It was a very crowded, yet not cramped, little creative studio.
The cottage was divided into many zones: an oil painting area with easels, canvases, and paints; a writing area where one could lean over a desk and compose; a music area with various instruments to play; a dance area fitted with mirrors and foam mats; and even a semi-open kitchen... Nearly every form of artistic creation one could imagine had a place here.
On the counter to the right of the entrance lay three booklets. Freya and the others picked them up to look, finding they were instructions detailing the rules of the building:
"Congratulations to every sorcerer who steps into this creative studio! Your luck is beyond compare, your works will be sung by ten thousand voices, you are the light, you are the spark, you are the myth of the future!"
"This pavilion was built by the 'Dramatic Poet'....... Please etch this name into your memory, for ··· is the narrator of destiny, master of contradiction's authority, director of countless joys and sorrows, witness to the world's partings and reunions."
"Among the hundreds of millions of sorcerers in the Void Realm, none can hold a candle to even half of ···!"
"Yet ······ is a generous sorcerer, and thus specially constructed this dramatic creative studio for later generations, showering glory upon any lucky soul!"
"The following rules must be observed within this creative studio:"
"① No matter how many people enter the studio, and no matter how many works are created, all must revolve around a single theme. The core concept is essential, after all."
"② Please strike the 'work bell' in the center of the cottage. Work will then commence until completion. Creators cannot slack off, after all."
"③ The sorcerers need not devise the theme and creative content. This studio has formed a strategic partnership with Destiny Q&A, and will automatically locate the most unforgettable moment of the sorcerers' lives to arrange into drama. Life is like a play, after all."
"④ None may leave without creating. Those who do not work must die, after all."
"Once the creative process is complete, descendant sorcerers may obtain special rewards from the works they have created!"
"Are you already unable to suppress the creative impulse within you? Then please, unleash your talents to your heart's content here, and leave behind magnificent works for future generations!"
"It seems the Heroic Spirit Commander can't get in," Annan said suddenly.
The other two nodded as well. All of them had finished reading this long-winded booklet, yet no one had entered the cottage, which was enough to prove they had successfully escaped the threat of the Heroic Spirit Legion.
"Still, we can't leave without creating, so we can't go back right now." Perhaps because she was certain the danger had passed, the Veela abruptly slumped in relief, her thoughts beginning to drift. "I haven't gone back for three days... Did I wet the bed...?"
Xifulin remarked, "You'd be better off thinking about how much pay will be docked for missing work three days in a row."
"Sister Xifulin!" Freya's eyes went wide, and she pitifully shook the little bat's shoulders.
Back then, to witness the Golden Fish Secret Poison and ascend to the Time Continent as quickly as possible, Xifulin had ultimately confessed her true identity to the Veela, after which the two of them held hands and leaped over the Golden Fish.
Yet that left their relationship in an awkward spot. Xifulin had masqueraded as a pet for so long, and Freya remembered how she had previously hugged and stroked the little bat. Thus, they reached a tacit understanding never to bring up what had transpired on the Sea of Knowledge.
Freya had simply gained a new job shortly afterward—working as Xifulin's assistant in the capacity of a psychotherapist, where her main duty was attending to the patients' psychological well-being.
Of course, one could also describe it as the Veela being kept by the bat.
Annan, on the other hand, had few worries. Recently, in order to investigate the true influence of the prominent families throughout Gospel Country, she had long since entrusted Little Banjie to the royal family's care, traveling on business and sleeping on her own. If she disappeared for a few days, everyone would merely assume the Purple Moth was busy weaving some new scheme.
Having finally shaken off the crisis that had dogged them for three days and three nights, none of them could help but unwind, while an urgent yearning to return welled up inside them.
Even if reality was a bit bleak, it was their reality after all.
No matter how long they lingered in the Void Realm, they were only passersby in the end.
After a brief rest, their eyes turned toward the 'work bell' in the center of the room. Since neither the theme nor the content could be decided by them, discussion was meaningless. With a shared glance, the Veela stepped forward and struck the work bell.
Shortly after, Freya was seated at the desk, Xifulin stood before the canvas, and Annan lifted the piano lid.
As the Purple Moth played a brisk, bright melody and the little bat mixed her preferred colors, the Veela watched her own hand write line after line of text:
"Since childhood, the princess lived in a village of monsters. Surrounded by monsters on all sides, she believed she was a monster too. Until she met the prince, and after kissing him, she turned from a monster into a princess!"
Is this a fairy tale...? Freya had never read fairy tales. She had grown up in a mid-tier human rearing institute, where fairy tales were not in vogue; outside reading consisted of self-help books and biographies of famous figures.
"Following the prince, the princess escaped the monster village and arrived at a town ruled by spiders. Unfortunately, both she and the prince were captured by a little spider. They were bound up in spiderwebs, prepared as sacrifices to the great spider!"
"Inside the lair, the princess met her younger sister, the little witch!"
Why is the princess's sister a witch...?
"The princess looked after the little witch with great care, and they soon became close confidantes who shared everything. The little witch told the princess that she had a way to deal with the great spider, but required everyone's assistance. The princess agreed, and brought the prince along to help the little witch!"
"They succeeded, but after the great spider perished, an orb brimming with evil energy flew toward the little witch. In that critical moment, the prince blocked the orb, triggering the foul magic upon it. Fortunately, the princess caught his hand in time, keeping the two of them from being parted."
"Though they escaped Spider Town as a result, they were teleported to an unfamiliar jungle. A local flame tribe welcomed them warmly, however. To repay the tribe's kindness, the prince helped them repel foreign enemies, saving many lives! In gratitude for the prince's benevolence, the flame tribe's divine beast willingly became the prince's pet."
