"I'd still choose to fire that shot at Them."
He gently reached out his hand and stroked the head of the Gray-Silver Witch in front of him.
The pure silver hair felt just as silky as he remembered.
Sensing Shiayar's movement, Silvia couldn't help but widen her beautiful eyes.
The gesture was so familiar.
Back then, when she was not yet Legendary, Ye Yi not the White Tower Master, but merely a naive and romantic grand duke's daughter within her family's estate, Brother Shiayar would often stroke her head like this while telling her stories from beyond the Azure Garden Dukedom.
He spoke of the magnificent grandeur of the Three Sages Snow Mountain, the vast expanse of the Golden Plains, and the merfolk in the sea lamenting on the rocks, their tears congealing into pearls—a romantic tale of love...
This was the most precious memory in Silvia's heart; even after five hundred years, it remained fresh and undiminished, unfaded in the slightest.
And now, meeting again after five hundred years... although neither of them had tacitly spoken of it.
In reality, the once naive girl had ascended to the Throne, reigning over all. This transformation of status and position, along with the reversal of power between them, made Silvia realize that a subtle barrier still existed between her and Brother Shiayar.
This was not something either of them had intentionally created. Neither Silvia nor Shiayar were the type to care much about status or position. But this barrier was undeniably present, preventing their relationship from returning to how it had been five hundred years ago, in the early days at the Brentstatt Family Estate.
That was why Silvia became so obsessed with letting her spiritual incarnation, the white cat, act coy and cute. She didn't mind the risk of social death if discovered, because Silvia had realized that only in this form could she easily be close to Shiayar.
But in this very moment, Silvia could distinctly feel that the previously indescribable unease between them was melting away like ice and snow.
She was not the high and mighty White Tower Master but still that innocent grand duke's daughter.
Crouching in a corner of the courtyard in the afternoon sun, the youth's slender hand rested on her head, carrying a gentle warmth.
"Open the time portal, Silvia."
The black-haired youth's words were still as profound, as if he had everything In Control.
"Trust me, I'll come back."
"Alright."
Silvia nodded gently, without hesitation.
Just as before, whatever Shiayar said, she would unconditionally believe it to be true.
Silvia's slender white fingers lightly tapped The Void.
In the next moment, the illusory river of time diffused around the Gray-Silver Witch.
From its original brief trickle, it expanded and extended, turning into a roaring and raging sea.
And at the uppermost reaches of that tumultuous river of time, Shiayar saw a resplendent Golden Sword, and the indifferent phantom holding the Golden Sword.
The pale golden radiance surrounding her transformed into a realm, severing the course of history.
Shiayar's thoughts stirred slightly.
Immediately after, ancient shadows, like tree rings, also emanated from around him, slowly tuning in and synchronizing with the illusory river of time.
And Shiayar's figure began to fade, moving slowly upstream.
This experience was entirely different from any of Shiayar's previous Echoes of History; every bit of progress faced great resistance, and even with Silvia's help, it was exceedingly slow.
"What's wrong, Ennie?"
Shiayar's form slightly blurred as he looked towards the golden-haired girl at the other end of the room.
From the beginning, Enola had remained silent, only watching him with her icy, indifferent sky-blue eyes.
"Are you sulking because I'm going to bring Her Royal Highness back?"
"Even though for you all it might seem like the blink of an eye from when I leave to my return... for me, subjectively, the time spent there could be counted in years."
Shiayar smiled at the girl in front of him and spread his arms. "Before we part, won't you give your boyfriend and fiancé a little affection?"
Enola blinked and moved closer to Shiayar.
However, she did not, as Shiayar had guessed, offer a parting kiss or a hug.
Enola simply extended her little finger.
Then, carefully, she placed it on Shiayar's pinky finger.
Shiayar couldn't help but be slightly startled.
This gesture was familiar to him; after all, it originated from his memories as a transmigrator... However, the last time Ennie had made such a gesture with him was eight years ago on a snowy day in the northern country.
"You're lying."
Enola whispered in Shiayar's ear, her voice so faint only the two of them could hear.
Shiayar was taken aback.
"When you are truly confident, you never use phrases like 'trust me.'"
"It's only when you're lying that you repeatedly use 'ready perfectly' and 'trust me' for emphasis, because you don't want Miss Silvia and me to worry."
"I know you're prepared not to come back."
Their little fingers interlocked, a chilling touch.
Enola gazed intently into Shiayar's eyes with her azure pupils.
"So, this is a new vow."
"We will not abandon each other on this journey, not betray each other, regardless of life or death, wealth or poverty."
"And the term is no longer 'no change for a hundred years,' nor a thousand years, nor ten thousand years..."
"But forever."
Shiayar was slightly stunned and was just about to speak.
But the next moment, the illusory river of time between Silvia's fingers surged violently, as if breaking through the barrier of the Sacred Sword.
Shiayar's form rapidly dissipated, flying upstream in history.
That was once the realm known as Escarnia, Ye Yi the juncture between the Ancient Era and the New Era.
Not for such superficial reasons as a quest reward, but solely because of his own will.
Thus, Shiayar arrived at the epilogue of that Golden Kingdom.
Ye Yi, the thorn-filled finale.
...
「Holy Calendar, Year One.」
「Escarnia, Millennium Castle.」
This was a dark and cold ancient city, shrouded by the curtains of Eternal Night.
It stood not on the ground but among the stars, within the ocean where constellations converged.
Below, on the lands of Escarnia, the Knights of the Round Table, having already purged Vortigern and the Abyss Demons, were leading soldiers, fervently patrolling the entire territory.
They were executing the orders of the Knight King, vowing to press their advantage against the routed enemy and sweep all foreign races from this land.
However, everyone—be they knights, feudal lords, aristocrats, or the Dawn Church—tacitly avoided this city suspended high in the sky.
This was the Knight King's decree.
And precisely because of this, though sharing the same space, the deathly silent city enveloped by Eternal Night and the land below—bustling with campaigns yet vibrant with life—seemed separated as if by two different worlds.
There was no starlight, Ye Yi no radiance of the sun.
Only occasionally did the Silver Moon's clear light spill over, adding a touch of desolate color to the ancient city.
Myriad silver-white coffins were piled within this ancient city, yet there was not the slightest trace of any living thing.
In the depths of the city lay a silent garden.
The moonlight was cold and clear, illuminating the only living being in that garden.
The girl in a black dress slightly lifted her head.
As if sensing something, a hint of surprise suddenly appeared in her eyes, which were veiled by shadow and the night.
This city, which seemed dead, had, after a long time, welcomed its first visitor other than herself.