Chapter 364: The Witch Is Still the Most Perceptive:

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In the real world, Xu Xi opened his eyes. The courtyard remained frozen in time and space, sealed exactly as it had been before the simulation started—silent and motionless. Within his body, cultivation, magic, martial arts, and other extraordinary powers surged and flowed, gradually calming the weakness brought on by the simulation’s end.

“Moli, did any of you notice something?” Xu Xi asked the four girls in front of him.

Before beginning his fifth simulation, he had asked Xu Moli and the others to help seal the spatial and temporal possibilities of the courtyard in order to test the simulator’s secrets. Now was the time to assess the results.

But something felt off.

The atmosphere was unusually strange.

Xu Moli frowned.

Krisha was sniffing the air.

Wu Yingxue lowered her head in thought.

Ailei seemed to be searching through something.

Clearly, before the simulation began, they were all observing the start together.

But after it ended, they each became preoccupied with their own thoughts.

“Master,” Krisha, the witch with the keenest senses, was the first to speak.

“You… have a new scent on you.”

She wasn’t good at expressing emotions, but in some ways, she was terrifyingly sharp.

…

In the world of Heruka...

Blazing white fire burst forth from the scorching sun.

It expanded mightily, covering a large portion of the sky.

Something enormous descended from the heavens and crashed into a lush ancient forest.

Flocks of birds screeched in fright.

Rows of trees collapsed.

In this vast world, only the humming of the floating Sorcerer Tower echoed through the air.

Sylvia was obedient—very obedient to Xu Xi’s words.

She carried out every order from Xu Xi perfectly.

She protected herself, and she protected the panicked people.

Like an untiring machine.

Again and again, she maintained the Sorcerer Tower.

Again and again, she eliminated surrounding threats.

But it hurt.

Her heart hurt so much.

Whenever she had nothing left to do, Sylvia would curl up alone in the deepest room atop the tower.

She turned off the lights, closed the windows, and, just like long ago, curled up in a cold corner, trembling.

“Master Sorcerer... I can’t do it...”

“Without you… I can’t do anything…”

Hot tears streamed down her face, soaking her cheeks where life and death no longer balanced.

Sorrow echoed through the darkness, stirring even deeper fear and dread.

The brave could not face the darkness alone.

She could not bear the despair of losing Xu Xi completely from now on.

So...

She sat against the thick wall, huddled in a crouch, again and again activating the magical item Xu Xi had given her.

It had a simple illumination spell.

With just a small amount of soul power, it would emit a warm glow.

That was the light Xu Xi had left behind for Sylvia Crowfield.

Faint... but warm.

Saving her from the darkness, keeping her from being completely drowned in sorrow.

“You said you would come back...”

“You told me that yourself…”

Her voice grew weaker... until it became completely hoarse.

Only the sound of falling tears remained.

Eventually, even the tears dried up.

She trembled in silence.

Outside, sunlight poured down, warm and bright—

But it could not reach into this room.

It could not warm her frozen, lifeless heart.

She hated her own helplessness.

She regretted her own cowardice.

Sylvia rejected the person she had become and hid under the glow of the magical book.

There was no going back.

He was no longer coming back.

That light that led the brave one forward, that embraced her and accepted her flaws—

No one would ever see it again.

From now on, every day would be without his voice, his face, everything about him.

That daily life she had grown so used to would forever be incomplete.

Missing its most important part.

...

A long time passed.

Sylvia cried for a long time.

Eventually, her voice fell silent.

The magical book Xu Xi had given her, due to repeated use, lost its light.

“Master Sorcerer…”

“He believed in me. I can’t… let him down…”

Staggering—

Like a worn-out puppet, she slowly stood up.

Sylvia leaned against the wall, trembling as she moved forward, her numb fingers slowly reaching for the doorknob.

Her eyes were empty, her expression shattered—

She looked like she could collapse at any moment.

Her broken heart was already dead, but she couldn’t fall here.

Because someone had believed in her.

Believed she would become someone extraordinary.

So the brave girl didn’t want, nor was willing, to betray that gentle hope.

She wanted to become...

A true hero who wouldn’t let that light down.

Click—

She turned the doorknob and opened the door.

Blankly, she stared—

At the waterfall-like stream of golden light that illuminated every corner of the room, gilding her skin in a warm glow.

Life filled the new world.

It was the scene Sylvia had once longed for more than anything.

But now, her empty eyes could no longer feel joy.

“Tower Spirit…” Her dry throat struggled to speak.

She remembered—

Before the enemy arrived, Xu Xi had asked her to take over the Tower Spirit’s authority and control the entire Tower of Salvation.

She hadn’t wanted to.

She hadn’t been willing to become the Tower’s sole authority.

But now, Sylvia had no choice—because that was the final order from her Master Sorcerer.

And she didn’t want to let him down.

Tap—

Tap—

Her steps echoed.

Like a lifeless puppet, Sylvia reached the Tower’s core.

The Tower Spirit took the form of a death crow, flapping its wings as it landed in front of her.

Instinctively—

Sylvia’s gaze was drawn to it.

“M-Master Sorcerer…”

Her dim eyes widened slightly in shock.

The Tower Spirit began to play a recording—

A message Xu Xi had set up in advance.

It explained the Endless Netherworld, the immortals, and gave key insights into breakthroughs in cultivation, potion-making, magical artifact forging, soul manipulation, and more.

His voice—

It was the gentleness from her memories.

Soft and steady, paving a path for Sylvia’s future.

At the end—

A brief pause, then a final, apologetic goodbye:

“Sylvia… I’m sorry.”

Drip.

Drip.

The dried tears flowed once again.

As the world was reborn in light, the brave girl cried in pain.

“You’re always… always like this…”

“I was the one who kept troubling you… I’m the one who should be apologizing…”

“Master Sorcerer…”

“I… I don’t accept your apology…”

The Tower's core was quiet—

But the brave one’s grief surged like a flood.

It filled the spaces between bone and flesh.

It blocked her breath.

It drained all strength from her limbs.

All she could do was cry—ugly, broken, and overwhelmed.

The person who had pulled her out of darkness and led her into the light...

Even knowing death awaited, he still paved the road for her future.

That warm intention...

Now became a heavy blow.

It made her want to fall forever into darkness.

But that was not allowed.

What her Master Sorcerer wished to see—

Was a Sylvia who could live in the light and smile happily.

So...

Sylvia had to step out of the darkness.