A woman?
Char blinked slightly, discreetly examining her, his mind harboring a few speculations.
She was dressed in a slightly worn black silk dress, and the hem revealed a pair of fair jade-like feet. Her figure was graceful, and her beauty was so exquisite that she seemed like a goddess beyond this world, capable of driving all men to madness.
Other than that, there was no oppressive aura or dread that one would expect from those forbidden beings. She appeared as nothing more than an extraordinarily beautiful woman.
The woman in the black dress was lost in her own world, gently extending her hand towards the part of the shade that did not reach.
"Chirp chirp—"
A small bird, seemingly drawn by something, appeared out of nowhere and circled above several times. Then, it cautiously flapped its wings and descended toward the woman's outstretched hand, landing on her delicate fingertip.
After playing with the bird for a while, the woman in the black dress finally noticed the unexpected guest in the palace and looked over.
She didn't seem surprised but instead gently brushed aside her long hair hanging by her ear and gave a slight smile. "A human?"
Her bright and cheerful smile seemed out of place in the cold and silent grand hall.
As their eyes met, the moment of connection, Char suddenly felt his heart racing. The woman's smile and voice felt like gentle hands caressing his face, pulling him into her embrace.
It was an emotion akin to being moved, almost making Char lose himself in it.
"Come closer," she said.
Seeing Char's stunned expression, the woman in the black dress smiled softly. Her right fingertip cradled a small bird, and she extended her left hand toward Char with a gentle beckon.
It seemed like she noticed Char's stunned expression. The woman smiled gently, her right fingertip perched a small bird, and she extended her left hand towards Char with a light beckon.
Char swore that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in this life and the previous one.
"What are you standing there for?" she said.
"Come here..."
"Come closer..."
"Hurry up..."
"Come over here..."
The woman in the black dress, with a gentle and serene smile, called out in a soft, whispering voice, echoing in Char's ears as if possessing a strange enchantment.
His pupils dilated slightly, and the color in his eyes gradually dimmed.
Char gave up thinking and, in the gentle murmurs, took a step toward the tree in the distance.
One step, two steps, three steps...
As he got closer, wisps of black mist, like fine threads in the air, floated and extended toward Char's skin.
It was a chilling sensation, but Char, immersed in the gentle whispers of the woman in the black dress, didn't notice any discomfort in his body.
At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind.
Walk over and then have something happen with this woman.
His pupils reflected the woman's smile, and the distance between Char and her was getting shorter, while the black mist swirling around his body became increasingly dense.
But just as Char was about to step onto the marble stairs leading to the lawn, a sudden and gentle reprimand came from behind.
"Stop."
The voice was pleasant to the ear, but it carried an icy rejection that seemed to push people away from miles apart.
Char's body trembled slightly, and his previously dim pupils instantly regained their luster.
After snapping out of his daze, he was overwhelmed by an uncomfortable chill that swept over his entire body. Char looked down and noticed that his skin had lost its color.
Was this the curse from the witch?
After a brief pause, Char turned to look and found another woman in a black dress holding a book, standing behind him. He didn't know when she had appeared.
She was still wearing the same black dress and was barefoot, with the same extraordinary beauty.
However, the difference was that she now exuded a sense of coldness, and her expression was calm.
Char observed the elegant woman under the tree and the aloof woman behind him. He couldn't help but feel puzzled. Apart from their differences in demeanor, their appearances were identical.
What's going on here?
Char fell silent for a moment, then turned to the woman in the black dress behind him and asked, "Excuse me, are you the legendary witch?"
"If you mean the sinner sealed by the gods, then yes, it's me," the aloof woman replied with a slight nod, her expression unchanged.
Char pointed towards the gentle woman under the tree and asked, "Then who is this?"
The elegant woman in the black dress with a cold demeanor didn't answer directly; she simply waved her hand gently. The elegant woman's gentle demeanor instantly transformed into a profound and malevolent black mist. This black mist seemed to possess life, and it unexpectedly enveloped the small bird that hadn't had time to escape. It then surged and billowed rapidly, devouring its vitality as if it was feeding.
The little bird chirped and struggled, its feathers and body withering visibly. Until, in the end, it turned into desiccated dust and dissipated with the wind. But the matter did not end there.
After consuming the little bird, the black mist did not stop; instead, it rapidly expanded in size, engulfing the large tree behind and the endless green grassland around!
Like a beautiful landscape painting suddenly tainted by a blot of ink, the blackness spread swiftly, devouring all the beauty in its path.
In just a brief moment, the surrounding flowers, grass, and trees withered instantly, losing their vibrant colors. They seemed as if they had just been through a devastating fire, and with a gentle touch, they crumbled into ashes and scattered on the ground.
The black-clad woman with a cold demeanor gently closed her eyes.
After a moment of silence, she waved her hand again. To Char's surprise, the surroundings began to recede like a tide, revealing the original appearance of the place. The ancient and solemn grand hall appeared before his eyes.
He fixed his gaze on the statue in the center of the grand hall.
The statue depicted a woman in tattered clothing, sitting on the steps with her legs crossed, and her wrists were shackled together with dark chains that extended into the depths of the void above.
Char automatically imagined pray.
The cool voice of the witch sounded from behind again, "That was my sealed true self. You were bewitched by the murmurs you heard from her just now."
"True self?"
In other words, the witch before him, who can move freely, is an existence similar to a soul or a spiritual manifestation?
Char speculated in his mind.
