Warm sunlight poured through the skylight, draping over the intricately patterned carpet as dust danced like sprites within the beams of light.
Yaxiu lay on his side with his head resting on Rose's lap. Holding a glowing earpick, Rose was cleaning his ears with the meticulous caution of someone defusing a bomb. The faint rustling of the pick against his ear canal gave Yaxiu an inexplicable sense of bliss.
He truly enjoyed having Rose clean his ears. While the others were willing to do it as well, Weixi looked like the type who would puncture his eardrum and stir around inside; Niya was visibly unsuited for such delicate work; Feili would awkwardly imitate Weixi's teasing, which only left him restless and distracted; and while Harvey was surprisingly skilled, he made Yaxiu feel like an autopsy subject.
Only Rose and Igola could provide such a delightful experience. However, Igola never indulged him, merely handing him a cotton swab to fend for himself. In truth, Rose didn't indulge him either; she was only willing to provide her ear-cleaning service when Yaxiu genuinely needed it.
Rose wore a black pleated skirt paired with a shimmering pearl-and-gold waist chain. The textured polyester fabric felt pleasant against his cheek, and the gentle sunlight filling the villa left Yaxiu drifting into a light daze.
"I just saw someone wake up and immediately pull his girlfriend into a passionate, tangled kiss. I was thinking how wonderful it would be if the person I like did that too. But then I walked over, and Yaxiu, guess what I saw?"
Across the coffee table, Feili stared intently at Yaxiu with a face full of grievance, looking like a fierce little lamb ready to bite. Next to her, Niya wore a hooded jumpsuit zipped all the way to her neck. The hood covered her head, leaving only two strands of crimson hair peeking out. She was curled up on the sofa hugging her knees, watching a variety show on television like a prickly little hedgehog.
Igola sat in an armchair with his legs crossed, reading a book. He was mostly reading popular pulp novels; whenever Yaxiu grew bored and asked for some risqué occult literature, the deceiver was actually able to draw up an entire reading list. Harvey sat on the edge of a coffin, diligently trimming his "family member's" nails, entirely oblivious to the fact that his own nails were practically skeletal claws.
"...What did you see?"
"I saw that the person kissing his girlfriend was the exact person I like."
Pouting, Feili plucked a rose from a nearby vase and tore off its innocent petals, muttering dejectedly, "Yaxiu, how could you kiss your girlfriend behind my back!"
"I know you're upset, Feili, but don't rush," Rose said. "Haven't you noticed the logical flaw in your words?"
"Though that was likely the first substantial kiss between Yaxiu and the Sword Princess in reality," Igola remarked lazily, "chronologically speaking, Feili, you actually tasted Yaxiu earlier than the Sword Princess did."
Harvey looked up in mild confusion. "Yaxiu's first kiss?"
The dark-skinned curly-head spoke with the astonishment of someone hearing about a demigod-tier Lalafell.
"In reality, non-coerced, purely voluntary, free from any influencing factors... first kiss," Igola explained earnestly. "As long as you tack on enough qualifiers, anyone can hit a hundred percent achievement on Yaxiu."
"But Yaxiu initiated a wet kiss!" Feili said petulantly. "He and I were clearly both... both..."
"You were always the one pushing your tongue in, and sometimes after drinking, too," Niya chimed in flatly. "Which left a lingering taste of alcohol when he kissed me."
"Niya!" Feili hooked her arm around Niya's, whining, "Aren't we on the same side!?"
"Why would I be on your side?"
"Because we... we..."
Feili's voice grew so faint it was barely audible. She lowered her head, twiddling her fingers, her face flushed crimson. "We slept together..."
"If you feel embarrassed saying it, then don't! Besides, we were just crowded together resting!" Niya snapped back in annoyance, muttering bitterly under her breath, "I haven't even had a wet kiss yet..."
Watching this scene, Yaxiu felt briefly dazed.
