Chapter 445: Characters – Klisa (III)

Klisa had originally thought.

That as long as she removed the deformed and twisted magic horns.

As long as she concealed the hideous scales.

She could become human.

Become a person who stood in the light, staying by Xu Xi's side.

Letting that warmth and care continue eternally.

But the witch discovered that the actual reality was not so.

"…Mentor."

On the journey through the Magic World after leaving Apogu City, Klisa watched the figure ahead gradually drifting away and slowly reached out her hand.

She wanted to grasp something.

Yet she could grasp nothing.

The Immortal Witch, who always maintained the appearance of a seventeen-year-old.

Amidst the dappled sunlight and the quiet afternoon filled with the chirping of summer cicadas, she realized something very normal, yet it brought a deep sense of suffocation.

Xu Xi's body was changing.

A process all humans must go through called "aging."

That was the Law of nature.

The order the world followed.

It should be so; it was only natural.

Only, the witch did not like this; she was unwilling to watch the familiar face slowly grow old.

What she found even more unacceptable was her own lack of change.

"I don't want to…"

"I don't want it to be like this…"

A searing flame parched the witch's throat.

Causing her hollow eyes to tremble repeatedly.

With Xu Xi's help, the witch possessed the appearance of a [human], but inside that body lay a sublimity that far exceeded the world.

Her lifespan.

Was something Mortals could never hope to reach.

Just as new sprouts in spring will wither in autumn.

A Mortal's life would eventually turn into withered leaves and fallen flowers, vanishing before the eyes of the Immortal Witch.

"What's wrong, Klisa?"

Ahead.

Xu Xi stopped and stood on the sunlit dirt road, looking back at the stalled girl with a puzzled gaze.

"Are you tired from walking?"

"Sorry, I didn't notice."

Klisa's expression was so helpless, hollow, and dazed that Xu Xi misunderstood something.

He turned back.

Returning to Klisa's side.

He used his Magic Wand to control the Wind Element, lifting himself and the witch so that she could rest upon the wind and be spared the effort of walking.

"Mentor…"

"I don't want to leave you…"

Klisa was held by Xu Xi's hand, feeling the warmth from his palm, and spoke her reluctance to part in a tiny voice.

Xu Xi was stunned for a moment.

Then he smiled, reached out his other hand, and gently stroked the top of Klisa's head.

————

A shadow cannot exist without light.

An object has no value without its owner.

The witch named "Klisa Christina" considered herself greedy and arrogant; she wanted to subvert the Law of the world so that the destined death could not arrive.

To allow the warm sun to continue to exist…

For this.

Klisa began various attempts.

She sought out many books—books that made her instinctively want to flee and that she was unwilling to look at for long.

They contained detailed records.

Of the lifespan differences between various races and the physical signs of aging in humans.

The witch endured her discomfort and leafed through the information and records, but she could only ever read half of them.

"The end of aging is the dual of the body and spirit—"

Seeing this.

Klisa closed the book with lightning speed.

She knew the answer but dared not face it.

"What happened, Klisa?"

Xu Xi walked over at the sound.

Only to see the witch slumped over the table, her hands tightly clutching a thick book as she shook her head at him rapidly.

"I'm fine, Mentor."

So said the witch.

————

The witch chose to keep it a secret and did not tell Xu Xi about her plan.

She knew.

That this matter was too difficult.

So difficult that if Xu Xi knew, he would dissuade her from wasting her time.

So, Klisa clumsily and cautiously made various attempts to extend life under the premise of "hiding it" from Xu Xi.

"Mentor, please be careful!"

During their travels across the world.

Compared to before, the time Klisa's gaze lingered on Xu Xi had clearly grown longer.

Filled with worry.

Filled with tension.

If she discovered even a slightly protruding stumbling block.

Klisa would urgently clear it.

"Klisa, my body is actually still quite robust."

"Please rest assured, I understand."

The witch answered while vigilantly scanning the surroundings, looking as if she didn't understand at all.

————

The eastern side of the Magic World.

Dragon Island in the center of a massive lake.

Under Xu Xi's gentle instruction, Klisa understood what the "Dragon Taming Secret" was, and her brain's knowledge base increased accordingly.

On the night they left Dragon Island.

The night was gloomy.

Pitch black and lightless.

The witch returned here alone; wherever her gaze fell, the Dragons all trembled and bowed their heads, not daring to make a sound.

"According to the records in ancient texts, bathing in dragon blood can improve the body."

"Strength, spirit, and lifespan."

"After bathing in dragon blood, all can be enhanced to a certain degree."

The witch murmured to herself.

At the same time, she took out a notebook she had prepared in advance from her bosom and leafed through it to check the marked information.

She gave a slight nod.

The night wind rustled the vegetation on Dragon Island.

Wrapped in Wind Elements, the witch charged into the dark regions of Dragon Island at high speed.

Ten odd minutes later.

Klisa left Dragon Island with a heavy earthenware jar in her arms, her solemn expression as if she were guarding the most precious object.

However, this solemnity came quickly and left just as fast.

The witch reached a disappointing conclusion.

The Materials in the jar did not have the effect of extending life, at least not on Xu Xi.

"It failed…"

"Whether it was having Mentor apply it to his arms or mixing it into his food, it had no effect."

Klisa was very dejected.

She poured out all the remaining Materials from the jar onto the weeds by the roadside.

Unexpectedly, it stimulated the growth of a batch of crimson dragon blood grass.

This dragon blood grass suited Xu Xi's aesthetic, so he collected the dragon blood grass into his spatial ring, planning to take them back to Alenson City to plant.

————

A day, a month, a year.

Time flowed quietly.

The Immortal Witch did everything in her power to stop the Mortal's passing, yet she could only watch helplessly as that radiance grew dim.

She tried every method she could find, but none proved effective.

"I'm sorry, Mentor…"

"Why are you apologizing to me, Klisa? You haven't done anything wrong."

Xu Xi opened his weary eyes, his face showing signs of age. Wrinkles were clearly illuminated by the sunlight, old and sallow, yet his smile remained gentle.

He smiled, affirming all of the witch's efforts.

Claiming he had seen everything.

"You knew everything…"

"Rather than saying I knew, it's more that it was hard to pretend not to see."

The man smiled again.

His smile merged with the bright sunlight.

Gentle as water.

His thin, bony hand reached out to stroke the grayish-silver long hair one last time, his eyes full of reluctance: "Klisa, the one who truly should apologize is me."

"Selfishly traveling with you, and selfishly leaving you all alone."

"I'm truly terrible for that…"

*Cough, cough, cough…*

Bright red liquid seeped from between the fingers covering his mouth, dripping silently.