Smoke

Stepping out of the bath, Felix walked across the pristine, non-slip tiles and slid open the glass door back into the dry area. After toweling herself dry with a plush bath towel, she stepped into a pair of cotton cheekini briefs and slipped directly into a loose white button-down shirt, its hem long enough to cover her underwear. First, she used her sanctuary to filter every visible water droplet from her long hair, then ran the hair dryer over it for a few dozen seconds until it was nearly dry. Sitting down before the vanity mirror, she slipped on a red butterfly headband to keep her bangs from falling into her face and spent a little while applying body lotion and a full skincare regimen—she didn't possess a demigod soul body, after all, and still had to look after her physical form with care. After leaving the bathroom, Felix headed to the kitchen first. Finding coffee milk in the refrigerator, she grabbed a can to drink. But when she reached the living room, she found Daedalose, the Witch, Silver Lantern, and Vichy all gathered there—everyone except Yaxiu and the Sword Princess. Vaguely sensing that something had gone wrong, she chose a seat beside the maid, Vichy. Diya was wearing bear pajamas, the bear-eared hood pulled up over her head. Looking anxiously at Silver Lantern, she asked, "Well? Were there any anomalies in the data?" "None." Weise shook her head, the silver radiance in her eyes gradually subsiding. "Although her emotional fluctuations today were larger than over the past few days, they remained within a reasonable range and never exceeded normal limits." "No changes in her soul, either." Vichy rested her chin on her hand, still dressed in her maid uniform even after bathing. "Unless it somehow evaded both my gaze and the Soul Lock, her soul hasn't suffered any external interference, nor has it undergone any spontaneous pathology." "Still, the Sword Princess was definitely not normal today!" Diya summoned the Gospel Book, hurriedly reviewing every action Sonia had taken since returning. "She almost hit you! Not that you didn't deserve it... but this is the first time I've ever seen her on the verge of losing control of her emotions!" When dealing with the Witch or Silver Lantern, it was understandable if the Sword Princess chose forbearance or even forgiveness; they had faced life and death together, after all. But Vichy had known the Sword Princess for barely a week. The Sword Princess had zero reason to show Vichy any consideration, let alone bottle up her displeasure toward her. Yet the Sword Princess had actually struggled to keep her temper in check. That was abnormal! As companions who had fought side by side with her, the Witch and Silver Lantern knew full well that the Sword Princess was someone brimming with emotion—quick to joy, quick to sorrow, and never boring for a single second. Yet the higher her emotions ran, the calmer her mind became and the sharper her thoughts grew. That was precisely why her combat prowess surpassed all the other operators, making her a battle prodigy born for clashes of cold steel! Although the Witch was equally emotional, she easily lost control of herself, and before she knew it, her hair color would turn murky; Silver Lantern had always been the emotionally detached sort, able to force herself to prioritize the broader situation even upon reuniting with Yaxiu in the Cage of All Stars; As for Vichy, she might hold an edge over the Sword Princess in battles below the demigod level, but if they ever attained the realm of divine masters in the future, even the millennium of combat experience accumulated by the Spectre Prophet would have to bow before the Sword Princess's battle talent. Emotion had never been an obstacle for the Sword Princess; rather, it was the ladder of her progress. So when Diya and Weise heard that the Sword Princess had nearly slapped Vichy across the face, even as they secretly felt a twinge of regret that she hadn't, they realized how serious the situation was. It wasn't that striking someone was out of the question—they had fought a chaotic free-for-all brawl back in the Kingdom of Dreams, after all. But this sort of sneak attack, driven almost purely by a desire to vent anger, served no purpose whatsoever. It wouldn't intimidate Vichy, and it risked inviting Yaxiu's displeasure. The Sword Princess had no reason not to realize that. The Sword Princess naturally wanted to win, but what she sought was absolute, flawless victory—crushing everyone else like dry weeds, reducing the Witch and the rest to cannon fodder, and capturing Yaxiu's heart completely. As for using violence to eliminate every other option and force Yaxiu to choose only her... Sonia might have entertained the thought, but she knew she neither could nor should do such a thing. Even if she truly intended to fight, she should have openly and honorably declared war on Vichy, beating her until her confidence shattered and she retreated. A spiteful ambush like this offered nothing beyond a fleeting moment of catharsis; worse, infighting among the team would ignite Yaxiu's negative emotions and jeopardize their bond... like a child throwing a tantrum for cake, only to yank the tablecloth off and end up with nothing to eat at all. Hearing this much, Felix pieced together what had happened. She glanced