This smile… was written with madness.
“Actually, you know what, Little Feng Ling? I was planning to forgive you in a couple of days.”
Ling Yue closed her eyes and said softly.
Hearing that, Feng Ling froze on the spot.
“The reason I’ve been cold to you for so long is because I was afraid I might lose control and hurt you… You understand? Every time I see your face, I remember how many times you lied to me, and when I think about that, I get so angry…”
“And keeping you locked up for so long was my fault too, so I was planning to buy you a bunch of new games in a couple of days… then teach you magic that’s a hundred times stronger than what you know now, to make you happy.”
“I also ordered cake from that dessert shop you love… the one you told me about while we were still in the Student Council. I was going to surprise you with it… but look what happened.”
She smiled even more brightly.
“Turns out what you said just now really opened my eyes.”
At that moment, tears streamed even faster down Feng Ling’s face.
“No… Sister Ling Yue, I really didn’t know… I really didn’t mean it… please forgive me, okay… I truly… know I was wrong…”
“You know you were wrong?” Ling Yue tilted her head to look at her.
“Little Feng Ling, you always say you know you were wrong… Last time when you stole the Key, you said that too. The time before that when you ran away, you said it as well. Every time you say you know you were wrong, and then every time you do it again.”
“So, I don’t want to believe you anymore~.”
“No… no… please, just give me one more chance, the last time, really the last time…”
“Fine.”
Ling Yue agreed so suddenly that Feng Ling was stunned.
“I’ll give you a chance, as long as you can answer one question.”
Ling Yue said with a smile.
“Wh-what question?”
“If I make you stay here forever, never able to leave, only able to look at me for the rest of your life… would you be willing?”
At that, Feng Ling’s lips trembled.
She wanted to say yes… she knew she should say yes.
If she said those two words, Sister Ling Yue would forgive her, and everything would go back to how it was before… But…
“I…” She couldn’t get it out.
Because that wasn’t the truth, and Sister Ling Yue could see that.
“See, you can’t even lie to me anymore… Little Feng Ling, you’ve really let me down.”
After saying that, Ling Yue walked toward Feng Ling.
Feng Ling instinctively tried to step back, but her back was already against the wall.
All she could do was say, “S-Sister Ling Yue, what are you going to do…”
“Nothing much, just want to play a game with Little Feng Ling~”
Ling Yue came up to her and gently stroked her face.
“Little Feng Ling… I’ve been thinking a lot just now.”
Ling Yue’s fingertips slid from her cheek to her neck.
“You said you didn’t want my love, that you’d rather have never met me, and that living just a few decades would be fine too.”
“So, now I’m thinking…”
She raised her other hand and pressed it against Feng Ling’s chest… more precisely, over her heart.
“Since you don’t want to stay by my side, I’ll grant your wish.”
Feng Ling’s pupils suddenly contracted.
She felt it… Ling Yue’s fingers were rapidly growing hot.
“L-Ling Yue… what are you doing… your hand…”
“Ah, this.”
Ling Yue looked down at her fingers.
A layer of dark red flame was slowly appearing on them.
Flame of End…
Feng Ling recognized it.
It was the magic capable of burning everything in the world that Ling Yue had shown her last time at the Training Ground.
“I’m using just a little, really just a little… I won’t burn Little Feng Ling to ashes all at once, don’t worry.”
Ling Yue said with a smile.
“No… don’t… Sister Ling Yue, please, no…”
Feng Ling began to struggle desperately.
“Didn’t Little Feng Ling just say she’d rather die than stay by my side? I’m granting your wish now. What, changed your mind?”
“I said that in anger! In anger! I didn’t mean it!”
“Angry words… but I’ve taken them seriously~.”
As she spoke, she pressed slightly with her fingers, and her nails pierced directly into the skin of Feng Ling’s chest.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
Feng Ling screamed.
It wasn’t just the pain of the piercing… there was also the burning sensation of the flame.
The Flame of End clung to Ling Yue’s nails and, along with her movements, slowly scorched Feng Ling’s flesh.
“Don’t be scared, it’ll be over soon… Sister Ling Yue will be very, very gentle, it won’t hurt, be good~.”
Her tone at that moment was extremely gentle.
But her fingers kept pushing deeper.
Slowly… very slowly… so slowly that Feng Ling could clearly feel the nails tearing through muscle, breaking through ribs, and closing in on her heart.
“No… no… Sister Ling Yue, please, I really know I was wrong… I won’t run anymore, I won’t say things like that again, I’ll do whatever you say… please stop…”
By now, Feng Ling’s face was drenched with tears and snot.
She gripped Ling Yue’s wrist with both hands, leaving it covered in blood and scratches.
But Ling Yue remained completely unmoved.
“Little Feng Ling, when you say these things, your left eye blinks again~. Every time you lie, your left eye blinks—you didn’t know that, did you? How cute.”
“I’m not lying! I really mean it!”
“You are~. You’re just scared, not regretful… If I stop now, you’ll think about running away again in a few days, right?”
Feng Ling couldn’t speak.
Because she didn’t know… she didn’t know if she would run again.
Maybe she would… maybe…
“See, you’re not even sure yourself.”
Then Ling Yue pushed her finger a little deeper.
At that moment, Feng Ling felt the finger touch her heart.
The heat of the Flame of End spread through her entire body via the blood vessels.
“No… no… Sister Ling Yue… Mom… Mom…”
In that moment, Little Feng Ling started to babble nonsense.
Her consciousness shattered under the burning pain, which had exceeded what she could bear.
She couldn’t even tell if she was crying or laughing… She only knew tears kept flowing and her mouth kept moving.
“Sorry… sorry… sorry… sorry…”
She repeated those two words over and over.
“Sorry to whom?” Ling Yue bent down and asked.
“Sorry… Sister Ling Yue… sorry… Mom… sorry… everyone… sorry…”
“Oh my, you can’t even figure out who you’re apologizing to anymore~”
Ling Yue used her free hand to wipe away her tears.
“But that’s okay, Little Feng Ling. Soon you won’t have to apologize anymore. Soon you won’t have to stay locked up here. Soon you’ll be free.”
“Isn’t that happy?”
Feng Ling shook her head desperately.
“Not happy? Why? Didn’t you want to go out? Didn’t you want to leave me? I’m letting you go now, forever and ever.”
“No… don’t…”
“Alright, alright, I’m done teasing you.”
Ling Yue kissed her on the forehead.
“Little Feng Ling… one last thing to tell you~. Actually, I really, really like you… so much that I don’t want to share you with anyone… so much that I don’t care if you hate me… so much that…”
The next second, she pushed her finger sharply inward.
The Flame of End touched Feng Ling’s heart.
“…even if I have to kill you, I don’t want you to leave me~.”
At that moment, Feng Ling clearly felt as if a sun had exploded inside her chest—pain wasn’t even a strong enough word.
It was more like annihilation, like being erased…
Her mouth was open, but no sound came out.
Her eyes were wide, her consciousness fading bit by bit.
Then, everything disappeared.