Chapter 68: Water of Life

"You've been controlled for nearly a thousand years, and now you're about to die the moment you wake up. You've never had a peaceful sleep, never tasted anything delicious—don't you think you're getting a terribly raw deal? A really raw deal! Let me take you out for some grilled meat!"

Aiden spoke with unashamed righteousness, and his hand showed no intention of moving away. Because he lacked a heartbeat, he felt an eerie, unnatural calmness at that moment...

Seven parts sober yet three parts hazy, doing whatever came to mind—this was one of the reasons for his sudden, mischievous hand gesture.

If he had been completely sober, he would have considered whether Iris, upon waking up, would use Marilreth to smash him to death with a single sweep of her strings...

The crystals containing Iris's memories of hatred and regret rapidly faded into the shadows, replaced by a sparkling diamond-shaped crystal. The memories in this crystal had occurred only a short while ago, making them very, very fresh...

"Ah!"

Seria, who had originally been keeping her eyes closed, opened them just a crack to suddenly see in that diamond-shaped crystal Aiden's slightly furrowed brow as he muttered something. Then, following his gaze downward, within the side slit of the white-and-purple-trimmed one-piece robe, was a hand of sin...

Immediately, this crystal grew brighter and more dazzling. The intense light dispelled the gloom throughout the entire space, resembling a rising sun!

For nearly a thousand years, she had lived in a daze, and the very first vivid memory she had upon awakening was that scene from the magic academy!

"Will you please take your hand away? This is not the behavior of a gentleman."

Iris was so angry she was grinding her teeth, and her eyes had returned to their violet state, brimming with intense rage. However, her skill at scolding people was truly nothing to write home about—she was ten streets behind Shiat.

"Actually, I'm a polite and good person. Everything I'm doing right now is to save you. Don't you feel much more relaxed now? Clear-headed? Limbs flexible?"

The crucial point right now was to awaken Iris's pleasant thoughts regarding "life," otherwise, if she recovered her wits and fell back into mental autism, no one could save her.

"The past is the past. You are now a complete, soulful, and pure person, no longer that puppet. Hilder can no longer control you..."

"Lady Hilder..."

Iris was clearly stunned. The name that accompanied her day and night, the person she had placed above her own life for nearly a thousand years—in an instant, her faith completely collapsed, and that person even vaguely transformed into an enemy.

"Lady Hilder is doing this to... revive Terra..."

"Yes, yes, yes. From her standpoint, she's not wrong; from the perspective of the Pandemonians, she's not wrong either—she's even a great savior. It's just that to the people of Arad, she is a destructive calamity, and we in Arad haven't done anything wrong."

Aiden nodded repeatedly. Directly and completely negating Hilder's actions to Iris right now was inadvisable; he needed to change her mindset step by step until Iris became one of their own.

"Your mind is very weak right now. We can talk after you've had a wonderful sleep and wake up. But remember, once you're dead, you have nothing left."

While Aiden was earnestly chattering away here, Tana outside was losing her patience, pacing back and forth. The time had far exceeded the scheduled half-hour, and the curse of the evil spirits had also been eliminated—why hadn't she woken up yet?

Iris suddenly plunged back into a flickering, special state, with various unclear emotions intertwining, making her soul like a candle flame swaying in the wind, threatening to extinguish at any moment.

Seeing this, Aiden gritted his teeth, cursed inwardly, and his expression turned cold. "Hilder can't be mentioned, and even if she is, she won't listen. I have to use some heavy artillery, right? Damn it, I'm dropping the gentleman act!"

"Listen to me, Iris. Your body is still inside my manor, in my home! If you dare to let your mind shut down and turn into an idiot, I have two choices: either I finish you off directly to end it once and for all, or I'll have to feed you, give you water, and change all your clothes for you. Even if you're a puppet and don't need to eat, I'll still have to regularly bathe and wipe your body to keep the dust off. You're beautiful and have a great figure—which one do you think I'll choose? Look at me and think carefully. I'm no good guy!"

Silence...

Frozen...

Seria's hand trembled, almost dropping the lamp at the entrance. Only he could utter such bizarre words, but she had to admit, it seemed surprisingly effective!

Iris's eyes flashed with light as she stared at the memory crystal. Her soul grew increasingly solid, and finally, after glaring fiercely at him, she dissolved into patches of white light and vanished...

"Did she kick the bucket?"

Aiden was dumbfounded. Was Iris really that formidable, completely ignoring his threat?

"No, this is a sign that she has fallen into a deep sleep. She'll be fine once she wakes up."

"That's good. Even my left hand, which wields justice, was sweating..."

"You..."

The flame in Seria's palm grew increasingly intense, the burning blaze slowly forming a flame door. Passing through this door meant waking up.

"To the three of us, this was just a dream—a very bizarre dream. After Iris wakes up, she might not remember what you did, and you and I will also infinitely magnify that trace of lingering confusion. We might not remember anything at all."

A shared dream among three people; dreams are naturally fragments that are easy to recall, but the hazy and illusory details as a whole are difficult to remember entirely.

"Let's go back. They might be getting worried."

Seria smiled, light on her feet, and was just about to step through the door when Aiden grabbed her by the arm, pointing toward a corner with a stern expression.

Because Iris had regained the desire to live, the gloom throughout the mental space had dissipated, replaced by a soft radiance that made their line of sight clear.

However, at a spot not far from the two of them, a mysterious and ancient gray scroll was suspended, floating up and down, exuding an extraordinary yet eerie aura.

In Iris's mental world, logically speaking, only memory fragments should exist. So what was this gray scroll?

"Wait, I'll go take a look."

Driven by immense curiosity, Aiden approached the mysterious scroll. Although reading minds and prying into people's memories was impolite behavior, he inexplicably had a strong intuition: he had to take a look, he absolutely had to see it!

Thud!

An unexpected obstacle occurred. Within a certain distance of the scroll, he seemed to bump into an invisible wall, hitting his nose and forehead, unable to get any closer.

"I guess those are memory files sealed away by Iris herself, integrated as one with her mental space. Unless she is willing to let you see them, there's no way."

"I see..."

Aiden touched the invisible wall with his hand and slowly walked around it. What precious secrets could possibly be contained in the mysterious files locked deep inside Iris's mind, files she had specially sealed away?

Suddenly, a thought flashed into his mind like lightning, and he realized with sudden clarity: it was highly likely intelligence regarding the Waters of Life!

The First Pandemonium Pandemonium Assembly had been initiated by Iris, where representatives of various factions fought to determine territorial control and the intelligence regarding the Waters of Life.

In the end, Iris of the Tarakotta emerged victorious and rightfully obtained the intelligence on the Waters of Life.

Although Iris herself had sealed away her memories concerning the Waters of Life, whether Hilder knew all of it or only a part of it still remained a mystery...