Chapter 174: The New “Wish Magician” |
"Similar to me," Rhine recalled the moment, years ago, when he first discovered this was the story of *Sleeping Beauty* in the palace of the Kingdom of Rose. "Back on the Western Continent, I experienced fairy tales too."
In fact, there was no essential difference between the two, Rhine thought. The English term for fairy tale is “fairy tales,” which quite literally means “stories about fairies.”
Among the pedestrians on the road, some cast glances at the silver-haired boy and black-haired girl conversing, but found that they couldn’t hear a word. A few tried to move closer, but after a few steps, their vision blurred, and they suddenly remembered other urgent matters, turning away without looking back.
Ye Ruge looked up at the picturesque raindrops drifting in the wind like catkins, and seemed to recall:
"When I first came to this world, I was quite curious. I experienced many stories, dealt with mountain spirits, ghosts, city gods, and land gods..."
Rhine listened quietly and muttered in his heart:
*I am the 'Magician of the Fairy Tale World,' and you are the 'Witch of the Strange World,' right?*
Aurora listened to the conversation between Rhine and Ye Ruge without interrupting.
Although she didn’t understand everything, she had traveled with Rhine for so long that she had already guessed part of the truth.
Ye Ruge continued:
"I’m gifted—I can grasp the essence of various spells at a glance.
"Spring goes and autumn comes, year after year.
"I’ve dealt with all kinds of ghosts, gods, and extraordinary people for so long that I’ve learned countless skills without a teacher.
"Until..."
Ye Ruge turned her head to look at the passersby.
In an instant, the world went silent. Everything turned a dull gray.
The sound of rain stopped. Pedestrians froze mid-step. Conversations ceased. Raindrops hung suspended in the air. It was as if someone had pressed pause on reality.
The entire street, the entire capital, the entire empire—frozen in time.
Only Rhine and Aurora remained in color, watching the world around them become muted and still.
"Until there was nothing left in this world I couldn’t do!"
The black-haired girl smiled up at the sky, a hint of pride hidden in her lazy tone.
A second later, time resumed. The gray faded, replaced by vibrant color once more.
Frozen pedestrians moved again. Raindrops resumed their fall, striking puddles with soft *plip* sounds.
"Okay, I exaggerated a bit," Ye Ruge said with a joking smile. "I'm certainly not omniscient or omnipotent. I can’t even go home alone."
She continued:
"Anyway, from then on, I began to find everything boring.
"I traveled to the Western Continent, met a few witches along the way, and on a whim, formed the Witch Society you know today.
"Of course, the members of the Witch Society, you see, have been replaced several times.
"At first, I didn’t take the Guild seriously. But later, I learned that in some people’s eyes, it was seen as a mysterious, terrifying, and evil organization."
At the mention of the Witches’ Guild, Rhine calmly but firmly said, “Your members have harmed many people.”
"What’s that to me?" Ye Ruge shrugged. "Besides, didn’t you recruit two of them as allies? Seems like they’re not all bad.
"And anyway, do evil people stop being evil just because they’re not part of the Witches’ Guild?"
Rhine didn’t want to continue that topic. “Which story is the Witches’ Guild’s ‘Red Heart’ from?”
She was the only member of the Guild he hadn’t met.
"The queen who wanted to chop off people’s heads in *Alice in Wonderland,*" Ye Ruge replied casually.
She raised her head and held out her hand, palm up, letting the cool raindrops fall on it. Then she continued:
"Eventually, my journey ended, and I returned to the East.
"I started thinking of home and began researching how to return to Earth.
"Given my talent, I quickly developed a ritual spell capable of tracing a soul’s homeland, opening a portal through time and space, and returning to Earth.
"Unfortunately, the ritual requires two people to perform—and my partner must be from the same planet, with magical power equal to mine.
"For many years, I thought I’d never find a suitable partner..."
Ye Ruge suddenly smiled and looked at Rhine.
"But luck struck. I finally found you."
She produced a book from somewhere and tossed it into Rhine’s hands.
"Study hard. With your talent, you should master the ritual in less than two months. Then we’ll return to Earth together. Haha, this ritual cost me a lot of effort. Now it’s yours!"
"Okay," Rhine agreed.
As a master prophet, his intuition told him Ye Ruge was being sincere—there was no malice or trap.
