The bright moonlight shone through the window, dressing Diya in a luminous gown, while the deep shadows engulfed the girl on the bed.
The witch approached cautiously, as if afraid to awaken the princess’s sweet dream.
When Diya arrived at the bedside, the girl’s visage clearly reflected in the witch’s eyes. Serene, tranquil, beautiful—she was a sight to behold, even asleep, her re presence radiating a divinity that made mortals feel sha.
She was Sleeping Beauty, the Liss of Lissdia, another persona of Diya, a princess truly recognized by the Divine Being of Gospel.
The princess had departed the Tower; the White Queen, Black Butler, and Red Death Cultist had also left the Tower.
Only the Sleeping Beauty remained trapped within the Tower.
Diya sat at the bedside, clasped Sleeping Beauty’s hand, and a great fear began to climb into her heart—things she had never contemplated before exploded like thunder within her.
Sleeping Beauty was not her sister; Sleeping Beauty was Lissdia. Only one between Sleeping Beauty and the secret princess could exist at a ti; when Sleeping Beauty was awake, the secret princess would sleep, and vice versa. For over a decade, Diya’s awakening and rebellion had never been discovered, as the palace was unaware she had beco a Mage, because from the night she learned the truth, the secret princess, filled with fear, hid away, leaving only the oblivious Sleeping Beauty before the world.
Diya recalled how, on that night, after overhearing the truth, she truly fled. Since there was nowhere to escape from the Tower, she fled inside herself—at that mont, Lissdia split into the secret princess and Sleeping Beauty. Reality was too powerful, too cruel, so the secret princess hid in shadows, leaving Sleeping Beauty to face reality alone.
Sleeping Beauty knew nothing of the truth; she didn’t even know the existence of the secret princess. She embodied all the rits of ’Lissdia’, the perfect candidate for Armored Saint, thus the forr Empress never doubted anything. Princesses throughout history had been pure and innocent divine containers, yet Diya’s rebellion made her an anomaly.
With Sleeping Beauty as a barrier, Diya gradually created sisters such as the White Queen, Black Butler, and Red Death Cultist. Over more than a decade, they slowly absorbed knowledge and nourishnt, resonating within the Void Realm. Only eight hours of sleep was used for thinking—not activity—during sleep, the main body couldn’t move, but could utilize all thinking resources from the main body—yet she still grew into a true Mage, even breaking through to the Golden Realm, stepping onto the Ti Continent.
Until Diya received the Bronze Dragon’s blessing, gaining the confidence to escape the Tower, she regained control over her body. Since the secret princess had the courage to leave the shadows, Sleeping Beauty should fall into eternal sleep.
Diya never thought there was anything wrong with this plan: Sleeping Beauty plays her part, the secret princess gathers strength—isn’t this perfect? But after passing those dozen doors and locking eyes with the little princesses inside, she only realized one thing—
She escaped, leaving only Sleeping Beauty to suffer.
She had sisters to accompany her, but Sleeping Beauty was alone. In Sleeping Beauty’s world, she had always been alone, living desolately within the Tower, staring into distant views, accompanied by dolls and books.
Diya didn’t even dare to communicate with her—Sleeping Beauty had to be the perfect princess to conceal her escape plan. If Sleeping Beauty knew anything and her thoughts beca polluted, then the hard-earned strength they gathered would be stripped away, as divine containers did not need wings capable of flying free from the cage.
Upon finally escaping the Tower, Diya eagerly awoke, greedily embracing the world. Sleeping Beauty never breathed a second of free air. To her, she never left the Tower; her life ended that night, with only sleep to follow.
No, she awoke once... when Ash was to beco the Gospel Divine Being’s container, Diya awakened Sleeping Beauty, asking her to complete Armored Saint and beco the Gospel container to save Ash, who was losing himself.
Upon reflection, she realized how selfish she had been. When there needed to be suffering, she awakened Sleeping Beauty, while she hid away to avoid reality; when it was ti to enjoy blessings, she eagerly erged—even after ascending to the throne for a year, she never let Sleeping Beauty co out to witness the world properly.
She dared not.
Previously, it was for survival and freedom that Diya felt no guilt having Sleeping Beauty endure hardship. Now, as she could command her fate, she truly didn’t know how to face Sleeping Beauty—they were supposed to be two sides of the sa whole, sharing both hardship and sweetness, yet hardship, Sleeping Beauty bore, sweetness, Diya refused to share.
Divide the reality ti in half? A third, a quarter? But no matter how much, Diya was unwilling. She seed wealthy and generous outwardly, but on the condition that it didn’t involve sothing she cared about. Once it concerned interests she couldn’t compromise, she’d rather be a selfish bad kid.
She was willing to share everything with her sisters, but she absolutely refused to divide her life.
"Hm?"
The girl on the bed let out a cute nasal hum, slowly opening her eyes, spotting Diya sitting beside the bed. She rubbed her eyes, propped herself up, her cascading hair surprisingly neat, her charming stature could not hide her nobility.
