Returning a Girl to You

"Then what are you waiting for?" Yaxiu released his grip on the steering wheel, letting his hands droop limply. He was utterly exhausted. While he had slashed Amilo into ribbons countless times, Amilo had also broken his bones piece by piece. Several fractured ribs had already pierced his lungs, and after enduring the freezing rain and hail for so long, even the blood trickling from him was cold. At any moment, if his head slumped, he could fall into eternal sleep. Had Tamashi not taught him those inhuman techniques mastered only by monsters, he never could have held out until now. Thus, he felt immensely fortunate to have crossed paths with the Deathbringer Black Crow—not only because she had taught him those techniques, but because she had shown Yaxiu that when faced with destiny, the weak did not merely have the choices of fleeing and submitting; they could also defy all judgment in this world like monsters. When a sorcerer lost all their miracles, their only remaining choice was to become a monster whose very blood ran cold. Yet monsters did not slip quietly into eternal rest; they could only roar and die upon the charge. Thick blood dripped along his fingers onto the sword hilt. Yaxiu raised his head to look at Fanxing, his gaze so fiercely defiant it was as if he were looking down at her. "The Supreme Holy Grail is in your hands, and before you lies only a life as humble as dust. There is no one left to stop you from ascending to even greater heights." "No, there is still something." To his surprise, Fanxing slowly shook her head. "I must still accomplish one thing before I can eliminate all variables and make the Supreme Holy Grail completely mine." Like playing the piano, Yaxiu's fingers tapped lightly against the sword hilt until his hand gripped it firmly. Having two swords was truly a blessing: one could be used to save lives, while the other remained to march toward death. "Through studying the destiny faction, my greatest realization has been that the weak fear outcomes, while the strong fear causes. Rather than scrambling for a remedy after an ill fruit has ripened, it is far better to sow good affinity from the start and guide the current of destiny," Fanxing said. "I never incur debts to others, nor do I allow others to incur debts to me. Whatever I wish to obtain, I will certainly pay for. "A moment ago, Feili wished to help you obtain the grail, and destiny stood on her side. Now, as I seek to seize your grail, destiny will naturally stand against me. "I need you to offer me the grail with absolute sincerity," Fanxing said. "Only then can I ascend the supreme throne as the mandate of heaven decrees." "Fine. I'll give it to you," Yaxiu said expressionlessly. "You can drink it." "Yaxiu Heath, I hope you will cherish this, for it is your sole chance to alter your fate." Fanxing gently swung her legs, tilting her chin up to look down upon him. "I invite you to become my sole consort." Yaxiu raised an eyebrow, gazing at her calmly. Only after a long silence did a scornful laugh escape his throat. "Huh?" "My supreme throne will be shared with you. You will govern all creation in my stead, wielding the scepter that rules over all living beings. I will help you raise your Soul Heaven, and I will help you complete your six wings. I shall be the supreme sovereign at the pinnacle of sorcery, and you shall be the king standing atop the mortal realm. "Beneath none save the Supreme, above Destiny itself. "From this day forth, all hardships and all tribulations will have nothing to do with you. Whatever you favor will be good; whatever you detest will be evil. The entire world will turn in accordance with your desires. "The gaze of the Four Pillar Gods, the myriad threats brought by the Soul Heaven—none of it will plague you ever again." Fanxing cradled the holy grail in one hand and reached out toward Yaxiu with the other. "This is my promise to you. So long as you become the consort of the Supreme, every problem will vanish without a trace. "All you must do is stand beside me, and the entire world will be yours." Yaxiu stared blankly at the haughty young woman perched atop the carriage. Seeing that the starlight in her eyes held not the slightest deceit, he realized she was actually serious. The corners of his mouth curled upward bit by bit, his lips quivering as if trying to hold back, but he couldn't help letting out a snort of laughter. He laughed until tears welled in his eyes, laughed until he was gasping for breath. Before a monarch flanked by the myriad stars, he had no courage left to arm himself with except laughter. Wiping away the tears at the corners of his eyes, he sighed in genuine marvel. "Do you really need to make such a grand sacrifice? To become the woman of someone like me—wouldn't that feel beneath you? Even a Divine Lord ought to cherish her own happiness, shouldn't she?" While Yaxiu was laughing, Fanxing's expression had already turned chilly as a winter cicada, and she had withdrawn her outstretched hand. Yet upon hearing his question, she raised her eyebrows. It was like ink diffusing in clear water, snow settling on plum blossoms, or a white deer bounding across a snowfield. The dazzling starlight flickered and danced with newfound vitality, and even the wind and rain striking Yaxiu's face turned gentle. "It is not beneath me," she answered calmly. "There is no need to belittle yourself. In terms of godhood, you are the only one in this world worthy of standing beside me; even the other Divine Lords pale in comparison to you. Your Soul Heaven possesses the potential to become the foremost Heaven. Even without my aid, the moment you successfully raise your Heaven, you will outshine all among the rank of Divine Lords, surpassing every heaven." "Potential that cannot be realized amounts to nothing more than helplessness," Yaxiu said self-deprecatingly. "Yes. Your destiny will be far more fraught than you imagine. The Four Pillar Gods have not strayed far, and Hell and Heaven have already taken notice of you. Such is the fate of every Divine Lord: either become the buried bones of an old era, or the nightmare of a new one, rising in war and plundering amidst chaos. "The banner of every new monarch must be dyed red in the blood of rebels. "Therefore, I wish to help you bypass all these