Sorcerer's Handbook-Chapter 599: The Same Reason

“Are you trying to deny this fact first to lower my guard, and then seize the opportunity to act? There’s no need for that,” she said. “I’m not like you. If I knew I was heading toward eternity, I wouldn’t drag others along. The final journey must be taken alone.”

“The outcome now is either you survive or none of us do. Since you still want to indulge in your delusions, why shouldn’t I indulge you?”

Ashe lowered his eyelids and sneered, “I don’t recall Silver Lantern being a good person. Is it because you’re about to die that you’ve finally had a change of heart?”

“Not at all,” Vesser replied without anger. “If it were anyone else, I would have killed them first to prevent them from killing me, and then held on until the very end, waiting for an unknown miracle.”

“But for you, I can fulfill all your requests.” She splashed through the Golden Flow River, step by step, heading toward a nonexistent end.

“Why? Haven’t I always been the avenger hunting you down?”

“Yes, the avenger,” Vesser replied, as if recalling something. “Then choose the death you’d like for me. Do you want to kill me swiftly with a single strike, sparing me the pain? Or do you want to make me suffer, bit by bit, until I die in agony? Strangled, disemboweled, beheaded, or dismembered? While this environment isn’t ideal for an execution, if you want someone to suffer, you can always find a way. When it comes to cruelty, every sorcerer is a genius.”

She grabbed Ashe’s hand and pressed it onto the hilt of his sword. “Go on, take your revenge for what you’ve endured, for your sense of justice. Do you want me to give up completely, or would you prefer I struggle a little to satisfy your desires-“

“Stop messing around! I’m not you!”

Ashe forcefully pushed her hand away, causing Vesser to stumble and nearly fall. But he quickly caught her and steadied her.

“I don’t torture people,” Ashe said, his voice firm. “When I kill, I make sure they think it’s just a fleeting illusion before they wake up.”

“…How many people have you killed?”

“If we’re talking about direct kills, not many. But if we’re counting the eradication of other cults, the destruction of Nightfall’s surface cities, the schemes that plunged rival sects into endless Deathmatches, and the Dragon Blood Cultivation System…” Vesser spoke calmly, “then it’s in the tens of thousands.”

Feeling the sudden increase in Ashe’s grip, Vesser glanced at him, the corner of her mouth curling slightly beneath her Mask. She knew lying or playing the victim would have been the smarter move, but for some reason, she wanted to expose herself so recklessly, completely unlike her usual self.

Even before she had summoned the delusion spirit, she had already mastered the art of hiding herself, only showing her intelligence, kindness, warmth, and other flawless traits, as if she had no flaws. After obtaining the delusion spirit, she had even hidden her name. Before she betrayed the Tribulation Fire cult, everyone who met her was captivated by her perfect first impression, as if she were an untainted lotus. ŕãŊȱ𝐛Ęş

But with Ashe, she couldn’t wait to dig up the tangled roots she had buried deep underground and lay them bare in the light. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but she wanted Ashe to see them.

Ashe fell silent, and they stopped talking, conserving their last bit of strength to trudge through the Golden Flow. Though there was no communication, Vesser could almost sense Ashe’s thoughts through their shared warmth-he would make his decision before they reached the slope.

The closer they got to the end, the greater the resistance of the Golden Flow River became, and the smaller their movements were. Every drop of Golden Flow Water felt like the strike of a giant bell, reverberating through their souls and shattering their thoughts.

To make matters worse, they already knew that reaching the slope wouldn’t bring an end. The loss of a destination intensified the temptation, testing their willpower more severely. Every cell in their bodies urged them to give up, to submit to the tide of history, and to accept their fate.

Yet, Vesser grew steadier with each step. Though she had nearly been overwhelmed earlier, she was no longer affected by the Golden Flow.

Her will was like an uncut gem-the more time and hardship polished it, the brighter and sharper her gaze became.

Ashe, on the other hand, was struggling. Yet, Vesser kept dragging him forward. As he looked at her back, he felt as though he were witnessing a madwoman who could defy the wheels of history.

In the Gray Fox Divine Era, she would have stood alongside those legends, becoming a saint who explored the limits of humanity. In the Senlo Wasteland, she would have risen above millions of disciples, transforming into the Silver Lantern Master who overturned the world.

She felt no remorse for the countless people she had hurt. Her unyielding will meant that if she survived, she would continue to pursue her ideals, step by step, toward the apocalyptic end she envisioned.

