Chapter 218: Shaya Don’t Open Your Eyes, I’m Little Ai (Three-in-One)
“Shaya, wake up quickly, we still have things to do…”
The sound of wind and snow dancing outside the window could be heard.
Through the window, one could see the vast, boundless silver-white snowfield in the distance.
Occasionally, the whistling wind swept across the snowfield, causing the entire silver fir forest to rustle. Snow dust from the fir tree branches was also continuously shaken off.
The only night light on the table cast a faint glow.
Shaya opened his eyes and saw that in his arms, the blonde-haired girl had already awakened and was looking at him with her sky-blue eyes from an extremely close distance.
Her light golden long hair was spread across Shaya’s arm, with a slightly ticklish sensation.
His fingertips brushed over the girl’s snow-white, beautifully sculpted back, feeling a warmth and an incredibly smooth texture that made one unconsciously intoxicated.
Shaya yawned and looked at the snow-covered snowfield outside the window.
“Why did you make the background of Eden look like Ceylon?”
“Because… I’ve been missing our time in Ceylon more and more.”
The blonde girl curled up in Shaya’s arms, slightly tilting her head to look up at his face.
She blinked her sky-blue eyes and softly said, “In Ceylon, although we weren’t very familiar with each other yet, and we hadn’t even formed that kind of contract…”
“But at least—”
“Back then, you belonged only to me.”
The girl’s voice was pleasant, like the chime of midnight wind bells.
Yet, it carried a hint of sighing and helplessness, lamenting amidst the sound of the wind and snow outside the window.
“There was no Miss Sylvia, nor Her Majesty the Empress, to compete with me for you.”
“Unlike now—”
“Only in these fleeting moments can I have you all to myself for a short period.”
She gently stretched out her snow-white arm and softly embraced Shaya’s neck.
“However, deep down… this is just a little bit of my possessiveness.”
Her plain white fingers lightly caressed Shaya’s face.
She was about to become intimate with Shaya again, wanting to return to the soft bedding.
“There’s still a long time until dawn…”
“We should be able to do it one more time, right.”
“I’ve been looking forward to our reunion today for a long time…”
“Look, I’m wearing your favorite black stockings just for you today.”
Her melodious voice was like the singing of a nightingale.
Ethereal and flowing, it pulled Shaya towards the dreamlike haven of tenderness.
However, feeling the soft, tender body of the girl in his arms.
Shaya glanced at the black-stockinged beautiful legs of the blonde girl in his embrace, which were vaguely visible between the gaps in the bedding. The amorous feelings in his eyes slowly subsided.
“Who are you?”
Shaya’s soft question made the soft body in his arms freeze slightly.
A hint of panic flashed in her sky-blue eyes, but it quickly subsided.
The blonde girl gently pursed her delicate red lips. Just as she was about to speak, Shaya’s voice interrupted her.
“If it were Little Ai, even if we hadn’t finished before and wanted to get intimate again…”
“She would only blush and tug at my sleeve, and she would never proactively invite me like this.”
“Especially black stockings. This is Little Ai’s trump card, something she cherishes like a treasure. Even if it’s prepared, she’ll definitely hide it, making it the grand finale. How could she reveal it so easily without even whetting my appetite.”
Shaya sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard, and examined the blonde girl in front of him.
No matter how harsh the scrutiny, the girl in front of him resembled Aerora to an extreme degree in appearance, without a single flaw. Even the timbre of her voice was identical.
However, from the moment he saw her, Shaya had an vague sense of unfamiliarity.
He couldn’t pinpoint which detail was wrong. If he had to say, it was probably his sixth sense.
This was a unique tacit understanding between Shaya and Aerora, a tacit understanding developed after countless days and nights spent together… perhaps it could be described as telepathy.
Under this tacit understanding, they only needed a glance to know each other’s intentions, with no possibility of mistaking or confusing each other.
This was also why, when Shaya returned to the Fourth Era, Sylvia thought Shaya had amnesia and hesitated to recognize him, but Aerora had had no doubts whatsoever.
With just one glance, Aerora could identify the Shaya in front of her as the genuine Shaya, who had not lost his memory and was not a disguise after being possessed by the old Sun God.
Similarly, this was also true when Shaya identified Aerora.
