Chapter 103: From Now On, It Is True Love (Two-in-one)
The Azure Silver Witch’s beautiful eyes rippled with emotion, her exquisite cute face flushed with an unconcealable blush.
Only at this moment, as her fragmented memories were completed, did Sylvia finally understand the full picture of that night.
And everything Shaya had done for her.
Even from their current perspective, Shaya at the time believed he had only entered a Historical Echo.
However, within that Historical Echo, he had genuinely given his all for Sylvia.
At the very end of it all—
Brother Shaya, pale and bloodless, still forced himself to muster his strength and carefully instruct her.
Finally, unable to put her out of his mind, he used his last wisp of mental power to cast “Tsukuyomi” upon her. The scene of this moment replayed in Sylvia’s mind again and again.
“Brother Shaya…”
That melodious voice, like wind chimes, sounded again, this time tinged with a hint of heartache.
Just then, a rumbling sound echoed from the distant end of the sky.
Shaya looked toward the source of the sound and discovered the anomaly.
This small, tranquil courtyard was merely a tiny part of the current world they were in.
They were actually inside a colossal tower, its body constructed from massive chalk stones.
The courtyard filled with flowers and plants, the bright moon, the night sky, and the surging waves of the Grant Sea were all merely scenery arranged within the tower.
Not just in reality.
Even in her Inner World, Sylvia had erected this tall chalk tower.
Then, she imprisoned herself within this lightless tower, day after day, year after year, until the end of time.
“This tower… is your Mental Landscape, Sylvia?”
“That’s right, Brother Shaya.”
Sylvia and Shaya sat shoulder to shoulder, gazing at the pure white tower together.
At this moment, time seemed to rewind to over five hundred years ago. They held cups of Yummei milk tea, named by Shaya, in the courtyard, chatting idly while looking at the flowers, plants, and the distant nightscape.
“When I was young, I used to imagine that if I could one day break the curse upon me and become a normal person again…”
“Then I would definitely go see the myriad waters and mountains you described, Brother Shaya…”
“See the snow mountains of the Far North, see the Golden Plains, and then see the deep, silent Sage Forest.”
“Later, when we parted, you also said… that I would have a much more brilliant and beautiful life than I do now, encountering all sorts of people and things.”
“But,”
Sylvia smiled silently. “It wasn’t quite like that.”
“Brother Shaya, you resolved the curse originating from Twilight for me, and even helped me complete my divinity. Although I started late, I possess talents and a progression speed unmatched by any Beast Tamer.”
“But later, I broke through the Sixth Ring, broke through the Legend stage…”
“The myriad mountains and rivers that once seemed so distant and yearned for are now easily accessible.”
“However, only after I truly reached the summit of the Three Sages Snow Mountain, witnessed the Golden Plains with my own eyes, and ventured deep into the Sage Forest, even conversing with the legendary beast known as the ‘Forest Sage King’…”
“Did I realize that the scenery in those places was indeed beautiful, breathtakingly so… but it wasn’t what I truly desired.”
“I yearned to go there simply because I wanted to travel and experience those people and events with you, Brother Shaya…”
“What matters most isn’t the scenery at the end of the journey, but the person by your side during the journey.”
She turned her head slightly, a few strands of silver-white hair falling onto Shaya’s shoulder.
“The Land of Calamity was indeed a dark, chaotic era… so mad that when I awoke and saw the peaceful Western Continent, I thought I had been in a deep sleep for more than five hundred years, but for an entire epoch.”
“In that world without light, it was the hatred for you, Brother Shaya, that became my motivation to survive and grow stronger.”
“Later, when I became a Legend and discovered the gaps in my memory… that obsession with hatred transformed into a quest for the truth and a determination to reunite with you at the end of time.”
“So I built that tower made of chalk stones and buried both my heart and body within it…”
Sylvia turned her head, gazing silently at Shaya’s side profile.
“The self-imposed long slumber was agonizing, as the prolonged sleep would cause the soul and Spiritual World to become dry and depleted, leading to deterioration and eventual oblivion, even losing oneself.”
“On countless occasions when the fire of my soul flickered feebly, it was this imagined realm that allowed me to persevere.”
“Although compared to the years I have lived, the time spent with you, Brother Shaya, is but a drop in the ocean… they are indeed the most precious memories in my heart. They have not faded with time but have only become more deeply etched in my memory, serving as the sole driving force for me to continue living.”
