The Journey Ahead

As Sonia recounted everything, Yaxiu finally learned what had happened in reality. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined the Four Pillar Gods could be such devoted simps. Not only had they banished the Astral Feeler to the cold palace and propped him up as their new leader, but they had even allowed his companions to share his divine authority! This extreme degree of "love me, love my dog" left Yaxiu completely baffled. He felt like an innocent, naive damsel caught in the sights of the Four Pillar Gods playing the role of a gentle, handsome, absurdly wealthy suitor—he ran, she chased, and he had nowhere left to hide. Yet compared to the doting affection of the Four Pillar Gods, something else weighed far more heavily on his mind. "You plan to shatter the Astral Canopy to break the blockade on the Country of All Stars?" Yaxiu's expression was conflicted. "Leaving the Witch aside—she was never a citizen of the Astral Realm to begin with—but you..." "I know very well what I'm doing," Sonia said calmly. "I stood against the Throne Room, colluded with the Four Pillar Gods, and harbored foreign legends. It is treason, plain and simple. Once exposed, there will be nowhere left for me in the Astral Realm." "So don't say you're sorry, and don't make that face in front of me." Her tone was too forceful to brook argument, laced with an intoxicating stubbornness. "The moment you were trapped in the Divine Lord of Stars' trap, the Astral Realm became my enemy." "You exhausted every effort to come see me, so of course I can betray everything for you." Yaxiu took a deep breath. Whether it was the fouled blood in his lungs or his churning emotions, an oppressive tightness gripped his chest. "This is precisely what I tried so hard to avoid. I didn't want to become an either-or choice for you." "Congratulations, then. You were never just an alternative." Sonia arched an eyebrow. "You'd better say something sweet, or I'll start feeling like I made the wrong choice." "I can only grant half your wish," Yaxiu shrugged, "because you definitely made the wrong choice." His smile softened as he looked at Sonia, his eyes glistening and brimming with warmth. Sonia's heart suddenly pounded wildly, her cheeks burning as if with fever. The entire world seemed to fall quiet in an instant, leaving only the rhythm of their two heartbeats. "I like you, Sword Princess." "I like you, Sonia." "I like you, Miss Sevier." Starlight shimmered in Sonia's eyes. She tried to look aside nonchalantly, but summoned her courage to meet his gaze. As if to give her words more weight, she shouted, "I like you too, okay?!" Yet in the very next second, her voice dropped, aggrieved yet stubbornly brave. "I've liked you for a very long time." Yaxiu let out a chuckle, explaining before she could get mad, "Haven't I as well?" The two gazed at each other for a moment, then both broke into silly, bashful smiles. Their flushed faces made it seem like they wanted to shy away, yet their hearts couldn't help drawing closer. As their faces neared, each saw their own reflection mirrored in the other's eyes. "Wait." Sonia pressed a finger against Yaxiu's lips as something suddenly occurred to her. "Am I using my real body right now?" Yaxiu blinked, then shook his head. "No. Both you and I are using projections. My projection is also named Yaxiu Heath, but yours is named Niya Sevier. If you enter Ruby Mountain as well, you'll probably replace Niya's identity." "Then that won't do. Hugs only." The Paw-Stretching Sword Saint pouted. "I want to save my first warm kiss for my real body." "True." Yaxiu agreed wholeheartedly. "It really wouldn't be appropriate right now. It wouldn't be respectful to you or Niya." "Wait, why do you seem so familiar with my projection?" Sonia suddenly grew wary. "Speaking of which, why is my projection even with you?" "It's a long story," Yaxiu said. "But I really am protecting Niya. First, we suspect she might be the angel's host, and second, because of the 'emotional backflow' phenomenon." "Emotional backflow?" "When a projection dies, her emotions flow back into the real body, which can even warp her personality." Yaxiu paused to think, then added, "We found out Niya's mother passed away when she was little. Do you remember anything like that?" "At five years old?" Sonia knitted her straight eyebrows in thought, looking thoroughly adorable. "I don't really remember... I can look into it when I get back." "So you're afraid my projection will die, emotional backflow will twist my personality, and I'll stop liking you?" "Why do my pure, well-meaning intentions to protect you sound like possessive scheming when you say it?" Yaxiu's mouth twitched. "Though, I suppose I was worried about that too..." "Then I grant you special permission to be close to my projection." Sword Princess poked him in the chest, dead serious. "As for other women, stay as far away from them as possible. Don't think you can shirk responsibility and do whatever you please just because it's a projection world, understand?" Yaxiu fell silent for a moment, looking as