Chapter 55: The Only Possibility

The magic lamps on the 12th floor of the library had already been lit, their dim yellow glow falling upon the only two people present.

Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere felt slightly heavy.

Yiluo had always liked to imagine her enemies as strong.

Only then could she prepare more thoroughly, so that if something truly happened, she could get through it more smoothly.

The moment the words left her mouth, she knew that Ling had probably already guessed most of it.

But she still chose to say it.

Was she supposed to play the role of Alice from Ling’s memories under such persistent insistence?

Sorry.

She, Yiluo, could pretend to be anyone.

But Alice was the one person she could never imitate.

She was afraid.

Afraid that she was nothing more than an extra fragment of Alice’s memory, and that in the end, she would lose everything completely.

In Alice’s memories, although Ling was willful and carefree, she was truly a good teacher who had taught Alice many things.

Though, there were some things Alice stubbornly refused to listen to.

Ever since the last time in Grim City, Alice had never appeared in her mind again.

Along with her, all the sacred energy and light energy within her body had vanished completely, and even the Holy Ring of Divine Punishment had lost its spirituality, as if it had died.

Even if she met Ling at this moment, it was Yiluo who was speaking with her.

Not Alice—Ling’s beloved disciple.

.

Ling’s expression stiffened slightly, her face turning a bit pale.

She pressed her lips together, unable to say anything for a moment.

Yiluo simply looked at her, not intending to speak first.

She could tell that Ling truly cared deeply about Alice…

After a while, Ling stood up from her seat, turned around, and left.

Yiluo did not stop her.

She did not even follow her with her gaze.

Closing the book in her hands, she returned it to the shelf and picked up another one titled High-Level Summoning Magic.

The black cover of the book was extremely worn, with visible creases and damage.

Who knew how many years it had endured, and how many more it could last.

Yiluo suddenly felt a sense of loss at Ling’s departure.

A strange, inexplicable sadness.

“Is it… Alice…”

Under the dim light, Yiluo’s figure looked somewhat thin.

Her clean face, half-hidden in shadow, showed no expression as her lips moved slightly in a soft murmur.

This emotion did not belong to her.

She had been influenced by Alice.

“Alice… you actually like Ling too, don’t you?”

There was no response in her mind.

Though Alice appeared cold toward Ling on the surface, deep down she was grateful to her and even liked her.

It was just that Alice was not good at expressing herself, and she couldn’t quite handle Ling’s carefree nature.

Yiluo shook her head, casting aside the feeling of loss and refusing to dwell on it further.

She did not want to forcibly erase emotions that did not belong to her.

After all, this body still belonged to Alice.

Even if she now went by the name Yiluo, if she erased every trace of Alice, it would be far too cruel to her.

In some aspects, Yiluo still retained that innocence.

“Hurry, hurry! Stop looking for useless books, your walking encyclopedia will explain it to you!”

And yet, after the harsh winter, spring would always come again, blooming in brilliant colors.

Just as Yiluo turned around, she saw Ling unexpectedly appear at the end of the bookshelf.

She peeked her small head out, waving excitedly at her.

???

Didn’t she leave?

“Why did you come back?”

The sadness on Yiluo’s face faded slightly, replaced by confusion.

“Hehe! I went to grab snacks!”

Ling suddenly grinned, stepped forward, and pulled out a huge bag of food from behind her.

There were all kinds of snacks inside, and even through the transparent packaging, they looked delicious.

“Come on, Yiluo—little… little Yiluo!”

“This kind of thing takes time to explain. We’ll eat and talk, otherwise I won’t have the energy to explain!”

“These are all the best snacks I’ve hidden in the library. Let’s eat together!”

Watching Ling wave her hands excitedly while seriously introducing each snack, practically drooling, Yiluo shook her head.

“Alright, I’ll listen slowly… Xiao Ling~”

Yiluo suddenly found Ling quite adorable.

It was impossible to treat her like some overwhelmingly powerful figure.

“Don’t call me Xiao Ling!” Ling puffed her cheeks.

“I’m 16, you’re 14—you should call me Sister Ling!”

“Or, since you’re asking me for guidance, you can call me Master, hehe.”

Ling said proudly, shaking her head as if showing off.

Yiluo walked over, rubbed Ling’s head, then helped carry the large bag of snacks while saying, “Master? That’s something I, Yiluo, will never say.”

“Don’t mess up my hair! It’ll get messy!” Ling pouted, batting away Yiluo’s hand.

Then she followed her to the table, muttering, “But sooner or later, I’ll make you call me Master. Hmph!”

“…Wait, did she just say it earlier?”

“Wah—!!”

.

On the reading table, more than a dozen snack bags were opened and spread out.

Yiluo and Ling chatted while eating, turning the normally quiet space into something lively.

But since they were the only ones on the 12th floor, no one was disturbed—instead, it felt warm and cozy.

“So, there really is magic that can summon souls?”

“Of course. Whether it’s demons, demi-humans, humans, or even elves—everyone has it.”

“But it’s fundamentally different from what you’re describing.”

“That kind of soul-summoning magic—or ritual, to be precise—only uses a medium to summon a corresponding god or demon to possess someone.”

“The stronger the summoned entity, the shorter it can remain.”

Yiluo frowned, biting onto something like a fry as she asked, “There’s nothing like summoning an ordinary soul, like how the Eastern Continent summons heroes?”

Ling shook her head firmly.

“As far as we know, there’s nothing like that in summoning magic or rituals.”

“Any summoning magic comes with a huge cost.”

“No one would waste half their life—or even their entire life—just to summon the soul of an ordinary person.”

“Think about it—five Saint-tier mages preparing for ten years, using all their magic power… just to summon a level-0 slime?”

“How could anyone do something like that? That kind of magic doesn’t exist.”

As Ling spoke, she even used her hands to form a little circle when mentioning the slime.

Yiluo gently rubbed her temples, feeling completely lost.

Then what exactly… was she?

“What about memories? Transplanting one person’s memories into another.”

Hearing this, Ling became furious, crunching loudly as she bit into her snacks.

“Memory-altering magic is the most disgusting thing!”

“Memories are the most precious thing a person has—nothing can replace them.”

“There’s absolutely no such magic among humans. If there were, I’d smash their heads in!”

“As for demons… there are things that can twist personality, like corruption, or cause amnesia. But completely altering and distorting memories? Probably not…”

As she spoke, Ling glanced at Yiluo a couple more times.

Yiluo quickly waved her hands in denial.

“My friend probably didn’t have her memories altered or become corrupted. She really did come from another world, but her body belongs to this world. She’s very rational, her memories are clear and logical, and she’s also very cute and beautiful. I’m really worried.”

As she spoke, she nodded repeatedly.

Ling thought for a long time, hesitated for a moment, and finally said,

“Actually, little Yiluo… there is one more possibility.”

“The probability is extremely small, but it can indeed explain what you’re describing.”

As Ling spoke, the snack in Yiluo’s hand froze mid-air.

She leaned forward slightly, listening carefully as Ling began to explain the final possibility.