Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 1477 - 263 The Beginning of the Story

"Yes, your request is not at all excessive. It was I who was too demanding," Nellie didn’t express surprise at Pannis’s question. She knew her request was indeed too much, especially for Pannis. Pannis was merely using counter-questions as a reply, yet he managed to appear so composed and calm that it was almost unbelievable to Nellie. Therefore, the knight just sighed, remained silent for a moment, and then said with a bitter smile, "Since you want to know everything, I’ll have to start from the beginning."

"The beginning?" Pannis timely interjected, "Do you mean the era when Yarra created the world?"

"Are you even listening?" Although the topic was heavy and serious, Pannis threw in a casual question that completely shattered the suppression and sadness in Nellie’s heart. Nellie instinctively pinched Pannis’s thigh hard with two fingers as she clenched her teeth and said angrily, "If you keep messing around like this, I won’t say anything at all."

"I was wrong. Please forgive me," Pannis’s apology technique had become increasingly polished—bending over with hands clasped above his head, not even blinking as he acknowledged his mistake. The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, without any hesitation: "I’ll change, I won’t dare do it again next time."

"How did you end up like this?" Nellie complained with a headache, "I really don’t know where you learned this from."

"Er, I taught myself," Pannis didn’t find it embarrassing at all, grinning and laughing, "Don’t worry, I’ll keep working hard to learn more."

"I’m so touched, but please don’t try any harder," Nellie said, tapping her forehead in exasperation and then sighed, "Alright, Kyle, that’s enough now. I know you’re trying to keep me from feeling too pressured, using this method to help me adjust. You even hope I can be more optimistic, but there’s no need anymore. After all these years, I’ve come to see everything clearly. I know what I’m talking about and I know what I’m doing. I’ve already made my decision, and I’m convinced it’s the right one; I have no intention of changing it. So, I hope you’ll let me finish the story I want to tell, as this is probably the last time I’ll be telling you one."

"It’s just a ’maybe’ after all," the smile finally disappeared from Pannis’s face, and with a serious expression, he said sternly, "Whether or not it’s the last time is far from being decided."

"Alright, alright, if you insist, then let’s add a ’maybe,’" Nellie looked at Pannis with the indulgent smile one would give a willful child and said, "I should say, after all, this might be the last time I tell you a story. Are you satisfied now?"

"Alright, I understand," Pannis used all his strength to keep his emotions and voice as normal as possible but spoke with a slightly hoarse voice, "Go on, I’ll be a good listener."

"Thank you, Kyle," Nellie said with a faint smile, leaning her head back on Pannis’s shoulder, her gaze becoming vacant as her thoughts seemed to drift back to days long past, "At that time, I charged ahead of you and collided head-on with the Soul of Danacus. Shut up, I know you want to correct it, that you were the one who stepped back afterward, but now, it’s my turn to talk, not yours. Or have I not bitten you in too long a time?"

"Do you think you’re Dillie?" Pannis muttered under his breath, but noticing the dangerous look Nellie gave him, he wisely chose to capitulate, "Fine, I’ll be quiet, I’ll be quiet."

"That’s more like it," Nellie nodded with satisfaction, continuing to recall, "You, who have never experienced that moment, might find it hard to understand what it feels like when a Divine Soul invades your body, seeking to tear apart and devour your own soul. That sensation is incredibly painful, and indescribable in words. If I had to express it, it would be as if every muscle in your body were being torn apart one by one, and your bones ground into powder—it’s an agony unbearable for ordinary people."

Pannis, honorably keeping silent, simply reached out to embrace Nellie’s shoulders. The knight’s shoulders were covered by heavy armor, quite solid to the touch, but despite the covering, one could still feel her body trembling slightly through the touch. Clearly, the pain had left her with memories that were difficult to forget.

"Heh, I really don’t want to recall that pain, even thinking about it can bring back the feeling deep in my soul of my body being crushed," Nellie said as she patted Pannis’s hand on her shoulder, offering a reassuring smile, speaking softly, "Don’t worry, it’s just an illusion brought by the memory, I’m fine."

"I know you’re fine," Pannis said sternly, hugging the knight’s shoulders even tighter, "but I’m not."

"Pfft," Nellie couldn’t help but laugh, swatting Pannis’s thigh a few times as a form of punishment, rolling her eyes in mock annoyance, "You’re not allowed to be not fine, either."

"That’s just unreasonable," Pannis stated earnestly, pushing away Nellie’s hand, "Besides, who was it that said we should keep things serious just now?"

"It was all because of you," Nellie fully embodied what Pannis called being unreasonable, not waiting for Pannis to retort, she hurriedly said, "Anyway, it was excruciating. Physically, there was no harm done, but the feeling of extreme pain was there. Not only that, but due to the invasion of the Soul of Danacus, a flood of memory fragments rushed into my mind—fragmented, disjointed pieces. I can’t even tell how many years’ worth of memories these are—one thousand years? One hundred thousand years? One million years? No one can be certain. In any case, there were so many that it felt like my brain was about to burst. I even think Danacus did it on purpose because it could break down my resistance. I must admit, he almost succeeded; I nearly lost consciousness right there and then, and I think, if I had truly lost consciousness at that time, there wouldn’t have been another chance to wake up ever again."

"And we probably would all have died," Pannis nodded, "Luckily, you held on."

"Yes, I held on because he made a mistake," Nellie said, turning her head tenderly toward Pannis, "He shouldn’t have done that."

"The Death Curse?" Pannis mused, "My mind was quite muddled at the time, so I wasn’t too certain, but if I remember correctly, that should have been the time."

"Yes, the Death Curse," Nellie smiled and nodded in affirmation, "At the moment when I was nearly powerless to resist, perhaps because he hadn’t taken over the body he wanted, or perhaps because he had been embarrassed by several mortals, he was very angry and wanted to exact his revenge. The target he chose was you, and the method was the Death Curse."