The Lost Isle.
There was no sun, nor the brilliance of stars and moon.
The pitch-black tides washed over the dim shore, scattering into countless sprays of snow-white foam before retreating once more, again and again, in endless repetition.
Suddenly.
Faint, crystalline spatial cracks appeared, piercing through the dark sky above the sea.
A few breaths later, those crystalline fissures slowly faded, returning once more to nothingness.
Only two figures remained, silently erging in the void.
Plop.
The Golden Elf girl in a white dress landed gently, her pale feet stepping onto the soft sand.
She turned sideways and smiled slightly, reaching out her hand to the person behind her.
“Welco to our Royal Court.”
A small curve ford on the Golden Elf’s lips as she took two steps back.
Then she lifted her skirt and perford a noble greeting unique to the Elven Royal Court.
“Xia Ya… Teacher.”
“To hear that kind of greeting, I’d say coming here was worth it.”
Xia Ya smiled, also stepping across the spatial rift, landing on the soft sand.
The mont he set foot on the island shrouded by the Eternal Night Veil, he imdiately sensed a pressure from the island’s center that he couldn’t ignore.
He had already noticed abnormalities in the world’s laws upon first arriving in the First Era, but the distortion here on the Lost Isle was even more intense.
His ntal energy couldn’t be projected even a single bit.
And the source of that pressure ca from the center of the island—a colossal ancient tree that stretched skyward, seemingly connecting directly to the Eternal Night Veil.
Or more precisely, it was from so lofty, forbidden will sleeping within that world tree.
Xia Ya could be certain that if he released ntal energy on the Lost Isle, he would imdiately alert the will slumbering on that world tree’s branches.
What happened next would be anyone’s guess.
It was a selection based on bloodline.
So long as one carried Elven blood, even if it was diluted and tainted to the extre, they would be excluded from this pressure.
In contrast, for other intelligent species—
Even humans who had never been blessed with transcendence or inherited strength through bloodline—
As long as they stepped into the Eternal Night Veil, they would inevitably suffer an indescribable suppression and targeting.
“Looking at it optimistically, it could be seen as a form of ‘those not of our race must be viewed with suspicion’—a protective barrier left by the fallen Elven King to defend his kind and prevent foreign intrusion into the Lost Isle.”
“But—”
“If you look at it another way.”
“Couldn’t it also an that those with Elven blood are already under complete control, and thus need not be restrained?”
“Whereas outsiders are truly free, unrestricted beings—and therefore must be suppressed by any ans necessary?”
Xia Ya’s muttered thoughts were faint, swept away by the sea breeze howling across the shore.
Naturally, they weren’t heard by Hathaway, who had just returned to the Lost Isle and was still imrsed in joy and excitent.
“Xia Ya Teacher, what do you think of this world?”
The Golden Elf girl stood barefoot at the edge of the Lost Isle, gazing blankly at the distant black sea.
As the saying goes—first ti awkward, second ti natural.
Though she’d felt shy and awkward when first calling him Teacher, after saying it so many tis, Hathaway had gotten used to it.
After all, he truly was her teacher in Arcana and magic.
If not for Xia Ya’s help, even if she had discovered mana on her own, turning it into a functional model and system might have taken ages.
And the Lost Isle no longer had that kind of ti.
“To be honest, not that great.”
Xia Ya stored his boots in his Spatial Pocket.
He walked up beside the Golden Elf girl, standing shoulder to shoulder as they looked out over the endless black sea.
“If this place was once the Royal Court of the High Elves, then it must have been majestic and splendid—no less glorious than any human nation.”
“But it’s too dark here.”
“In this world without light, relying only on the dim glow of fluorescent ore and torches—”
“No matter how grand, how magnificent the sights are, you’ll never see the full picture. At best, it’s like glimpsing the tip of the iceberg through firefly glow and imagining what beauty lies beyond.”
Hearing Xia Ya’s assessnt, Hathaway smiled as well.
It was the truth.
“Yeah, you can’t really call it beautiful here.”
“If you’d gone along with my words and forced out so complints, I’d probably start questioning your taste.”
A sea breeze blew in from the dark sea beyond.
It brushed their faces and lifted the hem of the Golden Elf’s white skirt, making it flutter and rustle in the wind.
She gently reached out her hand, as if trying to catch the flowing breeze.
“Although I was born before the fall of the Royal Court, I was still very young at the ti. Due to the Royal Court’s protection policies, minors among High Elves never got the chance to leave.”
“So really, I’m the sa as Elves born after the Cataclysm.”
“This place you call the Lost Isle—this is my whole world.”
Hathaway’s pale golden eyes stared at the pitch-black sea, the light within them dimming slightly.
“Maybe it was because of my talent and aptitude.”
“The Elders of the Council began hamring ideals and beliefs into long before I ca of age.”
“They described to what the bright world beyond the Lost Isle—the Western Continent—was like. How beautiful, how magnificent it was.”
“They said that’s our true holand. The one we cherish and yearn to return to.”
“To return to that bright world, they were willing to pay any price—like moths drawn to fla.”
Hathaway smiled softly.
“And truthfully, the Council Elders did do just that.”
“They poured their life’s work into finding the future of the Elven race, its way forward. No matter how many fell into corruption and madness, transforming into beastly abominations, it was a price they were willing to pay.”
The Golden Elf crouched slightly, scooping up a handful of ash-white sand from beneath her feet.
