Chapter 553: The Sun and the Witch
An ancient memory from long, long ago emerged in Aesc’s mind.
"All things end in the sea, and all beginnings come only from the sea."
"After a meteor streaked across the sky, all the land turned into rivers."
"This is a story so old that it could not possibly be any older—a tale from a very, very long time ago."
"Six fairies came to the outside world and turned the present world into a vast sea."
"A giant shadow rose from the sea."
"It had a fluffy, soft body, and on its shoulder rested an animal that should have long since vanished."
"The six fairies became friends with a god."
"Although the endless sea was both boring and unfit for living, which was a big problem, the god would help everyone block the waves, so the six fairies lived a carefree life."
"The calm sea without any wind or waves was also nice, but in the end, they still missed the land."
"The six fairies offered joy to the god."
"The six fairies offered prayers to the god."
"The six fairies sacrificed the god."
"Their wish was granted, and the festival ended."
"Deceived into drinking poisoned wine, the god died."
"The six fairies took the god’s corpse and used it to create a brand-new land."
"The animal that remained behind and cried out loudly was also put to use with care."
"Because the animal was the only human, having just one was not enough."
"It was divided into fine pieces."
"Divided into fine pieces."
"Torn into fragments while ensuring it would not die."
"In order to make sure it would never die no matter what was done, they cast magic upon it and used it with care."
"This was how Britain was created."
"This was how the sin began."
"May the six fairies of the beginning find salvation."
"May the six fairies of the beginning be cursed."
As these vivid memories, now turned into words, surged into Aesc’s mind one after another, an image also appeared.
It was an endless sea.
It was a surface of water in constant motion.
Six fairies flew here, flapping their wings, playing with one another, but since they could never find land and had nowhere to rest, they quickly grew bored.
In the sea, a giant creature appeared, carrying a tiny creature on its back.
It became friends with the six fairies, shielding them from wind and rain, and letting them play on its body.
It was a heartwarming scene.
It was a moment of true happiness.
However, at some unknown point, that heartwarming scene had changed.
For some reason, the happiness had vanished, while the memories in Aesc’s mind seemed to be stained red with blood.
As if burned by fire, they turned to ashes.
At that moment, only anger, hatred, and resentment rampaged in her mind.
—Salvation.
Everything needed salvation.
—Curse.
Everything needed to be cursed.
—Hatred.
It was not hatred for being deceived, but hatred for being forced to watch everything unfold, unable to do anything about it.
—Sorrow.
It was not sorrow for one’s own death, but sorrow for seeing a friend treated so cruelly.
And thus, the land of Britain was cursed.
A disaster called ’Calamity’ ravaged the fairies, and whether it was life or non-life, all were erased without exception in the face of this hatred and rage.
Britain was sinful.
Britain should not have existed.
Salvation, salvation, salvation, salvation, salvation, salvation!
Curse, curse, curse, curse, curse, curse!
Over time, the memory began to blur, and both body and mind started to cry out in agony.
Aesc, sinking deeper into darkness, felt herself on the verge of breaking—about to lose herself in this sea of curses and sea of rage.
Even though she had endured countless pains over the past 3,600 years, when faced with this wave of negative emotions, as overwhelming as a tsunami, Aesc still felt she could not withstand it for even a moment longer, and had the urge to end it all right now.
At this moment, the beautiful memories of the past had long since faded, leaving behind only a madness-like obsession.
If that were the case...
"Forget it, let it end here."
It was as if a voice was telling her this, making her give up struggling.
"After all, you should have died a long time ago."
Indeed, she should have died in Orkney 3600 years ago.
"You are a Fairy of Paradise. You have the duty to make every living being in Britain realize their sins."
"Give up on protecting."
"Give up on saving."
"Go destroy."
"Go vent."
"Go set everything right."
"When that happens, the world will return to its starting point."
As it spoke, the voice in Aesc’s mind sounded like someone else’s, yet also like her own.
No, it was her own voice, wasn’t it?
For the past 3600 years, she had certainly thought and reflected on this countless times.
It was precisely because of this that the voice had appeared now, making her abandon everything she had held on to.
"Let the world return to the beginning."
"Let the world return to the beginning."
