377 Mus (1/2)

Clumps of white ash fell to the ground like thick snow. However, rather than coldness, what met the people was a burning heat. The shadow covered the earth as far as one could see. Everything was covered with a layer of gray-white, distant and cold.

In the ruins, Ye Qingxuan looked up to the sky. Where the material and aether world overlapped, one could vaguely detect the distorted boundary. There, everything froze, creating a world of eternal stillness. There, one could only see a cold yet sharp city. It used the power of heaven and the abyss to go through the material and aether world. Absorbing the energy, the Sacred Fire burned, brewing something terrible.

Ye Qingxuan gaped at the shadow. After a long while, he hung his head and caressed the object in his hands. It had fallen to the ground and was covered in ashes. It looked like something left over from the fire. It was the only relic.

”F*ck…” he muttered, clenching a fist weakly.

After who knew how long, the stillness shattered. Clanging sounded again. An old man in armor walked through the ruins. Dust flew, pushed to the side.

”Ye Qingxuan?” It was a familiar voice.

Ye Qingxuan turned around and sank into shock. After a long while, he lowered his head with a wry smile. ”Father, long time no see. It seems that I'm in a pathetic state whenever you see me.”

Bann did not reply. He gazed at the child whom he had raised. The boy's features were still the same and he was still stubborn, but something was different. He could not describe it and did not know what to say.

”Long time no see.” Bann reached out and patted his shoulder. ”You—as long as you're okay.”

Ye Qingxuan looked at Bann's sword and the badges on his shoulder. Noticing the respectful knights around them, he laughed. ”I didn't think Mr. Wolf Flute was right. Father, you really rose in rank.” He still joked around but Bann could not sense any cheer. Ye Qingxuan was like an awkward actor forcing himself to recite lines with fatigue.

”This isn't the place for reminiscing. Go rest.” Bann patted the dust from Ye Qingxuan's hair. ”I heard about what happened. You did your best and it's good enough. You remembered what I taught you and did nothing against your morals. As for everything else…leave it to God.”

Ye Qingxuan turned to leave but a knight walked over. He wrapped Ye Qingxuan in a blanket to take him away but he did not move. He stayed there, watching Bann's back.

”Father,” he suddenly called hoarsely. ”I need to ask something of you.”

Bann halted and turned around. ”Ye, you never begged me for anything but today, you called me 'Father' and are requesting something. I will not reject you if it is something I can do.”

Ye Qingxuan chuckled bitterly. He said, ”Bring me there.”

Bann froze and frowned. ”Ye Qingxuan, you're asking for death!”

”That's okay but I can't let her be alone there.” Staring at him, Ye Qingxuan rasped, ”I should have understood early on that she's scared—”

”She has nothing to do with you!” Bann said coldly. ”Ye Qingxuan, do you really think that you're her friend?”

”Father, she must have sensed something. Perhaps she realized that this wasn't her home, her family might've already disappeared, and everyone she knows is dead. When I found her, she was hiding in a corner. She said that she's waiting for someone. I thought she was waiting for her father but now I realize that she was…waiting for me.”

Ye Qingxuan raised his hand and unclenched his fist. One could vaguely make out a small doll in his palm. It was a strange doll made of dried grass. Crude and simple, it was extremely ugly.

Ye Qingxuan had found it in the ashes. Elsa had been holding it without letting anyone see as if it was her most precious item. She did not have her white rat, her hair clips, or even her friend book anymore, but she still remembered to take this. As long as she had it, someone would remember her. Even if she no longer remembered why she made the thing and that she once had a friend…

”She still remembered that she needed to give this to someone.” Ye Qingxuan looked down and clenched the straw doll. ”That's why she was there, Father. She was waiting for someone to find her. She was waiting for me. Father, I can't let her wait for too long. I must go there.”

Ye Qingxuan uttered, ”If I abandon her, no one on this world will remember her anymore.”

In silence, Bann furrowed his brows. He soon raised a hand. The knights around them walked over to drag Ye Qingxuan away, but another voice rang out.

”Wait, wait…don't be so impatient.” The Angloian grandmaster that had been MIA for a while ran over. He stopped some knights and pulled Bann to the side.

”Don't rush to lock him up, Father. Just let him go. I'll look after him!” The master did not speak like a musician. Instead, he sounded like a gangster trying to do business. ”As for Faust's frozen time, you don't have to worry about him at all. How do I say it…well, he's thought of highly by that man. With him in the next step, he might be helpful.”