The blonde girl in front of him was currently kneeling on the soft bed in a duck-like sitting posture.
Hearing Shaya’s words, a hint of astonishment flashed in her sky-blue eyes.
“Didn’t you two live together in Eden for ten years? Such a long time, you could be considered an old married couple. Wouldn’t you have seen all sorts of things by now?”
“How come…”
Her words were not fully spoken, but their meaning was already clear.
How could an old married couple still be acting like this during intimacy?
And blushing and tugging at sleeves? Were you pure virgins experiencing your first love?
“I can’t help it… but that’s just how Little Ai is.”
Shaya sighed helplessly. “If I had to find a reason…”
“Perhaps it’s because the ‘tsundere’ trait is a locked skill? It doesn’t change at all with affection or the passage of time.”
“Of course, what truly confirmed it for me was the feel.”
Shaya looked at his own well-defined right hand.
“I’m very familiar with Little Ai’s ‘feel’…”
“The moment I touched you just now, I felt something was wrong. Calling that girl a flat board would be an insult to flat boards; she’s completely pure steel plate… unlike your full and soft feel.”
Upon hearing Shaya’s words, the blonde girl in front of him couldn’t help but slightly furrow her beautiful brows.
“But… I am clearly a one-to-one replica of Miss Aerora’s figure. There shouldn’t be any difference in touch.”
“That’s naturally because what you’re seeing is fake.”
“Although she usually acts indifferent and aloof, that girl actually has a side that cares a lot about her image.”
“Coincidentally, Sister Xi and Your Majesty are both open-minded and accepting. To avoid being inferior to them, this girl has been padding her clothes every day.”
Shaya waved his hand casually. “Of course, although she’s a bit awkward, I like that kind of Little Ai too.”
His gaze carefully scanned the surroundings.
After a moment, he spoke softly.
“Although it looks identical to reality, if you observe carefully… you can still perceive subtle differences.”
“In other words, this is a dream?”
“That makes sense. Only by entering a dream can I possibly slip past the eyelids of the three people in my house and directly attack Shu Han.”
Shaya looked at the girl sitting in a duck pose on the bed in front of him.
Despite her disguise being seen through by Shaya, she still stared directly at him.
Her sky-blue eyes flickered with light, carrying undisguised longing and affection.
“Because you have no malice towards me, and your aura in my subconscious belongs to a friend and companion, a trustworthy person…”
“Therefore, your act of entering my dream did not trigger a counterattack from my subconscious.”
Shaya looked at the pure white snowfield covered in snow outside the window, then at the silver fir forest swaying in the wind in the distance, and further away, the reindeer herds traversing the ice field in groups.
“You know about Eden, but you’ve never actually entered it, and you know nothing about its scenery and furnishings… That’s why you replaced the surrounding environment of the dream with the snowfield in Ceylon, and called it Aerora’s mental landscape.”
“This place is indistinguishable from the real scenery of Ceylon… That’s why I was initially somewhat enchanted by it and didn’t react immediately.”
“You must have actually been to the Northern Lands and seen the ruins of Ceylon buried by wind and snow, which is also our hometown, mine and Little Ai’s hometown…”
“Therefore, you were able to create such a realistic scenery of Ceylon…”
Shaya looked at the snowfield scenery outside the window, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. “You’ve put in a lot of thought.”
“If Little Ai were to truly create an innate domain, then the projection of her inner landscape into reality should indeed be this vast, boundless snowfield.”
After a long while, he withdrew his gaze and returned it to the blonde girl with her head bowed in front of him.
“Having the ability to enter dreams and weave them, and being recognized as a trustworthy friend and companion in my subconscious.”
“There are only two individuals among the opposite sex I know.”
“Although Diris is a Royal Succubus and possesses the racial talent of ‘Dream Genesis,’ at her status, even if my subconscious wouldn’t retaliate, it would be too difficult to accomplish this feat right under the noses of Little Ai and Sister Xi.”
“Besides, with a certain empress with extreme possessiveness present, I don’t think Diris would dare to do this in front of her superior…”
Shaya couldn’t help but chuckle.
“So—”
“Are you Night?”
His words paused slightly.
