Go towards the light
Will I die after it is removed...?
If it were before, this might be a good choice.
Her family had their own way of life, and it was not her turn to interfere, nor was she required to worry about anything... At the end of her life, being able to completely break free from everything imposed on her by the surname Kelinlet and simply live for herself, even if it was short, was a peaceful ending.
She had always been able to accept death.
No matter where you die or how you die, you can still face it calmly.
But now Ximu already has a future that he looks forward to more than a peaceful exit.
The woman in front of her, who was also chosen by the holy weapon, must be the adventurer mother who often traveled around the country that Ruixia had mentioned to her - judging from the hidden meaning in her words, there must be some other way besides completely removing the "Thorn of the End"!
After she finished speaking, Ximu did not respond, but just stared at her with expectant eyes.
"...It seems you don't like this plan very much."
Seeing that Ximu didn't choose to sacrifice his life so easily, the woman curled the corners of her lips and became visibly interested.
"Or, you can choose to be like me and stop fighting the possessed sacred object. Instead, you can actively accept it as a part of yourself, coexist with it according to your own will, and become its true agent."
"But, but it will devour my consciousness and control me into a weapon of killing..."
Anything that could be called a sacred vessel must possess some characteristic or thought from a deity. The mark on the woman's forehead gave off a sense of dignity and awe, clearly from a righteous deity, and clearly not the kind that would tempt others to do evil.
But the "Thorn of the End" is actually a trace of murderous intent from the God of Slaughter. He hates all living things and has an instinctive desire for blood and decay.
It doesn't care about the will of the person acting on its behalf at all. It only wants to kill and have fun!
"Then make yourself its scabbard."
The woman's expression was gentle, but her eyes were firm.
"Following the instructions of the Holy Artifact doesn't mean blindly accepting its will. As long as you always remember who you are and know what you are supposed to do, then this so-called Holy Artifact is nothing more than a companion with a bit of a chatterbox."
She suddenly reached out and touched Ximu's cheek.
Ximu instinctively wanted to avoid him, but the aura that was similar to Ruixia made her feel at ease, and she suddenly developed some feelings of admiration that she had never felt before.
Her own mother had never touched her so closely, and the way she looked at her was mostly playful and scrutinizing.
"Do you know why it controls you so easily? Because in your heart, the part that belongs to 'yourself' is so small.
"I don't know what kind of life you led before, but for someone to be so empty, I guess they haven't treated you well. When you woke up, the first thing you called out was someone else's name, begging me to kill you to save him... What about you? Where do you put your 'self'?"
This was not a problem in the past, but now Ximu has to face this problem.
I see……
It was because he had always lived as a "tool" rather than a "person", that was why the holy vessel so easily took away control of his body, and he returned to this cold altar again and again.
Perhaps she had never really left here.
These chains are habits, disciplines, a part of her body branded by the years she has lived, and innate shackles brought by her blood.
If she doesn't completely abandon and cut off these things, she will have no way to move forward.
"I can use the corrective properties of the 'Returning Thorn' to help you regain control of your body, but you should also understand that this isn't a long-term solution. After all, I can't stay by your side all the time just to prevent a recurrence of today's situation."
"I see."
Ximu was not good at negotiation, and in her opinion, the other party was willing to help this time out of respect for Ruixia.
Otherwise, with this ability to freely enter and exit other people's consciousness, it would only take a few minutes to directly cut off her life in the sea of consciousness.
but……
"I want to ask you for one more thing."
"What's up?"
"If I remember correctly, I should still have a 'blessing' on me... Can you weave it into my consciousness and strengthen my soul?"
At the moment when the magic academy collapsed, before leaving, Phises gave his blessings to everyone who participated in the battle.
——Fearless young people, may you never lose your way in the deepest night.
This is not only a signpost to guide them back to the normal world smoothly, but also a protection and blessing for their future life.
The words spoken by the Son of God, who has been looked upon by the gods, are not just simple blessings, but have "power".
Although Xi Mu had no feeling at that time, she was now clear-minded and naturally felt the blessing power that was faintly visible in the depths of her sea of consciousness.
"Okay, then...what price are you prepared to pay?"
The woman agreed easily and even extended her golden hand to her, but she didn't expect that there were conditions behind it.
"The 'Thorn of Return' has the characteristic of expelling all beings outside the rules of the world, returning everything to its original state. I can fulfill your request, but it is beyond the scope of a sacred artifact's duties, and naturally requires payment before it can be used."
Ximu thought for a moment and replied, "—My entire future life."
"……What?"
"I, as myself, will stay by Ruisha's side every day of my life and protect him forever."
Looking at the woman's slightly surprised eyes, Ximu felt for the first time that he was simply a genius.
This way she could regain her sanity and be with Ruixia legitimately forever - she got all the benefits without suffering any loss!
It seems that she and Jie Yan are siblings after all... Even if they don't have the ability to weave webs like a spider, as long as they want to, they can still come up with an idea!
