The purpose of this trip to the Elysian Realm had mostly been fulfilled.
Although Lin Wei's most important goal hadn't been achieved yet, it wasn't a complete loss either. For example, finding a solution to Yuno's thorny problem was a result that ultimately brought Lin Wei considerable relief.
At least one worry was successfully resolved. And after "successfully" meeting all the Flame-Chasers, besides the "Sanctum of Scent" which held special significance, there was nothing left in this Elysian Realm that could pique Lin Wei's curiosity.
As for the "Sanctum of Scent," that somewhat ominous place in the original timeline, he had even less interest in it.
Despite this, Lin Wei wasn't completely idle. Over the next few days, Lin Wei spent more time with Yae Sakura.
Before this, Lin Wei had been rushing around different areas all day for Yae Sakura and Yuno's problems. Yae Sakura herself had also been diligently honing her martial skills every second, preparing for more battles after returning to reality. But now, these preoccupations had coincidentally faded for both of them.
When she practiced, Lin Wei would watch quietly nearby. When practice time ended, they would enjoy tea and rest together under the cherry blossom tree, accompanied by its faint fragrance. Then, sometimes they would wander casually through the Elysian Realm as if strolling, admiring the bizarre yet magnificently beautiful and unique scenery.
"Staying here for a long time, sometimes you really forget what reality originally looked like," Lin Wei sighed.
"If there weren't so many troubles, living in this paradise, unconcerned with worldly affairs, would also be a very good thing..."
He liked this simple life, but he also knew it was impossible. There were many things in reality that only he could solve; Lin Wei couldn't allow himself to hide his head in the sand like an ostrich, deceiving himself.
But regardless, for this last bit of free time, perhaps as compensation out of guilt, or for some other reason, Lin Wei preferred to spend this time with Yae Sakura.
He only knew that he could never bear the thought of losing her...
"Always having such lax thoughts isn't a good habit, you know~"
Hearing Lin Wei say this, Yae Sakura's reply was slightly mischievous. Compared to Lin Wei's complex inner turmoil, she was more simply enjoying the present peace and happiness.
No one in the world understood "the capriciousness of fate" better than she did. After five hundred years of torment and finally escaping her shackles, no one understood "cherishing" better than she did.
"If the future is truly unavoidable, at least one fallen leaf will be colorful..." Yae Sakura thought silently. Because of this, she didn't want future worries to disturb her beautiful mood at this moment.
"Lax?" (being laid-back, unmotivated)
Hearing Yae Sakura's slightly mischievous words, Lin Wei laughed heartily, not ashamed but rather proud.
"I've always been a very lazy person, it's not like you didn't know that from day one!"
He actually wanted to say, "If you don't want me to degenerate like this, please supervise me more in the future." But the words, upon reaching his lips, ultimately turned into a somewhat self-deprecating joke.
He found he couldn't make such a promise, thus he especially didn't want her to see the vulnerability deep within his heart.
"..."
Yae Sakura responded with a speechless smile.
She also wanted to say something like, "In that case, I'll supervise you strictly," but ultimately couldn't bring herself to say it. She didn't know how much longer she could accompany him, so she didn't want to leave him with more regrets because of it.
People are like that; sometimes, the closer they are, the more easily they tacitly hide things from each other...
---||---
Of course, besides Yae Sakura, Lin Wei hadn't forgotten about Yuno. He would also set aside some time each day to visit her. He had wanted to bring Yae Sakura along, but whenever he suggested it, she would always smile and shake her head; she didn't like joining in on the excitement.
Lin Wei couldn't really force her, so he would escort her back to Elysian SAKURA's area before going alone to Hua's area.
Since partially resolving her inner conflicts last time, Yuno's mental state had visibly stabilized considerably. At least Hua no longer needed to use the Feather of Sentience to maintain her sanity at all times. Instead, Yuno could gradually begin some progressive training, like a normal Successor.
