Chapter 103
"What are you doing?" Hebe said in a low voice. "Put me up first."
Morgan let go, which surprised Hebe somewhat.
"Do you know how many years I've been looking for you?" Morgan laughed. "That was a long silence. Compared to that, anything you say to me feels like a favor."
Hebe brushed her long, flaxen hair back with her hand. "But is it possible that I'm not the way you imagine me to be?"
She looked up and gazed into Morgan's eyes. "Is it possible that you think I'm being overly kind, but I'm just doing what I can to satisfy this indifferent heart?"
Is it possible that when you get closer to me, you will feel disappointed, annoyed, feel that I have deceived you, and then feel angry—at that time you will resent time and wish to return to the road of wandering.
Hebe was unaware that she was even paler than Morgan when she said these words.
She twisted her hair, muttering as she tried to stand up from the water, her tail dangling wetly behind her like a rag ruined by water.
Before she could finish the movement, Hebe found that her legs seemed to have lost all feeling.
She sighed and sat down in the water, giving up the struggle.
Morgan looked at Hebe's eyes and thought that she looked best when her eyelids were half closed, with a sense of emptiness and pity.
"If that's the case, then I'm sick," the Fallen Empress replied. "But it's both my illness and my desire; my imperfection and my treasure."
"I've been looking for you for so many years—it doesn't matter, at least I've gained something."
"You punished me to wait, and I'm waiting for you to tell me what you're thinking about in your current silence?" the Fallen Empress said tremblingly. "I'm waiting for an honest answer from you about the ultimate meaning of our lives, desires, and achievements... Am I really going to just watch you and Arthur? Then what exactly is the connection between you and me?"
She moved closer, bringing her lips to Hebe's ear, feeling his body tremble slightly.
The voice trembled, almost on the verge of tears. "But if you tell me that you will spare me... how am I supposed to live the rest of my life in a half-dream, half-awake state? Tell me, are you the kind of person who would love to the point of death, and who knows that love will overcome death?"
"I dare not say 'yes'." Hebe looked up. "Royal Sister, when I saw you lying in the rainy night, I didn't think of anything. But when I was about to save you, I hesitated."
"Not for any other reason, but because you once followed the Wolf of the Cripples," Hebe said. "He is one of my enemies, and I have to consider the bigger picture afterward... but I still saved you because you are the Royal Sister."
"Even if we draw our swords against each other again after that, so what?" Hebe replied, "At least at that time I wanted to save you."
The Fallen Empress lowered her head and stared at Hebe's crossed legs.
She thought, "But the moment I see you, the pain in my heart surges forth before my reason. Is it love or jealousy now? I can't tell anymore. Seeing you hurts, and thinking of you hurts too."
She thought, or perhaps it was out of jealousy, that I liked everything about you that I didn't have.
"If that's the case, then at least until now I've liked you," the Fallen Empress said. "Until the next moment—but we have many next moments, so I can say I've liked you forever."
Hebe nodded somewhat slowly.
"In that case, I think so too, sister."
The Fallen Empress remained silent, only kissing Hebe's eyelids.
"Alright, sister," Hebe said. "If this is sin, then heaven must be filled with sins like ours... I think we've all probably had moments when we wanted to be each other. If we weren't similar yet opposite, how could we say we love each other?"
Hebe turned around and looked at Morgan's light-colored eyebrows and eyes.
"Am I starting to mean anything to you, sister?"
Morgan answered with a kiss on her forehead, "You have been my lighthouse since long ago."
Hebe's eyes lit up, and she felt a surge of energy coming from somewhere. "Wait a minute."
Her white feet stepped across the water, her petite body traversing most of the hallway, carrying the stone tablet used to engrave her name.
The girl with beautiful green eyes cleared her throat and lifted the stone slab with one palm.
Greenish water dripped from the hem of her clothes.
"Ms. Morgan le Fay, as the Lord of Blankog, I now formally extend to you the invitation to serve as a Continuance Director of the Blanckug Island Council."
Hebe stared at Morgan: "Madam, what are your thoughts?"
"I am very fortunate to have our freedom and secrets in our own hands," Morgan replied with a smile. "Let these secrets be treasures, like the seeds of a new world after the Battle of Twilight."
Hebe picked up a pen and knife and wrote Morgan le Fay's full name on the slate.
On a dark and stormy night, at the highest point of Blanckug, the great bell symbolizing the inheritance of status rang out once again.
