The cold moonlight gently falls on the quiet courtyard, covering the flowers and plants there with a layer of silver.
Sylvia sat quietly on the steps of the courtyard, gazing at the bright moon in the night sky, her beautiful dark purple eyes lost in thought.
Beside her, tiny white flowers bloomed on a small tree. The faint fragrance wafted over, making Sylvia feel a little calmer.
That was a sapling that her mother planted in the yard when she was still alive. Now it has grown into a lush tree.
Whenever she woke up from a dream at midnight and felt uneasy, Sylvia would come here and try to get through the difficult night.
Now, more than a month had passed since the winter night when she fell into the Grand Sea.
The cold winter has passed, and the warm spring has arrived, and all things are coming back to life.
And the young man named Xia Egut never appeared again.
At this point, Sylvia often wondered whether that encounter in the cold sea water was just a dream.
...
...
However, the remaining warmth on the crystal hairpin told her that the experience was not a dream, but reality.
"...I think - you who carry that power are not born evil."
"Whether you are good or evil is not determined by your birth, but by the choices you make."
The black-haired boy’s last words seemed to still ring in my ears.
"My...choice?"
Sylvia's mumbling faded away with the evening breeze, and no one heard it.
During this time, she has been thinking about this problem.
At the same time, I am thinking about my future path.
For the past sixteen years, she has been abandoning herself...
I curled myself up in a dark tower and waited in silence... the thick darkness swallowed me up.
Or rather, she should have drowned in the dark tide.
But a month ago, someone opened a window for her in that tall tower.
Then the sunlight shone through the window, the tide of darkness receded, and the eyes that had been accustomed to darkness began to yearn for the light a little.
From that moment on, anticipation rose in Sylvia's heart for the first time.
It's not about living for the cold eyes of others, but about having expectations for your own future.
"really……"
Sylvia took the crystal hairpin out from her hair.
Facing the cold moonlight, the crystal hairpin reflects infinite brilliance.
The girl spoke silently to herself:
"I still want to be a beastmaster like Brother Char."
…
"Why do you think so?"
A familiar voice sounded in Sylvia's ears.
She turned and looked.
All I saw was a young man with black hair and black eyes standing in the thin moonlight, his slender shadow infinitely stretched.
Just like when they first met, he appeared so quietly, appearing in Sylvia's life inadvertently, and then disappearing like the wind.
"Brother Xia."
Although she had imagined the scene when the two met again countless times, Sylvia was still a little embarrassed at the moment.
After returning to the Grand Duke's Palace, she looked up the information of "Char Egut", a family member with a different surname.
Then Sylvia discovered that the other party's parents died in the natural disaster sixteen years ago, and Char was an orphan taken in by the Grand Duke's family.
He should have been more qualified than anyone else in the Principality to loathe himself, hate himself, and curse himself to death...
But he didn't do that.
Instead, on that winter night, he pulled himself out of the icy abyss of the Grand Sea.
As if aware of Sylvia's embarrassment, Xia sat down on the steps beside her.
It was not until then that Sylvia realized that Xia was holding two medium-sized paper cups in his hands.
"Although it's early spring, it's still cold at night. Drink something to warm yourself up."
He handed over a paper cup, and Sylvia took it and whispered thank you.
The paper cup was very warm. Sylvia took a sip and then opened her beautiful dark purple eyes in surprise: "It's delicious."
"It does taste good, doesn't it?" The boy said with a hint of complacency: "After all, I failed hundreds of times in the Alchemy Academy before I made this new product based on the taste in my memory. You can call it milk tea, or Youlemei."
"If my descendants come to this world in the future, I hope they can understand this old joke."
He also took a sip of the drink in the paper cup and sighed with satisfaction: "Why don't you tell me about yourself? Why did you decide to become a beastmaster?"
As the warm liquid entered her throat, Sylvia felt her body warming up, even feeling lazy and comfortable.
For some reason, every time Char came to her side, Silvia's usual nervousness would disappear.
She thought for a moment and spoke in a calm voice, "It should be because of admiration."
"When I was very young, I saw my father riding his majestic pet back to the capital in triumph."
"At that time, half of the people in the capital came out to welcome my father. The whole road was filled with flowers, applause and glory."
"At that time, I was thinking, if I could use my own strength to contract a powerful pet, I could become a powerful beastmaster like my father."
"Then, maybe everyone will look at me with new eyes and no longer hate me so much."
As she spoke, Sylvia smiled slightly and lifted a strand of her falling chestnut hair.
"Now that I think about it, this is a very childish and even somewhat ridiculous reason."
"My situation and the world's view of me are not something that can be easily improved."
"On the contrary, the stronger I become, the more people will want me to die."
The gas was exhaled along with the words and turned into white mist in the cold air.
"only--"
"For me, who was ignorant and young at the time."
"This vague and unrealistic expectation has become the only hope and lifeline for the little girl."
Her eyes fell on Xia's chiseled face: "Now I will no longer have such childish thoughts."
"But I still hold on to this vision in my heart."
"It's not for the recognition of others, nor for the so-called flowers, glory and applause..."
"It's because I want to be like my father and brother Char."
"When you meet someone you want to help, you can have the power to lend a helping hand, just like you, Brother Char, saved me."
"Since I did leave behind sins due to my loss of control in the past, I will make up for it by saving more people."
"If the guy inside me goes berserk again... then I can also knock out the guy on the bronze cross by myself without your help, Brother Xia..."
“And—” Sylvia paused slightly.
Next to her was a thin book, a travelogue of a bard with illustrations of various places in the Western Continent.
"I also want to see the places recorded in this book."
"I want to see the Three Sages Snow Mountain in the Far North with my own eyes, to see if there is the Ice and Snow Elf King mentioned in the book on the top of the snow mountain..."
