There are times when he really, really hates himself. Why, it always seems so weak and small.

Like a fragile glass doll in a child's hand.

Perhaps, it will shatter with a slight pinch.

In Ukiyo, it's the busiest time of the day. Even these forests, where the present world intersects with the other shore, cannot hide the sunlight from slowly falling from the branches and leaves, and dispel a few wisps of cold from the ground.

Ahead, there is a crystal clear stream. It is recorded in the ancient books that Gaius showed them that it is the first dividing line between the world and the other world, filled with the water of memory that all beings obsess, as long as you drink a drop, you can see all the causes and effects of previous lives, and the path to the underworld that fate will eventually guide you back to.

It was the second hour since he had been separated from Merlin, and he had almost exhausted his body before he barely managed to get here, into the true confines of the Ukiyo-e Forest, but there was still no trace of the mage.

- He should have been in this direction.

Bow up and pat the floating water on your face, washing away the dust and mud, and also washing away the blood stains mixed with sweat. West raised his head and looked at Lin Hai, who was still bottomless in front of him, and his eyebrows showed a little anxiety for the first time.

'Merlin ......'

Chasing the faint brain waves, he kept calling the names of his companions, but no one answered. The boy flicked his ears irritably, remembering Merlin's suppressed magic before entering the forest, and the rumors of countless previous wizards who died in the heart of the ukiyo, his heart seemed to be clenched by something, and even opening his mouth to breathe seemed so heavy and difficult.

…… Although he did not mean to underestimate the man, without magic, Amoris would not be able to walk even fifty steps in this extremely dangerous forest.

His pupils constricted, and his hands clenched suddenly. In the blink of an eye, the originally soothing and quiet stream seemed to be stirred by something, and the water column rose into the sky, roaring behind the young man with an absolutely unimaginable edge. With the dull roar of flesh being sliced apart, a water-seeking beast lurking in the grass waiting for an opportunity to hunt and kill West was torn in half in mid-air, and the splashed blood continued to drip into the originally clear and immaculate stream, staining the purity turbid, but miraculously did not touch him in the slightest.

'Look for death. ’

Indifferently stood up, and glanced back at the corpses of beasts and man-eating grasses that covered the path. West stretched out his hand lightly and swiped it in midair, and the blood that had been frozen behind him crackled like rain. In addition to restoring his eyesight and mental power, this was probably the second miracle that Avalon had bestowed upon him—in such a forest full of natural aura, the energy body that could only be felt by assimilating other people's consciousness had become so accessible that even one person was completely able to manipulate any natural force he could come into contact with in this uninhabited environment.

Perhaps it is precisely because of this that in the floating world, too abundant external energy will suppress Merlin's magic to the extreme. It was already difficult to reach that level on the outskirts of the forest, and now that he was in the center of the aura that was even stronger, what would the mage be weakened into, West really didn't dare to think about it now.

And—

His gaze fell on the direction from which the mage's brain waves came from in the distance, and the young man narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had a hunch that what awaited him ahead was definitely more than just 'finding Merlin'.

……

"You're finally awake."

The water dripping from the top of the cave hits the center of the eyebrows and runs down the corners of the eyes, bringing a slightly slippery and cold touch. As the mage gradually regained consciousness from the emptiness of his eyes, his vision became clear, and in addition to the dizziness of the prolonged coma and the damp rotten smell of moss on his cheeks, he seemed to hear a slightly hoarse, familiar voice suddenly ringing in his ears.

"Williams?"

Tilting his head, he squinted his eyes and tried to see the backlit figure around him. Merlin sat up from the ground with some sluggish movements, and looked around the dark cave where they were now living, with a puzzled expression: "What's going on?" Where are we now? ”

"This is the heart of the Ukiyo Forest, the remains of the elves that once lived." Sitting at the entrance of the sun-drenched cave, leaning on the rock wall, West turned to look at the mage, his eyes as blue as the ocean with a rare gentle color, "Remember?" As we walked past the Nameless Monument, you were knocked unconscious by the vast amount of natural energy in the forest, and the barrier that guarded the ukiyo-e sent us here...... While Avalon's ban restricts the use of magic, it's safe and you don't have to worry too much. ”

"Really?"

Rubbing the throbbing corners of his forehead, no matter how he thought about it, his memory was still interrupted at the moment when he stepped into the floating world. Merlin pinched his temples a little uncomfortably, but as if he suddenly realized something, he suddenly raised his head and looked directly at the young man's smiling gaze:

"Williams, your eyes ——!!"

"That's right, it's fully recovered."

Standing up, a smile still on his lips. West paced to the mage's side, but instead of reaching out to him as usual, he half-knelt down in front of him, and there was an ambiguous bewitchment hidden in his blue eyes, and slowly, slowly approached Merlin's face:

"You must be happy for me, Amorris?"

"Yes."

The conditioned reflex shrank back, clinging to the cold, damp rock wall behind it. Merlin stared at the young man who was getting closer and closer, and the wolf turned his head, a trace of indescribable confusion quietly crossed his heart.

"Serena Williams, you ......" is too close.

The young man, as if he had not noticed the embarrassment of his companion, was still slowly approaching him.

