I haven't felt such warm sunshine for a long time.
Garcia stood in the garden, taking a deep breath as the scent of rosemary wafted into her nostrils with the breeze.
This is no Eternal Winter Kingdom. The Arctic realm contains nothing but howling winds, frozen earth, and winter flowers devoid of fragrance. In the castle's backyard, chunks of meat and intestines hang to dry, their pungent stench lingering. Nor is this the Emerald Harbor. The wind carries no familiar saltiness or dampness, and even with eyes closed, one hears no sound of seawater lapping against the shore.
This is the Graycastle Palace, she thought.
But... it is a little different from the memory.
Jia Xiayi sat down by the central flower bed, caressing the slightly rough stone slabs. Ever since childhood, when he had stumbled and fallen here while playing hide-and-seek, his forehead had been slammed against the edge of the flower bed, leaving his face covered in blood. His father had then replaced all the stones with smooth pebbles. Though this made it impossible to trip others or use the area as a cover, the smooth surface still provided some protection.
She recalled that besides herself, Goron and Tefiko were also present. Upon witnessing their sister's fall, they were all deeply frightened. To comfort her and stop her crying, they even imitated her fall one by one, deliberately bumping their heads against the edge of the flower bed. Of course, they were not spared from their father's severe beatings afterward.
It was a past that Jia Xianya had long believed she would never revisit, like a secret buried deep beneath the earth. Yet when she returned to the old place, she found that the memory had not faded at all; even after being unearthed from the soil, it remained vivid and lifelike.
Everything seems to have gone back to childhood.
"This is your world," a voice from behind murmured. "A peaceful resting place, indeed." Jasia turned to see a woman in white emerge from the flower bed. Her pale crimson eyes and snow-white hair framed delicate features as if carved from stone, while her ethereal voice carried a divine grace, like a celestial angel descended to earth.
The Queen's face darkened completely. "You're the Church's Witch." "I'm Jeluo," she said with a faint smile. "Witch doesn't suit me. I'm called the Pure One, unlike those corrupted bloodlines." "The Pure One? Just a plaything the Church keeps," Giasia snarled. "What's this scene for? Can you conjure illusions?" Suddenly, she picked up a stone and crumpled it in her hand. "Just an illusion! This can't fool me!" The Queen's roar echoed in the distance, but the scene remained unchanged. The stone didn't shatter, and instead, her skin was cut by the sharp edges. Her hand spread open, and the pain from the abrasion was vivid and real.
"You're clearly familiar with the Witch's abilities, which makes things much easier," Jieluo said, lifting the hem of her skirt and bowing slightly. "Welcome to the realm of consciousness—I call it the battlefield of souls. Here we shall fight to the death. The victor shall claim all, the vanquished shall lose everything... just as the divine decree in the sacred texts." Souls... a battlefield?
Jia Xiya froze in shock as a searing pain shot through her chest. Jie Luo had suddenly drawn a spear from somewhere and thrust it into her chest. Her breathing grew labored. She tried to scream, but her voice failed her. The attacker twisted the spear's shaft and yanked it back violently, sending blood spurting from the tip and splattering her half-body. Jia Xiya fell to her knees, trembling as she tried to bandage the wound. The massive blood loss was blurring her vision.
In the next moment, she found herself still standing in place, unharmed. The shadow remained several meters away, as if it had never left that spot.
What is happening? Jia Xiya was gasping for breath, experiencing hallucinations? She covered her violently fluctuating chest, where the puncture wound still caused dull pain. Lowering her head, she noticed a large pool of jet-like blood scattered at her feet.
"This is the fundamental rule. Consciousness is not immortal," Jieluo spread her hands. "Every death brings you real pain. It drains your spiritual essence and physical strength. When this feeling becomes unbearable, true eternal slumber arrives." "Each death resets your essence to its original state. Most people can endure three to four deaths, though I've seen resolute souls survive seven or eight, even more," she explained gently. "While I eagerly await your performance, I understand surrendering resistance. Continuous deaths are an unbearable torment for me. Choosing to flee at this moment isn't cowardice, especially when the outcome is already sealed." With that, she dropped her spear, drew a massive sword from her back, and leaped straight into Jiaxiya's path.
The latter's eyes widened in shock. The Pure One, clad in a white robe, could never possibly conceal such colossal weapons—were they conjured from thin air? A fragment of the other's words suddenly flashed through her mind: "So this is your world..." "I call it the battlefield of souls." "Consciousness is not eternal... It is real to you." The great sword swung down, but instead of splitting the Queen of Azure Water in two, it struck a massive iron shield. The violent rebound sent Jie Luo's grip on the hilt crumbling, sending the sword flying with a thunderous clang. She staggered back several steps, while Jia Xiya collapsed to the ground from the force of the devastating strike.
"Destiny's decree?" She snorted coldly, her teeth clenched. "You said this was' Minecraft, 'didn't you?" As she spoke, she flipped up, a crossbow suddenly appearing in her hand. She raised it and shot at the opponent. Simultaneously, a cross rose behind Jie Luo, binding her body tightly.
The arrow pierced the Pure One's abdomen with a metallic clang. Her face twisted into a grotesque grimace of agony, and after two labored breaths, she stammered, "Your... Your Majesty... I'm utterly astonished... For an ordinary soul... just accepting this would be daunting, let alone summoning consciousness to resist. Truly the... the Queen who gives Lord Mayne such headaches." "Thank you for the compliment," Giasia retrieved the fallen spear. "Had you not been so verbose, I wouldn't have grasped the wonders of the conscious world so swiftly. Now, shall I pierce you with a few more holes?" She forced a wry smile. "As you please."...
When Garcia fired her tenth shot, the Purifier finally met her end—she had deliberately avoided the lethal position, striking from her limbs and abdomen. At first, Jero let out agonizing cries of pain, but her voice gradually faded.
Now this thing should be back to square one, right? But this is Graycastle Palace, her home turf. With the power to alter environments and objects at will, she's got no chance of losing.
Sure enough, a white light flashed across the Pure One's body, and the wound vanished in an instant. Jieluo's pale red eyes opened wide once more.
As Jia Xiya raised her long spear to deliver her to death, a sudden metamorphosis occurred—her hands, bound by the cross, effortlessly broke free from the ropes, kicked the spear shaft away, and instantly approached her, raising her hand in a diagonal motion. Before Jia Xiya could react, she had already lost bodily sensation.
The headless corpse collapsed with a thud, while the other party held nothing in their hands.
How is that possible?
After catching her breath, the Queen of the Azure Water clutched her neck and took two hesitant steps back... Had she severed her own throat with her arm just moments ago? The sight of the torn hemp rope on the cross and the glistening blood on her hand confirmed that the earlier vision had been no mere hallucination.
"If you can't grasp the essence of consciousness, how can I engage in a true battle?" Jeluo smiled. "And you seem puzzled—why could I break free from a rope as thick as a finger? The answer is simple: the victor takes all, the vanquished loses everything... Among those I've consumed, there's a class of witches who are extraordinarily powerful. They wield limitless strength, move with lightning speed, and defy the influence of God's Stone of Punishment. You may not know, but the Church has a special designation for them—the Extraordinary Ones." She spread her hands. "Conventional methods can't defeat me. To survive, you'll need to redouble your efforts... Now, it's my turn."