"Your Ladyship Weixi, you are an experienced and knowledgeable Soul Demigod."
Daedalose asked, "Have you ever seen a similar case before?"
Weixi pondered for a moment, her expression shifting subtly. "If I had to say, I once heard of a curious legend. If we apply Yaxiu's situation to it... then what Yaxiu has been recounting might just be the story he chooses to believe."
"Let me organize the life experiences that you and he have described..."
Weixi held up a finger. "In his story, he had two very important companions. One was the mind sorcerer Igola, astute in reading human nature and full of cunning schemes, whose motto was 'Feed their desires, fulfill their needs.' The other was the necromancer Harvey, indifferent to life yet obsessed with death and fascinated by corpses, whose motto was 'Though this body is cold flowing fire, it still longs for the moment it burns away.'
"In their many adventures, Yaxiu was often responsible only for the parts that required courage, kindness, and sacrifice. Scheming against others and playing with conspiracies was always Igola's job. And when it came to handling corpses or facing death, Harvey would often lecture him with bizarre logic about how death was merely the natural course of life.
"When he first entered Shattered Lake Prison, lost and ignorant, it was the treacherous and sly Igola who showed him the perils of the prison. When he witnessed the brutal reality of the Blood Moon Trial, it was Harvey, accustomed to death, who made him let go of fear.
"It was Igola who devised the despicable escape plan; it was Harvey who seized control of Shattered Lake Prison to satisfy the execution conditions of the mayor. Yaxiu was merely an executor who wanted nothing more than to survive.
"When they reached the Gospel Country and were controlled by Annan, Igola believed they could bargain with her, while Harvey was bent on revenge. As for Lisi, both 'Aunt Bogin' and 'Uncle Harvey' terrified her. But 'Aunt Bogin' frightened her psychologically, making her afraid to lie, whereas 'Uncle Harvey' terrified her physically, keeping her from throwing tantrums.
"Yaxiu's role alone was to dote on Lisi, cherishing her as family and as a precious treasure, never letting her suffer the slightest grievance."
Weixi paused and looked at Diya, whose eyes were filled with panic. "But Witch, did Yaxiu really never discipline you?"
Diya's lips trembled, but not a single word came out. She instinctively burrowed into Sonia's embrace.
"Senluo gets even more interesting. Yaxiu had no choice but to cooperate with Mercury Trojan, pursuing Silver Lantern all the way across the land." Weixi looked toward Weise. "You were both Sanctuary sorcerers by then. Every clash was enough to lay waste to a town. Surely the casualties and devastation weren't negligible?"
Weise closed her eyes, seemingly reluctant to answer. But after a brief silence, she let out a breath, opened her eyes, and nodded. "Yes."
"The one drafting the ambush plans was still Igola. The one handling and putting corpses to use was still Harvey," Weixi said. "In Yaxiu's story, he was only responsible for fighting Silver Lantern to the death. Nothing else had anything to do with him.
"And we all know how Senluo ended. The entire world was ruined, millions perishing in the apocalypse."
Weixi pointed to herself. "To me, of course, such things aren't worth mentioning—how many died in Senluo was none of my concern. But Yaxiu watched Silver Lantern become a god with his own eyes. He watched helplessly as all his efforts failed to save that world. For a normal person, their spirit should have turned to ashes right then. And yet...
"When he arrived in the Star Country, the very first thing he wanted was to see Sword Princess and go on a date with her.
"Naturally, he explained it himself: Igola gave him psychological counseling, so he was able to maintain his mental stability and not be crushed by that overwhelming guilt. If I'm not mistaken, Harvey's perspective on death also helped him immensely, allowing him to accept death as an outcome. He could even hum Harvey's elegy—"
"That elegy," Weise suddenly interjected, "is a hymn handed down in Senluo's Calamitous Fire Sanctuary."
"'Feed their desires, fulfill their needs'..." Diya's voice shook as well. "That's the family motto of the Berdettes in Gospel."
Weixi smiled. "It seems you've already grasped what's so fascinating about this story.
"Earlier, when Yaxiu was trying so hard to prove to us that Igola and Harvey existed, the phrase he repeated most was: 'If not for them, I never would have made it.'
"Yes, without them, Yaxiu truly wouldn't have held out. And so, in Yaxiu's story, Igola and Harvey had to exist.
"That is the story he chose to believe."
Weixi raised a second finger. "And in the second story—the one we know—those two people never existed. Yaxiu did everything himself.
"He adapted to Shattered Lake Prison on his own. He bore the weight of the Blood Moon Trial on his own, conceiving an earth-shattering prison break.
