A Tragic Marriage

In the end, they would have to leave Dark Senluo. Although Yaxiu had destroyed the permanent spatial gate the very moment he arrived in Senluo, with the thousand-year foundations of the five countries, how hard could it be to build another spatial gate leading here? Staying in Senluo would only mean waiting around for death, like a Lalafell burying its head in a hole and thinking it had hidden itself away. What was more, Yaxiu was on the verge of collecting all traces of Igola and Harvey left in Senluo. If he wanted to continue exploring Hell, he had to head to the Gospel Country and the Blood Moon Country, traveling backward through time along the path of his past journeys. Yaxiu did not dare stop. The apocalyptic crisis of the World-Devouring Serpent, the ravenous gazes of the Doomsday Five, the covetous designs of the Divine Lord of Stars... How could he dare stop? He was no longer alone. In this storm-tossed world, he had to walk ahead to shield the others from the wind and rain. And so, he could not bear to watch Silver Lantern stand alone in the rain. "I promised I would come back for you," Yaxiu said. "I won't leave you alone in this dark world." "But aren't I already able to stay by your side all the time?" Weise chuckled. "No matter where you go, even to the ends of the earth, I will follow you to the edge of the world. Your bedsheets will always have silver light to keep you company." "Youlan Weise." Yaxiu rarely addressed Weise by her full name. In a solemn tone, he said, "You know what I mean... Your true body, the Silver Lantern god, has been supporting this broken world from beginning to end. I don't know if a god feels things like fatigue or pain, but I remember clearly that when I told you in the Dream Treasury that I would take you back, you smiled and agreed." "You don't want to stay in this world either. You want to come with me." The atmosphere felt like a medieval romance—a young couple agreeing to elope, the promised hero returning for the heroine, only for her to backtrack and refuse to leave, staging a bittersweet drama of agonizing devotion... Except the scene was nowhere near as innocent. After two solid months of intense special training, even a fool would have figured out effective tactics for dealing with his lovers, not to mention that Yaxiu possessed a modest knack for this very craft. Right now, he held Silver Lantern from behind, his hands caressing the god like a musician playing an instrument—fingers sinking into softness, strumming her pride—coupled with gentle murmurs in her ear as he tried to bewitch the god's resolve with pillow talk. Weise's breathing grew shallow and quick, her voice turning all the more languid, yet she still refused to yield: "Back then, it was because I could only remain in this world and had no way to descend to your side. But now you can already hold me in your arms. What difference does it make whether my true body is in your Kingdom of Heaven of the soul or in Dark Senluo?" "And did you forget, Yaxiu? I am a god born in defiance of the laws of the Void Realm, an erroneous existence not permitted by this version of the world. Only in Senluo can I exist. Once I leave—" "If you were exposed to the eyes of the Void Realm, perhaps you really would be eradicated by it," Yaxiu said. "But what if you hide inside my soul's Kingdom of Heaven?" Weise paused, turning her head to look at Yaxiu. "I believed that explanation at first, too, until Dead Frenzy told me about a restriction on unique wonders," Yaxiu said. "A unique wonder can only develop into a secret realm in a public world. Once brought into a sorcerer's sorcery divine palace, the unique wonder's evolutionary process halts, and it loses any chance to metamorphose into a secret realm." "The moment I heard about this property, I thought of you. A unique wonder can only evolve in a public world, and inside a sorcery divine palace it loses the nurturing of the Void Realm. That proves a sorcery divine palace isolates the influence of the Void Realm. As long as you hide inside my soul's Kingdom of Heaven, the Void Realm won't be able to detect your existence at all." "If the Grand Sorcery gods could only operate in the Country of Senluo with such a glaring flaw, the Senluo Azure Lord would never have maintained that cultivation mechanism. Therefore, gods like White Dove, Fire Cat, and Blue Bird had to be capable of existing normally within a Kingdom of Heaven—otherwise, how could they have caused the Senluo Azure Lord to be gravely wounded and fall?" "You're so clever, Yaxiu." Weise draped her arms around Yaxiu's neck, smiling radiantly. Yaxiu asked, "So, did