...An outstretched hand tries to grasp them, but when freezing snowflakes land in a warm palm, they only melt faster. In the end, they turn into clear water slipping through the gaps between fingers. You can't catch them, you can't keep them—you can't hold onto anything at all.
The only thing you can do is watch them slowly fade from sight. Nothing more.
"Li Wu, thank you."
"For what?"
"Thank you for coming to find me."
"I'm the one who should be saying thank you. If you hadn't covered for me, I'd probably be dead by now. You're so stupid. Schicksal put me on their kill list, and you still tried to help me..."
Li Wu gave a bitter smile.
"Of course I had to help you! You didn't do anything wrong. It's completely unfair to make an innocent person suffer the consequences of someone else's mistakes!" Anna declared with righteous indignation. Her pretty brows furrowed tightly as she voiced her grievance on his behalf.
"But you're a Valkyrie raised by Schicksal."
"I was raised by Schicksal, yes, but a Valkyrie cannot just turn a blind eye to right and wrong." It was as if a floodgate had opened, and Anna endlessly poured out the thoughts she had suppressed for so long. "I can't fight the entire system, but I have to at least do what I believe is right within my own power. I just got unlucky and was caught this time. If I had to do it all over again, I would make the exact same choice."
"After all, I'm a Valkyrie. How could I hurt an innocent person? If I do it once, there will be a second time. Eventually, I'd become someone I don't even recognize. A lot of the colleagues I used to know ended up like that, using their missions to numb themselves. But a person's bottom line is like a child with a strict sense of cleanliness. Once you soil it, it remembers forever. No matter how hard you scrub yourself afterward, you will always feel dirty."
"Whether you're a Valkyrie or a Holy Maiden, if you don't have your own judgment, how are you any different from a puppet? I don't want to be a puppet. I want to be Anna. I want to become a Valkyrie who can protect everyone I care about!"
Anna tilted her head back, reaching her hand high up into the sky.
A brilliant ray of sunlight pierced through the thick, hazy clouds, descending upon the dreary snowfield like an angel. The distant hills seemed to transform into castles built of snow—pure, immaculate, and utterly unblemished.
Li Wu remembered his first time here. He had only thought these peaks were suffocatingly oppressive, freezing cold like unfeeling blocks of iron.
But today, his perspective had completely shifted.
What once seemed like cold, harsh iron was actually just impossibly clean snow. Its core was incredibly soft; with just a gentle touch, it would melt into warm water bathed in sunlight.
Li Wu suddenly felt that this world was almost too surreal, and that people knew far too little about those around them.
Romantic and sweet confessions were more like lavish stage performances, acted out merely for the sake of the show. Yet, rigid and stubborn declarations like hers captured the true essence of devotion—giving absolutely everything and rushing forward just for you.
"But let's get one thing straight. If you ever turn into a monster that destroys the world..."
Anna's words ground to a halt, like a jammed gear. Time acted as an invisible hand, perfectly realigning the cogs so they could turn once more.
"...I will absolutely stand against you. I'll stop you, and I might even... hurt you."
Anna said it casually, as if she were joking.
But both of them knew it wasn't a joke; it was a heavy, solemn vow. She would save him because he was innocent, and she would punish him if he became guilty.
Li Wu took a deep breath, drawing in the freezing air and snowflakes, before naturally exhaling a warm plume of white mist. "Then trust your instincts, Anna. If that day really comes, and I turn into some twisted monstrosity, don't show me any mercy. Do everything in your power to stop me, even if it means hurting me."
Anna lowered her raised hand, formed a fist, and lightly punched Li Wu in the back of the neck with a soft hmph. "You sure know how to sound heroic. Shouldn't you have said, 'I'd never become something like that'? I... I don't want to stand against you..."
Hearing this, Li Wu chuckled.
He tilted his head up. The howling, freezing wind whipped against his cheeks like slicing blades.
"I can't make any promises. Honestly, even I can tell that there's something weird about me... Even I haven't figured out why I'm so strange."
"Maybe the truth is crueler than I can imagine. When that time comes, I might not even be able to face myself."
Li Wu tightened his grip on the back of Anna's calves, speaking as he continued walking.
Suddenly, Anna realized something was wrong. Li Wu was heading straight toward the high-danger zone. She quickly warned him, "Li Wu, you're going the wrong way. That's the direction of the high-danger zone."
