Time was up.
With the shattering of the Bronze Dragon phantom, Diya in Yaxiu's arms had no choice but to revert from her Witch state back to her Lisi form. But her eyes darted about, and she continued clinging to Yaxiu without letting go, rubbing against him. "Daddy, I missed you so much!"
Yaxiu gave her head a solid rap with his knuckles. Only then did Diya reluctantly pull away, wondering how on earth Yaxiu had seen through her when she had imitated Lisi so convincingly.
Next time, she would try switching places halfway through Lisi acting cute, and when Yaxiu realized it was her and wanted to hit her, switch back to Lisi, to see if she could completely scramble Yaxiu's perception.
Diya had originally wanted to draw a clear line between herself and Lisi, but she couldn't bear to lose Yaxiu's pampering affection toward Lisi. After mulling it over, she decided that rather than looking for faults in herself, it was better to blame Yaxiu for not doting on her like a daughter as well, tackling the problem at the root by warping his preferences.
Not only would this satisfy her own needs, but a properly trained Yaxiu would naturally be unable to find satisfaction in any other woman, leaving him no choice but to contentedly remain Her Majesty the Empress's loyal courtier under her skirt.
For now, however, she could only watch with puffed-out cheeks as Yaxiu whispered intimately with Sonia. She turned her head and blinked at Weise, hinting for her to think of something fast!
Weise spread her hands, indicating that as a mere phantom, her power was truly limited—though there was still a way.
She sat upright beside Yaxiu. Her phantom hand silently passed through his clothes, gliding all the way down his neck, chest, and abdomen, until Yaxiu pressed his lips together and turned his head to stare at her. Weise cocked her head with an innocent look, while Sonia eyed them suspiciously.
Yaxiu glanced around at the devastation of the Woodland Theater. "Though I also feel this is far from enough, this place truly isn't a good spot for a reunion."
"There won't be any danger," Sonia said. "Now that the Astral Canopy has shattered, the Starry sorcerer legion has completely withdrawn. They know we have legendary combat power here, so unless necessary, they won't send people to throw their lives away."
"The key premise being 'unless necessary.'" Yaxiu gave a bitter smile. He briefly explained how he had snatched half of the Supreme Holy Grail from Fanxing's hands, concluding, "Before leaving, Fanxing said 'Five nations unite into one, Fanxing as the constitution.' I don't think that was an empty threat."
Weise nodded in agreement. "Barring any unexpected turns, two-way portals will soon open between the five nations to unite them. The other Divine Lord factions will withdraw from the mortal realm, and reality will be completely taken over by the Divine Lord of Stars. When that time comes, they will undoubtedly mobilize the full power of all five nations to capture Yaxiu, who holds a Supreme Tail Feather."
"She's no longer just a Divine Lord," Yaxiu suddenly remarked. "She is the Sorcery Supreme—the Starry Supreme!"
"What about Gospel?" Diya asked. "I'm the Yisu Empress!"
Weise shook her head. "If you try to harbor Yaxiu, you won't be Empress anymore. Every faction in Gospel would rather lose the Gospel system than make a mortal enemy of the Starry Supreme. Otherwise, the other four nations would wage a war of annihilation to destroy Gospel and capture Yaxiu."
"So just as planned," Sonia smiled, "we're going to be fugitives on the run to the ends of the earth?"
"Why do you sound as thrilled as if we're going on a honeymoon?"
Even as he said this, Yaxiu wasn't particularly flustered either. He said calmly, "You, Diya, and I are all legendary sorcerers. And there's also Vichy—I don't think I've officially introduced Vichy to you yet. She's a new operator I found in All Stars."
The moment the words left his mouth, the girls' expressions instantly soured.
"I knew there was something suspicious about that maid in Dream Heaven," Sonia bit her lower lip. "You actually added someone to the team without telling us?"
"I thought you were just playing around with that maid. Are you actually serious?" Diya pouted, looking deeply aggrieved. "How far have you two gone? She calls herself your maid—you haven't already...?"
"Isn't Vichy the Spectre Prophet?" Weise clutched her silver lantern, on the verge of tears. "I know I have no right to speak, and I should be content just to be with you all again, but she is the Spectre Prophet who nearly killed us. I..."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa?!" Yaxiu was utterly dumbfounded. "She's just an operator, not actually one of us! Mine is a purely innocent master-and-slave relationship with her, untainted by any feelings whatsoever. I only treat her like a tool. It's completely different from our relationship!"
"Still, she can explore the Void Realm together with us as a team in the future, right?" Sonia asked.
"Well, yes, but—"
"Didn't you risk your life fighting a demon for her back in Dream Heaven?" Diya asked.
"Yes, but—"
"You won't kill her, will you?" Weise asked.
