Who Is She?

Watching their playful bickering, Sonia raised her glass to Ingrid. "Congratulations on stepping into the world of sorcerers." "My honor." Ingrid clinked glasses with her, took a sip, and admitted, "To be honest, I'm a little scared." "Scared of what?" "Scared of exploring the Void Realm alone," Ingrid said. "The books all say that when sorcerers first enter the Void Realm, the unfamiliar environment, ubiquitous dangers, and complete lack of anyone to talk to throw them into a self-tormenting panic. "Being stranded alone in the ocean with no one to rely on, no goal to pursue, ferocious knowledge creatures that could leap from the white mist at any moment, and unplumbable secrets lurking in the deep sea... Just thinking about it terrifies me. "They say some sorcerers simply can't bear the fear, preferring to stagnate forever rather than enter the Void Realm. "Despite how I seem, I really don't have much experience living on my own. Other than killing a brown bear that wandered into our yard while I was house-sitting at sixteen, I don't have any noteworthy feats to my name. I'll probably take quite a while to get used to the pace of combat in the Void Realm." Ingrid looked at Sonia. "Speaking of which, Sonia, you seem completely unaffected. You head into the Void Realm eagerly every single night, and you're in great spirits every day." Adele muttered under her breath, "I get the feeling Ingrid just casually inflated the average combat power of sixteen-year-old girls..." "If people hadn't spotted you walking out of the Meditation Building, Sonia, we would have thought you were out on dates," Lois chimed in. "Do you have any secrets to share?" Ingrid blinked. "Or perhaps Lady Sonia could offer some advice to a newcomer about to enter the Void Realm?" Lois and Adele pricked up their ears as well, hoping Sonia might truly produce some unwritten cheat code that they could use. Sonia froze slightly, suddenly falling into a prolonged silence. Ingrid exchanged glances with the others and said cautiously, "Sonia, I was only joking..." "Ah, sorry." Sonia swirled her glass. "I just suddenly remembered something else... Well, the reason I adapted to the Void Realm so quickly is because..." Any casual lie would have done, or even a joke, like 'going to the Void Realm means not having to listen to Adele snore back in the dorm.' But perhaps due to the light buzz of the alcohol, or perhaps due to an indescribable resentment simmering in her heart, Sonia couldn't help speaking the truth: "...because I go to the Void Realm on dates." The girls blinked. Dating in the Void Realm? The village girl regretted it the second the words left her mouth. She tried to offer an explanation, but suddenly bolted to her feet. "What's wrong now?" "My..." Sonia clenched her fists. "My soul has healed." "What?" Lois quickly caught on. "You mean your soul has recovered? But it's only been seven days—" "What time is it?" Sonia blurted out, hurriedly cutting her off. Adele glanced at the clock in the hall. "10:45." "There's still time! Bye, I'm heading into the Void Realm!" Before the three could react, Sonia had already hurried out of the Secret Garden, so fast that one might suspect she was using a sorcery spirit. "Is the Void Realm really that much fun..." Adele was dumbfounded. "I wasn't even this excited for my first date at fifteen." "What did she mean by 'going on dates in the Void Realm'?" Lois asked, baffled. "A date takes at least two people. Who on earth is she going on dates with?" "I understand." "You understand again?" Lois and Adele turned to Ingrid, who wore an expression of total enlightenment. "Sonia means she has a date with Fishcleaver Dragons, mudfish dragons, and Umbrella Bird Dragons. In other words, she wants to tear through those knowledge creatures," Ingrid said in all seriousness. "What drives her to adapt to the Void Realm and keep pushing forward is the fearless, sword-drawing spirit deep in her heart! Truly worthy of Sword Flower University's top prodigy—her mental fortitude has already surpassed ordinary sword sorcerers!" Lois felt Ingrid's reasoning was completely off, but she couldn't offer a better explanation. After all, there was no way Sonia's words were literal, right? *** Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap-tap. Tap-tap. Tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap— At first she was walking briskly, but soon broke into a jog, and finally burst into a full sprint along the campus path. The nighttime campus scenery sped past on either side, stars in the sky guiding her way. Sonia paid no mind to appearances, running wild and free. The cool breeze stroked her face, while her shadow urged her to run even faster. Sometimes, walking really was just too slow. Her soul had recovered, so the Watcher's soul had surely recovered as well. Because they had died the same way in the Void Realm, the amount of soul damage they suffered was bound to be identical. Yesterday morning, while brushing her hair after getting out of bed, Sonia had discovered a potion on her desk that looked like sparkling water. Pressed beneath the bottle was a note reading *Pure Spiritual Light Special Drink*, which explained that this beverage could restore the soul and speed up sorcery power absorption. Sonia had known at a glance that the Watcher had sent it. While grumbling inside about why he wouldn't show his face, she had gulped it down. As for whether the Watcher had drunk the potion first and already recovered his soul, Sonia never considered the possibility. After all, the Watcher had no ability to enter the Void Realm on his own; restoring his soul alone would be meaningless without Sonia opening the Gate of Truth to explore the Void Realm. Moreover, she felt fierce confidence in one thing: if he found something good, the Watcher's first instinct would definitely be to give it to her, not hoard it for himself! So Sonia instead worried whether there had only been one bottle of Pure Spiritual Light Special Drink, and whether the Watcher's soul had yet to fully recover. On top of that, had he successfully escaped prison? What was his current situation? Did he have a safe place to enter the Void Realm in peace? Was he eating well? Was he hurt...? Why hadn't he come to see her? He used to bother her all the time... Could it be that his situation was truly so perilous that he couldn't spare even a moment to visit her? Regardless, she had to honor her promise. Even if the Watcher didn't come, she would wait for him in the Void Realm. Meanwhile, Felix, who felt the atmosphere at home was still inferior to that of the Meditation Building, chose to drive to the building tonight to clock in and get to work. Just as she stepped out of the car, she saw a redhead dashing into the Meditation Building at breakneck speed, leaving the noble young master staring in shock. *Hasn't her soul been damaged... She's a full-winged Silver; dying once should take at least half a month of recovery, and it hasn't even been seven days... Even if her soul has recovered, is there really any need to rush into the Void Realm like this?* However, Felix quickly recalled being beaten to a pulp by Sonia days ago, and a thought suddenly crossed her mind—could Sonia be rushing into the Void Realm just to tear through knowledge creatures? *With this temperament, she might even gain the appreciation of the Lord of Countless Radiance...* *Perhaps I should...* While Felix pondered whether to recommend the village girl within the sect, Sonia had already entered a meditation chamber and sat cross-legged, summoning her Wave Sword sorcery spirit, grasping the Gate of Truth, and connecting to the Void Realm! Descent! When Sonia opened her eyes, she felt solid earth beneath her feet. Surrounding her was a lush forest where plants exuded brilliant droplets of gold that flowed upward into the dazzling sky, turning into glistening curtains of rain and showering everyone fortunate enough to set foot on the Time Continent in an upward cascade of golden rain. Yet Sonia had no heart to admire the Time Continent's unique wonder. The red-haired Sword Princess locked her gaze entirely onto the man standing not far away, clad in a crimson gradient trench coat. The Watcher squinted slightly at her as well. The corners of that infuriating man's mouth curved up—the very man who hadn't looked for her in days—and he opened his arms as if to embrace her. Her lips parted, but no words came out. The doubts and grievances in her heart vanished completely. Involuntarily, her body moved toward him, and she reached out her hand toward the Watcher— —and clamped down on his throat. Sonia shot a sideways glance at Diya, the Black and White Witch whose beauty rivaled her own, and then fixed her gaze unwaveringly on Yaxiu. "Who is she?"