Chapter 245: The Cruel Theory of Lifespan
Kurtz walked over to Flamme and squatted down.
She didn't look at him, but stared blankly at the ground scorched by the aftershocks of her own magic, tears silently sliding down her cheeks, mixing into the soil.
She saw how relaxed and carefree Lady Serie looked. She was also casting a forbidden spell, and yet while Flamme was unable to move, Lady Serie was completely unaffected.
'The gap really is enormous.'
"Flamme." Kurtz lowered his voice, a hint of determination in his tone.
Flamme's body trembled slightly, but she still did not raise her head.
"Look up at me." Kurtz's tone left no room for argument.
Flamme struggled to lift her neck and meet Kurtz's eyes.
There was no disgust or impatience in them, but rather a clear sense of boundaries.
"Kurtz, it's me."
"You are very good, Flamme," Kurtz said, his first words taking her by surprise. "Your talent and this immature but brilliant fusion magic you displayed today have both exceeded my expectations."
His affirmation gave Flamme a glimmer of hope, but Kurtz's following words shattered that hope completely.
"However, feelings cannot be bought with talent and strength, much less fought for." His gaze was calm yet cold. "I cannot reciprocate your feelings. Not in the past, not now, and not in the future."
The air seemed to freeze.
The light in Flamme's eyes quickly dimmed, replaced by a stubborn and unwilling despair.
She grabbed Kurtz's hand suddenly, her fingertips trembling with emotion.
"Why!?" Her voice was hoarse, trembling with tears. "Is it because I'm not good enough? Is it because I'm not strong enough? Or is it because of Lady Serie!?"
She used almost all her last strength to call out that name.
Kurtz watched her silently, letting her hold him.
Countless complex emotions flashed across his eyes, ultimately culminating in a very soft sigh.
He seemed to be struggling; there were some things he didn't want to say, but at this moment, perhaps only the cruelest truth could sever this obsession.
He closed his eyes, then opened them again. "Because of time, Flamme," Kurtz was forced to reveal the cruel truth. "Because the time I have is different from the time you have."
Flamme was stunned and couldn't understand for a moment.
Kurtz looked at her and slowly said: "I am from a thousand years ago; my lifespan has long surpassed the limits of humanity. A hundred years, a thousand years, or even longer, is perhaps just a segment of my long life. But you," his gaze fell on her young face, which was etched with stubbornness, "are human, possessing a brilliant yet fleeting life."
"I don't want to," he paused, as if those words weighed a ton, "I don't want to be a lover a hundred years from now, to personally bid you farewell, then etch your image into my memory, and walk alone through the endless years to come. That kind of weight is too much for me to bear, and I don't want to bear it."
Flamme's pupils contracted sharply; she finally understood what Kurtz had been avoiding all along.
It wasn't that she wasn't good enough; it wasn't Serie, but rather the insurmountable gap in their lifespans.
"I don't care!" she almost screamed as she retorted, tears streaming down her face. "Even if it's only a hundred years! Even if it's only a few decades! As long as I can be with you, I don't care about anything else! As long as I've had you, I... I—"
"And what about a hundred years from now?!" Kurtz interrupted her, his voice rising abruptly as he retorted.
"A hundred years from now, you will be dust, and what about me? You've left me with this fleeting joy and eternal loss. How am I supposed to face the endless eternity without you?"
He stared intently at her, each word like a judgment: "Flamme, is your love so selfish? Only caring for yourself, leaving me with endless pain and longing? Is this what you wanted?"
Flamme was speechless, her mouth agape, but no sound came out.
Kurtz's words were like a cold file, grinding away at all her unrealistic romantic fantasies, revealing the bloody reality beneath.
After a long silence, she lowered her head, her voice so weak it was almost inaudible, filled with endless bitterness: "By then, I would be long gone, and I wouldn't, I wouldn't stand in your way anymore—"
"Stupid!"
Kurtz finally couldn't hold back any longer. He curled his finger and, with a force that was full of anger at her lack of self-regard, gave her a hard knock on the forehead!
"Ugh!!!"
Flamme winced in pain, covered her forehead, and looked at him with teary eyes.
"What do you take feelings for? A relay race? Ha" Kurtz laughed angrily, but there was no smile in his eyes.
"Do you think love is something you can run a leg of the race and then hand it over to the next person to continue? Flamme, feelings are not like that! They are not something that can be transferred!"
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "My feelings for Serie are a different matter. And even without her, I still cannot respond to you. I've already made the reason very clear: in the long journey of life, I can't bring myself to pull someone along for a short while, only to leave an eternal void."
Seeing Flamme's utterly defeated expression, he finally softened.
He reached out and gently placed his hand on her head, his tone softening: "Flamme, your magic, your future, both hold infinite possibilities. Don't waste all your energy on your obsession. Try to transform this feeling into the power to explore the path of magic, okay?"
"Let me see you standing at the pinnacle of magic; that might be a better answer than any other response."
Flamme stared at him blankly, feeling the warmth coming from above her head. The surging despair in her heart seemed to finally fade away, leaving behind a mess in her heart.
She remained silent for a long, long time, and finally, very slowly, she nodded.
She knew that this might be the only reason she could temporarily suppress her surging emotions.
At least, she could still follow in his footsteps as his disciple.
After calming Flamme down, Kurtz stood up and turned his gaze to Serie, who had been quietly observing him and Flamme from a short distance away.
He walked over.
As Serie watched him approach, she felt no remorse or lingering fear, but rather a lingering fighting spirit, as if she were still savoring the unfinished magical duel from just moments before.
Kurtz stopped in front of her, his brow furrowed. "Serie, you were too impulsive just now."
Serie tilted her head slightly, seemingly puzzled. "Impulsive? She challenged me, and I responded. Isn't that normal?"
"But this wasn't a life-or-death struggle!" Kurtz's tone intensified.
"She used an unstable forbidden spell, and instead of stopping her, you used magic of the same scale! What would have happened if I hadn't stopped it in time? You almost killed her!"
Serie paused for a moment, her gaze sweeping over Flamme, who was still slumped on the ground in the distance, and said calmly: "She didn't hold back, so naturally I have to do my best. Besides, only in this way can she understand the difference between me and her."
[End of Chapter]
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