Lu Mo’s battle had ended.
Then came the final matches of the other groups. However, the high-ranking officials and guests from the Holy Sanctuary found them somewhat dull. After all, the battle between the attribute fusion and Holy Destiny had left too deep an impression on them.
As the last battle settled, the entire competition finally came to a close. A few days later, the two families held an award ceremony. Lu Mo stood in the first-place position. She was the only person who had not awakened holy power yet stood in that top spot.
That day, the eyes of the entire audience were focused on her. There was envy, jealousy, fear, and indifference. Some felt they would never forget the battle between the girl and Kemode. Others felt it was just a flash in the pan. Whether Lu Mo could replicate that attribute fusion was debatable; they believed this was already her final moment of glory.
That day, Lu Mo accepted her reward and looked up toward a familiar spot. She saw Cecilia standing by the railing, wearing a silly smile. Even though Cecilia had not participated in the competition, she was even happier than Lu Mo about the victory.
After this, Kemode disappeared. He returned once again to his family’s restricted grounds, choosing to enter seclusion. He had been stimulated by Lu Mo and wanted to complete his talent sacrifice as soon as possible, truly allowing his holy power to evolve into the complete power of Holy Destiny.
But what would happen after the talent sacrifice was complete? Would he seek revenge against Lu Mo? Could he reclaim the pride he had lost? He did not know. He would always recall the image of the girl standing before him, prepared to perform that fusion sublimation once more. He had chosen to admit defeat at that moment. After that day, he had completely lost the courage to face Lu Mo again.
The boys and girls who had initially clamored to crush Lu Mo and reclaim their dignity were now even more terrified of her. Sometimes, when they saw Lu Mo appearing on the road, they would run far away. If they truly could not avoid her, they would simply thud to their knees and immediately begin apologizing and begging for mercy. Only after Lu Mo ignored them and walked past did they feel a sense of relief in their hearts.
This competition remained a favorite topic of conversation for a long time. Some said it would have been wonderful if Lu Mo had awakened holy power, as the family could have remained glorious for at least another one hundred years. Others said Lu Mo’s potential had already reached its limit; the coming era would never belong to her. Some even proposed darker theories: that Lu Mo might have cheated, perhaps by secretly taking forbidden medicine before the match or crushing a high-grade combat technique crystal to disguise the attack as her own.
The crowd chattered incessantly. There was praise, doubt, and slander.
But Lu Mo never said a word. She had stopped caring about those voices a long time ago. She was neither proud nor frustrated or angry. She simply ignored those gazes and discussions, leaving the residence to walk to a deserted corner of the manor to practice her swordplay alone.
She would wait until a golden figure climbed over the wall, shouting “Miss Lu Mo” toward her. Then, she would turn back to look at the other girl, smiling dotingly.
“Good afternoon, silly Cecilia.”
She knew who was worth waiting for. Cecilia felt the same.
Time flowed by quietly. Gradually, the competition was no longer a topic of concern, and people stopped talking about Lu Mo. The summer of the year the two girls turned ten finally came to an end.
*Rumble—*
In early autumn, a heavy rainstorm fell over the manor. The rain was torrential, and thunder rumbled, echoing through the dark sky. Cecilia and Lu Mo hid in their wooden hut. Under the maintenance of a magical formation, the hut felt exceptionally sturdy.
Lu Mo was seriously leafing through that ancient book regarding fusion and sublimation. Cecilia leaned close to her. After glancing at the book twice, she immediately felt a bit dizzy. She simply plopped down beside Lu Mo, picked up a doll from the floor, and began to play by herself.
Outside, the rain was heavy, falling relentlessly, rustling through the forest and striking the leaves. It dripped from the eaves with a steady pitter-patter. But inside, it was quiet, warm, and peaceful, giving Cecilia a sense of inexplicable security. She would play with her doll for a while, then lean toward Lu Mo to look at the book, and then look at her.
