Chapter 721: The Story of the Red Butterfly

Behind the door was a huge room. Not only was the area larger than the entire floor of Xia De's house, but its height was three times that of a normal room.

It could be seen that Grandma Cassandra had carefully organized this room. Antiques, oil paintings, furniture, and even the music box and crystal ball ornaments on the table all looked valuable.

The room as a whole presented a bronze tone because the surrounding walls and the ceiling above were all written with copper powder, forming runes that looked like spreading vines. Looking closely, these were runes of various sealing rituals from different eras, together piecing together the seal of this house.

If the floor wasn't covered with a soft red wool carpet, Xia De believed he could also see similar runes on the ground.

On the wall to the left of the door was a fireplace, and crossed swords hung above the fireplace. At this moment, the raging fire in the fireplace provided light for this dim room. He didn't know what kind of firewood Grandma Cassandra used, or perhaps there was an incense burner lit in an invisible corner, and a fragrant smell permeated the air.

Except for the fireplace, there was no other light source here, so the room was a bit dim. After Xia De entered the door, the first thing he saw was white and black gauze skirts thrown on the carpet. And looking forward, occupying the largest area of the entire room was the four-poster bed in the center of the room.

It was a large mahogany bed that looked like it could easily accommodate thirty people. The height of the four posts reached the ceiling, and the shadows of the posts swayed on the walls with the flickering of the bonfire. Three layers of curtains hung around, which were white gauze, pink gauze, and the innermost black gauze.

The obstruction of the gauze curtains and the dimness in the room made it difficult for Xia De to see the elder sister Grace and the younger sister Helen. He could only see the figures of two girls sitting on the bed, snuggling together, but couldn't see their specific appearance and clothing clearly.

One of them leaned her head on the other's shoulder, and the other wrapped her arm around the other's back, half-hugging her in her arms. Perhaps since they met again in the Rift yesterday, they hadn't separated.

It's just that these two figures didn't look like humans.

This doesn't refer to their appearance, but to their height. Although they were sitting on the bed inside the gauze curtains, just based on the height of their upright upper bodies, their height would definitely not be lower than three meters. They seemed to have been magnified into giants, but the figures of these giants were so aesthetically pleasing, just like the so-called "god-men" depicted in religious oil paintings.

The change in body shape was probably one of the effects of the brief abnormal state after the Red Butterfly Twins met.

The evidence lies in the fact that the Whispering Elements in the room were very obvious. Although they were weaker than yesterday, they still made Xia De feel breathing difficulties and a slight headache.

Clearly there were no butterflies in the room, but he could hear the sound of butterflies flapping their wings. Listening carefully, it sounded like the whispers of two different female voices intertwined.

As the influence of the Whispering Elements on Xia De deepened, he even saw some very illusory, shadowy red butterflies in the air, but most of them just flashed by, leaving behind dots of red light before disappearing.

"Long time no see, sir."

"Long time no see, sir."

There was actually a difference in the voices of the twin sisters, so Xia De finally distinguished that it was the elder sister Grace hugging the younger sister Helen now.

Their voices were very hoarse and not particularly clear.

"Long time no see, Grace, Helen."

Xia De looked at them behind the three layers of gauze curtains. Clearly, he had many things he wanted to ask when he was at the door, but at this moment, he couldn't say a word:

"You... how have you been all these years?"

He asked this question again, and a light laugh came from behind the gauze curtains:

"Sir, then how have you been all these years?"

"Not bad. Actually, for me, the separation from you was only a month."

He didn't hide this point, and Helen, who had her head lightly placed on her sister's shoulder behind the gauze curtains, moved, changing to lean against the chest of the other figure. Shadowy red butterflies also flew inside the curtains, one of which landed on Helen's shoulder, but soon disappeared as if melting:

"Sir, for us, the separation from you hasn't been long either."

This was Grace's voice. As the elder sister, her voice sounded more stable.

"But, clearly it has already been..."

"First, I want to apologize on behalf of Helen."

Her figure gently stroked her sister's hair:

"Clearly we could have met you earlier, but we had to wait until the end, and even hid our identities to take you to such a dangerous place."

"That doesn't matter."

Xia De shook his head.

"For us, each cycle, each time is not a simple return of the body to the initial state, but even memories and emotions return to the initial state. Only the memories before being blessed by the gods are vivid. The other memories of the past five thousand years, washed away by the 22-year cycle, are as blurry as stories."

