Chapter 68: The Last Year

Every time Xu Xi wakes up, he always hears Cressa’s greeting the first moment.

Every time he opens his eyes, it’s always Cressa’s face he sees first.

The answer is simple.

So simple it’s startling.

Every time he falls asleep, every time he drifts off, Cressa watches him lie down, then quietly sits by the bed on a small wooden chair, accompanying the passage of time.

She sits silently, watching the sun and moon rise and fall.

She waits, as the seasons of the world change.

Cressa accompanies in silence, waiting in the loneliness that only she knows, sitting motionless, her eyes only on the increasingly aged figure.

Is it painful?

Is it boring?

Cressa doesn’t think so.

Because when that figure falls into silence, the world the witch can see is only gray. She feels no vitality, sees no color, and she actively blocks everything out.

Only when Xu Xi awakens does the witch’s lifeless world start to move again, regaining its normal colors.

“I’ve been waiting, waiting, waiting for you.”

Sunlight streams through the window into the bedroom.

Due to the angle, it creates a beautiful layout of half light and half shadow.

Xu Xi, now 85, shows his age. He lies on the bed, on the bright side, every wrinkle, every strand of white hair clearly illuminated.

Not far from Xu Xi’s bed.

Cressa sits in the shadow, quietly seated, her hollow eyes reflecting the light.

Her calm, delicate face, seemingly expressionless, yet her light gray-silver hair sways slightly in the wind, as if countless emotions are bursting forth.

Waiting for you.

Always waiting for you.

Cressa Christina says so.

She is a witch without a heart, without her own joys, without her own sorrows, a “thing” that has always obeyed her master’s commands.

So, the witch has always stayed by Xu Xi’s side.

Waiting for Xu Xi to awaken, waiting for Xu Xi’s next command.

That is the only meaning of her existence.

Facing such a Cressa, facing such a witch who has waited countless days and nights.

For a moment.

Xu Xi doesn’t know whether to criticize and educate the witch, to make her stop this meaningless behavior, or to praise and commend the witch, to commend her unwavering perseverance.

In the end, Xu Xi neither criticizes nor praises.

Because it doesn’t matter.

He gently takes the witch’s hand, grasping her slender fingers, bringing them into the sunlight.

“Let’s go out for a walk, Cressa. Lying in bed for so long, I feel like my body is almost numb.”

“…Yes.”

Cressa is very obedient, very compliant.

She and Xu Xi, who has gotten out of bed, walk out of the bedroom door, through the silent, empty corridor, and finally into the sunny, green courtyard filled with flowers and trees.

Xu Xi walks very slowly.

A feeling of weakness spreads from within, slowly reaching his legs.

The feeling is subtle, with every step, he can clearly feel the sluggishness of his body, like a performance that could end at any moment.

“How beautiful.”

Suddenly, Xu Xi stops.

In front of him is the courtyard’s flourishing flowers and plants, cared for by the witch, with intertwined branches and fragrant flowers, clusters of red Dragon Blood Grass swaying in the wind, like small waves rising and falling.

“Cressa, you’ve managed it very well, I’m very satisfied.”

“Thank you for your affirmation.”

Xu Xi looks to his side, where the witch with long gray-silver hair stands quietly, so indifferent, with an indescribable emptiness, as if cut off from everything in this world.

This is exactly the same as when Xu Xi first met her.

But the once skinny, pitiful girl.

Has long grown into a reliable adult.

Looking at the courtyard, at the flowers and plants, at the warm sunlight, at the grown-up witch.

Xu Xi slowly closes his heavy eyelids, feeling the sunlight fall on him, warming his loose, sagging skin, bringing him some warmth and peace.

He has nothing more to worry about.

Thud—

[You walk with the witch in the courtyard]

[Everything in the courtyard, including the Dragon Blood Grass you care about most, is all well taken care of by Cressa]

[Even if you managed it yourself, you couldn’t do better than this]

[In your daze, you recall the witch when she was young, you compare, and find that the grown-up witch is very outstanding, no longer needing your supervision and guidance]

[Your duty as a mentor, perhaps it’s time to end]

[You let go, you sigh, you laugh softly, from long ago, you’ve always worried about the witch’s future, and now, you can be sure that even without you, the witch can live well]

[The worry that has kept you waking up has disappeared]

[Your consciousness suddenly quiets, your aged body falls forward, almost hitting the ground, but the witch quickly reaches out to support you]

[After less than an hour awake, you fall asleep again]

“Mentor!… Mentor!”

A mournful cry echoes in the darkness.

Xu Xi is very tired, so tired that even hearing the voice, he cannot respond.

Like a small boat in a raging sea.

His consciousness, his soul, his thoughts, are all swallowed by endless darkness, assimilated into eternal peace.

Only a tiny bit of self remains, stubbornly existing.

…

[Simulation Year 72, you are 86, Cressa is 78]

[Since the day you fainted in the courtyard, you have been asleep for a year, but there are still no signs of you waking up]

[Cressa says nothing, just sits by the bed, waiting for your return]

[She witnesses another cycle of seasons in the room]

[Simulation Year 73, you are 87, Cressa is 79]

[You are still asleep]

[Cressa still maintains her eternal 17-year-old appearance]

[This year, Cressa’s strength reaches the limit of a Saint Magister, she once tried to break through to Demigod, relying on divine power to heal you, but she failed]

[The balance that was once invincible did not allow the witch to break through, the witch is stuck at Saint Magister]

[Simulation Year 74, you are 88, Cressa is 80]

[Some furniture has aged, no longer as useful, the witch pays no mind, she still waits in your room]

[Simulation Year 75, you are 89, Cressa is 81]

[The witch is still waiting]

[The witch continues to wait]

[The witch keeps waiting]

[Simulation Year 79, you are 93, Cressa is 85]

[Your spirit is still asleep, but your body has aged beyond recognition, time has left indelible marks, taking away everything you once had]

[Your face gradually becomes unrecognizable to the witch, your skin dull, full of wrinkles, like rough, ugly bark]

[The witch no longer sits quietly]

[She gently holds your hand, feeling the texture like dry branches, once, twice, constantly calling for you, praying for your return]

[You open your cloudy eyes]