Sorcerer’s Handbook

Chapter 316: See You Later

“What’s wrong?” Sonya was somewhat anxious.

“It’s nothing. I was just thinking, if I regain my memories, does that mean the me at this moment is killed by the former me?”

“Why are you suddenly engaging in philosophical speculation now?” Sonya, her nerves taut, was visibly frustrated.

Danzel suddenly asked, “Are you scared?”

Ashe thought for a moment and surprisingly nodded, “Maybe.”

“For example,” Ashe looked at Sonya, “didn’t you say that our real relationship might not be that of lovers? But right now, I truly regard you as my Lover.”

“Or to put it another way, more direct, without any ambiguity, and completely open-hearted—I like you now.”

Sonya was taken aback.

“But if after leaving the cabin, memories tell us that we are not in that kind of relationship, does that mean the me who likes you now is killed by the former me?”

“But that’s just avoidance.”

Everyone was startled.

The speaker was Deya, who had just awakened from a coma. Always timid, she was now very firm in expressing her opinion: “The past doesn’t cease to exist just because you don’t face it; rather, it is by carrying the past that you have become who you are now. Living is a process of killing oneself; knowledge kills foolishness, reality kills naivety, silence kills voice, and avoidance is pointless because who we are now is the result of our past.”

“To achieve our goals, killing oneself is sometimes inevitable. Even if we start over, Destiny is a very strict narrow path, and the things we once gave up, we must eventually abandon.”

Ashe blinked, “You make a lot of sense…”

“No.”

Sonya looked at Deya, then at Ashe, “If abandoning the past can make me better, then I’d rather abandon it. Rather than repeating the same mistakes, I believe everything can start anew.”

Ashe paused for a moment, then realized Sonya was referencing their earlier casual conversation about avoiding repeating past mistakes and mutual torment. He couldn’t help but chuckle, “Who do you want to start over with?”

Sonya bared her teeth in a grin, “None of your business!”

At that moment, Danzel placed his hand on top of Ashe’s, which was on the doorknob, “So, are all of you mentally prepared?”

Sonya, unyielding, placed her hand on Danzel’s, “I’m ready to part ways.”

Deya put her hand on Sonya’s, “I… We are ready too.”

“Then…” Ashe said, “Knight, Lover, sister, paramour… see you later.”

The overwhelmed doorknob turned hastily, eager to send off the visitors.

The cabin door opened.

What met their eyes was the eternal Reverse Golden Rain.

As they stepped out of the cabin, the glow of the Reverse Golden Rain reflected in their pupils, illuminating the palace of memories, and the darkness shrouding the cabin dissipated.

The countless factors that constituted their personalities, Souls, intelligence, thinking patterns, and Rules of action were fully awakened.

Everyone’s pupils dilated more and more.

And more.

Inside the cabin.

With Danzel’s departure, the Phantom of the Empress who returned the memories also vanished.

But the other three Phantoms seemed still fond of the warmth of the cabin and did not exit immediately.

“I think Deya spoke very well just now, truly worthy of being me,” the Witch walked behind the Observer and smiled, “What should be abandoned, better to abandon sooner rather than later. Avoiding the past is futile; under the grand scheme of Destiny, everything will repeat itself… Observer, there’s still time to change the plan.”

The Observer ignored the Witch, who then bounced over and sat next to the Swordswoman, trying to gain an ally, “Swordswoman, what do you think?”

“I actually agree with Sonya,” the Swordswoman said calmly, “If it can make us better, abandoning the past is not necessarily a bad thing. I think our ‘interference’ has been enough. Observer, we need to adopt a more cautious intervention strategy moving forward.”

The Witch was taken aback, “But I remember you were the most opposed to the plan before—”

“That means I’ve already killed my former self,” the Swordswoman said with her eyes closed.

“But aren’t you jealous?”

“Jealous of what?”

“Shouldn’t the one to start over be you, after all the hardships you’ve endured?” The Witch whispered into the Swordswoman’s ear, her voice like a slick tongue stirring up a storm of emotions, “If it were you, you could do it better than her…”

“You could regain everything you never had before—honor, the spotlight, enthusiastic applause, envious gazes…”

“Your path would be one of flowers and starlight, not a bloody road paved with corpses; you would have countless admirers longing for you, not endless avengers seeking revenge; you could live a peaceful life as a normal swordsmanship girl, instead of becoming one—”

“Do you think I resent everything I’ve been through?”

The Swordswoman grabbed the Witch’s wrist, “No, I don’t resent it at all. The mountains of corpses and seas of blood are familiar to me, killing avengers is a diversion in my life, and peace, normalcy, and society are the top three things I despise the most.”

“I enjoy every feast Destiny prepares for me, and it’s precisely because I’ve absorbed enough nutrients that I’ve become so strong.”

“I don’t need to act like a weakling, trying to make up for regrets or reminiscing over past sorrows.”

The Witch stared into the Swordswoman’s eyes, “You avoided my question—aren’t you jealous of Sonya Therave?”

“Why would I be jealous of her?” the Swordswoman replied, unflinchingly, “Although her childishness is somewhat annoying, at least she has grown up normally.”

The Witch kept her gaze fixed on the Swordswoman, her lips curling into a subtle smirk, a deep malice surfacing in her murky pupils. The normally fearless Swordswoman felt a twinge of nervousness and slowly reached for her sword hilt—

“Never mind.” The Witch quickly moved away from the Swordswoman and turned to the Observer, “Observer, what do you think? Instead of letting the ‘present’ grow slowly, why not let the ‘past’ take the stage?”

“Hmm…” the Observer said leisurely, “I’ve heard your suggestion.”

“Hey!” the Swordswoman abruptly stood up, “You’re not thinking of giving up halfway, are you?”

“Of course, I’m not going to give up halfway,” the Observer shook his head.

“So what do you mean?” the Witch asked, “Are you suggesting we reduce our interference as the Swordswoman said, or do you propose we take direct action as I suggested?”

“What do I mean?”

The Observer tapped his fingers lightly on the table, “Ashe’s intentions are my intentions.”

“The choice I made that day is deeply engraved in my soul, it has twisted my perception, and shaped my thoughts.”

“My personality, my awareness, my memories, they all exist to implement this will.”

“You ask me what I mean?”

The Observer gave them a cold glance, “You phantoms, left with nothing but memories, dare to question my decisions?”