Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 1447 - 233 Babbling Not in Dreams

The door between the rituals was like a barrier separating two worlds, completely isolating the inner and outer rooms. Once the door closed, Pannis, who was inside, could no longer sense the outside world. Therefore, he didn’t know about the girls’ anxieties and worries, nor was he aware of Saen and Shiela’s pleas for help. In his world, the only thing that existed was a faint mist in the center of the room.

As Pannis had expected, the interior of Between the Rituals resembled the vast, void-like space he had seen before at the heart of the Forest of Death’s temple. One could not see its edges in any direction. The moment the door closed, it seemed as if it vanished entirely, as if it had never existed. Pannis knew, however, that the door hadn’t disappeared but had just moved beyond his range of vision. Theoretically, even though Between the Rituals was very large, one should have been able to see its edges. The phenomenon he was experiencing now was due to a subtle distortion of the spatial rules within the chamber, influenced by the Deity’s power, which caused the room’s space to be greatly enlarged. This enlargement was not Illusion Magic but a true magnification, meaning the room’s space had expanded hundreds or thousands of times its original area. In such a room, it was natural that Pannis could no longer see a door located tens of kilometers away.

Of course, this did not mean that it was impossible to leave through the door again. As long as nobody used special methods to seal the door, one only had to wish to leave, and in the moment of that thought, the door would appear abruptly before them, ready to be opened upon reaching out. However, Pannis clearly had no intention of leaving just yet. He simply stood with his arms crossed at the spot where the door had been, seemingly idly staring into the mist.

The mist was very thin, almost imperceptible, like a sheer veil descending from the sky. No one knew where it came from, nor why the thin mist never dissipated, but it stubbornly existed, swirling, forming the door that connected two spaces.

"Finally, I’m standing here again," Pannis said leisurely to himself, facing the familiar Door of Mist, "When I stood here all those years ago, I really never imagined there would come a day to return."

In the empty room, naturally, there was no one to answer his words--he didn’t need a response, just voicing his reflections. The experiences he had after passing through the Door of Mist were unforgettable to him. So what would happen this time? After crossing the mist-formed door, what would he encounter?

"My dear, I’ve come back to atone," Pannis did not immediately enter the Door of Mist, instead slowly sitting cross-legged just outside of it, elbows on his knees, chin resting on his hands, staring at the Door of Mist. Though he was only facing a passage, he seemed to see Nellie’s shadow through the Door of Mist, his eyes expressing deep longing as he spoke softly, "After entering the door, there might not be another chance to relax, so this is the only option. Looking back, it’s been so long since we last talked like this, hasn’t it? For all these years, I’ve been afraid to do so. Only now can I face you again like this--you won’t laugh at me, will you?"

"Over a hundred years have passed, and there’s so much I want to talk to you about. Are you willing to listen? Just like back then, leaning on my shoulder as I confided in you, hehe, even though your armor would make me uncomfortable, the happiness I felt was unmatched. I wish I could experience it once more."

"I’m sorry, my dear, for the terrible mistakes I made back then. I don’t want to make excuses, there aren’t any that would change anything. I was wrong, and no matter how many reasons I could find, nothing could hide that fact. The only thing I want to say is I’m sorry. I’ve imagined saying those words in front of you countless times, but never had the chance or the courage. Now, I’ve finally said it. Will you accept it?"

"I know you always saw me as a hero and never faltered in that, but I’m sorry that I couldn’t be your hero that one time. I know you never blamed me; you sacrificed yourself to give me another chance. Yet what did I do? I became a coward who ran away from everything. That version of me must have disappointed you. But now I am no longer a coward. I’ve heard your call and am ready to stand before you once again, to be the hero you have in your heart. Is it too late now? Can it still be on time?"

"By the way, do you know? I, this sorry excuse for a man, have finally changed heart and plan to leave you. Hahaha, just kidding, a stupid joke. But those girls, you must know them well, since Annie and Little Deer have been your eyes. You must have seen them. I cannot help but respond to their passionate feelings, yet my heart still deeply loves you. What should I do? Every time I think about this question, my head hurts terribly."

"And Flare, that guy is becoming more and more proactive, increasingly troubling too. Every time you and he sparred, you would pinch my arm with a smile. Why don’t you do it this time? Will I have the chance to feel that sweet pain once more?"

"Time flies so fast. It feels like it was just a dream, and a hundred years have stealthily passed by. If I hadn’t been taken away in a daze a hundred years ago but chose to stay with you instead, things would have been different. Unfortunately, there are no what-ifs with things that have already happened. No matter how hard I try, it’s impossible to amend the past. All I can do is talk to you once more, reliving past happiness and joy in fantasies."

"No matter what, my dear, I have come this time." Pannis finally rose from his low murmurs, stood up again, tightened the one-handed sword on his back one last time, and announced with his back straight, "Answering your call, I have come, my dear, to fulfill your wish, to fight alongside you once again, and then... to kill you, as you wished."

After saying all this, the lazy smile that had long adorned Pannis’s face disappeared. The hidden edge, like that of a blade, began to rise again, his gaze filling with confidence and decisiveness. After a light chuckle, he stepped decisively into the Door of Mist.

The sensation he had once experienced came once again, an experience akin to death. For Pannis, who had died countless times, such pain was no longer threatening. He didn’t even blink as he passed through what for others would be an excruciating process, and appeared in the realm of Danacus. In the instant of the spatial transition, Pannis finally saw Nellie again.