Hate me, Miss Witch!

The Gray-Silver Witch's beautiful eyes shimmered, and her stunning face was tinged with a blush she could hardly conceal.

It wasn't until this moment that her fragmented memories were finally restored, and Silvia finally understood the full picture of that night, along with everything Shiayar had done for her.

Even by today's standards, Shiayar at the time believed he had only entered an Echo of History.

But within that echo, he had earnestly given his all for Silvia.

At the very end of it all—Brother Shiayar, his face drained of color, had still mustered the strength to carefully instruct her. He had been unable to bear leaving her alone and had used the last shred of his spiritual power to cast the "Final Moon Reading" on her. The image of that moment replayed itself endlessly in Silvia's mind.

"Brother Shiayar..."

Her melodious voice, like the chiming of wind bells, sounded again, this time carrying a hint of heartache.

Just then, a thunderous boom echoed from the distant edge of the sky.

Shiayar looked toward the source of the sound and discovered the anomaly.

This small, tranquil courtyard was merely a very limited part of the world they currently inhabited.

They were now inside a massive tower, its body constructed entirely from huge blocks of chalk stone.

And the courtyard filled with flowers and plants, the bright moon, the night sky, and the tides of the Grant Sea—all were simply part of a landscape crafted within the tower's interior.

This wasn't limited to reality. Even in her inner world, Silvia had also built this towering chalk stone tower.

Then, she had imprisoned herself in this lightless tower, day after day, year after year, until the end of time.

"This tower... is this your Mind Landscape, Silvia?"

"Yes, Brother Shiayar."

Silvia and Shiayar sat side by side, gazing together at the pure white tower.

At that moment, time seemed to rewind over five hundred years. They were in the courtyard, holding the milk tea cups Shiayar had named 'Yulemi,' watching the flowers and plants, idly chatting as they gazed at the distant evening scene.

"When I was young," Silvia began, "I used to fantasize that if, one day, I could lift the curse on me and become a normal person again...

"Then I absolutely had to see the myriad waters and mountains you described, Brother Shiayar...

"See the snow mountains in the Far North, see the Golden Plains, and see the quiet, profound Forest of Sages.

"Later, when you parted from me, you also said... I would have a life far more splendid, more beautiful than the one I had, and I would encounter all sorts of people and events."

"But."

Silvia gave a faint smile. "Actually, it wasn't like that.

"Brother Shiayar, you lifted the curse of dusk for me and even helped me complete my Divinity, allowing me, though I started late, to possess a talent and promotion speed beyond any Beastmaster's reach.

"But then I broke through the 6-Ring, broke through to Legendary...

"Those myriad mountains, once so distant and yearned for, were now easily within my reach.

"However, it wasn't until I actually stood on the summit of the Three Sages Snow Mountain, saw the Golden Plains with my own eyes, ventured into the depths of the Forest of Sages, and conversed with the Legendary magical beast known as the 'Sage King of the Forest'...

"That I realized the scenery in those places was indeed breathtakingly beautiful... but it wasn't what I wanted.

"My desire to go there was simply because I wanted to travel with you, Brother Shiayar, to experience all those people and events together...

"What's most important, I realized, isn't the scenery at the journey's end, but the person who accompanies me on the journey."

She tilted her head slightly, and a few silver-white strands of her hair fell onto Shiayar's shoulder.

"Calamity Land was indeed a dark, chaotic era... So chaotic that when I awoke and saw the peaceful Western Continent, I thought I hadn't just slept for five hundred years, but an entire Era.

"In that world devoid of light, it was hatred for you, Brother Shiayar, that became my motivation to survive and grow stronger.

"Later, when I became Legendary and discovered the gaps in my memory... that obsessive hatred transformed into a pursuit of the truth, a persistent yearning to meet you again at the end of time.

"So I built that tower of chalk stone, burying both my soul and body within it..."

Silvia turned her head, silently gazing at Shiayar's profile.

"The Eternal Slumber of self-imposed sealing is actually very painful. Prolonged sleep causes the soul and the spiritual world to dry up and become exhausted, leading to deterioration and ultimate devastation, even a loss of self.

"At countless critical moments when my soul's flame flickered weakly, it was this fantastical world of my own making that allowed me to persist.

"Although, compared to the ages I've lived through, the time I spent with you, Brother Shiayar, was but a drop in the ocean... yet it is truly the most precious memory in my heart. It has never faded with time; instead, it has grown ever more indelible, the sole force driving me to continue living.

"So, during those five hundred years of waiting... I was truly terrified, living in fear every single moment.

"I was afraid that you had actually died that night, Brother Shiayar, and that our promised reunion was just a lie you told to comfort me, to make me live on... just as adults don't tell children their parents are dead, but only say they've gone to a faraway place."