Vol 6. Chapter 152: That Is Your Ending

Upon reaching the library, Leon was greeted by several guards stationed outside. They all saluted at his arrival. Leon nodded back briefly before pushing open the door and striding inside.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Aurora, who was sitting with Safina, immediately looked up.

“Dad!”

After the sudden eruption of those monstrous creatures all across the Samael Continent, Aurora had been anxiously awaiting her father’s return.

The little pink-haired girl leaped down from the chair with a tiger-like pounce, running straight toward Leon. But unlike previous reunions, Leon’s reaction when he bent down to catch her was stiff, almost mechanical.

Fortunately, Aurora’s warm embrace managed to pull him back to reality, even if just a little.

“Dad, you’re finally back! The academy said the outside is really dangerous right now. Did you and Mom get hurt?”

“I heard that Safina-sensei and Kaiser-sensei brought me and Big Sis back a few days ago. None of my other siblings got hurt, right? Dad?”

Aurora was about to keep talking, but then she noticed that Leon was looking at her in a strange way.

His gaze appeared calm on the surface, yet beneath that calmness, there was a sorrow that was difficult to describe.

Aurora stepped back half a step and cautiously asked:

“Dad, what’s wrong? Did I say [N O V E L I G H T] something wrong?”

Leon forced himself to tear his gaze away from Aurora’s face. He lowered his eyes and squeezed out a smile:

“No, Dad’s just tired. I zoned out for a moment. Sorry about that.”

Aurora tilted her head slightly, brushing her hand over her hair in confusion.

“It’s normal to zone out, so why say sorry, Dad?”

Leon pressed his lips together tightly, refusing to say anything more. Instead, he quickly changed the subject.

“Go back to the bedroom. Mom’s back too. Everyone’s waiting for you.”

“Oh, okay.”

With that, Aurora slowly walked away. But before she completely exited the room, she looked back and asked:

“Dad, aren’t you coming with me?”

“I still need to talk with Safina. You go ahead. Dad will be there soon.”

Aurora nodded, “Alright.”

The little pink-haired girl left.

Now, only Leon, Safina, and Kaiser — who was standing by the bookshelf, skimming through some books — remained in the library.

Leon stepped forward and sat down across from Safina. He glanced at the books on the table beside her:

"Magic Conversion," "The Primal Light Body," and a few other ancient texts.

Leon drew back his gaze and fixed it on Safina. “You mentioned in the letter that those things would happen soon. How soon?”

“Very soon.”

Safina’s tone was as calm as always. She met Leon’s gaze, her expression unchanging as she continued:

“The fact that the Void can invade the Samael Continent on such a large scale signifies that the powers of the Original Gods have already been depleted. Just relying on the powers of the God of Wisdom and the God of Light is not enough to suppress the Void Gate. And if I’m not mistaken, something must have gone wrong when you were searching for the Five-Spirit Crown, right?”

Leon said nothing. He lowered his head, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a handful of dull, golden shards, placing them on the table.

“Atos and Carl each self-detonated, destroying the crown.”

For a brief moment, a flash of shock appeared on Safina’s face, but it quickly vanished.

“That sounds exactly like something that madman Atos would do.”

Leon let out a deep sigh.

“The crown is gone. Everything we did before... was for nothing. Without the crown, the individual spirit cores only possess their respective elemental powers, but they can no longer function as the key to sealing the Void Gate. And once Chronos completely vanishes, the power of time will disappear as well. When that happens, the Void will fully invade the Samael Continent. And when two worlds collide, who knows what kind of catastrophic consequences will follow...”

As Leon spoke, Safina leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest.

“But just like I said in the letter, there is a way to prevent that ending.”

Leon remained silent. But Safina knew he understood exactly what she was referring to.

“Chronos’ chosen successor — the only key capable of saving the Samael Continent and countless lives.”

Safina slightly tilted her head, her gaze fixed on Leon’s heavy expression.

“The time you have to make a decision is running out, Leon. The power of time could vanish from the world at any moment, and Atos could return at any moment as well. Are you going to stand by and watch as the world sinks into the abyss of despair? Or will you sacrifice your own daughter to win this war and save everyone except for Aurora?”

Atos was right.

This was an impossible choice.

No matter what decision Leon made, he would regret it. And in the face of such a hopeless choice, Leon wasn’t really struggling over what decision to make.

He was struggling to understand why he was the one who had to make such a choice in the first place.

Why did fate place him in such an impossible situation?

In the past, no matter what kind of predicament he faced, Leon could always rely on his own strength to carve out a path.

But this time, the problem in front of him wasn’t something that could be solved by brute strength alone.

The weight of the entire world pressed down on his shoulders, suffocating him.

After more than ten minutes of silence, Safina finally exhaled a long breath and changed the subject.

“Kaiser and I will help.”

Leon blinked, a bit taken aback. “Help? But didn’t you want to stay out of this conflict?”

Safina shook her head.

“At first, that was what we wanted. But then we realized that running away was useless. It would only end up involving the people we care about. Kaiser said that doing nothing would only make things more complicated. If you want to solve a problem, you have to face it head-on. And besides...”

She deliberately dragged out her words, as if waiting for Leon to respond.

“And besides... what?”

Safina smiled faintly, meeting Leon’s eyes.

“And besides, the reason you arranged for us to work at Saint Heath Academy, even letting me become Noa’s teacher, was so that we could spend time with your daughters and gradually forget about the shadows of the past, right?”

Leon’s thoughts were laid bare, and he couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly.

“You saw right through me?”

“A masterful scheme, Leon. No one can resist your adorable daughters.”

Safina chuckled softly, but her laughter soon faded.

After a long silence, Safina’s tone grew more serious.

“There’s something I want to ask you, Leon.”

“What is it?”

She rubbed her chin, biting her lip slightly. Her lavender eyes lowered, and that conflicted look on her face suggested she was battling an inner struggle. Finally, as if making a difficult decision, Safina spoke:

“What kind of ending... do you think someone like me deserves?”

Leon was momentarily stunned by the question.

How had the conversation suddenly shifted to this? But he still took the question seriously, contemplating it before replying,

“To return to peace and live out the rest of your life in tranquility.”

She looked into Leon’s eyes, her voice a low, echoing murmur.

“To return to peace... and live out the rest of my life in tranquility...? Heh. What a desirable ending.”

Safina stood up, and Kaiser, holding several books, stepped up beside her.

The two of them looked down at Leon. Leon wasn’t sure what part of his words had struck a nerve with Safina.

After a few seconds of silence, Safina said softly, “No, Leon. That should be your ending, not... mine.”