It was a very narrow space. Yet, at this moment, Cecilia had the feeling that this was her entire world.
“Lu Mo?”
At one point, Lu Mo suddenly felt a weight on her back. Cecilia had leaned against her.
“Miss Lu Mo.”
“Mm.”
“I think things are very good just like this.”
“Is that so?”
“So, can we… always be like this, being together every day?” Cecilia asked softly.
She felt Lu Mo clearly pause for a moment. The room was silent—so silent that they could clearly hear the sound of the wind and rain throughout the world.
“…We will,” Lu Mo finally spoke.
Cecilia had been puzzled by Lu Mo’s pause. But afterward, Lu Mo’s “silly Cecilia” completely dispelled her doubts. They played together in the wooden hut. Laughing and running, it seemed as though no amount of sadness could catch up to them.
In the spring, they played by the lake, taking off their shoes and socks to lift their skirts. Their snowy-white feet stepped into the river water, splashing up countless droplets. In the summer, they ran through the marketplace, walking through the noisy crowds, looking at the colorful cloth strips hanging from the houses on both sides and the sky that looked as though it had been washed clean, singing ethereal songs. In the autumn, they hid in the wooden hut, eating snacks and playing games, sitting back-to-back while listening to the sound of the wind and rain flowing past outside.
When Cecilia looked back, she suddenly realized that every one of her seasons had already been dyed with Lu Mo’s colors. She seemed unable to leave Lu Mo now.
Hopelessly so.
She suddenly did not want to be the Saintess anymore. She only wanted to be with Lu Mo. Other than that, she wanted nothing else. She wanted to fail the expectations of her entire family. She wanted to become a bad child, just like Lu Mo.
‘If I become bad, will Lord God hate me too and cancel my qualification to be the Saintess?’ Cecilia thought.
Consequently, she stopped paying attention to her lady-like image while around Lu Mo. She learned to sit casually like Lu Mo, ran freely, and got her white dress dirty. She learned to slack off; during prayers, she would sometimes secretly open one eye to look at the bright sunlight and the blooming flowers outside the window. Of course, when praying for Lu Mo, she was still incredibly earnest. She learned to say bad words, though it was limited to things like “dummy” or “useless” that she learned from Lu Mo. Moreover, her face would often flush red as she spoke, and she could barely hear her own voice.
She thought that by doing this, she could become a bad child. She thought she could become rotten to the core.
But everything she did seemed to be in vain. Lord God seemed to like her even more.
During the year she turned twelve, while undergoing further aptitude testing, Cecilia placed her hand on the crystal. In an instant, an unprecedented pillar of light soared into the sky, illuminating the entire hall. In the center of the crystal, the shape of a magnificent, beautiful flower was slowly etched out. And that was precisely the symbol of the Saintess.
The crowd looked at that flower and then at Cecilia, unable to speak for a long time. It was quite a while before an exclamation broke out.
“A miracle! This is a miracle!”
“Such a pure soul… such powerful holy power talent…”
“It is simply the most perfect treasure bestowed upon us by God—”
Cecilia heard the exclamations of many people. Gazes fell upon her, full of surprise and praise. Even the Pope did not hold back his words of admiration.
Among everyone present, only Cecilia felt no joy.
‘Why?’
‘I clearly… already became so bad…’
‘I don’t want to be the Saintess anymore.’
‘I just… want to be a child who disappoints others, to be an ordinary person…’
‘And then, stay with Miss Lu Mo.’
She suddenly felt as though she had never broken free from the silk thread behind her. She felt a sudden chill and turned around. But there was nothing behind her.
After returning, Cecilia cried. That was the second time she had cried so heartfully since the old man’s death.
“I don’t want to become the Saintess.” Her eyes were completely swollen from crying, making her look like a sorrowful goldfish.
“But wasn’t that your wish?” Lu Mo comforted her, speaking softly.