Just as he was feeling a little proud, the woman next to him suddenly burst into laughter as if she had heard something funny.
“Pfft…ha, hahahahahaha!”
This smile instantly made Ximu lose her confidence. She felt that there was no such good thing in the world. Her eyes, which had been shining just now, immediately dimmed. She even began to prepare herself mentally.
The woman laughed happily for a long time, and finally stopped to take a breath, then wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a casual movement.
"You like Ruixia so much? What is your relationship with my son?"
She suddenly leaned close to Ximu with a teasing look on her face, but before Ximu could react, she sat up straight again, seemingly in no hurry to ask any further questions.
"That's a reasonable price, but it's not fair to you... What if what he wants isn't what you want? How will you cope then?"
Ximu understood the meaning of her words.
But Ruisha was more than just someone she loved very much.
He is also her benefactor.
He was her first impression of the outside world, her first understanding of the bright side of human nature, and it was he who gave her hope and expectations for life, and made her realize that she could wield a knife for more than just killing.
He is a very good person himself.
Even if his light will not fall on her alone, even if... the person he wants to spend his life with is not her, it doesn't matter.
It's just a move from the light to the dark.
——As long as he is worth it, she is worth it too.
"This is my opinion, it has nothing to do with him."
The words were spoken frankly, but a hint of not-so-harsh anger flashed across the woman's eyes.
"Honestly, I don't really advocate for girls to hastily and unilaterally decide on their lifelong events..."
Thinking back to how she seemed to have gotten married quite young, the woman curled her lips and swallowed the rest of her exhortation. She turned around and said, "Forget it. Everyone has their own destiny. I'll accept the price for now... If your mind changes in the future, we can discuss it then."
She gently placed the golden light in her palm on the mark between Xi Mu's eyebrows, and the pure and positive energy gathered together. Runes with rules written on them surrounded them and lifted up their clothes and hair.
"As I wish, to prove the truth, the order of the void is unified..."
Ximu could no longer hear the chanting that followed, but felt six warm forces surging into her heart, connecting the scattered "blessings" in her sea of consciousness into sentences with a golden light, which continued to merge and spread until it filled all the empty corners.
The boundless black waves that covered the body and mind slowly receded unwillingly. The silver-haired girl on the shore moved her eyelashes slightly, and finally slowly opened her eyes.
In those purple eyes, which were so dark that they were almost ink-black, was reflected the figure of a black-haired boy with a worried look on his face.
What a familiar scene.
When she fell into the lake and woke up from a cruel illusion, Ruixia was standing by her side, looking at her with a worried look on her face.
"……sorry."
Looking at the barren state around her, one could easily imagine how horrible the situation must have been when she was completely controlled by the "Thorn of the End" - Ruixia's cheeks, hair and clothes were covered in dust, and one could imagine how miserable she was before.
"Why should I apologize? I'm not hurt."
The boy's voice was muffled, and the blonde girl not far away rolled her eyes silently after hearing it. The air was filled with words of disdain, "That's because I'm awesome. If it were just up to a newbie like you, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to hold on until help arrives."
With Ruixia's help, Ximu sat up and glanced at the people around him in confusion.
...There are so many people.
And they are all dressed as adventurers. Are they the companions that Ruixia had lost before?
He's going into the mountains to mine, so why does he need to bring so many people?
Many questions flashed through Ximu's mind, but looking at Ruixia's face so close to her, she felt that these things seemed insignificant and it would be okay to put them aside.
The most important thing is that they finally woke up together from that long nightmare.
"Did we succeed?"
The answer was obvious, but Ximu still wanted to confirm it.
"Um."
Ruixia nodded heavily, looked Ximu up and down, and after confirming that she was really fine, she smiled with relief.
"We succeeded, we're back, everything is over! - But Morina and Shiori are quite far away from us, maybe in another country? I hope everything is okay with them. After a while, we'll take a good rest, test the adventurers together, and then slowly go out to see how they are doing..."
"'us'?"
"yes."
The boy looked at her with his beautiful golden-red eyes, tilting his head, looking like a furry puppy.
"Didn't you promise to be an adventurer with me and team up with me after we get out? You can't go back on your word!"
I didn't agree at that time, you idiot.
but……
Ximu followed her instinct and reacted exactly the same way as she did that time. In front of everyone present, she hugged the chattering boy.
Exaggerated voices suddenly rose one after another. Ruixia's face quickly turned red amid the whistles. She looked around at a loss, and finally calmed down when her sister decisively took out the photo beads to provoke her. With a pouting mentality of "so what", she suppressed her shyness and carefully and gently put her arm around Ximu's shoulder for the first time.
"good."
She nuzzled Ruixia's cheek and promised in a voice that only the two of them could hear, in a rare and gentle tone.
"Let's go adventure together, and find Morina and the others together... We will be together forever, for a very long time."
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