Chapter 57: Memory

Darkness filled her vision.

Bai felt her body sinking downward, as if she were trapped in a swampy mire, unable to move at all.

A bone-chilling cold seeped into her marrow.

Her slightly opened eyes stared hollowly at the darkness rushing past her, while memories flickered like shattered mirrors in the void, each fragment reflecting the bits and pieces of the past five years.

Those were Bai’s memories of Yalbera over the past five years.

In a haze, she saw once more the figure who had descended like a deity five years ago—Yalbera, surrounded by pitch-black flames, burning away all filth with an arrogant grace.

Then came the absurd and pathetic devotion she had given over these five years.

Each memory turned into a sharp blade, repeatedly slicing her already battered heart.

This was the Dream World.

It was the Hall of Memory.

Dead memories began to attack her.

***

Outside the dream, Yalbera sat leaning against an ancient chair, flipping through tomes.

The madness and gloom in her crimson eyes had faded, replaced by a faint, indescribable agitation.

Since sending the unconscious Bai back to her room, this restless feeling had never ceased.

She turned the pages mechanically, her gaze unable to focus on the words.

At last, her eyes settled on the flower crown beside her, soaked in blood—the dark red liquid continued to drip, deepening the already crimson carpet as if becoming one with it.

“Did I overdo it? Can that little one’s body handle it? She won’t just die in her sleep, will she…?”

The thought suddenly invaded her mind, causing her brows to knit and her fingertips to leave an unconscious crease in the page.

Why should I care about the life or death of a human?

She tried to convince herself with arrogance, but in the next moment, the face of Lian flashed through her mind…

Yalbera stood up.

She needed to check if she was alive or dead…

It was definitely not out of concern. She simply didn’t want a corpse lying in her manor.

Teleportation Magic activated, and with a thought, she arrived in Bai’s bedroom, just in time to see Bai still lying on the bed, face twisted in pain, breathing erratic, looking like a terminally ill patient.

“Human bodies are truly fragile.”

Yalbera spoke in her most contemptuous tone, yet her hand unconsciously reached toward Bai’s neck, the skin she touched was shockingly cold.

She seemed close to death… So I really did overdo it.

Yalbera’s gaze flickered.

But just as she was about to use Healing Magic, Bai suddenly moaned in pain.

From her cracked lips spilled a name that made Yalbera freeze in an instant.

“Yalbera… sama.”

“……”

Yalbera narrowed her crimson eyes.

A nameless irritation churned violently within her chest.

A discarded slave, and even in dreams, the one she called out to was still the “master” who abandoned her?

How utterly… unpleasant.

Something writhed in the depths of her eyes.

Bai, oh Bai, you were thrown away like trash, and yet that disgusting woman is worth remembering? Is possessing you not enough?

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind.

“Still can’t forget?”

Her soft whisper dripped with danger as her fingertip brushed Bai’s sweat-drenched forehead, lips curling into a slight smile.

“If you can’t forget… then let me help you erase it completely. Hehehe.”

In the next instant, a bewitching red light glowed in the depths of her pupils, like a viper burrowing into Bai’s consciousness.

She would personally erase all the memories that displeased her.

***

Within the dream at that moment, Bai’s body continued to fall.

Before her, the memories of the past five years glimmered like scattered glass, shining faintly in the darkness.

But in the next instant, the fragments of memory began to lose their luster, the reflected face of Yalbera growing blurry, and the Hall of Memory started to tremble and collapse.

Her memories began to vanish.

“Eh? No… no, why? Why are Bai’s memories…?”

Light finally returned to her hollow gaze.

Bai cried out in confusion, but there was nothing she could do except fall endlessly.

Her memories were swiftly fading, breaking apart, even… changing?

…The figure of Yalbera, who had once saved her from the Slave Traders, grew indistinct, and the voice of Aiersha, who smiled at her every day, became hazy.

“No, why, don’t, don’t take Bai’s memories!”

Bai screamed helplessly.

She grabbed at the scattered fragments, pressing them desperately to her chest.

She didn’t want to forget.

Even if those days weren’t worth remembering, even if she hated the person she had become.

But she didn’t want to forget!

The feelings she had held for five years—for Yalbera, for Aiersha—not one was false!

She had longed for them, admired them, even if she was never acknowledged, even if she had never truly been happy…

But those feelings were never a lie! She didn’t want to forget!

***

Bai’s body trembled.

She clung madly to the fragments that remained, but the memories in her arms began to dissolve, scattering into countless particles.

She reached out desperately, only to grasp nothing, as everything in her mind grew hazy.

“Please, stop, don’t take them away, Bai doesn’t want to forget, please…”

Bai pleaded, not knowing what was happening, or even who was stealing them away.

Yalbera and Aiersha’s images disappeared completely.

Their voices, their scents, all memories faded away…

“Really, why does Xiao Bai have to be so cute…”

“Xiao Bai, look at what big sister made for you…”

“Listen, Xiao Bai, this world…”

“From today, you belong to me…”

“Bai, come closer to me…”

“The flowers in the courtyard? How about… Twilight Rose?”

***

Countless voices intertwined and faded by her ear.

Bai watched in despair as her consciousness turned to emptiness.

She clung tightly to the last fragments of memory, only to see them slip through her fingers.

Until—memory collapsed entirely, everything around her crumbled into endless darkness, and in the silence, only Bai’s lingering, pleading consciousness remained.

Don’t…

Aiersha-sama, Yalbera-sama…

…Aiersha…

…Yalbera?

Who were they…?

Bai’s eyes snapped open.

She saw a familiar ceiling.

She sat up, her head splitting with pain, as if her brain had been churned from the inside out.

…Who was she again?

Oh, right.

She was Bai.

Five years ago, she had been captured by Slave Traders, and at her moment of despair, a figure descended like a god, burning away the filthy slavers and saving her, giving her the chance to serve.

And her name was…

Yalbera Isabella.