Chapter 36: Thus, Sylvia Ceased to Speak (Two-in-one)
The tranquil moonlight gently sprinkled into the silent courtyard, draping the plants within in a silver gown. Sylvia sat quietly on the courtyard steps, gazing at the bright moon in the night sky, her deep violet eyes lost in thought. Beside her, a small tree bloomed with delicate white flowers, their faint fragrance reaching Sylvia, bringing a sense of peace to her mood. It was a sapling she and her mother had planted together in the courtyard when her mother was still alive; now, it had grown lush and full. Whenever she found herself restless in the quiet of midnight dreams, Sylvia would come here, trying to endure the difficult nights. Over a month had passed since she plunged into the winter night of Grant Sea. The harsh winter was over, and the warm spring had arrived, with all nature awakening. And the youth named Shaya Egut had never appeared again. Even now, Sylvia often doubted whether the encounter in the icy seawater had been a dream. However, the lingering warmth from the crystal hairpin told her that the experience was not a fantasy, but reality.
“…I believe – you who carry that power are not inherently evil.”
“Whether you are good or evil is not determined by your origin, but by the choices you make.”
The black-haired youth’s words as they parted seemed to echo in her ears. “My… choice?” Sylvia’s murmurs dissolved with the evening breeze, unheard by anyone. She had been contemplating this question during this time. And also, she was pondering her future path. In the past sixteen years of her life, she had been self-abandoning… curling herself up in a tower devoid of light, and then silently waiting… for the pervasive darkness to engulf her. Or rather, she should have already drowned in the tide of darkness. But a month ago, someone had opened a window for her on that tower. Sunlight then streamed through the window, the dark tide receded, and her eyes, which had grown accustomed to darkness, developed a slight yearning for light. From that moment on, for the first time, Sylvia felt a sense of hope. Not living for the cold stares of others, but a hope for her own future.
“As expected…” Sylvia took the crystal hairpin from her hair. In the clear, cold moonlight, the crystal hairpin reflected endless brilliance. The maiden whispered to herself in silence: “I still want to become a Beast Tamer like Shaya-aniki.”
…
“Why do you want that so much?” A familiar voice sounded in Sylvia’s ear. She turned around. She saw the black-haired, black-eyed youth standing in the faint moonlight, his slender shadow stretching infinitely. Just like when they first met, he appeared so silently, appearing in Sylvia’s life inadvertently, and then disappearing like the wind. “Shaya-aniki.” Although she had imagined countless scenarios of their reunion, Sylvia felt a little flustered at this moment. After returning to the Grand Duke’s Mansion, she had looked up information about the external family member named “Shaya Egut.” Then, Sylvia discovered that his parents had died in the calamity sixteen years ago, and Shaya was an orphan taken in by the Grand Duke’s family. He should have had more reason than anyone else in the duchy to resent her, to hate her, to curse her to die… But he didn’t. Instead, on that winter night, he had pulled her up from the icy abyss of Grant Sea.
Sensing Sylvia’s embarrassment, Shaya sat down on the steps beside her. It was only then that Sylvia noticed Shaya holding two paper cups of moderate size. “Although it’s already early spring, it still gets cold at night, so drink something to warm yourself up.” He handed her a paper cup. Sylvia took it and whispered a thank you. The paper cup was warm. Sylvia took a small sip, then her deep violet eyes widened in surprise: “This tastes so good.” “It really does taste good, doesn’t it?” the youth said with a hint of pride. “It took me hundreds of failures in the Alchemy Academy, but I finally managed to create this new product based on my memory of the taste. You can call it milk tea, or Yummei.” “If there are any juniors of mine who come to this world in the future, I hope they can get this old joke.” He also took a sip from his cup and let out a sigh of satisfaction. “Let’s talk about you, then. Why have you decided to become a Beast Tamer?”
