bookbashuk Chapter 416 The Only Ring
Chapter 416 The Only Ring
Chapter 416 The Only Ring
But when it came to their two children, Elses and Ellos, things took an unexpected turn.
Because they are still young and have not yet made their choice of destiny, they cannot go to Valinor until they decide whether to become elves or humans.
"What's your decision, Duir?" Elrond asked Duir and Alvin earnestly.
Dui and Alvin exchanged a glance. Neither of them said anything, but their hearts were in sync, and they already had a tacit understanding.
Dui addressed the group, announcing their decision: "Alvin and I will not go to Valinor for now. We will wait for Elses and Ellos to grow up and make their decision before heading to Valinor."
Dui didn't care whether Elses or Ellos chose the fate of the elves or the fate of humans; whatever choice they made, he respected their opinions.
Even if they choose to become human, he can still grant them immortality, only they will lose their qualification to go to Valinor.
Moreover, Duy didn't want to abandon Hogwarts and head to Valinor so soon.
However, he still asked Gandalf with some unease, "Gandalf, will this permit to go to Valinor expire?"
Gandalf understood Duy's meaning and shook his head with a smile, saying, "Of course not. As long as you don't completely give up on going to Valinor, staying in Middle-earth for a while longer won't have any impact."
Upon hearing this, Dui was relieved. Anyway, he could go to Valinor after he had stayed in Middle-earth long enough.
After making their decision, everyone bid farewell after a brief gathering.
Elrond returned to the Valley, and Galadriel returned to Loreen.
As for Gandalf, he remained at Hogwarts, deciding to continue teaching flying lessons to the children during his final days in Middle-earth.
Of course, they had already decided to travel by boat to Valinor.
However, there is no rush to set off. They will stay in Middle-earth for at least another ten years before heading to Grey Harbor to board a large ship and leave Middle-earth.
Dui, Alvin, and their two children spent a few warm days in the castle before heading to the Valley to visit Frodo, who was receiving treatment there.
Despite efforts to minimize the Ring's influence on Frodo, it inevitably inflicted indelible physical and psychological trauma on him during the journey to Mount Doom.
So after Frodo and Sam were teleported away from Mount Doom by Dui, they were taken to the Valley of the Dead and treated by Elrond.
While Elrond could alleviate Frodo's physical and mental trauma, he could not cure it completely.
Fortunately, Frodo's fate continued as before. Because of his great contribution to the destruction of the One Ring, he was granted the right to go to Valinor, where he would be completely healed.
Bilbo was also eligible. As the previous owner of the Ring, he disguised himself as Frodo during the War of the Ring and lured Sauron to the west, giving Frodo and his companions the opportunity to enter Mordor and destroy the Ring.
Therefore, Bilbo also qualified to go to Valinor.
The two are now in the Valley of the Dead and plan to leave Middle-earth with the first elves to cross the sea to the west.
Upon arriving at the valley, Dui immediately sensed its decay.
Without the power of the Ring of Qi to sustain it, the environment of the secluded valley gradually became the same as the outside world. The once blooming flowers began to wither, and the leaves on the mountain turned yellow and fell, giving off a sense of autumn desolation.
The elves, reminiscing about their once prosperous homeland, showed reluctance and began preparing to depart westward.
After meeting Frodo and Bilbo, who were recuperating there, Dui went to the highest terrace in the valley and met Elrond, who was quietly overlooking the valley.
Elrond's expression remained as calm as ever, but a sense of sadness still lingered around him.
Hearing Dui's footsteps, he turned around with a gentle expression. "You've come."
Dui nodded, walked to Elrond's side, and together they gazed at the tranquil and beautiful valley. "Is Lord Elrond reluctant to leave?"
Elrond nodded, his eyes lingering on his homeland, and sighed, "The elves of the Valley are already preparing to migrate. The decline of this place is inevitable. Perhaps in a few hundred or a thousand years, this place will become a wasteland, and no trace of the elves will remain."
"Lord Elrond, you need not be saddened by this. Wherever there is family, there is paradise, and perhaps I can be of some help," Dui comforted him.
As he spoke, he raised his right hand, revealing a gemstone ring that shone brightly between his fingers.
The ring emitted a layer of pale golden light, which spread outwards and then transformed into a huge pale golden dome that enveloped the entire valley.
The dome then gradually faded and disappeared completely, as if it were no different from before.
But those in the valley could clearly feel that the valley was surrounded by a warm and powerful force, the temperature became warm as spring, the flowers, plants and trees became vibrant again, and the sense of decay and desolation was dispelled.
The valley flourished once again.
This sudden change shocked the people in the valley, followed by surprise.
The elves felt their beautiful homeland had been restored once again, and joy filled the valley.
Elrond was also caught off guard by this scene. He looked at the Earth Ring on Dui's finger and exclaimed in surprise, "I thought your ring had been destroyed in the Doomsday Volcano. I didn't expect it to survive."
Moreover, the power also felt much stronger than before.
The fact that Mount Doom could be destroyed even by the One Ring, and that Dui's Earth Ring could survive inside the volcano, greatly surprised Eljend.
"I didn't expect Kaia to survive in the end. It's probably related to his own attributes," Dui explained. He also didn't expect that Kaia with the Earth Ring could survive the volcanic eruption, since his wand, his personal spatial pocket, defensive alchemical items, and so on were all swallowed by the volcanic lava.
Even his phoenix form couldn't withstand the scorching heat of the earth fire and was burned to ashes.
As a result, perhaps because of its defensive, sturdy, and stable attributes, as well as its ability to connect with the power of the earth, the Earth Ring Kaya survived.
They even turned misfortune into blessing, being tempered by the earth's fire and connecting with the ethereal gems deep within the earth, gaining a new source of power.
The previous Earth Ring used a drop of Tom Bombadil's blood from within the gem as a medium to connect with the power of the earth.
Manipulate the earth element.
But now the Earth Ring is connected to the Silmaril at the Earth's core, gaining the power of the Silmaril and becoming even more powerful, even stronger than the previous three Silmaril Rings.
As for why the Earth Ring could connect with the power of the Silmarils, Dui could only guess that it might be because his ring, Kaya, was crafted under the guidance of the elven master craftsmen Fieno and Celebrimbor.
After all, Fëanor was the creator of the Silmarillion, and Dui's Earth Ring also used Fëanor's craftsmanship, which is why the two are connected.
Even the fact that Dui was able to be attracted to the Silmarils deep in the earth's core by chance while in the volcano, and thus advance to the Maiar level under the light of the Silmarils, may very well be due to Fëanor.