"You see, however, that such a restoration comes at a price...... As soon as I walked out of this forest and lost the support of natural energy, I would be immediately beaten back to my original form. ”

Merlin's lips were almost attached. West chuckled softly, lingering on the mage's cheeks like a teaser, the exhaled air spraying his ears with a slight burning heat, and the sound of wheezing came from nothing, so that he couldn't help but tremble:

"So, would you like to stay here with me?"

"Stay here forever and ever, just the two of us, okay?"

"You ......"

I felt the boy gently kiss his neck, all the way down, the tip of his nose ambiguously brushing his sensitive jaw. Merlin took a deep breath, unable to stand the atmosphere any longer, and reached out to push away the 'boy' who was almost wrapped around him.

"Who are you?"

Contrary to the scorching heat, the mage's tone was as cold as ice slag. West would never call him 'Amores,' and would never ask him to do so—after all, he was a man covered in scars, and Merlin knew exactly what kind of paranoia and pride that boy had in his bones and would not give up until he had achieved his goal.

"I didn't think I'd try to fool you, but this reaction was a little too boring."

was directly exposed, "West" was stunned, but he didn't care. Right-handed plugged. Entering the slightly messy short brown hair, the calm to almost indifferent expression on his face was also replaced, and he looked at Merlin, who was still vigilantly leaning against the edge of the rock wall, the corners of his eyes were raised, and his tone was a little strangely interesting:

"Haven't you been looking forward to it all the time, Emorys? Normal people would want to do something at this time, right? As a result, you just pushed people away in such a puzzled way? ”

"Don't talk to me like that with his face"

Ignoring the other party's ridicule, Merlin's eyebrows were tightly tangled, and he slowly stood up: "Who are you?" ”

"Avalon is the realm of the elves, I will live in the ukiyo, and of course I am also a member of the Elves of the Lake."

Smiled slightly, and whispered a few incantations. With a flash of light, standing in front of the mage was no longer the boy he was familiar with, but a beautiful woman, with waterfall-like curls that fell down to the knees, and the only thing that distinguished her from a human was her long, pointed ears.

Raising her chin, she glanced at the mage ambiguously, "You can call me Vivien, Emorris." ”

"So, what did you want to do with me here? What about West? ”

Still not letting her guard down, Merlin stared at Vivien. Since the witch will take the appearance of Williams, it means that she must know West's existence, and the worst possibility is that the boy will also fall into the hands of the elves, just like him...... After looking around, he soon found many carved spell marks of imprisonment in the corner of the cave. In this helpless situation, Merlin really couldn't convince himself that separating him from West, the elven witch would have some friendly intentions towards them.

Sure enough, the fingertips tapped the corners of her mouth slightly, and Vivien narrowed her eyes and smiled very happily: "Do you mean the kid out there who is crazy looking for you?" I wonder how long he will be able to survive in this forest before he will be torn apart by the beasts? ”

"You!!"

Not surprisingly, as soon as he heard that West might be in deep danger, Merlin couldn't stay any longer. Not wanting to talk to Vivien any longer, he turned around and ran towards the entrance of the cave, but as if he was blocked by some transparent barrier, he couldn't take half a step out of the cave.

"Don't waste your time. You'll never get out of here without my permission. ”

Shi Shiran floated to the mage who was constantly beating the transparent diaphragm, Vivian shook it in mid-air, and Merlin staggered to the ground as if her heart was pinched by something, in pain. She glanced at the mage who was struggling to get up with pity, leaned down, and raised his chin, and there seemed to be a flash of golden light in his green eyes like new leaves:

"I never imagined that one day Amoris would visit Avalon, with that young man feared by fate...... This is simply a gift from the gods. ”

"Stay here, Merlin. Until that young man answers his call to free my people, you will be worth nothing more than a hostage—and a hostage will not need to keep his own thoughts. ”

"You...... What do you want to ...... Do what? ”

As if it was firmly pinned to the spot by the steel fiber, unable to move for half a minute, the soul was gradually pressed back into the depths of the body with the witch's spell. Squeezing out a staccato cracking sound between his teeth, Merlin struggled to speak, his gentle light gray eyes now filled with rising anger.

"I'm not going to do anything to you."

The spell in the air became more and more rapid, and Vivien leaned closer to the corner of the mage's mouth, her expression bewildered as bewitched:

"You just have to let West go where he's supposed to be and watch quietly...... Whatever the outcome, what judgment the gods will give to that boy, you will eventually return to your destiny alive—"

"He will listen to you, he will only listen to you."

This was the last sentence Merlin heard in its entirety, and the rest of it felt like watching a movie that had nothing to do with him through the water curtain. He saw the golden light in the witch's eyes that symbolized magic, saw the air in the cave explode for a moment, and saw his body spasm for a moment, and then completely stripped of his personal will. The mage slowly stood up like a marionette in Vivien's chuckle, his light gray transparent pupils lost their temperature, and his expression was numb to the point of almost blankness, no matter how much his soul clamed to escape, he still couldn't resist the magic from the lake elves, and followed the witch out of the cave to the brown-haired boy who was now unaware of the impending danger.

Serena Williams –

Don't trust anyone.

"Merlin?!"

He turned his head in the shadow of the trees dappled by the sun, and West's pupils dilated slightly. In the cool breeze in his face, he seemed to hear the call from the mage in the distance, and the green sea above his head gently rippled in every wisp of scorching summer heat.

- Seemingly, something is coming.