Miss Chloe stared blankly at the steps extending upward from beneath her feet; she seemed to have understood.
Shad then spoke
"Mrs. Marques is your fear of loneliness and your anxiety over experiences from the past that you cannot forget. You view her as the most important part of yourself, and thus, you gave her your middle name and surname."
After a brief hesitation, he added
"Therefore, the thirteen people in your memories are actually all you. Dividing yourself, and then actively accepting and reclaiming yourself—this is the path you chose. The one who is very good at cooking vegetable soup is actually you; the taste is truly excellent."
Chloe couldn't help but let out a smile. The twelfth-level golden steps appeared much more solid, and at the end of the stairs lay a pitch-black sky.
"This gentleman."
Shad beckoned to the cowering man, and the [Genesis·Darkness] card in his pocket automatically flew in front of Shad. The man stood up, trembling, and approached Shad.
Holding the card, Shad said
"In the name of the next master of [Omni-Change·Darkness], I forgive your theft."
He placed his hand on the man's shoulder, then looked at Miss Chloe
"You committed many mistakes in the past, some of which are too embarrassing to mention, or which you are even unwilling to recall. Therefore, you transformed the image of these mistakes into a man whom witches loathe, and you didn't even give him a specific name."
"I..."
Those crimson eyes looked at Shad.
"But that isn't a bad thing. Because you understand that it was wrong, and you have accepted your mistakes—which is far more than the Lykin I am about to face. The evidence of your acceptance is that even on the most dangerous final stretch of the road, you never suggested abandoning him, but insisted on bringing him here with you."
Miss Chloe's lips trembled
"Yes. The one left for the end is the 'him' I was most unwilling to face, and also 'me'."
The nameless man revealed a smile of relief and bowed slightly to Shad, his body emitting a brilliant golden light. Within that light, he dissolved into a series of golden specks, flying toward the very top of the witch's twelfth-level steps and transforming into the thirteenth step.
The stairs were now completely solid. Chloe Marcus Marques, one of the co-founders of the Zalas Society and the strongest thirteenth-tier witch of this era, returned once more to her original form.
The radiance of the golden steps illuminated her and Shad's faces. An expression of sudden awakening appeared on the young witch's face; as if getting to know herself for the first time, she raised a hand to touch her cheek, then looked at Shad with a bewildered gaze
"I..."
"You transformed your soul and the thirteenth tier of the witch into thirteen different images, representing different memories and obsessions of your life. Lost in the snowy mountains, you advanced together with them, re-accepting and incorporating them, allowing them to truly become a part of yourself. Until you climb to the highest peak of this mountain—from initial confusion to final enlightenment—this is not only a physical climb, but a climb of the soul."
Shad looked at her. In this world possessing mystical powers, such a method implied many things
"Mrs. Marques and that man represent the final weaknesses in your heart. Fear of loneliness, guilt over the past. And now, you are willing to accept them rather than kill them, although the latter would also have allowed you to reach this place... You went from whole to fragmented, and from fragmented back to whole. This is your—"
"—Demigod Path."
Miss Chloe locked eyes with Shad and spoke the answer he had already guessed. Shad breathed a sigh of relief; this story had finally reached its end
"Yes. Although this snowy mountain is dangerous, there aren't actually that many demons. Those you encountered, including that demon and that shadow of death, were all your own stray thoughts and fears. Overcoming them was a vital process for your soul to sublimate to the highest peak. Before I appeared, you had already successfully incorporated the first eleven versions of yourself; I merely helped you solve a very small problem."
Miss Chloe wanted to say something, but Shad interrupted her
"O lost one of the snowy mountains, at this moment, have you found yourself? Do you see the path to the final step?"
Miss Chloe froze, looking at Shad with some trepidation
"Are you actually fake as well? If they represent the first thirteen tiers, do you represent the Demigod? A brand new possibility?"
"No, no, no, why would you think that? I am real."
He took Miss Chloe's hand, letting her feel the warmth of his palm
"Rather than saying I am you, it would be more accurate to say that I am your Secret-Keeper."
