Chapter 88: The Eternal Shackle Named Love

When the Witch was young, she suffered through the world's malice; because of this, she closed herself off and fled from the filthy, dirty world.

But there was someone who spent his entire life just to unlock the shackles on the Witch.

He succeeded.

With the limited life of a Mortal, he accompanied the Witch until her final death; though it was only a few short decades, it bloomed into an eternal, brilliant flower in the Witch's heart.

From then on, the Witch was free; the individual named Klisa Christina was free.

When Xu Xi reached the end of his life before the Witch.

When the only one in the Witch's heart disappeared.

The shackles on Klisa's body all shattered; she re-experienced human emotions, weeping silently, becoming the unfettered, free bird that Xu Xi had hoped for.

But, Klisa did not want this, did not like this.

"Mentor, please help me put it on again…"

Klisa requested softly, handing the shimmering sea-blue necklace into Xu Xi's palm.

The shackles that Xu Xi spent his whole life unlocking for the Witch.

The Witch chose to put them on again.

This time, the shackle was named [Eternal Love], possessing a weight greater than all things in the world—an eternal binding that the Witch voluntarily imposed upon herself.

She never again wanted, never again wished, to be separated from the sun in her heart.

She only wanted eternal companionship…

"Klisa, why did you take the necklace off?" Xu Xi took the necklace, feeling somewhat puzzled.

"To sweep away the trash for you, I was afraid of getting it dirty," the gray-haired Witch replied.

Trash? Xu Xi felt something was strange.

Yet he couldn't put his finger on it.

He decided to put the necklace on for Klisa first.

"Klisa, lower your head a bit," in the autumn Courtyard filled with an orange aura, the man walked slowly behind the Witch and gently lifted her long gray-silver hair with his palm.

The strands of hair drifted from between his fingers like miraculous light passing through his palm, light and smooth.

The autumn wind caressed gently.

The warm sun was genial.

That familiar feeling—the New Year's Eve when he had once put the necklace on the Witch seemed like it was just yesterday; in a daze, Xu Xi smiled.

His hands each pinched one end of the mithril chain.

He looped it around Klisa's fair neck.

They met at the back of her neck, overlapping and snapping shut; with a crisp click, the final fastening and finishing were complete.

The necklace was on.

"Thank you…" Klisa thanked him softly; her voice was faint, as if it would dissipate with the autumn wind, yet it was exceptionally clear.

"Your necklace, I like it very much… very much…"

The autumn wind grew more violent.

Whistling and howling, it blew Klisa's long gray-silver hair into the air, but it didn't make the Witch look unsightly; instead, it further accentuated that vacant longing and exquisite sense of brokenness.

The hem of her skirt swayed in the wind, and her coat flapped loudly.

The sea-blue necklace hanging at her chest reflected a hazy, dreamlike glow; it was the light of a gemstone, and also the light of love, adorning the Witch's heart that was poor at expressing itself.

"As long as you like it. It's very beautiful, isn't it?"

Xu Xi smiled.

He looked at the Klisa before him, feeling more and more moved as he watched; her unchanging 17-year-old appearance and her consistently indifferent face made it seem as though Klisa hadn't changed at all.

So familiar, so joyful.

Despite it being a reunion across worlds.

There was no sense of estrangement in his heart.

Past and present, illusion and reality, all became completely blurred at this moment.

"The wind is strong outside, let's go inside," Xu Xi took the Witch's slender white fingers and led the dazed girl into their warm and comfortable home.

The Witch had a home once again.

After entering the house.

Xu Xi originally thought to pour some hot water for the two of them, but he was stopped.

"Please leave it to me," the gray-silver Witch, who would forever maintain her 17-year-old appearance and maidenly posture, said to Xu Xi with a serious face.

After a long time, Xu Xi once again met the Witch's eyes.

Compared to the previous black and gold colors, the blankness in Klisa's eyes had vanished, filled instead by a pure, vivid red.

Her beautiful eyes reflected Xu Xi's figure.

He was young.

Full of vitality.

Without the restriction of tags, and possessing the Realms of both the cultivation side and the magic side, Xu Xi had long since ceased to worry about his lifespan.

"Well then, I'll leave it to you, Klisa," Xu Xi did not override the Witch's Persistence.

"Yes, please rest assured," Klisa responded calmly.

She walked into the kitchen alone, her gaze scanning back and forth; although it was her first time arriving on Earth, she displayed an incredible level of understanding.

In an instant, she learned how to use all the appliances.

She didn't use magic to generate anything.

Nor did she use authority to create.

Klisa behaved just as before, as if she and Xu Xi were living in the Magic World, skillfully handling various utensils to boil water and make tea.

Meticulous, grave, and earnest.

Soon.

A cup of brewed hot tea was handed to Xu Xi by Klisa, with a small porcelain saucer thoughtfully placed at the bottom to provide heat insulation.

"Thanks, Klisa," Xu Xi gently blew on the steam from the tea and took a sip.

It was slightly hot, but just right for the bleak and chilly autumn.

The tea passed through the gaps between his teeth and finally pooled on the surface of his tongue, releasing a faint aftertaste.

Very peaceful.

Not intense at all.

Just like the life between Xu Xi and the Witch.

Back in the Magic World, with their strength, they could have easily achieved a more extravagant life, but neither Xu Xi nor Klisa had any intention of changing their peaceful existence.

A peaceful life contains simple beauty.

Every bit, every drop, was a rare and precious thing.

"Klisa, sit down," Xu Xi told the Witch to sit; after handing over the hot tea, Klisa had remained standing by his side, quietly waiting for Xu Xi's next command.

With her hands crossed over her lower abdomen and her perfectly upright posture, anyone who saw her would only take her for a maid.

"Yes."

Klisa sat down as told.

The bleak autumn day gradually began to dim; Xu Xi turned on the living room lights, their hazy yellow glow casting a lingering twilight over the gray-silver hair falling on the Witch's shoulders.

*Clack—*

Xu Xi set down his finished teacup; the moment the bottom touched the porcelain saucer, it made a crisp sound.

With a look of doubt on his face, he asked Klisa the confusion that had been weighed down in his heart for a long time.

"Klisa, how… did you get here?"

"I saw your figure, heard your voice, and felt your existence; therefore, I came to find you."

The Witch's answer was simple.

In a calm and indifferent tone, she spoke of her actions.

But, behind such a brief answer, was it really as easy as she made it sound?

Xu Xi felt that the truth was likely not so.

"You've worked hard, Klisa," Xu Xi said, his voice containing very complex emotions.

"It wasn't hard…" Klisa shook her head blankly.

As long as I can see you, as long as I can reunite with you, everything is worth it.

Nothing else matters at all.

Yes, none of it is important; you are the only special one…

The aquamarine embedded in the center of the necklace was like real rising and falling waves, sometimes calm and sometimes roaring, revealing the Witch's state of mind.