Miss Sylvia Will Surely Succeed

After seeing the two elderly off,

Servia returned alone to her workshop.

She resumed the refinement of her soul and the practice of her sword techniques.

She longed to materialize her soul power soon and advance to a Second-Circle Wizard, so she could better assist Xu Xi.

"Miss Servia, your face..."

"Are you injured?"

The next day,

Servia opened the workshop door.

The two elderly had returned, carrying numerous items—food and some uncommon herbs.

"Grandpa Hansen, Grandma Mina, what is all this?" The outlines of trees grew clearer in the dawn light, their leaves casting scattered shadows. The girl looked at the elderly pair in confusion.

After some questioning,

she finally understood their intentions.

The day before, Hansen and Mina had noticed the bandages wrapped around Servia's face and her hands clutching her cloak tightly. They couldn't help but worry about her.

"Miss Servia is a good person."

"Perhaps... perhaps we can be of some help."

Unaware of the truth about her undead nature, the elderly gathered herbs, hoping to heal the wounds on her face.

Drip—

Drip—

A gentle breeze passed by, and morning dew dripped to the ground.

Amidst the delicate, pleasant sound, Servia finally snapped out of her daze and smiled, declining their kindness.

"Grandpa Hansen, Grandma Mina, thank you for your concern."

"But my... my situation is a bit special."

Recalling how people had once feared her for being undead,

the girl paused briefly.

She chose not to reveal the truth about her nature.

Instead, she offered a plausible explanation.

She said her face had been disfigured in a fire long ago, burned beyond recognition, and that too much time had passed for any hope of restoration.

Thus,

though deeply grateful for their kindness,

the herbs they brought would be of no use to her.

Hansen: "I see..."

Mina: "Poor Miss Servia, you must have suffered so much."

Servia's explanation worked.

The two elderly believed her words and no longer insisted on bringing herbs.

Yet, their clouded eyes brimmed with deep compassion, pitying the girl for the tragedy of her fire-scarred face.

From then on,

Servia received more gifts of a different kind—

wild berries picked by the elderly,

or homemade snacks.

As if she were their own granddaughter, the two nearing the end of their lives fussed over Servia in their own clumsy, heartfelt way.

"Wizard, these things..."

"Take them, Servia. It's their way of showing care."

The undead girl felt at a loss.

She instinctively glanced at Xu Xi.

Encouraged by his gentle words, she accepted the elderly's kindness, refusing none of their simple, sincere offerings.

Dawn slowly unveiled the sky.

Night relinquished its hold on the stars.

The heavens of the wizarding world took on a faint bluish-purple hue—a fusion of light and necrotic energy, gradually transitioning into utter darkness.

Xu Xi's strength steadily grew, and his modifications to the Nether Ravens bore fruit.

During this time,

Servia's soul materialization also saw significant progress, and her bond with the elderly deepened.

...

Occasionally, while conversing with Hansen and Mina, Servia would drift into memories of the past.

"Miss Servia."

"Miss Servia."

The elderly's address

always transported her back a thousand years—

to her parents' pride and expectations,

the servants' care,

the admiration of the people in her domain.

Those gazes.

Those voices.

They seemed to traverse the long years, resurfacing before her once more.

"Miss Servia."

The kindly voice of Mina, the farmer's wife, snapped the undead girl out of her reverie.

White-haired, wrinkled, and warm, the elderly woman's bony hand gently held Servia's.

"You've suffered so much."

Gazing at Servia's face, the old woman's heart ached with pity.

She believed

such a kind soul deserved a far better fate, not one marred by scars and bandages.

"It's alright, Grandma Mina. I'm used to it."

The autumn sky stretched endlessly high.

The sun grew colder.

Yet the girl's voice carried warmth.

Having endured countless hardships, she did not indulge in self-pity.

Instead, she smiled softly and said she had long grown accustomed to it all.

"Grandpa Hansen, Grandma Mina, with the Wizard's help, I'm not pitiable."

"The Wizard..."

"Ah, yes, there's the Wizard."

Under the girl's puzzled gaze,

the two elderly exchanged a glance, their time-worn eyes glimmering with quiet amusement.

"If it's Miss Servia, perhaps it's possible..."

"Miss Servia is good, and the Wizard is good too..."

"How I wish to see that day, old man..."

"But our time is running short..."

The warrior blinked in confusion.

A faint breeze stirred, shaking loose a few autumn leaves.

Instinctively, she caught one, only for the brittle foliage to crumble effortlessly between her fingers.

Withering and decay—

the eternal melody of autumn.

At the same time, the swirling vortex of darkness in the sky grew more pronounced—a sign of the Netherworld's encroachment.

...

[Winds rise, clouds surge; sun and moon fall into disarray.]

[You wait patiently for the world's transformation.]

[At last, in the final days of autumn, you witness the world's deepening gloom—and the return of the undead storm.]

[The "Tidal Wave" has arrived.]

[Layer upon layer of darkness devours all color, even the sun's dying light, leaving only a twisted black orb in its place.]

[Silence, lamentation, fury.]

[Through your observation, the wizarding world warps to its extreme—its fundamental truths shattering piece by piece.]

If the world's last gasp could restore light and beauty to the darkness,

then what becomes of a world that has exhausted its final warmth?

A fractured land, crumbling into oblivion?

Now, Xu Xi bore witness to the answer.

A raging storm of necrotic energy bridged sky and earth, mercilessly erasing all traces of life.

More undead creatures.

A more desolate environment.

A more distorted world.

All of it heralded the world's descent into ruin.

"So it's begun... the countdown has started."

Xu Xi soared from the mountaintop, gazing down at the distant land, calmly observing the world's transformation.

With time,

the changes would only intensify—

until the wizarding world was wholly consumed by the Netherworld, reduced to a mere fragment of its domain.

If there was anything left to uncover,

or any research to conduct,

now was the time to act.

Once the world met its end,

all opportunity would be lost.

"A hundred years? Or perhaps two?"

Xu Xi silently calculated the time remaining before the apocalypse.

Now he understood why wizards of the Fourth Circle and beyond had departed.

Such a world was no longer fit to dwell in.

Too dull.

Too lifeless.