If there were such a timeline.
Assuming this was the true course of history.
Following a fortunate victory that seemed blessed by the heavens, the Polant Empire reached its zenith.
An age of peace and prosperity had arrived.
Every promise had been fulfilled.
Yet the heart of Lankeluosi of the Black Sun seemed to have shattered.
No one knew what irretrievable treasures he had lost over these past dozen years or so.
Or perhaps he understood that his life was nearing its end and wished to spare those around him from suffering the punishment known as love.
And so, he distanced himself from Xigelei.
Though separated by only a few dozen li, he had not gone to see her for several years.
He intended to die in solitude, burying himself in the passage of time.
Inside the throne room of the Holy Polant Papal Court.
Listening to Chief Justice Elm's response, Lanqi breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as Caliera's letter had said, Xigelei had indeed been brought back to the Polant Empire.
Hearing that she was safe and sound was better than anything else.
"I am going to see her," Lanqi said to Elm.
"Your Holiness, please follow me."
Black-robed Chief Justice Elm's voice held restrained excitement and warmth.
Though he had learned that the Pope's physical condition was not optimistic, the change in His Holiness's state of mind brought him immense comfort.
To pass away without regrets was far better than enduring a life of torment.
Elm believed this from the bottom of his heart.
With his affairs in the throne room concluded, Pope Lanqi followed Elm out.
His gaze swept across the magnificent hall one last time. Then, passing through the throne room's dark-gold doors, the clergy stepped forward immediately to open the heavy doors along the corridors ahead.
Far outside the grand gates of the Holy Polant Papal Court, members of the Temple Knights remained on vigilant standby, their silver armor gleaming with sacred radiance under the slanted rays of the setting sun.
Lanqi descended the pristine white stone steps with steady strides, Chief Justice Elm following close behind.
Pope Lanqi once again boarded the Papal Court's official carriage, emblazoned with sacred reliefs.
The smoothly departing vehicle made its way through the bustling streets of the imperial capital, Hersalem, heading toward the outskirts.
Dozens of minutes passed.
The scenery outside gradually shifted from bustling city streets to tranquil countryside.
Endless greenery unfolded under the sunset, with rolling white hills stretching like a long road connecting to the horizon. Distant pastures, cattle, sheep, and seas of flowers drifted past from time to time, serene and peaceful.
Gazing quietly at the scenery outside Hersalem, Lanqi could not help letting his thoughts drift back to that summer day many years ago, when the city-state was still cloaked in the gray smog of war.
It had been nothing like this vibrant, colorful world.
Inside the carriage, Lanqi gently stroked the little black cat, his touch growing lighter.
"Master Lan, aren't you worried that dominant Tata and unruly Xigelei won't get along, meow?"
To voice its displeasure at Lanqi calling it Little Black Coal Ball, Boss Cat had decided to call him Master Lan throughout this entire Shadow World.
It even worried that the Shadow World was so peaceful it would lull Lanqi to sleep.
For its ace mount, safety was always the top priority.
"It doesn't matter. I will step in," Lanqi said with utter confidence.
"..."
Boss Cat had no idea where Lanqi got such confidence.
Yet if one asked whether he had ever completely overturned, he had always somehow salvaged the situation just as things were about to crash.
Before long, the carriage slowed to a halt in front of a church in a suburban town.
The church was nestled beside a stream, surrounded by lush green woods. Crisp, melodious birdsong echoed through the air, vibrant flowers bloomed in competition, and their fragrance drifted on the breeze.
The front entrance to the church compound was a white wooden door, simpler and cozier than the architecture in the city. The walls were adorned with vines and blossoms, extending toward several freestanding buildings that surely housed an orphanage and a small schoolhouse.
After Lanqi stepped down from the carriage, an elderly priestess, dressed plainly yet neatly, came out to greet him.
"Your Holiness, for you to visit a place like ours... We deeply apologize that we were unable to prepare in time."
She seemed utterly stunned by the Pope's arrival.
When Chief Justice Elm had sent word earlier, she had still been somewhat incredulous.
She never imagined the Pope would truly come.
"It is fine. This was merely an impromptu decision on my part,"
Lanqi replied with an easygoing nod. Guided by the elderly priestess, he stepped through the church gates.
"I am looking for Sister Xigelei. Could you take me to see her?" he asked.
"Xigelei is here. She has always been a good child. Ever since she was ten, she braved the bitter winter to work outside, earning money for what was then an impoverished church and orphanage,"
the priestess answered, quickening her pace slightly as she led the Pope deeper into the church complex.
The corridors were lined with drawings sketched in the clumsy, innocent strokes of children.
Among them hung several letters, their crooked handwriting quite messy, yet remarkably well preserved and treasured.
At the end of the corridor was an arched door.
"I shall take my leave first, Your Holiness."
The elderly priestess bowed deeply.
"Very well. See you shortly."
Lanqi nodded in return, watching the priestess walk away.
He pushed open the arched door, and the faint scent of chapel candles washed over him.
At the back of the sanctuary stood a raised altar. Beneath the rose window, the statue of the Goddess of Fate looked down with gentle yet resolute eyes.
Neat rows of pews lined both sides, and a red carpet in the center led straight to the pulpit at the end of the sanctuary.
Before the goddess statue, Lanqi saw a light-haired sister devoutly praying to the deity.
She had sleek long hair that cascaded over her shoulders. She wore a tailored white habit trimmed with silver lace, and around her waist was tied a purple ribbon bearing the Trinity Holy Sigil.
Lanqi walked slowly toward the sister.
As if sensing his approach, she gradually lifted her head from prayer and turned around in the sanctuary's twilight glow.
Her eyes met the green gaze beneath Lanqi's mask.
A flicker of surprise and joy surfaced on her face.
Even though Xigelei had grown into a dignified sister, those clear, bright violet eyes still flashed with a cunning gleam—sharp as a wolf's, yet filled with youthful spirit.
"Long time no see."
Lanqi looked at this sister-clad Xigelei.
Her eyes shimmered with the brilliance of amethysts, forever radiant, forever clear and bright.
They could easily make one believe she was the queen of this realm.
"Rocky!"
The sister threw herself forward and embraced Lanqi.
Over a dozen years had passed, and her body had matured completely. The loose habit could hardly conceal her full, soft curves.
In a single instant, she had caught the familiar scent from this masked figure—a scent so familiar it could never be mistaken.
"You're not a little girl anymore. You can't just throw your arms around me the moment we meet,"
Lanqi said helplessly, attempting to gently push her away.
Yet she possessed far more strength than anticipated; pushing proved entirely futile, leaving communication as his only recourse.
Back then, the petite Xigelei had always loved leaning against him to sleep peacefully, and the alias he had used with her had consistently been Rocky.
Even after she later learned of his other names, she still preferred to address him by that very first one.
"Long time no see..."
she murmured softly beside Lanqi's ear.
"Yes..."
The last time Lanqi had seen her, she was merely an eleven-year-old girl; now, she was fully grown.
From Xigelei's perspective, they must not have seen each other for many years.
To think that in the blink of an eye, twelve years had flown by.
"..."
Side remained silent for a long moment.
She felt that her Holy Son might not have recognized her.
After all, upon leaving the Northern Continent, she had adopted a brand-new disguise, modeled precisely after the image of the young girl Xigelei from her dreams.
This happened to turn her into Xigelei, and the Holy Son naturally took her to be Xigelei.
Then again, no one could have anticipated that a native projection from a previous Shadow World would suddenly become an acquaintance from the present world in the next, and that this person happened to possess the memories of that native figure.
Just as Side was hesitating over whether to give Lanqi a kiss to drop a hint—
"Why are you two still hugging?"
Talia could finally sit still no longer and manifested her physical form.
Xigelei's clinging posture and the excessive softness pressing against Lanqi made Talia certain that, even if Xigelei was merely a projected being of this Shadow World, to Lanqi, she was a bona fide member of the opposite sex.
"..."
Sister Xigelei turned her head, noticing a gray-haired figure materialize out of thin air not far away.
Though Xigelei's hands still rested on Lanqi's back, her attention was completely captured by the demon.
That familiar aura felt as though it had never changed.
Xigelei's eyes stung, unsure why she suddenly wanted to weep.
She released Lanqi and threw her arms around the gray-haired demon instead.
"??"
Talia had no idea what was happening before she found herself enveloped by the sister.
Subconsciously, she tried to push the girl away.
Huh?
Talia was stunned.
Why couldn't she push this young woman away either?
"You... you're alive! That's wonderful!"
Tears of joy welled in the corners of the light-haired, violet-eyed sister's eyes.
In her last dream, Caliera of the Fall had seemingly met with disaster, jolting her awake in terror.
Just this morning, the moment she arrived at South Vantina Port on the Southern Continent, an abruptly manifesting Void Gate had summoned her into this Shadow World. By the time she came to her senses, she was already standing inside this church.
Being dragged into an eighth-tier Shadow World out of nowhere had originally put her in a foul mood, but seeing that it matched the world she had dreamed of for the past few months down to the last detail, her interest was instantly piqued.
She had even hoped she might run into the Holy Son here, hurriedly offering her gratitude before the statue of the Goddess of Fate.
Sure enough.
He had appeared.
What Side had not expected even more was that she would also see Caliera.
Whenever she dreamed of her time in the Demon Realm, it had always been Caliera taking care of her.
After that nightmare aboard the ferry, Caliera had vanished from her dreams, as if disappearing into thin air.
"You were the demon who treated me best in the Demon Realm. You were like a mother to me. I've always wanted to tell you this,"
Xigelei continued with a choked voice.
The most terrifying part of reuniting with an old friend was not the sudden surge of mingled sorrow and joy, but the dread of losing them once more.
"You..."
Just as Talia prepared to display some genuine strength to show this kid what eighth-tier power truly meant, she saw that the other party was completely defenseless, heartbroken, and full of boundless trust.
Talia's heart softened slightly after all.
Looking at the outcome, getting the sister off Lanqi was a good thing in itself.
"Why is she hugging me?"
Talia asked Lanqi through telepathy, bewildered.
If letting go meant the sister would go back to hugging Lanqi, she would rather endure the hug herself.
"She probably mistook you for Caliera. Caliera's appearance was never fixed, and now that you possess her power, your aura might have become somewhat similar to hers,"
Lanqi replied in his mind.
Caliera's mana blended easily with Talia's, just as it had when crafting Overflowing Gentle Land. And earlier, after the mana blessing from the letter settled onto Lanqi, Talia, bound to him in soul, had taken on a portion of it as well.
Talia inspected herself.
"Huh."
Only then did Talia discover she had gained an additional status.
[Veil of Fallen Heaven]
[Category: Passive Magic]
[Quality: Epic]
[Attribute: Spirit]
[Tier: 1]
[Caliera's innate talent. Blocks all detection spells and conceals one's appearance.]
The blessing bestowed by Caliera had turned into a permanent trait of Caliera's upon reaching Talia.
Lanqi couldn't detect it, nor could she herself.
Yet to anyone else, her true countenance was veiled.
"So in this Shadow World, am I really playing the role of Caliera?"
Talia questioned Lanqi.
After entering this Shadow World, she, as a challenger, could see the same Shadow World information as Lanqi, but she existed more like a ghost accompanying him rather than a distinct entity.
"Most likely, in the true course of history, this was the core life-soul Caliera left for Lankeluosi. With her gentle slumber power shielding him, Lankeluosi could occasionally see her phantom and use the spell she gifted him—a degraded version of Gentle Land of the Fallen."
From the second Shadow World, Lanqi had noticed that with every companion Lankeluosi of the Black Sun lost, the relics he carried multiplied.
In the original history, the forty-nine-year-old Lankeluosi commanded the theocratic authority of the Holy Polant Theocracy, quite possibly possessing the power of faith and breaking through to the ninth tier.
Once, as an eighth-tier, Lankeluosi of the Black Sun could defeat Marquis Ulises, the Tenth Progenitor, with a single hand.
As the ninth-tier Pope Lankeluosi, there was likely no living being in this world capable of standing against him.
