Chapter 36

Talli looked at the golden-haired young man in front of her.

The dangerous situation in the illusion not only left him with scars on his forearm and the corner of his eye that were hard to heal, but also gave him a slightly more composed aura.

But it was only a slight change.

Talli gently pushed his hand away and took a step back. “Didn’t you go to school?”

Carl paused for a moment. “I took two weeks of sick leave and have been training at home. Today is the last day.”

He hesitated, then asked, “Aren’t you hurt anywhere? Why aren’t you staying in your room? Where are you going? Are you looking for someone?”

Talli replied, “I’m not injured.”

She ignored his following questions. In her view, those matters had nothing to do with him, and she had nothing to say.

“But Father said you were seriously injured.”

“Do you just listen to him without thinking for yourself?” Talli raised an eyebrow, looking at him. “I’m standing right in front of you. Do you really think someone like me, in this condition, would be close to death?”

After she finished speaking, she ignored Carl’s expression and tried to walk past him.

He froze for a few seconds, then raised his hand and grabbed her wrist.

Talli pulled her wrist, but couldn’t break free. She turned around and glared coldly at the young man.

“Why do you always… have such hostility towards me?”

The young man slowly turned around, his eyes seeming to redden slightly. He looked grim, his expression stubborn. “You know, during the time you were trapped in the illusion, do you have any idea how much we worried about you? You saved everyone from those monsters but got lost in the illusion yourself. For the past half-month, I’ve personally gone to the school every day to inquire about the Rift repairs. After the illusion reopened three days ago, I submitted a request to Father to join the search party to find you… It’s not just me, Theresa sister has been crying every day. She feels deeply guilty, thinking everything is her fault, that it’s her fault. Since you disappeared, she’s been dealing with students at school asking about you, about what happened, losing her appetite, unable to sleep at night… Everyone has been so worried about you. You’re back, and you’re not seriously hurt, and we’re all relieved — but why do you always look at us with that expression, with that look in your eyes, full of hostility?”

The sky began to softly drizzle with cold rain, the raindrops hitting Talli’s face, accompanied by a chilly wind. The weather was starting to turn colder.

Talli stayed silent, not saying a word. She glanced at the young man who was pouring his heart out to her. His words, from his standpoint, did seem sincere and heartfelt, but ironically, that standpoint was fundamentally flawed from the very beginning.

“Carl, stop being naive.”

Talli couldn’t help but sneer. Taking advantage of his stunned moment, she pulled her wrist free. A visible red mark was left on her skin, and in the blink of an eye, the cool, eerie raindrops began to touch it.

“…Do you want to know why? Let me tell you.”

She stowed her goddess crossbow and drew her dagger, the sharp tip aimed straight at Carl’s nose, her tone cold.

“Now, pull out your sword and fight me. If you win, I’ll tell you why I dislike you so much, why I hate you all.”

—

As the knocking sound reached him, Deritz’s hand froze mid-air, reaching for his backpack.

He slowly withdrew it.

After a while, Theresa outside the door heard a lazy voice saying, “Come in.”

The voice sounded a bit off… not that it wasn’t Talli’s voice, but it wasn’t the tone a young girl should have. It sounded more like a command that had been given permission.

Theresa pressed the door handle, tiptoed inside, and carefully closed the door behind her.

She turned around.

The girl in front of her was indeed Talli, no doubt about it. Her beautiful violet eyes weren’t as light and clear as Theresa’s, but instead were deeper, curious, and almost impossible to resist probing. Her black hair cascaded down her shoulders, making her pale skin look even more translucent. She had a slender figure, her joints slightly protruding, giving her a youthful, delicate look. The wind blew through the window, gently stirring her black hair, giving her the appearance of a clear, ever-flowing stream—if only she didn’t speak.

“Came to see me? What’s the matter?”

The girl propped herself up on the desk with one hand while the other absentmindedly played with the strands of her hair, as if her black hair was more interesting than her half-sister, who shared the same room. Her legs were casually crossed, and her tone was relaxed and careless.

Theresa wanted to speak, but for some reason, an unexplainable feeling of fear surged within her. She looked at the black-haired girl, her very own sister, standing before her as an equal. Yet, as she sat on the desk, it was as though she were sitting on a throne, her casual glance carrying an innate sense of superiority.

“I…” Theresa swallowed hard, and the words of concern she had prepared seemed to vanish. Her mind was flooded with the thought of leaving this unsettling room without a second thought.

No, I can’t.