With Elysia and Hua around, and perhaps even including the Elysian Realm's Sakura, Lin Wei wasn't too worried about Yuno training alone in the Elysian Realm in the future with their care.
But even so, Lin Wei couldn't help but want to do more to prepare her. For example, he took her to see Kalpas again, forcing her to bow her head and apologize to him.
There was no helping it; who asked her to provoke him?
"..."
The area where Kalpas resided was perpetually burning with scorching flames and littered with countless monster corpses. These constantly stimulated Yuno's nerves, causing the deeply ingrained violent aura within her to stir restlessly again.
She didn't like Kalpas; the undisguised ferocity and violent aura emanating from that man constantly grated on her nerves. But with Lin Wei watching her, even if Yuno was reluctant, she still obediently bowed and apologized for her earlier reckless behavior.
"Brother Kalpas, calm down. This child was ignorant before. We shouldn't stoop to a little girl's level, right?"
Lin Wei coaxed Kalpas with a cheeky grin, somewhat reminiscent of Elysia's previous pestering.
He was very worried that when he wasn't around, this silly girl, who became lawless when excited, would provoke Kalpas again—with this old brother's explosive temper, would he tolerate her?
Therefore, Lin Wei wanted to give both sides a preventative measure in advance, so that if such a thing really happened in the future, it wouldn't get too out of hand.
"...Just for this?"
The eyes behind Kalpas's mask glanced at the overly solicitous Lin Wei. Someone actually dares to come before me and plead for mercy?
Kalpas had lived a long time but had rarely seen such a thing; it truly left him a bit flustered.
Then he glanced at Yuno, who was silent and looked quiet and obedient, and waved his hand impatiently.
"Scram, I'm not interested!"
"Got it!"
That was exactly what Lin Wei wanted to hear. After a great sigh of relief, he quickly took Yuno back where they came from.
"Phew, alright..."
Lin Wei wiped his cold sweat and said,
"This way, there shouldn't be any major accidents."
"...Are you still going to leave me behind?"
Yuno asked with some reluctance. She had thought that if she was obedient, Lin Wei would change his mind.
The moment the words left her mouth, Lin Wei's gaze fixed on her again, and she could only lower her head in dejection.
"Be good. Didn't we already agree?"
Lin Wei just smiled and patted her head, saying patiently,
"After you can complete the trials in the Elysian Realm with your own strength, at that time, whether you want to continue staying by my side, or have other things you want to do, places you want to go, I will respect your decision."
"...Mm."
Yuno nodded almost imperceptibly. Even if she still felt some reluctance, she knew that being stubborn wouldn't achieve anything else.
"Let's go, I'll take you to see one more person..."
Lin Wei prepared to take her to see Mobius again.
"To better and faster develop your constitution and the potential within your body, it's best to get her help."
Anyway, I already shamelessly begged Kalpas once. Worst case, I'll just do the same with Mobius, say a few more things she likes to hear, and coax her a bit.
Lin Wei shamelessly plotted while leading her towards Mobius's laboratory. However, he unexpectedly found that although Mobius's lab area wasn't closed, it was empty, with no one inside.
"Mobius? Where did she go?"
Lin Wei tried calling out a few times, but there was no response. Seeing this, he had no choice but to return the way he came.
"Forget it, next time then..."
Over the next few days, Lin Wei brought Yuno several more times, but the result was always the same, without exception. This made Lin Wei increasingly surprised, even making him wonder if that person was avoiding him.
"...Did I offend her somewhere?"
Lin Wei felt a little apprehensive. He prepared to go back to the main hall and ask the all-knowing Elysia for peace of mind.
Returning to the main hall, he didn't see Elysia as expected, but instead saw two unexpected people—
In the very center of the hall, the little girl with sky-blue hair, clear like the sky after rain, sat barefoot before a canvas, seemingly lost in deep thought.
Beside her, the horned teenager stood quietly behind her, seemingly powerless to help with her troubles. Seeing Lin Wei return, he merely nodded at him without a word.
What a quiet, handsome young man.
