Chapter 69: I Will Still Wait for You

Xu Xi is going to die.

Not in a joking sense, nor in any other embellished way, but in the truest sense, a death that will bring the simulation to an end.

No one needs to remind him; when he opens his eyes again, the weakness and lifelessness surging within his body make Xu Xi aware of this fact.

In reality.

Being able to wake up again is already a miracle.

When he was previously asleep, Xu Xi truly felt his soul continuously detaching from his body, drifting towards the void, towards the eternal silence known as death.

“My current state…”

“Probably what they call the last flicker of life before death.”

Pain, chest tightness, suffocation, dizziness.

All sorts of unbearable symptoms attack, making the newly awakened Xu Xi feel drowsy again, his heavy eyelids constantly drooping.

He knows.

This sleep is different from before; he won’t wake up again, won’t continue, truly stepping into death.

Thus, Xu Xi calls out the name of the Witch in a hoarse voice.

His voice is so weak, almost imperceptible, like a slight vibration in the air, his aged face struggling to move his lips to make a sound.

“Cressa…”

“Mentor, I’m here.”

Cressa, still looking 17, responds softly to Xu Xi.

Seemingly afraid, fearful that if her voice were just a bit louder, it would cause Xu Xi pain.

Today is a good day.

The weather is clear, the sun is bright.

Brilliant golden rays shine through the window, bringing brightness to the room, dispelling the unpleasant lifelessness, and more importantly, the mentor who has been asleep for many years has finally awakened.

But.

For some reason, for some unknown reason, the heart that should feel joy instead lets out a mournful cry.

The heart beating in the chest also unknowingly slows down.

“Sorry, Cressa, for letting you see me in such a sorry state,” with the help of the Witch, Xu Xi props himself up on the bed with his arms, struggling to sit up, forcing a weak smile at the Witch.

Please…

Please…

Please don’t say anymore.

The sorrow in the chest keeps accumulating.

Looking at Xu Xi’s aged face, meeting those turbid, swollen eyes, listening to the almost inaudible voice that seems like it might dissipate the next second.

Cressa feels her heartstrings tremble more and more.

“You… don’t need to worry.”

The Witch doesn’t care about Xu Xi’s aged appearance; to the Witch, looks and skin are not important, what she truly cares about is Xu Xi himself.

Her sun.

Her light.

Her salvation.

But, aging also means another thing, something the Witch absolutely does not want to face, but is bound to happen.

“Mentor, I’ll prepare lunch for you.”

Cressa suddenly stands up, heading towards the door to leave.

The Witch has already sensed something, she doesn’t want to hear, she doesn’t dare to look, even more afraid to face it, so she chooses to run away.

But Xu Xi’s voice.

Stops the Witch.

“Cough… cough cough…”

“No need, Cressa, I think… I probably won’t have the chance to eat.”

In the heavy atmosphere of the room, Xu Xi forces a smile, speaking in a deliberately light tone despite being utterly exhausted.

Cressa’s body trembles even more.

“Are you sleepy? Please rest assured, I will continue to wait, no matter how long it takes…”

“Cressa.”

“I will wait for you forever, always wait for you…”

“Cressa.”

Xu Xi calls out the Witch’s name repeatedly.

His voice is extremely weak, his breath faint, as if a gust of wind could blow it away.

Finally, the Witch quiets down.

She stands with her back to Xu Xi, motionless, no longer making any sound, only her body continues to tremble, as if enduring some indescribable pain.

“Come here, Cressa, I have something to say to you.”

The harsh winter will eventually come, freezing the heart.

Even if one doesn’t want to face the chill, no matter how much one resists, winter won’t disappear because of human wishes, it’s inevitable.

“Yes…”

The Witch returns to Xu Xi’s bedside.

“Sit down.”

The Witch still obeys, sitting on the small wooden chair by the bed under Xu Xi’s gaze.

The chair isn’t very high, so when the Witch sits, she’s just at the right height for Xu Xi to touch her head.

Thus.

Xu Xi extends his withered, aged hand, gently placing it on Cressa’s head, stroking the silvery-gray hair one last time, feeling its smooth texture.

“Cressa, I’m going to be away for a long time.”

The Witch’s body trembles even more.

But under the soothing hand, it slowly calms down.

“All this time, I’ve really troubled you, it should have been me taking care of you, but for the past few decades, it’s been you taking care of me while I was asleep.”

“Now, it’s finally coming to an end.”

“You can rest too.”

No, I don’t want to rest.

Please…

Please…

Let me, let me as an object, continue to be used by you… no matter how long, no matter how hard… as long as you don’t leave, as long as you stay by my side…

“I will be away for a long time, so long that it’s hard to tell, so, when I’m not here, Cressa, you must take care of yourself.”

“In the study, I’ve left some materials that should be useful to you.”

“The magic circle in the Meditation Room, I’ve already modified it beforehand, it should still be of some use even if you break through to Demigod.”

“In the bedroom’s desk drawer, there are some collections I’ve gathered over the years, you can use them or sell them, it’s all up to you.”

Stop…

Please stop…

The increasingly heavy pain gradually accumulates in the Witch’s chest, making her instinctively clutch her chest, trying to cover the heart full of holes.

Although Xu Xi didn’t say it directly.

Although Xu Xi deliberately skipped that word.

But how could Cressa not understand.

Her mentor, the only savior in her life, the sun that has illuminated her for decades, is about to fall into eternal silence.

Death.

A word so close to Xu Xi, yet infinitely distant from the Witch, just thinking about it, Cressa’s sensitive and fragile heart is forcibly peeled layer by layer, revealing a truly helpless state.

“I don’t accept.”

The Witch trembles as she interrupts Xu Xi.

This is the first time she has contradicted Xu Xi.

“What you’re saying, I don’t accept.”

“Your items can only be used by you, I will wait for you, always, always, always…”

The eyes that should have been empty and lifeless, for the first time, have an extremely intense tremor.

Looking directly at Xu Xi.

Refusing Xu Xi.

The withered hand stroking Cressa’s head pauses slightly, seemingly surprised by the Witch’s refusal.