you genuinely not know, or did you deliberately keep it from me?" "Deliberately kept it from you, of course." Weise made no attempt to hide it. "My goal was to dispel any thought of taking me away." "If you're hiding something dangerous you intend to do from me..." Yaxiu looked at her and said seriously, "I definitely won't let you stay here." "It's not really dangerous..." Weise said. "I believe I mentioned before that this broken Country of Senluo is itself the inheritance of the Senluo Azure Lord. If I can silverize Senluo and rekindle life on this land, not only can I take this world into my grasp, but I can even obtain the legacy of the Senluo Azure Lord. Although I don't know whether it can help me walk further along the path of gods, it's already my best option right now." "If I leave with you, I might be stuck as your five-winged god for the rest of my life," Weise said pitifully. "You have no idea how much Weixi looks down on me. She always thinks I'm just a wanton lantern who lacks all ambition and only craves your affection every day... You don't want me to be looked down on by her, do you?" Yaxiu started to speak, then stopped. It wasn't that he doubted Weixi would think that way; rather, he felt it was rather hard to refute... "Even you think so, don't you?" Weise lightly bit her lower lip, reached out to pinch his cheek, and smiled sweetly. "But I haven't abandoned ambition at all! I promised you that I would become your six-winged god, seven-winged god, or even higher!" "Isn't that a good thing, though?" Yaxiu asked curiously. "Why did you think I wouldn't agree?" Weise looked at him, her lips trembling slightly. She suddenly leaned in to kiss him, but Yaxiu turned his head aside and dodged. "Why does every one of you think this trick works on me?" Yaxiu said, amused. "This happens to be my own specialty." "I just suddenly felt like giving you a kiss, and you actually dodged. Hmph, I'm ignoring you." "Out with it," Yaxiu said. "Otherwise, I'll just abduct your true body directly." "...You'll understand when you see my true body." "Is your true body even prettier than you are now?" "More than that—it's even nicer to hold." Weise let out a soft laugh and took a deep breath. "To silverize this world faster, I... voluntarily let the apocalypse permeate me." "So my true body isn't prettier than I am right now; in fact, it might even look a bit dirty." She blinked. "When you see it, you're not allowed to be repulsed by me." Yaxiu was taken aback. Saying nothing, he simply tightened his embrace around Weise. "Does it hurt?" "It gets a bit cold... like the chill of death, so cold it feels as though I might even forget who I am," Weise said softly. "But staying in your arms, it isn't cold anymore." "Yaxiu, I won't leave with you all. Sooner or later, you will walk farther and climb higher. If I remain merely a five-winged god, I won't even have the right to stand beside you. Senluo was the end of my life, but it's also where I was reborn." "In the past, you were the one who looked up to me, but now I look up to you. I want to walk with you to the pinnacle and take in the scenery that only we can see." "How can I help you?" Yaxiu asked. Weise gazed at him, her eyes sparkling with laughter. She cupped his face with her hands and leaned in for a kiss. This time, Yaxiu didn't dodge. The two pecked at each other a few times before slowly easing into a deep, lingering duel of lips. Silver Lantern gave a gentle wave of her hand, and a curtain of silver light spread beneath them, transforming into a soft bed that supported the two as they lay down. Yaxiu embraced the bespectacled god, continuing his performance with his hands as he asked, "When I was chatting with Dead Frenzy, she mentioned that the Observer was once married. Guess who he married?" "With the Mirror Demon, right?" Weise lay in his arms, a soft peach blush dusting her cheeks as she answered lazily. "If he had married anyone else, you wouldn't be bringing it up to me." "Though I'd guess their marriage was definitely a tragedy, wasn't it?" Yaxiu blinked and nodded. "Dead Frenzy said they divorced a long time ago, but later on they were forced to remain entangled with each other, though in the end it seems they never got back together... Why did you guess that?" "I don't know how big the difference in personality is between me and the Mirror Demon, or between you and the Observer. But I know that if you and I were to marry, it would inevitably end with you growing sick of me," Weise said with her eyes closed. "Among everyone in our group, even including Felix and Daedalose, I am the one least suited to be your wife."