Chapter 501: Sleeping Beauty

Boom!

The grand doors of the palace banquet hall were blasted open. A drenched, battered motorcycle hurtled inside, sending guests scrambling to safety. They watched in shock as the war-torn Raven Aerial Motorbike skidded to the foot of the throne, smashing against the steps and shattering into scrap.

Through the curtain of rain, a servant, drenched in blood, with a sword tightly gripped in his hand, stepped forward.

Soaked through with crimson that no one could trace to its source, his tailcoat uniform now resembled a dark red overcoat. A mask concealed his face, revealing only a pair of eyes. No one could read his expression.

The same name echoed in everyone's mind. Aine. The Saint of fifty years. The Guardian of Nabistin. The Sovereign of the Gospel. The savior providing shelter to all beings, the benevolent emperor of perfect virtue.

Yet not everyone was content to sit back as mere spectators. Evelyn, Anphel, and Quinna all looked ready to speak until the Empress slightly lifted her hand. Instantly, they were stripped of their voices. All they could do was witness in silence the changing of an era, the birth of a new sovereign, and tomorrow, welcome the sunrise once again.

His steps quickened, faster and faster, like a man desperate to reclaim his crown. Spreading gold and silver wings, he surged forward into the air.

He raised his sword, the blade sweeping forward like a white rainbow piercing the sun, a meteor striking the moon.

Clang!

The blade pierced the veil, stopping just short of her neck. The tip broke the skin, drawing a single, glistening drop of blood.

"I, too, bleed red blood," the Empress said, seeing right into the doubts of his heart.

The two Secret Guards stood silently beside the throne, seemingly unconcerned with what was happening before them, or who sat upon the seat.

He looked at her, with complex emotions flickering in his eyes.

"Why won't you strike?" the Empress asked. "Anger, hatred, fear, despair, your heart churns like a black tsunami. Why not let it all spill out? I am right here before you. Why not fill that emptiness with my death? Do you hate me? You do. Do you want to kill me? You do. Are you afraid? You are not. Then why?"

A faint smile touched her lips. "Because you pity me."

He remained silent.

"You know how each generation of Empress is born. A girl, pure, innocent, kind, and wonderful, lives until adulthood, then takes up the Gospel, cares for this land for fifty years, before being replaced by the next.

"You know Raine is not wrong. She only seeks the kingdom's future. You know the hunters are not wrong. They simply eliminate the noise disrupting countless lives. You know the Gospel is not wrong. It merely weaves the most beautiful future from endless possibilities. Even the two slated for execution are not wrong, for they have yet to commit any crime."

"However, the Gospel will never give them the chance to."

At last, Ashe spoke. "This isn't how the story should end."

The Empress replied, "Reality is not a fairy tale. This is the only way."

She paused, offering a soft smile. "Still... seeing you with my own eyes is wonderful."

"What?"

"You truly are the one chosen by the Gospel. You will become the purest, truest, kindest, and most wonderful Isa."

She took a step forward, gracefully pressing her neck against Ashe's blade.

Meeting his horrified gaze, she blinked playfully. In her final moment, she seemed to reclaim the innocence of fifty years prior. "All beginnings must one day meet their end. Thank you, Ashe. And... I'm sorry, Aine."

Watching her body scatter like drifting sand, Ashe stood in a daze.

Unlike him, no one ever learned the Empress's true name. But time offered no room for grief. With the previous host's death, ownership of the divine power passed completely to him.

Thump!

Ashe swayed slightly, chilled as if standing too long in the rain.

Stepping forward, he rested a hand on the armrest and slowly seated himself upon the throne.

Instinctively, everyone, even the imperial guards beside the throne, knelt.

Outside, the storm quieted down, as if the world itself were welcoming the return of its sovereign.

Aine slowly opened his eyes.

***

Rain poured violently over the parking area and the bridge where many heavily wounded Sacred Realm sorcerers lay scattered.

Beneath the bridge ran a river. The current surged fiercely, and fish swam frantically against the flow. As waves crashed against the shore, the fish, shrimp, and crabs worked together, desperately pushing the half-dead foreign creature onto the waterside platform.

The little girl lay on the soaked stone pavement, her hair clean and glossy black.

It hurts so much, Dia thought.

She had to take over, for only she could bear her sisters' pain.

Soon, the pain faded. The rapid loss of body temperature stole away her senses, while overwhelming drowsiness numbed her nerves. She could no longer think about anything. She only wished to close her eyes peacefully and never wake up again... unless Ashe kissed her awake.

Ashe...

At that, Dia opened her eyes, and a gigantic creature suddenly entered her vision.

It had four sharp, beautiful horns, a body covered in shimmering bronze scales, and a set of terrifying yet perfectly arranged fangs. Its eyes were as large as half a full-length mirror, allowing Dia to see her own reflection within its pupils.

The Bronze Dragon quietly stared at Dia.

Somehow, Dia found strength rising from within her. She asked, "Has the trial ended?"

The Bronze Dragon nodded.

The trial had been simple. It involved only one curse and one condition. The curse dictated that she would lose her past identity, be transported elsewhere, have her body transformed into that of a child, and have her mana sealed. The condition for completing the trial required her to survive until the death of this generation's Empress of Isa.