Shad looked into her eyes. The two stood amidst the wind and snow of the mountain peak, silver snowflakes piling upon their shoulders
"I've encountered quite a few Secret-Keepers recently, and this time I did the same thing they did. I witnessed and assisted your growth and sublimation, inspiring you to move forward rather than carrying you forward. Speaking of which, the successor of the [Secret Mentor] actually doesn't require one to teach others... that's not important."
With one hand, he brushed the snowflakes off the shoulder of the silver-haired witch before him
"Miss Chloe, take the final step."
The witch nodded gently, but did not let go of Shad's hand, her eyes filled with fervent emotion
"Are you leaving?"
Shad calculated the time; there were a little over three minutes left
"I came here specifically to help you reach the highest peak. Although I am reluctant to part..."
He had gradually grown accustomed to such farewells. In the Sixth Epoch, he knew not how many girls had said this to him. Everything he encountered and everyone he knew during his travels with the Time Key had long since become ancestral land, leaving behind only a few short lines of text and memories in Shad's heart that would eventually fade
"...But I think it is time to say goodbye. You are a very wonderful girl. Do you remember me saying that I also have witches around me with whom I am very close? But their talent is not as great as yours."
A strained smile appeared on Miss Chloe's face, her crimson eyes never leaving Shad
"Will we meet again?"
Shad felt he had completely read the meaning in the witch's gaze.
"I don't know."
In the blink of an eye, a tear streaked down her cheek, but it turned into an ice crystal before it could fall. She stood slightly on her tiptoes, then cupped Shad's face and kissed him. Cold lips were something Shad had never experienced; the ice crystals formed from tears had a bitterness different from anything before.
[Outlander, Witch Echo·Chloe, has been completed.]
The witch released Shad and took a few steps back.
"Ugh!"
Shad covered his mouth, coughed a few times, and then spat out a transparent ice crystal. It was about a quarter of a palm in size; though oval, the surface of the ice had countless tiny facets. Looking at it against the light, dense text was engraved within the crystal.
This was not a supernatural item, but it seemed to be a special item. This was a teardrop frozen by the witch's own power; it was an ice crystal recording the Demigod Path, and beyond Shad's guesses, it contained even more information.
This was the final gift, though Shad did not know if he could take it with him.
Without bidding Shad farewell, Chloe looked up toward the golden steps leading higher. With her back to Shad, her worn winter cloak had transformed at some point into a magnificent ice-blue evening gown.
Ice and snow crafted jewelry and hair ornaments for her; her boots were embellished with crystals, and the wind swept up her silver hair, weaving it into a complex hairstyle. The thirteenth-tier Great Witch carefully lifted the hem of her ornate, heavy skirt and stepped onto the first stair with a boot adorned with diamonds and sapphires.
Where the boot landed, golden light surged like a wave, spreading across the entire staircase, making it bloom with a radiance like the sun beneath the pitch-black, blizzard-torn sky. Simultaneously, from the darkness in the far distance of the silver-white mountain range, a sliver of light pierced through the wind and snow, shining directly toward them.
She ascended the stairs step by step, reaching the second and third. The wind and snow weakened significantly at this moment; the howling wind ceased, though the snow continued to fall. Until the wind stopped completely, a bell tolled from an unknown source, its echoing chime resonating through the vast snowy mountains, accompanied by the sound of someone singing softly.
Stepping onto the fourth and fifth stairs amidst the snow, as the first ray of light broke through the black mist from the far distance, the phantoms of three full moons appeared for the first time in the dark sky overhead. The darkness slowly dissipated, and the brilliant starry sky became clear behind the black veil; the snowy mountain was being illuminated.
Stepping onto the sixth and seventh stairs in the wind, Chloe's entire body emitted a golden light. A surging, majestic power vibrated in sync with the bells of the continuous snowy mountains; the stars twinkled because of her, and the mountains brightened because of her.
Stepping onto the eighth and ninth stairs amidst the tolling bells, the vast starry sky above was fully revealed, stars twinkling and the three moons resonating. At the peak of this mountain, the stars were so close to the top of her head that it felt as if she could reach out and scoop her own star from the galactic river.
Golden arcs of light echoed from the thirteenth golden step across the entire mountain. Snowflakes and light specks flew together, and Shad, watching the witch, observed the entire sublimation process in full, leading him to the conclusion that "a Demigod Witch is still a mortal."
