Chapter 34

When Talli woke up, she was in a familiar room, one that had once belonged to the elves. The familiar furnishings, the familiar furniture, and the view from the window.

She pressed her hand to her forehead, feeling a sense of dizziness.

She got out of bed and opened the door, planning to get some fresh air, but collided with a small elf.

“You’re awake!” the elf said, fluttering its wings, holding a tray of food, and looking very happy.

“How long have I slept?” Talli asked.

“One day and one night.”

The little elf flew in, put the tray down, and pushed her back to bed, pulling the covers up for her. “You had a high fever, and your body was tainted by magic. You’re not fully recovered yet, so you should lie down again. I brought you food. Eat some first.”

Talli ate a little haphazardly. “I’m done.”

The little elf pressed her hand down as she tried to lift the covers. “Why do you want to get out of bed again?”

“I’m going outside to get some fresh air.”

“It’s almost evening. The wind is strong outside. The clan leader said you can’t catch a chill.”

Talli frowned. She grabbed the little elf’s hand. “I’m not that fragile.”

Saying this, she jumped out of bed, grabbed the coat hanging on the chair, put it on, and opened the door.

What greeted her eyes was the sky full of red-orange sunset, reflecting on the surface of a vast lake, gently swaying.

The wind brushed against Talli’s cheek, softly sweeping away the fatigue and weariness that had trapped her in bed.

She walked slowly along the lake, hearing the distant sound of elves playing a melodious flute. The beautiful music soothed the folds of anxiety in her heart, and she slowly became calm.

She walked over to the young man lying by the lake. He had his arms behind his head, eyes closed, pretending to sleep.

“Dusk.”

Talli wasn’t sure if he was asleep, but she called out softly.

After the bond was formed, she could truly feel a connection between herself and Dusk. It was an invisible bond, one that couldn’t be touched or seen, and no one else could sense it except for her and him. It was a silent understanding, unspoken but clear.

It was proof that she and Dusk were partners who could live and die together.

They had both entrusted their backs and lives to each other.

He was someone she could trust completely.

“Mm?”

He lazily responded.

“Although you were bullied and excluded by those despicable people, I don’t believe there’s no indifference from the Lord of the Abyss involved in this.”

Deritz felt the girl lie down beside him, her soft, fluffy hair brushing against his arm, causing a tickling sensation. It carried a faint herbal fragrance mixed with a hint of bitterness.

“…So, after you regain your strength, will you go back to that place?” she asked.

Deritz didn’t open his eyes.

The girl’s voice was so close, as if it was a lover’s whisper, gentle and soft in his ear.

He casually replied, “I won’t go back.”

Talli asked, “Then where will you go?”

Deritz opened his right eye slowly and glanced at her, “Didn’t we form a contract?”

He said, “I’m already your magical beast. Do you want to send me back?”

Talli quickly said, “No!”

She turned to look at the young man and noticed a slight curve at the corner of his lips. When their eyes met, he subtly shifted his gaze away. Talli hurriedly sat up. “You don’t trust me?”

“You asked first,” Deritz replied nonchalantly, closing his eyes again.

“I… I just…”

Talli’s words deflated, and she sighed. “You know, I don’t have much time left. The Fred family needs a sacrifice.”

Deritz let out a light grunt from his nostrils. “Do you think, based on how we’ve interacted, I would believe you’re the type of person who will just sit there, obediently waiting for death?”

Talli stared at him, and after a long moment, she couldn’t help but laugh.

When Deritz opened his eyes, the smile had already faded from the girl’s lips, but the faint smile still lingered in her eyes, like the shimmering reflection of the sunset on the lake, golden and glittering, now trapped in her violet eyes.

Her black hair was spread out, her large, lively eyes looked even more vivid, and because of the fever and the day-long sleep, her skin appeared pale, almost translucent. She looked fragile, yet there was a resilience in her—like the first green shoots of spring after a winter snow, unbreakable in its vitality.

She sat beside him, leaning over to look at him. “Dusk, you really understand me.”

Deritz didn’t respond. He simply glanced at her before closing his eyes again, but the image remained imprinted in his mind—the girl, with the sunset and the lake behind her, smiling as she looked at him. That image felt like a brand burned into his memory.

He recalled the day they escaped the palace, and the soft murmurs she made as she lost consciousness. The heat in his eyelids slowly began to cool.

He smiled slightly and said, “Oh? Since you don’t want to die for the Fred family, what are you planning to do?”

“I… I’ll just tell you.”