This was their everyday life: gathering together and chatting endlessly about the sorcerer world and regional customs. Lately, though, Yaxiu's love life had become their primary topic of conversation. Feili wanted to advance their relationship but felt too shy to make direct hints; Niya stayed silent until she abruptly flared up; Igola delivered sharp, penetrating remarks; Harvey's occasional comments only deepened Yaxiu's mental anguish; and Rose handled logistics while pointing out logical flaws in everyone's speech.
Come to think of it, it was rather mundane. He had no idea how they managed to find so many endless topics to discuss, but nearly half a year had passed in this manner. Thus, Yaxiu believed that after saving All Stars, they would simply move to a new place and continue living this way, unchanged...
*Knock, knock!*
A violent pounding suddenly rattled the villa's front door. Rose set down the earpick and moved to answer it, but Yaxiu caught her by the shoulder.
"Let me go." Yaxiu wasn't sure why he felt so tense. "They're here for me. All of you stay put."
"Alright." Rose brushed his hand away and reminded him, "And next time, just speak. Physical contact falls outside an assistant's scope of duties."
Yaxiu looked at the rubber band hair tie around his wrist, briefly stunned.
Feili chuckled. "I still remember when Rose wanted to have a child with Yaxiu..."
"I simply wished to experience the process of nurturing life. Modern IVF technology is highly advanced and requires no intimate contact throughout," Rose said thoughtfully. "Speaking of which, now that the All Stars incident is over, I have ten months of safe time..."
"No!" Niya objected fiercely, saying at once, "You can't!"
"What about me?" Feili blinked and hugged Niya, asking, "Can I?"
Looking at the caring, adorable golden-haired beauty before her, Niya's lips twitched, but she shook her head vehemently. "You can't either! No one can!"
"Only you can?" Igola raised an eyebrow, asking with a smirk.
"I can't either..." Niya lowered her head, biting her lower lip tightly. Despite throwing a tantrum, she looked pitiful, as if she were the one being bullied. "I don't deserve it, and I wouldn't dare... but... but I still don't want..."
"I understand." Feili stroked her back gently, soothing her in a soft voice. "Even if you want him to be happy, if you can't be by his side, you can't help feeling unreconciled."
Yaxiu did not hear the end of their conversation. He pushed open the villa's heavy door and stepped outside.
A bitter gale howling at 350 kilometers per hour whipped through his hair. In an instant, he transitioned from the comfortable villa to the Canaan racing across a desolate wasteland. An endless meteor shower fell from the sky, and before him stood the most formidable enemies Yaxiu had ever encountered.
Gospel's legendary fist-and-claw sorcerer, Amilo.
Blood Moon's legendary necromancer, Tiramisu.
Paradise's legendary fire sorcerer, Curse Elf.
Abyss's legendary parasite sorcerer, the Nameless Youth.
They crowded into the train car's corridor, standing like silent tombstones beneath the dismal starlight.
Behind them, atop the train's roof, stood the demons.
Yinzhi, Lehuai, Longyuan, Yejian! Divine Master vessels, demon stand-ins!
"Need a hand?"
A scruffy, blond middle-aged man beside him asked. Though slovenly dressed, his facial structure made it clear he had been quite handsome in his youth. Cradling two swords in his arms, he seemed to have been waiting specifically for Yaxiu.
"No need."
Yaxiu drew his swords from their sheaths, the sharp hiss of steel tearing through the howling wind. Holding the twin blades in a reverse grip, he traced a grim cross that framed every enemy in his sights, then leaped into motion, unleashing a tempest of slaughter atop the speeding train!
*I was the one who chose to participate in the Angel Hunt... I was the one who proposed the plan to save All Stars... Therefore, your enemy should be me, must be me, can only be me!*
No one could breach the perimeter of Yaxiu's blades. His sword momentum was as ferocious as a gale, his blade tip as supple as fine rain. Before him, all were shattered. Those who deserved to die fell; only those meant to live would survive!
