I Want to See Rivers of Blood

Rather than an apple, it was more like a mass of air currents. Almost the moment their lips touched the golden apple, it melted and flowed into Sonia and the Witch's mouths. Then Sonia's soul drifted upward naturally, floating away into the distant abyss of darkness. But she was not alone, for Diya was right beside her. Although surrounded by darkness, Sonia's soul had a purplish-red outline, while Diya's soul appeared black and white at first glance, only to refract into colors as it fluttered. They exchanged a glance, feeling neither sorrow nor joy in their hearts, carried along by the golden currents of the Golden Apple as they drifted upward in total silence. Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle... Only when they broke free of the darkness did they realize they had been in the Deep Sea just now. Above the Deep Sea was a boundless expanse of dense white mist. Without realizing it, their souls spread their Silver Void Wings and flew upward with joy. Faintly, they seemed to see many colossal behemoths dwelling in the high reaches of the white mist. Those behemoths also seemed to vaguely sense them, but far from daring to approach, they hastily fled, keeping a wide berth. Following the Golden Apple's guidance, they flew all the way out of the white mist, crossing the tranquil Golden Sea. They looked up and saw a torrential downpour of gold. The raindrops fell from above, passing drop by drop through their souls. They faintly glimpsed a white, four-legged creature bearing a continent on its head, treading across the Golden Sea. As they flew upward all the way, their Golden Wings quietly unfolded. The Golden Apple guided them into the Goldflow River. Yet time is motion itself; so long as there is motion, one is bound to exist within the torrent of time. Even in this state, they could not escape the influence of the Goldflow River. Just as they were about to be washed away by the river, they suddenly unfurled their iridescent wings and vanished directly from the Goldflow River. The next second, they appeared in the Distant Sky Realm, following the Golden Apple's guidance to fly toward Ruby Mountain—ever-present in the farthest reaches of the sky, yet forever unreachable. Meanwhile, inside a certain dream bubble. "It feels so heavy when I jump. Is the affix here increased gravity?" "I've told you so many times, your chest just grew again. Strange—you should have stopped developing by now. Could it be that you found out Tamashi is bigger than you and refused to accept it? Don't be so competitive. If you want to compare, compare... hm?" Siflin, who had been studying the affixes while taking a stroll, stopped and turned to look at the three team members who stood frozen in place, gazing up at the sky. The little bat also looked up, seeing nothing except the ever-present Ruby Mountain. "What are you looking at?" The three exchanged glances. Annan said, "I felt like something familiar just flew past." Tamashi: "I felt like something dangerous just flew past." Freya: "I felt like something thoroughly obnoxious just flew past." Naturally, the Sword Princess and the Witch were unaware of the discussion inside the dream bubble. Guided by the Golden Apple, they gradually drew near Ruby Mountain. As if passing through an invisible bubble, they drifted to the foot of Ruby Mountain. Looking up, they saw countless stars orbiting the mountain, interconnected into an immense web that completely enveloped Ruby Mountain. They continued to float upward, soaring past the silent, deserted mountain, and reached the summit of Ruby Mountain with effortless ease. Yet the summit of Ruby Mountain was completely deserted. The currents of the Golden Apple circled the peak for a moment, as bewildered as a grade-schooler returning home only to find no one there. In the end, as the golden currents quietly dissipated, their souls seemed to regain weight and were yanked violently back. Sonia opened her eyes and saw Diya looking just as dazed as she was. They turned their heads. The members of the Four Pillar Cult were still watching them, curiosity and anticipation shining in their eyes. "How long has it been?" "You only just ate the Golden Apple," Daidalos replied. "Did something happen?" "Something probably did," Sonia pressed a hand to her forehead. "But my memories are very hazy... I only remember seeming to go some places with the Witch, and then we came back." "That was a reward from the Void Realm," Diya said. "Eating the Golden Apple was equivalent to freeing the knowledge sealed by the Divine Lord through us. In gratitude, the Void Realm seems to have granted our souls an adventure. However, in this adventure, 'thought' and 'memory' are hindrances, so the Void Realm only preserved our ability to 'listen' and 'feel.'" Trozan asked curiously, "Are there any changes?" The Sword Princess and the Witch examined their souls inwardly, and joy surfaced on both of their faces. "My Wave Sword sorcery spirit has advanced to Four-Wing." "My Witness sorcery spirit as well." Daidalos murmured thoughtfully, "So the church can reliably produce Three-Wing and Four-Wing sorcery spirits through the Golden Apple recovery mechanism? No wonder their national treasury is so bountiful..." "But the cost is the risk of losing the Golden Apple," Diya