Now I Am the Master

Beneath a clear, pristine blue sky and white clouds lay an endless mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. Within the horizon as far as the eye could see stood an imposing, heavily armored army. Millions of sorcerers had shackles on their hands and collars around their necks, wearing penal helmets that exposed only their mouths, ranked in formation to guard the supreme throne like silent tombstones. Vile dragons perched on high platforms constructed of bones, looking like banners fluttering in the wind. Stripped of the dignity of their draconic kind, only a savage madness remained. Armed to the teeth, bearing highly lethal miracle firearms on their backs, they were Deathsworn shock troops for the charge, shields guarding the throne, and sometimes chips wagered in a desperate gamble. Atop a pyramid of human skulls, bathed in bright, warm sunlight, sat an exquisite yet bloodstained Supreme Throne. Weixi sat upon it, looking out over everything in the world beneath her dominion. This was the deepest yearning of Weixi's soul. Looking at everything before him, Yaxiu was not in the least surprised that Weixi would create such a world. She was by nature a demon who put no faith in humanity. If she ever became the Supreme of Sorcery, she would surely dominate the souls of all living beings with soul divine miracles, erect ramparts of terror out of slaughter, turn every sorcerer in the entire world into her army, and crush every rebellious subject who opposed her. She had never once thought of benefiting the world; all she wanted was to gather all boundless might into herself, enslaving all living beings to serve and sustain her. There truly were such people in this world—born tyrants, demons, and madmen. Even if they feared a brutal end, they would still chase violent delights. A wolf that had starved for so long could never fill its belly. Yet she of all people had become his operator; she of all people had helped him survive so many brushes with death; she of all people... Yaxiu sighed, contemplating how to help Weixi summon her god. *Clank.* With the metallic rattle of chains, Yaxiu was suddenly yanked forward onto his knees. Looking up, he found himself before the throne. Weixi held the chain, regarding him playfully—and around his own neck was a collar. Evidently, he too was part of the deepest yearning of Weixi's soul, and their statuses were precisely the opposite of reality. Still, Yaxiu wasn't particularly surprised; he had anticipated this long ago. A pale, delicate foot slipped from beneath her robe, the tips of her toes gently lifting Yaxiu's chin. Weixi rested her cheek in her left palm, looking down at him like looking at a pet. "Lick." *Forget it. Maybe letting Hell crush her to death would raise the average moral level of the sorcerer world by a significant notch.* Yaxiu turned his head away in annoyance, wondering where the opportunity for Weixi to summon her god lay. But Weixi took offense. With a tug of the chain, Yaxiu was pulled into her embrace like a Lalafell, looking like a concubine reclining in the arms of a tyrant. Her expression frosted over, and her voice went cold. "I am now the Supreme of Sorcery, and you still dare disobey me? Do you still think you are my master?" Yet in the very next second she burst into a giggle, charm oozing from the corners of her eyes. She reached her hand past Yaxiu's collar and slipped it inside, looking more coquettish and adorable than ever—bearing not the slightest resemblance to the Spectre Prophet. "Of course you are my master. Even if you're the one in chains right now, you are still my eternal master." *Was this woman always so mercurial...?* Yaxiu was beginning to understand the sheer terror Weixi must have inflicted upon the sorcerers of her era. "Master, say ah." Weixi peeled a grape, holding it in her mouth as she leaned in. Yaxiu initially tried to pull away, but the chain around his neck restricted his movements, leaving him no choice but to submissively accept Weixi's doting. The grape juice burst across their lips, trickling down the corners of their mouths. Weixi tugged the chain, forcing Yaxiu to tilt his head back, and licked along the trail of liquid. Seeing a drop slide into his clothes, Weixi undid his buttons with her mouth and kissed the sweet-stained skin, as though she were truly Yaxiu's maid. "You never like me getting close to you," Weixi whispered into Yaxiu's ear, her warm breath tickling his earlobe. "Because you're afraid of becoming my slave." "But you can't escape, because this is your fate." Weixi tugged the chain, pulling Yaxiu into her embrace. "Peace, or dignity?" "Live as your slave, or die to become your slave?" Yaxiu still remembered that conversation from their first meeting. "No," Weixi said with a smile. "Peace means you become my slave; dignity means I become yours." "I am already the Supreme of Sorcery. I no longer fear losing anything, and no one can bully me anymore. We have infinite time to adjust our relationship. If you find it more entertaining to be the master, I don't mind either." Yaxiu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You became the Supreme of Sorcery just for that? But even if you aren't the Supreme of Sorcery, does that really change anything?" "Everything beautiful in this world will ultimately vanish like smoke," Weixi said, shaking her head. "My race, my nation, my era, my past... When I opened my eyes in the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams, everything had been forgotten by time. We are born alone, and we will die alone. "Only by ascending the Supreme Throne does my life have meaning, can what I love be eternal, and can I live without reservations, never having to suffer any heart-wrenching pain again." Yaxiu stared blankly at Weixi. He had imagined many reasons for her pursuit of power—ruling the world, immortality, reaching the pinnacle of sorcery... But he had never imagined her reason would be so simple and childish that it almost made him want to laugh. She was afraid of death. Not just of dying herself—she was afraid of the things she cared about dying. Therefore, everything had to give way to power. She was rational to a monstrous degree. She knew that as long as she had not become supreme, anything she cared about, anything she loved, would fade away. Since everything was doomed to perish anyway, it might as well serve as her bargaining chips. Whether friendship, love, family, dignity, or morality—as long as it could be traded for power, she would sacrifice it upon the altar without hesitation. Only when she reached the end of her pursuit of power, only when she ascended the Supreme Throne, could she truly come alive. Perhaps she understood the beauty of fireworks, but a fleeting moment of beauty could no longer satisfy her. She would rather miss out on every joy than endure the grief of loss. Beneath the ruthless, selfish spectre lay a prophet who saw through the ways of the world. "...Why me?" Yaxiu asked the final question. "Because you were once my master, because you spoke rudely to me, because you saved me, because you never gave up on me..." Weixi stroked the chain. "There are countless reasons, but what matters has never been reasons—it's my whim. "Since my rebirth," she arched her brow, her gaze growing bright and luminous, "you are the first person I hoped wouldn't die." Yaxiu blinked, not entirely believing her. Could Weixi actually control the subconscious in the depths of her soul? Seeing his reaction, Weixi didn't get angry. She said, "The reason you refused to fall for me before was that I wouldn't surrender my heart to you, wasn't it?" "It's not just that..." "Then now I give my heart to you, and you must give your heart to me." Yaxiu was taken aback. Give it? How? He saw Weixi reach over and thought she was about to rip his heart out, but her fingers merely brushed gently across his chest, and she took his hand, guiding it along the curve of her cleavage toward her heart. *Wait, no, I came to help you summon your god, not to...* Yet as the chain pulled on his collar, Yaxiu had no way to resist at all. Like a favored concubine pandering to a tyrant, he could only lie in Weixi's embrace upon the throne. "Now, I am the master."