to the ground, crying uncontrollably.
The truth had finally been revealed. Four hundred years of suffering came crashing down like a broken dam.
To the side, Gan Fall stood completely stunned. He looked at the scene as though lightning had struck him.
"So... that was the truth..." Gan Fall muttered to himself. "For four hundred years... what we were stopping was not just an invasion, but a people trying to reclaim their homeland... and fulfill an old promise?"
The spear in his hand slowly lowered.
"Now the problem is clear." Aiden looked around at both sides, who had fallen silent. He knew the time for negotiation had come. He pointed at the giant beanstalk reaching into the sky. "The Golden Bell is right there. Now the only obstacle is gone."
"Obstacle?" The Chief did not understand at first. Then grief and anger returned to his face. "No! We still can't go up there! Those guards..."
"That's right." Gan Fall sighed and took over. His face was full of helplessness and shame. "Mr. Aiden, the problem lies on my side."
He explained, "For four hundred years, Upper Yard has been treated as holy land. No one is allowed to set foot there freely, and the people guarding the upper ruins would never allow the Shandia near the bell."
He smiled bitterly. "Even I cannot force them to cast aside centuries of tradition. In their eyes, the Shandia are people who would defile forbidden land."
"Good." Aiden smiled.
"I will help you fulfill your four-hundred-year wish and ring the Golden Bell."
"I will also help you bring this meaningless four-hundred-year war to an end."
"In exchange, both of you will accept these professors together. Let them live on this land and continue their research."
Under Aiden's firm and unquestionable mediation, the Chief and Gan Fall looked at each other. At last, both slowly lowered their weapons. For the first time in four hundred years, a temporary peace was reached.
Aiden turned to Smoker and Saul. "You stay here. I'll be back soon."
Smoker was startled. "Huh? You don't mean...?"
Aiden did not answer. He simply looked up toward the top of the giant beanstalk. "There are too many people. It would be inconvenient to go together."
Before he even finished speaking, Aiden stomped off the ground and turned into an afterimage, vanishing onto the path that led to the top of the beanstalk.
"Hey! Aiden!!"
Gan Fall and the Chief looked at each other and saw the same shock in each other's eyes. He had actually gone up there alone?!
Half an hour later.
While everyone waited anxiously, Aiden reappeared in the same spot without a sound, as if he had teleported back. His clothes were completely spotless.
"Mr. Aiden!" Gan Fall was the first to rush over. He asked anxiously, "Those guards... they...?"
Aiden showed a "kind" smile and answered calmly, "They're all asleep."
"Asleep??" Gan Fall and the Chief were both stunned.
"Yes." Aiden nodded as if it were nothing worth mentioning. "They're sleeping very soundly. I guarantee they won't wake up and bother us before tomorrow morning."
Everyone: ( II—II )
"Alright, the obstacle is gone." Aiden clapped his hands. "Professor, Chief, Mr. Gan Fall, we can go now."
After Saul stayed behind to guard the large ship, Aiden's group finally began climbing Giant Jack.
Because the guards were sleeping so soundly, they encountered no trouble on the way up.
After several hours of climbing, they finally passed through the clouds and reached the top of the giant beanstalk that existed only in legend.
The magnificent ruins of the Golden City, Shandora, stood quietly above the sea of clouds, carrying an ancient and sacred air.
And at the center of those ruins, the grand bell tower and the massive Golden Bell appeared before them.
Aiden stood beneath the bell tower and looked up at the enormous Golden Bell.
He knew the goal of this trip was finally within reach.