said. "Compared to the cost of creating a Golden Apple, no amount of Three-Wing or Four-Wing sorcery spirits could make up for the loss." "Besides, upgrading a sorcery spirit is only the reward for 'eating the Golden Apple.' The reward for 'returning the Golden Apple to the Void Realm' is..." Diya spread her Void Wings. Before the crowd could even react, Sonia also unfurled her Void Wings, and they finally recognized it—nearly half of Sonia's sword-colored Void Wings had condensed! Yet just a few hours ago, Sonia's sword-colored Void Wings had only had a single feather! Aside from Sanctuary sorcerers like Daidalos and Trozan, few among the rest understood what this reward truly meant. For legendary sorcerers, even condensing multicolored Void Wings was troublesome enough, while condensing pure-colored Void Wings typically required ten to twenty years of accumulation—some might never condense pure-colored wings until their dying day. On Ruby Mountain, the nation with the highest proportion of pure-colored legends was none other than the Blood Moon—Blood Moon legends had long lifespans and could squander vast amounts of time dyeing and purifying their colors! This substantial portion of pure-colored Void Wings saved them at least several years of effort—and the most crucial years of a legendary sorcerer's life at that! With this, the first stage of the Sky Light Project concluded with complete success. Daidalos would soon release the brainwashed church nobles back into society, and the others departed one after another through various channels. "In the coming days, I need to explore this city," Diya said while eating at a private meeting of Command Seal bearers. "Currently, the Gospel can only exert sixty percent of its effectiveness at most, and the farther it is from me, the weaker its power becomes. But as long as I carry it throughout Jialesi, its effectiveness here will reach about eighty percent." "What would it take to reach a hundred percent?" Felix asked. "Time," the Witch blinked. "If the timeframe is stretched to a thousand years, it could even exert a thousand percent—foretelling the future would be no problem at all." "So, I need to explore openly everywhere." Diya looked up at the foremost beauty beneath the starry sky. "Chaos Diva, can you arrange that?" "My agency has always wanted to train a child star," Daidalos clapped her hands softly. "If only I were married. If I had a daughter as adorable as the Demonic Seat, I would be dying of happiness—though I wouldn't mind having an illegitimate daughter either." "A child star it is, then." Diya looked toward Sonia. "As for Yaxiu..." "Naturally, Felix will still look after him," Sonia said. In a meeting discussing Felix, Felix had no speaking rights. The little empress nodded and said to the village girl, "I'll usually be staying over at Felix's place. Can you accept that?" "It's not like you can do anything anyway," Sonia said calmly. "And in any case, you care about Yaxiu far more than Felix does." *If you have such an issue with me, then don't make me do it...* the second young lady of the Voslodas internally complained like mad. "It's best that you see it that way," Diya nodded. "Don't worry, the most I'll do is let Lisi get close to Yaxiu. Surely you won't get jealous of Lisi too, right?" The Paw-Stretching Sword Saint looked at her quietly without a word. "You're really something..." Diya was also left speechless. "Felix and I will be staying here tonight. Do you want to join us?" "No, I'm heading back to the academy," Sonia stood up and said. "Miss Lena, could you give me a ride back?" "My pleasure." Daidalos rose as well. "Felix, see me out," Sonia said, then turned to Diya. "Witch, although I... actually, there is no 'although.' I simply don't welcome your arrival." "Yet I have to admit, seeing you really did bring me a sense of relief," the Sword Princess said. "Not because you helped the Four Pillar Cult, but because you love him too." "In the Starry Nation, at least the two of us are genuinely sincere about saving him. Though my resolve was unshakeable before, being all alone was frightening after all. But now..." "The two of us," the Witch said earnestly, "are an army of thousands." The white-haired little girl walked over and reached out her hands to the red-haired Sword Princess. Sonia knelt down and embraced Diya. "...Having a little sister doesn't feel half bad," the village girl chuckled. "I'm the older sister," the little empress sniffled. "See you tomorrow, Witch." "Mhm, see you tomorrow." Watching this scene, Felix inexplicably felt her nose sting with emotion. But when she glanced aside, she saw Daidalos wearing a rather subtle expression, and thought to herself that Miss Lena, as a feeler, probably couldn't understand this intimate bond that was even closer than real sisters. When Felix escorted Sonia outside to the car, Daidalos had already started the engine, but Sonia held onto Felix's hand without letting go, gazing at her calmly. The second young lady of the Voslodas was utterly baffled, until she suddenly felt the Paw-Stretching Sword Saint writing characters in her palm: "Watch. The Witch." "If she crosses the line, notify me immediately." "You should know who you owe your loyalty to." Noticing the red gleam in Sonia's eyes, Felix naturally nodded vigorously, wishing she could swear fealty on the spot and shout out loud: *There cannot be two suns in the sky, and in my heart there is only one Queen!