This explains why, although they are long-lived beings, their temperament is still similar to what it was back then.

"Crossing cycle after cycle, only wishing to meet my sister again. Time is really fast, sir. In the blink of an eye, it's already the Sixth Era."

She said softly, her tone quite resentful.

"Has it been so many years?"

Helen also asked softly:

"I remember the initial story, and the reunion with my sister time after time, the waiting time after time, then sleeping, then waiting again... The meaning of life seems to be only reunion and waiting. Moreover, we probably can't be considered humans anymore."

"Back then, why did you accept the blessing of the Twin Gods?"

Xia De asked. He even thought that this blessing and curse were almost indistinguishable.

"This was our own willingness. Because apart from this method, there is no other way to realize our wish. Sir, my sister and I are different from you."

Grace said. Xia De knew that the blue eyes of the tall figure behind the gauze curtains were looking at him through the gauze:

"We are just ordinary mortals. Even with your help, we survived the God's banquet, but we are still just mortals. Even if the Great One stares at us for a second, it is our greatest honor."

The figures of the tall girls hugged each other behind the gauze curtains. Clearly, it was a very enchanting scene, but it was so sad.

The bonfire raging in the room cast the entangled shadows in the gauze curtains onto the wall engraved with runes. And Xia De's shadow watched them quietly from the side.

"What we sought was to get rid of the family curse of never meeting again, and then be together forever. Didn't the god who blessed the twins already realize our wish?"

Grace asked.

"Yes."

Helen sighed softly:

"The god descended personally, defeated the subspace evil thing that the family had been guarding for generations, liberated the mission that had been passed down for several generations, and broke the curse that my sister and I would never meet again; the god gave us blessings, allowing us to live forever, allowing that bond and attachment to last forever; the god even gave us power, allowing us, as His divine dependents, to be able to walk through this world wantonly even now that the god has long since left... God has already done enough for us."

"And the price we need to pay for this gift of fate..."

The figures of Grace and Helen in the gauze curtains looked at Xia De standing by the bed at the same time:

"... is just to use the 22-year cycle to assist the Phoenix in suppressing the Life and Death Rift."

Xia De didn't know what to say for a moment. Their choice was really voluntary.

"The Phoenix is reborn in the fire time after time. Although we were originally just mortals, now we are almost equivalent to being able to be reborn in the fire. Sir, look at these red butterflies."

Butterflies dancing gracefully surrounded Xia De. But when Xia De wanted to reach out and touch them, those butterflies scattered again.

"This is the witness of time, the witness of my sister's and my feelings, the witness of our mutual torture and mutual attachment. Time will wear away feelings, but our rich feelings and love have become even deeper in this torture and attachment. Look, God even helped us use this method to always maintain our original intention. Bitter waiting, painful farewells, and the bruises on our necks polish our feelings and souls..."

This kind of mellow feeling can actually be described as "twisted," but for them, this is what they want.

"God did not bind us. If we want to leave, we only need to step into death together to end everything. But for so many years, so many times, no one has tired of that waiting and reunion."

The power in Grace's words showed their determination.

The Outlander suddenly felt that he might have understood their thoughts. This might not be the best, but at least it's not bad:

"Grace, Helen. I want to know, if you returned to the era when I met you, would you still make this choice?"

"Yes, sir."

The tall figures in the gauze curtains answered almost in unison.

"Long ago we understood that all mortals must die. We are not afraid of death; we are afraid of parting. Wanting to be together forever is my sister's and my eternal wish."

Helen in the gauze curtains sat up from Grace's arms, and that figure pinched the other figure's chin and kissed her.

Xia De couldn't understand this twisted emotion, but he believed that this emotion, called family affection, love, or something more complex, was actually the curse imposed on Grace and Helen.

At that God's banquet, everyone had their own wishes. Although Xia De saw the specialness of the twins at that time, he didn't expect that they would use this method to continue the story to this day.

Torturing each other, longing for each other, waiting for each other, parting from each other, walking alone in the material world for 22 years, just to climb to the top of the mountain again to welcome the other person.

The Outlander has witnessed many stories in this world, but the story of Helen and Grace still makes him feel sighing. The red butterfly witnessed the cycle that spanned two eras, and Xia De witnessed the beginning of everything.

He knew that the current situation was already very good for Grace and Helen. But he didn't like this story, not at all. If he could complete the path of Twelve Divine Ascensions, the Outlander would definitely not let this story end with such a cycle. ===== CHAPTER 722 =====