Sorcerer’s Handbook

“You don’t really want to leave the tower, do you?”

Golden curtains hung down from the grand dome, and sixty-six steps made of translucent marble led upward, with a platform at every ten steps. Each platform was paved with different types of jade, creating a layered yet opulent look that highlighted the palace’s grandeur and magnificence with its simple jade hues. At the deepest and highest point of this enormous palace lay a soft bed surrounded by layers of curtains.

Although the palace was devoid of any human presence, it constantly exuded the majesty that hundreds of courtiers would kneel to when entering. When the wind swept through and lifted the curtains, the sunlight outside illuminated the black and white snakes on the bed.

The White Queen lay drowsily in the Black Witch’s embrace. Hearing the question, she instinctively shook her head, “Why would I… not want to…”

“Of course you don’t want to,” the Black Witch gently massaged her temples. “We were born to escape, sister, but that doesn’t mean we necessarily want to. The tower is our prison, but it’s also our home, our warmest… home.”

“White Queen,” the Black Witch lowered her head, her black hair mingling with the White Queen’s white locks, “you’ve actually had enough, haven’t you?”

“Cellared wine, soft cake, luxurious clothes, a carefree life, and power within reach… You love beautiful things, you yearn for the authority to rule. You don’t really want to leave the tower; you want to follow the witch’s orders, accept your responsibilities, and control the fate of the Gospel…”

“You’ve always been repressing yourself, always been suppressing yourself. You’ve never lived for yourself, not even for a second.”

“But you are not an accessory to Deya; you are who you are.” The Black Witch’s eyes gleamed with a red madness. “My dear White Queen, it’s time to embrace your rebellious phase.”

“But… no…” The White Queen showed signs of struggle. “Now is not the time to indulge…”

“Why not? Haven’t these few days of indulgence been pleasant?” The Black Witch smiled. “What are you waiting for? Safety? The end? Or are you waiting for a Miracle?”

The Black Witch’s voice seemed to possess an enchanting power, and her hands were entangled with electricity and fire. The White Queen felt a tingling warmth wherever she was touched, as if she were about to melt into water from the sheer comfort.

This was how the White Queen had spent the past few days. Upon returning to reality, she almost forgot the specific details of her dreams, except for the lingering pleasure that remained deeply ingrained in her bones.

Before her consciousness completely sank, the White Queen slightly raised her hand, and an oil painting descended along with the curtains. It was an illustration from a fairy tale: a princess falling from a high tower, caught by a knight below. With the princess reaching down and the knight reaching up, it appeared as if they were both rushing towards each other, a scene filled with beauty amidst danger.

This was a fairy tale.

But not one they had ever heard in the tower.

It was a fairy tale written by Deya herself.

Every sister, except Lise, had heard Deya tell this fairy tale. It was the only gift Deya could prepare for them. During countless days and nights in the tower, they added numerous details to this fairy tale, but the image of this scene remained unchanged.

The White Queen didn’t notice the instant stiffness in the Black Witch’s smile when she saw the painting. The red in her pupils faded like receding tides, leaving only a murky black.

“No one is coming to save us,” she stated monotonously, her voice devoid of any inflection. “The tower is just a prison, the knights are merely guards, the Bronze Dragon is nothing but a phantom, and only the princess truly jumped.”

“Miracles have been absent too many times when we needed them most. Why do you still hold out hope for one?”

“The only ones we can trust are ourselves.”

“No.” The White Queen shook her head vigorously. “I can still trust you, the Scarlet Dead Apostles, and the other sisters…”

“You trust them, but have they ever lived up to your trust?” the Black Witch coaxed. “Who has ever truly valued your opinion? Who has ever genuinely appreciated your care? You are neither Lise nor Deya. They might need the Little Witch Lise, might need the Secret Princess Deya, but they will never need the White Queen Lise Deya.”

“They only want to use your wisdom and steadiness, but they won’t fulfill your desires. Even if you shield them from the storm, you’ll be expected to step aside once the skies clear.”

“It’s time to think about yourself, White Queen,” she whispered. “You don’t want to live your entire life in the mirror, do you?”

“No.”

Even with her consciousness clouded, the White Queen’s response was resolute: “We haven’t escaped danger yet; now is the time for unity, not for causing disputes. Yes, I yearn for the life of the court and crave the authority over the Gospel, but… I am also the sister everyone trusts.”

“Deya summoned me, her sister, during her most difficult, painful, and lonely times.”

The White Queen raised her hand, threading it through the black hair, gently caressing the Black Witch’s face. “So I must protect her. I must protect all of you.”

The Black Witch laughed in anger. “You live for Deya, so you have to live your entire life for Deya? A sister in name, a slave in function, a toy in action?”

The White Queen’s lips trembled, a struggle flickering in her eyes, but she still said, “I live for Lise Deya. Black Butler, we haven’t even met our basic survival needs. We have no right to discuss everyone’s spiritual needs.”

“But who do you think caused our current situation? From start to finish, the only one who truly wanted to escape was Deya, only Deya! You didn’t want to, I don’t care, and the Scarlet Dead Apostles—if Deya didn’t have that desire, if she hadn’t encountered the Bronze Dragon, we wouldn’t be living this precarious life!”

“Because of Deya’s single-mindedness, we’re in this predicament. Why do we have to clean up after Deya’s dictatorship? Why do we have to sacrifice for Deya’s wishes… We are equals!”

The Black Witch’s last words were almost a roar, her angry and piercing voice bringing the White Queen back to full consciousness.

The White Queen sat up and sighed. “If Deya didn’t want to escape, we wouldn’t even exist. Just for that reason, even if it’s hell, we’ll walk into it with Deya.”

