Chapter 263: Boundless

Chapter 263: Boundless

Bran lifted his head towards the light slanting down through the clouds, revealing a happy smile. The chill in the clouds was mostly gone; what little remained transformed into swirling snowflakes, falling with the taste of light.

The most excited person seeing Sister wasn’t Bran, but his parents, the Winchehils. Though they tried hard to appear calm in front of everyone, their slightly trembling hands gave them away.

Everyone who should be there had arrived, and Mary’s wedding finally began. After all the fuss, Mary’s initial excitement for the wedding had vanished completely. Zack had shown her new home to so many people daily that it now felt strangely lived-in and worn by time. The frequently touched door handle had developed a thin patina of age, and her beloved vanity tabletop had gained an oily sheen.

Days of playing hostess had unknowingly given her the air of a household matriarch. So, when Mary appeared before Bran as the bride awaiting his blessing, an aura of a fierce woman hit him head-on. Bran involuntarily shrank back, and all the flowery words he had prepared were instantly forgotten.

Everyone stared at Bran, waiting to see what kind of gift he would present to the newlyweds, but Bran froze at this critical moment.

“A blessing,” Mary whispered a reminder, “and the gift.”

This snapped Bran back into focus. He immediately offered the couple his sincerest blessings. Then he began introducing the gift he was about to present.

“This gift represents the shared heart of myself and the Ancient Tree, forged from his very essence.”

Seeing Zack looking ecstatic beside her, Mary murmured under her breath, “Just odds and ends from the Ancient Tree’s regular trimmings.”

Ignoring her blunt honesty, Bran continued. “After being smoothed by the Mana of both of us, while it isn’t a divine weapon, it is a rare and treasured guardian for the home.”

As he spoke, a rolling pin appeared in Bran’s hand – about the length of an arm, slightly narrower at both ends and thicker in the middle. He ceremoniously handed it to Mary.

What on earth is this? Mary couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

Just then, words she alone could hear drifted to her ear, “After marriage, Zack might disobey you sometimes. What will you do then? Got to hit him, right?

“Ordinary sticks wouldn’t hurt much against a Northlander’s tough hide, and you can’t exactly swing a sword at him. With this, it’s different. It’s firm yet flexible, durable for the long haul.”

Mary weighed the rolling pin in her hand a few times, gave her wrist a flick, and twirled it deftly. She then glanced sideways at the oblivious Zack and nodded in satisfaction.

Finally, she gave her honest assessment, “It truly is a treasured guardian for the home.”

So many people had come that the wedding was filled with one little interlude after another. Bran missed most of them. Once his duties as Clan Leader were fulfilled, he dutifully returned to the High Tower, holding Huahua, and looked down at the bustling crowd below.

His sister had appeared at his side without him noticing. She stood next to him, gazing below too.

Lily tugged on her sleeve and remarked offhandedly, “This attire is quite nice. It’s rare to find such a well-fitting garment.”

“It still falls short. Later, it will need you to pour your Mana – perhaps even your very essence – into it. Only then will it truly fit.”

“Why haven’t you entered the Sea of Magic lately? I’ve been in several times and never saw you.”

Bran gave a bitter smile. “Does entering or leaving make any difference to me now? Plus, I’m waiting for Huahua. Waiting for her to adapt to the changes, so we can go in together. That might still take some time. Think about how long it took you, from getting the Key to actually entering.

“Huahua might be quicker, thanks to the Resonance in our Mana.”

Lily shook her head. “Trying to fool me again? You want the Void to help you resist its erosion.”

“Now, I also never part with my Key. It is the key to resisting the erosion; this Void is mostly useless. You were right from the start – the wings were always tightly bound to the body, never separated.”

Bran gestured vaguely over himself with one hand. “Still, it’s fine. The erosion has stopped; that Tributary merely flows through here. I also want to see how this deviation will make you and me different.

“I have a feeling, sooner or later, we’ll all become part of it.”

Lily smiled, bright and confident. “No! Sooner or later, it will become part of me.”

Bran also smiled, but his smile seemed weak. “One benefit of being eroded by a Tributary is that I can see the mountain-sized wrecks lying beneath the water’s surface.

“Can you imagine? Eroded over untold ages, those wrecks have long since crumbled into fragments. But even just those fragments made me feel insignificantly small.

“I should be grateful; no such colossi shared my era, or my place.”

“Are you scared?” Lily frowned.

Bran thought seriously. “Not scared, exactly. Just awestruck, and a bit grateful. And… I feel like I’ve found the path to true power and Immortality.”

His eyes shone as he said this. “I don’t know if the Tributaries in the Sea of Magic are eternal, but the wrecks underwater showed me they are ancient beyond measure.

“I don’t think of swallowing or merging with it, but my ability gives me a chance to become like a Tributary myself.

“Flowing with it, I’ve been continuously learning. Learning the traits a Tributary should have, learning how to remain distinct when tangled with other tributaries.

“But at the same time, I know it’s all wishful thinking. I still need its power, still can’t break free from depending on it. Even my own Mana relies on it to renew itself.”

Bran waited but didn’t receive a spirited retort from his sister. They both lost the desire to talk. They looked down from the tower, watched their family’s joyful faces below, each lost in their own thoughts.

Xirui skipped excitedly beside her parents. She seemed to sense something and looked towards the High Tower. Surrounded by dazzling whiteness from the remaining snow, the tower was still shrouded by a patch of Shadow.

Big brother and sister must be watching us, she thought with certainty, even though she couldn’t make them out clearly. Sister’s imposing aura felt heavier than ever. The day that light blazed, countless mirrors seemed to reflect countless suns as they shattered and multiplied, making the light even more blinding. Dizzy from it, Sister suddenly appeared before her, grabbed her, carried her back to the High Tower, and dropped her at her parents’ feet.

What should have been her moment of glory earned her only a few perfunctory words of praise.

Sister’s arrival stole everyone’s attention. Well, maybe not everyone; Fourth Brother was still paying attention to her and had rewarded her with a set of clothes. Yet this didn’t make her feel any better, because Sister got an outfit too.

If hers was a reward, what was Sister’s? The perceived difference in closeness made her feel a pang of unfairness.

Her Fairy partner finally had a name – Ruijia. Then, caught up in excitement, Ruijia made a mistake: she went up to Bran to challenge Rando and Langa.

The result was two against one, with Ruijia getting thoroughly beaten, squealing loudly. Xirui wanted to intervene, but Fourth Brother used his authority as a pretense to pin her shoulder, saying, “Adults shouldn’t meddle in Little Fairy business.”

He even casually grabbed the tiny magic snake, only as big as her little finger now after the storm, adding, “And there’s no need for weapons when family settles things among themselves.”

Still, it wasn’t all bad. That little snake transformed into a much more impressive Monster in his hand. He called it a Dragon – a real Five-Clawed Golden Dragon.

Luckily, Sister’s Fairy partner joined the fray then, attacking from behind, which quickly turned the tide. Just as Fourth Brother began muttering, “Any more fighting could ruin the peace,” and tried to separate them, Sister pressed her hand firmly down on his shoulder.

Then, Fourth Brother struggled against Sister. A trace of black appeared on Sister’s palm, and a faint light flickered at Fourth Brother’s shoulder. For an instant, Sister’s eyes turned gold, while Fourth Brother’s eyes became pools of utter blackness.

At that moment, everyone’s attention was fixed on Sister and Fourth Brother. Xirui was utterly forgotten.