The countdown continued.
At the center of the storm, Elena still stared ahead with vacant eyes.
It was too late.
‘Too late… To hell with it being too late!’
She would never give up, not until the final moment, not until the very last second!
Ai’er’s gaze fell upon the sphere in front of Elena.
The ring she had given Elena was currently floating quietly inside it.
Devoured.
The System used the phrase “devoured by Mana” to describe Elena’s current state.
In that instant, for no apparent reason, Ai’er thought back to the first night she had met Elena.
Standing on the edge of the Sea Cliff, Elena had looked as though she were about to be devoured by the night itself.
But…
‘Don’t you still want to live?’
‘Didn’t you desperately cling to me in the ocean?’
‘I don’t know what you’ve been through, Elena, nor do I know your reasons for jumping into the sea — but you still have things you want to do, right? You still have wishes you want to fulfill, right?’
‘Then why fall here? Wake up!’
“Wake up! Elena — ugh!”
As if an icicle had pierced her heart, every cell in Ai’er’s body screamed out in pain.
Part of her vision was instantly swallowed by darkness. Dizziness and pain assaulted Ai’er’s consciousness simultaneously.
Her hand, reaching for the ring, froze in mid-air.
It was right before her eyes. Just like in all those movies and novels… the ring that represented her feelings was imprisoned in a place isolated by magic.
Just like in all those fairy tales and stories…
If she just tried a little harder, if she could just take that ring out of that sphere!
She could call Elena’s heart back to her side from the middle of this storm!
Struggling, her body feeling as if it were being torn apart, Ai’er braved the piercing pain of ten thousand needles and thrust her hand into the hovering sphere. She gripped the Pale Gold Crystal Ring firmly in her hand —
“Wake — up! Elena!”
Ai’er yanked the ring out of the sphere!
…
**[Remaining Magic Duration: 19 seconds, 18 seconds…]**
The countdown continued.
Life and fairy tales were, after all, not the same thing.
If every beautiful thing could be easily realized, if every problem could be simply solved — then all hope and despair would cease to exist.
In the world called “reality,” a Blizzard would not stop so easily.
And this was Ai’er’s reality.
Thus, this pure white Blizzard…
Did not stop.
**[Remaining Magic Duration: 15 seconds, 14 seconds…]**
In this moment, Ai’er could hear her own heartbeat.
The clear pulse was now gradually growing weaker…
Time was running out.
Despite the struggle, Ai’er fought to take Elena’s hand once more.
“I’ve had it… Letting me put a ring on you three times in one lifetime… Elena… you are… the first.”
Through halting words, Ai’er placed the ring on the pinky of Elena’s right hand once again.
the moment the ring returned to Elena’s finger, the surrounding Mana seemed to flip instantaneously, beginning to surge into Elena’s body. Until —
*Crack.*
A fissure appeared on the Pale Gold Crystal.
**[The Magic Stone’s absorption is nearing saturation.]**
**[Remaining Magic Duration: 10 seconds, 9 seconds…]**
The storm of Mana had not yet ceased.
“Check… mate.”
Looking at Elena, Ai’er suddenly remembered what the System had said —
‘The Mana used to create the Host’s physical body and the ring come from the same source.’
If that ring could absorb a Witch’s Mana, then her own body should be able to as well.
**[Disposable Magic: Protection of the Witch of Time — Can prevent any form of Mana from entering the body for a short period]**
There was a subjective and objective difference between “absorption” and “intrusion.” As long as she actively tried to absorb it, it wouldn’t count as an intrusion —
‘Is that right, System?’
**[Yes.]**
**[Remaining Magic Duration: 5 seconds, 4 seconds…]**
Looking at Elena’s face, Ai’er took a deep breath —
“Elena… you’d better compensate me for this later.”
Squeezing the final words out of her throat with a smile, Ai’er slowly moved her face closer to Elena’s.
Perhaps it was a bit of a petty streak, or perhaps she was just claiming some payment in advance —
Ai’er closed her eyes as the distance between her and Elena’s lips shortened.
