White Manjusaka

“Your handkerchief fell, Miss.” The red-clothed cleric gave a slight smile. He leaned down and picked up a silver-white handkerchief from the ground. Li Yue felt her pocket, not knowing when her handkerchief had fallen.

“Thank you.” Li Yue reached out, intending to take the handkerchief from him, but as she took it, she felt a slight tugging force. Her blood-red eyes looked into the cleric's pitch-black eyes, and a flash of disgust and irritation crossed them.

“Forgive my intrusion, Miss, but the aura of death on you is so heavy...”

“Aura of death?”

“To put it bluntly, Miss, has anyone important to you passed away recently?” The red-clothed cleric’s smile was thin, and it didn't seem to reach his eyes.

“Death...” Li Yue smoothed her pitch-black skirt and thought for a moment. “The ship I took to the academy was attacked by pirates, and many people died. Does that count?”

“I remember that case. It's said those arrested were sentenced to death. May their souls receive the Lord’s punishment and find their way back from the path of error.” The red-clothed cleric offered a brief, calm prayer. “Did you offer any resistance? Or perhaps, did you accidentally kill any of them?”

“I did ‘accidentally’ use too much force and killed a few pirates.”

“A turbulent journey indeed. I hope the Lord watches over your future path.” He let out a sigh. “What exactly was it for, that you would embark on such a perilous journey?”

“I only did it to see someone, to fulfill a promise. Before I knew it, I had already come a long way...”

“It seems you are satisfied with your current life.”

“Indeed... I don't want my life to be disturbed by anyone. If trouble keeps piling up, I don't mind cutting through the chaos swiftly.” She gave a shallow smile. She didn't mind cutting through the chaos swiftly, letting blood merge into a river.

She carried her small bag and walked quickly toward the East Academy gate. Although it wasn't too late yet, many students were already going in and out of the library with books, seemingly preparing for their academic papers for the term.

“Such a heavy aura of death, yet no scent of death itself. Only those in constant contact with death would be in such a state... Could she be an assassin?” The red-clothed cleric stood up, brushed the dust off the back of his robe, and let out a long breath. To him, as long as someone wasn't a believer in an evil god, they weren't an enemy.

“That young lady is a descendant of the Royal Court nobles, isn't she? Could that aura of death be something carried in her bloodline?” He shook his head and, clutching his Sacred Book, walked slowly toward the cathedral. The knights passing by saluted him one after another, and he nodded in response to each.

...

“Today, we will test your magic attributes. After so much training, your control over magic should have improved considerably.” Black took out a pale blue crystal. The students below him each had an identical crystal in front of them, which seemed to be the testing tool.

Black, dressed in white robes, slowly demonstrated the process of injecting magic. He closed his eyes slightly and let his magic pour into it. He controlled his magic well, and the crystal began to slowly “grow.” Gradually, the rudimentary shape of a flower appeared, looking like a lotus.

“Close your eyes, feel the essence within the magic, and match it to the flowers in your memory.” Black walked slowly through the room. His robes were pure white without even a hint of gold trim, a color somewhere between the cream-white of the classroom's marble walls and snow-white.

Feel the magic? I've never bothered to truly feel my magic... Just like God's remains, I don't care about these things at all.

The sound of crystals cracking and expanding echoed through the classroom. Blazing Sun Lilies of bright red, Celestial Wind Cyclamens of pure white with a hint of pale blue, and Jade Fragrance Lilies with white petals and blue flowers appeared...

Li Yue hesitated for a moment. She lightly gripped the crystal in her hand, and a sensation of being drained gradually washed over her. Li Yue carefully poured out her magic, and the crystal in her hand made a cracking sound.

“A Yue, look at this. Is it pretty?” Li Yue dazed for a moment. For some reason, she seemed to have entered a fragment of memory. She saw Clo placing a woven flower crown on her head, while a few pure white flowers were also tucked into her own hair. What kind of flowers were these... Think of it quickly...

Ah... that's right. It was a Cecilia flower, Clo's favorite flower...

The crystal in her hand emitted a faint white glow, and a Cecilia flower filled with emerald green and pure white gradually formed.

This memory... when exactly did it happen? Why is it always so hazy... like a dark shadow in the mist, visible but impossible to grasp.

Behind the memory... what was there?

“Forget me... Clo...”

Ah... why was this memory also filled with a vast field of Cecilia flowers?

Two figures stood one after another in an endless field of flowers. The flowers around the figure in front gradually withered, and a blood-red abyss began to spread from beneath her feet. Blood-red and snow-white Manjusakas bloomed within the scarlet tide. When the flowers bloom, the leaves are gone; when the leaves are there, the flowers have faded...

What is this?

“Don't go...”

“Li Yue, Li Yue!” She forced her eyes open and began to pant in short breaths. Her eyes were filled with exhaustion. She saw Black with an urgent expression, and the sound of cracking came from beneath her feet. In her hands, she held several blood-red and white Manjusakas, and dark red crystals spread out across the floor at her feet, covered in blood-red and white Spider Lilies.

She looked around. The faces of the other trainees were filled with fear and shock.

She felt waves of mental exhaustion, yet her body felt somewhat exhilarated.

Just what on earth is going on...