Chapter 78: Tears of Sorrow
A cold wind swept through, heavy dark clouds obscured the sky, thunder rumbled, and a torrential downpour began. Several burly men in cloaks quickly ran to the door of the Nightmoon Tavern.
“Hey? What’s going on? Is it closed again today?”
“Strange, hasn’t it been closed for three days already? Could Kendrick and the others have gone out for something?”
“Not at all. Look, there is light on the second floor. They’re definitely inside.”
“Then why isn’t the door open? I haven’t had Kendrick’s cooking today.”
“Yeah, and I haven’t seen Stella’s cosplay in days.”
“Something must have happened at their place, right?”
“Come on, don’t think too much. With Kendrick around, what could possibly go wrong? They probably got delayed by something. They might open tonight.”
“Hopefully.”
On the second floor of the Nightmoon Tavern, Elrose sat quietly in front of Luna’s bed, her pretty face filled with disappointment.
Luna had been unconscious for the entire morning and still showed no signs of awakening. It was all her own fault. Elrose’s heart was filled with guilt.
At this moment, Luna should have been happily packing her things and heading to the magical hall of her dreams, but instead, she could only lie here quietly, suffering from a depletion of mana.
Although Luna was originally a person with mana, her body had a natural ability for mana recovery, and with the Mana Restoration Potion, she should have been able to recover quickly. However, she had overextended herself too much; it was hard to imagine the kind of pain she must have endured to shape the Dragon Flame Explosions.
Not only that, but there was also that guy Vokrald. Luna admired him so much, yet he showed her no respect, especially with his last words.
“Luna Yureili cannot enter the Obsidian Tower; this is a predetermined fate.”
Unhappy, very unhappy.
Super unhappy.
What nonsense about predetermined fate? Humans love to use such unfounded things to put on airs. If that scoundrel hadn’t just been an illusion, and his real body wasn’t in front of her, she would have transformed and slapped him hard multiple times.
Elrose sighed. Since she had nothing else to do, she slowly got up and carefully examined the decorations in Luna’s room.
To be honest, it was her first time in Luna’s room. Although Luna often ran to her room, she never ventured into others’ rooms.
The most immediate impression of Luna’s room was how many books there were. Three large bookshelves stood in the corner, each filled with various kinds of books about magic.
Elrose casually took down a book titled “Basic Theoretical Research on Elemental Magic” and flipped through it a couple of times. Sure enough, it was densely filled with Luna’s notes.
Considering her homework was at this level, it was no wonder that the Black-Clad Examiner named Armand praised Luna.
The items on Luna’s desk were mostly her notebooks and some scattered magical materials, along with a very thick tome titled “Complete Guide to Fire Element Mana Cultivation.”
This was a book Luna had been studying recently; she could usually be seen researching it whenever she had free time.
And this book was indeed a work by Vokrald.
Elrose gently opened it; the pages were also filled with dense notes, and on the front page, next to Vokrald’s name, there was a huge note left by Luna.
“Must study hard and become his disciple; he can help me achieve my awakening.”
Full of longing and hope.
But unfortunately, now it meant nothing.
At that moment.
“Cough cough cough…” A violent coughing sound broke out, and Luna blinked her eyes open in confusion.
Seeing this, Elrose hurried over, “Luna, Luna, how are you feeling?”
“Oh, Little Belle.”
Luna smiled weakly. “It’s so nice to see you when I open my eyes.”
“What’s the time? You’re still joking around.” Elrose said helplessly, “You have severely exhausted your mana and need to rest well.”
“Mana, exhausted?” Luna coughed lightly twice and suddenly remembered everything that had just happened. “Oh right, the exam for the Obsidian Tower!”
“Little Belle, what about the examiner from the Obsidian Tower? What was my exam result?” Luna asked in a hurry.
“Uh, they… um…” Elrose paused. Honestly, she wasn’t sure how to explain this to Luna.
But in that moment of hesitation, Luna already knew the answer.
