Cold Embrace (6)

The crowd stood in a daze, unable to believe what they were hearing.

"General?"

Belisa remained silent.

"General!" Flora stepped forward, refusing to accept this.

"Put down your weapons!" Belisa's roar snapped everyone present back to their senses. No matter how unwilling they felt in their hearts, they could only lower their weapons and retreat to the side.

"Pfft, are these savages joking with me?"

As if witnessing the funniest thing in the world, Sirius clutched his stomach and laughed until tears nearly came to his eyes.

"This is truly too interesting. A high-ranking, powerful demigod actually showing such steadfast loyalty to a faint-hearted, incompetent human monarch. I swear I'll never see such a hilarious sight again in my life."

He spoke to the wizard beside him.

"Is that monarch any different from an ant she could crush at will?"

"To possess such power yet still be bound by rules—how pathetic."

"Good, good!" Constantine breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted, taking back the offered sword of authority. "I knew I hadn't misjudged you, Belisa. I shouldn't have questioned your loyalty..."

This weak and incompetent king completely forgot that he had just been under house arrest; his heart was filled only with the joy of being freed from the threat of death.

Belisa said nothing. After instructing her most trusted subordinates to watch over the king, she spoke in a low voice and walked away with heavy steps.

The views of many Titans who were originally loyal to this leader began to undergo subtle changes.

Sevia Winter felt that the persistent deathly aura surrounding the general seemed to have grown even thicker.

The general appeared to be terminally ill.

Like a terminal illness patient.

"Your Majesty, allow me to offer my sincerest respects."

As the farce ended, Sirius timely knelt on one knee to offer his greetings to the king on the throne.

"Quickly, tell me, Master Wizard, what must be done to save this country? I cannot bear to see my subjects suffer any longer." Constantine hurried over to help the Archbishop of Wrath rise, causing the nearby guards to sigh in frustration.

At night.

"That damn Meus, it's all because of him that the general..." Atula slammed a fist against the wall in fury. It was the first time Sevia Winter had seen such a furious expression on her friend's face.

"You must be wondering why the general chose to compromise, right?"

Sevia Winter nodded.

"To tell you the truth, her power comes from the faith people have in her."

"Only when the majority of people follow her does she possess power enough to rival the gods and a mental capacity vast enough to encompass all rivers."

"Once those who believe in her turn away, she loses that power. But her physical body has already played host to divine power..."

"I can see the general's weakness." Atula's face was full of resentment. "She is the last person who should have stood up to lead everyone."

"Right now, she must be weakened to the absolute limit."

Ultimately, Atula stormed out of the room in anger, leaving Sevia Winter alone by the bed, lost in low whispers and deep thought.

What was the ultimate goal of those wizards bringing the Gnawing Parasite Miracle?

Bodies that could not die, the Witch of Wrath, and this Archbishop of Wrath—that youth who called himself Sirius was actually from the Starfall family...

The miracle was about to erupt. Why did those wizards choose to return here at this exact moment?

To save this kingdom hurtling toward destruction? That was a lie.

After nearly two hundred years, what exactly were they plotting?

Caught in the middle of this vortex, what should she do?

At the end of this lonely journey, could she truly find her real self?

Tossing and turning and unable to sleep, Sevia Winter climbed the city tower again. The wind tossed her long hair, and the city gate had been lowered at some unknown time.

The girl wandered along the ramparts as the stars fell toward the distant plains.

In a daze, she heard a great commotion.

It was as if she were standing in the center of a battlefield, with horses neighing, blades clashing, and battle cries shaking the heavens.

Shadows of countless monsters manifested in the air, emitting screeching sounds as they darted past her.

Looking up, many figures with blurred faces were fighting fiercely with these hunched monsters. Figures fell continuously into the dark night like falling stars.

At one moment, among those fighting figures, she caught a glimpse of golden hair. Her dark eyes widened slightly, and the syllables were on the tip of her tongue.

"Yu..."

As if sensing her call, the golden-haired girl turned her head. A face she knew all too well was now cold and indifferent as she raised the gun in her hand.

Sevia Winter pursed her lips in confusion, her gaze trembling as she faced the dark muzzle of the gun.

Did the other girl not recognize her?

Bang—the flash from that rifle tore through the night.

The phantom of a monster leaping from behind her fell to the ground.

Having done this, the golden-haired girl turned and left. Countless followers trailed behind her as they advanced victoriously toward the depths of the bastion.

Even if it was only a phantom, even if she couldn't tell if it was a hallucination, a strong sense of impending loss still welled up in Sevia Winter's heart.

She was so afraid that the other would disappear from her world like this again.

Please don't abandon her...

At first, she just took small steps forward, but before long, the girl's pace quickened. Finally, she began to run against the wind.

The wind by her ears blew back her hood and tossed her hair. She tripped on her own cloak and fell, scraping her palms and knees.

The stars in the sky guided the girl's path, shadows no longer tripped her feet, and the dusty wind carried a passionate longing, urging her not to be hesitant and to move faster!

Sevia Winter coughed, her weak body unable to support such intense exercise. It felt as if an unnamed fire was roasting her heart; every second before finding the answer felt agonizingly long to the girl.

Her heartbeat grew faster and hotter.

Don't leave her here alone...

Finally, she reached the end.

The girl's face was covered in dust, her clear eyes staring deeply at the figure ahead.

"Yuzu?" Sevia Winter called out softly.

On the virtual other shore, Xu Xiaoyou sensed something and looked back.

There was nothing there but a wall.

"What is it, Yuzu? Why are you staring at a wall in a daze?" Akabane Tsubaki asked as she walked in.

"I was just thinking about some things," Xu Xiaoyou said, shaking her head.

"Stop and rest for a bit. Don't charge forward recklessly. Taking the prison in one go isn't realistic. We need to be steady..."

After issuing a series of tactical commands to the members of Light-Chaser Garden, Xu Xiaoyou prepared to leave.

Watching the other's departing back, Sevia Winter bit her lip anxiously. As if possessed, she took a step forward and reached her fingertips toward the wall.

The scene that unfolded made Xu Xiaoyou's eyes slowly widen.

On the mottled wall in front of her, a scratch appeared silently. Then, stroke by stroke, words appeared clearly and slowly, written in elegant handwriting.

—Hug me.

Xu Xiaoyou turned her head sharply.