His response was simply, "I'm not going the wrong way."
Li Wu stopped walking. Ultimately, he still used [Future Loan] to buy Anna a fitting pair of brown, fleece-lined thigh-high boots that were incredibly warm, along with a perfectly sized white down jacket.
Even if Anna didn't strictly need them, Li Wu didn't want to see her walking barefoot and disheveled through the cold. He would rather carry her on his back the entire way than let anyone see her in such a miserable state.
Anna slid off Li Wu's back of her own accord, staring blankly at the boots and jacket that had materialized out of thin air.
This time, she didn't ask any questions. Her deep gaze locked onto Li Wu's face, as if hoping to find an expression that said, "I used my powers to make these clothes for you, hurry up and put them on, I want to see."
Unfortunately, that was just her fantasy. The only expression she saw on Li Wu's face was a... profound, inexplicable loneliness.
It was exactly how she had felt when she was sentenced to death during Schicksal's internal tribunal—utterly isolated, silently enduring all the misfortune crashing down upon her.
"What are you planning to do? Li Wu, don't tell me... are you going to become a monster?" Anna's voice was rushed, the puffs of white mist she exhaled quickly scattering in the bleak, snowy wind.
A monster?
Li Wu gave a dry chuckle, neither confirming nor denying it.
"Anna, you are innocent. From you accepting the mission, going through life and death with me, receiving the order to execute me, and finally getting caught by Schicksal for letting me go—all of it was part of the plan orchestrated by the person who issued that mission. From the very beginning, they only wanted to use you to force me to prove myself."
"What are you talking about? I don't understand. Li Wu, are you going to do something dangerous again? I won't allow it, do you hear me? I won't allow it! We finally managed to escape with our lives. We can easily run away to a place where no one knows us!"
Anna took a few steps forward and grabbed Li Wu's wrists tightly, terrified that he would vanish right before her eyes. She had a premonition that if she let go now, she might never be able to hold onto him again.
A biting, unseasonable wind howled past, whipping up their contrasting hair. Amidst the chaotic blizzard, Li Wu's expression resembled that of a compassionate ascetic monk.
He gently placed his hand over Anna's arm, trying to get her to let go.
But whenever he applied pressure, she only gripped tighter.
Li Wu could have easily forced her off—after all, he currently possessed the physical specs of an S-Rank Valkyrie—but he didn't. No matter the reason, he wanted to avoid hurting those close to him at all costs, unless he was forced to choose the lesser of two evils.
"We can't escape. I know you're just saying this in the heat of the moment, but think of your dreams, your friends, your family, and Cecilia—she came to save you, too. We've been caught in 'that person's' trap from the very beginning. They perfectly calculated our personalities. They knew your sense of justice and responsibility would make you stay, and because of you, I would be forced to reveal my special abilities."
Li Wu spoke very softly, but every word hit Anna like a revelation, connecting all the seemingly illogical events that had transpired.
The impossible S-Rank mission, waking up half-naked in the same bed, the happiest seven-day trip of her life, the unauthorized black box, the death sentence from the internal tribunal...
The mastermind behind the mission had deliberately steered everything exactly where they wanted it to go, without a single flaw. She had genuinely let Li Wu go, and Li Wu had exposed his powers and risked everything to come save her...
Run away?
It was impossible. How could she abandon her aunt, who had come looking for her? If she really did that, she wouldn't be Anna anymore, and Li Wu wouldn't be Li Wu.
Li Wu reached out and brushed the pale snowflakes from Anna's temples. Like lighting a warm hearth, his voice was gentle and comforting. "It's okay. You'll have plenty of time to figure out what to do next. I'll help you shoulder the burden."
"Then... Li Wu, what... what can I do for you?"
"Put on your new clothes, dress up nicely, and wait for me at Schicksal with Cecilia. If nothing unexpected happens, that person will detain you both. Don't worry, it'll just be house arrest; they won't drain your blood like last time. Tell her, two days from now, I will personally go to Schicksal to find her."
"Oh, by the way, remember to wire a few tens of thousands of credits to my card. I bought these clothes on a loan. If this drags on for a few days, I won't even be able to pay off the interest~"
Toward the end, Li Wu threw in a trivial request, sounding completely like he was joking around. He was smiling, looking perfectly happy.
