Chapter 346: The End of the Curse

[PRESENT]

"WIXX, that bastard!" Tilly yelled after seeing the last moments of her second life, the life she lived in the modern world. "He killed my baby!"

Her brain understood that her brother just did what he had to do.

But her heart hurt for her unborn child.

[Why do my children always have to suffer?]

"Tilly..."

It was Kiho, and his voice was coming from behind her.

She closed her eyes and clenched her fists tighter.

[Let’s not get angry at him, Tilly Nystrom.]

Kiho was probably feeling guilty because his past self had worked with Winchell to bring her back to this world by killing her children.

She wanted to get mad at her husband, but she had already made a resolution in the past that she wouldn’t blame Kiho for Kalel’s actions in the past. It would be useless to do so since getting angry at him wouldn’t change the past, anyway.

"Tilly, Winter isn’t waking up."

What?!

She immediately turned around and found Kiho carrying the unconscious Winter in his arms.

But her baby wasn’t just unconscious. Winter was also sweating and panting hard as if he was having a nightmare.

"Winter, baby," she said worriedly, then she touched his son’s forehead. She gasped when she realized his temperature was high. Then she looked up at Kiho who looked just as worried as her. "He has a fever, Kiho. Let’s get out of here."

They had already seen the past.

Moreover, she had already recorded the part that she needed to prove to the citizens of the empire that the Fire Mages didn’t betray the royal family. Most of all, she also recorded the atrocities Auro Moonchester had done in the past.

Since Auro and Aku Moonchester were the same person, it would be easy to convince the people that the current emperor didn’t deserve the throne.

[Experimenting on humans and Crades is low even for Aku Moonchester.]

"You can’t just leave without keeping your end of the deal, Lady Nystrom."

Oh, she almost forgot about Nia Moonchester.

When she turned around, she found the princess standing next to the now quiet Great Fire Tree. She suddenly remembered how the two became father-and-daughter.

[So, the Moon God gave the Great Fire Tree fake human emotions.]

Thus, the Great Fire Tree ended up treating Nia (a guardian spirit) like his daughter. Because of those feelings, the Great Fire Tree betrayed them and sided with Auro Moonchester. All because his "daughter" fell in love with the crooked emperor.

[And here we are now.]

"Alright, I’ll undo the curse I put on you," she said, then she put a hand on her chest. "Sentinel, come out."

Sentinel, Winchell’s Spirit Guardian, came out of her chest.

It seemed like Sentinel knew why he was summoned, so his body was now engulfed with red flame– the same flame that Winchell possessed.

"I cursed you to be reborn as Aku Moonchester’s again and again," she said, reminding Nia of the curse she placed on her in the past. "Only the Red Phoenix’s flame could burn the string connecting your soul to Aku Moonchester. My brother isn’t here, but his Spirit Guardian possessed the same flame as he does."

She put a hand on Sentinel’s shoulder.

Since she was the Supreme Fire Mage herself, she didn’t get burned even though the Spirit Guardian’s body was covered with flames.

"But of course, it also depends on my will," she continued with her explanation. "I have to have the intention of freeing you from the curse I created. It works that way because I also control the Red Flame."

Nia rolled her eyes at her explanation. "I already know that. That’s exactly why I’ve been hunting you and the Red Phoenix down all this time." She raised an eyebrow at her. "You will not betray me, will you?"

<"You can’t betray my daughter, Supreme,"> the Great Fire Tree warned her. <"I showed you the past.">

"I will not bail on you," she said, while looking straight at Nia’s eyes. "I just want to say that once the curse is undone, there’s no turning back."

Nia smirked bitterly at her. "I will not change my mind," she said firmly. "Hurry and undo the curse now."

"Alright," she said, then she pulled her hand away from Sentinel’s shoulder. Then she stepped back. "Sentinel, burn the string that connects Nia and Aku Moonchester together."

Sentinel nodded politely. "As you wish, Supreme."

The Spirit Guardian approached the princess carefully.

Then Sentinel extended his hand to Nia. "I need to touch your chest, the part where your heart is. The string that connects your soul to Aku Moonchester’s soul is embedded in your heart. Don’t worry– my flame won’t burn you to death because its only purpose at the moment is to end the Supreme’s curse."

