"One hundred and forty-seven kilometers away."
The power of the Gospel God seeped into the starry realm like the night. It was hardly an obedient deity, nor had it ever revered Lisidiya as its master. Having lived through fourteen empresses and witnessed all the worldly joys and sorrows, it viewed Diya more like a pet owner begging a cat for urine—granting a boon if convenient, or offering cold indifference if not. Mortals had never been able to master gods, and gods would never bow down to mortals; it had nothing to do with dignity or wisdom. Only great souls bearing Hell could prove themselves worthy of wielding the scepter that overturned natural order.
Yet now, before the Witch had even asked, the Gospel had already compiled the intelligence, thoughtful to a degree that felt foreign to her.
"And they're moving away in the opposite direction. Even if we rush over at full speed, it'll take at least ninety-one minutes to catch up with them." Diya waved her hand lightly, and a map of light and shadow materialized before them. "Even if we tore open a sky portal to teleport there, the Gospel God would need fifty-five minutes just to run the calculations..."
"It's too late."
Looking at his rainbow imaginary wings, already more than half-condensed, Yaxiu leaned against the leather seat and tilted his head back, gazing up at the faint, genuine starlight in the night sky. "We don't have that much time."
Because the Hell secret poison in the Nation of Stars had taken fifteen days to condense four imaginary wings, Yaxiu had mistakenly estimated that they still had a final fifteen days left. That would have given him time to reunite with the Sword Princess and the others, time to prepare with Igola and Harvey, and time to let all those wonderful stories unfold one by one—so that he could embark on the journey to Hell without any lingering regrets.
But from the moment they returned to reality, Hell had already begun chasing them down.
Perhaps the Cage of All Stars had weakened the secret poison, or perhaps reality had amplified it. Whatever the truth was, in half an hour, the Hell secret poison would grant him full plumage, ready to face the Void Realm's boon or judgment.
Such was the epitome of a sorcerer's life: either fly toward Hell, or endure Hell.
He did not know whether Igola and Harvey had noticed the anomaly with their imaginary wings the moment they returned. Perhaps only an idiot seduced by beauty like himself had failed to notice fate's countdown, even mistaking their departure for goodwill... Sure, it was goodwill—after all, no one could help with the demigod ascension ritual, so each had to fulfill their own destiny, plus it left Yaxiu plenty of time to be intimate with his lovers... Goodwill, my ass!
"Daddy." Lisi tugged on Yaxiu's sleeve, looking anxious. "What happened to Aunt Bogin and Uncle Harvey?"
Yaxiu rubbed her little head and forced a smile onto his face. "Nothing. They just snuck off ahead of us."
"Will we... never see them again?"
"No. We haven't said goodbye yet, so we'll definitely meet again."
Even if Yaxiu wanted to wait at Ruby Mountain to intercept them, it would be impossible. The condensation of the Hell secret poison could be actively accelerated; while the effect had been negligible in the Cage of All Stars, it was an entirely different story in reality. Since they were determined to leave, they would never let Yaxiu find them.
Besides, they could step into Hell without attachments, but Yaxiu first had to settle the sweet attachments he could never bring himself to abandon.
"In half an hour, I will have to advance to demigod and step into the Void Realm's fifth layer: Hell." Yaxiu took a deep breath and took their hands. "Open your minds and let me reach the depths of your souls."
As the supreme authority seeped inward, Sonia and Diya both discovered new wings sprouting from the dimples of their lower backs. Sonia's were a purplish-red sword hue, while Diya's were a pink-gold time hue, each bearing fifteen feathers.
In their eyes, the world showed no outward change, yet something seemed fundamentally altered. Diya could faintly perceive the flow of time, while Sonia could observe all the dead lines along which this sports car could be effortlessly dismembered by swordsmanship. The surrounding knowledge of time and swordsmanship flowed incessantly before their eyes.
"This is the Seventh Imaginary Wing, the Wing of Knowledge," Yaxiu explained. "Once it completely condenses, it will become the Supreme Imaginary Wing, capable of commanding all sorcery spirits, regulating all sorcerers, and governing all nations... If I'm not mistaken, the Divine Lord of Stars has now become the sorcery supreme of the star sorcery faction. Her claim that 'wherever the stars shine lies the Supreme's protection' is likely no empty boast.
"Even if the Wing of Knowledge cannot generate supreme sorcery mana, these feathers alone will elevate your strength past the divine boundary. Beneath the starry sky, all legends will revere you as supreme.
"Don't worry about me. I already have the supreme tail feather."
Yaxiu revealed his multicolored sword tail, wrapped around his waist like an actual tail, the star trajectories in the center of the tail feather shimmering faintly. "The feathers I gave you are what I accumulated earlier. For me, they wouldn't even count as icing on the cake, but giving them to you turns stone into gold."
Although the "Reverse Scale of the Golden Fish," the "White Ox's iridescent resilient tail," and the "faded holy grail" had all become ritual implements to summon the Princess of Resplendent Fireflies, Rose had not swallowed the feathers Yaxiu had accumulated. Before departing, she had caressed Yaxiu's tail to return all the feathers gathered by the reverse scale, and they could even be freely distributed.
Had the supreme tail feather not been indivisible, Yaxiu would have liked to divide it evenly. After all, even split four ways, each share would be enough to condense a Supreme Imaginary Wing. The Divine Lord of Stars longed to sit alone upon the heavenly throne, but Yaxiu wished for someone with whom he could share his authority and power.
Absolute supremacy was indeed an authority one could never give up, but without an equal, wouldn't one be unable even to share the view from the summit?
"And Weise, your sorcery spirits." Yaxiu reached out and took the phantom of the god. "I've kept them safe for you all this time, but I really am not as clever as you; they have no use in my hands... Do you want to take them back?"
Weise looked at him and slowly shook her head. "Not right now. Besides, I don't want to take them back. It feels like if I don't leave something in your soul, we won't have any connection left."
She reached out to gently stroke Yaxiu's chest, her voice alluring yet sorrowful. "When I do take those sorcery spirits back, it will either be because I have given you much more, or because you have left much more with me."
Yaxiu took the illusory hand and kissed the back of it. By now, his rainbow imaginary wings were nearly finished condensing, the progress bar entering its final twenty-five percent.
Sonia, who had remained silent for a long time, slowly exhaled. She even stretched, her proud chest curving her ebony-red combat dress into an enchanting, supple arc, while her blood-red hair, slightly disheveled after a day of bitter fighting, cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall. She took Yaxiu's arm, her expression radiant, as though this sports car were on its way to the marriage registry.
"With this Wing of Knowledge, we'll have the power to fight when we reach Hell," she said. "I don't know how much stronger you've become, but I haven't squandered these past few months either. I'll definitely give you a big surprise."
"Sword Princess..."
"It's been so long since we fought side by side. Even though Hell doesn't sound like a lover's paradise, I don't mind substituting slaughter for dates. If the Starry Supreme sends angels, we'll slay angels; if Hell's demigods covet you, we'll carve our way through Hell. I may prefer a grand and luxurious wedding, but a bloody wedding and a sword-wielding honeymoon crusade sound romantic too. Still, if there's a chance, I'd still like to return to Starry for our wedding. I want my mother's blessing."
Yaxiu hugged her tightly into his chest without saying a word.
"If I told the me from a year ago that a year later she would become a demigod sorcerer, she would definitely suspect it was the latest moneymaking scam." Sonia sniffled, the tip of her nose turning red. "Yet it's all true. Soon you would meet the person you love most in this life, tread through the Void Realm at his side, cross the Knowledge Sea, travel across the Time Continent, awaken in the Distant Sky Realm, and after braving trial after trial, you would finally greet the happiness of your dreams—"
"Sword Princess," Yaxiu murmured, burying his face in her hair. "Don't say any more."
"You never intended to let us come with you from the start, did you?" Sonia looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "Do you really think I'm that easy to push around?"
"Of course not—"
"Then why haven't you considered my feelings at all?!"
Sonia gripped Yaxiu's collar, the rims of her glitter-lined eyes red. "From the moment I made up my mind to betray Starry, I never considered separating from you again! Even if it means being entangled with you for eternity, I wouldn't hesitate!
"April of last year was the turning point of my life. Before that, everything was a freezing winter. I studied alone, fought alone, struggled all by myself while watching Daedalose. I thought I would end up spending my life as a bitter woman who stopped at nothing for wealth and glory... But you just had to barge in! You just had to make me practice swordsmanship, you just had to blow into my life like spring!...
"Honestly, I've wanted to curse you out for ages! You always think that leaving for your sake meant throwing away the first half of my life, but I didn't sacrifice a thing! The first half of my life wasn't worth a dime—it was just a little girl gritting her teeth over imaginary vanity! Only this past year have I truly lived. You are the life I've poured myself into!
"I was prepared to accompany you through spring, summer, autumn, and winter. I was resolved to suffer and slaughter alongside you! Even if you died, I would have charged into Hell to dig open your grave! Now that we can go to Hell together, how is that any different from visiting an amusement park?"
Yaxiu remained silent, letting her vent. His expression was still gentle, but his eyes were unwavering. He would yield to them on anything, but on this one matter, there was absolutely no room for compromise.
Sonia suddenly gave a cold laugh. "You think you can stop us just because you don't want us to? You think we'd willingly stay behind in reality?"
"That's right."
Without anyone realizing it, Diya had returned to her Witch form, yet she was hugging her knees on the leather seat, looking exactly like a child throwing a quiet tantrum.
"If you aren't around, Yaxiu, I have no interest in playing empress either," she mumbled sullenly. "I won't cling to a world without you. I'll chase you into Hell too."
"Why wouldn't you be empress if I'm not around?" Yaxiu coaxed gently. "It's not like you took the throne of Gospel for my sake."
"But I became the empress for your sake!" Diya turned her head to look at him, pouting. "I wanted to give you an entire country... I hoped you would favor me for wealth and glory... I always dreamed that, just like in a fairy tale, we'd become the Happiest Empress and Prince Consort!
"More importantly, it's because of you that I wasn't afraid of being empress..."
She bowed her head, looking just like a kindergartener who had been left uncollected after school. "Because I knew that no matter how much trouble I caused, you'd ride your motorcycle and burst out of the Yisu Imperial Palace with me. Whether I was a princess or an empress, you would protect me through every rainy night.
"I never became the Yisu Empress for the sake of all those strangers I didn't know," Diya sniffled, her voice choked with tears. "I just wanted to be the Empress Lisidiya you would be proud of!"
"But don't I recall that you're terribly shy around strangers?" Yaxiu teased with a smile. "Every time we moved to a new place, you couldn't sleep on the first night. You're born to be bold at home and timid outside; the second you step out of your nest, you get scared."
"I'm not Lisi!" Diya cried out, but then quickly added, "Even if I'm scared, what choice do I have? I was terrified of coming to Starry alone too, but I'm far more terrified of you leaving me all over again... Even if it's Hell, as long as she can sleep hugging you, Lisi wouldn't be scared either.
"I'm already a legendary sorcerer. I can already wield the Gospel God to a degree." She gazed at Yaxiu almost pleadingly. "Am I still only allowed to watch you leave?"
A pang struck Yaxiu's heart. He realized he had underestimated the impact his departure from Gospel had left on Diya. On that day, Diya had ascended to Gospel's supreme throne, yet Yaxiu had been transferred to Senluo right before her eyes while she was completely powerless to stop it. Perhaps from that very day, she had begun yearning to master authority and power.
Without power, she could protect nothing. Now, she was the empress of an entire nation, a legend of time, yet in the end, she remained that little girl sitting upon the throne, completely helpless.
Felix, behind the wheel, glanced at them in the mirror, reminded of the father who had claimed to do everything for her own good while completely disregarding her feelings. Perhaps this was the common trait of "trash-can men"—utterly incapable of bringing happiness to everyone, yet insisting on taking responsibility and shouldering the entire burden alone.
Chapter 1002