Chapter 1039: "Inherited" and Corrupted "Love" |
It was a diary that laid bare the heart.
Melina had meticulously recorded how she'd received the Erudition Presidium's commission alongside Grind to travel to the Grand Tribunal and eliminate the defecting scholar Selius.
In Katouting, the neighboring nation's capital, her outstanding performance earned her a place among the Iron Law Knights. Keinlaur himself had assigned her to young Galusha's side as personal guard.
From there, she began getting close to little Galusha.
At that time, Galusha was simply a precocious girl. She had sharp eyes that could vaguely discern the motivations behind adults' actions — yet her attempts to read interpersonal dynamics remained endearingly naive.
She often sought Melina's guidance. And Melina, no matter how hard she concealed it, carried traces of a will fundamentally different from [Order] — the unmistakable shadow of [Truth]. Coupled with her loyalty and devotion to the Erudition Presidium, she reasoned: if she could draw an [Order] leader's descendant toward [Truth], perhaps someday the friction between the Grand Tribunal and the Tower of Logic could ease into coexistence.
So she began her path of "education."
And it was this mentorship of young Galusha that eventually led her alongside the girl to Selius — giving her a glimpse of mission completion.
But the Grand Tribunal wasn't calm waters either. Just as grand scholars backstabbed each other for experimental resources and stopped at nothing to enter the Erudition Presidium, factions within the Grand Tribunal were investigating Keinlaur's ties to [Truth].
Not in any forbidden way. She wholeheartedly took young Galusha as her student — her only student — because she wasn't yet senior enough to formally take one on.
From then on, her attitude toward Galusha shifted. She wanted to lead the girl away from [Order]'s quagmire and become a true [Truth] follower. But she knew it couldn't be rushed. So she redoubled her efforts to reshape every perception and thought of this ruler's heir.
Galusha truly changed. She began seeing the world through [Truth]'s eyes.
Shamefully, this wasn't Melina's doing alone — Selius had played his part. His reasoning was predictable: befriending a leader's heir would improve his position in Montelani. But this created an agonizing dilemma for Melina.
Her mission was to kill Selius. But she didn't want to make little Galusha sad. A wild thought even took root: if things stayed this way, then as long as Selius lived, she could remain in the Grand Tribunal — watching over her student until she grew up.
But individual reluctance was useless. Grind dreamed of glory. He planned attack after attack, finally striking during a deathmatch sentence exhibition — and killing Selius.
From that moment, Melina knew her time with Galusha was over. She had to return to the land where [Truth] flowed.
Still, she wanted to say goodbye. She'd even prepared a reason for her disappearance — one that could comfort both herself and the girl.
But before the words left her mouth, Galusha died. Died because of her moment of distraction.
The unbearable reality shattered Melina's defenses completely. She hated herself, hated the Grand Tribunal, even began hating the Tower of Logic. She didn't know why there was so much hatred inside her. She only knew that her student — the perfect student she'd watched grow for so many years — was just... gone.
She set fire to Selius's laboratory and returned to Tusnat.
Thanks to Melina and Grind's exemplary service, their standing within their departments rose. They became pillars of their fields, taking on more experimental projects and teaching responsibilities.
But no matter how many students Melina mentored, she never found another as brilliant and flawless as Galusha.
Her obsession drove her to record her longing in a notebook every day. That evolved into daily meditative recollection. As she aged, the accumulated obsession outgrew mere daydreaming. She decided to secretly conduct forbidden experiments — writing Galusha's existence into her own genes.
'This way, Galusha wouldn't truly be dead.'
The diary's later entries were mostly mundane, but they revealed Melina's fixation had crossed normal emotional boundaries — warping into a pain she couldn't release and refused to release.
And this "twisted pain" grew more entrenched with each generation of genetic inheritance — until it reached Pe Laya's generation...
Young Pe Laya was a rare genius. From childhood, she displayed dazzling intellect and remarkable [Truth] talent. Everyone in the family said she was Melina the Grand Scholar's perfect successor — a star of [Truth] rivaling the one called Galusha.
Blood's pull and public praise drew Pe Laya ever deeper into fascination with Galusha. She believed her great-grandmother's obsession had been etched into the genes passed down through generations — shaping her into Galusha's "likeness."
She grew more and more enamored with the "Galusha" who resembled herself. She even began confiding in her.
Whenever experiments went wrong or lab politics left her frazzled, she'd sit before a mirror and pour out her grievances to "the other self" — just as Melina had written in her diary, unburdening every pressure to the reflection within the glass.
Over the years, the "Galusha" in the mirror became Pe Laya's spiritual anchor. She felt only that reflection could understand her — could accompany her on this lonely road of [Truth].
Up to this point, everything was still "normal." But the fates of [Fate] loved their cruel jokes. One day, when Pe Laya was pouring her heart out to "Galusha" after yet another devastating experimental failure — the real Galusha climbed in through the window.
She'd been listening for a long time. Without a single wasted word, she pulled over a screen and, under Pe Laya's stunned gaze, began writing and sketching.
She explained why the experiment had failed. Analyzed optimization steps. Even offered suggestions so unthinkable they bordered on impossible — claiming that with these changes, the experiment would likely succeed.
Pe Laya was dumbstruck. She stared at this familiar yet stranger woman and asked who she was.
A breathtaking smile bloomed on Galusha's face. She said her name.
"Galusha."
In that moment, no one could comprehend the sense of salvation flooding Pe Laya's heart. And in that moment, the [Truth] in Pe Laya's soul was given form in the world.
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