The Sorcerer's Handbook

Chapter 120: Some Things Just Can’t Be Locked

”This is really happening... It’s insane!”

As her toes left the boat and she soared into the white mist, Sonya felt goosebumps crawl across her skin. It was like seeing Didaros’s film for the first time on a light screen. She was utterly captivated by the miracle unfolding before her eyes.

Ashe cautioned, ”Don’t get too excited. We have to move in sync. One mistake, and we could fall.”

Sonya’s confidence didn’t waver. ”You said there’s a bond between us, right? If it truly exists, coordinating like this shouldn’t be a problem.”

She glanced at Ashe and gripped his right hand with her left, as though holding it could connect their hearts. ”We worked so hard to gather all the clues about the Golden Fish... to deduce its truth... and to discover the proper way to fly...”

Their Silver Wings beat in perfect harmony, like twin birds supporting each other through the sky.

Ashe cleared his throat ceremoniously. ”The deduction was mine, and the flight method was mine as well. Of course, you made a huge contribution too, Swordswoman...”

”Yes, yes, Watcher, you’re incredible,” Sonya said, her smile blooming like a flower. ”I hereby declare that tonight, your place in my heart is on par with Didaros!”

”Only tonight? And who is this Didaros?”

”That’s my idol! One night is enough; you should be satisfied. Compared to where you used to rank in my heart, at least this time I’ve put you on equal footing with someone!”

”I’m curious... what did I compare to in your heart before?”

The two of them laughed foolishly for a long moment. Eventually, Ashe grew serious and looked up at the gray sky. ”Ready?”

Sonya nodded firmly. ”Yes. Watcher, let’s fly.”

Flap!

Following the rhythm of their Silver Wings, they shot into the mist like birds spiraling upward. The Sea of Knowledge fell away beneath them, and Ashe’s Virtual World map became increasingly chaotic. The higher they rose, the thinner the mist grew, until faint hints of gold glimmered in the distance.

”How did those sorcerers find companions to fly with them?” Sonya asked suddenly. ”Did other sorcerers form teams to explore the Virtual World, too?”

Ashe replied, ”That could be the case. But I suspect an even more incredible possibility.”

”What possibility?”

”That in the Virtual World, they encountered friends from reality.”

”Meeting another sorcerer they already knew... both with fully unfurled Silver Wings... and both aware of the Golden Fish’s truth? That’s too many coincidences.”

”Exactly. That’s why it’s called a miracle. It requires too many coincidences.”

As they ascended, the mist thinned. But their bodies began to feel heavier, as if the Sea of Knowledge’s gravity was pulling them down. Both their limbs and torsos felt as though they were weighed with lead.

The Sea of Knowledge resisted stowaways. Had they relied solely on miracles to fly, they might have been forced to stop here, just like the explorers before them. Dreams lifted high would be dragged down, destined to shatter like crystal.

Yet despite the weight they felt in their bodies, their virtual wings moved as though they were weightless, slicing through the mist and countering gravity’s pull. Even with the Sea of Knowledge binding their souls, the wings carried them effortlessly through the sky.

Seeing the golden light grew closer and the Continent of Time within reach, Sonya’s heart tightened, and her breath quickened. Unable to contain the emotions buried deep within, she asked the question she had long kept hidden. ”Why me?”

Even she didn’t fully understand her feelings. Logically, she could have waited, asked later, tomorrow, or even in the future, but she needed an answer now, even if it wasn’t the one she hoped for.

Even if asking the question might jeopardize her interests, in that moment, Sonya felt something far more important than simply attaining her second wing.

Ashe glanced at her, surprised. The question had come out of nowhere, but he understood what the Swordswoman was asking.

He had meant to make a joke, but the words that escaped were the truth. ”Just a coincidence,”

Sonya carefully masked the flutter in her chest with a practiced smile. ”I knew it... looks like I’m lucky—”

”You’re mistaken,” Ashe said softly. ”I’m the lucky one. It’s because of you. Because of this coincidence, that all the miracles that followed could happen.”

He recalled a saying he had once heard, ”Some things can’t be stopped. Even if you bind their hands and feet, they’ll grow wings and fly.

”Swordswoman, the reason I can fly isn’t my Silver Wing. It’s because of you. When I was bound and trapped, you became the window through which I explored the Virtual World. You gave me the power to become a sorcerer.”

Ashe smiled at her. ”Swordswoman... you are my wings.”

Sonya froze, stunned. Under the blinding golden light, the black mist that had concealed his face dissolved, revealing finely sculpted features and eyes brimming with vitality. After all these days of knowing him, she finally saw his face.

In that instant, the frustrations, complaints, and lingering worries in her heart vanished. She had never felt anything like this. It was happier than wearing new clothes for the first time, more thrilled than seeing Cailleach, and sweeter than tasting ice cream. It was as if a hollow space in her heart, unnoticed until now, had been quietly filled.

She squeezed Ashe’s hand tightly. Letting out a soft hum through her nose, she whispered, ”You’re my Golden Fish too.”

Ashe chuckled. ”What a strange metaphor... feels like I’m just your stepping stone.”

Sonya protested, her voice playful yet flustered, ”That’s not what I meant—”

”Just kidding, I get it. Now... let’s go see the real Golden Fish!”

Flap!

They soared past the outer layer of white mist. Before them stretched a golden sea across the sky, vast as an ocean and clear as glass. Their Silver Wings stirred the expanse, sending ripples across its shimmering surface. Each feather reflected brilliantly, overlapping like radiant fish scales.

In an instant, the endless golden sea transformed into the belly of the Golden Fish itself.

”So... this is the truth about the Golden Fish,” Sonya whispered in awe.

Ashe shared her astonishment. Without hesitation, he gripped her hand with a satisfied smile and plunged into the golden ocean.

In the next instant, the world flipped upside down.