“Of course, if you don’t like this childhood nickname, I can also call you Your Majesty Augustina.”
…
The empty room fell silent.
Only the wailing sound of the blizzard outside the house remained.
After an unknown period of time, the faint night scattered and silently enveloped the entire room.
“As expected, no matter how you scheme, you can’t hide it from me.”
“No need—”
“Compared to Your Majesty Augustina, I still prefer you calling me Night…”
“No, not just ‘prefer,’ I like it very much, extremely much.”
The night turned into a hazy veil, making it difficult to discern the true appearance within.
And when that faint night receded, the true appearance of the girl could already be seen.
Black hair, a black dress, and under her exquisite and flawless face, were those crimson gold eyes.
Beautiful and majestic. If someone of lesser status were to meet these golden eyes directly, they would likely be instantly subdued by the immense draconic might.
However, in front of Shaya, the majesty of the golden dragon eyes flickered and disappeared.
The black-dressed girl stared at Shaya blankly, her golden eyes reflecting countless surging, indescribable complex emotions.
The leader and founder of the Shadow Council, the monarch of the Western Continent’s dark world, Queen of the Night Augustina.
At the same time, she was also the contracted object of Shaya’s fourth soul pact, the Dragon of Darkness.
As the Dragon of Darkness who wielded the authority of night and shadow, the realm of dreams was naturally a part of the authority of night.
“I have finally… met you in person again.”
“Shaya.”
“Or rather… Master.”
Her red lips parted slightly.
A pleasant voice sounded.
Although it sounded calm on the surface, it contained countless suppressed emotions that could erupt at any moment.
“Night…”
Shaya opened his mouth.
Although he had already anticipated this answer, when Augustina truly admitted it, he found himself unsure how to respond.
“Why did you pretend to be Little Ai in the dream?”
“Given our contract, if you wanted to meet me, all it would take is a thought.”
“Yes… why?”
Augustina gently tugged at her black skirt.
Previously, when she was disguised as Aerora, she had been quite bold and proactive. If Shaya hadn’t pointed out her identity, she might have already succeeded in seducing him.
But now, appearing before Shaya in her true form, not in Aerora’s disguise.
She completely lost the composure and proactivity she had before.
“Because of timidity, and inferiority…”
Augustina’s voice carried a hint of self-mockery.
“Deep down, I envy the position Miss Aerora holds in your heart.”
“And I don’t have that confidence.”
“Even after doing so much… I’m still not sure.”
“When the identity of Augustina, the Queen of the Night, and the identity of the little Dragon of Darkness you contracted, merge into one.”
“In your heart, what kind of position can I have…”
She gazed at Shaya with her golden eyes.
“You treat that little Dragon of Darkness very well, just as you treat your other familiars—”
“Even with the most critical eye, you could be considered a master who takes good care of his familiars—”
“I know that if I’m willing, we can be friends forever, the most steadfast and reliable allies.”
“But I don’t want to be just that.”
The emotions surging like an undercurrent slowly erupted at this moment.
“I don’t want to be like Yin, like Crimson, who can casually lie on your head to bask in the sun and listen to your stories… seemingly intimate, but ultimately just the intimacy between a master and a familiar.”
“What I want to pursue is a deeper relationship.”
“Not a familiar, not an equal contractor, nor a trustworthy friend… but a relationship like Little Ai, like Sylvia, one that can occupy a place in your heart.”
“I don’t know where this feeling originated from. Perhaps it was the special fate brought by that first glance in the desolate and ruined Ancient Dragon Royal Court.”
“Or perhaps it was the result of the fermentation of that day and night of longing and remembrance during the separation from you over the subsequent several eras after the First Era ended.”
“But, this is indeed my only hope in my heart at this moment.”
Augustina unconsciously fiddled with her black hair with her plain white fingers.
“But I lack confidence.”
“I don’t know, in your heart, with Little Ai, Sylvia, Empress Isadorella, and Heiser already filling it up, is there still room for me…”
She glanced at Shaya. “If my intelligence is correct, that Saintess of Dawn, Solun, should also have a place in your heart, right?”
“Although your relationship with her doesn’t seem very close normally, in reality, you’ve always been paying attention to the situation of the Dawn Holy See… In fact, you returned to the Fourth Era without resolving the causal ties of the First Era, and this is also related to Solun.”