But beneath that forced cheerfulness, Anna saw a reflection of her stubborn past self—forcing a bright smile just so others wouldn't laugh at her, pretending that being bullied didn't hurt.
"But..."
"Anna," Li Wu cut her off directly. "Just trust me this once, okay? I promise I won't let you down."
Looking into Li Wu's unwavering eyes, the countless words Anna wanted to say caught in her throat. Even if she voiced them, she wouldn't be able to change his mind...
"I can fix this. But, if I ever change one day, just dig the notebook out of my backpack and give it to me. And hey, no peeking. It's filled with things I absolutely don't want anyone to know about..."
"I'm not that kind of person!" Anna pouted, feigning anger.
Not content to leave it there, Li Wu leaned in and continued teasing her. "Aren't these men's clothes I'm wearing from you? And the Golden Holy Blood too. Even without seeing it before, I can guess that even within Schicksal, it's an incredibly rare commodity. Yet you secretly smuggled it out just for me. Anna, you've gotten so naughty since you started hanging out with me~"
Hearing this, a vivid blush instantly flooded Anna's pale, pretty face. She stammered, "Th-that's only because... it was for you! If it wasn't for you, I never would have done that! Besides, the clothes and the Golden Holy Blood are contraband to begin with. I checked the logs for that day, and there weren't any official requests..."
"Alright, alright, it's fine. I know you're not that kind of person. If you're a thief, then I'm your accomplice," Li Wu comforted her. Then, taking two steps back, he casually turned around. "I still want to go to so many more places with you. Just give me a little more time."
"But, I'm scared..."
"Scared of what?"
"I'm scared you won't come back... I'm scared you'll die because of me... I'm scared that you'll be in pain facing all these problems alone, and when you turn around, you'll find there's absolutely no one there beside you... I'm scared you'll be lonely..."
"I won't be."
Li Wu clenched and unclenched his fingers. The howling winter wind couldn't make him shiver in the slightest. A smile as warm as the sun graced his face.
"My ability is special. I can't die. This is my own choice, and regardless of the outcome, I won't blame anyone. It's normal to feel pain when facing hardships. Didn't you just experience the pain of being ostracized, abandoned, and left utterly alone on that examination table? Just like you don't want me to suffer, I don't want you to ever go through that again. Plus, I know you'll be waiting for me. So no, I won't feel lonely."
"I just hope we can both find our own happiness."
Answering her questions one by one, Li Wu didn't evade a single issue, patiently addressing all of Anna's fears.
Hearing his words, Anna's quiet pink eyes seemed to brighten. She sniffled, and moisture welled up in her eyes like mischievous bubbles popping, the mist spreading into the cold wind. Still, she clung tightly to Li Wu's hand, entirely unwilling to let go.
Seeing this, Li Wu took a deep breath. Facing Anna, he placed both hands firmly on her shoulders and decided to pull out his ultimate trump card:
"Let's make a bet."
A bet?
Anna's thoughts drifted back to just a few days ago.
"Bet... on what?"
"Bet that I will make it back alive, and that I'll completely resolve the mess that has trapped you and Cecilia. Just like I did on that beach in Ireland. Up until now, I've never lost a bet. Care to test my streak?"
Li Wu smiled confidently. Even though it sounded more absurd than a joke, his words carried undeniable conviction.
Because it was true—he had never lost a bet.
Whether it was defeating mercenaries back when he was an ordinary human, or just helping a lost child find their mother. Big or small, as long as he placed a bet, he always found an endless stream of solutions to guarantee his victory.
His competitiveness was just that straightforward. He could compromise on countless trivial things in life, but when it came to his personal will, Li Wu refused to yield an inch.
Just as the two were locked in this emotional stalemate, an invisible danger was quietly closing in.
The ground began to tremble almost imperceptibly. There was no leak of energy whatsoever; it felt as though an avalanche or earthquake had occurred somewhere far away, and only the faint aftershocks were rippling through the area.
Li Wu's brownish pupils instantly morphed, diffusing a faint golden glow. His vertical slits locked onto the sinking snow on the ground.
ROAR—!!!
The earth tore open as a colossal beast bellowed. The Star-Devouring Worm violently erupted from beneath the surface, launching a hyper-speed vertical assault, intent on swallowing them both whole!