"But," Ur's eyes held a trace of lingering fear and deep exhaustion, "the backlash from Absolute Zero was too powerful."
"That magic almost drained my life force and shattered my magic circuits."
"After being released, I lost almost all my magic power, and my body was extremely weak, like a flickering candle in the wind, requiring a long period of rest and a special environment to slowly recover."
She looked at Gray, her eyes filled with complex emotions: heartache, guilt, and deep affection: "Ezreal… he knew about your situation. He saw the pain in your heart, the self-blame and hatred that were almost crushing you."
"He understood that if your emotional knot wasn't untied, you would never truly move on."
"So," Ur's gaze swept across the edge of the plaza, as if she could see the distant village, "he found me, he found Lyon, he found the kind villagers of Galuna Island… We jointly… orchestrated this 'play'."
"We had the villagers pretend to be 'demons' infected by evil energy… they were originally the demon tribe residing on Galuna Island…"
"We had Lyon, Yuka, Sherry, and Toby… pretend to be demon generals controlled by Deliora…"
"Even… we had Lyon… pretend to be a 'puppet' possessed by Deliora… enduring your wrath and attacks…"
Ur's voice carried deep apology: "All of this was to bring you here, to make you believe that Deliora had revived and possessed Lyon's body."
"It was to let you, in battle, in the process of confronting the deepest 'hatred' in your heart, see your true self and untie your emotional knot."
Ur's hand gently rested on Gray's rapidly heaving chest, her gaze like warm sunlight, piercing through the tears, shock, and pain in Gray's eyes.
"My sacrifice, Gray, was never meant for you to live forever in the abyss of hatred and self-blame!"
"It wasn't meant for you to carry the heavy sin of 'killing your master' throughout your life!"
"I hoped…"
"That you could let go of the darkness of the past…"
"That you could break free from the shackles of hatred…"
"That you could lift your head… and see… a broader world!"
"That you could truly understand… the meaning of life, which lies in protecting those you cherish, in embracing hope, and in… the right to bravely see and feel this vast and beautiful world!"
Ur's words, like a warm current breaking through ice, and like a brilliant dawn piercing through endless darkness, echoed clearly, word by word, across the silent plaza, and were deeply etched into the depths of Gray's soul.
Gray stared blankly at Ur.
Whether it was the demon tribe on the island, or Ezreal mastering forbidden magic, or the resolved Deliora, or even everyone gathering just to help him untie his emotional knot.
Gray heard such a large amount of information, but for him, it no longer mattered.
Now, in the young man's eyes, there was only that familiar face constantly overlapping with the memories in his mind.
Looking at his master's gentle yet incredibly firm gaze beneath her neat black short hair.
Listening to her words.
Scene after scene from the past, like a breached flood, surged and roared in his mind!
His parents' tragic deaths… his master's sacrifice… his own self-blame and hatred… the fierce battle with his senior brother… and that bottomless despair and the final resolve to "not be human"… everything, everything, wildly impacted him!
Ultimately, it all transformed into his master's real and warm smile before him, and that hand resting on his chest, carrying her body temperature!
"Master…"
Gray's lips trembled violently, and a broken sob escaped his throat.
"To see you again…"
The tears he had held back, like pearls with broken strings, poured out profusely!
"It's truly…"
"Too good…"
He could no longer stand, his body suddenly leaned forward, and he threw himself into Ur's arms!
Like a child lost in the darkness for too long, finally finding his way home, he tightly embraced his regained loved one and burst into heart-wrenching sobs!
"I'm sorry… Master… I'm sorry…"
"It was my fault… I was too willful… I was too foolish… I'm sorry… Master… I'm sorry…"
His cries were heartbreaking, filled with the pain, self-blame, grievances, lingering fear, and endless longing accumulated over countless days and nights!
He didn't cry when he lost his master and wandered alone.
He didn't cry at his senior brother's harsh words.
He didn't cry when his senior brother left without a word.
He didn't cry during countless midnight dreams of losing his master.
He didn't cry when he was seriously injured by Lyon.
But when he finally had the chance to say "I'm sorry" to her face.
The strong young man shed tears like rain.
It was tears of joy, of guilt, and of release.
His shoulders trembled violently, as if to release all the suppression of these past years!
Ur held Gray tightly, her arms wrapped around his trembling body, one hand gently patting his back, the other tenderly stroking his dull hair.
Her eyes were also brimming with tears, her voice choked but filled with compassion and tenderness: "Silly child… silly child… don't cry anymore… it's all over… it's all over…"
"You did nothing wrong… You never did anything wrong…"
"You just… wanted to protect everyone too much…"
"You just… loved us too much…"
"Now… you've done it… You've done very well…"
"You've overcome the darkness within you…"
"You've protected the people you wanted to protect…"
"Master… is proud of you… truly… proud of you…"
Gray cried in Ur's arms like a helpless child, as if he wanted to cry out his very soul.
The pain and emotional knot that had been suppressed for too long finally began to melt away in this warm embrace and gentle words.
Juvia watched from the side, tears also flowing uncontrollably.
She felt heartache for Gray, and also heartfelt joy and emotion for him finally untying his emotional knot and reuniting with his master.
The golden sunlight finally completely pierced through the morning mist, like a sacred pillar of light, spilling onto the Moon God Temple plaza.
The evil energy lingering in the air gradually dissipated under the warm sunlight.
Only the warmth of surviving a disaster, the emotion of a master and disciple reuniting, and… after the end of the frost, the dawn of hope, full of infinite possibilities, remained.
Gray's emotional knot, at this moment, accompanied by hot tears and his master's warm embrace, finally completely untied and melted.
He understood the true meaning of his master's sacrifice, understood the deep love and dedication of his companions, and also clearly saw his future path.
To protect his companions, to protect the right of others to see a broader world.
This was the most precious legacy Ur left him with her life and love.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/TripleCrown
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"