A Wavering Wish

This Black Tower warlock looked mysterious, wielded bizarre skills, and made a terrifying entrance.

But beneath that aloof mask, its heart was probably as fragile as a glass marble.

Staring at it, Isolde suddenly found herself doubting the supposedly secretive and terrifying "Black Tower."

Could their admission standards really be nothing more than a perfunctory formality?

The man in black seemed to notice her undisguised, peculiar gaze, and his mismatched eyes shifted slightly toward her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Isolde casually withdrew her gaze. "Nothing. I just suddenly thought that for a place like the Black Tower to successfully train someone like you, all the way to becoming useful, must not have been easy."

The man in black: "..."

A faint intake of breath came from beneath the mask. He seemed about to say something in defense of the Black Tower's educational system again.

Isolde cut him off before he could speak. She truly did not want to keep arguing with this stubborn fool.

"Enough, stop there. How exactly are we supposed to get in? And what are we supposed to do after we get inside?"

The man in black withdrew his hand and finally got to the point.

"This requires two people to enter the depths of the illusion at the same time. Within the false image of the mirror, each must find and destroy one of the two Reverse Anchors supporting the illusion."

Isolde narrowed her eyes. "What do the anchors look like?"

The man in black said, "You'll know once you're inside."

Isolde said, "Fine."

After briefly explaining the rules, the man in black raised his right hand. A sharp blade formed from shadow neatly sliced open his palm.

Viscous black shadow dripped from his fingertips into the formation etched on the ground, staining the holy radiance with an ominous darkness.

"Once you're inside, don't trust what you see," the man in black gave one final warning.

Before Isolde could respond, a mass of black liquid appeared beneath her feet and engulfed her.

Isolde felt the ground vanish beneath her, and a violent sense of weightlessness hit her.

As she fell, she heard countless sounds whistling past her ears.

Prayers, shrieks, the sound of chains dragging across the ground.

And a very soft voice calling to her through the mist.

"Yu Lingye."

Yu Lingye's long lashes trembled as she stood there in a daze.

She instinctively lowered her head and looked at her hands.

The monk's robes she had used as a disguise were gone, replaced by ordinary adventurer's clothing. She was holding a wooden staff in her hand.

A gentle breeze brushed past her cheek, carrying the fresh scent of sprouting grass and the dampness of a stream.

She realized in astonishment that she was standing on an immensely open, emerald-green hillside.

Looking into the distance, she saw several low wooden houses filled with the warmth of everyday life. A crystal-clear stream wound around the village, and the mild afternoon sunlight scattered over its surface, glimmering like countless tiny jewels strewn across a lake.

Several figures stood not far away, waving at her and calling out.

"Lingye, why are you standing there spacing out by yourself? Come over already, everyone's waiting for you."

"Didn't you keep saying yesterday that you wanted to learn that new skill? Come eat something. I'll teach you myself later."

"You don't need to keep watch tonight. I'll take your shift. You were injured yesterday, so lie down and rest properly today, got it?"

Yu Lingye stood there blankly, feeling as though she had just awakened from a cold, endless nightmare.

In that absurd dream, the world had been filled with pain and betrayal.

There had been endless blood, cold corpses, and overwhelming hatred that could not be broken free from even in death.

But now, dawn had come, and the dream was over.

Miraculously, she had returned to her companions.

They had not betrayed her or left her behind. They were still there, patiently waiting for her.

Here, she could explore this unknown yet beautiful world with her companions, without any guard up.

They could take bounty missions together, fight monsters in dangerous dungeons together, then after a great victory, sit around a crackling campfire and happily divide up the steaming hot roasted food.

The wild joy of regaining what she had lost overwhelmed her final line of reason. Yu Lingye's eyes grew warm as she happily ran toward her companions.

"I'm coming!"

The days that followed were so beautiful that not a trace of impurity touched them. Time itself seemed to stretch endlessly here.

She and her companions crossed mountains together, searching for lost treasures.

To protect innocent villagers, they fought side by side and drove away rampaging monsters.