If she died, the Golden Flow would dry up.

If she died, the story would end.

Splash.

Golden droplets scattered, falling onto the slope before sliding away.

Time had no end, but their journey did. Vesser, still holding Ashe’s hand, finally reached the slope.

This was their end.

She stopped, suddenly turned, and grasped Ashe’s Honey Sword, swiftly pulling it out. Throughout the process, she kept her eyes locked on Ashe, as if anticipating something.

Yet, Ashe remained calm, watching her. For two people who knew each other so intimately, a sword blade could no longer influence their battle.

Finding it uninteresting, Vesser flipped the blade and handed it back to him. Whether intentional or not, the tip of the sword now pointed directly at her throat. If Ashe were to thrust it with force, she wouldn’t have time to react.

Ashe gripped the hilt but didn’t move. Suddenly, he asked, “Didn’t I lose a bet and owe you a favor earlier? Why not use it here?”

“Using it here would be such a waste,” Vesser replied with a laugh.

Then when do you plan to use it?

Ashe suddenly recalled Igor. When they had left the Blood Moon through the virtual realm passage, Igor had stubbornly refused to use his wish to make Ashe save him. To this day, Ashe still owed Igor a wish.

You people…

He sighed inwardly and sheathed the sword.

“Even if the Golden Flow dries up, the Circle Cicada won’t disappear,” Ashe said. “It’s already awakened its hunting instincts. If I’m the only one left in the passage, do you think it’ll just let me go after it’s full?”

In the end, their real threat wasn’t the Golden Flow, but the Circle Cicada. It was like how your homework wouldn’t jump up and punch you if you didn’t do it-it’s your parents and teachers who’d scold you.

Dealing with the Golden Flow without addressing the Circle Cicada would only change its dining spot, but it would still eat what it wanted.

However, this reasoning only explained why it was possible not to kill Silver Lantern.

Silver Lantern didn’t respond, quietly watching him. Ashe turned his head away, refusing to meet her gaze, and gritted his teeth as he asked, “Am I wrong?”

“You’re absolutely right,” Silver Lantern replied with a soft laugh. “By the way, didn’t you ask me earlier why I’m willing to fulfill your requests?”

“I think it’s the same reason you chose not to stab me just now,” she said, leaning closer to Ashe as if trying to see him more clearly. “We’re both acting on the same impulse.”

Ashe ignored her and turned to look at the Circle Cicada behind them.

They had been moving slowly, so the Circle Cicada was almost done with its current meal.

The dozens of legends from the Gray Fox era, whose names alone could define that entire period, were now nothing more than a snack to satisfy the Circle Cicada for a few minutes.

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Though the Golden Flow Water continued to erode their thoughts, at least they weren’t fighting against the current anymore. Ashe finally had the mental capacity to think about how to escape this hopeless situation.

Fighting was out of the question. In the Golden Flow, the Circle Cicada was practically a deity controlling time.

Escaping wasn’t an option either. Even if the Cicada Transformation Chamber could take them back, reaching it would require passing the Circle Cicada, which seemed to have the ability to turn nearby people into yogurt. Earlier, some of the legends who had flowed downstream had tried to bypass the Circle Cicada to reach the chamber, but they had simply stopped at its mouth as they passed.

No matter how he looked at it, this was a dead end. Ashe racked his brain, trying to recall any artifacts from Aurora’s Sorcerer Handbook that could help-but with his spirits sealed, he couldn’t use any sorcerer abilities…

“Speaking of which,” Ashe suddenly said, “is the Circle Cicada a spirit or a Demi-God right now?”

“It doesn’t have to be one or the other,” Vesser replied. “As the most peculiar existence, it retains the traits of a Demi-God while also possessing the spellcasting nature of a spirit.”

“What I mean is, if it’s a spirit, and we’re sorcerers…” Ashe mused, “is there any way we could dominate it?”

But as soon as he said it, he shook his head, dismissing the idea. “To dominate a spirit, you’d at least need to touch it. But if we get close, we’ll just become its prey.”

Yet Vesser stared thoughtfully at the feeding Circle Cicada. She lightly scratched Ashe’s palm, as if spreading her hesitation.

Ashe didn’t ask. After a moment, Vesser slowly said, “I might have a way.”

“You remember, don’t you, that my blood isn’t red?”