Sorcerer’s Handbook

Chapter 302: You Are All My Wings

Inside the cabin, an unimaginable scene was unfolding—eight people, but only four faces.

Half were real, the other half Phantoms.

Yet, the real ones had lost all their memories, while the Phantoms not only retained theirs but also were tasked with assessing their real counterparts. Although the reversal of roles might sound amusing, it was anything but for those involved.

“How could such a thing happen…” Sonya gripped her longsword, shaking her head as she loudly objected, “How could something so absurd be true? You must be lying to me! You are all villains, every one of you…”

It was less of a rebuttal and more of her convincing herself.

“A very typical reaction,” the Swordswoman remarked calmly. “Once the disguise of peeled-away memories is gone, all you’re left with is a deep-rooted wariness of the world—you desperately want to control your own Destiny, unable to tolerate being adrift.”

The Observer shrugged, “Different from someone else, aren’t you?”

“However, you might not want to believe, but also can’t afford not to, because you don’t know what precious thing you’ve lost,” the Swordswoman continued. “Nothing hurts more than loss, and you’re not one to easily admit defeat.”

“Resilient yet fragile, complex yet simple, wary yet longing for embrace… You really are so easy to manipulate,” the Swordswoman turned to the Witch, “Compared to that, your guest seems about ready to leave.”

At that moment, Deya was completely curled up in a corner, hugging her knees and burying her head inside them as if praying to be invisible. She trembled all over, mumbling unintelligible words, her hair as filthy as a bucket of paint, her clothes constantly changing—black stockings on her left leg, white on her right, and both feet in red boots, her hands in mismatched sleeves.

Compared to the Witch, who was naïve, cute, dignified, and graceful, Deya looked like a dirty child in a clown’s outfit.

“Hey,” the Witch called out loudly, “Don’t be scared, okay? How about trusting them a bit more?”

However, the Witch’s words only had the opposite effect. Deya shuddered violently, already on the brink of mental collapse from the voices in her mind, unable to withstand any external stimulation. She gasped for air, crawling along the wall, moving towards the exit—she wanted to run away.

Memories, precious treasures, she didn’t care about any of it; she just wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible!

Watching the vulnerable Deya, the Witch narrowed her eyes slightly, her deep gaze swirling with invisible turmoil.

Typically, Sorcerers enter the cabin alone. Although most Sorcerers become restive and hysterical after losing their memories, they usually stay after being soothed by the Phantoms’ words to participate in the game and complete the quiz.

But after her memories were stripped, Deya couldn’t live in Harmonious Coexistence with the sisters in her mind; she couldn’t even understand what was happening to her—why were there so many noisy voices in her head?

If she were the only one here, the tranquility of the cabin might allow her to calm down gradually—the cabin was designed to be leisurely and comforting specifically to soothe Sorcerers panicked by memory loss.

But besides herself, there were several ‘strangers’ in the cabin, which to the timid and faint-hearted Deya felt almost like a torturous hell.

Who are they?

Who are you?

Run, quickly escape from here, there are so many strangers—

“Look.”

Deya lifted her head and saw Ashe crouching in front of her. At Ashe’s fingertips was a shimmering Sword Light, which morphed into blooming flowers, paper cranes, and playful kittens, instantly capturing Deya’s gaze.

“Sweet or salty, which do you prefer?”

“Sweet.”

“Same as me. Do you like the feeling of flying?”

“No, flying so high is scary.”

“I quite like flying…”

As Ashe posed various questions, he slowly moved closer to Deya, crouching beside her and gently stroking her head, smoothing his hand down the back of her head to lightly pat her back. Deya found this comforting; the tension on her face eased significantly, and she nuzzled into Ashe’s embrace like a kitten, her dirty hair color slowly becoming clearer.

“I know you’re scared,” Ashe said softly. “I’m scared too. Scared people should stick together, so that even if danger comes, at least we won’t die alone.”

Deya and the sisters in her mind were taken aback. The logic was sound, but… it somehow didn’t make much sense.

“Are you scared too?” Deya asked. “I can’t tell.”