"Do it," Nia said firmly. "I don’t mind if it’s for my freedom."

The Spirit Guardian just nodded, then he put his hand on Nia’s chest.

[Ah, my curse is breaking apart.]

Tilly felt it in every inch and fiber of her being– the curse that she created was coming undone.

And that made her smile slyly.

[The end of the curse is only the beginning of Nia’s punishment.]

***

NIA KNEW Soleil Rosenberg wouldn’t betray her since they made a deal where the traitor would die once they broke their promise.

Still, she was relieved when she felt Sentinel’s Red Flame burning the string in her heart.

She had done everything she could in every lifetime she was born into just to burn that damned thing. Finally, her hard work had paid off. She was now free. Now she couldn’t wait to die and get reborn in a world where Aku Moonchester didn’t exist.

"It’s done," Sentinel, the Red Phoenix’s Spirit Guardian, announced. Then he stepped away from her to return by Soleil Rosenberg’s side. "You are free now, Nia Moonchester."

"Don’t call me ’Moonchester,’" Nia snarled at him. "I’m no longer one."

The Spirit Guardian just shrugged his shoulders.

She decided to let it go since she didn’t know how to feel at the moment.

It was funny how she spent several lifetimes trying to get away from Aku Moonchester. But it only took Sentinel (not even the Red Phoenix himself) a few minutes to burn the damned string. She was glad to be free from the curse, but...

[I’m not complaining, but it feels anti-climatic.]

"Nia, congratulations on your freedom," Tilly Nystrom said while smiling at her. Hah! This lady had really dropped all the formalities. But since she claimed she was no longer a princess, she couldn’t complain just because Tilly Nystrom called her by her first name. "Make sure to treasure your life– that’s your last one."

Her last one?

She knitted her eyebrows, confused. "What do you mean by that, Lady Nystrom?"

"Your soul is now free," Tilly Nystrom explained. "But your freedom doesn’t come for free. You no longer have the right to be reborn. Once you die in this lifetime, it’s over for you."

She was too shocked to react.

The reason why she wanted to be free from Aku Moonchester so desperately was because she wanted to be reborn in a world where he didn’t exist. She wanted to experience the life that she had before the curse took place. It was a life where she was free, and the world she lived in was good to her despite the lack of magic.

But Tilly Nystrom was saying she wouldn’t be reborn anymore?

[If that’s the case, then everything I worked hard for would be put in vain!]

"You planned this, didn’t you?" Nia asked through gritted teeth, her hands clenched tight and her veins popping up her neck. The ungodly amount of rage rising in her chest was insufferable. She wanted to explode and destroy everything. "You undid the curse like this even though you knew I wanted to end it in the first place in order to be reborn to a world without Aku Moonchester in it!"

"It’s you who wanted me to end the curse, Nia," the Supreme Fire Mage reminded her coldly. "You didn’t ask what the consequences would be."

That was obviously nonsense.

Tilly Nystrom clearly knew that the consequence of being free from the curse would hurt her badly. And yet, she still didn’t say anything.

"It’s not my responsibility to give you a choice that wouldn’t hurt you," Tilly Nystrom said coldly. "Nia, it’s time for you to truly pay for all the crimes you have committed in your many lifetimes."

"Soleil Rosenberg!" Nia yelled, addressing Tilly Nystrom by ’Soleil Rosenberg’ because the latter was the one who created the curse. "I won’t go down alone."

Tilly Nystrom smiled at her threat. "Yes, let’s end this once and for all."

***

WHEN JULIAN came back to reality, to the plain white room in the Plane where he was still trapped, he realized he wasn’t alone.

"Brother?"

Julian blinked several times when Winter suddenly appeared before him. "What are you doing here, Winter?" he asked, confused. "You’re supposed to be with Mother and Father. But why is your spirit in here?"

Yes, Winter was in his spirit form.

"I don’t know, Brother," Winter said, and he looked as confused as him. "But I think I was summoned by the Plane."

The Plane?

Julian looked up at the white ceiling, and he noticed a hazy figure attached to it. "What a weirdo."

Now what?

***

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay