Monologue

Enlaisi returned to his residence.

After entering the door, he took the warm pipe and a pouch of tobacco from his coat pocket and placed them into a drawer. Following the soft click of the drawer closing, he didn't spare them another glance.

"Phew—" Enlaisi let out a long sigh, finally relaxing his straight spine.

Today's classes had gone smoothly; the interaction with the students was lively, and everyone was happy.

His humor was like sunlight, easily igniting pairs of eyes eager for knowledge.

More and more students liked his teaching style. The classroom could no longer seat everyone, and some students were even willing to stand at the back to listen to his lectures.

Enlaisi's body sank into the sofa as if sinking into a quagmire.

The smile on his face had long since faded, replaced by emptiness and numbness. At the same time, one hand subconsciously reached out to touch the photo frame on the coffee table.

There was no need to even look; the image in the photo floated clearly before his eyes—a high-spirited him, holding his fiancée, who wore a gentle and shy smile.

Sunlight bathed them, freezing all their yearnings for the future in time.

His gaze drifted, and Enlaisi looked at the oil painting hanging on the wall straight ahead. The young woman's face in the portrait wasn't very clear, but in his eyes, it was crystal clear. That was also his masterpiece, yet now it had become a tombstone of time.

He didn't know how long he lay there. The sky had already darkened before Enlaisi slowly got up. Like a rusting marionette, he sluggishly turned on the lights in the room.

Going to the kitchen, he heated up some bread and milk, pairing it with some dried cured meat for a hastily made dinner. The food tasted bland, like chewing wax.

After eating, Enlaisi walked out of his door, once again putting on a hearty smile as some invisible force propped up his spine once more. He strolled down the familiar streets with an unhurried pace, warmly greeting familiar students with a loud and clear voice...

Before returning, he habitually walked a lap around his house, leaving no trace as he sprinkled some powder in the secluded corners. After confirming there was nothing unusual, he returned to his house.

That powder was concocted by a witch at his request. Its effect was simple: if someone came looking for him and inhaled the powder, they would temporarily forget their purpose for coming and turn around to leave.

Arriving at a place and suddenly forgetting what you were supposed to do... many people have had such experiences. That powder merely amplified this feeling and wouldn't cause any harm.

Confirming everything was safe, Enlaisi finally stepped back into his home. He carefully drew the curtains, blocking all lines of sight from the outside, then pulled back the living room rug to reveal the door leading to the basement.

The gloomy entrance extended downward. Enlaisi didn't even need an oil lamp as he walked down with familiar ease.

If there were anyone else here, they would certainly notice the surrounding temperature gradually dropping. The chill grew heavier with every step down.

The staircase was short, and he soon reached the end.

A magic array quietly emitted a faint blue glow in the darkness. In the center of the array, a translucent ice coffin floated silently. The piercing cold of the basement obviously emanated from here. Beneath the coffin lid, a figure wearing a plain white dress slept peacefully.

"Suya..." Enlaisi called out the name of the figure in the ice coffin, his breath condensing into white mist in the freezing air.

But regrettably, she clearly wasn't going to respond to him.

The figure in the ice coffin had a tranquil face, her eyes tightly closed and her hands crossed in front of her. She looked very serene.

Her appearance remained exactly the same as in the photo, as if time had frozen for her.

Opening the coffin lid, Enlaisi slowly leaned over. His fingertips trembled with careful apprehension as he gently stroked her icy cheek, revealing a somewhat soft smile.

"Don't worry, there will be a way." His voice was deep and stubborn, spoken for her to hear, but even more so for himself.

"I will definitely find a way to fix what's wrong with you."

"I wonder how you'll feel when you wake up again and see me."

"Heh, I'm already so much older than you now. You won't despise me, will you?"

"But I'm still quite popular. Even at this age, I actually have female students sending me love letters..."

"If you don't wake up soon, I might just get snatched away by someone else..."

The whispers echoed in the freezing basement, seeming exceptionally lonely. Enlaisi slowly straightened up. His hands were flushed red from touching the ice coffin for so long, his fingertips trembling numbly.

"I'll come see you again next time."

He promised softly. Like completing a sacred ritual, he closed the heavy ice coffin lid again, fitting it perfectly tight.

After that, Enlaisi carefully inspected the magic array on the ground once more. His gaze meticulously traced every magic rune on the floor. Only after confirming that the flow of magic remained stable did he leave with some reluctance.

Returning to the house above, Enlaisi's lips were somewhat pale.

The temperature in the basement was extremely low. If an ordinary person had stayed down there for so long, they probably wouldn't have been able to make it out by now.

He pointed a finger at the fireplace, and the firewood inside instantly ignited. Leaping flames surged within the hearth in a flash.

Wrapping himself tightly in a blanket, Enlaisi collapsed onto the sofa once again. His somewhat gaunt figure shivered from the cold.

"Shut up. Be quiet."

Enlaisi suddenly spoke.

Aside from him, there was clearly no one else in the room.

Enlaisi let out a short, icy laugh. "Heh, I know you are not the Hero. That Hero would absolutely never use such a shameless method to resurrect himself... Only those fools blinded by legends would believe your rhetoric."

"I do not worship the Hero. The Hero's achievements are indeed as glorious as an epic, inspiring reverence... But as a historian, in my eyes, he is merely a piece of history. Your deceptive tricks cannot shake my resolve."

"That's right, I cannot refuse the conditions you offered. To make her wake up, I will do anything... So just shut the hell up right now and stop bothering me!"

Enlaisi's voice suddenly spiked. Like a cornered beast driven to a dead end, he let out a roar filled with agony and fury. In his deep-set eye sockets burned a flame intense enough to incinerate reason.

The voice in his mind seemed truly intimidated by his anger and tactfully vanished.

Enlaisi watched the dancing firelight in the fireplace, then wearily closed his eyes.

Inside the fireplace, the flames churned, dancing wildly like performers and sweeping like a storm. The reflected light and shadows of the thin iron grates floated irregularly on the opposite wall, resembling an unpredictable future.