The warm liquid went down her throat, and Sylvia felt her body grow warm, even a sense of lazy comfort. For some reason, whenever Shaya was by her side, Sylvia’s usual tension would disappear. She thought for a moment and replied in a calm voice, “It should be out of yearning.” “When I was very young, I saw my father return to the Royal Capital triumphantly, riding his majestic familiar.” “At that time, half the Royal Capital came out to welcome my father. The road was lined with flowers, applause, and glory.” “That’s when I thought, if I could contract a powerful familiar through my own strength, and become a powerful Beast Tamer like my father.” “Then everyone might look at me with new eyes, and wouldn’t hate me so much anymore.” As she spoke, Sylvia smiled slightly, tucking a strand of her chestnut hair behind her ear. “Looking back now, that was a rather naive, even laughable reason.” “My situation, and how the world views me, how could it be so easily improved?” “In fact, quite the opposite, the stronger I become, the more people will probably wish me dead.” The air exhaled with her words turned into white mist in the cold air. “It’s just—” “For the ignorant and young me at that time.” “This ethereal and unrealistic hope had already become the only support and lifeline for that little girl’s heart.” Her gaze fell on Shaya’s sharply defined profile. “I won’t hold such naive thoughts anymore.” “However, I still harbor such a yearning in my heart.” “Not to gain the approval of others, nor for the so-called flowers, glory, and applause…” “But because I want to become like my father and like Shaya-aniki.” “When encountering someone who needs help, to have the power to extend a hand, just like you saved me back then, Shaya-aniki.” “Since I have indeed committed sins due to loss of control in the past, I will atone for them by saving more people.” “If that thing inside me goes berserk again… then I can knock that guy on the Bronze Cross unconscious myself, without your help, Shaya-aniki…” “And—” Sylvia’s words paused slightly. Beside her lay a thin book, a travelogue by a Bard, complete with illustrations of various places on the Western Continent. “I also want to see the places recorded in this book.” “I want to see the Three Sages Snow Mountain in the Far North with my own eyes, and to see if there are Ice Spirit Kings on the mountain peak as described in the book…” “I want to go to the Dragon’s Nest in the south, and see if those legendary Evil Dragons really abduct princesses of human kingdoms and then pile shining gold coins in their nests…” “I want to see if there are mermaids in the depths of the sea who sing beautifully and like to lure passing sailors…” Listening to Sylvia’s words, Shaya saw the yearning shining in the maiden’s deep violet eyes. He understood the origin of Sylvia’s thoughts— Due to her dangerous nature, the Brunstadt Grand Duke family had imposed strict confinement measures on Sylvia. In her past life, the only world she could access was the complex of the Grand Duke’s Mansion, or rather, this quiet courtyard that belonged to her. Sylvia could occasionally go to the Royal Capital, for instance, when accompanying her father on tours, but that was always under strict supervision. Her previous secret escape from home to the Grant Coast, a few miles from the Royal Capital, was the furthest Sylvia had ever traveled in her life, equivalent to the end of the world. Sylvia’s knowledge of this world came entirely from the mountains of books and atlases piled up in her room… That’s why she yearned to become a Beast Tamer, because in the adventure stories written by Bards, only protagonists who were Beast Tamers had the right to travel the continent and experience its vast landscapes.
“Well, that’s a bit troublesome…” Shaya rubbed the little mink on his shoulder with a hint of a headache. “Becoming a Beast Tamer won’t be easy for you.” “I didn’t expect Shaya-aniki to say that… Normally, shouldn’t you encourage me at this point?” “And you clearly said before that I would become a stronger Beast Tamer than my father in the future.” Sylvia’s words held a hint of surprise, but not much disappointment. Her father had told her long ago about her abnormal soul; even opening a Soul Pact was extremely difficult for Sylvia, let alone becoming a strong among Beast Tamers. She was just surprised by Shaya’s answer. “The situation was different then, and anyone can dole out empty encouragement and big promises… It’s like if a child shouted everywhere that they wanted to be the richest person in the world, I might just casually agree with ‘yes, yes, yes’.” “However, the yearning you just expressed is by no means false.” Shaya looked into Sylvia’s eyes, his voice rarely showing a hint of entanglement. “Even though there is indeed a path to becoming a Legendary Expert in your future possibilities, it doesn’t mean that the other risks cease to exist.” That’s right, in historical reality, Sylvia did achieve legend status five hundred years ago, becoming the “Azure Silver Witch” who established the Cretaceous Tower… But who could guarantee that the girl before him would necessarily follow the same path as history? Shaya never believed in prophecies or destiny, and he couldn’t treat this maiden, with yearning shining in her eyes, as a mere “historical projection that has already occurred and cannot be changed.” Although his initial intention was merely to complete the novice quest for rewards, it was undeniable that after that winter night at Grant Sea, Shaya had indeed come to regard Sylvia as a friend.