In the next heartbeat, the distance between them —
Hit zero.
In that instant, the surrounding Mana surged violently toward the center of the two!
**[Remaining Magic Duration: 2 seconds, 1 second — ]**
**[0.]**
The Blizzard disintegrated in the air, the scattering pure white turning into dancing snowflakes that signaled the final curtain call.
If the effect’s duration could have lasted just one more second.
If the time Elena took to wake up could have been just one second earlier.
Ai’er never wanted to feel the bone-chilling cold she experienced in the second after the countdown hit zero ever again —
Not even in her next life.
“Ai’er… ?”
The silver-haired girl gradually lost her strength in Elena’s arms.
“Elena… promise me… this time… don’t take off the ring again…”
The gradually ceasing snow and wind, the cold, the loss of strength in a beautiful girl’s arms, and the lines that sounded like a deathbed confession…
This was… really a bizarre sense of déjà vu.
After forcing a smile, Ai’er closed her eyes.
**[Warning, Host’s current remaining lifespan: 0.5 years.]**
**[Mission status updated, settlement beginning…]**
—
“Oh heavens… Is, is Miss Ai’er alright then?”
The young maid instinctively covered her mouth with both hands, her back straightening with tension.
A short while ago.
The maid had originally come just to bring Elena some tea and snacks, and happened to see the Lady Witch staring blankly at the ring on her right pinky.
Noticing the young maid, Elena had called out to her with a smile.
“I heard the mansion has been discussing the person I’ve been looking for lately?”
Normally, the young maid would have said, “I wouldn’t dare,” and taken her leave.
But the Lady Witch’s smile didn’t seem to hold any reproach; the maid’s intuition told her that the Lady Witch she served seemed quite happy to talk about it.
Plus… she really was very curious.
And so, Elena had told Ai’er’s story up to this point — up to when the silver-haired girl had fallen into a coma once again in order to wake her from the Mana Rampage.
“Ai’er’s condition back then… was hardly good. I only found out later that the rampaging Mana had injured her severely.”
As Elena spoke, her voice slowed. Although it was an event from about 300 years ago, an emotion called sadness still overflowed from her gaze.
“Much of what I’m telling you was relayed to me by Sebas, the Butler. Many things must have happened after the Mana Rampage — for instance, whether that Great Mage did anything afterward, how I returned to the mansion, and how the servants back then handled the aftermath… I don’t know any of that. When I regained consciousness, all of my attention was focused on Ai’er — on her faint breathing, her weak heartbeat… Was she still alive? Could she still wake up? I was so afraid, afraid of losing her just like that. And even after all these years, even now as the ‘Witch of Time,’ I still wake up in a cold sweat if I dream of those days.”
As Elena spoke, the young maid listened. She was curious about the Miss Ai’er in the Lady Witch’s story, and equally curious about the Lady Witch’s current appearance.
The expression the Lady Witch wore when speaking of Miss Ai’er… it made it impossible to imagine that she was one of the Five Witches who stood above all Magic Users.
“Then… did Miss Ai’er wake up?”
“Yes… but — “
“Lady Elena, there is a letter for you.”
After a light knock on the door, the Head Maid appeared at the entrance holding a letter.
The Head Maid glared at the young maid, frightening her so much she stood up from her chair instantly and retreated out of the room in silence.
Seeing this, Elena gave a slightly helpless smile. Ai’er had been the same way whenever the Head Maid scolded her back then; the difference was that Ai’er would act as if nothing had happened right after the scolding, her bright smile seemingly never destined to fade — never to fade…
Thinking of this, the emotions rising in Elena’s heart caused her smile to vanish. And upon seeing the mark of the Empire on the letter, Elena’s gaze instantly turned cold.
“Is the letter from the Empire? If it’s from the Mages Association, decline it for me. They know perfectly well what they did 300 years ago.”
“Reporting to Lady Elena, this one is indeed from the Empire, but it was sent to you by the White God Holy Church. The messenger said… their Apprentice Saint has brought back someone you will definitely want to see.”