Talli said, “I don’t belong here. Dusk, you might think this is absurd, but I always feel like we’re the same kind of people. I trust you, and I trust only you, which is why I’m telling you this.”

Suddenly, Deritz felt that Talli’s voice was very close, almost as if it were right next to his ear. He opened his eyes and saw her face suddenly close to his, so near that he could see the fine hairs on her face and the translucent earlobe. She was lying on the grass, propping up her cheek with her hand, tilting her head as she spoke to him.

“…I originally came from another world, but the vortex at the center of the world brought me here, to this place,” Talli said, her gaze drifting off as if lost in thought, staring at the distant flutist. “I’ve heard that the destination of the sacrifice is at the world’s center. I thought, when that time comes, I could use the vortex again to return to my world.”

Deritz’s heart, which had been tense, suddenly relaxed for an unknown reason.

He smiled faintly, sat up, and blocked her view of the flutist.

The world’s vortex would take hundreds or even thousands of years to turn. She would likely have to wait in this world for several lifetimes.

Even so, he still pretended to be surprised and smiled.

“I swear, I’m not joking. Absolutely not,” Talli said, raising three fingers and looking at him seriously.

“Uh, well, fine then,” Deritz said, pressing down the smile that had come to his lips. “But if you leave, what should I do? This world is lonely. The human I formed a contract with cruelly abandoned me, leaving me all alone in this cold world…”

Before he could finish, the girl interrupted.

“I won’t leave you alone.”

Her large eyes seemed to sparkle, “If you don’t want to, you can stay here. But if you want to follow me… Dusk, I’m willing to take you back to my homeland to see it.”

The girl lowered her gaze, her eyelashes fluttering, and the setting sun cast a warm light over her, bathing her in golden warmth. “…I’ve always been used to being alone. I’m not used to walking with others. To me, spending time with people was a waste and meaningless. But you have become the first companion in my life… Dusk, we have so many similarities, and we can accept each other’s flaws and stubbornness. We can also give each other trust… In this world, you are the only one who is different.”

“By the way… there’s this.”

Talli reached into her pocket and remembered something.

She looked at Deritz and said, “Hold out your hand.”

He extended his hand.

Talli placed the pair of ruby earrings in his palm. They reflected the soft light of the setting sun, like droplets of water, translucent and delicate.

Deritz froze for a moment. He moved his fingers and pressed gently on one of the red gems. The slightly raised edges sank into his fingertips.

“Do you have pierced ears?” Talli asked. “If not, you can have a craftsman take the gems off and make something else for you.”

Deritz looked at the earrings for a long while before finally, as if unable to stop himself, he smiled. “You think I’m just going to accept it?”

Talli’s expression changed, and she looked a bit dejected as she reached for the earrings in his hand. “If you don’t want them, give them to me. I’ll wear them myself.”

Deritz retracted his hand slowly and said, “I never said I didn’t want them. I’ve already told you, if it’s given to me, then it’s mine.”

As he spoke, he leaned slightly forward, moved closer to Talli, and with the two ruby earrings in his hand, he dangled them in front of her. “Help me put them on.”

The young man in front of her smiled, propping his cheek up with his hand, his ruby-colored eyes glimmering with light.

Talli knew that this meant Dusk had accepted her offer.

It meant that their past, present, and future would be shared together, as companions who trusted each other.

She took one of the earrings from his hand, reached out, and tucked his hair behind his ear.

His earlobe was thin, with no decorations, smooth and pale. Talli gently pinched his cold earlobe and slid the cold, metallic silver hoop into his ear. She watched as his skin slightly indented, then bounced back. When she let go, his earlobe was a soft pale pink.

“This was originally a farewell gift for you. Now, it has become our new beginning.”

Talli released her hand and watched as the red gem swayed lightly beneath his earlobe, adding a touch of vivid color and sharpness to his already beautiful and youthful appearance. For a moment, she had an illusion, as if he was always meant to be this way.

So sharp, like the blade of a sword, dripping with blood, laying on a throne.

Talli blinked, shook her head, and looked again. Dusk was still Dusk. There was no mistake.

“What’s wrong?” The young man was lazily getting up, brushing the grass off his clothes.

In the distance, the sound of the flute stopped. The moon was climbing higher, and the sky was gradually sinking down, with the cool evening breeze blowing. Deritz tossed his coat to Talli, signaling for her to put it on, stretched lazily, and slowly began walking back.

“It’s nothing.” Talli tightened her grip on the coat and jogged to catch up with him, pulling on his finger. “It’s getting late. Let’s go back.”