novelraw Chapter 69 – I will still wait for you
Chapter 69 – I will still wait for you
Xu Xi was dying.
This wasn't a joke or an exaggeration; it was the literal end of his simulation, the true arrival of death.
A quick look at "paw𝑟ead.com" will leave you more fulfilled.
No one needed to remind him. When he opened his eyes again, the weakness and lifelessness surging within his body told Xu Xi everything he needed to know.
In fact.
The mere fact that he could wake up again was already a miracle.
While he was asleep, Xu Xi had genuinely felt his soul gradually detaching from his body, drifting towards the void, towards the eternal silence known as death.
"My current state..."
"Is probably what they call a final burst of energy before death."
Pain, tightness in the chest, suffocation, dizziness.
These unbearable symptoms overwhelmed Xu Xi, who had just awoken, making him feel drowsy once more, his heavy eyelids drooping.
He knew.
This sleep would be different from the others; he wouldn't wake up again, wouldn't continue, but would truly step into death.
So, with a hoarse voice, Xu Xi called out the witch's name.
His voice was so weak, barely audible, like a gentle vibration in the air, as his aged face struggled to form words.
"Krisa..."
"Master, I'm here."
Krisa, still appearing seventeen, responded softly to Xu Xi.
She seemed afraid, terrified that even a slightly louder voice might cause Xu Xi pain.
Today was a good day.
The weather was clear, the sun bright.
Golden rays streamed through the window, bringing brightness to the room and dispelling the unwelcome silence. Most importantly, the long-sleeping master had finally awoken.
Yet.
For some reason, inexplicably, the heart that should have been joyful instead cried out in sorrow.
The heart beating within her chest unknowingly slowed.
"I'm sorry, Krisa, for letting you see me in such a sorry state," Xu Xi said, with the witch's help, propping himself up on the bed and offering her a faint smile.
Please...
Please...
Don't say anymore.
The sorrow in her chest continued to accumulate.
Looking at Xu Xi's aged face, meeting those clouded, swollen eyes, hearing the barely audible voice that seemed ready to vanish at any moment.
Krisa felt her heartstrings quivering more intensely.
"You... don't need to worry."
The witch didn't care about Xu Xi's aged appearance. To her, looks and appearances were unimportant; what truly mattered was Xu Xi himself.
Her sun.
Her light.
Her salvation.
But aging also meant something else, something the witch absolutely didn't want to face but inevitably had to.
"Master, I'll go prepare lunch for you."
Krisa suddenly stood up and headed toward the door.
The witch had sensed something. She didn't want to hear it, didn't dare to look, and was even more afraid to face it, so she chose to flee.
But Xu Xi's voice stopped her.
"Cough, cough... cough, cough, cough..."
"No need, Krisa. I think... I probably won't have the chance to eat it."
In the heavy atmosphere of the room, Xu Xi forced a smile, speaking in a tone that feigned lightness despite his obvious exhaustion.
Krisa's body trembled even more violently.
"Are you tired? Please rest assured, I will continue to wait, no matter how long it takes..."
"Krisa."
"I will always wait for you, forever wait for you..."
"Krisa."
Xu Xi called out the witch's name repeatedly.
His voice was extremely weak, a breath that seemed ready to dissipate with the slightest breeze.
Finally, the witch fell silent.
She stood with her back to Xu Xi, unmoving, making no sound, her body trembling as if enduring some indescribable pain.
"Come here, Krisa, I have something to tell you."
The harsh winter would eventually arrive, piercing through to one's heart.
Even if one didn't want to face the cold, no matter how much they resisted, winter wouldn't disappear because of one's wishes; it was inevitable.
"Yes..."
The witch returned to Xu Xi's bedside.
"Sit down."
The witch obediently sat on the small wooden chair by the bed under Xu Xi's gaze.
The chair wasn't very high, and when the witch sat on it, she was just at the right height for Xu Xi to touch her head.
So.
Xu Xi reached out with his withered, aged hand, gently placing it on Krisa's head, stroking her silvery-gray hair one last time, feeling its smoothness.
"Krisa, I'm going to be away for a long time."
The witch's body trembled even more violently.
But under the soothing touch of his hand, she gradually calmed down.
"All this time, I've really troubled you. It should have been me taking care of you, but for the past few decades, it's been you taking care of the sleeping me."
"Now, it's finally coming to an end."
"You can take a break too."
No, I don't want to rest.
Please...
Please...
Let me, let this object of yours, continue to be used by you... no matter how long, no matter how hard... as long as you don't leave, as long as you stay by my side...
"I'll be gone for a long time, so long that it's hard to say. So, while I'm not here, Krisa, you must take care of yourself."
"In the study, I've left some materials that should be useful to you."
"The array in the Meditation Chamber, I've modified it in advance. Even if you break through to a Demigod, it will still have some effect."
"In the desk drawer in the bedroom, I've left some of my collections from over the years. You can use them or sell them; it's all up to you."
Stop...
Please stop...
The increasingly heavy pain gradually accumulated in the witch's heart, causing her to instinctively clutch her chest, trying to cover her broken heart.
Although Xu Xi didn't say it directly.
Although Xu Xi deliberately avoided that word.
But how could Krisa not understand?
Her master, her only savior in life, the sun that had accompanied and illuminated her for decades, was about to fall into eternal silence.
Death.
A word that was so close to Xu Xi yet infinitely distant from the witch. Just thinking about it, Krisa's sensitive and fragile heart was forcibly peeled away layer by layer, revealing a truly helpless state.
"I don't accept it."
The witch interrupted Xu Xi's words with a trembling voice.
It was her first time defying Xu Xi.
"I don't accept what you're saying."
"Your belongings can only be used by you. I will wait for you, always, always, always..."
Her eyes, which should have been empty and lifeless, trembled intensely for the first time.
Meeting Xu Xi's gaze.
Rejecting Xu Xi.
The withered hand that had been stroking Krisa's head paused slightly, seemingly surprised by the witch's refusal.