Chapter 61
◎The Only Protagonist◎
Legend has it that Pygmalion, the king of Cyprus, was a master sculptor. He carved a maiden from ivory and fell in love with her. He prayed to the gods to give the statue life and make the sculpted maiden his wife. The gods granted his request, and the statue came to life, becoming a real person.
“I’ve heard the story of Pygmalion,” Lan Hua said. The sculptor was the suitor, pouring his heart and soul into bringing the sculpture to life.
But since Séloë claims that the Pygmalion Blade and the Philosopher's Stone caused these sculptures to take on such a bizarre appearance, it suggests that this "myth" must be flawed.
Séloë was particularly patient with Lan Hua, saying, "His carving knife is the key to giving the statue life; it's a deal he made with 'God'."
The reason why Seloe chose to use the Philosopher's Stone is because the Philosopher's Stone contains enormous energy, and this Philosopher's Stone of the universe has a special connection with the Lan family, making it the most suitable vessel for Lan Xuan's soul.
When Seloi's soul was fully awakened, it was attached to the statue he had prepared for himself—the very statue that Gane Sobek had mistaken for Regas.
However, when his soul was attached to the statue, he discovered that the statue, carved with Pygmalion's Blade, actually had a huge flaw.
Therefore, he turned his attention to Regas and Lan Hua, who looked exactly like Lan Xuan.
“If that were all, you would have used these sculptures to awaken Lan Xuan long ago, but you didn’t—” Lan Hua recalled everything Celoé had said and done, and had a general idea in her mind, “You must have tested them yourself first, and then discovered that these sculptures had flaws that you couldn’t tolerate…”
As Lan Hua spoke, she suddenly laughed. "According to legend, Pygmalion and his wife, who was transformed into a statue, had children. But life is vast and mysterious, and neither humans nor the 'gods' you speak of have ever glimpsed a very small part of it."
Creating a true life form is something even the so-called "gods" cannot do; otherwise, how could they have ended up on the verge of extinction?
“So, I guess…” Lan Hua looked up at Celoé and said, “You discovered that these so-called living sculptures are actually just inorganic stone turned into flesh and blood, but they are actually hollow inside.”
After saying that, Lan Hua took out a dagger from the particle space and stabbed it directly into the sculpture's abdomen. The white sculpture's abdomen was indeed like a real human abdomen, with the unique temperature and softness of flesh and blood, and the sound of the dagger rubbing against the flesh as it pierced the abdomen.
The instant the dagger pierced the sculpture's abdomen, a liquid indistinguishable from human blood gushed out, crimson and with a bloody smell.
Faced with this bizarre scene, Lan Hua remained unmoved, which confirmed his guess. Then, he directly dissected the sculpture's chest and abdomen. When he saw the inside of the sculpture's chest and abdomen, he chuckled, "Just as I suspected."
The sculpture is hollow inside; the so-called flesh and blood body is just a white outer layer of "flesh and blood." So even if it is given a soul, the sculpture may look no different from an ordinary person on the outside, but it will not have the organs that normal people have, and even its five senses may be missing.
This is the fundamental reason why Celoé abandoned the plan.
“Let me guess, the flaw that you find most unbearable might be—” Lan Hua coughed lightly, covering her lips with the back of her other hand to hide her barely suppressed laughter, “…the lack of sexual pleasure, right?”
Despite being teased by Lan Hua, Selloe seemed to have a very good temper. Even so, he didn't get angry or show any displeasure. He smiled and said, "You and Lan Xuan are really alike, whether in appearance, personality, or intelligence."
The facts are indeed as Lan Hua said.
The so-called living sculptures carved by Pygmalion's Blade are merely literal descriptions of breathing flesh and blood; they can breathe and bleed, but their essence remains just a shell, not a life form constituted by a system. Even if they were given a soul, they could only see, move, speak, and hear, but they had no feelings whatsoever.
This is not the body he wanted, and he would not wrong Lan Xuan to be attached to such a body.
Lan Hua pulled out a dagger, which was covered in scarlet "blood," and the splattered "blood" even stained Lan Hua's hand holding the dagger.
Lan Hua held the dagger up to her eyes and carefully examined the liquid on it; it was indeed no different from human blood.
"I have told you everything. Now, can you give up your body?" Although it was an unreasonable and arrogant statement, Celoe's tone made it sound affectionate and tender.
Lan Hua chuckled lightly, "I don't want to. What do your messy affairs have to do with me?" His love, which Lan Xuan had already swept into the trash can, was inexplicably dragged into this mess. He didn't want to be a supporting character in this melodramatic soap opera, especially not the kind of cannon fodder tool whose only purpose was to offer his body.
Lan Hua's refusal was within Celoé's expectations. Therefore, upon hearing Lan Hua's reply, the gentle smile on his face did not fade. He could always maintain gentleness and patience when facing Lan Xuan.