"His feelings toward Annan were deeply conflicted: he wanted to compromise to secure benefits, yet his resentment kept him from yielding. He disciplined Lisi strictly, while also doting on her unconditionally.
"He chased Silver Lantern across half of Senluo, only to watch the person he loved and the world he sought to save plunge into darkness.
"He was locked inside the Cage of All Stars to fight in the Angel Hunt, and in the end, he still couldn't save anything.
"It was a long, despairing journey. From beginning to end, he was tossed about, battered by fate and driven by survival. He couldn't go on being bright, sunny, and confident. He had to learn to be cunning and treacherous; he had to learn to accept death. And so... from scattered memories, he pieced together two companions: Igola the Deceiver and Harvey the Necromancer.
"Igola was him. Harvey was him.
"'Feed their desires, fulfill their needs' was him. 'Yearning for the moment to burn away' was him. The one conducting psychological counseling on himself was him, and the one singing the elegy was him.
"In his own sorcerer's handbook, he added two supporting characters who never existed. Only in this way could he protect the very last sliver of softness in his heart.
"That is the true story."
Long after Weixi finished speaking, silence still hung over the bath. Though soaked in the steaming warmth of the spring, everyone's heart grew colder by the second, as if their blood were freezing solid.
"But why now?" Weise suddenly asked. "He never showed any symptoms like this before."
"Probably the Heaven Trials," Weixi conjectured. "Bearing the weight of the Heavens might have left an indelible impact on his soul... Wait, there's another possibility.
"He is now the feeler of the Fifth Pillar God, Rose, the Princess of Brilliant Fireflies!"
The girls froze, their expressions shifting drastically!
Weise immediately looked at Daedalose. "Mercury Trojan once told me that the connection between a feeler and the Four Pillar Gods isn't one-way. The Four Pillar Gods can perceive a corner of the world through the feeler, but the feeler can also perceive different dimensions through the Four Pillar Gods!"
"That is indeed true," Daedalose replied placidly.
Sonia said, "So, could it be that Yaxiu originally just had a tendency toward this? After all, normal people might imagine a nonexistent friend playing with them—"
"Normal people don't do that, do they?" Weise said.
"Yes, they do!" Sonia and Diya chorused in unison.
Sonia continued, "In short, it was the combined effect of being a feeler and undergoing the Heaven Trials that completely scrambled his memories, making him mistakenly believe Igola and Harvey truly existed!"
"It's all a conspiracy of the Four Pillar Gods... no, the Five Pillar Gods!" Diya clenched her fists, glaring fiercely at Daedalose.
Daedalose shook her head helplessly. "Setting aside the fact that I know nothing about this, even if what you say were true, what benefit would the Five Pillar Gods gain from it?"
"You want us to distance ourselves from Yaxiu! Once Yaxiu is left all alone with no one to rely on, the Princess of Brilliant Fireflies can claim him all for herself!" Diya fumed, puffing out her cheeks. "How vicious!"
"And have you distanced yourselves from the Observer?"
"...That's because we're clever and didn't fall for your scheme!"
Even Diya herself felt the suspicion was rather flimsy, however. If they merely wanted to seduce Yaxiu, there was hardly any need to make things so convoluted.
Weixi pushed herself up with both hands, emerging from the pool like a fresh lotus blooming from the water. Steaming droplets cascaded down the curves of her skin, casting a dazzling sheen. Drawing a bath towel around herself, she unfastened her tied-up hair. "Though it sounds severe, the root cause is probably that Yaxiu couldn't find anyone to rely on and had to tough it out entirely on his own. As long as he finds a sense of security, this memory confusion will likely cure itself without medicine."
*That, at least, should be easy,* everyone thought.
Hearing the rustle of clothes from the other side, the women brought their bath to an end. Even though this unexpected trouble had cropped up, if it was indeed just psychological trauma brought on by excessive pressure, resolving it wouldn't be difficult at all—they were quasi-demigod sorcerers, after all!
If anything, learning that Yaxiu had been under so much crushing pressure stirred not only shame in their hearts, but an ache of tender affection.
Thus, the next matter became all the more important.
When they returned to camp, they found Yaxiu sitting on a wooden chair, gazing up at the starry sky in a daze. Sonia and the others promptly claimed the remaining chairs. Felix, having no seat, didn't leave either, standing to one side to watch—she too was curious about what would unfold next.
"Lord Observer," Daedalose said, glancing at the girls whose damp hair still gave off wisps of steam. The corners of her lips curved up in an amused smile. "Isn't it time to retire for the night?"
Chapter 1021