Free Web NovelChapter 560: Chapter 560 Guest of the ’Illusory Moon’_1
"Phantom Moon" jewelry store, Melissa was resting her chin in her hands, eyes tightly closed.
Suddenly, she awoke, opening her eyes slightly, but soon, she slowly closed her eyelids again.
The tranquility of the shop continued for a few more minutes, when the ring of a bell indicated a customer pushing the door open and walking in.
A man in his mid-thirties to forties, with healthy, deep wheat-colored skin. He wore his long hair casually tied back, a beard that was hardly trimmed, a handsome face, and profound eyes. He looked like a wandering minstrel seen here and there, albeit somewhat like an explorer.
"Customer’s here, and you’re still keeping your eyes closed, isn’t that a bit rude?" the man said to Melissa.
"Give me a few more minutes, it’s just getting to the good part," Melissa replied, still with her eyes closed.
The guest waited patiently, leaning on his cane. After a good while, Melissa finally opened her eyes again, "It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, you’ve changed again, is this look an original or a copy?"
"A copy... I’m actually quite surprised you’re still using that body," said the guest with the cane indifferently. "You foresaw my visit, and didn’t even prepare a cup of tea?"
"If you need tea, why don’t you ’brew some’ yourself?" Melissa said with a grin.
"What’s the point of making something that’s destined to disappear?" the guest asked in return.
"In that case, wouldn’t everything you’ve been doing be completely meaningless?" A mocking smile appeared on Melissa’s face. "Just to fill your own emptiness and boredom? How ironic, you’re supposed to be the most fulfilled person in this world."
"Infinite time and power always come with some side effects, don’t they?" the guest said as he sat on a chair in front of the counter.
"Besides this, there’s not much else that can pique my interest." Melissa responded.
"Have you harvested any new material?"
"Not yet."
"I thought so. How does it feel to read old materials?" the guest asked.
"Like reading the same book over and over, one you’ve already read several times. Thankfully, it’s a book I like, perfect for passing the time." Melissa answered.
"No matter how interesting a book is, reading it over and over again will make it dull," said the guest.
"That’s why I want to achieve ’hatred,’ to discard the memories I once had with ’sacrifice,’ so each experience becomes new." Melissa retorted nonchalantly.
"You make me a bit tempted," said the guest.
After he finished speaking, he suddenly muttered something under his breath, then lifted his hand holding a cup of steaming red tea and took a sip.
The display counter for gems and jewelry was originally empty, but the cup of red tea materialized in his hand out of thin air.
Melissa also extended her hand in a gesture of holding a cup, "Got anything new to share?" freeweɓnovel.cøm
The guest merely glanced at her hand, and a cup of steaming tea appeared out of nowhere in it.
"This fragrance is quite unique," commented Melissa.
"The spiced tea from the north of the Northern Continent is actually more appropriate to call a soup, it’s used by the locals to fend off the cold," the guest explained calmly.
Melissa took a sip and stuck out her tongue, "It’s a bit astringent."
"You’ll get addicted if you drink it for a while," the guest said.
"Once you leave, I won’t be able to drink a second cup," Melissa said casually, flinging the cup containing the tea toward the ground.
However, there was no sound of anything hitting the floor; the cup of tea simply vanished without a trace the moment it left Melissa’s hand.
"Having experienced it once, you can recreate it in the Spirit world," the guest replied. "That’s something I cannot do."
"So, you just came to see me?" Melissa gazed at him for a while, almost habitually starting to read his inner purpose, "I see, gathering material... But it’s a pity, the story is still some time from ending, and I can’t predict the conclusion directly right now."
"A mortal’s wager evolving to this extent is quite an achievement," the guest nodded. "I like the dramatic nature of the unlikely events born within uncertainty. The end of a story is important; a bad ending can ruin an entire story. As the one wielding the pen, you should exert some control, but you shouldn’t interfere too much, letting your chess pieces play their part."
"Sorry, I don’t have the same creative urge as you, third-rate author," Melissa replied indifferently. "I’ll manipulate the material I get however I like. That’s why I sealed away my other half, because I don’t want to spoil the whole thing for myself before I see the end. It would greatly diminish my pleasure."
"Then I can only hope you don’t repeat your past mistakes," the guest said, taking another sip from his cup, which had now turned from tea to coffee.
"But that’s not what you really think, is it?" Melissa squinted at the guest, "You enjoyed my last failure, and you look forward to seeing me fail this time too."
"What I enjoy is only the dramatic," the guest answered composedly.
"I’m different; whether it’s an ending that comes out of the blue or one that’s entirely under my control, I like them both," Melissa spread her hands, "But anyhow, I have to thank you for your gift. Your daughter has been very useful material. I thought you would refuse."
"I just wanted to try to learn how to write a tragedy, but it feels difficult," the guest shook his head expressionlessly. "Have you molded her into what I wanted?"
"She was already like that; I just gave her a slight nudge. You’re not very sensitive to emotions. Trying to create such a thing while being detached from human emotions is like cultivating a rootless plant," Melissa shook her head in return, "Can’t you produce work without messing around like that? You really are a third-rate author."
"Maybe what I like is not creating, but simply messing around," the guest said, staring at the coffee in his cup with a placid expression. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
"Then you’re no different from me," Melissa suddenly burst into laughter.
"There’s never been any essential difference to begin with."
The guest picked up his cup for the third time, and now even the cup’s shape had changed, becoming a wine glass filled with bubbly champagne and ice cubes.
He drank everything in the glass in one gulp, and when he put the glass down, it too had disappeared without a trace.
"Leaving? I won’t see you out," Melissa read his intent to say farewell.
"Is there anything else you need me to do?" the guest asked one last question.
"Nothing at all, just be a spectator to your heart’s content," Melissa said calmly.
"Then I shall respect the etiquette of a spectator and silently witness the conclusion you write. I look forward to your work," the guest got up and headed towards the door, "Goodbye."
