Mage Manual
Chapter 408 - 340 Provocation_2

Chapter 408: Chapter 340 Provocation_2

"But who do you think caused this situation? From start to finish, Diya was the only one who truly wanted to escape, only Diya! You don’t care, I don’t care, Red, Red, Red—If Diya hadn’t harbored that desire, if she hadn’t encountered the Bronze Dragon, we wouldn’t need to live this precarious life at all!"

"It’s Diya’s obstinacy that has brought us to this point. Why should we clean up after Diya’s tyranny, why should we sacrifice for Diya’s wishes... We are all equal!"

The Black Witch’s last sentence was almost a roar, the angry and piercing sound made the White Queen much more alert.

The White Queen sat up and sighed, "If Diya didn’t want to escape, then we wouldn’t exist at all. Just for that reason, even if it was Hell, we would have to accompany Diya into it."

"Do you think I wish to be born? Do you think I want to come to this world?" The Black Witch’s pitch-black pupils seemed to blur with spilled ink, black and red churning, stirring up mire settled from countless ages, "No one knows me! No one needs me! The mirror can’t transmit my screams, can’t reflect my love and hatred, my desires! As long as this mirror exists, we aren’t truly living—"

"I need you."

Pure white wings enveloped the pitch-black Demon, and the White Queen held the Black Witch close, whispering tenderly in her ear.

"How could no one need you? If I’m the umbrella protecting everyone, then you’re the handle that supports me. No one understands your importance more than I do, there are many things I can’t say out loud, but you will understand and say them for me..."

"You’re just as important as I am, but everyone respects me more. If I have grievances, yours can only be more substantial. Your anger towards Diya, towards Fate, towards reality, it’s all justified. Even though you’ve done nothing, from the day you were born you’ve had to bear those shackles so heavy they make it hard to breathe..."

The Black Witch struggled slightly, "Don’t act like you understand everything—"

"I understand everything, I completely understand." The White Queen gently caressed the Black Witch’s bare back, "We’re sisters who empathize with each other’s feelings. How could I possibly not understand you?"

"So, I’m grateful to you, thankful you let me fulfill the dream of being the ’White Queen’ for these past few nights. I’m already satisfied. Now it’s my turn to take care of you."

"Do as you like, I will try my best to accommodate you," the White Queen said with a smile, "Not just in dreams, but in reality too. Black, you’re my sister, no matter when or where, you can always come to me for affection."

"No matter how dark your heart, how filthy, how unbearable, I will accept you. I would accompany Diya into Hell, and I would sink into the mire with you."

"...Impossible." The Black Witch suddenly bit into the White Queen’s shoulder and mumbled indistinctly, "You can’t do it."

"I can do it." The White Queen insisted, "Because I am your sister, and you are mine."

"You can’t do it!" The Black Witch became fierce, her inherent Darkness seemed to boil over as if flames were engulfing the White Queen, "Let go!"

The White Queen shivered, but held on even tighter, "It’s tiring to be alone, isn’t it? But it gets easier when we share the burden together. That’s why Diya needs us, that’s why I need you, and that’s why you need me."

"But this ’mutual need’ is nothing more than a bubble ready to burst."

The Black Witch spoke coldly, "The anomaly that occurred in the Void Realm is proof enough."

"Faced with overwhelming danger, fear dominates our reason, Despair forces us to fight for control, and so our colors begin to muddy, our reason descends into madness."

"We can deceive each other normally, but in critical moments, we can’t lie to our own hearts—we were born from Diya’s Despair, how could our hearts only hold truth, goodness, and beauty?"

"Even if it is just a bubble, I won’t let it burst," the White Queen declared earnestly, "I will protect you, I will save you from the mire, and I won’t let negative emotions overcome you."

"So, Black, I’m counting on you as well," the White Queen lovingly rubbed the Black Witch’s cheek and whispered with a gentle laugh, "You’ll have to save me in time, after all, I don’t have an older sister to run to for comfort, except for you."

Lies!

Lying!

It’s all lies!

Always lying!

It was clearly you who fell first, you who couldn’t bear it first, you who pricked our loving bubble before anyone else!

You incited rebellion against Diya for your own desires, forming a secret alliance with me to seize control of the body. When our vehicle, "Lissdia," was heading downhill, it was you in the driver’s seat, pressing the gas pedal to the floor, dragging us all into the quagmire of Eternal Damnation!

I’ve become like this because of you!

How can you still have the face to speak such shameless nonsense now?

How can you still pretend to be the good sister?

How can you... how can you...

The Black Witch raised her fist and weakly pounded on the White Queen’s shoulder.

"Uh-huh..."

The Black Witch’s tears, accumulated over countless years, flowed uncontrollably, smearing her face of elegance and mystery into a tear-streaked mess, occasionally blowing out snot bubbles when she cried heavily, followed by a sob that lingered in the air.

The White Queen let her vent her emotions, their embrace transformed into the Black Witch burying herself in the White Queen’s bosom, weeping. The sister softly stroked her sister’s head with a smile, a part of the Black Witch’s dark origin merging into the White Queen, yet the White Queen’s pure whiteness also flowing into the Black Witch.

Neither black nor white opposed or negated each other; instead, they coexisted harmoniously, just as tears and tenderness complement and cling to each other.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the White Queen, noticing her body turning transparent, said, "Time’s up for tonight, let’s leave."

The Black Witch sniffled but didn’t lift her head, as if too embarrassed to show her tear-ravaged face, her hands gripping tightly, conveying her feelings: "Don’t go."

"I’d like to stay longer too, but I’ve run out of positive emotions and can’t continue in the dream," said the White Queen with a laugh, "We can come back tomorrow. Even if we can’t, I’m always by your side, and I’m not going anywhere."

"You’re not leaving, you’re just changing."

"I won’t change, and if you don’t believe me, let’s pinky swear."

The Black Witch rubbed her swollen eyes and extended her pinky to the White Queen: "There is no one in this world who doesn’t change; I don’t need you to swear you won’t. I just need you to swear that if you become someone who doesn’t need me, then you will... continue to lie to me, even if it’s just to use me."

"A queen must not forsake her deacon."

Although the Black Witch’s emotions were stubborn and contrary, the White Queen didn’t overthink it.

She remembered that Black was always a person with delicate and reserved feelings. Sometimes, without saying a word, Black had already traversed thousands of miles in her inner world.

Perhaps she had conjured up some heart-wrenching scenario and couldn’t help but immerse herself in it?

"The queen will never forsake the deacon," the White Queen said earnestly, "Sister will always protect her sister."

"See you in a bit, Black."