He said softly, “Your body will be forever young and immortal; it will possess all the glory and honor of the universe. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Lan Hua flung the dagger in her hand toward Céloé. With a flash of silver light and a splash of blood, the dagger swiftly and accurately stabbed toward "Osei" in the chest.
However, Celoé reacted quickly, his figure turning into a shadow as he swiftly moved to the side. The dagger did not pierce the intended target, but instead struck the sculpture that was originally behind "Ose".
The dagger plunged into the sculpture's chest, producing a dull thud as flesh was pierced. Crimson blood trickled down the white sculpture's chest, striking and glaring.
Looking at the sculpture with blood streaming from its chest, and then at Celoé who calmly dodged and stood still, Lan Hua sneered, "You just watched your sculpted Lan Xuan suffer a fatal injury. It seems you didn't love him that much after all."
Faced with Lan Hua's sarcasm, Séloë remained calm: "These sculptures are now nothing but discarded shells, while you are my treasure and my beloved." Anyone unaware of the situation would surely think this was a romantic and passionate declaration of love.
“I’m not someone you cherish.” Among a group of identical white sculptures, Lan Hua was the only vibrant and bright spot. He said slowly, “And Lan Xuan doesn’t want to be your cherished one either.” At this moment, the smile on his face was cold and mocking.
These words shattered the gentle smile on Céloë's face. He recalled that in what seemed like a distant past, someone had said similar things with the same expression, and that person had the same face as the one before him.
This brought back vivid memories he had tried to forget. He closed his eyes, his expression turning pained to the point of appearing somewhat ferocious.
Then, he suddenly opened his eyes, and the purple eyes that had been smiling on the surface lost their feigned emotion, revealing a coldness and a bloodthirsty cruelty.
“That’s not up to you,” Sello said coldly, looking at Lan Hua as if he were looking at someone else through Lan Hua.
The mental pressure that had been deliberately suppressed was completely released, so powerful that even Regas couldn't escape unscathed. This almost tangible mental force rushed towards Lan Hua. At the same time, this mental force also transformed into a cage-like mental net, enveloping Lan Hua and imprisoning him within it, making escape impossible.
"Tsk, finally you're not pretending anymore." Despite the almost tangible pressure of mental energy, Lan Hua showed no sign of tension, seemingly unaffected by it, and even had the leisure to continue teasing.
However, his tense body and suddenly bloodshot eyes betrayed that he was not at ease. Even with Lan Hua's exceptional talent, his mental strength, honed over hundreds of years and enhanced by the Philosopher's Stone, could not bridge the gap in power brought about by time, despite Lan Hua's outstanding talent.
Lan Hua reached out to steady herself against the statue beside her, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force.
Sello stepped forward, lifted Lan Hua's chin, and smiled, "Right now, you are like a rose in a storm, fragile and stubborn, making people feel sorry for you, but also able to ignite people's destructive desires." These were his words only to Lan Hua, not Lan Xuan.
Only by shattering beautiful things can they achieve eternity. For a moment, he could clearly distinguish that the person before him was Lan Hua, not Lan Xuan, because of that fragile beauty, he wanted to shatter him completely.
Lan Hua felt his mind was becoming hazy, but even in this situation, his face did not show any pain or weakness.
“You really don’t understand the Lan family,” Lan Hua said with a light laugh. “Even in death, members of the Lan family choose to follow their hearts and be free from worldly desires.”
He couldn't help but cough: "So, I'd rather this body be destroyed than let you have it. Just like—"
He continued, "Lan Xuan would rather his soul and spirit completely dissipate than let you control his soul."
A mocking smile played on his lips as he said to Celoé, "You've been plotting for centuries, but didn't you ever consider that you never actually captured Lan Xuan's soul in the first place?"
Lan Hua's voice trailed off as an unprecedented sense of mental exhaustion washed over him. He had considered all possible endings for himself, but he never imagined that a person's fate truly could not be predicted.
What an imperfect ending... Before Lan Hua turned her body into dust, she couldn't help but mock herself.
"Sigh..." Lan Hua's gradually fading consciousness felt a low sigh, and then he clearly felt that the overwhelming mental pressure seemed to have decreased a lot.
Lan Hua's consciousness gradually returned, and then he saw a familiar face, eyes filled with the familiar tenderness and indulgence. He smiled softly, his body gradually relaxing, and murmured, "Regas..."
"I'm here." A gentle, breeze-like voice rang in his ears, bringing a sense of relaxation and peace.
"I don't want to be a supporting character in someone else's melodramatic story at all," Lan Hua complained softly before losing consciousness.
"Yes, you are the only protagonist in my story."
A note from the author:
Note: Bibliography
Ovid, author of *The Metamorphosis*
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