“It’s easy for anyone to irresponsibly cheer for someone else’s dream.”
“But only those close to you will worry about you.”
Shaya lay back on the grass in the courtyard, gazing at the silver moon in the night sky. “The Bronze Cross deep within your soul is both a burden and a protection for you.”
“It is a seal left by a Legend for you. As long as you don’t interfere with it, your Twilight half-body will remain sealed by that Bronze Cross until the seal loses its effect.”
“The only thing you need to worry about are the faint traces of aura and residue overflowing from the Bronze Cross.”
“However, that Bronze Cross also seals the power of your own soul.”
“So, if you want to open a Soul Pact, if you want to become a strong individual who controls your own destiny, you must enter the depths of the Bronze Cross.”
“Break free from the protection of the seal, cast aside all shackles—”
“With your own will, face the monster that destroyed nearly half of the Azure Court Duchy, use your spirit to control it, and seize the dominance of your soul’s power.”
“This process will be long, painful, and perilous; it might take a lifetime to complete…”
“During this time, you will pay an unimaginable price. Failure means losing your life, or completely becoming a puppet of Twilight.”
Shaya paused slightly.
“Therefore, I will not cheer for your dream…”
“Because, as your father, His Highness Grand Duke Brunstadt, said, from a safety perspective, maintaining the status quo is the best choice for you.”
“But, I will not stop your choice either.”
“Because I believe no one has the right to deprive another person of their desires, not even a god.”
…
When Sylvia came back to her senses, the youth before her had already disappeared, as silently as he had arrived. But in the maiden’s deep violet eyes, there was no longer any confusion or hesitation. This was the first decision she had made based on her own will since she was born. When midnight arrived, and the chaotic, corrupting amber light overflowed from the Bronze Cross once more… Sylvia no longer evaded and suppressed it superficially. For the first time, she chose to face it directly. This was a gamble between an Ancient God and a mortal; the loser would lose everything. That night, Elder Norton, in the family’s secret chamber, felt uneasy and had an inexplicable premonition. He felt that his flawless grand plan had encountered some unforeseen change, but no matter how he checked, he couldn’t find anything, and ultimately, nothing happened. The next morning, when Sylvia awoke again, her deep violet eyes and chestnut long hair had taken on a pale hue. And she had lost the ability to speak. This was the price of a mortal glimpsing the power of a god. From then on, every word she uttered would be tainted with the authority of corruption, bringing corruption, pollution, and death.
Beside a wooden table, Sylvia opened the diary Shaya had given her and began to write in the faint light of the candle.
…
“—From now on, every word I speak is equivalent to a Word of Power ordering life to death.”
“To avoid harming others, I will not speak, even in places where I am alone.”
“This curse of silence will accompany me… until the end of my life, or the end of that Ancient God’s life.”
“Shaya-aniki said, ‘What normal person writes a diary?’”
“But I think, whether it’s me or him, we are both heretics, not normal people… after all, a normal person wouldn’t pull me into the sea with them, nor would they ignore the hateful gazes of other clan members and stay by my side.”
“However, if heretics can have their friends, and can lick each other’s wounds…”
“Then I feel, being a unique heretic, seems pretty good too?”
—Excerpt from the first page of “Diary of the Azure Silver Witch,” Holy Calendar 346, Month of Budding, 12th day.