The new Continuance Director of the Island Council have been elected—and none of the previous members of the Island Council held such a high position as Morgan.
The Continuance Director is the most important position in the Island Council, much like the Fisher King who protects the world. Even when the latter is in dire straits, he still perseveres in fulfilling his duties.
The same applies to the Continuance Director, which needs to maintain the Island Council to ensure the continued existence of Blanckug.
In the real world, who could be more reliable than a twilight figure? Moreover, having Morgan by your side would add a touch of security.
Hebe put the slate back on the shelf, and when she turned around, Morgan cornered her against the wall.
A question slowly surfaced in Hebe's mind: Is it really safe?
Hebe raised her head, struggling weakly. "Sister, there are children next door... I have to make her stop first."
The Fallen Empress reluctantly let go of her arm, and as Hebe walked past, she reached out and pinched his tail.
Hebe's ears stood up, his back was hunched, his legs were together, and his shoulders were trembling against the wall.
She glared at the Fallen Empress, then hugged her tail and headed towards the concert hall.
158 Whose child is this?
All the instruments in the concert hall resonated intensely under the dim lights.
Toyokawa Shoko's hands struck the Black Keys and white keys, the bow quietly pulling the cello, the drumbeats resounding clearly, like a deep and melancholic heartbeat.
The colors of hardship flowed from her fingertips, and the scents of moonlight, wind, and sea tides echoed around her. For a moment, Hebe even had the illusion that she had walked from a lake into the deep sea.
This illusion vanishes at the slightest touch, but the music continues to play.
Hebe did not interrupt Toyokawa Shoko's performance. She walked over, sat down in a chair, picked up the unattended bow, and slowly began to play the cello.
The music, which was originally layered and overlapping like the ebb and flow of ocean waves, was slowly pulled to its end by the cello's deep and gentle playing. As the fervent impulse of the performance subsided, Toyokawa Shoko, who had been immersed in the atmosphere, sat on the piano bench with a sense of loss.
She looked at Hebe, then paused, startled.
"You, why are you all wet..." Toyokawa Shoko pulled out a towel from the side and handed it to him. "What happened?"
"To save lives." Hebe took a towel and wiped the water off her head.
Of course, this turquoise lake water is Royal Sister's blood. Even after Hebe wipes it away, it will still seep out from her flaxen hair, hanging and swaying like wind chimes under the eaves, but not falling.
In the twilight realm, their hair, blood, and bodily tissues are the essence of the path, directly resonating with the principles themselves.
"The lake is the domain of Pearl, the June Archon, and all the water bodies in the world are under Empress jurisdiction..." Hebe thought to himself, "If it is true that the Royal Sister has switched her allegiance from the wolves to Pearl, then it is indeed a smooth road."
Hebe wiped it several times, but the greenish water kept dripping down. She could only smile helplessly and put the towel aside.
"During your dream, the council gained two new directors, but one of them is not on the island at the moment... We'll talk about that later." Hebe's gaze turned to Toyokawa Shoko. "Every apprentice receives a gift from the wasteland when they first enter a dream, a seedbed to lay the foundation according to your desires. You should understand what I mean, Xiao Xiang. This may be an invasion of your privacy, but I still ask you to tell me everything you saw and experienced during your dream."
"I saw a magnificent city..."
Toyokawa Shoko did not hide anything; she was also puzzled by what she saw in her dream and hoped to get an answer from Hebe.
Hebe frowned slightly as she listened. She instinctively wanted to wrap her tail around her and hug it, but when she touched it, it was all wet. So she frowned and put the tail back.
She is almost certain that Toyokawa Shoko visited Isu in her dream.
"So, did you dream about its ending?" Hebe asked. "Did you dream about its collapse? Did you witness its final moments?"
Toyokawa Shoko shook her head.
Hebe frowned even more deeply, as if a large net was slowly closing in on her.
—Blanckug's apprentices were already extremely enthusiastic about Atlantis, trying to find the legendary lost city; and he himself had dreamed of the World-Encircling River in the simulation, growing old together with the Golden Fleet of Atlantis; now even Toyokawa Shoko dreamed of Ys, the capital of Atlantis.
Upon closer examination, the Burning Witch who fought against Royal Sister also seems to have an Atlantis background; and if Royal Sister's bloodline is traced further back, it can also be regarded as an ancient remnant of Atlantis.
'Eris.'
Hebe bit her thumbnail, certain that Eris had begun her offensive.
