“Deep down, you don't want to leave the high tower, do you?”
A golden curtain hung from a towering dome. Translucent marble formed a flight of sixty-six steps, leading to a landing every ten steps. Each landing was paved with a different variety of jade, clearly tiered and overtly luxurious, using understated jade hues to accent the grand magnificence of the palace. At the very top and innermost reaches of this gargantuan palace chamber sat a soft bed shrouded in layers of curtains.
Though not a single soul was in the palace, every corner evoked the awe and majesty of hundreds of sorcerer-officials kneeling in homage upon entering the hall. When the wind swept through the hall into the chamber and lifted the curtains, the sunlight outside illuminated two silhouettes tangled like black and white serpents upon the bed.
The White Queen lay dazedly in the arms of the Black Witch. Hearing these words, she shook her head subconsciously. “How could I... not want to...”
“Of course you don't.” The Black Witch gently rubbed her temples. “We are the younger sisters born for the sake of escape, but that doesn't mean we actually want to escape. The high tower is our prison, yet it is also our home—our warmest... home.”
“White,” the Black Witch murmured, lowering her head so that her black strands spilled down to mingle with the White Queen's white hair. “You've had enough, haven't you?”
“Cellared wines, fluffy cakes, gorgeous dresses, a carefree life of leisure, and power right at your fingertips... You like fine things. You yearn for the authority to rule. You never wanted to leave the high tower in the first place; you wanted to follow the Witch's arrangements, embrace your responsibilities, and take hold of Gospel's destiny...”
“You've constantly wronged yourself, constantly suppressed yourself. You've never lived for yourself, not even for a single second.”
“But you aren't Diya's appendage. You are you.” A crimson madness welled in the Black Witch's eyes. “My dear White Queen, it's time to embrace your rebellious phase.”
“‘White Queen’ Lisdia—what a melodious name.”
“No... I can't...” A struggle showed on the White Queen's face. “Now isn't the time to indulge...”
“Why not? Hasn't the indulgence these past few days felt wonderful?” The Black Witch chuckled. “What are you waiting for? Waiting for safety? Waiting for an end? Or are you waiting for a miracle?”
The Black Witch's voice seemed possessed of an intoxicating magic, and her hands were coiled with electricity and fire. Everywhere she caressed, the White Queen's skin tingled warm and numb, so comfortable she felt as if she might melt into water.
This was how the White Queen had spent the past few days. Upon returning to reality, she would forget nearly all the specific details of the dreamscape, yet that bone-deep pleasure still lingered with residual warmth.
Before her consciousness sank completely, the White Queen lifted her hand slightly, and an oil painting descended along with the curtain. It was an illustration from a fairy tale: a princess falling from a high tower, caught by a knight below. But because the princess reached downward with open hands and the knight reached upward with spread arms, it looked as though the two were rushing toward one another—perilous, yet full of beauty.
This was a fairy tale.
Yet it wasn't any fairy tale they had heard in the high tower.
It was a fairy tale Diya had written herself.
Except for Lisi, every sister had heard Diya tell this fairy tale; it was the only gift Diya could prepare for them. Across countless days and nights in the high tower, they had added innumerable details to the story, but the one scene that never changed was this very image.
The White Queen didn't notice that the moment the Black Witch saw this painting, the smile on her face froze instantly. The crimson in her pupils receded like a tide, leaving behind only a turbid black.
“No one will come to save us.” Her voice lacked the slightest inflection, stating a fact with monotone detachment. “The high tower is merely a prison. The knights are all jailers. The Bronze Dragon is nothing more than an illusion. Only the princess truly jumped.”
“Miracles have already been absent on far too many occasions when we needed them. Why do you still harbor expectations for one?”
“The only thing we can believe in is ourselves.”
“No.” The White Queen shook her head vigorously. “I can still believe in you, believe in Red, and the other sisters...”
“You believe in them, but are they worthy of your trust?” the Black Witch coaxed persuasively. “Who has ever truly valued your opinion? Who has ever truly appreciated your care? You are neither Lisi nor Diya. They might need the Little Witch Lisi, they might need the Secret Princess Diya, but they will never need the White Queen Lisdia.”