It was normal for Talli to change subtly after surviving the dangerous illusion. If she just left now… she would be consumed by guilt and sadness.

Running away at the moment of crisis—that would be her failure as an older sister.

Theresa didn’t even realize she had used the phrase “running away at the moment of crisis.”

She truly felt fear rising from the depths of her heart, not for the person before her, but for her sister.

“I just wanted to see how your injuries were.” Theresa clasped her hands tightly, fighting the urge to step back. “…We were all so worried about you during the time you were missing.”

“Oh?”

Deritz gave a light hum, a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips. “As you can see, my injuries have healed. I look perfectly fine now, in fact, I feel great.”

He dragged out the last few words slowly.

Theresa couldn’t help herself. She lifted her gaze to the girl.

Her icy violet eyes were like those of a snake—cold and emotionless. The long lashes hung over her eyes, and when she spoke, her gaze never wavered, fixated on Theresa with quiet disdain, as if looking at a dead prey in a downpour, a lifeless thing.

The sound of rain outside grew louder, and the heavy raindrops began to patter on the window. The crashing noise of the rain snapped Theresa out of the trance-like stare. She was covered in cold sweat, her chest rising and falling sharply, and she staggered a few steps back, her eyes frantically scanning the room, as if just escaping from some terrifying vision.

“I, I…”

She clutched her chest, as if doing so would relieve the shock that her heart felt from that gaze. She could no longer hold back the quiver in her voice, her body trembling slightly.

“Well, you rest well, I… I’ll leave now…”

Before she could finish her sentence, she bolted out of the room, as though fleeing from some wild beast.

After she left,

The rain battered against the window, and the cold wind blew the curtains. The light in the room dimmed. Deritz’s smile faded, and he raised his hand, making the door close automatically and lock itself.

He reached for the backpack, took out a book from it, and blue flames surged in his hand. The intense flames quickly blazed, engulfing the book completely.

Not a trace of ash remained.

After confirming, Deritz was about to put the backpack back. However, his hand brushed against something hard and sharp in the compartment.

He paused for a moment.

Lying in his palm was a blue, irregular-shaped stone, as hard as iron, with sharp edges and an incredibly sharp point.

Deritz knew what it was—it was flint.

…This was something that could only be found at the center of the world.

—

Carl collapsed backward into a puddle on the ground, the sword in his hand falling with a loud clatter. He was almost completely exhausted, breathing heavily, his clothes torn in several places, and shallow wounds were scattered on his arms and waist. Blood mixed with rainwater, flowing in streaks down his body.

The girl stood in the heavy rain, walked up to him, and looked down from a height, coldly speaking:

“You lost, Carl.”

Carl closed his eyes, gasping for air, and after a while, he slowly spoke, “…You’re strong.”

Talli said, “It’s because you’re too weak.”

You’re too weak. You can’t protect yourself, you can’t protect your sister, you can’t protect your mother, and you don’t have the strength. Because of that, you don’t deserve to know the truth.

“So, become stronger.”

Talli crouched down, looking into his eyes, “Pick up your sword, become stronger, and then prove it to me.”

Carl felt the girl’s voice close to his ear, the warm breath on his face. He opened his eyes. His eyes were red, and his face seemed to twist in pain, his brow furrowing tightly, his eyes swollen, tears mixed with rainwater running down his cheeks.

He reached out, trembling, grabbing the sleeve of Talli’s clothes as she was about to leave, his voice shaking uncontrollably:

“I… I heard rumors before… that it was Theresa’s monster that tore the illusion apart, causing those creatures to pass through like pests, destroying the trial. Is that why you were trapped there and couldn’t get out?”

Talli didn’t answer.

The rain intensified. A summer storm soaked the stifling air, pounding on everyone’s heart, washing through their ears.

The golden-haired young man croaked, stubbornly pulling on the girl’s sleeve, shouting, “…I also heard that you delayed your escape to save Theresa. You could have left the illusion safely… Is that true?”

Talli remained silent.

At this moment, it didn’t matter whether she answered or not.

Because by the time the young man shouted that last word, everything in his heart had already been decided.

The golden hair lost its shine in the heavy rain, washed into messy strands, his clothes soaked and clinging to his body. He looked like a drowned dog just pulled from the water, sobbing in the pouring rain.

He lowered his head, his shoulders trembling, biting his teeth hard, clenching his other hand until his knuckles turned white.

Finally, the young man opened his mouth, his voice distorted by the rain, reaching Talli’s ears.

“Sister…”

It was a low, animal-like whimper from his throat.

“…Sister, I’m sorry.”