“Therefore, during this long wait of five hundred years… I was truly afraid, constantly afraid.”
“I feared that Brother Shaya might have already died that night, and the promise of meeting again was merely a lie you told to comfort me and keep me alive… just like how adults don’t tell children their parents have died, but rather that they’ve gone to a very distant place.”
Her pair of Azure Silver beautiful eyes slightly drooped.
“Fortunately.”
The maiden’s voice trembled slightly.
Fortunately, Shaya hadn’t betrayed her that day.
Fortunately, the five hundred years of waiting had finally borne fruit.
And so, the girl named Sylvia rediscovered the meaning of her existence.
And so, her world, once again, had light.
Rumbling—
Rumbling—
The rumbling grew louder.
This was the ringing sound emanating from Sylvia’s entire Inner World.
The chalk tower was collapsing.
Mighty chalk bricks tumbled from the sky, raising vast clouds of dust.
The entire tower was disintegrating, and bright sunlight pierced through the gaps left by the falling bricks, illuminating the lightless world within.
Sylvia watched silently as the tower crumbled amidst the roaring sounds. Sunlight streamed through the cracks of the white tower, sprinkling onto her silver-white hair like light golden robes.
Shaya listened to Sylvia’s narration, his heart heavy.
After confirming the truth of the Historical Echo from the Shadow Council, Shaya had, in fact, fantasized many times about their reunion.
For instance, she might have forgotten the Brother Shaya from five hundred years ago.
Or perhaps, as a superior being, she would casually nod upon seeing him, an acquaintance from her youth.
Or even a detached smile as if they were strangers who met by chance…
But he never imagined it would be like this.
She was supposed to be the master of the White Tower, reigning with authority and admired by all.
Applause, flowers, power, and glory—Sylvia could have embraced everything human beings pursued in this world.
Yet, she had buried herself in the tower built of chalk bricks, guarding that blurry memory and the promise of reunion, enduring day after day, year after year in this lightless realm.
Shaya subconsciously reached out to stroke Sylvia’s Azure Silver hair, just as he often did in the Historical Echo.
The Azure Silver Witch’s hair was soft and smooth, carrying a faint scent of lavender.
During this, Sylvia offered no resistance whatsoever.
It was as if, at this moment, she wasn’t a throne-level expert who had just killed a legendary pet with a single Word of Power, but still the maiden from the Grand Duke’s Mansion listening to Shaya tell stories.
Rumbling—
Rumbling—
The last chalk brick shattered, and the massive tower, resembling a tomb, was no more.
Only a desolate ruin remained, illuminated by the clear sunlight.
“Now, Brother Shaya, you must answer my second question.”
That melodious voice, like wind chimes, sounded again.
Gone was the wavering from before, replaced by a hint of anticipation.
“What place do I occupy in your heart?”
“Am I a sister, a passerby I saved and met by chance… or…”
“Neither.”
Shaya’s words interrupted Sylvia’s.
He looked directly into Sylvia’s pure silver beautiful eyes, without flinching, and spoke word by word.
“It’s liking.”
“And, it’s not the liking a brother has for his sister, but the liking of a man for a woman.”
As he said this, Shaya examined his own heart.
Initially, he had felt more pity and sympathy toward Sylvia.
Sympathy for her identity and situation, pity for her impending loss of everything.
Later, as the days passed in the Historical Echo, that sympathy and pity gradually transformed into tenderness and familial affection.
However, it was undeniable that within his heart, he genuinely harbored some fondness and feelings for Sylvia.
Perhaps this sentiment originated from the guilt he felt over the wound he inflicted in the Night Orchid Sea of Morning Star Hills that night, or perhaps it was born from the heartache he felt witnessing Sylvia’s persistent perseverance over these five hundred years.
Or maybe it stemmed from even earlier, from a time he hadn’t even noticed himself…
Shaya’s direct words caused Sylvia to lower her gaze.
“Brother Shaya is truly greedy… You already have Miss Aerora, yet you can say such things to other women without changing your expression.”
“There’s no helping it,” Shaya leaned back on the steps, gazing at the sunlight that bathed the ruins. “Who asked me to be such a greedy person?”
“However… I’m truly happy that you can say that.”
Sylvia’s final murmur was very faint, unheard by anyone.
“Then, how much do I weigh in your heart compared to Miss Aerora?”
Question number two, designed to be fatal.
You might as well just ask me if I’d save you or Little Ai if we both fell into a lake.