"Hurry up and learn. I’ll come to find you in two months."
After she finished speaking, her figure turned into a wisp of smoke and dissolved into the misty drizzle.
Aurora looked at the empty space where Ye Ruge had stood, then up at the rain falling from the sky, and fell into deep thought.
From their conversation, she now knew that both Rhine and the founder of the Witch Society came from the same world.
And they were about to return home.
After a long silence, Aurora asked in a quiet voice:
"Teacher... many things that happened in our world—are they just stories in your world?"
"Yes," Rhine nodded, smiling. "But I prefer a more romantic explanation."
"A more romantic guess?" Aurora asked.
"In the field of magic," Rhine explained, "the past and future blur, and there’s no strict boundary between reality and illusion. Even the paths fate didn’t choose contain magic.
"Perhaps it’s because so many strange and beautiful stories happened on this continent, that some of their unrealized possibilities—the paths not chosen by fate—were reflected and projected into the dreams of poets and writers in our world, and became the stories we know."
Aurora pondered Rhine’s words and found the speculation wonderfully romantic—and rather convincing.
They stood silently for a while.
Only the sound of falling rain remained.
Eventually, Aurora broke the silence.
"Teacher, uh... you’re going home soon. Congratulations."
She forced a smile, but in her heart, she couldn’t suppress a faint sadness.
"It’s still two months. No rush." Rhine sighed, a burden lifted.
He looked at Aurora’s reluctant expression. “Before I leave, I have a gift for you.”
"A gift?" Aurora’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Aurora, when I taught Oz in the Emerald City, I discovered that I, too, had a talent for magic.
"And you—your magical potential far exceeds Oz’s. But to defeat the black witch Maleficent, you poured all your energy into swordsmanship, your greatest strength.
"Now that Maleficent is dead, and I’ve become a legendary sorcerer with boundless power, it’s time I pass on my magic to you.”
Rhine placed his hand gently on Aurora’s shoulder. A surge of magical energy rushed into her soul.
"Aurora, I think you’ve already sensed that I can draw power from others’ wishes—gaining new spells or magical items.
"I call this ability: the 'Wish Magician.'"
"Now, after resolving the crisis in the Kingdom of Rose and drawing upon the overwhelming power of wishes from you and your people, my magic has grown stronger than ever.
"I’ve finally replicated my special ability.
"I’ll be leaving soon...
"But while you rule this kingdom, will you take my place and become the next 'Wish Magician'?"
Feeling the magic stirring within her, Aurora beamed and nodded.
"Yes, Master!"
All along her journey, she had felt she lacked magic, that martial prowess alone wasn’t enough.
Now, at last, she too could become a great magician—like her teacher.
"The Kingdom of Rose will soon have a king who wields marvelous magic!" Rhine said, smiling at the future.
After some time, Rhine withdrew his hand from her shoulder. He looked a little tired.
"Alright, Aurora. I’ve made a special copy of myself for you. From this moment on, you are the new ‘Wish Magician.’"
Aurora raised her hand in awe.
She felt her magical ability surge. A strange power boiled in her soul. Faint, unfamiliar spells echoed in her mind—like finishing a long night of study, dizzy but full of knowledge.
"Aurora, how do you feel?" Rhine asked with a smile.
Faintly, Aurora sensed that the silver-haired boy before her radiated warmth.
"Teacher, you feel like a blazing fire—scorching, radiant, alive..."
Rhine smiled. "What you’re feeling is my wish."
"My wish to return home."
"Of course, you can’t fulfill it for me. Only by playing a significant role in fulfilling someone’s wish can you absorb their wish power," he explained.
Aurora nodded, looking slightly regretful.
"But it’s alright. You’ll have plenty of chances to fulfill wishes in the future."
"Let’s return to the Kingdom of Rose."
"Over the next two months, I’ll teach you everything I know.
"You won’t master all the spells right away, but that’s okay.
"You won’t ascend the throne immediately. You’ll have time to practice while I’m gone."
Rhine looked westward, his gaze penetrating far beyond the horizon.
The heels of his silver shoes clicked softly. A silvery swirl of wind rose, carrying icy raindrops.
The two figures vanished in a silver whirlwind, streaking westward in an instant.
Only the sound of rain remained on the capital’s streets.
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