Hearing this, Sonya hesitated for a moment but soon made up her mind.

She approached Ashe and Deya and extended her finger to perform a miracle.

The Mind Miracle composed of “Sincerity,” “Vibration Sword,” and “Killing Intent”—

Miracle: Treat with Sincerity!

A cluster of glowing red light emerged from her fingertips, shining as brilliantly as a ruby. She motioned for them to touch it, and Ashe was the first to reach out. Deya hesitated for a moment before also cautiously extending her index finger towards the red light.

Fear, worry, unease, fright, loneliness, tension… A flood of emotions crashed against their mental shores, and they quickly realized these were Sonya’s current emotional states.

She used the miracle to prove that she was just like them, a frail young girl panicked by memory loss.

Though still scared, finding out that everyone else was just as frightened helped Deya relax a bit, and the voices in her mind gradually quieted down—actually, the sisters weren’t that panicked. It was only the Black Butler who kept painting everything in a negative light, fueling the fear, while the White Queen constantly tried to persuade and stop the Black Butler. But for the naive Deya, their bickering alone was already overwhelming.

For humans, social creatures that they are, nothing is more comforting than increasing the presence of their own kind.

“So that’s how it is…”

“Hmm?” Sonya looked at Ashe, who was murmuring to himself, “What did you say?”

“You see, I know how to comfort her, and you know how to make her feel at ease around us,” Ashe said earnestly. “This suggests that we must have been together for a long time, so even after losing our memories, our bodies still understand each other instinctively.”

“We are all puzzled about why we are here, but that’s actually two questions: ‘being here’ and ‘why we are together.’ We still haven’t found an answer to the former, but the answer to the latter may be emerging—”

“It’s because our relationship is so close that we ended up here together. I don’t know your personalities, but based on what I’m thinking now, if I knew I was going into a place where I’d lose my memory, I’d only go with people I completely trust.”

Deya and Sonya thought about it seriously and felt that Ashe made a lot of sense.

“If it were me,” Sonya said, “I would only go with the people closest to me.”

Deya nodded in agreement, “I would only come to such a place with someone who could protect me.”

Ashe turned to Danzel. “What about you?”

Danzel was slightly startled. “Am I also with you guys?”

“What else? Why else would you be here? You must have felt that coming to this place with us was the best option, so you followed us in.”

The logic was indeed impeccable, and after thinking it over, Danzel said, “If it’s someone I’d be willing to lose my memory with, it must be someone I’d also not hesitate to give my life for.”

“Excellent!” Ashe stood up and declared, “I’ve completely understood our relationship now!”

The others were taken aback. “Really?”

“It’s actually simple logic,” Ashe said, patting Deya on the head. “You would only come with someone who can protect you, which means I am someone who can protect you—so you are my sister!”

“And you,” Ashe looked at Sonya, “you would only come with your closest people, so—you are also my sister!”

“And finally, you,” Ashe turned to Danzel. “You feel that you would only go with someone you would not hesitate to give your life for…”

“So, am I also your sister?” Danzel asked.

“No,” Ashe said, “I think I should be your boss.”

“Wait a minute,” Sonya raised her hand, “My closest person could also be a lover, not just family. Why…”

As she spoke, she suddenly realized something, her cheeks reddening as she averted her gaze.

“I considered that, but don’t you think it would be strange if we were lovers and I was also with my sister?” Ashe explained. “Unless…”

“Unless what?”

Ashe looked at Deya, “Unless she’s also my lover, which could explain why we are so affectionate with each other.”

Sonya smirked, “So you think having two lovers isn’t strange? You might as well say she’s your daughter.”

“I’m hardly old enough to have a daughter that age…”

Danzel interjected, “The person I’d be willing to give my life for doesn’t necessarily have to be you, right?”

“But one of them is either my lover or my sister,” Ashe continued, “and the other one is also my lover or my sister. No matter which one is your boss, I’m the boss of your boss… Wait, I know who you really are now!”

“Think about it, there’s no reason to bring a subordinate along whether I’m with a sister or a lover!”

“So, your true identity is—my paramour!”