Luna’s eyes gradually dimmed. “Is that so? Did I fail…”
However, Luna remained silent for only a moment before quickly revealing a relieved smile. “Oh well, failing is fine. This way, I can stay here indefinitely. Who cares about the Obsidian Tower? They close down for over a decade or even decades. It’s better to stay outside, free to do whatever I want.”
“What do you think, Little Belle?” Luna said with a bright laugh.
“I…” Elrose clenched her fists, lowering her head. The reason she couldn’t get into the Obsidian Tower was completely her fault, and her heart full of guilt made it difficult for her to face Luna.
Noticing the awkward atmosphere, Luna shifted her eyes and asked, “Little Belle, tell me, what happened while I was unconscious?”
“Nothing much, just a few of us taking turns caring for you, helping you take a bath, change clothes, and then waiting for you to wake up. Kendrick went out to buy medicine and hasn’t come back yet, while Lilith is down in the kitchen cooking and Stella is helping her. I’ve just been here watching over you, that’s all.” Elrose said slowly.
“I see.” Luna nodded slightly, then inquired, “What about the examiner? Has he left?”
Did he say anything before he left?
A hint of disgust appeared on Elrose’s face. “No.”
“No? Really none?”
“Really none.”
“But why do I feel like your expression is strange?”
“Is it? Just your imagination.”
“Is it? Maybe.”
As she spoke, Luna suddenly sat up abruptly. She grabbed Elrose’s arm, catching her off guard and pulling her onto the bed.
“What are you doing, Luna?” Elrose exclaimed.
“What do you think?” Luna slowly extended her hands, her long fingers skillfully wiggling, then grinning, “Of course, it’s to torture you for answers.”
“Watch out, the tickle technique!”
“Don’t!”
In the end, Elrose succumbed under Luna’s playful assault and reluctantly divulged everything the examiner named Armand and Vokrald had said after the exam.
“Luna Yureili cannot enter the Obsidian Tower; this is a predetermined fate.” Luna murmured, repeating what Elrose had just said, “Did that person really say that?”
“Yes,” Elrose nodded gently.
“Is that so? So it turns out even he is on the other side now?” Luna sighed lightly, somewhat helpless. “This is fine; knowing this now is better than learning it after reaching the Obsidian Tower.”
“Luna, who is that person? I always feel like you have an inexplicable expectation of him?” Elrose asked, puzzled.
“That guy…” Luna gently shook her head and said, “Forget it, it’s better not to talk about him. Just consider I was blind in the past.”
“Blind? Luna, what are you talking about?”
“Nothing.” Luna smiled slightly and continued, “Little Belle, I’m hungry. Are you going to get me something?”
“Alright.” Elrose slowly got up. “Lilith is cooking downstairs; it should be finished soon. You just rest well, and I’ll bring your meal up as soon as it’s ready.”
“Okay, thank you, Little Belle.”
Elrose left, gently closing the door.
Luna lay quietly on the bed, staring at the familiar ceiling. Suddenly, a glistening tear rolled down from the corner of her eye.
She slowly got up, walked barefoot to her desk, and gently opened the book “Complete Guide to Fire Element Mana Cultivation.”
“Must study hard and become his disciple; he can help me achieve my awakening.”
Looking at her past self’s naive wish written in a hopeful tone on the front page, Luna’s emotions instantly shattered.
Tears surged forth like a tide.
Vokrald’s words had been very clear; he knew who she was and understood her past, but he was not prepared to help her.
This was completely contrary to what her mother had said.
Indeed, people can change.
Luna wiped her tears, picked up the thick magic book, and threw it out of the window.
The magic book fell straight to the ground. While the height of the second floor was not enough to break it apart, the wind and rain outside soaked all its pages in no time, blurring all the text on them.
Luna sat alone by the window, tears of pain streaming down uncontrollably. “Father, Mother, what should I do?”
And she was unaware that just a door away, Elrose stood quietly outside, listening to everything happening inside.
“Luna…” Elrose leaned against the door, giving a soft sigh.
She pondered for a long time and finally made a decision in her heart—this was her fault, and she needed to take responsibility for it.