“Hmm.”
Shaya nodded with some surprise.
His relationship with Solun was the most hidden existence among his “fish pond.”
Besides the fact that Little Ai and Solun were plastic best friends, even Sylvia and Isadorella didn’t know much about Solun’s affairs.
Moreover, after defeating the remnant soul of the old Sun God, Shaya had indeed sensed some information directly related to Solun.
He hadn’t expected Augustina to be aware of these matters.
Was it because the Shadow Council was indeed the most powerful intelligence organization in the Western Continent… or was it because Augustina’s concern for him was beyond imagination?
To weave this dream, she had specifically gone to the ruins of Ceylon in the Northern Lands.
To flawlessly replicate every detail of the entire snowfield… such a workload would be a great drain even for a being of status, much like the City of Illusions from Shaya and Heiser’s last trip.
“That’s why I’m even more afraid and lack confidence.”
Augustina looked at the flickering candlelight not far away.
“That’s why I came up with this idea, thinking that I would first disguise myself as Little Ai and ‘cook the rice’ with you in the dream.”
“I know your personality…”
“As long as we have truly crossed that threshold, you will definitely take responsibility for me, even if it’s just in a dream.”
“However, looking back now, my previous actions were indeed too selfish.”
She smiled slightly and said with some relief, “Fortunately, Master, you didn’t fall for my scheme.”
This was genuine relief.
Previously, trapped by the obsession of that long period of time, Augustina only now suddenly realized how selfish her previous thoughts were.
Even if it had succeeded, it would have been nothing more than using moral coercion to force Shaya to accept her.
That kind of feeling, built on a bubble of falsehood, was by no means what Augustina, who had traversed several eras, genuinely pursued.
If a forced relationship yielded sweetness, if it was the true thing she desired… she would have long ago, when she first met Shaya in the Dark Night Garden in the Imperial Capital, taken the still weak Shaya, who hadn’t even reached the Four Rings, back to the Forest of Silence and forced herself upon him.
Instead of waiting through countless hopeful moments until today.
“Now, I will no longer force something that makes both parties uncomfortable.”
“However—”
Her voice carried a hint of relief.
But in Augustina’s eyes, that dazzling brilliance was intensifying.
The surging emotions poured out directly.
“I still want an answer from you.”
“No need to force it, and no need to be constrained by responsibility, burdens, chivalry, or a man’s code of honor… Just answer truthfully.”
She leaned forward slightly.
“After the end of the Third Era, fighting side-by-side to save Empress Isadorella…”
“And after experiencing the hardships of the First Era, and spending five hundred years together at the bottom of the Abyss.”
“Now, I—”
“Can leave a trace in your heart that is different from that of a familiar.”
“Was there ever a moment—”
“That made you feel the urge to become a Dragon Knight?”
The black-dressed girl’s whisper trembled slightly.
At this moment, Shaya seemed to hear the sound of the tide.
Because it was an equal contract, Shaya could not always perceive Augustina’s intentions, unlike with Shanshan and Yin, when she deliberately concealed them.
But at this very moment, that concealment was actively lifted by Augustina.
Fiery emotions surged like monstrous waves, pouring forth without reservation.
The intimacy and trust between familiar and master during their first meeting…
The fear and despair of being abandoned alone in the First Era.
The longing that lasted for several eras.
And then in the Fourth Era, countless times he had seen Shaya’s true form.
But because the time was not right, and Shaya had no memories related to her, she could only watch helplessly as more and more women gathered around him, unable to do anything.
And then later, using the Hourglass of Time, she returned to the First Era, back to Shaya’s side.
At the bottom of the Abyss, she stayed by the sleeping Shaya’s side for five hundred years.
Loneliness, solitude, yet it brought her joy and peace.
The surging emotions spanning several eras were thus reflected in Shaya’s heart without reservation.
Only now did Shaya clearly confirm one thing.
Augustina’s feelings for him were not the special familial affection seen at first glance upon hatching.
It was liking.
Not the like and intimacy of a familiar towards its caretaker master, but the liking of a girl towards a boy.
It began in the First Era and has never changed until now.
Wandering and displaced…
Only for this moment, to meet you.
