Chapter: 23. So You Are Here
Regarding the records of the cost of casting Origin Magic, it turns out there are related notes on the last end page of the Forbidden Library.
These characters need to be translated on the spot. Without the comparison table given by Xial, it would be utterly chaotic. In the past, Princess Xue Fei wanted nothing more than to burn this book directly. How could she have had the extra time to continue translating so much?
She hadn’t read it before.
But now she knows.
“Those who fail to cast [Origin]… burn out their lives, and if they are lucky enough to survive, their memories will be scorched. To recover the memories, one must use this spell and… and… how annoying!! Princess Belis! Didn’t you already translate this? Just tell me what’s written at the back. Going through it word by word is really driving me crazy!”
“It’s still because Queen Sister said to translate it yourself…”
“I don’t want to translate anymore! Hurry up!”
“Okay, okay~ I’ll read it for Queen Sister?”
Belis took the ancient forbidden technique that Princess Xue Fei had thrown at her like a wad of paper and used her finger to match the position Xue Fei had just read, continuing to read it word by word to the end.
Actually, there wasn’t much left to read.
The remaining sentence spoke of the price needed to restore memories.
“To dissolve it with this spell, to regain the past, one must pay the corresponding future possibilities to achieve balance.”
“What does that mean? Future possibilities? So abstract?”
No way, this broken book, translating you into the current language isn’t enough, but I still have to solve riddles!
Fortunately, Belis had already studied it; she didn’t need to guess anymore.
Moreover… she herself could deeply realize what cost she had paid.
When Princess Xue Fei pounded on the book and looked up, she just happened to see Belis’s somewhat desolate bitter smile.
But the bitter smile was only for a moment.
It was replaced by a sense of relief reflected in Xue Fei’s puzzled face.
She could finally tell Queen Sister the words she had kept in her heart all these years.
“Future possibilities correspond with the original purpose of [Origin]. [Origin] is meant to preemptively discover one’s potential and gain all the power one could potentially have in an instant, while the price for restoring memories is the opposite…”
“Hey… Belis…? You’re not trying to say…” Princess Xue Fei’s face suddenly lost color.
“Yes, Queen Sister.” Belis closed the book as if she were closing her own past obsession, “the price is to suppress all future possibilities, meaning my strength will stagnate the moment I cast the spell, and I will never be able to grow stronger again.”
“!”
Princess Xue Fei’s mind rang with a loud noise.
Her heart clenched tight.
She even felt that this moment was like a nightmare.
The three wings on the left side of Belis’s back, the two wings on the right, asymmetrical feathers, seemed to have a final black feather faintly appearing, but then turned into ethereal black starlight that scattered.
What scattered wasn’t the black feather, but a girl who had loved looking up at the starry sky since she was small, longing for the heavens.
Princess Xue Fei might not be a competent sister, after all, she was quite willful, and her time spent with Belis was far too short.
But she remembered all the words Belis had chased after her in childhood.
“I also want to fly as high as Queen Sister.”
“Why?”
“So that I can see the same scenery as Queen Sister!”
“Why do you need to see the same scenery as me? Isn’t it good to be safely grounded? It feels so secure; be careful, the higher you fly, the worse you fall.”
“But that won’t do. Actually, when you’re not here, many people laugh at me. Hehe… but Queen Sister still takes the time to come home to see Belis! With Queen Sister here, Belis isn’t afraid of their jokes; say whatever they want, it’s fine as long as Queen Sister is here! Queen Sister will come back often, right?”
“… Probably? No, who dares make fun of you? Tell me, make a list, and I’ll help you beat them up.”
“Hmm, don’t look down on me because I’m little. I actually understand a lot. Fists can’t conquer people’s hearts. And, you see, they are right to laugh at me. Belis has been too lax. It’s okay, I will work harder and harder in the future. When I have six wings, everyone will definitely say we are the most compatible sisters in the world!”
“You silly girl… sisterhood can’t be described with the word compatible. Well… I think you don’t need to put too much pressure on yourself. If you want to see the high-altitude scenery, I can take you to fly together.”
“But… if I don’t fly by myself.”
If I don’t fly by myself?
Which words made Princess Xue Fei feel angry and sad, disappointed and heartbroken, leading her to turn and leave at that moment?
“If I don’t fly by myself… Queen Sister will fly far away, to a place where Belis can’t find, and won’t want me anymore.”
“Nonsense.”
Is it really nonsense…?
Belis said back then.
Don’t look down on her because she’s small; she already understands a lot.
Queen Sister longs for freedom. If Belis doesn’t have the matching strength, one day she absolutely will lose Queen Sister with one of your “spur-of-the-moment” escapes.
I am fearful, I hope, I wish with countless days and nights to become as strong as you, to bear all the blame for you, even if it means changing everything for you.
On this path, I had once lost myself; for a moment, I forgot the goal I had set out with, lost in the pursuit of power.
However, that flame that devoured the Origin finally burned me awake.
Ah… if I were to give Belis another chance, I would definitely remember… remember my original intention when I started running.
— To not let you fly away alone.
— So that even if you fly far away, I can chase after your remnants without being left too far behind.
— To remember all the little moments we shared together.
In the forgotten days and nights, Belis sat by the lake alone, shedding tears, not knowing why she felt heartbroken.
Is it because Queen Sister is becoming more powerful… and everyone is laughing at her slow progress?
No.
Belis increasingly feels she won’t feel troubled by such trivial things anymore.
She clearly used to care a lot, but as soon as she thinks of them, a vague purple flame in her mind burns away that thought completely.
Flame… what is it really?
She only felt that she seemed to have forgotten something.
Forbidden Library…?
Yes… Forbidden Library.
If there is something I don’t remember, then the answer must be there.
Such a strong intuition urged Belis to head towards the shores of truth.
And when she learned that the cost of reclaiming that past memory was to relinquish the future.
Belis, with no hesitation.
Haha… If I don’t even know why I set out at the beginning, then no matter how much I rush forward, what meaning does this reckless determination hold?
Belis’s determined palm closed over Princess Xue Fei’s trembling fingertips.
“Queen Sister, don’t be sad. I have no regrets about my decision at all.”
“You brat… you clearly have always wanted to become stronger… I was thinking about how to help you break through to the six wings last night… and now…
… what are you trying to say to me today… why so…”
Please don’t be sad, don’t hang your head in despair.
As Princess Xue Fei bowed her head, her silver hair obscured her eyes, and the tear streaks sliding down her face finally added the last piece to Belis’s relief.
Belis reached out her finger to catch the sparkling tear.
Reluctant to let it fall, Belis felt this was the most radiant gem in the world.
“Queen Sister, do you think, even when I reach six wings, can I keep up with your pace?”
“How would I know… but you’ve already…”
“Hmm, maybe if there’s no chance, I can only be five wings in the future.”
“That’s why I said…!”
“But now, I’ve finally caught up with you.”
Sometimes, compared to running forward with closed eyes, perhaps stopping to look back at the past is the truly fleeting glance.
There was no sign of Queen Sister ahead.
When she looked back, she found Queen Sister was standing behind, watching over her.
Haha… I wondered why I flew so far without finding you?
Turns out, you were here.
