Decolorization

Inside Yaxiu's soul, the Substitute sorcery spirit frantically dragged the other sorcery spirits toward safety, keeping them far from the decolorizing zone. To a sorcery spirit, soul decolorization was practically the end of the world—worse than Yaxiu dropping dead outright. To a sorcery spirit, a sorcerer was like an employer. If the company went under, everyone merely became unemployed vagrants at worst. Those preferring flexible employment could return to their hometowns to lie flat, while those seeking to rejoin the workforce could head to the Void Realm creature talent market. As for affection, a sorcery spirit loved its sorcerer precisely as much as the sorcerer loved it—which meant that in their eyes, all sorcerers were grand slave drivers exploiting them. A sorcerer's fondness for a sorcery spirit stemmed purely from its utility; who would be moved to tears of gratitude just because they made an outstanding beast of burden? The only reason they didn't hang you from a streetlamp was that sorcery spirits were simple-minded, innocent, and didn't know how to seek vengeance. Once they matured into gods, they wouldn't be anywhere near as accommodating. If Yaxiu were hacked to death, the sorcery spirits wouldn't lift a finger. Yet right now, Yaxiu's soul was decolorizing. This wasn't a company going out of business—this was the office building collapsing in an earthquake! And yet, ordinary sorcery spirits had no concept of avoiding danger. In their childlike ignorance, they would even blunder headfirst into the decolorized area. Only the Substitute sorcery spirit, tainted by four colors, knew how to steer clear of disaster. Though it usually threw its weight around like a petty tyrant, at this critical juncture it stepped up with true responsibility. Had it not herded all the sorcery spirits over to the far side in the nick of time, at least half of them would have already faded away and perished. Even so, the decolorizing contamination swiftly overran most of his soul, and the safe zone shrank at a frightening pace. Standing at the very front, shivering as it shielded the other spirits, the Substitute sorcery spirit seemed on the verge of becoming Yaxiu's chief burial sacrifice. Right then, the decolorizing contamination ground to a halt. As streams of decolorizing nectar poured in one after another, the damaged soul rapidly restructured. Vibrant, shimmering radiance rippled across the newly formed regions. The Substitute sorcery spirit tentatively stepped in, shuddered all over, and instantly absorbed the wandering divine brilliance within the reformed soul. It blinked, feeling its thoughts growing clearer and clearer. Immediately recognizing that this was exceptional stuff, it hurriedly beckoned the sorcery spirits behind it to follow. However, noticing that this divine brilliance was finite, it acted with utter favoritism, letting familiar spirits like the Heart Sword and Affection Sword absorb it first. After days of interaction, spirits like the Heart Sword could already dimly comprehend its gestures, obediently drifting over to soak up the residual brilliance left by the decolorizing nectar. At the same time, Yaxiu clearly felt the drastic transformation within his own body. As he absorbed the decolorizing nectar bit by bit, his golden void wings, rainbow void wings, and sword-colored void wings (his silver void wings having already snapped) rapidly lost their color, all transforming into transparent yet rainbow-refracting decolorized void wings. This was the power of the decolorizing nectar! Aside from nurturing his Seventh Imaginary Wing, its primary effect was to remodel his first four void wings, turning the silver, golden, rainbow, and distinct-colored void wings entirely into decolorized void wings! Moreover, Yaxiu could sense that as long as he wished, he could shift his first four void wings into any color at any moment—such as turning them all into sword-colored void wings! Even if the quality of sorcery mana contained within the void wings remained unchanged, altering their color meant his void wings could permanently empower his sorcery spirits. According to Vichy, every single sword-colored feather he possessed would amplify the effects of sword sorcery spirits, decrease their mana consumption, grant resistance against sword sorcery spirits, make it easier to develop sword sorcery miracles, and more. For mortals seeking to alter the color of their void wings, only legendary sorcerers could manage it, and even then, they could only alter the fourth void wing. Even upon stepping into the divine realm, a sorcerer could not easily condense colors onto their void wings; the fifth void wing required plundering resources from the Void Realm, and the sixth even required seizing a world secret realm. This showed just how arduous it was to bestow color upon oneself. Now, Yaxiu could alter the colors of his first four void wings at will. In other words, no matter how hard other legendary sorcerers tried, none of them could ever out-color Yaxiu! Their silver, golden, and rainbow void wings were the equivalent of blank slates, but Yaxiu's three void wings could plate his sorcery spirits with color! For the exact same miracle, the effect Yaxiu produced could pull ahead of other legendary sorcerers by an