At dusk, they sat shoulder to shoulder beside a clear stream, laughing and playing as they washed the mud from their leather boots.

As time passed, the legendary tale of Sword and Magic spread through every village and town across the continent.

Yu Lingye and her companions became the brightest and most righteous heroes, praised by everyone.

Here, Holy Court monks wore spotless robes, their eyes compassionate as they gently handed baskets of brewed herbs to displaced refugees.

And in the vast central plaza of the majestic Holy Court, a group of snow-white Moon-Crowned Unicorns strolled quietly by.

Their fur was as white as fresh snow, while their long manes were soft and silky beneath the sunlight, like moonlight itself.

Several children dressed in coarse cloth laughed as they gathered nearby, carefully stretching out their grimy little hands to stroke the sacred beasts' gentle heads.

Yu Lingye stopped to watch everything before her. Someone stood beside her and softly said,

"This world is beautiful, isn't it?"

"Stay. The holy light here can heal all your exhaustion and unwilling hatred."

"Those painful things are already in the past. People cannot always live in the past."

"If you cling to hatred, sooner or later, you will turn yourself into a loathsome monster too."

"You're already standing in heaven. Why are you still so stubbornly looking back?"

Those voices were as gentle as tender hands, trying to press her back into a docile, obedient place that conformed to worldly expectations.

Yu Lingye suddenly felt exhaustion crashing over her like a tidal wave.

She was too tired. Now that the world had become so clean, now that everyone had received the best ending, why did she still need to keep struggling?

Perhaps... she should simply sink into this gentle delusion and fall into a deep sleep.

The instant she wavered, Yu Lingye suddenly felt her palm grow lighter.

Something critically important, a core source of power, was being forcibly drawn from her fingers bit by bit by this hypocritical illusion.

A line of red text suddenly flashed deep within her vision.

[Warning: Wish Executor identity is wavering]

Wish Executor?

As Yu Lingye was wondering about it, an incomparably holy Moon-Crowned Unicorn slowly walked to a spot not far in front of her.

It lowered its head slightly and watched her from afar with golden eyes so gentle they were almost sorrowful, as though they could wash away all the sin and bloodstains in the world.

"I don't hurt anymore."

The sacred beast's ethereal voice echoed through her consciousness. "Please do not grieve for me anymore. Let hatred end at this moment, and enjoy freedom to your heart's content."

Yu Lingye's gaze gradually began to scatter. Her mind, which had only just regained clarity, slowly became numb beneath the soothing touch of holy light.

She looked at the white Moon-Crowned Unicorn before her, her throat seeming to be blocked by something.

"If... you really don't hurt anymore..."

Before she could finish, a soft, abrupt snicker rang beside Yu Lingye's ear from within the void.

"Heh heh... how pathetic."

Yu Lingye slowly raised her eyes. The voice pressed against her earbone, carrying a familiar, sickening mockery.

"These hypocritical beasts gave you only the tiniest scrap of insignificant tenderness, and you're already so eager to put down the knife you use to kill?"

"They merely wove you a cheap false dream riddled with holes in its logic, and you've already forgotten how you died screaming in that mire, torn apart by a swarm of snakes?"

"How did I never know... that you were so easy to placate?"

The wind, the stream, and her companions' laughter all froze with a deafening crash.

It was as though time had pressed pause. Gritting her teeth, Yu Lingye struggled to ask through a mind that felt as though it were being torn apart.

"Are you... Isolde?"

That voice laughed softly, sharp and crazed, carrying a chilling delight.

"I am Isolde."

"I'm the pervert who enjoys playing with corpses and desecrating death, the lunatic who killed her own adoptive father, the new mistress of that dark Castle."

"I am vicious, I am hypocritical. I treat every living person in this world as a pawn I can discard at any time. I even thoroughly enjoy the lucid thrill that pain brings to my soul!"

"Forgiveness is nothing but a veil the weak use to hide their helplessness. Only pure darkness is the Incubator Stone of a witch's life."

"Wake up, Yu Lingye. You belong in hell with me. Heaven is not where you should go."