“They only want to borrow your wisdom and poise, but they won't grant your desires. Even if you shelter them from wind and rain, once the skies clear, it will be time for you to leave the stage.”
“It's time to look out for yourself, White,” she said softly. “You don't want to live inside a mirror for the rest of your life either, do you?”
“No.”
Even with her mind woozy and heavy, the White Queen's response remained steadfast. “We aren't out of danger yet. This is precisely when we must work together as one; we absolutely cannot cause strife or conflict. Yes, I do yearn for court life, and I long to hold the reins of Gospel's authority, but... I am also the elder sister everyone trusts.”
“When Diya was at her most difficult, most agonizing, and loneliest, she summoned me, her elder sister.”
The White Queen raised a hand through the black strands, gently caressing the Black Witch's cheek. “So I must protect her. I must protect all of you.”
The Black Witch laughed in exasperation. “Just because you were born of Diya, you have to live for her your entire life? An elder sister in name, a slave in function, and a plaything in action?”
The White Queen's lips quivered, a flicker of struggle passing through her eyes, yet she still said, “I live for [Lisdia]. Black, we haven't even met our basic survival needs yet; we have no right to discuss each person's spiritual desires.”
“And who do you think brought about our current predicament? From beginning to end, the only one who truly wanted to run was Diya—only Diya! You didn't want to, I didn't care, Red—Red, Red, she—if Diya hadn't harbored that kind of wish, if she hadn't encountered the Bronze Dragon, we wouldn't have to live this precarious existence where every tomorrow is uncertain!”
“It was Diya's stubborn wilfulness that brought us low to this state! Why should we clean up after Diya's tyranny? Why should we sacrifice for Diya's desires... We are equals!”
The Black Witch practically roared the last sentence. The piercing fury of her voice jolted the White Queen awake quite a bit.
The White Queen sat up and sighed. “If Diya hadn't wanted to escape, we never would have existed at all. For that reason alone, even if it is hell, we must accompany Diya into it.”
“Do you think I wanted to be born? Do you think I longed to come into this world?” The Black Witch's pitch-black pupils looked as if stained with blood and ink, swirling black and crimson, stirring up sedimented silt gathered over countless years. “No one knows me! No one needs me! The mirror cannot convey my hoarse screams; it cannot reflect my love, hate, heart, and desires! As long as this mirror exists, none of us are truly alive—”
“I need you.”
Pure white wings enveloped the pitch-black demon. The White Queen held the Black Witch, whispering tenderly in her ear.
“How could no one need you? If I am the umbrella that protects everyone, then you are the umbrella's handle that supports me. No one understands your importance better than I do. There are so many things I find awkward to say aloud that you understand tacitly and say on my behalf...”
“You are just as important as I am, yet everyone respects me more. If I have grievances, yours can only be greater than mine. Your anger toward Diya, toward fate, and toward reality is completely justified. You did nothing wrong, yet from the day you were born, you had to bear those stifling, crushing shackles...”
The Black Witch struggled slightly. “Don't talk as if you understand everything—”
“I understand all of it. I can empathize with everything.” The White Queen stroked the Black Witch's bare back. “We are sisters sharing each other's feelings—how could I not understand you?”
“So, I'm very grateful to you. Thank you for letting me fulfill my dream of being the 'White Queen' these past few nights. I am already very content. Now it's my turn to look after you.”
“Whatever you wish to do, I'll do my best to cooperate,” the White Queen said with a smile. “Not just in dreams, but in reality as well. Black, you are my sister. No matter when or where, you can always lean on me.”
“No matter how dark, how filthy, or how wretched your heart may be, I will embrace you. I will walk with Diya into hell, and I will sink with you into the mire.”
“...Impossible.” The Black Witch suddenly bit the White Queen's shoulder, muttering indistinctly, “You can't do it.”
“I can,” the White Queen replied. “Because I am your elder sister, and you are all my younger sisters.”
