Chapter 37: The Answer (Part II)

When I woke up, I found myself lying on that bed covered in lace. Alastor was not by my side, and I immediately noticed with alarm that someone else was sitting on the bed.

The Queen?

I sat up cautiously, taking a step back.

"Are you afraid of me?" Seeing my wary expression, like a startled rabbit, she tilted her exquisite, charming face and chuckled softly.

"What do you want?"

"It's a strange feeling, talking to oneself." The Queen tilted her head, her confused look incredibly adorable.

"What are you trying to do?"

"We are essentially the same person, and right now, I might not even be able to kill you. What are you afraid of?" She looked at me, laughter dancing in her glass-colored eyes.

I lowered my head and considered this seriously for a moment, then suddenly grinned. I reached out and pinched her cheek, watching her delicate features scrunch up together.

She swatted my hand away with some annoyance, puffing out her cheeks and glaring at me.

"I've wanted to do that for a long time," I shrugged, giggling. "You're right, I'm not afraid of you anymore."

The Queen turned her head away indignantly, ignoring me.

I only laughed harder.

"Did you know there is a plant called the lotus? The flower is the lotus, and the fruit is the root," she suddenly began to speak slowly.

I looked at her with pity. Poor kid, has she never even eaten a lotus root? She spoke of it as if it were some rare treasure.

"You are the flower, and I am the root. Four hundred years ago, from the moment you were separated from my body, you gained the light, while I had to sink deep into the mire." Ignoring my comical expression, she continued steadily.

The smile faded slightly from my face. Looking at her youthful appearance, the words she spoke were clear and icy.

"For a thousand years, I have searched for the blood of a Daywalker. But in the end, it was you who obtained it, and without any effort at all." Her tender face bore a sense of world-weariness that didn't match her looks.

"You..." Seeing her like this, I felt a slight sense of confusion.

"Tell me... if I ate you, could I change back to the way I was before?" Tilting her head, she asked the question out of the blue.

"What?" I blinked, reacting a second late.

"If I eat you, I should be able to return to my former self." She looked at me and smiled.

"You're crazy!" I lunged to my feet, only to discover that invisible vines had somehow already wrapped around me. I struggled, but the vines only tightened their grip.

My eyes turned a faint blood-red, and I bared my fangs.

"Be careful, don't move. The more you move, the more it hurts," she laughed softly. "Don't you remember? This is Albus’s Colorless Binding. Even with the power of the Vampire Queen, you cannot break free."

Looking at her smiling face, a sudden realization dawned on me.

"This was your true purpose all along, wasn't it?" I glared at her, but I truly could not break free.

"Mhm, yes." She nodded with a smile, looking completely innocent.

I, however, felt a chill run down my spine.

"Four hundred years ago, Malachi of the Prophecy Clan divined that the Demon Realm would face a catastrophe in four centuries. Given my current state, the realm would surely not survive. For this reason, I needed to borrow your power. I dispatched the Archon Alastor to the human world to find my other half and bring her back."

So that was the reason Alastor appeared before me?

The colorless vines bound me tighter and tighter. Under my struggles, the vines gradually took on the hue of blood.

"That foolish boy Alastor—he actually thought I would let you go back to the human world." She lowered her head and giggled, like a child who had pulled off a successful prank.

That day, I had heard Alastor tell her: The Inquisition has withdrawn from the Demon Realm, and the Sabbat no longer poses any threat to you. It's all over. I was the one who personally dragged her into this chaos; therefore, please let me be the one to personally send her back to where she belongs.

He really did want to personally send me back.

He also truly wanted to help me change back to the way I was.

It was just that he was indeed too naive.

"Do you really care that much about the survival of the Demon Realm and the lives of the demons?" The pain made me sharper than ever, and I broke into a cold laugh.

"Hmm?" The Queen looked up at me, her glass-colored eyes shining. "Why do you say that?"

"It's all just an excuse. You only wanted to use Alastor’s hand to bring me back so you could eat me and return to your original form. You couldn't care less about the survival of the realm or the lives of the demons!"

"You're very smart," she smiled broadly. "What do those low-level demons have to do with me? Even if the Inquisition occupied the Demon Realm tomorrow, it would have nothing to do with me."

"Four hundred years ago, I could have obtained the Daywalker blood, but I underestimated Sol’s methods and power. As a result, I ended up in this wretched state. I spent four hundred years planning all of this. Now, by eating you, not only can I return to my original form, but I can also obtain the Daywalker blood. To achieve two goals at once makes my four-hundred-year wait worthwhile." She slowly crawled toward me and reached out her small, pale hand to wrap around my neck. She stared into my eyes without blinking. "You and I are the same person. Isn't it good to return to how things were?"

I was enraged and struggled even more violently. "I am Aurora! Just Aurora!"

"You are a part of me, just like my hands and feet. Have you ever seen my hands or feet jump out and scream that they are a person?"

The colorless vines turned blood-red as I struggled. Those crimson vines seemed to take on a life of their own, tightening until they nearly crushed me into fragments.

The Queen licked the scarlet from her lips and smiled as she drank my blood.

I finally couldn't help but scream out, my consciousness slowly drifting away.

She and I are the same person? So I cannot have my own consciousness? I cannot defend my own feelings? Is my existence a mistake? Am I a person who doesn't exist at all?

Then what is Aurora?

What does Aurora even count for!

"It doesn't matter if you don't remember who you are, and it doesn't matter if you don't remember where you came from. From today on, you are Aurora. Aurora means dawn—everything is a new beginning, and you have a new life."

Gareth’s voice still echoed in my ears, but... was I about to disappear?

If I disappear, will anyone miss me?

If I disappear, will anyone remember that Aurora once existed?

If I disappear... Gareth, will your heart ache?

Will it?

Gareth...

"Aurora!" A voice rang out, piercing the air.

Struggling to open my blood-filled eyes, I saw a pair of panicked deep blue eyes.

Alastor...

Alastor...

"Step back!" the Queen barked coldly.

Moving almost at the speed of light, he reached me and held me, without a moment's hesitation.

"Aurora, Aurora!" Alastor desperately tried to tear away the vines binding me, treating his Queen as if she were non-existent.

Those blood-colored vines, seemingly alive after drinking my blood, showed no signs of loosening. Instead, they began to entwine around Alastor’s arms, strand by strand.

"If you don't let go, you will disappear too," the Queen said coldly.

Alastor seemed not to hear her at all, continuing to pull at the vines wrapped around me.

"Hey, let go," I managed to say, seeing the vines about to engulf him.

"I can't let go." Alastor glanced at me with a smile, though his face was terrifyingly pale.

"I don't want you to die with me." Summoning all my strength, I kicked him away.

"No! I'll cry my eyes out without you!" Alastor stuck to me again like a piece of taffy.

I had no strength left to push him away, so I could only watch him being stubbornly persistent.

"Letting you get close to her was indeed a mistake," the Queen remarked, watching coldly from the side.

"Queen, the one you want is me! What use is he to you!" I couldn't help but roar.

She laughed. "If he wants to be buried with you, what can I do?"

"Let go." Albus appeared in the doorway at some unknown moment. He looked at the Queen and spoke flatly.

The Queen turned slowly to look at him.

"Let go," he spoke again, as if coaxing a stubborn child.

I was fuming—by the time he finished his leisurely coaxing, I'd be finished too.

Alastor held me tightly, his body as solid as a rock, unmoving and unshakable.