"Kosma, and Griseo? What are you two doing here?"
Lin Wei asked, somewhat surprised.
"You've come. I was waiting for you..."
Griseo's clear, light purple eyes shifted slightly, glanced at Lin Wei, then returned to the canvas before her. She said with some distress,
"This painting for you, I've finished it. Yet it seems to be missing a little color, it doesn't look complete..."
"A painting?"
Lin Wei looked at the canvas in surprise. Could she be talking about this?
Curious, Lin Wei walked behind her to look at the painting Griseo called unfinished and couldn't help but be slightly stunned.
It was an extremely bizarre painting, looking both sacred and evil.
It was sacred because the right side of the painting was immaculately holy, with flowers blooming in profusion. Countless people ran on the earth, and innumerable angels sang in the clouds.
It was evil because the left side of the painting was dark and filthy, rife with sin. Countless terrified faces fell from the sky, and innumerable demons reveled in the mud on the ground.
...
Two diametrically opposed scenes appeared simultaneously on the same canvas, separated only by the figure walking along the canvas's centerline—
He seemed to be walking upwards, as if ascending from hell to heaven.
He seemed to be strolling downwards, as if falling from heaven to hell.
One hand reached into the holy clouds, as if lifting the laughing creatures on earth.
One hand plunged into the ugly black mud, as if casting down the terrified sinners of the human world...
"..."
Lin Wei didn't know how to describe his feelings upon seeing this painting.
Honestly, the painting was brilliant. If it were circulated, it would likely be very popular among religious people, not at all like a work a girl under twelve could create.
But this was Griseo's work, her gift to him.
Her paintings not only possessed certain special powers but also carried a mysterious prophetic quality—the paintings she gave to other Flame-Chasers all more or less alluded to their respective lives, even their respective endings.
"The color on me can actually produce such a bizarre thing?"
Lin Wei looked at the strange figure in the center of the canvas, half in darkness, half in light, and couldn't help but feel a wave of panic.
What exactly do you mean?
"Hmm..."
Griseo frowned and muttered to herself,
"Which colors are missing?"
"Griseo..."
Before Lin Wei could say anything, Kosma beside him spoke first, looking deeply at Lin Wei.
"This painting, in my opinion, is best left unfinished."
After experiencing so much, how could he not understand—if a person were to possess the qualification to judge heaven and hell, what "price" would they have to pay?
That missing bit of "color" was likely such a crucial thing.
"Hmm... Yes, you're right, Kosma. It is indeed better this way."
Griseo thought for a moment, her delicately furrowed brows slowly relaxing. She slowly looked at Lin Wei.
"This painting, do you like it?"
"Mm, I like it very much. Thank you, Griseo."
Lin Wei smiled and patted her head.
He didn't know if he was thanking Griseo for this gift, or for not insisting on adding something unnecessary to the already dangerous figure in the painting—at least until the end, it was still the image of a "person"...
Seeing Lin Wei was satisfied, Griseo gently took it off the easel, handed it over, then left the hall with Kosma, returning to the studio in the Elysian Realm.
"Sigh, what a headache..."
Lin Wei carefully put away the "black and white" painting with a conflicted expression, then pushed open the door to the lounge.
"Su, you're here too?"
Lin Wei was surprised again, then raised the painting in his hand with a wry smile.
"You weren't just watching the show, were you?"
"Although Griseo's paintings have their unique aspects, they are ultimately just paintings. Their meaning ultimately depends on the viewer's current state of mind."
Su spoke softly, as if trying to gently guide Lin Wei.
"I did come this time waiting for you, but not for this painting. Rather..."
As Su spoke, he slowly opened his palm, presenting a vibrant, leaping green Bodhi leaf to Lin Wei.
"Although she didn't want me to say it, I didn't promise to keep this secret for her—Mobius asked me to pass this on to you."
"Some information stored in this Bodhi leaf might offer some insignificant help to the matter that troubles you..."
(End of Volume IV: Return to the Elysian Realm)