**Chapter 211: The Road We Must Travel Together Is Still Very Long (Two-in-one)**
*Swish, swish…*
The sound of illusory book pages turning echoed.
Myriad streams of information manifested upon the Book of the Spirit World summoned by Heiser, accompanied by the surging subconscious ocean within the Spirit World.
Within the golden elf’s light golden beautiful eyes, the surging nostalgia and tumultuous emotions slowly subsided.
She slightly raised her eyes, browsing the information manifested within.
“In the Western Continent, over five hundred years have already passed…”
“More accurately, it has been five hundred and sixty-three years and seven months since the Lost Island completely disappeared from the Western Continent.”
“It truly is a long journey.”
The golden elf’s voice was slightly hoarse.
“So—”
Her voice paused slightly.
Heiser gently waved her hand, and the golden magical silhouette in the Astral Realm slowly faded.
“Five hundred years have passed…”
“Are you alright?”
Even for pure-blooded High Elves, whose racial lifespans often stretched for thousands of years, over five hundred years was an extremely long time.
Let alone… for humans.
Five hundred years, and the world had already undergone immense changes.
It was enough for a powerful human kingdom to rise and flourish, then decline and fall, ultimately becoming a mere footnote in historical records.
And if that time were applied to a single individual, even more could be changed.
There were some things Heiser was capable of conceiving.
But she dared not, nor did she wish to, think about them…
For example, during these five hundred years, had Shaya already lost that gamble with the old Sun God.
Had his very self been devoured—
Even if she had obtained the “Secret Fire of the Goddess of Magic,” pierced through the World Barrier, and reached the bottom of that Abyss, all she would see would be an ancient being in the guise of that young man, high and mighty.
Or perhaps…
That human youth from that time had perished mentally with the old Sun God during these five hundred years.
The mere thought of such a possibility sent a dagger through Heiser’s heart.
For these past five hundred years, it was her obsession with the young man that had kept her going.
She truly dared not imagine what would happen if Shaya were truly gone… if she could never see him again—
Then, what a tragic joke these past five hundred years of perseverance would become, making her no different from a clown.
“So, you absolutely must win, Teacher Shaya.”
“Since you left with such a nonchalant posture and such a cool farewell back then.”
“Then, please continue to be cool…”
All the chaotic magical surges around Heiser subsided, returning to nothingness.
She gazed into the depths of the Astral Realm—
Gazing towards the direction of the Western Continent in the Prime Material Plane.
A moment later, she softly spoke again.
“Otherwise—”
“I can’t be sure what kind of monstrous and insane form I would turn into.”
“Like the stories you told me back then, becoming an evil and extreme wicked woman…”
“It’s not impossible to become someone who constantly brainstorms about using illusions to brainwash all the residents of the Western Continent, wanting to create a ‘world where Shaya exists’ within an endless loop of illusions.”
A silent curve formed on the golden elf’s lips.
“You wouldn’t want me to become that deranged, would you?”
“So, to prevent your beloved Shī Jiang from heading down that path of paranoid darkening and falling into evil, please keep trying even in the Abyss.”
“And I will wait patiently…”
“Waiting, and filled with hope—”
“Hoping for the moment of reunion with you at the very deepest part of the Abyss.”
Her fair index finger moved through the void, and in a very short time, threads of light golden magic outlined the shape of an illusory door.
The golden elf then took a step forward, entering that illusory door.
Her slender figure quickly disappeared.
Leaving behind only strands of light golden hair fluttering in the Astral Realm—
And the last whisper, echoing in the desolate and empty deep space.
“But, before that.”
“Allow me to fulfill your unfinished dream—”
“The dream called Wizard…”
“The dream called ‘Tower of Absolute Darkness’.”
…
Outside the window lay a boundless snowfield.
Vast and immense, snow covered the ground, like an endless white ocean.
Silver fir trees stood tall in the biting wind, their branches laden with thick snow, their silver-white crowns shimmering faintly in the sunlight. In the distance, the outlines of mountains were vaguely visible, presenting a cold and stern blue-gray hue.
The air was filled with an icy chill, and the entire world was quiet and pure, with only the bubbling sound of boiling water from the kettle on the firewood stove.
Shaya sat in a simple log cabin built from raw wood.
Thick canvas covered the gaps between the logs, preventing the bone-chilling north wind from seeping through.
The warmth of the stove nearby kept all the cold outside this simple hunter’s cabin.
He looked at the steaming kettle before him for a long time, his mind still feeling somewhat groggy.
It was a feeling of fatigue, as if he had just watched an incredibly long and impossibly long movie…
As if countless passionate emotional residues clung to his mind, yet he couldn’t recall the specific plot.
“What’s going on…”
“You invited me to your place, Shaya, but you ended up falling asleep all by yourself.”
A crisp voice came from in front of him.
It was a little girl with long, light golden hair, appearing no older than ten. Her face, exquisite like a porcelain doll, was flawless.
Although still young, one could already imagine her future unparalleled beauty.
Her eyes were a pure sky blue, reminiscent of the eternal glaciers of the Three Sages Snow Mountain.
The golden-haired little girl currently pouted her lips with dissatisfaction, turning her head away as if displeased, but in reality, she was still peeking at Shaya from the corner of her eye.
“Sorry.”
“I was too tired a few days ago and accidentally fell asleep.”
Shaya waved his hand, picked up the kettle from the stove, and poured a cup of hot tea for himself and the little girl in front of him: “Did I sleep for a long time just now?”
The other party tilted her small face and thought, “Not too long, probably about half an hour.”
As she spoke, she picked up the teacup on the table and said with some regret, “Why don’t you rest a bit longer? I can pass the time by myself…”
“No need, I’ve slept long enough.”