“I’ve changed my mind,” Cecilia said.
“Why?” Lu Mo asked.
“Because if that happens, I won’t be able to play with Sister Lu Mo every day… I won’t be able to see Sister Lu Mo every day anymore,” Cecilia said, and as she spoke, she began to wail loudly again.
Lu Mo gently patted Cecilia’s back. Cecilia nestled against her chest, sobbing continuously. Lu Mo could already imagine that Cecilia’s snot and tears would soon be smeared all over her clothes.
Lu Mo knew that with her current strength, she could not reverse the will of the family and the Holy Sanctuary. At this moment, she could only continue to comfort Cecilia.
“It’s okay, Cecilia. Being the Saintess doesn’t necessarily mean you will die. And as you become the Saintess, you will go to farther places and see more distant scenery. Your world will continue to broaden, extending all the way out.”
“No, it’s not the same…” Cecilia replied. “A world without Miss Lu Mo is not a world I want at all.”
“We all have to grow up eventually,” Lu Mo said.
“I don’t want to! I don’t want to grow up… I just want to play with Miss Lu Mo every day like this and never be separated! Miss Lu Mo promised me back then, right?” Cecilia buried her head even deeper. She was like an ostrich in self-denial.
Lu Mo did not want to make Cecilia sad any longer. She seemed to think of something and quickly continued, “Who says you’ll never see me again just because you become the Saintess?”
Cecilia looked up. Through her teary eyes, she saw Lu Mo smiling at her once more.
“Didn’t we agree? If you become the Saintess, then I will become your knight.”
The girl spoke seriously before her, as if making an oath or a promise. In this instant, she was pulled back to the year they were seven.
“We will meet again eventually.”
“No one can stop me from meeting you.”
“And no one can take you away from my hands—”
Perhaps she believed Lu Mo’s words. Cecilia stopped crying after that. She always believed Lu Mo unconditionally, even though Lu Mo often teased her and called her a dummy.
As some more time passed, Cecilia received a letter from the Holy Sanctuary. The Holy Sanctuary wanted her to go to the academy in the Holy City for further studies to become a Saintess who could truly stand on her own.
She finally had to leave. Leave the family. Leave that wall. Leave… Lu Mo.
This was an unavoidable reality. The day set by the Holy Sanctuary was drawing closer day by day. Cecilia began to treasure every remaining day. By this point, she realized that she and Lu Mo still had many things left unfinished.
Lu Mo had not finished telling her the story of Otto and Kallen. She had not told her what a Kamen Rider was, or what Ultraman and the Super Sentai were. They had not truly finished writing that storybook where there was no Hero, only a Knight and a Saintess.
Looking back, Cecilia felt a sudden pang of regret. Perhaps because the time left in the manor was dwindling, Cecilia sometimes felt herself becoming a bit hurried and greedy.
***
“Miss Lu Mo, I’m about to leave.”
“But you are absolutely not allowed to peek at the diary I left in the wooden hut!”
“While I’m away, you’re not allowed to betray me and become someone else’s knight!”
“You’re not allowed to talk to others, whether they are boys or girls… Ah, sorry, that request seems too much…” Cecilia realized she had spoken too harshly and quickly lowered her head, her small face turning red.
“Then you can make friends with them, but you are absolutely not allowed to bring them to our wooden hut. Is that okay?” she said quietly, looking tentatively at Lu Mo.
“That’s fine,” Lu Mo smiled and replied.
“Miss Lu Mo.”
“Mm?”
“Do you think… I’ve been a bit too irritable lately? A bit too self-centered?” Cecilia said apologetically.
She always felt a bit strange lately. She didn’t seem as easygoing as before; she had suddenly become prone to worrying about gains and losses, a bit greedy. She felt like she was becoming unlike herself.
“It’s okay,” Lu Mo replied. “Sometimes there’s nothing wrong with being like that. This version of Cecilia is the real Cecilia, isn’t it?”
