Diya walked up step by step along the spiral passage. The eternal lamp cast light on the rough brick and stone wall. The sound of her footsteps echoed in the high tower with deep emptiness. The tower, which should have been a dead object, seemed to come alive with the sound of her footsteps and turned into a horrible monster, and she had been eaten by the monster.

The spiral passage seemed endless and would never reach the end. Diya didn't know how long she had been walking. Strangely, she remembered that she had never been to a place like this before, but she had a strong sense of déjà vu for every brick and stone here. Could it be that she had dreamed of this passage before?

Or maybe, was it this passage that dreamed of her?

A half-open door appeared in front of her, and a voice that Diya was very familiar with came from inside. She approached and saw through the crack of the door that a middle-aged aunt was holding a picture book and telling an old story to the young princess: "... Just like that, the brave knight defeated the fire-breathing dragon and found the beautiful princess in the dragon's lair. The two returned to the capital together and were congratulated by everyone. The king presided over their wedding, and the knight and the princess lived a happy life from then on. Congratulations, congratulations."

At this time, the clock struck 12 o'clock in the room, and the cute cuckoo jumped out to tell the time. The aunt tucked the quilt in for the little princess and said, "Your Highness, the clock has struck 12 o'clock, you should go to bed."

The little princess blinked her beautiful light green eyes, which sparkled like stars. Her skin was as white as snow, her lips were as red as blood, and she had long black hair like a waterfall, which spread out on the pillow like a fan.

"Grandma, has the dragon captured Nina? If it captures me too, can I play with Nina?"

The aunt smiled and patted the little princess' head: "The brave knights are outside to protect the princess. The dragon can't take you away, my dear princess."

The little princess seemed very disappointed and blinked her eyes: "If the dragon doesn't come to catch me, when will Nina come to play with me?"

"If there is a chance, Princess Nina will definitely come to find Princess Lisdiya."

Nina, Diya remembered, her biological sister. Before she moved into the tower, she and Nina lived together carefree, playing in the garden together, rolling in the snow together, and countless new games were waiting for them every day. At that time, Diya didn't know what separation was. Living with Nia was like the sun rising, afternoon tea with cakes, and wearing different new dresses in the morning. It was a truth that her little brain had never doubted.

These precious years were the source of her courage for the rest of her life.

Diya didn't really remember the day they parted. It seemed like the weather was neither good nor bad, just like any other day. She and Nina played hide-and-seek in the garden, but Nina hid very well that time, and she couldn't find her. She was covered in mud. Then several servants came to take her to take a bath, saying that Nina had gone home. She was still thinking that she must find Nina next time...but it turned out that she was hidden in the tower.

Diya continued to walk up and saw another door, but this time the door was not half-closed but completely open, with bright light coming in. She saw the beautifully dressed little princess move a chair to the window, stand on the chair, tiptoe on the windowsill, and look out at the scenery outside the tower.

At the next door, the little princess was playing house with her dolls. She spread out the picture book and told the little bear baby a modified story in all seriousness: "After the beautiful princess was captured by the dragon and taken to the lair, she found many princesses in the lair, including orc princesses, elf princesses, veela princesses, and ogre princesses... No, the ogre princess doesn't seem to be allowed, so let's change her to a fat Lala princess, who can also be used as emergency food reserve. The brave knights were all burned to death by the dragon's fire, so the princesses lived happily together..."

At the next door, the little princess who had just finished her bath combed her hair straight, letting it fall down like a waterfall and curling around her feet. She changed into a beautiful blue-purple lace princess dress, turned around in front of the mirror, looked around, lifted up the little bear doll, and pretended to talk to the doll: "Princess, you are so beautiful, the dragons will definitely fight to snatch you away." "Which dragon should I choose?" "The dragon with the most princesses!"

At the next door, the little princess was lying on the bed reading a book, her legs raised and swaying, her head tilted and biting the tip of the pen: "No matter where you are, magicians can connect to the virtual world and adventure on the boundless ocean?"

Every time she passed a door, the little princess grew up a little. Her life did not change at all, reading, dressing up, playing on the swing, even confined to this small room, the little princess could always find all kinds of fun, and she could chat with her dolls all day long.

Until Diya saw a closed door.

There was no light coming through the crack in the door, and no sound could be heard. But for some reason, Diya's heart suddenly jumped, as if there was a flood or a beast hiding behind the door, and every cell in her body was urging her to run away quickly.