"That's because I can't kill her!" Yaxiu answered instantly. "She has a soul phylactery. If she dies, she'll resurrect elsewhere, and she might even break my slave chains. Letting her go would be unleashing a scourge upon the world and creating an enemy lurking in the shadows forever, waiting for a chance to take revenge on us!"
"If we could find her soul phylactery and eliminate every possibility of her reviving," Weise asked, "would you kill her?"
Yaxiu froze slightly. The sun was sinking now, dividing the world's colors in half: the sky above shone dazzling white, while the city below lay steeped in shadowy, dusky blue, like two paintings spliced together.
The day was drawing to an end, and true night was about to rise. Questions set aside for so long were soon to be laid bare under the starlight.
"If..." His voice was very soft. "If she truly could be killed once and for all, I..."
"But she saved your life before, didn't she?"
Her phantom body gently pressed against Yaxiu's physical form. Weise buried herself in his embrace and said softly, "If she once fought side by side with you, I can forgive her for now. She was once a demigod; if you find her useful, I can accept her presence. Besides, she's a legendary sorcerer now, isn't she? That makes her vital combat power for our future flight." Weise blinked. "However, if the time comes when she can't fit into the team and we collectively ostracize her, I hope you'll know whose side to take, Yaxiu."
A heavy weight lifted from Yaxiu's chest. "Of course," he said earnestly. "Whatever happens, Vichy is always the one at fault. You can't even trust the punctuation marks that come out of her mouth. I stand unconditionally with all of you."
"Thank you. I knew we mattered most to you," Weise said with a sweet smile.
Watching this unfold, Sonia and Diya exchanged a look, communicating their thoughts silently and reaching a swift consensus—this returned Weise was even more dangerous!
Did Weise hate Vichy? Of course she did!
Yet, sharp as she was, how could she not know that Vichy had merely acted as a catalyst? With or without Vichy, she would still have embarked on that very path to destroy the world.
If Yaxiu could keep Vichy under control, Weise's pragmatic nature gave her no reason to insist on eliminating her.
Instead, she had first laid bare her grievances, backing Yaxiu into an ultimatum, only to magnanimously forgive Vichy afterward. She had even supplied ample justification for letting Vichy join the team, leaving Sonia and Diya with nothing left to object to.
She had claimed the lion's share of Yaxiu's goodwill, while the cost was borne by everyone together!
"By the way, Weise," Diya remarked casually, "Yaxiu told us that you're the Silver Lantern of Senluo. Back then, you teamed up with us in the Void Realm while working against Yaxiu in reality."
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." Weise lowered her head, biting her trembling lip as she sobbed. "I know I have no right to keep teaming up with you. I don't even have a body anymore—neither human nor god, lingering like a wandering ghost in the apocalypse of Senluo. But this is the fate I deserve! I deserve to shine forever in dark Senluo!
"Still, when I saw through the mirror that Yaxiu was in danger, I couldn't stop myself from rushing to him. Even if it exhausted my very foundation as a god, if I could protect him for even a single second, I would be content. So if you ever run into trouble in the future, you can contact me directly through a mirror. All of you are my greatest reason to go on living; I am willing to guard you until my divinity fades and my consciousness dissolves.
"Yaxiu, the Sword Princess and the Witch truly love you. You must treat them well. Don't make a terrible mistake like I did..."
What the hell!
Sonia and Diya were completely flabbergasted—especially Sonia. She hadn't uttered a single word, yet Weise's words had almost painted her as the chief culprit persecuting her!
Sonia was no stranger to playing the innocent victim herself, but Weise's performance was breathtaking.
Weise was clearly the one in the wrong, yet now the mood had been spun so far that withholding forgiveness would make them look like the bad guys!
"Weise..."
"Yes?"
Yaxiu flicked her forehead. "Apologize properly to them. The ones you deceived were the Sword Princess and the Witch. They don't owe you anything. I might have forgiven you, but if they don't, I won't speak to you except when exchanging vital information."
Weise was struck dumb. She protested defensively, "Everything I just said came straight from the heart!"
"I know," Yaxiu sighed helplessly. "But I've heard far too many of those 'words from the heart.' Where was there even a shred of an apology? Every single line was genuinely whining about your misery and taking credit for your sacrifices."
The corner of Weise's mouth twitched. With no other choice, she dutifully bowed her head to the Sword Princess and the Witch. "I'm sorry for deceiving you for so long, and for using your trust to hurt Yaxiu."
This finally eased Sonia and Diya's irritation, though Sonia was more curious about another matter:
"Yaxiu, how did you suddenly get so sharp?"
"If you spent nearly half a year living with a Soul Demigod," Yaxiu spread his hands, "you'd also learn to grasp the central point in every conversation and filter out all the melodrama. Not to mention, if Igola hadn't taught me how to decipher 'words from the heart'..."
At that point, Yaxiu paused. He looked around in confusion. "Wait, where are Igola and Harvey?"
Chapter 999