Why did I run?
Even Sonia herself didn't know, but she had already vanished into the vast sea of people, with no intention of heading back.
After running for quite a while, feeling that she had thoroughly shaken him off, Sonia finally stopped, only to realize she had arrived in an unfamiliar place.
No matter—she was a Sanctuary sorcerer, after all. Spotting a pillar of light on the rooftop of a nearby high-rise, she unfurled her gold-and-silver wings and flew over to see what kind of virtual-real material it was.
Yet as the country girl stood on the rooftop, looking down at this magnificent underground city, an odd thought suddenly welled up in her mind—this was a city where he had once lived.
A city that held the people he held dear.
Yes, though Yaxiu had never recounted his long Gospel journey in full detail, Sonia could tell from snippets of his words that there were people in Gospel he could not bear to leave behind. His tone always revealed an absolute determination to return to Gospel—a sentiment he didn't even show toward his homeland of the Blood Moon.
Was it Eldest Miss Annan, who had once dominated him?
Or was it someone else?
The neon glow of the lights reflected in her ruby eyes. Crouching at the rooftop's edge, Sonia wrapped her arms around her shins and stared down at the pedestrians crawling like ants along the streets below.
Perhaps that was the real reason she had run away.
She wasn't actually ready to enter a romance that might lead nowhere. The reason she had managed to summon her courage last night—aside from Weise's encouragement—was simply that her pent-up feelings had reached a point where they had to burst out. In other words, it had merely been an emotional, visceral impulse rather than a rational, calculated decision.
If they couldn't meet in reality, everything was just an elusive illusion. And meeting in reality—how easily said! Teleportation between nations was a miracle completely unheard of.
A relationship was like a flame: it required enough intimate contact to serve as fuel. For now, Sonia could lightly participate in his life, so their relationship remained sustained at the level of a flickering flame. But if they wanted that fire to illuminate every shadow, the fuel had to keep up.
If it burned out of thin air, all that would remain was emptiness.
The apprehension of being unable to grasp a lover's feelings, the unease of not knowing a lover's safety, the dread of being unable to face crises together... Stepping into the next stage without adequate preparation would inevitably leave her exhausted by trial after trial.
After her confession was interrupted, although Sonia felt disappointed, what she felt even more was relief.
She was afraid of being rejected, but even more afraid of being accepted.
For she knew she was someone who always took a mile when given an inch—a greedy person. When that time came, could she really bear only hearing secondhand news about him every day, only touching a soul that had no bodily warmth, only longing for each other across different nations?
A wolf starved for too long would never be satisfied by a single bite of food; its belly would remain insatiable forever.
Their current relationship was just fine.
She couldn't make any further demands, so their bond wouldn't break because of them, yet the possibility of moving forward still remained. The team could continue to exist in harmony, and everyone could explore the Void Realm as usual until a turning point appeared in reality. Although lines from stage plays like "If you couldn't hear it the first time, I'll say it countless more times" sounded dashing, she had neither the courage, nor the determination, and even less the... means.
Her thoughts settled, Sonia stood up and looked toward the pillar of light, discovering that the virtual-real material on the rooftop was actually a tree branch—though heaven knew how the wind had carried it up here.
She walked over and picked it up, her expression turning strange in an instant—
"Unremembered Wood."
Even though it was only a very short branch, it was indeed the virtual-real material she had been painstakingly searching for to exchange for sorcery spirits in the Void Realm!
What a coincidence...
"Why did you run so far..."
Just then, Yaxiu's voice came from the edge of the rooftop. Sonia immediately unfurled her gold-and-silver wings, preparing to flee, but he hurriedly shouted an incantation capable of stopping the Sword Princess in her tracks:
"I'm living with a pretty girl today!"
Sonia froze. But she quickly countered, "Aren't you with your other half?"
"It's a special mechanic of the trial," Yaxiu said, spreading his hands as he crept forward cautiously, as if trying to kidnap a stray cat. "I didn't want to either, but I had no choice but to live with a pretty girl."
Sonia stared blankly at Yaxiu, covering her mouth. "This trial is simply too cruel..."
"Yeah..."
"To actually turn your other half into a woman!" Sonia's face was full of curiosity. "Is she pretty? How's her figure?"
"What on earth is going on in that head of yours?" Yaxiu buried his face in his hands. "Silver Lantern and I swapped other halves! Right now, Silver Lantern's other half, the Mirror Master, is living with me!"
The Sword Princess's smile froze. "Aren't you two enemies, though? Won't you fight if you live together?"
"We won't. There's a sanctuary-like barrier protecting us. Even if she tries anything on the real me right now, she can't harm me."
"Oh..."
By now, Yaxiu had already walked up beside Sonia. He explained, "Besides, we have separate bedrooms, so we aren't sleeping together—we're just living under the same roof."
Sonia blinked and turned her head away. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I thought you needed to know," Yaxiu said. "Since you're not interested, let's move on to the next topic. Last night—"
"No talking about last night!" Sonia swung a hand chop right at him, trying to brush it off.
But this time was different.
Yaxiu caught her hand, aligning palm to palm. As her blush spread all the way to the tips of her ears, Yaxiu earnestly worked his fingers inch by inch into the spaces between hers, closing over her hand until their fingers were firmly interlocked.
Dazed, she let Yaxiu lead her to the rooftop's edge to sit down. She heard him say, "Then we won't talk about last night. Since we have time now, you should fulfill your promise."
"What promise?"
"Tell me about how you won the Meteor Tribulation," Yaxiu said with a smile. "I've been looking forward to it for a long time."
Sonia gave her hand a gentle tug, wanting to pull free, but Yaxiu held on tightly, as if afraid she would run away again. Even though souls had no body warmth, she felt as if her palm were sweating.
She stayed silent for a moment before finally speaking up: "A few days before the Meteor Tribulation, I nearly triggered 'Shared Life.'"
"The blessing we received in the Amnesia Wooden Cabin?" Yaxiu recalled thoughtfully. "At that time, I was probably in the process of becoming the First Gospel."
"Mhm." Sonia nodded. "That was when I knew you were in danger. Originally, I had given up all hope for the Meteor Tribulation—after all, Dimi was a Sanctuary sorcerer. But that night, I suddenly didn't want to give up anymore, so I went to Sister Trozan to learn her Secret Blade of the Hidden Hand..."
As the Sword Princess spoke softly, recounting her journey, Yaxiu felt as though he were right by her side, living through her championship path. Suddenly, another figure appeared beside him.
It was the Witch.
Diya didn't interrupt them; she simply sat down quietly on Yaxiu's right, listening attentively to Sonia's story.
A moment later, however, Yaxiu felt his right hand being taken.
The same fingers slid between his own, interlocking tightly.
Surprised, Yaxiu looked over at Diya. Diya met his gaze candidly, her grip just as tight as his was on Sonia's.
In the distance, Weise watched the three of them sitting at the edge of the rooftop. For a moment, she felt an impulse to summon a wild gale and blow them all off. In the end, however, she did nothing, turning and leaving without looking back.
"Witch," Sonia suddenly leaned forward and asked, "can you see the Watcher's face clearly?"
Diya nodded firmly. "Yes."
As if having received an answer she had long awaited, the Sword Princess breathed a sigh of relief and let out a faint smile.
"Then I understand."
Chapter 582