Stepping onto the tenth and eleventh stairs in the light, the witch—wearing two different boots—continued upward. Beneath the sea of stars, only a god and an outlander witnessed this extraordinary scene. The stars celebrated the birth of a demigod, and the vibrating mountains cheered for her.
Chloe's figure was reflected in Shad's eyes. He let out a long breath, the white vapor billowing like a dragon into the wind and snow.
"Fifth Epoch, Silver Mountains, Blizzard Night."
A voice sounded in Shad's ear. The deity clad in white robes had appeared beside him at some point, looking up with him as Miss Chloe ascended her own stairs.
"Witch Chloe Marcus Marques has completed the trial of the Demigod Path."
Shad picked up the next sentence, and the deity watched the scene with a smile, the pure white light causing the snowflakes to instinctively avoid Him
"This is her legend: from one to thirteen, from thirteen to one."
Shad's eyes remained fixed on the witch high above, watching her faintly glowing silver hair spread and fly in the snow
"The sublimation of flesh and soul represents the end of mortality; this is the supreme honor of a mortal."
Witch Chloe finally stepped onto the twelfth and thirteenth stairs. A dark-golden gate had appeared at the end of the staircase at some unknown time. She stopped before the final step, then turned to look down.
Shad continued his conversation with the deity
"I understand everything else, but there is one thing I don't: Miss Chloe has completed the sublimation of her body and soul, but that doesn't represent the ascension to demigod status; it doesn't require a ritual for assistance."
He also saw Miss Chloe looking back at him from the final step, her crimson eyes carrying a golden luster
"I know that climbing the mountain is itself a ritual, but for the final step, doesn't she need additional ritual materials? There should be some preparations, after all. Why has she completed the final step empty-handed?"
The Old God [Winter Maiden] did not open Her mouth, but a calm voice still entered Shad's ears
"Perhaps the ritual materials themselves are hidden within her."
Shad nodded. The god did not look at him, yet still gave an additional reward
"You have done very well. Without you, even if she had climbed this far, she would not be as she is now. I am the god of winter, possessing the power of seasons, ice, and snow, which comes from two ancient deities. Among them, ice and snow are also forms of water..."
Shad turned to Him in surprise. The Old God [Winter Maiden] said softly
"The wise are like water, and knowledge and wisdom can be recorded. This requires a..."
"Recorder?"
The god showed no expression, as if the previous conversation had never happened.
White mist appeared from nowhere and entwined around Shad. The adventure of the winter of the year 903 of the Fifth Epoch had reached its final curtain. He firmly remembered the hint given by the deity and had a vague idea.
Then, while looking up, he raised his right hand and waved, bidding farewell to Miss Chloe on the thirteenth step
"Farewell! Farewell, Miss Chloe!"
He shouted loudly at the mountain peak. The silver-haired witch closed her eyes, turned around, reached out, and pushed open the door at the end of the highest step. Stepping across that threshold, the one who entered was a thirteenth-tier witch; amidst the celebratory bells and hymns, the one who emerged from the doorway was a Demigod Witch standing in the air in a brand new form.
Star-patterns shimmered on her evening gown, and snowflakes danced around her. She opened her arms to face the vast sea of stars and the snowy mountains beneath her feet. Scattering streams of light illuminated the night sky, the Silver Mountains, and the path the witch had traveled alone.
When she looked back down at the peak, only a blurred figure of Shad remained standing in the snow
"Farewell, Chloe! I'm glad I met you. Keep moving forward; you will never be alone!"
The white mist vanished completely. The outlander who did not belong to this era bid farewell to this period of time amidst his loud shouting and waving.
The god smiled at His believer. Demigod Witch Chloe descended from the air, her woven silver hair flying in the wind. After bowing, she asked softly
"Can I see him again?"
"Your echo has already been left within his soul."
The god embraced His believer. After the drifting snowflakes obscured the view, everything atop the peak of the Silver Mountains vanished together. In the wind, the [Omni-Change·Darkness] card flew across the lonely summit, drifting toward the distant mountains through the snow.
Perhaps in the far distant future, people will find it in the icebergs of the far north, but for Shad, this was already a story that had happened.