Chapter 610

Chapter 232 Nirvana Part One

A droplet of water fell from my forehead, blown by the wind, and slid right into my eye. I immediately raised my hand to wipe it away, then spread my palm in front of me. It took a while for me to clearly see that it was sweat.

…It’s a bit hot.

The air temperature seemed to be rising. I felt this vaguely, but under the strong onslaught of pain and fatigue, my consciousness had already fallen into a state of extreme confusion. My perception became hazy, and I couldn’t tell whether the temperature was rising or if my body was starting to heat up again. Dazedly, I flew for an unknown amount of time before regaining my senses. I realized the height had dropped drastically, and the ground was now very close. The view was no longer the vast grassland; instead, scorched earth appeared ahead.

On the scorched earth, sparse withered trees stood, their twisted branches sprawling across my vision. I could no longer fly; my body felt as heavy as a large stone. Even though the flame wings were still flapping vigorously, the flight altitude kept dropping, the speed increasing. The wind howled fiercely around me. Finally, I lost strength and plunged downward, landing amidst the tangled dead tree branches. With a “crackling” sound, I crashed into a dilapidated wooden house on top of the branches.

Bang!

A muffled thud.

Rushing sounds—

My body broke through the roof, crashing onto the wooden planks. A mess of things fell from above, hitting my back and legs. I felt no pain; my head was dazed, and my ears buzzed with noise.

“…Uh.”

I lay on the damp, stinking wooden boards, motionless. After a long while, I groaned and struggled to get up, trying several times but failing. My limbs were completely unresponsive.

“Cough, cough…”

It seemed I couldn’t move for now…

The thin, dead smoke gathered around me dissipated quickly. The flame wings behind me also vanished during the fall. I forced myself to lift my head, blurry vision sweeping around. Through the faint moonlight seeping through a hole in the ceiling, I could vaguely see the dilapidated furniture, debris, black mud, and cobwebs inside the house.

This is a fairy’s house…

I have flown out of the grassland and into the forest…

The wooden boards beneath me had been corroded and weathered over a long time. Any slight movement caused them to creak, and they felt slippery, like moss, but dark and emitting a fishy smell, which was somewhat nauseating, but I didn’t care anymore.

“Uh…”

I moaned softly, struggling to grab the damaged, warped parts of the wooden board, dragging my body slowly toward the corner of the house, as if that would give me more security. Regardless of whether it was dirty or had spiders, after reaching the corner and catching my breath for a moment, I felt my strength slightly recover and then tried hard to sit up, leaning against the decaying wooden wall, closing my eyes and opening my mouth wide, my chest heaving violently.

“Huff, huff, huff… Cough, cough!”

Breathing in large gulps of dusty air made me start coughing again.

No one… followed me up…

Once the coughing stopped, I tried to suppress my breathing, using only my nose to breathe, while slowly turning my head. My bewildered eyes looked at the broken round ventilation window on the side. Outside, the night was silent, without any wind or human sounds, not even a hint of insect chirping. Only the quiet, faintly reddish night sky cast a few beams of light into the dark house.

…The sky is about to brighten.

When did it start getting brighter? I didn’t notice at all…

I gazed at the light, feeling it was like fiery clouds, the crimson glow piercing through the clouds, obscuring the moonlight, and dimming the stars, adding a bit of warmth to the cold night.

How beautiful…

That light flowed like water, coming from the east, never ceasing in the sky. The crescent moon hid behind pale red clouds, the thin light reflecting slightly red.

Suddenly, everything was so quiet…

Pain and fatigue came in waves. I tried to distract myself by looking outside, but my gaze

The world around me grew increasingly hazy. The two crescent moons hanging in the sky began to overlap, like the dawn slowly dispersing from my sight. I could no longer see anything clearly.

Whoosh—

Thud!

Faintly, I seemed to hear the Light of Mafa, the sound like fireworks blooming in the sky.

That sound came from far away, reaching my ears. Whether it was an illusion or not, I couldn’t tell. My mind was nearly blank, unable to process any information. In a daze, I felt as if I had returned to that night in the royal city.

Victoria and I flew above the bustling lights of the city, gazing at the radiant glow like fireworks. She held me close, and the cool breeze brought her gentle whispers to my ear.

[If news comes that worries you, would you leave the royal city?]

[Would you promise me if I ask you not to go?]

[Come home with me…]

Pata.

Warm tears slid down my cheeks again, dripping onto my hand.

I raised my hand to wipe my eyes, starting with one hand, then both, but the tears flowed like a flood, impossible to stop.

Can I go home anymore…

“Guh…”

The stifled cry echoed from the dim, damp house. It was the sound of a girl’s heart-wrenching, helpless sobbing.

She curled up in a corner of the broken treehouse, hiding her bloodied, small body in the shadows. She cried for a while, trying not to let her voice out, fearing someone might hear and find her.

Victoria…

I can’t run anymore… I really can’t run anymore…

But they might still be looking for me… They might find me soon…

What should I do…

Save me…

“Wu wu… Uh…”

The girl’s sobs quickly turned into more suppressed moans. She leaned against the wall, her expression becoming increasingly painful and distorted. Her hands clutched her chest tightly, her body slowly tilting to one side, curling up on the filthy, rotten wooden boards, trembling uncontrollably. The tremors grew stronger, making it hard to breathe. She opened her mouth wide, gasping for air.

“Hah, hah, hah… Ah…”

It hurts…

My chest hurts… My whole body hurts… It burns so much… I feel so miserable…

The excruciating pain spreading from my forehead, back, and tailbone was now engulfing my entire body. The extreme pain came so fast that there was no time to react. The intensity was so great that it instantly dispelled all drowsiness.

Lying on the ground, I tried to curl up, but despair and suffocation set in within seconds.

Gulping…

My teeth chattered, almost breaking. My face was flushed and hot. I wanted to scream, to vent this unbearable pain, but the pain was so intense that I couldn’t even moan. Tears and snot flowed freely, and I couldn’t catch my breath.

All I could do was curl up in the corner, forcing myself to keep my eyes open, silently praying in my heart for the madness-inducing pain to end soon.

One second…

Two seconds…

Countless seconds passed.

But the pain never went away.

It kept getting worse.

Crack, splash…

I heard the sound of my armor being torn off my back.

As if the flesh on my shoulder blades was being ripped apart, a searing pain shot from my spine to my brain. At that moment, it felt as if something was growing out of my back—I could sense this vaguely.

At the same time, the entire house began to shake violently.

Rumble rumble rumble…

The shaking didn’t seem to be caused by me. A loud thud echoed from the distant night sky outside the window. I had no energy to think about what was happening. Through my blurry vision, the light coming through the translucent circular window and the hole in the roof became dark red, like blood.