Shaya felt a bit numb.
He didn’t answer, but the overflowing emotional fluctuations were easily perceived by Sylvia within her Inner World.
Then, she knew the answer.
Sylvia silently felt the fervent emotions radiating from Shaya, not towards her, but towards another girl.
She felt their deep connection since childhood, their unwavering companionship through the Ceylon Calamity, their day-to-day proximity, their mutual reliance in life and death.
After a long while, Sylvia sighed.
“How fortunate, Miss Aerora.”
Her words held a hint of envy, but not much dissatisfaction.
This was only natural.
Compared to the brief time she spent with Shaya, the other person had experienced much more with him.
Rather, after witnessing everything between Shaya and Aerora at the dinner party, Sylvia had already had an answer to this question in her heart.
She was merely a little envious.
Envious that the blonde girl could accompany Shaya from beginning to end, sharing his sorrow and his joy.
While she could only guard herself in that icy tower, longing for him again and again.
Shaya could only maintain his silence.
If it were anyone else, receiving the favor of such a throne-level Beast Tamer, they would likely be overjoyed and eagerly express their devotion, drawing a clear line between themselves and other women.
After all, the “dinner,” laid out before him, wasn’t just about saving decades of effort; it was about saving centuries.
However, Shaya did not speak. He couldn’t even utter a “well-intentioned lie” to Sylvia.
Because he feared hurting Little Ai, and more importantly, because he knew he couldn’t do such a thing.
If that weren’t the case, at the previous dinner party, Shaya would have chosen to feign compliance with the Borgia Family’s marriage proposal instead of firing that unexpected shot.
He saw the Azure Silver Witch in front of him take a few steps back, her pure silver beautiful eyes drooping slightly.
“Brother Shaya.”
“I must apologize to you, and to Miss Aerora.”
“Apologize?” Shaya was somewhat bewildered. “Why?”
“Because, until now, with the collapse of the White Tower in my Inner World, I finally realized.”
“For the past five hundred years, the feelings I held for you were not love, but dependence.”
“Time can cause emotions to degenerate…”
“During that long period, I regarded the memory of our time together as the only light in the dark world, and also my sole reliance. I thought about it day and night, recalling it repeatedly… it fermented and degenerated over these five hundred years.”
“When I awoke, my inner emotions had already become morbid… transforming into dependence on you and an intense, indelible urge to possess you.”
“That’s why I couldn’t control myself and kissed you when we reunited. But at that time, in my heart, I didn’t see you as a lover, Brother Shaya, but merely as a treasure solely mine… I only wanted to declare my ownership, not wanting what was mine alone to be coveted by others.”
Sylvia clasped her hands behind her back, smiling faintly. “In your words, Brother Shaya, it’s called yandere… that’s not love, just a morbid possessiveness.”
“What I did must have caused quite a bit of trouble for Miss Aerora and for you, Brother Shaya.”
“Is that so…”
Shaya exhaled.
He felt a sense of relief, yet also a hint of regret.
But in the next moment, his eyes widened.
Because that cold yet soft touch once again rippled across Shaya’s cheek.
Unlike the previous possessive kiss, which was forceful and domineering, this time Sylvia’s kiss was light and fleeting.
“Miss Sylvia?”
This time, Shaya was truly bewildered.
She had just said her feelings weren’t love, but merely morbid possessiveness.
As the master of her Inner World, Sylvia easily sensed Shaya’s current confusion.
“For the past five hundred years, the emotions I held towards you, Brother Shaya, were not love, but morbid dependence and possessiveness.”
“Mhm…”
Sylvia leaned down, gazing into Shaya’s clear beautiful eyes.
“So, starting from now…”
“This is true love.”
The radiance of dawn reflected in the maiden’s eyes, like a dim yellow sea of stars.
She had indeed arrived five hundred years too early, and thus had waited for five hundred years.
But fortunately, she had waited in the end.
No longer separated by a Historical Echo, nor constrained by vast distances of time and space.
But in a reality that could be truly touched.
They met again, came to know each other…
And then, fell in love.
“Compared to me, Miss Aerora is indeed far ahead.”
“But since the journey isn’t over, nothing is settled yet. That’s the lesson you taught me, Brother Shaya.”
The lady witch smiled faintly, her smile radiant, like the morning sun.
“Then, Brother Shaya.”
“From this day forward, please take care of me.”
…
PS: This section was mostly written last night, but I spent a long time revising it.
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