A few tiny shrimp and crabs scrambled away in panic from the disturbed sand, tumbling across the beach.
Then the incoming tide crashed down, scattering the little creatures. But once they regained their balance, they continued crawling forward with all their might.
The Cataclysm had brought ruin and annihilation to the ancient dragons, giants, and elves—those transcendent species that once stood at the pinnacle of the Glorious Era—but for other lifeforms, it had little impact.
Humanity, a race barely noteworthy during that age, only rose to power in the aftermath of that catastrophe.
And these tiny shrimp and crabs didn’t even understand what the Cataclysm ant… they simply followed their biological instincts, living on this beach as they always had.
Whether it was the First Era or the Fourth, no matter how many tis the rulers of this world changed—from ancient dragons, to gods, to humans—
Hathaway silently watched as those little shrimp and crabs fled across her palm in panic until they vanished into the sea and were no longer visible. Only then did the light return to her eyes.
“Thinking back now, those Council Elders really were cunning.”
“They were heavily tainted by the Cataclysm and must’ve known their ti was short. So they just shoved their ideals and the future of the Elven race onto , brutally and without hesitation, and then left it all behind.”
“Didn’t even stop to consider what would’ve happened if I’d decided to give up or go rogue.”
Xia Ya said, “Honestly, if you didn’t want to do it, you could stop even now.”
“That expectation, that path—they were forced on you by others. If you don’t want to walk it, no one has the right to make you.”
“Well…”
The Golden Elf girl thought for a mont before speaking again.
“There was a ti—when every elder had passed away, leaving only behind—I did think about just giving it all up.”
“If those old geezers could be that selfish and dump such a heavy burden on , why couldn’t I be selfish too?”
“But then I thought about it seriously. On this Lost Isle, shrouded beneath the Eternal Night Veil—”
“For , aside from continuing their research and inheriting the ideals they left behind, there really wasn’t anything else for to do.”
“Whether I admit it or not—exploring the Starrealm, understanding mana, finding a way to help the Elves escape the Lost Isle—”
“All of that has beco the entirety of my life’s aning.”
“If I abandoned those things, then the Golden Elf nad Hathaway Zegin… would lose her reason to exist.”
Her gaze shifted from the pitch-black sea back to the boy beside her.
“Of course, that was the old —not the person I am now.”
“After I t you in the Dinsional Void, Xia Ya Teacher.”
“Though I don’t really want to admit it, the current Hathaway Zegin has definitely found a new reason to exist.”
“Arcana, magic, and the truth hidden deep within the stars—”
“These are things I’m willing to devote my entire life to pursuing.”
“And beyond that, I truly want to beco your disciple—not just a casual title, but soone who can always stay by your side.”
“And beco the irreplaceable first mber of the Wizard Tower you want to build.”
Hathaway turned slightly and smiled.
The faint light from torches and glowing ores reflected in her eyes like the shimr of a galaxy.
“It’s just… that may take a very, very long ti.”
“To spread magic through the Elven race, to teach every single one of them Arcana… that process may be extrely long.”
Her words paused, and even the light in her eyes dimd slightly.
There were things Hathaway didn’t dare say aloud.
That it might take so long…
That Xia Ya might one day lose patience with her completely.
Leave the Lost Isle, and search for new disciples, new wizard companions.
Even though they’d only spent a few months together in the Starrealm, the Golden Elf already understood very well just how powerful this mysterious human she’d encountered truly was.
Whatever Xia Ya wanted to do, he would accomplish. No one could sway his will.
And Hathaway knew she wasn’t irreplaceable to him.
If he chose to, he could find new companions, new disciples at any ti.
Even without her help, he could still build the grand Wizard Tower he’d described—a tower for wizards, and wizards alone.
But then—
That clear voice rang in her ears.
“I won’t lose patience. And no second disciple will ever take your place.”
“In my heart, Shī-chan is the only one.”
Hathaway’s pale golden eyes suddenly widened.
Though she was puzzled by the aning of this strange word “Shī-chan,” the Golden Elf instinctively understood—it referred to her.
And her High Elf intuition told her:
These weren’t false, comforting words.
They were the genuine, trustworthy truth.
To Xia Ya Teacher…
I… am the one and only?
Hathaway felt as if a hamr had struck her heart, and a warm current surged through her chest—an indescribable joy blooming from within.
“Also, Hathaway.”
“I want to hear your true thoughts.”
That clear voice ca again.
“Not those so-called ideals inherited from your Council Elders.”
“But your own, personal wish.”
Xia Ya’s voice carried a kind of magic.
It made Hathaway forget the heavy burden on her shoulders, forget the chains she had shackled herself with.
Then, she spoke her heart.
“To be honest, I’ve never had that kind of strong determination like those elders.”
“Returning the Elves to the Western Continent or whatever… I’ve never even been there, so I don’t really feel any longing or pursuit.”
The Golden Elf gazed at the dark sea.
“I just… want this world to be a little brighter. Just a little brighter.”
“So I can see the whole ocean clearly—not just the tip of the iceberg hidden in the dark.”
“So that’s all it is?”
Then she heard Xia Ya’s soft, pleasant laugh.
“In that case.”
“I’ve heard your wish, loud and clear.”
His clear voice paused for a mont.
Then, it deepened—becoming vast and resonant.
“Then.”
“Let’s light a new sun—right here, on the Lost Isle.”
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