tribulations," Fanxing said. "This is also Feili's wish." Yaxiu's expression turned cold. "What do you mean?" "What she worried about most were the risks you shouldered to save this world," Fanxing said flatly. "What she felt most guilty about was being unable to urge you to give up on that night in the cable car. When she discovered her days were numbered, her heart was laden with regrets, but her greatest regret was being unable to keep fighting by your side. "Because while you had accompanied her to the end of her journey, she could not accompany you through the rest of your life. "She felt she let you down," Fanxing said. "So I shall repay it in her stead." Veins bulged along Yaxiu's sword-gripping hand. His lips quivered, his voice raspy as he spoke. "Why must you make it sound... as if you actually care about Feili's feelings? She was clearly nothing more than a trivial tool to you—a phantom discarded the moment it served its purpose." "Yet she is also me," Fanxing said. "Did you forget what I said earlier? What I fear most is mutual debt. Since you feel I stole a girl from you, I will return a girl to you. "If this is what you desire, then before you, I will be Feili—a true Feili." Yaxiu stared at her blankly. He heard his own voice, distant, like an echo wrenched from the folds of his soul. "What are you talking about?" "She will follow you to the Sorcerer Kingdom like a tail. She will watch you intently as you work, keep your every word etched in her heart, and share every passing emotion with you. Even the way you eat like a squirrel will make her laugh, as if you are her entire world. She will still get jealous and sulk, but she will forgive you the moment you coax her. She will still possess petty, transparent little schemes that nevertheless manage to fool you, because while she wants to prove her independence, she also longs for you to hold her in the palm of your hand. "When I am with you, I will be Feili. At all other times, Feili will be me." Fanxing lowered her eyelids. "Every promise you made can be fulfilled; every regret can be mended. "You have already missed your chance once. Now, I am offering you another." This time, Yaxiu could not laugh. He could not even hear his own heartbeat; a profound sense of helplessness drowned him in an instant. Not aboard the transport boat fleeing Shattered Lake, nor on the path breaking out of the Yisu Imperial Palace, nor in the depths of the Silent Spiral had he ever experienced such a sensation. Faced with cruel reality, all he could do was bare fangs and claws to defend whatever dignity remained. When he was truly offered 'another chance,' all he felt was the absurdity of being toyed with by miracles. Feili had reached out with every ounce of her strength trying to grasp the future, laying her very neck beneath the reaper's scythe, because she was so frail that only by wagering everything could she earn the right to sit at destiny's gambling table. Yet in the blink of an eye, everything she was had been reduced to a gift in a Divine Lord's hand—a bargaining chip to trade for the Supreme Holy Grail. He did not doubt Fanxing's capabilities in the slightest; she could truly resurrect Feili in every sense of the word, and only she could. This was his best chance to bring Feili back, not to mention that Fanxing was offering the entire world as Feili's dowry. Had Igola and Vichy been here, they would undoubtedly have forced his head down to accept. How laughable. No matter what atrocities a Divine Lord committed against you, she could always offer terms you could not refuse. Because in the end, you were merely human, not a monster. Now it was Yaxiu's turn to answer: just how high a price was he willing to pay for his own justice? "What about All Stars and Rose?" he asked softly. Fanxing's expression hardened. Looking upon Yaxiu with cold indifference, she replied, "I only owe you one girl." Yaxiu drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. Sound returned, the wind and rain returned, and even his battered body, aching to the bone, returned. He was back in this rainy night where even the air was freezing cold. He had no miracles, no wings of void, nothing at all—save for one final breath. "I am a sorcerer." He said, word by word, "An insatiably greedy sorcerer. "You refuse to return anything else to me, and as for the girl, you only offer a phantom you can puncture whenever you wish. Do you honestly think that is enough? "It will never be enough!" Yaxiu stood up from the carriage, making no attempt to conceal the sharp sword gripped tightly in his right hand. At this moment, he finally met Fanxing's gaze as an equal. Feili's resurrection was nothing more than wishful thinking; unless she could be severed completely from Fanxing, Feili would forever remain nothing more than Fanxing's feeler—a paper cut-out existing only to satisfy Yaxiu's fantasy, a mask donned by Fanxing to appease him. She had already been born into tragedy; she must never be reborn as one! "Perhaps the outcome is already set in stone, but without trying, I will never resign myself to it," he said coldly. "The grail is in your hands, but I still have a weapon in mine! "The grail is mine, and Feili is mine as well!" Yaxiu growled. "Everything I have lost, I will seize back! "If a sorcerer cannot create miracles, what point is there in being one at all!" He, too, had wished to muddle through life, subsisting on charity, but having set foot upon this battlefield, he no longer had the luxury of playing dumb. He could only press on, chasing Feili's phantom and defending the conviction they shared! "Is that so..." Fanxing closed her eyes. The starlight clustering around her faded, and even the galaxy draped across her turned dim and obscure. When she reopened her eyes, the sheer grandeur and majesty filling her pupils struck awe into the freezing rain and hail. Every speck of starlight beneath the meteor sky held aloft her august dignity. The carriage compartment she sat upon became a throne, and even her dangling legs seemed to tread above all living beings. "Come." As Yaxiu leapt, the tremendous recoil caused the Oracle Comet—the swiftest vessel in All Stars—to detonate and shatter into pieces. A gleam of sword light pierced through the roar of flames, dazzling like a supernova blaspheming the starry sky!