if he had just been assigned a monumental task. "I will do my best!" "Honestly, the answer I was hoping for was 'I haven't gone near any other women at all'... Never mind," Sonia said. "Still, I never opened the Gate of Truth. How did I suddenly get pulled into the projection?" "Most likely this angel hunt broke the boundary between the Void Realm and reality." Yaxiu analyzed, "Because of the Silver Wing, the Knowledge Sea, the Country of All Stars, and the Astral Realm might effectively overlap to some degree. When you and Niya both appeared, even if the spatial positions differed, your soul could already link to Niya, descending here even without the Gate of Truth." Sonia asked, "Then will I stay here forever?" "Based on what you said, you were pulled here only after entering the pillar of light, and that light is dissipating rapidly. It's very likely that when the pillar disappears, you'll be pulled back along with it." Yaxiu looked at her and said, "At least, that is my sincere hope." "Wait, isn't this an opportunity to rescue you?" Sonia realized. "If we bring your body nearby, wouldn't you have a chance to be pulled back too?" "Perhaps." "What a shame." "It's not a shame at all," Yaxiu smiled. "Just seeing you is worth more than anything. Even just knowing that you and the Witch are trying to save me makes me happy enough to keep holding on... The only pity is that I didn't get to see the Witch." Sonia rolled her eyes and huffed, "Is there anything you need me to pass along to her?" "Send my regards to Lisi. It must have been hard on the little one, traveling across realms with her big sisters." Yaxiu said softly, "And also... I'm worried..." His voice trailed off. Sonia looked at him. "Worried about what?" After a moment of silence, Yaxiu lowered his head, casting his eyes down. "I'm worried you two aren't getting along." Yaxiu still remembered that before he was imprisoned in the Country of All Stars, he, Sword Princess, and the Witch had fought in the Void Realm—and killed a Blood Moon legend along the way. The fact that he had met Sword Princess in reality meant the tension between the three of them had escalated to the point where it had to be confronted directly. That battle had only slightly eased the atmosphere; fundamentally, it had solved nothing. On the day of their date, Yaxiu had actually wanted to discuss a solution with Sonia. But he hadn't been overly worried back then, because Sonia would most likely have remained in the Astral Realm, and as long as Diya didn't separate Lisi from herself, Yaxiu and her would remain family, allowing the three to maintain a delicate balance. Only now... "What kind of relationship are you talking about?" Sonia took Yaxiu's hand, tracing circles on his palm with her finger. "If you mean as friends, we get along great. After all, we've been friends ever since the Time Continent." "The Witch even told me just now that she misses the days when we charged around wildly in the Time Continent." "I miss them too," Yaxiu said. "But if you're talking about some special 'sisterly relationship'—" Sonia raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed. There's no way we could ever develop that kind of relationship, not from start to finish." Yaxiu hurried to defend himself: "I never thought—" "Yaxiu, I betrayed the Astral Realm," Sonia said suddenly. "Do you know what that means? Once we rescue you, I can't stay in the Astral Realm anymore either." "Yeah." "So, the life plans we talked about before have completely gone up in smoke." The Paw-Stretching Sword Saint sighed. "It's no longer possible for me to become a noble in the Astral Realm and achieve fame and glory... If you apologize, I'll hit you." Yaxiu tapped his own forehead and grinned. "Sorry." Sonia shot him an alluring glare, then continued, "So, even if you don't want me to, I have no choice but to follow you to the ends of the earth." "Your tone doesn't sound very willing, though!" "Of course! I was originally planning to become an Astral noble and keep you as my kept man! Now we'll just have to support each other!" "If you still want to keep me, I certainly won't complain," Yaxiu squeezed her hand, saying, "And I hope your mother won't mind me running off with her beautiful, powerful daughter." "You can tell her that yourself when the time comes." Sonia blushed slightly. "So, once we leave the Astral Realm, I'll accompany you to Gospel so you can reunite with Lisi, and we can get your friends settled while we're at it..." "But after that, can you do as I ask?" "After that?" Yaxiu asked, puzzled. "I want to travel across the six nations—go to the Blood Moon to watch the Blood Moon Trial, visit Paradise to see the Curse Elves, and figure out a way to recover the Silver Lantern god along the way," Sonia said. "She's our companion, after all." "I don't mind either way," Yaxiu mused. "Though I don't know if Igola and Harvey would be willing. And the Witch—" "Just us." Sonia gazed at Yaxiu, enunciating each word with care. "The journey ahead will be just the two of us. It belongs only to the two of us." "Would that be okay?"