But Diya still walked over, her ear gently pressed against the super alloy door, and suddenly a shrill cry pierced her heart:

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I, I just don't understand why the princess is being kept under house arrest like this, why..."

"I really like the princess, I just don't want... But now I fully understand your good intentions, Your Majesty. I fully understand. The princess will definitely be grateful for your training, and will inherit the glory of Yisu in the weaving ceremony and become a saint again -"

Diya retreated with a face full of fear, her back against the wall of the passage. She gasped for air, trembling all over, staring blankly at the closed door in front of her. She suddenly gritted her teeth and reached out to hold the door handle, but before she turned the door open, she clearly heard a calm footstep coming from behind the door - that was definitely not the sound a little girl could make.

run!

Diya ran like a panicked little animal in the spiral tunnel, as if a beast was chasing her. She didn't know why she was afraid, or even what she was afraid of, but she was afraid, just like she would hide in her quilt every night when there was thunder. She might not be afraid of thunder when she grew up, but there were some things that she would not dare to relive even when she grew up.

After running for an unknown amount of time, Diya finally got tired, her legs weak and she was out of breath. She looked back and found that the road behind her was dark, as if the darkness had finally caught up with her. It turned out that since she stepped onto this spiral passage, she could only go up all the way to the top, and there was no way down at all... nor was there an option to leave.

Another half-open door appeared in front of Diya, and bright sunlight shone through the crack of the door. She hesitated for a moment, then reached out and pushed the door open.

The room is clean and tidy, and the dolls are neatly placed at the bedside, not scattered everywhere like before; picture books are also arranged on the bookshelf according to size, instead of being stuffed here and there.

The little princess was wearing a beautiful little dress, sitting at the desk reading a book, with a bear-patterned teacup filled with warm black tea, and taking notes seriously. She seemed to hear the hypocritical creaking of the door, so she turned her head and looked behind her, meeting Diya's gaze.

Her eyes were lively and lovely, mixed with a hint of curiosity, her expression was calm and her smile was appropriate, she looked more like a princess than ever before. However, Diya froze instantly, her heart seemed to be tightly grasped, she couldn't breathe for a moment, she didn't dare to look at the princess at all, and continued to walk up as if she was running away.

The little princess at each door grew up quickly. She was always alone in the room. Her friends were dolls, books and her shadow. But she never looked unhappy. She never felt bored even when studying all day, and she didn't need any entertainment. The bright sunshine added a painting-like texture to her, and the gloomy rainy day made her dazzling. She was like a princess from a story.

But what was different from before was that the little princess behind each door now noticed Diya's presence and would cast a glance at her when she passed by. When Diya quickly passed by these dozen doors, it seemed as if she had spent her boring childhood and youth with the princess.

Finally, finally.

The long spiral passage finally came to the end. Diya came to the top of the tower and arrived at the last door.

She pushed open the half-open door and saw the grown-up princess sitting on the window sill. The princess was wearing pure white cotton pajamas, her two cute and crystal-clear little feet gently swaying, staring at the bronze dragon outside the tower. The moonlight cast a lonely shadow on her, imprinted on the floor of the room, as if the shadow was imprisoned in this small room.

"Thank you, Dragon."

The princess smiled sweetly, opened her arms to the bronze dragon, and jumped out of the tower that had imprisoned her for more than ten years. Both she and her shadow disappeared completely in the tower bedroom. It had been a long time since Diya climbed the tower, and it was the first time she stepped into this room again. She walked quickly to the window sill and saw a group of white pigeons startled by the Yalan Lake outside.

The princess left.

Diya will always remember this night. She finally escaped from the Yisu Palace with the help of the bronze dragon and embraced freedom tightly, even if she would be captured by the Four Pillars Cult in the next second... But when she thought about meeting Ash who had just escaped from the blood moon, Diya couldn't help but feel jealous of the princess who had just jumped down.

What is the best experience in life? For Diya, it is not the blessing of Yuji, nor the entry into the realm of God, but the time when she just escaped from the tower and entangled with Ash as a father and daughter, and the clumsy but sincere time together. She was cautious and didn't know whether to trust Ash, and Ash was cautious and didn't know how to take care of her... Two strangers who should have never met in their lives, but accidentally became each other's warmest relatives.

Memories bloomed in her heart like bubbles, and the sweet taste filled her heart. Diya pursed her lips and smiled foolishly, turning her head to look at the room where she had lived for more than ten years.

She saw that in the princess's boudoir, which should have been deserted, a young girl was sleeping quietly.