"Diya?" She glanced at herself, seemingly grasping sothing, and smiled: "Did you properly express those regrets you couldn’t say aloud to Ash?
"Yes, Sister Liss."
"That’s good."
Sleeping Beauty opened her arms toward Diya, who extended her arms and embraced her. She squinted her eyes, wearing a satisfied expression: "I’ve always wanted to hug you like this. Living so many years, suddenly discovering I have a sister, you don’t know how delighted I am."
Diya sniffled, letting out a sob: "I’m sorry."
"I should be apologizing." Sleeping Beauty said, "In the end, I’ve beco your burden."
"But I believe you’ll be just fine, because from now on, you’ll be the one and only..."
"Lissdia."
The Sleeping Beauty in her arms disappeared without a trace, and Diya sat on the bed, feeling the world drifting away from her. Overwhelming darkness engulfed her, as if frost condensed in her veins... From then on, there was no secret princess and no Sleeping Beauty, only Lissdia as one.
She gradually beca whole, but at the cost of bearing the pain she tried to avoid. She was thrust back into the shell of the little princess, reliving her childhood and adolescence from the perspective of Sleeping Beauty... Day after day in the tower’s room, reading and writing, learning etiquette, gazing into the distance. She had no friends other than her dolls, on stormy nights she could only hide under the quilt, stretching her hands as far as she could without ever touching the world, and the world never embraced her.
In a daze, a mory that the secret princess never cared for but was crucial to Sleeping Beauty broke into her mind: a white dove broke into the princess’s room in the tower, likely from the flock nesting by Yalan Lake below. The white dove wasn’t afraid of people, maybe it was just not afraid of her. It beca the princess’s only playmate, affectionately rubbing against her small hand, ti seed to stand still, and the princess and the dove played, chased, and laughed together in the tower...
Until a maid ca to deliver a al, the sound of the door seed to scare the dove, and it flew out imdiately. The princess wanted to follow, but the dove flew out the window, out of this cage.
The princess could only watch it fly farther and farther away, utterly helpless... utterly helpless.
She had no ho.
She had no love.
She had nothing.
The girl’s consciousness kept sinking into the dark deep sea, brushing past bubbles of happiness. The world was nothing but a cold abyss. A feeling between pain and exhaustion spread through her soul, leaving her completely immobile, unable to escape this prolonged tornt... When it was ti to risk her life, she could do it without hesitation, impulsive monts always seed so cheap, but if it required persistent struggle for fate, she was powerless.
In the end, she was still just a child who hadn’t grown up. From the day she chose to escape, she was destined to remain a little girl who never grew up.
The sound of bubbles bursting resonated in her ears until it beca a familiar voice:
"Lissdia, look."
Diya opened her eyes to familiar and yet unfamiliar scenery. From the tower window, she gazed at Nabistin at night, the brightly lit city looked like a reflection of the starry sky, but what captured her attention most was a giant Ferris wheel in the distance. The brilliant colors ford circles of light along the round lights, seemingly setting the whole night ablaze.
"Once you feel a bit better, shall we go to that new amusent park?" Ash asked.
Only then did Diya notice she was in Ash’s arms, sitting on the edge of the windowsill, mumbling dazedly, "Am I dreaming?"
"You’re not dreaming, this is the amusent park you wanted to build. It was finished in the half year you’ve been gone," Hanna said. "Although you can fly, I thought you might like the Ferris wheel, so we specially had them build the biggest one within the limits of alchemy."
Diya turned her head and saw Hanna standing on the other side. Hanna poked her forehead, complaining, "You sneaky brat, running off without saying a word, leaving the country to for over half a year..."
"Don’t ever do that again." She embraced Diya, affectionately rubbing the young Empress’s cheek, "Welco back, Your Majesty."
"You said you wanted to co ho, and although I think this might not be the ho you long for, it’s where you lived for over a decade, and the scenery here is indeed beautiful..." Ash asked, "Do you feel better?"
With Ash and Hanna hugging her from both sides, Diya glanced at the distant Ferris wheel. Although she could create more radiant and grander lights, for so reason, the light circling beneath the night sky ward her heart more than any brilliance.
This indeed wasn’t her ho, but it was also her ho.
Diya used all her strength to hug Ash’s neck, grasping Hanna’s hand, "Ash!"
"Huh?"
"Can we stay here in Gospel from now on? And live together?" Diya, eyes glistening with tears, her voice tinged with a sob, "And no matter what happens, don’t hate , okay?"
"No," Ash replied decisively.
Hanna was stunned, and even Diya was taken aback.
"I will still dislike you when it’s warranted," Ash gently patted her back. "But no matter how much I dislike you, I will still love you."
"As for everything else, haven’t we agreed long ago? Once the Weaving Festival is over, we will be a family."
"We will live together, play gas, go to amusent parks," Ash said, "and do many, many things we’ve never experienced."
Diya nodded heavily, and just then, the light bulb in the room suddenly went out, likely due to a long-unused malfunction. But the room did not fall into darkness. The distant Ferris wheel’s glow reached into the tower, casting Ash, Diya, and Hanna in colorful shadows.
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