Aside from his own unyielding willpower and trials forged through fire, another portion of Lankeluosi's unreasonable power stemmed from the continuous accumulation of willing gifts left behind by his departed friends.
"The child Xigelei probably thinks Caliera is dead as well. Over the past twelve years, she spent a great deal of time sheltered by Caliera in the Demon King's Castle. But six years ago, an upheaval occurred where Caliera nearly fell in battle. Having witnessed all of that, Xigelei was brought back to the Polant Empire and never saw Caliera again. Her feelings toward Caliera..."
Lanqi trailed off.
Some emotions defied simple words and could only be understood implicitly. He believed Talia could understand now; she might not grasp romantic love, but she certainly understood familial devotion.
All of this was information he had glimpsed in the throne room's illusory visions.
"..."
Talia looked at Xigelei in her embrace once more.
She could hardly bring herself to tell Xigelei the truth about Caliera's death.
Setting aside any urge to refute Lanqi's claim that "she didn't understand love," Talia simply imagined a scenario: if she had been gravely injured in South Vantina with her life or death unknown, separated from Hyperion for six years, and then suddenly appeared whole before Hyperion again, the situation would be much the same.
Just imagining such a scene made Talia's heart ache.
"It's alright now,"
Talia consoled Xigelei.
In this Shadow World, she was essentially no different from Caliera.
Though she might be a weakened, imitation Caliera, in terms of ability, she was exceptionally close.
She could also activate Overflowing Gentle Land now.
Therefore, she was the "beautiful, dignified, mature, and useful" Caliera.
She ought to help weave Caliera's gentle slumber forward, protecting the beings Caliera held dear to repay the grace inherited across generations.
"Aren't I right here?"
Talia gently patted Xigelei's back, murmuring softly to her like a mother coaxing a child to sleep.
After a long while, Xigelei finally felt at ease, slowly relaxing her tight hold on the gray-haired demon.
"I'm sorry, Caliera, I let my true thoughts slip,"
Xigelei apologized to the veiled demon woman, wiping her eyes with one hand.
"You're still so young, an unmarried woman, so beautiful, beloved, and popular. I shouldn't treat you like a mother."
She had thought she would never see Caliera again. Now, reuniting with her in a Shadow World that was no mere dream, she felt as though she were truly in a reverie.
It felt more real than reality itself, meeting a friend from another era.
"Do you really think so?"
Talia parted her lips slightly, her expression glowing with unusual brightness.
Hearing Xigelei's sincere words, she could tell that every single statement was heartfelt.
"Of course! Caliera, you are the best woman in the world."
Xigelei hugged her a little tighter, terrified that this warm Caliera might slip away like waking from a dream.
This time she was wide awake; it couldn't possibly be a dream.
"Hug as much as you like,"
Talia yielded, speaking softly.
It had been a long time since anyone praised her like this.
Accustomed to staying beside Lanqi, who showed her the least respect, Xigelei seemed like a little angel in her eyes, her voice sweeter than anything else.
She had long heard Hyperion speak of the adorable Xigelei. Seeing her now, even though Xigelei had grown considerably, Talia couldn't help agreeing with Hyperion's words: Xigelei was excessively endearing.
Moreover, according to Lanqi, Xigelei's affection for him was completely pure.
Just like hugging her right now, it was born of closeness and longing.
There was no need to worry that this child harbored any designs on Lanqi; Talia had simply overthought things.
To the side of the sanctuary.
"Told you they'd get along,"
Lanqi murmured with his hands in his pockets, letting out a relieved breath and smiling warmly at his shadow on the floor.
Talia's maternal instincts, deepened by the passage of centuries, stood no chance against such a candid child as Xigelei.
This journey would surely be smooth sailing.
"Meow."
Boss Cat poked its head out from the shadow.
It remembered Lanqi previously saying that if Hyperion and Xigelei ever fought, he would eat the sofa on the spot.
Thus, given that "Xigelei gets along well with Hyperion" and "Talia gets along well with Hyperion," one could deduce that "Xigelei would also get along well with Talia."
Lanqi's formula was indeed sound.
Yet why did it feel as though the Star of Death was already looming above Lanqi's head?
Chapter 765