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Suddenly he heard a thundering sound, and he was thrown to the ground by a wind such as he had never known.
突然，傳來一聲巨響，圣地亞哥被一陣罕見的狂風猛地掀翻在地。
The area was swirling in dust so intense that it hid the moon from view.
四周塵土飛揚，星月黯淡。
Before him was an enormous white horse, rearing over him with a frightening scream.
在他面前，一匹高大的白馬正揚起前蹄，發出駭人的嘶鳴。
When the blinding dust had settled a bit, the boy trembled at what he saw.
男孩一時看不清發生的事情，但當塵埃稍稍落定之后，他感到了一種前所未有的恐懼。
Astride the animal was a horseman dressed completely in black, with a falcon perched on his left shoulder.
馬背上坐著一個身穿黑衣的騎士，左肩一只獵鷹，
He wore a turban and his entire face, except for his eyes, was covered with a black kerchief.
額上纏著頭巾，黑布遮面，只露出兩只眼睛，
He appeared to be a messenger from the desert, but his presence was much more powerful than that of a mere messenger.
看上去頗像沙漠里傳遞消息的信使，身材比男孩這輩子見過的任何人都強壯。
The strange horseman drew an enormous, curved sword from a scabbard mounted on his saddle. The steel of its blade glittered in the light of the moon.
神秘騎士抽出拴在馬鞍上的一把巨大彎刀，刀刃在月光下閃著寒光。
"Who dares to read the meaning of the flight of the hawks?" he demanded, so loudly that his words seemed to echo through the fifty thousand palm trees of Al-Fayoum.
“什么人竟敢解讀鷹翔的寓意？”那騎士問道，聲如龍吟，在法尤姆綠洲的五萬棵椰棗樹中回響。
"It is I who dared to do so," said the boy.
“是我。”男孩說。
He was reminded of the image of Santiago Matamoros, mounted on his white horse, with the infidels beneath his hooves.
他突然想起圣地亞哥·馬塔莫羅斯的雕像：騎著白馬，馬蹄下匍匐著一群異教徒。
This man looked exactly the same, except that now the roles were reversed.
那場景與眼前情況如出一轍，只是雙方情勢顛倒了過來。
"It is I who dared to do so," he repeated, and he lowered his head to receive a blow from the sword.
“是我。”男孩又說了一遍，并低下頭，等著那彎刀斬落下來，
"Many lives will be saved, because I was able to see through to the Soul of the World." The sword didn't fall.
“許多生命終將得救，因為世界之魂不在你們一邊。”然而，彎刀并沒有快速斬落下來。
Instead, the stranger lowered it slowly, until the point touched the boy's forehead. It drew a droplet of blood.
那神秘騎士的手緩緩落下，刀尖觸到男孩的額頭。刀尖無比鋒利，鮮血流了出來。
The horseman was completely immobile, as was the boy.
騎士一動不動，停在那里。男孩亦如此。
It didn't even occur to the boy to flee.
他絲毫沒有動過逃跑的念頭，
In his heart, he felt a strange sense of joy: he was about to die in pursuit of his personal legend. And for Fatima.
相反，他內心深處涌起一種罕見的快意，流遍全身。他將為完成天命而死，將為法蒂瑪而死。
The omens had been true, after all.
不管怎么說，預兆是真實的。
Here he was, face-to-face with his enemy, but there was no need to be concerned about dying—the Soul of the World awaited him, and he would soon be a part of it.
敵人就在這里，正是由于如此，他才無需擔心死去，因為有世界之魂。不用多久，他將成為世界之魂的一部分。
And, tomorrow, his enemy would also be apart of that Soul.
明天，敵人也將成為世界之魂的一部分。