at Vichy, feeling relieved only after confirming there were no visible injuries, and muttered under her breath, "Shouldn't the one getting beaten be Yaxiu...?" The group snapped their eyes toward her at once. Vichy casually gave her bottom a swat and said lazily, "Don't speak truths that undermine team unity." Realizing she had misspoke, Felix lowered her head, while Weise shot Vichy a displeased glare. Naturally, none of them thought Yaxiu was at fault—if Yaxiu were in the wrong, wouldn't that make their love wrong as well? Any spark between Yaxiu and Vichy, however, was fundamentally unacceptable. On that point, they were firmly on the Sword Princess's side. "So is this a 'personality drift'?" Daedalose asked suddenly. "Is the Sword Seat beginning to drift toward Dead Frenzy, causing her personality to change along with it?" The trio of the Witch, Silver Lantern, and Vichy exchanged glances and shook their heads one by one. They had initially suspected the same thing, but data analysis showed that Sonia's actions still aligned with her established personality profile. Which meant... Their expressions varied. Vichy furrowed her brows; the Witch seemed somewhat grieved yet faintly relieved; and most overt of all was Silver Lantern—she could barely suppress the cruel little smirk curling at the corner of her lips. "Based on the current situation, we cannot conclude this is the effect of personality drift," Weise said, lifting her wineglass. "If this were personality drift, it would mean Dead Frenzy and the Sword Princess share nearly identical personalities. Not merely that they are alike, but that the Sword Princess naturally developing along her course would inevitably become Dead Frenzy—their personalities stem from the exact same continuum. That is why we find no trace of external interference." "And if it isn't personality drift..." Her voice fell to a near-whisper, as though afraid of shattering some fragile secret, "...then the Sword Princess is truly losing control of her emotions." The single most important reason this team of demigods had held together until now was that they could all rein in their emotions. Not just the Sword Princess—did the Witch not wish to whisk Yaxiu off back to her homeland? Did Silver Lantern not wish to treat everyone to a magic trick where Yaxiu vanished into thin air? Of course they did. But they could all suppress their urges. Every single one of them was waiting. Waiting for someone to start the war. Waiting for someone who could no longer endure. Waiting for someone to walk away of her own accord. "It makes no sense..." Diya still harbored genuine affection for the Sword Princess, and her spirits sank as she spoke. "Yaxiu just took her on a date today. It should have been such a happy day for her, so why so suddenly...? Did something happen during the date?" The group exchanged looks, then turned their eyes toward the sole third party who had attended the date. Felix flinched, shrinking close to Vichy like a small animal trying to hide behind the maid. Vichy stroked Felix's head, cast a fleeting glance at the Witch and Silver Lantern, and said faintly, "Aside from something going wrong on the date, perhaps after returning home all happy, our dear Sword Princess discovered the 'surprises' her lovely sisters had prepared for her?" Diya promptly whipped her head away, pretending not to hear. Weise looked at Vichy and suddenly asked, "Speaking of which, why was the Sword Princess so furious she wanted to slap you?" Vichy's brows twitched violently. Diya flipped through the Gospel Book. "Let me check the footage from the scene..." *Smack!* Vichy slammed her hand down hard on the glass coffee table, asking with utter seriousness, "So... what do you think is going to happen next?" "That isn't for us to decide," Weise said. "Nor is it even for the Sword Princess to decide." "It all comes down to what Yaxiu chooses." Up on the rooftop terrace, Yaxiu took away the extinguished cigarette from Sonia's mouth. But in the next second, Sonia seized his wrist in an iron grip, holding fast like a shackle. Sonia drew his hand before her, gazing at the faint red scorch mark on his palm, and extended her tongue to lightly lick it. Moist saliva warmed the burn, and the gentle tip of her tongue soothed the pain. In truth, the matters concerning the Witch, Silver Lantern, and Vichy weren't that catastrophic in her heart—at least no worse than anything else. After all, each of them had engaged in the most intimate, lingering entanglements with Yaxiu. Even if the memories of those dreams had vanished, the sensations still lingered upon their skin. If Sonia had truly wanted to throw a fit, the Continent of Stars would have had its terrain reshaped by their warfare long ago. Of course, that didn't mean Sonia wasn't angry. She had indeed seriously considered whether she should lower her baseline and grow accustomed to sharing her beloved. After all, aside from perfect love, she had already received so much—far too much—from Yaxiu. A year ago, she had been a mere female college student who wasn't even a sorcerer, spending every day pondering how to marry into wealth and climb the social ladder. Now, she was a demigod sorceress possessing a heavenly divine palace. If Yaxiu became the supreme authority of sorcery in the future, she