Cecilia understood in that moment, yet she also seemed not to understand.
Time passed day by day. The day of departure finally arrived.
It was another early autumn morning. A Holy Dragon landed at the gates of the Helovit family. The newcomer was a Holy Dragon Knight who held a high status in the Holy Sanctuary. He had come this time to take Cecilia to the Holy City.
Many high-ranking members of the Helovit family were currently standing outside, chatting and laughing with the Holy Dragon Knight. Cecilia wore a dress hat and a thick skirt, standing to the side with her head lowered in silence.
How she wished Miss Lu Mo could appear at this moment. But she also knew that was impossible. Lu Mo would not be allowed to appear on such an occasion. She was not yet qualified.
A strong sense of loneliness suddenly surged in the depths of Cecilia’s heart. The family elders and the Holy Dragon Knight laughed and talked about her becoming an excellent Saintess who would leave her name in the Holy Sanctuary. But they never truly cared about her. And the person who truly did care about her was not here.
“Miss Cecilia, please.”
Not long after, the Holy Dragon Knight smiled at Cecilia and made a gesture of invitation. With the help of a maid, Cecilia stepped onto the back of the Holy Dragon. Before long, the dragon slowly rose and spread its wings.
The dragon slowly took flight, soaring upward. Cecilia felt herself leaving the ground, heading toward the sky. The family estate was gradually growing smaller before her eyes. The dragon flapped its wings, creating a powerful wind. The family’s grass and trees were constantly tossed about, appearing like undulating waves of the sea at this moment.
It was a lonely sea.
Cecilia saw the dragon fly over the border of the two families. She saw the wall that separated them. And at that moment, she suddenly saw the figure standing on the wall.
No one knew when the girl had stood there. No one knew how long she had stood on that wall alone, waiting. The strong wind blew, and the girl’s hair and skirt were tousled by the gale generated by the dragon. In this instant, it reminded Cecilia once again of that exquisite flower that had bloomed in the small town years ago.
“Miss… Lu Mo!” Cecilia cried out.
She could not possibly mistake such a figure, nor could she forget such a name.
“Work hard, Cecilia!” Lu Mo looked up, shouting toward the girl on the dragon. The wind was very strong, and her voice was a bit garbled and unclear. “Don’t cry, don’t be afraid, and don’t lose to your own destiny!”
“Miss Lu Mo, you too—”
Cecilia shouted down to the girl below. “You must not forget me! You must not throw me away just because I’m not there! You must… see me again!”
“Don’t worry, we will definitely see each other again,” Lu Mo said. “And when that time comes, I will definitely become the strongest knight of the Holy Sanctuary! At that time, no one will be able to take you away—”
The dragon flew higher and higher, faster and faster. It went so high that Lu Mo’s figure grew smaller and smaller, and it went so fast that the two could no longer hear each other’s dialogue.
Cecilia thought this was their final farewell. But in the next heartbeat, she saw Lu Mo’s figure begin to run below. She followed Cecilia all the way to see her off. She would keep running like this until… she could no longer keep up.
Even though she had promised not to cry again, Cecilia’s emotions suddenly burst through the floodgates. Her tears came like a tide as she stood up on the back of the dragon, crying and shouting recklessly, “Miss Lu Mo… Miss Lu Mo…”
“Miss Lu Mo—”
She reached out her hand, trying to touch the figure below that had already become as small as an ant.
*Whoosh—*
At that exact moment, a powerful wind gusted. Cecilia’s hair was tossed into a mess, and her dress hat was suddenly blown off. The hat tumbled through the air, flying farther and farther away until it finally vanished into the clouds.
Like the paper airplanes she had folded as a child, it flew straight ahead and could never be found again. No longer would a girl leap into the air to catch that hat for her.
It would never come back—just like many other things she had lost.
In this instant, Cecilia suddenly realized that her childhood had ended.
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