And the "Burning Witch" is His vanguard... However, even the Royal Sister has almost died under the Skyflint's Excommunication, how can the "Burning Witch" survive alone?
Hebe concealed all her worries beneath a calm surface and continued to gather intelligence about "Ys".
But the more Hebe listened, the stranger it seemed. The political system and infrastructure of Atlantis were remarkably similar to those of a historical empire.
--Rome.
Unlike forgotten Egypt, Rome was an empire that was properly recorded in history and remembered by the world itself.
Moreover, when talking about Rome, one cannot ignore Greece before Rome... Greece had already been swallowed up by Eris.
After repeatedly confirming the information she received from Toyokawa Shoko, Hebe did not immediately express her opinion, but instead inquired about what she had gained from the dream.
In the Ys City of her dreams, Toyokawa Shoko remembered two kinds of music.
One type is a simple yet uplifting melody. In Ys, it is known as the "Merry Tune."
Another one is the "Melancholy Tune" she just played, which is half an expression of longing and half a hidden sorrow.
Both types of music can create specific effects within a certain range through performance.
Nowadays, while music can still influence listeners' minds, it is difficult to exert such a powerful influence without a specific stage and special instruments.
But the melody that Toyokawa Shoko just played was different. Even though she was just an apprentice on the Path of Ascension, she still managed to have an effect on the Twilight Rank in the library environment, which was quite remarkable.
"In that case, Xiao Xiang, you'd better make some preparations."
After a long silence, Hebe finally spoke slowly, "Since you visited the Ys City in your dream, you now bear the mark of Atlantis... You cannot tell anyone about this except for me and Morgan."
"This is for your safety." Hebe naturally took Toyokawa Shoko's hand, noticing some wrinkles. "And don't play these two melodies randomly, understand?"
Who knows what the knowledgeable apprentice might have thought of from the Xiao Xiang played?
Toyokawa Shoko wanted to say something, but when Hebe held her fingers, her mind went blank and she couldn't say anything.
She pursed her lips, and the image of her mother in her mind gradually blurred in the moonlight, almost overlapping with the person in front of her.
When I was little, my mother would hold my hand like this and blow air into my fingers, which ached from playing the piano.
Hebe was slightly taken aback. She saw that Toyokawa Shoko was silent and assumed that she was in too much pain to speak for the time being.
"In that case," Hebe gently pressed down on Toyokawa Shoko's fingertips and blew into her palm, "Ouch, ouch, fly away."
This incantation is a bit too wicked, but its effect is truly powerful, even working on Morgan who has been excommunicated.
Hebe has always been a fan of intensity.
As for the issue of the inconsistent art style... it's insignificant compared to functionality, ah, insignificant.
Suddenly, Hebe heard soft sobbing coming from above.
She tried to get up helplessly, but was hugged by Toyokawa Shoko —who sobbed in her arms, which then turned into loud crying.
Hebe wanted to leave but couldn't. She could only gently pat Shoko's back with her hand. When she turned around, she saw Royal Sister, who had changed her clothes, standing outside the door, looking at her with a half-smile.
"The child you're talking about, is that her?" Morgan's lips curled slightly as he silently mouthed to Hebe.
159. A vibrant and diverse nightlife
Five minutes later, having composed herself, Toyokawa Shoko met Morgan in the foyer.
The layer of blue-green lake water in the lobby has disappeared.
Despite it being his first visit, Morgan sat down next to Hebe without a care in the world, his long legs crossed and his chin slightly raised.
"Such an arrogant demeanor... she's practically a queen." This thought flashed through Toyokawa Shoko's mind.
She forced herself to lift her head, avoiding eye contact with Morgan, and instead focused her gaze on Hebe.
Hebe noticed Toyokawa Shoko's gaze, nodded slightly to her, and cleared his throat in preparation for speaking.
Morgan held out his hand to block Hebe.
"What are you doing!" Hebe slapped Morgan's hand away and glared at her. "This is the new Continuance Director of the Island Council, Ms. Morgan le Fay."
"This is Toyokawa Shoko, from the Higashi. She is a modern-day librarian."
Morgan stared at Hebe's face. "And what about you? What are you?"
"I am the lord of Blanckug," Hebe replied curtly. "You are all my subordinates."
Morgan glanced at Hebe with a half-smile, then turned his gaze to the girl in front of him... In terms of age, experience, and rank on the Path of Ascension, Toyokawa Shoko was just a child.
Merlin always showed a special fondness for children.