Chapter 146: Half an inch of faint light

“You are… the Blood Witch?”

Perletti’s voice trembled uncontrollably.

She simply couldn’t connect the girl before her—so pure in smile, so curious in gaze—with the figure from legend, whose very name could stop a child’s crying in the dead of night.

“Yeah.”
Masha blinked, answering lightly and without hesitation.

Tilting her head slightly, her eyes sparkled with innocent curiosity.
“According to Divine One… you’re from a thousand years later, right? In your time… am I famous?”

“Famous. Very famous.”

More than just famous.

In the annals of history, her deeds were written in scarlet.

She initiated the Month of Greed, single-handedly halting a century-long war. The Winged God Race and the Sea Demon Race were driven to total extinction by her hand. Even a mighty race like the dragons was nearly wiped out.

She was a living calamity—
a symbol of fear etched into the deepest memory of the entire continent.

And yet, the person before her…

“Yay!”
Masha bounced lightly in place, her laughter ringing like silver bells.
“Then I can become as famous as Divine One too!”

Lumen gently patted her back, her movements soft.
“Masha, we still have time. For now… can you give me a moment alone with her?”

“Mhm!”
Masha nodded vigorously. She ran a few steps away, then suddenly turned back and waved energetically at Perletti, her smile dazzling beyond belief.

“I’m a thousand years older than you, so that makes me your big sister! If I’m still alive back then—no matter what trouble you run into, just call me ‘big sister,’ and I’ll definitely help you!”

Her figure vanished lightly into the edge of wind and light, as if taking away a brightness that didn’t belong to this place.

Only after her presence completely faded did Perletti slowly turn back to Lumen.

The question she had been holding back finally broke through:

“…Back then… why did you agree to give Qing Cheng your power?”

Lumen’s gaze was as still as a deep lake.

“Perletti, you’ve misunderstood.”

“Even without Qing Cheng… you would still have obtained the power of light.”

“This was destined.”

“Destiny again?!”

Perletti’s voice suddenly rose, suppressed anger surging forth.

“Why does everyone keep saying that word?! I don’t believe it! What kind of bullshit destiny is that?!”

Lumen remained unmoved by her outburst. Her voice stayed calm—yet it struck like a hammer against truth.

“You became a Witch… not because of Qing Cheng, nor because of Josuna… but because of yourself.”

“Because you were angry—angry at the absurdity of this world, at the fate that tramples the weak.”

“Because you were angry—angry at how a system that should be equal instead builds towers and solidifies injustice.”

“Because you were born human, in the Empire, and everywhere you looked… there was inequality.”

“No matter what experiences you went through, no matter whom you met—you were destined to collide head-on with injustice.”

“And in the end, carrying that unresolved anger… you came before me.”

“That… is destiny.”

“A necessity woven from countless choices… and countless causes and effects.”

Perletti lowered her head, staring at her hands.

Scenes from her journey flashed through her mind—

Elisha dissipating into the wind.
Anasha’s cold, almost cruel gaze.
The indifferent faces of nobles…

A faint, icy scoff slipped from her lips.

“So you’re telling me… destiny is just our own choices?”

“Don’t joke with me!”

“The same person, under different circumstances, can make completely different choices! How could the same events ever replay exactly the same way? And how could they lead to identical outcomes?!”

“Which is why—”

Lumen picked up her words, her gaze drifting to where Masha had disappeared.

For the first time, her tone showed a clear fluctuation.

“Destiny works by manipulating those subtle circumstances… ensuring everyone walks along a predetermined path.”

“Just like back then—I gave power to Qing Cheng, because… she possessed the same kind of anger as I do.”

“The same… anger?” Perletti murmured.

Lumen gave a slight nod.

Her gaze seemed to pierce through time itself, her voice tinged with quiet pain.

“Just like Masha. A child like that… yet under the manipulation of fate, she personally destroyed the Winged God Race she cherished.”

“And in doing so, by cruel coincidence, ended a century-long conflict.”

“For the world, that was a good thing.”

“But for Masha… the pain of killing those she loved nearly destroyed her completely.”

“And it was then… that I first clearly realized just how unjust destiny truly is.”

She turned back to Perletti.

“Since then, for a thousand years, I have not granted divine blessings. I feared they would repeat Masha’s tragedy.”

“Then why don’t you resist it?!”

Perletti stepped forward, eyes blazing.

“You’re a god this powerful—don’t tell me you can’t?!”

“The destiny that weaves across and covers the entire world… is far beyond your imagination.”

“Alone… I cannot defy it.”

Lumen’s voice returned to calm, though an undercurrent stirred beneath.

“But Qing Cheng… gave me a possibility.”

“Then… could it be…”
Perletti’s fingertips trembled slightly as she pointed to herself.
“Me?”

“Yes. You.”

Lumen’s gaze fell upon her, almost tangible.

“All beings in this world—even gods—are bound within the boundaries set by destiny’s gears.”

“But now… the fate of Dispel has produced a single anomaly.”

“One path… follows the predetermined trajectory.”

“The other—”

She paused.

“—steps onto the path of slaying a god.”

“To be honest, at first, I did not approve of this plan.”

“There is a cruel cost to making two Dispels exist simultaneously. For Qing Cheng, it is unbearably painful.”

“And even if it succeeds… it is far from guaranteed.”

She looked deeply at Perletti.

“As you said… I did not believe that, in such a short time, you could possess the mindset and power to stand alongside Qing Cheng.”

“Then why… are you willing to meet me now?”

Perletti crossed her arms, a trace of stubbornness and self-mockery flashing in her eyes.

Lumen slowly stepped closer.

They stood very near. Perletti could clearly see the complex emotions swirling within those deep-colored eyes—

Compassion.
Expectation.
Despair.
And an indescribable sorrow.

Too much… too tangled to fully understand.

Lumen leaned down, gently taking Perletti’s hands into her own.

The gesture was almost reverent.

“Perletti… do you know what kind of light is the brightest?”

“…The sun?” Perletti answered hesitantly.

In her understanding, only that supreme blazing sun could dispel the world’s darkness.

Lumen simply shook her head lightly.

In the next instant—

Without warning—

The world fell into absolute darkness.

All light, all color, all form—devoured in an instant.

In Perletti’s vision, there remained only pure, heavy, suffocating void.

And then—

At the very center of that absolute darkness, a faint glimmer of light appeared in her palm.

It was so small. So fragile.

Like the last flicker of a candle that could be extinguished by a breath of wind.

Its glow barely illuminated their overlapping hands.

Yet in this devouring darkness—

It was the only coordinate.
The only reality.
The only… hope.

Perletti’s pupils contracted.

The entire world seemed to converge upon that tiny yet unyielding light.

Lumen’s voice sounded beside her ear—soft, yet etched deeply into her being:

“The brightest light… does not come from overwhelming power.”

“It is that faint glimmer which, in endless night, still dares to burn… and refuses to go out.”

“Just like the light within your heart—small, fragile… yet never truly extinguished—”

“【Half an Inch of Faint Light】.”

📚 Also on NHV Novels

How can I, the Holy Son, marry someone?

BattleFemale ProtagonistMarriage

Read Now →
Not interested