"Let the world return to the beginning."
Again and again, this phrase echoed endlessly in Aesc’s innermost feelings.
In such a state, Aesc suddenly found herself entering another world.
It was...
’Orkney?’
Aesc recognized this scenery—this was the northernmost city of Britain, her once blissful home where she had grown up.
Unfortunately, it had now fallen into ruin, a land of snow and ice.
’...Is this my inner world?’
As a highly ranked magus, Aesc easily realized what she was experiencing.
’...Indeed, my inner world should look like this.’
Cold.
Lonely.
A world of ice and snow with no life except herself—this was exactly how Aesc’s innermost self appeared when brought to life.
"All the beauty of the past had already frozen into ice..."
"Her feelings had long cooled into snow..."
"A witch who no longer cared about anything, who was indifferent to everything..."
"Right, this was who I am..."
Murmuring to herself, Aesc walked through the snowy wasteland with an expression as cold as ice.
As she continued on, her hair gradually turned the same pale white as the snow around her, her clothes were dyed black, and the staff in her hand became an ominous black spear.
Once a savior, now a witch, Aesc wandered through the winter as if she had abandoned everything.
*Whoosh—!*
Suddenly, a spark of flame flared up in the icy wasteland.
’...What is that?’
She stopped in her tracks, lifted her head, and stared blankly at the flickering flame.
The flame rapidly grew.
The flame was turning into a sun.
When it appeared, the frozen wasteland seemed to be lit up and warmed, and signs of thaw began to appear, causing the blizzard to stop.
Even in the ruins, a faint sense of warmth emerged.
When the sun-like blaze fell from the sky and landed before the witch, in a world where there should have been only her, someone else—a young man—miraculously broke in and strode powerfully up to the witch.
He looked at her with calm eyes—his gaze was gentle, but the strength behind it made the witch, whose heart was as cold as snow, tremble ever so slightly.
After a long silence, the young man finally spoke.
"Once, someone in this world said something to me."
He who brought the warmth spoke.
"She said that she and I were the same. We both rejected our own worlds and chose the worlds of others."
He who was wreathed in flames spoke quietly.
"She was right."
"I did reject my own world and chose the world of another."
"But I didn’t do it to run away."
"I just thought, I can’t change the world, but the world shouldn’t be able to change me either."
Upon hearing this, the witch’s heart trembled again.
"Can’t change the world, but the world shouldn’t be able to change me..."
She murmured softly, her gaze turning dazed.
"That’s right."
He who came like the sun looked straight at the witch.
"No matter what it is, once conflict arises, parting ways is only a matter of time."
"At that time, either you go your own way, or you carve out a new path by walking over theirs."
"If you can’t do it, then being left behind, crushed, or swallowed up is only a matter of time."
"Are you willing to become someone who compromises with reality, someone crushed by the things that go against yourself?"
As the young man’s voice echoed in the witch’s heart, she answered almost without thinking.
"No, I am not willing."
Maybe this was just her unwillingness.
Maybe her past determination had simply become an obsession.
Regardless, she truly was not willing.
Hearing her reply, the young man just smiled faintly.
"Does it matter if you’re a savior or a witch?"
"If you have your own ideas, then when things do not go your way, you should do what you truly want."
He reached out his hand to the witch.
"Come on."
As soon as these words fell, the witch reached out and took his hand without any hesitation.
She held it tightly, their fingers interlocked.
In the next moment, the flames on the young man’s body rushed through their joined hands and wrapped around the witch.
Warmth dispelled the cold.
Her frozen heart began to melt.
Her hair, pale as snow, regained its golden luster, the ominous black spear turned back into a staff, and the pitch-black clothes turned back into shining attire.
At this moment, the witch turned back into the savior once again.
At least, for now.
*PENG—!!!*
As the world covered in ice and snow shattered, the darkness filled with curses descended once again, intent on swallowing Aesc.
But now, Aesc was already holding someone’s hand, embraced by the young man blazing with flames—the brightest sun who cleansed the curses.
*BOOM!*
In the next moment, the flames turned into a beam of light, blasting away the darkness.
It shot upward, out of the sea of curses, out of the pit, and toward the pit’s entrance.
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[A bonus Chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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