When everyone else was slain, the ones standing before him became the demons. Yet Yaxiu felt no fear, experiencing an innate sense of joy instead. He knew he was no match for the demons, but even if he died here, he was entirely willing. And so, he faced...
Suffocation.
Yinzhi's unarmed combat, Longyuan's dual axes, Lehuai's flaming arm blades, Yejian's Death God Walker. Even without deliberately ganging up on Yaxiu, the five of them tore into one another in a chaotic melee, and the dense, seamless barrage of fury rendered Yaxiu as fragile as crystal.
This was the battlefield of demons... an agony no mortal was meant to endure!
Yaxiu collapsed time and again, torn to pieces repeatedly. Dizziness overwhelmed him, and his soul throbbed with tearing pain. He stood back up quickly to continue fighting; while physical injuries could be mended, the wounds in his heart accumulated endlessly. No matter how much blood he shed, it could not wash away the agonizing ache; no matter how many bones shattered, they could not break through the suffocating grief.
He could only swing his swords selflessly, rising more viciously with each fall, growing stronger with every revival. Only in this way could he catch his breath amidst the drowning pain. He fought until his consciousness grew blurred, the light blades in his hands becoming as heavy as mountains and seas. Yet his body kept dancing, and one after another, the demons fell beneath his swords with looks of disbelief.
He had to defeat every enemy, slay every demon, because only by doing so could he, could he—
"Do you truly have the heart to strike?"
A blade was pressed against a fair, slender neck. Only the final demon remained atop the speeding train. Golden hair draped over her shoulders, and her eyes held the light of stars, gazing at Yaxiu with a look that blended tearful yearning with cold, detached condescension.
She was Feili, and she was... Stars.
Yaxiu released his grip on the hilts and looked back in dazed bewilderment.
The villa had long vanished. In the aisle, Niya dissolved like scattering petals; Rose, leaning back on the seat, precipitated out the Supreme Holy Grail as her soul was buried in the Void Realm; Igola and Harvey had also disappeared, leaving behind only an empty coffin cast off from the train.
Surrounded by starlight, the golden-haired girl looked at Yaxiu in tranquil silence. She needed to do nothing; her pride as a supreme of sorcery pierced through Yaxiu's soul like a banner.
He could swing his blade toward a supreme of sorcery, but he still could not salvage anything.
From the very beginning, he could not change the outcome.
Feili was the vessel of Stars, Niya was the shadow of All Stars, and Rose was the target the entire world sought to execute.
Yaxiu sat on the train roof, looking down at his bloodstained hands. He wiped at them desperately, yet they would not dry; instead, blood gushed forth in greater torrents until it submerged his body. Grief rushed into him like a howling gale, draining all strength from his limbs as though his bones had been stripped away, until even his heartbeat came to a resentful halt. He no longer wanted to move; even drowning here brought no complaint.
Those who wished to protect him could not protect themselves.
Those who wished to rely on him were swallowed by the apocalyptic torrent.
Those who wished to follow him were devoured like prey by the living.
Even those who had accompanied him all this time were now forgotten by the world.
Not every promise could be fulfilled; not every yearning could find a home. Promises and expectations were like saplings planted in a barren wasteland: because they had been sown with sincerity, when they withered, their tangled roots continued to twist beneath the soil, cracking the earth into countless scars until even the sky seemed on the verge of being torn.
After an unknown stretch of time, Yaxiu finally lowered his hands and spoke in a low voice: "Rose."
"When did you realize you were inside a yearning?"
Sitting by the pool, Rose wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. She was still dressed in that resplendent gown, her cheeks carrying a hint of baby fat and glitter dusted at the corners of her eyes, with only her bare feet dipped into the bath.
"The hair tie." Yaxiu raised his left hand. Around his wet wrist was a dry rubber band hair tie. "I gave this hair tie back to you long ago."
Chapter 1026