"I want to go to the dragon's nest in the south to see if those legendary evil dragons will kidnap the princess of the human kingdom and then fill their nests with shiny gold coins..."
"I want to see if there are any mermaids in the deep sea who sing beautifully and like to seduce passing sailors..."
Listening to Sylvia's words, Char saw the light of longing flashing in the girl's dark purple eyes.
He understood the reason why Sylvia thought this way.
Because of her dangerousness, the Grand Duke of Brunstadt's family took strict measures to confine Silvia.
In her past life, all the world she had access to was the complex of buildings in the Grand Duke's Palace, or in other words, this quiet courtyard that belonged to her.
Sylvia was able to come to the capital occasionally, such as when accompanying her father on tours, but that was always done under strict supervision.
She had secretly run away from home and came to the Grant Coast, which was several miles away from the royal capital. It was the farthest place Sylvia had ever been to in her life and was equivalent to the end of the world.
Sylvia's knowledge of the world all came from the piles of books and picture albums in her room...
That was why she longed to become a beastmaster, because in the adventure stories written by bards, only the protagonists who were beastmasters were qualified to travel the continent and experience the myriad mountains and rivers.
"Then, this is a bit troublesome..."
Char stroked the little ferret on his shoulder with a headache.
"It's not easy for you to become a beastmaster."
"I didn't expect you to say that, Brother Xia... According to common sense, shouldn't you encourage me at this time?"
"And you clearly said at the time that I would become a beastmaster more powerful than my father in the future."
There was a hint of surprise in Sylvia's words, but not a hint of disappointment.
Her father had long told her about the abnormality of her soul. Even opening a soul contract was an extremely difficult task for Sylvia, let alone becoming a strong beastmaster.
She was just a little surprised by Char's answer.
"The situation back then was different from now. Anyone could give people chicken soup and make big promises... It's like if a kid goes around shouting that he wants to be the richest man in the world, I might just respond casually with a few perfunctory words, 'yes, yes, yes.'"
"But the longing you just expressed was definitely not false."
Xia looked into Sylvia's eyes, and there was a rare hint of entanglement in his words.
"Even if there is indeed a path to becoming a legendary powerhouse in your future possibilities, it does not mean that the other risks do not exist."
That’s right, in real history, Sylvia did become a legend five hundred years ago and became the “Silver Witch” who built the Cretaceous Tower…
But who can guarantee that the girl in front of us will definitely follow the same path as history in the future?
Char never believed in prophecies or destiny, and he could not regard the girl in front of him, whose eyes were full of longing, as a projection of history that "has already happened and cannot be changed."
Although his original intention was only to complete the novice mission and get the reward, it is undeniable that after that winter night in the Grand Sea, Char had indeed regarded Silvia as a friend.
"Anyone can irresponsibly support other people's dreams."
"But only those who are close to you will worry about you."
Xia half-lay down on the grass in the courtyard, gazing at the silver moon in the night sky.
"The bronze cross deep in your soul is both a burden and a protection for you."
"That is a seal left for you by a legend. As long as you ignore it, the Twilight half of your body will be sealed by the bronze cross until the seal expires."
"All we need to worry about is the slight smell and residue that leaks out through the bronze cross."
"But that bronze cross also blocks the power of your own soul."
"So, if you want to open up a soul covenant and become a strong person with the power to dominate your own destiny, then you must go deep into the bronze cross."
"Break away from the protection of the seal, throw away all the shackles—"
"Use your own will to face the monster that destroyed half of the Cang Ting Principality. Use your spirit to control the other party and seize the control of your soul power."
"This process will be long, painful, and difficult. It may take a lifetime to complete..."
"During this period, you will pay an unimaginable price. If you fail, you will lose your life, or completely become a puppet of Twilight."
Char paused for a moment.
"So, I won't cheer you on for your dreams..."
"Because as your father, His Majesty the Grand Duke of Brunstadt, said, from a security perspective, maintaining the status quo is the best option for you."
"But at the same time, I won't stop you from making your choice."
"Because I think no one has the right to deprive others of their wishes, not even God."
…
When Sylvia came to her senses, the young man in front of her had disappeared, just as silently as he had come.
But there was no more confusion and hesitation in the girl's dark purple eyes.
This was the first time since she was born that she made a decision based on her own will.
At midnight, when the dim light of madness and depravity once again overflowed from the bronze cross...
Sylvia did not try to escape or suppress the situation, but for the first time chose to face it.
This is a game between ancient gods and mortals, and the loser will lose everything.
That night, Elder Norton, who was in the family secret room, felt uneasy and had an inexplicable premonition.
He felt that there was a slight change in his perfect plan, but no matter how he checked, he could not find it, and in the end nothing happened.
The next morning, when Sylvia woke up again, her dark purple eyes and long chestnut hair were pale.
She also lost the ability to speak.
This is the price one pays for spying on the power of gods with a mortal body.
From now on, every word she utters will be tainted with the power of corruption, bringing corruption, pollution and death.
At the wooden table, Sylvia opened the diary given to her by Char and began to write in the dim light of the candle.
…
"...From now on, every word I say will be equivalent to the spirit of death."
"In order to avoid hurting others, I will not speak even when no one is around."
"This silent curse will always be with me... until the end of my life, or the end of the life of that ancient god."
"Char-nii-san said, who would write a diary if they were serious?"
"But I think that both he and I are heretics, not decent people... After all, a decent person would not drag me into the sea, nor would he ignore the hateful looks of other members of the family and stay by my side."
"But if heretics could have their friends and lick each other's wounds..."
"Then I feel like being a maverick heretic isn't a bad idea, right?"
——Excerpt from the first page of "Diary of the Blue Silver Witch", the 12th day of the month of germination in the 346th year of the Holy Calendar.
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