Mage Manual

Chapter 1745: Chapter 1292: It’s Just a Bit of Affection!

Aside from these more obvious changes, Vishi is certain there have been more subtle shifts in her views and lifestyle.

If she hadn’t experienced it firsthand, she couldn’t have imagined that just a year of close companionship could quietly unravel her principles upheld for thousands of years, how the poison named "Ash Heath" could so thoroughly pollute her soul and corrupt her heart.

I will never return to being the Ghost Prophet I once was.

But why... does it seem like I’m not unhappy about it?

After finishing three servings of Cloud Melt, Vishi changed her mind.

She originally planned to go to Earth Abyss or Paradise to carry out her "Soul Refining Project," to summon a Divine Being at the fastest speed, then make her way into Heaven to vie for the final seat of the Divine Lord... But now she thought perhaps she could spend some time researching Ash as a person.

Note, it’s not about saving Ash, though Vishi doesn’t think she’s truly fallen into it, she also doesn’t want the risk of liking someone else. She still thinks the disappeared Ash is the good Ash, she’ll get mad at whoever saves Ash. She’s just curious about who Ash is and why he has such a significant impact on her.

More accurately, she’s not curious about Ash, but rather "the self when with Ash."

Both fearful and curious, wanting to get close yet unable to help but stay away, Vishi never thought an nonexistent person could make her so anxious and conflicted.

She composed herself, preparing to return to Blood Moon. Since Ash’s diary started from Shattered Lake Prison, she decided to check out Shattered Lake.

At that moment, the Dark Soul Wonder in the Magic Temple mildly trembled, as Vishi seemed to hear a distant voice: "These three wonders, keep them, I’ll watch over you well... always, always watching you, until the end of your life and mine."

Suddenly looking up and glancing around, she only saw the crowd coming and going. She inwardly examined the Dark Soul Wonder in the Magic Temple, and after a tremor, it calmed down, as if nothing had happened.

Since the Dark Soul Wonder is structured with the Soul-locking God as its core of the Heavenly Position Wonder, Vishi instinctively thought she had constructed the Dark Soul Wonder. But now after researching for a moment, Vishi realized the Dark Soul Wonder absolutely wasn’t her construct, not only did she not build any memory, but parts of the technique’s magic design were also beyond her understanding.

It’s not her construct, yet the core is her Soul-locking God, which means there’s only one possibility — this is a Soul Wonder tailor-made for her by Ash using her God!

But hasn’t he always been wary of me in the diary, keen to strip all my powers? If gifting the Wonder and World Secret Domain could still be seen as him using me, then spending so much mental energy customizing a Wonder exclusively for me...

Vishi’s expression flickered, a sudden impulse to turn and leave arose. She had just wanted to chase after Ash’s secrets, but upon really uncovering traces he left with her, her first reaction was to flee.

It’s hard to describe Vishi’s mood at this moment, after losing all memories related to Ash, her self-perception actually regressed thoroughly to the "Ghost Prophet period," so she’s now observing the Demon Maid from a Ghost Prophet’s perspective... To insist on describing it, it’s like a young girl who thought romantic love was foolish suddenly peeking at the possibility that she could become a gentle wife in the future.

A kind of indescribable shame, extremely unwilling to face such a possibility.

Yet Vishi restrained her shame, carefully observing the Star Bridge Hall. Since the Dark Soul Wonder trembled here, it must be related to Ash... soon, her gaze locked onto the stone beam beneath the dome.

Vishi remembered she had been to the Star Bridge Hall for reconnaissance before and stayed at the stone beam for at least an hour. But reconnaissance ended with just a glance, with no need to linger for an hour, coupled with the trembling of the Dark Soul Wonder, meaning... it’s highly likely she had an encounter with Ash on the stone beam!

Silently arriving at the stone beam, the bustling Star Bridge Hall below was revealed completely. As she approached the place she had investigated, time-space suddenly became sticky, fragments of shattered memories constantly flashing back, as if this spot was the thinnest intersection point of two different world lines, the closer she got, the more she resonated with the concealed real world line!

Pop!

Vishi saw a dazzling firefly flicker across the air, then her spirit was drawn by the threads of longing, as if sinking into the deep lake of memory, finding the Memory Gem she had lost from the muddy and dark lake bottom.

She saw Ash and herself infiltrating the Star Bridge Hall, saw Ash constructing the Dark Soul Wonder for her, saw Ash ask if she’d still kill and refine souls, saw her fiercely shatter Ash’s illusion about her, when Ash was down, propose a ’pretend you fell for me’ deal...

So that’s it, I’ve come to understand thoroughly.

Even amidst the vortex of memory, Vishi maintained her inner true self, unimpacted by "Maid Vishi."

She was worried how much the maid was enamored with Ash, didn’t expect it was only to this extent — the maid indeed took a liking to Ash, but merely wanted to use Ash as a stress relief toy, hence brought up the deal proposal.

No love, only a deal, go on as if nothing happened after satisfaction, could even take the opportunity to counter-control Ash! Seriously, how could I possibly become a love-struck fool, turns out I was only pure bed companions with Ash!

Thinking carefully, Ash courting Sword Maiden, Witch, Silver Lamp, all took life-risking efforts, using irreplaceable experiences to exchange for their lives, using shared life and death tests to move their true hearts, it surely worked for young girls, but how could it possibly work for me?

A companion is a companion, a friend is a friend, a lover is a lover, these are three completely distinct concepts, no matter how well Ash does in adventures, I’ll only recognize him as my companion, never because of it claim him as a lover.

There’s essentially no possibility of becoming my lover, because I can’t even picture myself infatuated with another.

But Ash is still quite impressive, able to make me produce favor, unfortunately, only to this extent. Under my active seduction, he would very soon completely obsess over me, becoming my devoted subordinate—

Then Vishi saw Ash in the memory kissing her while putting his hands under her arms. His hands slowly pushed inward, squeezing Vishi’s softness with his tiger mouth, kneading from below to above, the force transitioned from light to heavy, iterating...

When Vishi came to, she was already sitting on the stone beam limply, head dizzy, face red as if it could drip blood, body weak, moist overflowing.

"What happened?" She touched her hot cheek, "What just happened!? Did Ash use a Miracle?"

"Damn it, try again, this time I must uncover his tricks!"

"Once more!"

"Again!"

"I refuse to believe I can’t pull through even once!"

```