would at least be a six-winged divine master. If she were to travel back one year and tell her past self that she might become a six-winged divine master, the Sonia of old would surely have looked at her like she was an idiot. As for the possibility of Yaxiu being defeated by All Stars, Sonia hadn't entertained it for a single moment. No one believed in Yaxiu more than she did... From the Knowledge Sea to this very day, she had stood by his side, witnessing step by step how he conquered every hardship and grew. If Yaxiu couldn't become the supreme authority of sorcery, then the world truly had to be heading for destruction. So only two outcomes remained: If the world was destroyed, she should seize the day and revel in happiness with Yaxiu for as long as possible. If Yaxiu became the supreme of sorcery, she would stand second to none but him, elevated above all living beings. Compared to such power and status, was a flawless romance truly so important? She knew Yaxiu favored her above all others, and she had her ways of controlling him. The only sacrifice she had to make was accepting that she wasn't Yaxiu's only one—accepting that she wasn't the sole string holding onto the balloon that was Yaxiu, accepting that she was merely one of his lovers. She couldn't do it. Because she truly, genuinely loved him. The Paw-Extending Sword Saint was just that insatiable, just that impossible to satisfy, just that unreasonable. Clearly she had already received so much, yet she still demanded the very best, the absolute perfection. She had no intention of sharing Yaxiu with those little vixens... He was hers! If she gave Yaxiu one hundred percent of her love, then Yaxiu had to return one thousand percent! Was a demigod enough? Was a divine master enough?... It would never be enough! That was why, every single time, without exception, she grew furious. Felix, Diya, Weise, Vichy... She felt wronged to the point of bursting, yet the one who made her feel so wronged was none other than the person she loved most. Yet she still had to swallow her grievances, terrified that she would lose control of her emotions. Even though, sooner or later, every iceberg would collapse and every cage would break open; even though the demons stewing in rancor for countless years would summon an earth-shattering tsunami, dragging countless beautiful things down into despair and decay... she still wished she could be the perfect lover for just one more day. She wished to stretch their time in love a little longer, to delay the arrival of the days when they would torment one another, and to stave off the moment this dream bubble burst. Not until the red mark on his palm faded did Sonia ask, "Does it still hurt?" "It doesn't," Yaxiu shook his head. "Not at all." He looked at the cigarette in his hand, then suddenly placed it between his own lips and leaned closer to Sonia. "Got a light?" Sonia blinked. A small flame sprouted from her fingertip to light it for him. Yaxiu took a deep drag, immediately coughed twice as he choked on the smoke, and muttered, "So harsh." The Paw-Extending Sword Saint burst into a giggle. "You looked so practiced, I thought you actually knew how to smoke." "It's not exactly a skill to be proud of..." Yaxiu muttered, extending his hand toward her. Sonia drew the cigarette case from her coat and handed it to him. Yaxiu opened it and inspected inside. "This was your first cigarette? You never smoked before?" "Mhm." "Did you take a puff just now?" "I was just about to try when you crushed it out," Sonia said. "Snuffing it out with your palm was so bizarre. Even if you have a soul body, it's not like you can't feel pain." "It's fine." Yaxiu watched the wisp of white smoke rising from the tip. "I had it coming." Sonia was taken aback. She watched Yaxiu take two more drags, relying on the robust physical constitution of a demigod to finally, grudgingly adapt to the flavor of the Starry tobacco. He turned the cigarette case in his hands and passed it back to his lover. "I thought you didn't like me smoking..." Sonia took the case. Just as she was about to pull one out, Yaxiu stopped her. He lifted Sonia's chin, leaned in close, and sniffed her lips, asking suspiciously, "Why do I feel like you already smell a bit like smoke?" "Maybe it's perfume." Sonia tilted her head. "I told you, I haven't tried it yet." Yaxiu asked, "Do you want to try it, then?" Sonia hesitated for a moment, then nodded. She had actually been curious about what smoking felt like for a long time. But because Daedalose never smoked in any of her films, and had even played a heroine who despised smoking, Sonia—who had been a young girl back then—naturally conflated the character's actions with the actress herself, coming to believe that successful, beautiful young women never touched tobacco. As a side note, Daedalose had once played a heroine who enjoyed drinking, which was why Sonia had gone drinking with her roommates at the Secret Garden in the past. "Stick your tongue out, then," Yaxiu said. Sonia looked somewhat bewildered, but obediently stuck out her tongue, small, pink, and utterly adorable. Yaxiu glanced toward Jialesi, cloaked in wind and snow. Taking a deep drag of the cigarette without exhaling the smoke, he reached out, wrapped an arm around Sonia's waist, and leaned down to kiss her.