Chapter 69: I Will Still Wait for You

Xu Xi was about to die.

This was not a joke, nor was it a figure of speech; it was death in the truest sense, the end of the simulation.

He didn't need anyone to remind him. When he opened his eyes again, the weakness and deathly stillness surging within his body made Xu Xi realize this.

In fact,

it was already a miracle that he could wake up again.

While he was asleep earlier, Xu Xi had truly felt his Soul detaching from his Physical Body, drifting toward a void of nothingness—the eternal silence known as death.

"My current state…"

"Is probably what they call a momentary recovery before the end."

Pain, chest tightness, suffocation, dizziness.

All sorts of unbearable symptoms struck him, making the newly awakened Xu Xi feel a wave of drowsiness once more, his heavy eyelids constantly drooping.

He knew.

This sleep would be different from the ones before. He would not wake again, and life would not continue; it was a true step into death.

Thus, in a raspy voice, Xu Xi called out the witch's name.

His voice was so weak it was barely perceptible, like a faint vibration in the air. His aged face struggled to move as his lips opened to speak.

"Klisa…"

"Mentor, I am here."

Klisa, who still looked seventeen, gave Xu Xi a soft response.

She seemed afraid, terrified that if her voice were even slightly louder, it would cause Xu Xi pain.

Today was a good day.

The weather was clear, and the sun was bright.

Brilliant golden light shone through the window, bringing brightness to the room and driving away the unpleasant deathly stillness. More importantly, the mentor who had been asleep for many years had finally awakened.

But…

For some reason, her heart, which should have felt joy, let out a wail instead.

The heart beating in her chest slowed down unconsciously.

"Sorry, Klisa, for letting you see me in such a pathetic state." With the witch's help, Xu Xi propped himself up with his arms and painfully sat up from the bed, offering her a strained smile.

I beg you…

I beg you…

Please don't say any more.

The sorrow in her chest continued to accumulate.

Looking at Xu Xi's aged face, meeting those cloudy and swollen eyes, and listening to that barely audible voice that seemed like it would vanish at any second,

Klisa felt her heartstrings tremble more and more.

"You… need not mind it."

The witch did not care about Xu Xi's aged appearance. To her, looks and the physical shell were unimportant. The only thing she truly cared about was the person, Xu Xi.

Her sun.

Her light.

Her salvation.

But aging also meant something else—a fact the witch absolutely did not want to face, yet one that was inevitable.

"Mentor, I will go prepare lunch for you."

Klisa suddenly stood up and moved toward the door.

The witch already sensed something. She didn't want to hear it, she didn't dare to look, and she was even more afraid to face it, so she chose to run away.

But Xu Xi's voice

called the witch to a halt.

*Cough, cough… cough, cough, cough…*

"No need, Klisa. I think… I probably won't have the chance to eat it."

In the heavy atmosphere of the room, Xu Xi forced a smile, speaking lighthearted words despite his exhausted state.

Klisa's body trembled even more violently.

"Are you sleepy? Please rest assured, I will continue to wait, no matter how long it takes…"

"Klisa."

"I will always wait for you, wait for you forever…"

"Klisa."

Xu Xi called the witch's name again and again.

His voice was extremely weak, his breath so faint it seemed it would dissipate if the wind blew.

Finally, the witch grew quiet.

She stood with her back to Xu Xi, unmoving. She didn't make another sound, but her body continued to tremble, as if she were enduring some unspeakable agony.

"Come here, Klisa. I have some things I want to say to you."

The bitter winter would eventually arrive, freezing one's heart to the core.

Even if one were unwilling to face that chill, no matter how much they resisted, winter would not vanish because of a person's will. It was an inevitability.

"Yes…"

The witch returned to Xu Xi's bedside.

"Sit down."

The witch remained obedient. Under Xu Xi's gaze, she sat on the small wooden chair by the bed.

The chair was not high; when the witch sat on it, she was at just the right height for Xu Xi to reach her head.

And so,

Xu Xi reached out his withered, aged hand and placed it gently on Klisa's head, stroking her long silver-gray hair one last time, feeling its smooth texture.

"Klisa, I am going to be away for a very long time."

The witch's body trembled even more violently.

But under the soothing touch of his palm, she slowly regained her calm.

"I've really troubled you all this time. I should have been the one taking care of you, but for the past few decades, you've been the one looking after me while I was asleep."

"Now, it's finally coming to an end."

"You can take a rest now."

No, I don't want to rest.

I beg you…

I beg you…

Please let me, please let me, who am but an object, continue to be used by you… no matter how long, no matter how hard… as long as you don't leave, as long as you stay by my side…

"I will be gone for a long time, so long that it's impossible to tell. So, while I'm not here, Klisa, you must take good care of yourself."

"In the study, I've left some materials that should be useful to you."

"I've already modified the formation in the Meditation Room in advance. Even if you Breakthrough to become a Demigod, it will still be of some use."

"In the bedroom cabinet, there are some collections I've gathered over the years. You can use them or sell them; I leave it all to you."

Stop…

Please stop…

An increasingly heavy pain gradually accumulated in the witch's heart, causing her to instinctively clutch her chest, trying to hide her riddled heart.

Even though Xu Xi didn't say it directly,

even though Xu Xi deliberately skipped that word,

how could Klisa not understand?

Her mentor, the only savior in her life, the sun that had accompanied and illuminated her for decades, was about to fall into eternal silence.

Death.

A word so close to Xu Xi, yet infinitely far from the witch. Just thinking about it caused Klisa's sensitive and fragile heart to be forcibly peeled back layer by layer, revealing a truly helpless state.

"I don't accept it."

The witch interrupted Xu Xi with a trembling voice.

This was the first time she had ever contradicted Xu Xi.

"What you're saying, I don't accept it."

"Your things can only be used by you. I will wait for you, forever and ever, forever and ever and ever…"

Her eyes, which should have been hollow and spiritless, trembled violently for the first time.

She met Xu Xi's gaze.

She refused Xu Xi.

The withered hand stroking Klisa's head paused slightly, seemingly surprised by the witch's refusal.