* After the car drove off, Felix wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, thinking to herself that being a nanny was far too difficult. Still, she wasn't overly worried; after all, Yaxiu was unconscious, and the Witch was just a little girl. How far could she possibly cross the line? When Felix returned to the hall, her vision instantly went dark—Diya was sitting in Yaxiu's lap, manipulating Yaxiu to feed her. *It's just feeding! Feeding is totally normal, it doesn't count as crossing the line!* *It's just wiping his mouth! Wiping his mouth is totally normal, it doesn't count as crossing the line!* *There's just a grain of rice on his face! Wait, it's on Yaxiu's face, and she's going to eat—* Felix rushed forward, beating Diya to the punch by wiping the grain of rice from Yaxiu's face with her finger and popping it straight into her own mouth. "Demonic Seat, how about I feed you instead?" The Witch looked at her, pouting her little lips. "I'm full. I want to brush my teeth and take a bath!" "Alright!" Felix nodded. Seeing the Witch stand up together with Yaxiu to head for the second-floor bathroom, she hastily dashed over to hold Yaxiu back. "The Spectator Seat doesn't need to be there for washing up, right?" "I want someone to wait on me..." "I'll wait on you! It just so happens I need a shower too!" The white-haired little girl narrowed her eyes and stared at her until Felix felt a pang of panic, before mumbling, "Fine." Ten minutes later, in the villa's bathroom, Felix stood under the showerhead zoning out, feeling deeply exhausted in her heart. Even back when she was facing daily assassination attempts, she hadn't felt as tired as she did these past few days. "Felix, Felix!" The Witch scampered up before her, eyes squeezed shut and mouth wide open. "Did I brush clean? I'm not used to the toothbrushes here!" *This must be the Lisi persona they talked about...* Felix breathed a sigh of relief. Inspecting the Witch's neat, pearly-white teeth, she boldly patted the girl's head. "All clean. Good job!" "Heheh." The Witch happily jumped into the bath, splashing water all over the floor. Seeing this, Felix relaxed as well and entered the bath to soak together with her. "Felix, why did you join the Four Pillar Cult!?" "Because the Four Pillar Cult was my only option, and my mother was also in the Four Pillar Cult." The little girl tilted her head. "Then why do you have a Command Seal? Are you close to Yaxiu?" "I don't know either," Felix shrugged. "Could it be that Yaxiu trusts people too easily?" "Hmm, hmm, hmm..." The Witch murmured thoughtfully. "Rather than saying he trusts people easily, it's more like he's especially gullible when it comes to bad people... Felix, are you a bad person who likes him too?" "You got half of that right." "Which half?" "Guess." Seeing the Witch's distressed look, Felix chuckled, lifting her locks of hair. "Come, let me wash your hair. Remember to close your eyes so the shampoo doesn't get in." "Okay." Felix's fingers combed gently through the white tresses, massaging the soft scalp. Watching the white suds froth between the strands, her tense, agitated, and uneasy heart gradually settled, and a genuine warmth toward the Witch welled up within her. "It would be wonderful if I had a younger sister like you," she said softly. "I'm the older sister!" "Alright, alright, you're the older sister." "Then can we sleep together tonight? I can't fall asleep alone." Felix froze for a moment, then remembered that the Witch had crossed over from the Gospel Realm to the Starry Nation all by herself. Even if she possessed legendary combat prowess, even if she had the Gospel God, even if she was the Demonic Seat of the Four Pillar Cult... she was still a little girl traveling all alone with no one to rely on. *Sigh, to think the Sword Seat would be so wary of such a pitiful and brave little girl, honestly...* Felix silently shook her head at Sonia. "Of course we can," Felix turned on the showerhead to rinse the suds from the Witch's hair. "How about we go shopping for some clothes for you tomorrow?" "Awesome! Oh, right, there's one more thing I want to ask of you, Felix." "What is it?" "Well, I usually have to explore everywhere with the Chaos Diva, so..." "So?" "So, when I'm not around, if the Sword Princess secretly approaches Yaxiu..." The Witch turned her head, her brilliant emerald eyes locking onto Felix. "You must tell me right away, okay, Felix?" Felix's first reaction was that the Lisi persona didn't call Yaxiu by his name—she called him Daddy... Her second reaction was: why hadn't she just obediently let herself be killed by the Vandel gang on the train? That way, she wouldn't have used Yaxiu as a shield, Yaxiu wouldn't be staying at her house, and none of these subsequent events would have ever been triggered... More importantly, that way she wouldn't be caught between two "Queens," with no idea who she was supposed to be loyal to! Ya! Xiu! Heath! At this moment, aside from the Sword Princess and the Witch, the person in this world who wanted Yaxiu to wake up the most was none other than Felix— *Get up! I want to see rivers of blood flow, you little bastard!*