"Yet the flame tribe repaid kindness with enmity, turning around to persecute them. The princess and the prince fled through the jungle for a long time. Suddenly, the prince discovered traces of the little witch, so he parted ways with the princess, sending her to reunite with the little witch."
"Though not much time had passed, the little witch had grown into a beautiful witch. The princess was delighted, but the villainous flame tribe caught an opening and relentlessly pursued them."
"Just then, the princess's guardian divine beast, the Black Crow, appeared!"
"The Black Crow helped the princess drive off the flame tribe, shielding her and the witch so they could depart safely. But the Black Crow carried a mission of its own: it was hunting a monster born from a mirror. Yet it could not read words, leaving it unable to gather intelligence. The princess and the witch volunteered to help the Black Crow track the Mirror Monster along the way."
"They discovered that the prince was actually right beside the Mirror Monster. The prince told them that the Mirror Monster was immensely powerful and could not be bested by force, only outwitted. Thus, everyone went into hiding, biding their time."
Annan's music took on a driving rhythm, like an intense overture before a gathering storm.
"Yet the Mirror Monster unearthed the treasure within the jungle, transforming into the Great Demon King! The Great Demon King found a way to leave the jungle via subterranean passages, and the monster legions under her banner marched toward Spider Town, Monster Village, Star City, and every corner of the realm. During this time, more and more monsters gathered around the prince, such as the princess's most detested Sword Demon, and... But to defeat the Great Demon King, the princess endured it all."
"Even so, the prince's ploy was exposed. The witch nearly died, the Sword Demon vanished, and the rest were practically wiped out. Most important of all, the prince was captured."
The flowing piano music gradually turned mournful, like a rushing subterranean river bursting forth from unseen gloom.
"The princess was so terrified, so terrified. She could not live without the prince, so she went to the Sword Demon to rescue him, but the Sword Demon shook her head and tried to hold her back."
"So she went to the witch to rescue him, but the witch shook her head and actually tried to stop her as well."
"The witch sought out many people, but none were willing to cross the Great Demon King, and even the Black Crow flew away. Humph, then she would go alone!"
"Just then, word spread that the prince was to marry the Great Demon King."
"The prince must have been forced, the princess thought. And so, on the day of the wedding, she charged into the ceremony, striving to rescue the tragic prince!"
Right at that moment, Annan's music melded grief with fury, like rain-swept thunder, like a wail in the dark night!
"The prince was indeed overjoyed that the princess had come to his rescue. He reached a hand out to her, and how could the princess ever refuse such an invitation? She opened her arms, offering an embrace in answer to this touching reunion—"
"Then, a longsword thrust out through the princess's back."
"The princess's blood sprayed across the prince's formal attire. White vapor drifted off her body like snow-white ribbons, resembling the most exquisite wedding gown. She came so close to falling into the prince's embrace."
Clang!
Annan's music had come to an end, yet Freya's pen still had two final lines to write.
"That night, the Black Crow came to the prince's bedchamber. The prince said he had no choice."
"The Black Crow said his killing intent was beyond his control as well."
Freya set down her pen. Though a soul felt no physical strain, she reflexively rubbed her wrist all the same.
By then, Xifulin had also finished her painting. Freya walked over to look, and knew at once which scene of the story it depicted—
On the far right was a woman shown only in faint silhouette.
In the center stood the prince, splendidly dressed, gripping a longsword.
And on the left was the princess lunging forward, snow-white ribbons of vapor drifting from her body, as though draped in a wedding dress.
It was the scene from the fairy tale, the moment of the wedding.
Yet when they looked through both Xifulin's and Freya's works, puzzled expressions appeared on all their faces.
"Whose story is this, anyway?"
...
Inside the underground hall.
The Watcher withdrew his longsword, silently wiping away the blood with his elbow.
Weise noticed that this was the only trial phantom so far that the Watcher had not directly beheaded, but instead pierced through the heart. Though it might have been due to it being a Sanctuary phantom, given the Watcher's usual style, a direct decapitation should have been far safer—
Suddenly, a chill gripped Weise, and she hastily took several steps back.
She looked toward the Watcher, only to find him standing in front of the phantom's corpse, staring silently at her.
'He won't even let me look...?' Weise grew pensive, deliberately widening the distance between them by ten paces.
*
Schick!
Yaxiu's sword impaled the Mirror Master's back!
Consequently, the trial phantom held in the Mirror Master's grip had its heart pierced through by his blade as well! The phantom collapsed with a crash, and two plumes of flame rose and drifted toward the two of them.
"It's finally over."
Yaxiu exhaled a long breath of turbid air. Even though his physical strength had recovered, he was nearly sprawled on the ground from exhaustion.
Fighting a Sanctuary as a mere mortal was something he never wanted to endure a second time.
Every single step had bordered on death, leaving zero margin for error, and until the opponent's sorcery power was ground down to nothing, none of their attacks could inflict the slightest harm upon a Sanctuary Sorcerer.
This was no longer a battle; it was sheer torture.
Seeing that the Mirror Master was still lying on the ground, however, he walked over and helped her up. "What's wrong? Didn't your wounds heal?"
"They healed. I'm just a bit tired." A genuinely weary voice sounded from behind the fox mask.
"You went all out in that fight," Yaxiu said with a sigh. "Grappling a Sanctuary phantom with your life on the line just to create a fatal opening—even I wouldn't dare pull something like that... Are you trying to atone?"
"Atone?" The Mirror Master whipped her head around.
"Yeah, atoning on Silver Lantern's behalf," Yaxiu said. "As Silver Lantern's other half, do you feel remorse for what she did?"
The Mirror Master fell silent for a moment. Stepping over the phantom's corpse, she said:
"Perhaps."
Chapter 586