“You can't!” The Black Witch turned fierce, the primordial darkness around her seemingly boiling over like flames igniting the White Queen. “Let go!”
The White Queen shivered, but she held on even tighter. “It's exhausting being on your own, isn't it? But together, we can share the burden. That's why Diya needs us, why I need you, and why you need me.”
“Yet this 'mutual need' is nothing more than a fragile bubble that pops at the slightest touch.” The Black Witch said coldly, “Diya's mutation in the Void Realm is the best proof.”
“When confronted with soul-shattering danger, fear rules our reason, and despair forces us to fight for dominance. That is why our colors turn muddy, and our minds descend into madness.”
“We can deceive one another in ordinary times, but in moments of crisis, we can never deceive our own hearts—we were sisters conceived from Diya's despair to begin with. How could our hearts contain only truth, goodness, and beauty?”
“Even if it's just a bubble, I won't let it burst,” the White Queen said earnestly. “I will definitely protect you all. I will definitely pull you out of the mire and never let negative emotions defeat you.”
“So, Black, I'll be counting on you from now on as well.” The White Queen nuzzled the Black Witch's cheek affectionately, chuckling softly. “You have to rescue me in time. After all, with no older sister above me, I don't have anyone I can lean on—except you.”
Lies!
Liar!
All lies!
Lying the whole time!
You were clearly the first to sink! You were clearly the first who couldn't bear it! You were clearly the first to pop this bubble of sisterly love!
For your own desires, you rebelled against Diya and secretly forged an alliance with me to seize control of our body. When the vehicle of 'Lisdia' went careening downhill, you were the one sitting in the driver's seat slamming the accelerator, dragging every single one of us into the mire to eternal damnation!
The reason I ended up like this is all because of you!
How can you still have the shameless audacity to spout such brazen grand talk?
How can you still put on the guise of a good elder sister?
How could you... how could you...
The Black Witch raised her fist and thumped it weakly against the White Queen's shoulder.
“Uuu...”
Tears gathered over who knew how many years poured forth uncontrollably, turning the Black Witch's elegant, mysterious, pretty face into a tear-streaked mess. At the height of her weeping, she even blew a snot bubble, followed by a choked sob that left lingering trails of crying.
The White Queen let her vent her emotions. Their posture shifted from an embrace to the Black Witch burying her face in the White Queen's chest, sobbing softly. The elder sister smiled, gently stroking the younger sister's head. A portion of the younger sister's primordial darkness merged into the elder sister, while the elder sister's pure, clean white flowed into the younger sister's body.
Black and white did not oppose or cancel each other out; instead, they coexisted in harmonious dependence, just as tears and tenderness were attachments that fulfilled each other.
After who knew how long, the White Queen saw her body turning transparent and said, “Time's up for tonight. Let's leave.”
The Black Witch sniffled, but didn't lift her head, seemingly embarrassed to show her tear-streaked face. Her hands gripped tight, making her attitude clear: “Don't go.”
“I want to stay a little longer too, but my positive emotions have been exhausted, so I can't stay in the dreamscape any longer,” the White Queen said with amused warmth. “We can come back tomorrow. And even if we can't tomorrow, I'm always by your side. It's not like I'm leaving.”
“You won't leave, but you will change.”
“I won't change. If you don't believe me, let's pinky swear.”
Rubbing her swollen red eyes, the Black Witch hooked her pinky with the White Queen's. “There is no one in this world who doesn't change. I don't need you to swear you won't change. I only need you to swear that if the day comes when you no longer need me, you must... keep lying to me. Even if you're just using me.”
“The Queen isn't allowed to abandon the Butler.”
Though the Black Witch seemed somewhat stubborn and contrary, the White Queen thought nothing of it. In her impression, Black had always been deeply sensitive and reserved. Sometimes, though Black didn't say a word, her inner thoughts had already traveled thousands of miles.
Perhaps she had just imagined some heartbreaking plot development and couldn't help immersing herself in it?
“The Queen will never abandon the Butler,” the White Queen said solemnly. “The elder sister will always protect the younger sister.”
“Black, see you soon.”
Chapter 339