eightfold margin! However, Yaxiu did not change the color of his void wings, instead allowing them to remain in their decolorized state. Because this was the greatest distinction between the Decolorized Holy Grail and the Rainbow Holy Grail. The effect of the Rainbow Holy Grail was roughly to allow a sorcerer to freely alter the color of their first four void wings. The Decolorized Holy Grail, on the other hand, granted a sorcerer a brand-new color option: decolorized. The various bonuses from decolorized feathers were weaker than those of specific colors, but their benefit was irreplaceable: they applied universally across all sorcery factions, simultaneously boosting effects and conferring resistance across every branch of sorcery! Though Yaxiu specialized in swordsmanship, he utilized quite a few sorcery spirits from other factions as well, covering every tactical role—offense, support, defense, healing, and mobility. Decolorized feathers made it easy for him to handle any situation. Furthermore, when executing composite miracles, the boost from decolorized feathers would likely rival that of colored ones! More importantly, as the hidden reward of the Decolorized Holy Grail, it seemed far too much of a waste not to use them... In games, he had always been the type who couldn't resist showing off newly unlocked gear. Immersed in the profound transformation of his soul and void wings, he hungrily and thirstily drank in the nectar. When the flow of nectar cut off, he subconsciously gave a lick. Snapping back to his senses a moment later, he opened his eyes, meeting the gaze of the blonde young woman before him. Their starlight bodies had deactivated at some point; now that they had condensed the holy grail, the Divine Lord of Stars naturally couldn't be bothered to waste resources maintaining them, which meant they could no longer communicate through gaze alone. Yet looking into Feili's bashful yet resolute eyes, Yaxiu felt closer to her heart than ever before. As their gazes intertwined, hazy, tender emotions blossomed in the play of light and shadow. *Thud!* A heavy pounding echoed from the vault door behind them. Yaxiu instinctively turned his head, glancing at his hand sticking out through the opening. When he turned back around, his dark eyes had regained their clear brilliance, reflecting Feili's reluctant gaze in sharp detail. "I—" "If you apologize, I might really start crying," Feili whispered, lowering her head and biting her lower lip. "...Thank you." Yaxiu smiled softly and took the holy grail from her hands. Not a single drop remained within the Decolorized Holy Grail, yet it had not vanished, nor was it radiating light. Perhaps, like the Rainbow Tail and the Golden Fish, the Decolorized Holy Grail could be taken outside and turned into a special item. "No matter what happens in a moment, don't say a word. Just let me do all the talking," he cautioned her. "Though she probably won't take it out on you. The main thing is that when I catch hell, don't you dare speak up in my defense, or it'll be trouble if you pull aggro." Realizing Yaxiu wasn't joking, Feili grew tense as well. "What's going to happen to you?" "Minor details, just minor details." Yaxiu put on an airy, unconcerned face, though his left hand holding the holy grail trembled slightly. "At any rate, it won't kill me... right?" "Why don't you just not—" "No way." Yaxiu shook his head firmly. "Putting aside the fact that I have zero talent for deceit and lying, more importantly, I refuse to hide things or lie to her. I wouldn't be able to stomach it myself. To me, having to wear a mask in front of the Sword Princess would be true hell." Feili blinked. "So telling her won't be hell?" "Well, I might end up in a literal, physical hell instead." Feili shook her head, grasping Yaxiu's arm. "Let's explain together. It was an emergency, after all, and I'm responsible too—" "Not a single word from you. Just play the innocent victim," Yaxiu refused. "I was the one who triggered the trap, I was the one who signaled you, and I was the one who benefited. What responsibility could you possibly have? Don't worry. When the time comes, just cover your ears and look away. It'll be over soon." "I benefited too!" "You condensed the Decolorized Holy Grail in the first place. It's only natural for you to drink some. That doesn't count." "The benefit I'm talking about..." Feili murmured, gazing at his collarbone visible at the neck of his shirt, "...wasn't the Decolorized Holy Grail." Yaxiu blinked, unable to suppress a flutter of delight, mingled with a touch of dread. The delight went without saying; the dread was that his rap sheet for the impending confession had just gotten one entry longer... Just then, a knock came from the door outside. The sorcerers, evidently realizing there was no prize left to claim, had retreated, bringing the battle to protect the holy grail to a close. Yaxiu let go of the Sword Princess's hand. Just as he was about to open the door, a teleportation portal suddenly split open from the Decolorized Holy Grail and sucked him inside. Feili reached out instantly, grasping only empty air. When Sonia and the others pushed the door open, all they saw inside the vault was a stunned Feili. "Huh?" The Veela was equally shocked. "Wait, Sonia, your lover is a woman?!"