As expected, after saying this, the witch, holding the book, walked straight towards the steps in front of Char. Like an illusory projection, she passed by him and arrived at the side of the statue.
Even though she was just a spiritual manifestation, she symbolically straightened her long dress, then sat quietly on the steps, opening the book in her hand.
"You are the first human to come here," she said.
While she looked down at the book, the witch spoke softly.
Her tone was calm and indifferent, giving no hint of her thoughts.
"I am your follower," Char said.
Char looked down at his current attire and said.
He didn't explain how he had arrived here or give a detailed account of his situation. He left it open-ended, allowing her to interpret it as she wished.
"A follower..."
The witch paused for a moment as she turned the pages of her book, her lips silently mouthing the word "follower."
She glanced at Char but remained silent. After a while, the sound of pages turning in the grand hall resumed.
A short silence hung in the air.
It appeared that this witch wasn't a bloodthirsty being, nor had she displayed any overt hostility toward him. Considering this, Char decided to continue the conversation.
"May I have the honor of knowing your name, dear witch? And could you enlighten me as to why you're in this place?"
The atmosphere fell into a brief silence.
It seemed that the witch before him was not a bloodthirsty being, nor did she show any clear hostility toward him.
Considering this, it might be best to be a bit more diplomatic.
Char looked at the witch who was reading quietly, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Your Excellency, what would have happened if you hadn't stopped me just now?"
"It would have unsealed her under her control," the witch replied calmly.
"Her?"
Char caught the inconsistency in that statement.
It's as if the true self and the spiritual projection are entirely separate individuals.
"The murmurs were the subconscious sounds of the true self," she said.
In this way, Char understood.
Both rationality and thinking abilities reside in the spiritual form, but that doesn't mean the true self is just a lifeless body. Under the influence of the subconscious, the sealed witch's true self still possesses the power to affect reality.
He looked at the witch sitting on the distant steps and had a somewhat peculiar expression.
It seemed that she sensed what was going on in Char's mind. Without lifting her head, the witch said in a faint voice, "The image you see is constructed by the murmurs based on your inner desires."
Um, okay.
Char shook his head, clearing his mind of the strange thoughts he had about the witch.
But from another perspective, it means that in the witch's subconscious, she really wants to break free from the seal.
Nonsense.
If it were anyone, being sealed within a stone statue for who knows how many years would certainly make them want to break free.
But the question is, why did the rational, mental image of the witch, stop him in the end?
Clearly, he was the first human she had ever seen. In other words, there might not be another opportunity to release the seal in the future.
"Do you not want to break free from the seal?" Silent for a moment, Char asked.
"..."
The witch didn't say anything but gently turned a page of the book in her hand, focusing on its contents.
After a while, she whispered, "Do you want to release me from the seal?"
"In that case, what do I need to do?"
Char didn't give an immediate answer, but he didn't refuse either.
"The passionate-hearted must shed their own blood upon the statue, and the sealed one can be freed," the witch said, raising her head, her fair face calm. "And that is merely the basic seal that binds my body."
"This palace, this space, is the ultimate seal set by the gods, and it is not something that can be undone by human efforts."
In other words, even if Char succumbed to the witch's subconscious manipulation and broke the seal on the statue, it would only release her physical form. She wouldn't be able to escape from this space.
If that's the case, there's no real need to break the seal since her spiritual presence can freely move within this palace. To Char, this seal on her physical form appears more like a test.
Char continued to ask, "What is someone with a passionate-hearted?"
"Someone who genuinely wants to free me from the seal, I suppose," the witch replied with little reaction.
Cannot coerce.
Cannot manipulate.
Cannot deceive.
The person who releases her from the seal must be willing to do so, and only then will the spilled blood have any effect.
Char nodded thoughtfully.
Then he asked the question he was most concerned about: "What consequences will I face after releasing you from the seal?"
The witch glanced at him without concealing anything: "Death under the curse."
In other words, to lift this so-called "basic" seal, one would need to find someone willing to release her from the seal without resorting to any means, and help her escape at the cost of their life.
This was already absurd.
The most absurd part was that the witch had just mentioned she was the first human to appear in this place for many years. This unsealing rule seemed more like some kind of divine mockery, offering her a tiny glimmer of hope in endless solitude, yet never realizing that day.
But Char's eyes lit up.
Something like this is possible?
Marvelous!
After circling around for so long, he eventually returned to his original purpose for coming here today: to be killed by the witch.
Although at the moment, this cold and elegant witch doesn't seem much like an antagonist.
Char placed his hand over his chest and bowed, saying sincerely, "If it's just such a small price... I'm willing to be the one to release you from your imprisonment."
Upon hearing this, the witch gently closed the book in her hands. "The moment the seal is broken, the curse on my body will erupt, and I won't be able to control it."
"Meaning, you will die."
She thought Char might not have heard clearly, so she repeated it.
After all, the cost was his life.
While in the eyes of the witch, Char's soul appeared pale and insignificant, but for him, there was nothing more precious than life.
"I understand," Char nodded, trying to change the subject. "But Your Excellency can gain freedom from the seal, can't you?"
He said this so casually, as if in his eyes, his life was far less precious than the witch's freedom.
Upon hearing this, the witch's slender fingers, holding the book, trembled slightly.
She looked up and, for the first time, examined Char in front of her as if to reevaluate this young man.
After a long silence, the witch suddenly asked, "Am I beautiful?"
Char blinked for a moment and then replied sincerely, "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."