“It’s really that outrageous!”
As Sonya watched her toes leave the Boat, soaring into the white mist, she felt goosebumps all over her body. The sight was as astonishing as the first time she had seen Delarose in a Shadow Drama on the Holographic Screen.
“Calm down, calm down,” Ashe soothed. “We need to work together. A single mistake and we’ll fall.”
Sonya now seemed confident: “Didn’t you say that there’s a Bond between us? If it truly exists, then such understanding is trivial.”
She glanced at Ashe, her left hand gripping his right tightly, as if by doing that, their hearts would connect. Their Silver Wings beat at the same frequency, supporting each other in flight like Inseparable Birds
1
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“After all the trouble of finding so many clues about the Golden Fish, after deducing the truth about the Golden Fish, after discovering the correct way to fly…”
Ashe cleared his throat with a measure of formality: “The truth was deduced by me, and the way of flying was also discovered by me. Of course, Swordswoman, you also made a significant contribution…”
“Yes, yes, Observer, you’re amazing,” Sonya said with a radiant smile. “I declare that tonight, in my heart, you stand shoulder to shoulder with Delarose!”“Only for tonight? And who is Delarose, anyway?”
“She’s my ultimate idol! You should be satisfied with just one night! Compared to your previous standing in my heart, at least this time I’m comparing you to a person.”
“I’m quite curious as to what I was compared with before in your heart…”
They laughed foolishly for a while until Ashe stopped and looked up at the murky sky, asking seriously, “Ready?”
“Mhm,” Sonya nodded firmly.
“Observer, let’s take flight.”
Flap!
With the flapping of their Silver Wings, they plunged into the white mist like birds, spiraling upwards. The Sea of Knowledge grew more distant with each beat, and Ashe’s “Virtual Realm Map” became increasingly chaotic. The higher layers of white mist were thinner, even revealing a glint of gold at the far end!
“How did those Sorcerers find companions to fly with them before?” Sonya suddenly asked. “Could it be that other Sorcerers also team up to Explore the Virtual Realm?”
“Perhaps, but I think it’s something even more incredible.”
“What could that be?”
“That in the Virtual Realm, they encountered friends from the real world.”
“Meeting other Sorcerers by chance in the Virtual Realm, who just happen to be friends, both unfurling Silver Wings, and both knowing the true nature of the Golden Fish? All these coincidences relying on luck…”
“It’s precisely because it requires so many coincidences that it’s called a Miracle.”
As they approached the sky, the white mist became fainter, and they flew higher. They began to feel their ‘bodies’ getting heavier, as if the gravitational pull from the Sea of Knowledge intensified, their hands, feet, and entire bodies felt as though they were filled with lead.
The Sea of Knowledge was thwarting the Trespassers.
If their ascent was indeed reliant on a Miracle, they would likely have to stop here. Like Explorers, their soaring dreams weighed down by heavy gravity, plummeting into the deep sea, shattering like crystal.
But the movement of the virtual wing seemed to require no effort at all, easily slicing through the white mist, resisting gravity. Even though their Souls were bound by the Sea of Knowledge, the virtual wing still allowed them to roam the heavens and the earth.
As the golden light drew nearer, they were about to smuggle themselves from the Sea of Knowledge to the Time Continent. Yet, Sonya’s heart filled with increasing panic, her breathing growing heavier.
Unable to contain her emotions any longer, Sonya blurted out a question that had been buried deep in her heart: “Why me?”
Even she didn’t understand why she felt the need to ask now. The question could have been asked after the journey, tomorrow, or in the future, yet she insisted on getting an answer at that very moment, even if it might not be the one she hoped for.
Despite the potential risk to her interests, Sonya felt that some things mattered more than her Promotion to Two Wings.
Ashe gave her an unexpected glance. Though her question was abrupt, he understood what the Swordswoman was asking.
He had intended to make a joke, but what came out was sincere: “It’s just a coincidence.”
Sonya masked her emotional turbulence well, offering a professional smile: “I thought so. Looks like I’m pretty lucky—”
“It’s me who’s lucky,” Ashe said softly. “It’s because of this coincidence with you that a series of Miracles followed.”
“Some things cannot be locked away. Even if their hands and feet are bound, they will still grow wings and fly.” He suddenly recalled this saying: “Swordswoman, it’s not because of the Silver Wings that I can fly; it’s because of you.”
“When my hands and feet were tied, when I was trapped in Prison, you were the window through which I Explored the Virtual Realm, you helped me gain the power of a Sorcerer.”
Ashe looked at Sonya with a smile: “Swordswoman, you are my wings.”
Stunned, Sonya gazed at him. Under the increasingly blinding golden light, the black mist that obscured the face of the Observer rapidly dissipated, revealing a finely sculpted smile and a pair of bright, spirited eyes.
After many days, Sonya finally saw his face.
At that moment, the long-standing dissatisfaction, complaints, and worries in her heart vanished like smoke. She had never felt the way she did at that moment—not when wearing new clothes for the first time, not even when she first saw Gales, or when she tasted ice cream sweeter than ever… It was like… an unnoticed void inside her was silently filled.
Finally, Sonya tightly grasped Ashe’s hand, hummed softly through her nose, and whispered:
“You are my Golden Fish.”
Ashe chuckled, “That’s an odd comparison. Makes me feel like I’m just a stepping stone to you.”
Sonya responded with a gentle defensiveness: “That’s not what I meant…”
“Just kidding, I get it. So next… let’s go see the real Golden Fish, shall we!”
With a splash!
As they flew beyond the outermost white mist, what unfolded before their eyes was a golden ocean as clear as a mirror, as vast as the sea, filling the entire sky.
As the Silver Wings flapped, the golden sea seemed to be stimulated, with waves surging one after another. The rolling golden waters reflected the distinct feathers of the Silver Wings, and suddenly it appeared as if they were layered fish scales!
In the blink of an eye, the vast golden sea transformed into the belly of a Golden Fish!
“This is… the true nature of the Golden Fish!” Sonya murmured quietly.
Ashe was also deeply struck by the spectacle, but he didn’t linger sentimentally. Instead, he smiled contentedly, leading the Swordswoman into the golden ocean!
In the next second, the world turned upside down!
Footnote:
Inseparable Birds(比翼鸟):
This is a bird from the ancient Chinese mythological text “Classic of Mountains and Seas(《山海经》).” This bird has only one wing and one eye, and it must pair with another bird to fly. Therefore, it is used as a metaphor for the affection between spouses and the inseparable friendship between companions.
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