Shaya shook his head, also picking up his teacup.
In the somewhat old but quite clean teacup, his current reflection could be seen.
A little boy of about eight or nine years old with black hair and black eyes, his facial features possessing a childishness that matched his voice.
Shaya took a sip of tea, looking at the little golden-haired girl in front of him who was looking at him with a hint of worry, feeling the hot tea pass through his throat, warming his entire body.
“Long time no see—”
“Little Ai.”
“Little Ai…”
The golden-haired little girl repeated the name.
Then, she pouted with dissatisfaction, “You’re not that old yourself, so can I call you Little Shaya too?”
“Of course you can.”
Shaya smiled and said, “If you want, you can call me that every day for the rest of your life.”
“The rest of my life…”
Aerora blinked her sky-blue eyes, as if suddenly remembering something, she abruptly averted her gaze, not daring to meet Shaya’s eyes.
A moment later, she said in a voice as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz, “Since you like it, then Little Ai it is.”
Then, as if changing the subject, she spoke softly, “Besides, what do you mean by ‘long time no see’…”
“We literally just saw each other a few days ago, and we even went to see the migrating reindeer herd on the ice plains together.”
“Although in reality, only a few days have passed, in our hearts, it might have already felt like an eternity, like a thousand years apart…”
Shaya smiled.
He put down his hot tea and gazed at the hunter’s cabin deep within the silver fir forest.
And outside the window, the faintly visible pure white ice field behind the silver fir forest, and at the end of the ice field, the vast snow mountain carrying millennia-old glaciers.
“After a long period of struggle and exhaustion, my mental energy neared depletion, and I fell into a deep sleep…”
“Seeing some scenes from memories in my sleep, some people and things I miss, this was to be expected.”
Shaya’s gaze was somewhat distant.
“It’s just…”
“I didn’t expect that in the end, the place I would miss and yearn for the most would be here.”
“Not here? Then where else could it be?”
Aerora asked curiously.
“I thought it would be a bustling city, with cars everywhere on the streets, buildings made of steel and concrete rising high, obscuring the sky.”
Shaya reached out and stroked the light golden long hair of the little girl in front of him.
As soft and delicate as ever, this hair quality was indeed inborn.
Petting heads really needed to start from childhood.
“Steel, concrete, city…”
Aerora didn’t pay attention to Shaya’s actions; she was immersed in the scene Shaya described, still trying hard to imagine it.
Although she was the only daughter of Count Winter and had received a good education since childhood, living in the unremarkable small city of Ceylon in the north, the prosperity and hustle and bustle of big cities seemed distant and unattainable.
She could only imagine the colorfulness of the world through the descriptions in books.
After a long while, she nodded with some effort, “That must be a very magical and beautiful place.”
“But—”
Aerora slightly shook her light golden long hair, “I still prefer Ceylon, I still prefer this snowfield more.”
“Who’s to say otherwise?”
Shaya smiled, “I thought my Mental Landscape would be that city built of steel and concrete, after all, strictly speaking, that was my true homeland.”
“But I didn’t expect it to be here.”
He reached out and helped the little girl wipe away a speck of dust that had accidentally gotten on her long hair, “This is because—”
“Has this world truly become the ‘heart’s home’ that I cherish the most…?”
“However, it’s not that surprising after all…”
Shaya closed his eyes.
Having experienced so many things in this world, encountering all sorts of people.
And leaving behind so many unforgettable memories.
As of today, this world had already become an inseparable part of him.
It was also his歸宿 (guīsù – destination/home).
At some unknown point, the human named Shaya Egut had transcended the identity of a Transmigrator.
Instead, he had truly become a member of this world, living in the mansion at Jin Gui Street No. 32, in the Black Lily District of the Imperial Capital.
“Sha… ya.”
“Sha… ya.”
An icy sensation was transmitted from Shaya’s forehead.
He came back to his senses, only to see the golden-haired little girl placing the back of her hand on his forehead. Her face, exquisite like a porcelain doll, showed unconcealable worry.
“Shaya, what’s wrong today? Why do you keep staring out the window blankly… It’s just like my father.”
Aerora felt the back of her hand against his forehead, “You don’t seem to have a fever.”
“I’m fine.”
Shaya took the small, soft hand of the little girl in front of him.
“But—”
His words paused for a moment.
“I might have to go on a long trip, Little Ai.”
Upon hearing Shaya’s words, the golden-haired little girl stared directly into Shaya’s eyes.
After a long while, a hint of relief appeared in her sky-blue beautiful eyes.
“It seems you’ve made up your mind, Shaya.”
“En.”
Shaya nodded, “The haven of gentle memories is beautiful, but it is ultimately just memories.”
“The perfect ending that belongs to us must ultimately be carved out with our own hands.”
“Besides—”
He stood up and stretched, “I’ve rested long enough.”
The moment Shaya stood up.
Whether it was the flickering stove fire, the simple hunter’s cabin, or the silver fir forest and ice field in the distance, all the scenery disappeared, turning into a bright white light.
Only the girl with sky-blue eyes remained by his side.
Then, she carefully took his hand.
“Let’s go.”
“The road we must travel together is still very long…”
The little girl’s voice gradually faded.
But at the same time, a pleasant voice came from far away, gradually becoming clear from vague and hazy.
A similar vocal tone.
It was the maiden’s call.
She was calling for the return of her beloved.
…
PS: I apologize for the late update. It’s mainly because of final exams, which are really busy. Once the final exams are over at the end of the month, I’ll have more time, and I’ll try my best to make up for the previous leaves with burst updates until the end.
I originally wanted to use a cliché title like “Heading North” for this chapter, but I decided against it, haha.
Also, I’d like to recommend a friend’s book.
