The surface of the enormous crystal egg was covered in cracks. They spread like madly growing black vines, and in an instant, a second crack appeared.
“Crack! Crack, crack…”
“My daughter… my daughter must still be alive!”
Layana wept tears of joy. Her face, which had just been ashen with despair, was now rekindled with life. She struggled, desperately trying to rush toward that pitch-black giant egg, but was firmly held back by Aurelia at her side.
“Layana! Calm down! The situation is unclear right now—who knows what’s inside that thing!”
Aurelia was drenched in sweat from anxiety, using all her strength to hold back her slightly unhinged old friend.
Wendy’s heart was pounding faster than ever. He stared fixedly at the giant egg about to shatter, his palms slick with sweat.
Rebirth?
Was this the classic revival scene of a sacrificial protagonist?
Could it be that Laxana was the real protagonist of this world, and he was just a tool NPC meant to push the plot forward?
In an instant, countless melodramatic thoughts flashed through his mind.
However, his peripheral vision involuntarily drifted toward Astreia beside him.
And it was that single glance that made half the blood in his body run cold.
Astreia… was smiling.
It wasn’t the kind of sneer she’d worn before—mocking, contemptuous, or the cold smirk of a victor looking down on the vanquished.
It was a smile that came from deep within… one tinged with satisfaction, and laced with a rich, intense interest.
She didn’t seem… surprised at all?
Could it be… this was all part of her plan?
From Laxana being pushed to self-destruction, to the appearance of this giant egg…
A terrifying thought began to fester wildly in Wendy’s mind.
Astreia, what exactly is she trying to do?!
Just as Wendy’s mental storm was raging and his worldview was on the verge of collapse, the pitch-black crystal egg in the distance, covered in cracks, suddenly pulsed violently.
BOOM—!!!
The giant egg exploded from within!
Billions of obsidian-like fragments, wrapped in iridescent streams of light, shot out in every direction!
But strangely, after flying dozens of meters, these fragments silently dissolved in midair, vanishing into nothing…
The blinding radiance faded.
At the very center of the impact crater, within that stretch of void, a small figure hovered silently in the air—a little girl who looked only seven or eight years old.
Her silky silver-white hair, like the finest silk, cascaded down to her ankles.
Her skin was as fair as fresh snow, glowing with an ivory luster under the residual glow of various energies.
Her features were as exquisite as the most perfect creation of the gods—a small, delicate nose and cherry-like lips, combined to form a flawlessly innocent face that could make anyone’s heart ache with affection.
She looked like a top-tier life-sized puppet that had just been born from a workshop.
Adorable.
And yet, carrying a strange, otherworldly beauty.
Pure.
Wendy was dumbfounded.
Aurelia was dumbfounded.
No one made a sound.
Even Layana, who had been on the brink of madness just moments ago, stood completely frozen, staring at the small figure, her mouth opening and closing but no words coming out.
“This… this is… Laxana?”
Aurelia stammered, her voice trembling.
“She… how did she get smaller?”
Rejuvenation?!
What kind of heretical magic was this?
Just as everyone was reeling in shock—
The silver-haired little girl hovering in midair slowly opened her eyes.
What kind of eyes were those?
Still the same iridescent, seven-colored heterochromatic pupils.
But unlike the paranoia, madness, and possessiveness that had once filled Laxana’s eyes—
Now, these eyes were as clean as a clear spring, reflecting this newborn world, filled with pure curiosity and innocence.
She looked like a newly awakened elf, gazing around in bewilderment.
Her gaze first fell upon the woman not far away, trembling violently from excitement and shock.
Layana’s heart was in her throat at that moment.
“…Laxana… my daughter…”
She called out tentatively, in a trembling voice.
But the silver-haired little girl simply tilted her head, her clear rainbow-colored pupils utterly calm, as if she were merely looking at a stranger passing by.
She quickly looked away.
Layana’s expression froze instantly.
The little girl’s gaze then fell upon Astreia.
When she saw that tall figure wreathed in purple-black demonic flames, a trace of barely perceptible wariness and… disgust flickered deep within her pure eyes.
It was like a herbivore encountering its natural predator.
But that emotion vanished just as quickly.
Finally.
Her gaze passed through everyone, beyond everything, and landed precisely on Wendy.
Their eyes met.
The moment her gaze touched Wendy’s—
The little girl’s rainbow-colored eyes, which had been calm as still water, suddenly lit up.
It was the joy of… having found one’s entire world.
Like a little kitten that had been wandering for a very, very long time, finally finding its way home, seeing its master who had been waiting all along.
“Ah!”
She let out a soft, delighted little cry. Her small body clumsily adjusted its posture in the air, then she took two pale, chubby little legs and began wobbling—”running” toward Wendy.
Because she was floating in midair, her movements looked both comical and adorable, like a baby just learning to walk.
One step, two steps…
She was just about to reach Wendy.
Perhaps because she was too excited, her tiny body suddenly stumbled.
“Oops!”
The little girl yelped, losing her balance entirely, and plummeted straight down toward the glass-like ground below.
Almost purely on instinct—
Wendy didn’t think at all. He lunged forward in a single stride, arms outstretched, and caught the small, soft body with its slightly cool temperature firmly in his embrace.
Soft as silk, warm as jade.
The sensation in his arms was incredibly delicate. Wendy could even smell a faint milky scent radiating from her, incredibly pleasant.
The little girl in his arms seemed startled by the sudden turn of events. She sat securely in the crook of Wendy’s arm, her tiny hands instinctively grabbing at his clothes. She lifted her impossibly exquisite little face and stared blankly at Wendy.
Her rainbow-colored eyes blinked, her long lashes like two tiny brushes.
Confusion, bewilderment, then melting into total dependence and relief.
The entire world seemed to fall silent at that moment.
Layana and Aurelia were completely stunned.
Even Astreia, the Witch Queen who always seemed to have everything under control, as if some scheme was always at play—even she had a look of utter astonishment flash across her face, which had been wearing a teasing smile.
Then, under everyone’s gaze, in Wendy’s gradually terror-stricken eyes, the silver-haired little girl, suspected to be the reborn Laxana, tilted her head.
And with a voice so soft and sweet it could melt even the hardest heart, tinged with a hint of uncertainty, yet also a sense of absolute理所当然—
She called out, softly.