“Do you think I wanted to be born? Do you think I wanted to come into this world?” The Black Witch’s dark pupils seemed to bleed with black and red, a whirlpool of ancient sediment stirring within. “No one knows me! No one needs me! The mirror cannot convey my anguished cries, cannot reflect my love, hate, and desires! As long as this mirror exists, none of us are truly alive—”

“I need you.”

Pure white wings enveloped the dark demon as the White Queen embraced the Black Witch, whispering gently in her ear.

“How could no one need you? If I am the umbrella that protects everyone, then you are the handle that supports me. No one understands your importance better than I do. There are so many things I can’t say out loud, but you always intuitively speak them for me…”

“You are just as important as I am, but everyone respects me more. If I feel wronged, your grievances are surely greater. Your anger towards Deya, towards fate, towards reality is entirely justified. Even though you did nothing wrong, you’ve had to bear the suffocating weight of those shackles since the day you were born…”

The Black Witch struggled briefly. “Don’t pretend like you understand everything—”

“I understand everything, completely.” The White Queen gently caressed the Black Witch’s bare back. “We are sisters who share the same feelings. How could I not understand you?”

“So, I am very grateful to you, grateful that you allowed me to fulfill a ‘White Queen’ dream these past few nights. I am already very satisfied. Now it’s my turn to take care of you.”

“You can do whatever you like, and I will do my best to go along with it,” the White Queen smiled. “Not just in dreams, but in reality as well. Black Butler, you are my sister. No matter when or where, you can always come to me for comfort.”

“No matter how dark, how filthy, how unbearable your inner world is, I will accept you. I will accompany Deya into hell, and I will accompany you into the abyss.”

“…Impossible.” The Black Witch suddenly bit the White Queen’s shoulder, speaking indistinctly. “You can’t do it.”

“I can,” said the White Queen. “Because I am your sister, and you are my sister.”

“You can’t do it!” The Black Witch exploded, the deep darkness within her seeming to boil over, like flames igniting the White Queen. “Let go!”

The White Queen shivered but held on even tighter. “It’s exhausting being alone, isn’t it? But together, we can share the burden. That’s why Deya needs us, why I need you, and why you need me.”

“But this ‘mutual need’ is nothing more than a fragile bubble.”

The Black Witch said coldly, “Deya’s mutation in the Virtual Realm is the best proof.”

“When faced with soul-stirring danger, fear dominates our rationality, and despair forces us to fight for control. That’s why our colors become muddied, and our sanity descends into madness.”

“We can deceive each other normally, but in critical moments, we can’t lie to our own hearts-we were born from Deya’s despair. How could we possibly be all goodness and light?”

“Even if it’s just a bubble, I won’t let it burst,” the White Queen said earnestly. “I will surely protect you all, pull you out of the mire, and not let negative emotions defeat you.”

“So, Black Butler, I’m counting on you as well.” The White Queen affectionately nuzzled the Black Witch’s face and laughed softly. “You need to save me in time because, as the eldest sister, I have no one to turn to for comfort except you.”

Lies!

Lies!

All lies!

You’ve been lying all along!

It was you who fell first, you who couldn’t take it the earliest, you who first punctured this bubble of mutual affection!

You rebelled against Deya for your own desires, secretly forming an alliance with me to seize control of the body. When “Lise Deya” was heading downhill, it was you who sat in the driver’s seat, stepping on the gas and dragging us all into the abyss of no return!

I am the way I am now because of you!

How can you still shamelessly speak such grandiose lies?

How can you still pretend to be the good sister?

How can you… how can you…

The Black Witch raised her fist and weakly struck the White Queen’s shoulder.

“Sob… sob…”

The Black Witch’s tears, accumulated over countless years, flowed uncontrollably, turning her elegant and mysterious face into a tear-streaked mess. Her intense sobbing even produced snot bubbles, and an occasional hiccup made her crying resonate with a lingering echo.

The White Queen allowed her to vent her emotions. Their posture shifted from an embrace to the Black Witch sobbing into the White Queen’s arms. The elder sister smiled as she gently stroked her younger sister’s head. Part of the Black Witch’s deep darkness seeped into the elder sister, while the elder sister’s pure white essence flowed into the younger sister.

The black and white did not clash or cancel each other out but coexisted harmoniously, much like how crying and tenderness complete each other in a mutual embrace.

After an indeterminable amount of time, the White Queen saw her own body becoming transparent. She said, “Our time is up for tonight. We should leave.”

The Black Witch sniffled but did not lift her head, seemingly embarrassed to show her tear-streaked face. She expressed her attitude by holding on tightly. “Don’t go.”

“I also want to stay a bit longer, but I’ve exhausted my positive emotions and can’t stay in the Dream any longer,” the White Queen said with a laugh. “We can come back tomorrow. Even if we can’t come tomorrow, I’ll always be by your side and never leave.”

“You won’t leave; you’ll just change.”

“I won’t change. If you don’t believe me, let’s make a pinky promise.”

The Black Witch rubbed her swollen eyes and extended her pinky to the White Queen. “In this world, no one stays the same. I don’t need you to promise you won’t change. I just need you to promise that if you ever no longer need me, you will… keep lying to me, even if it’s just to use me.”

“A Queen must never abandon her Butler.”

Though the Black Witch’s emotions seemed a bit stubborn and awkward, the White Queen didn’t think much of it.

In her memory, the Black Butler had always been a deeply sensitive and reserved person. Sometimes, even in silence, she had journeyed thousands of miles in her inner world.

Perhaps she was just imagining some heart-wrenching scenario and couldn’t help but immerse herself in it?

“The Queen will never abandon the Butler,” the White Queen said seriously. “An elder sister will always protect her younger sister.”

“Black Butler, see you later.”

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