There was no doubt that this trial had been created specifically for Dia. The Bronze Dragon had helped her escape the tower, concealed her identity, and altered her appearance. As long as the Empress remained alive, the risk remained that Dia would be captured and forced to go through the Armor Sanctification Ritual.

The end of the trial meant Dia could return to her original body and begin a brand-new, beautiful life. But at this moment, Dia felt no happiness at all. The death of the Empress of Isa meant the birth of the new emperor, Aine.

The Bronze Dragon gently tapped her. As raindrops struck her body with crisp sounds, Dia realized she had reverted to an adult. However, the other half of her body, severed from the previous battle, remained missing. Not that it mattered, returning to her adult form meant that she could finally use her mana again. Reverse Day.

Dia used Reverse Day on herself, returning to her exact condition from a day prior. The spirit turned her back into a little girl, wearing the identical dress she had worn back then.

Wait, the Reverse Day spirit triggers a permanent reversal, which means the effect cannot be undone. Does that mean I'll remain a little girl forever? Not that it matters... Perhaps this is for the better.

Dia raised her head and met the Bronze Dragon's gaze. "I never expected to receive your blessing. Given your malicious nature, I assumed you would offer me some well-timed mockery instead."

The Bronze Dragon actually nodded. As the four horns on its head emitted a faint glow, Dia felt her soul become more solid.

Bronze Dragon's Blessing

- Your mental resistance increases by 13%. Your soul's adaptability toward Divine Spirits of all sorcery classes increases by 13%.

By the time Dia finished interpreting the effects of the blessing, the Bronze Dragon had already disappeared.

She felt a strong urge to laugh. She had undergone the dragon's trial to escape her fate, yet after passing it, she now had to willingly embrace that very same destiny. It felt like nothing had changed, yet somehow everything was different.

Fifty years later, when she died, her Sorcerer's Handbook would surely contain the line, "Bronze Dragons are all unbelievably terrible bastards!"

She crouched on the waterside platform and looked at her blurry reflection in the river.

Dia softly called out, "Big Sister Lys, I need you now."

Little Witch tilted her head in confusion. "Huh?"

"She wasn't calling you," White Queen corrected.

Little Witch insisted, "But I'm Lys."

The Black Butler interjected smoothly, "You are the second-generation Lys. Dia is calling for the first."

"There are two generations of Lys?!" Little Witch gasped, her eyes wide with shock.

"Did you forget?" White Queen chided gently. "Lys specifically refers to the sister responsible for activities in reality. So before you were born, there was naturally another Lys."

Little Witch froze for a moment before the realization finally washed over her.

She was Lys, the sister born after Dia escaped the tower. That meant when Dia was still trapped inside, there must have already been another Lys.

Then who was this first Lys? She wondered.

Secret Princess was specifically responsible for activities in the Virtual World. While White Queen, Black Butler, and Red Death Apostle could all step up to play the role of Lys, Little Witch now understood that back in the tower, the Lys responsible for reality must have been the princess who perfectly fit the description, the purest, most innocent, kindest, and most wonderful girl.

As much as Little Witch loved all her sisters deeply, she had to admit that none of them could truly fulfill those conditions. Compared to them, perhaps their "Daddy" was actually closer to that description.

"So... we actually have another sister? Why has she never appeared?" Little Witch questioned, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Because she is completely different from Dia," Red Death Apostle countered solemnly.

"I don't understand," Little Witch murmured, shaking her head.

"She is the purest, most innocent, kindest, and most wonderful existence in the truest sense," White Queen explained softly. "That means even if Dia revealed the entire truth to her, she would never rebel against that fate. Instead, she would choose to sacrifice herself to protect all living beings."

She paused, her expression darkening before she added, "Besides, we never dared tell her. She is our shield. If anything happened to her, the Empress would discover our existence. And as long as she exists, the Armor Sanctification Ritual continues. She is our enemy. For us to survive, she must disappear."

"D-disappear?!" Little Witch stammered, horror dawning on her face. "Could it be... you all—"

"We once tried to persuade Dia to kill her," Black Butler chimed in, cutting her off calmly. "But Dia refused. Instead, she sealed her away."

"Sealed? How?" Little Witch asked, desperate for an answer.

Red Death Apostle clarified. "She is different from us. She is not a spirit. She and Dia are split personalities in the literal sense. Unlike us, they cannot exist simultaneously. When she takes control of the body, Dia can only hide away. That is how the title Secret Princess came to exist in the first place."

Her tone grew heavier. "After Dia takes back control, Lys's personality falls asleep deep within the soul. Unless Dia willingly gives up control, she will never awaken. Therefore, we also call her... Sleeping Beauty."

Dia watched as her reflection in the water gradually blurred. Then, it slowly reformed into a girl who looked similar to her true self, yet possessed a completely different temperament.

She looked like a princess straight out of a fairy tale. Opening her eyes, she covered her mouth with a soft yawn. Then, with a gaze filled with confusion and curiosity, she looked at Dia.

Dia bit her lower lip. "Big Sister Lys... Please... save him."