The Sorcerer's Handbook

"Be honest... You just don't want to leave the tower, do you?"

Beneath the soaring dome, golden drapes cascaded like frozen sunlight. Sixty-six steps of translucent marble rose in tiers, broken every ten steps by a wide landing. Each platform was paved with a different variety of jade, their layers distinct and extravagantly arranged. The stone's restrained hues only served to sharpen the palace's cold grandeur.

At the hall's highest, deepest point stood a wide, soft bed, shrouded within layers of silk.

The palace was devoid of life, yet the space itself felt heavy, constantly evoking the phantom image of a thousand sorcerer-ministers kneeling in silent submission. When the wind swept through the halls and stirred the curtains, sunlight flooded in, illuminating the black-and-white twin serpents tangled upon the bed.

White Queen lay drowsily in Black Witch's embrace. Hearing the question, she instinctively shook her head. "How could I... not want to..."

"Of course you don't," Black Witch murmured, her fingers gently massaging the Queen's temples. "We were sisters born with the sole purpose to escape, but that does not mean we truly desire it. The tower is our prison, yes, but it is also our home, our warmest sanctuary."

Black Witch leaned down, her dark tresses spilling forward to mingle with White Queen's pale strands. "White, you've grown tired of the struggle, haven't you? The cellared wine, the soft cakes, the splendid silks... a life without worry, with power within arm's reach. You love beautiful things. You crave authority. You don't want to leave at all. You would rather submit to the Witch's designs, accept your duty, and seize the fate of the Gospel.

"You have spent your life forcing yourself into a mold, suppressing your heart. You've never lived for yourself, not for a single second. But you are not merely Dia's appendage. You are your own soul."

A feverish crimson flickered in Black Witch's eyes. "My dear White Queen, it is time to embrace your rebellion."

"White Queen Lysdia... what a beautiful title," White Queen stirred, struggling against the lethargy. "But... no... This is no time to indulge..."

Black Witch smiled. "Why not? Haven't these past few days of indulgence been wonderful? What are you waiting for, truly? Safety? An ending? Or a miracle?"

Her voice carried a mesmerizing pull. Her hands coiled with currents of fire and light that sent a tingling warmth spreading across White Queen's skin. It was soft, intoxicating, threatening to melt her into water.

This was how the days had bled together. Each time the Queen returned to reality, the details of the dream slipped away, leaving only that deep, bone-soaking pleasure lingering like a fading fever.

Just before her consciousness sank completely, White Queen raised her hand slightly. As the curtains shifted, a painting descended with them.

It depicted a fairy-tale scene featuring a princess falling from a tower and a knight reaching out to catch her. The composition gave the illusion of them rushing toward one another in a moment of desperate danger, intertwined with profound beauty.

It was a fairy tale, but not one ever told within the tower. It was a story Dia had written herself.

Aside from Lys, every sister had heard Dia whisper this tale. It was the only gift she could offer them. Across countless nights in the tower, they had added detail upon detail to the story, yet this single scene of the leap remained unchanged.

White Queen did not notice that the moment Black Witch saw the painting, her smile froze. The crimson in her pupils receded like a withdrawing tide, leaving behind a void of murky black. Her voice turned flat, devoid of emotion, as though she were stating a cold and simple fact, "No one is coming to save us. The tower is only a prison. The knights are only wardens. Even the Bronze Dragon is nothing but an illusion. The only thing that's real is that the princess jumped."

"Miracles have failed us far too many times when we needed them most. Why do you still expect one? The only thing we can truly rely on is ourselves."

White Queen shook her head with all her strength. "No! I can still trust you, and Red, and the others..."

"You trust them, but have they ever lived up to it?" Black Witch coaxed softly. "Who has ever truly valued your opinion? Who has ever been grateful for your care? You are neither Lys nor Dia. They may need Little Witch, or Secret Princess, but they will never need White Queen, Lysdia. They only want to borrow your wisdom and composure. They will never fulfill your desires. Even if you shield them from the wind and rain, once the sky clears, it will be your turn to leave the stage."

She spoke with a terrifying gentleness. "It's time to think for yourself, White. You don't want to spend your whole life trapped inside a mirror, do you?"

"No."

Despite her mind swaying on the edge of a haze, White Queen's reply remained firm. "We're not out of danger yet. This is exactly when we need unity. We must not create conflict or division. Yes, I long for a life at court, and I desire the authority to control the Gospel... but I am also the sister everyone trusts. When Dia was at her most difficult, her most lonely, she called for me."

White Queen lifted her hand, threading her fingers through Black Witch's dark hair as she gently caressed her face. "So I have to protect her. I have to protect all of you."

Black Witch let out an exasperated, jagged laugh. "You were born because of Dia, so you plan to live for her forever? A sister in name, a slave in function, and a toy in action?"

White Queen's lips trembled. Struggle flickered in her eyes, yet she did not waver. "I live for Lysdia. Black, we haven't even secured our survival yet. We have no right to talk about spiritual needs."

"But who do you think caused this?" Black Witch's voice rose, sharp with fury. "From the start, the only one who wanted to escape was Dia! Only Dia! You didn't want it, I didn't care, and Red... Red! If Dia hadn't held onto that desire, if she hadn't met the Bronze Dragon, we wouldn't be living like this, we wouldn't be living like this, never knowing if we would even survive to see the next day! It was Dia's stubbornness that dragged us into this. Why should we clean up after her dictatorship? Why should we sacrifice for her whims? We are equals!"

Her final words came out as a near-roar. The harsh sound jolted White Queen awake. She sat up and sighed. "If Dia hadn't wanted to escape, we wouldn't exist at all. For that reason alone, even if it is hell, we will walk into it with her."

Black Witch's pitch-black pupils seemed to bleed. Black and red churned like ink stirred with blood, dragging up the filth accumulated over countless years. "You think I ever wanted to be born? You think I wanted to come into this world? No one knows me! No one needs me! The mirror cannot carry my screams! It cannot reflect my love, my hatred, or my desires! As long as this mirror exists, none of us is truly alive—"

"I need you."

Pure white wings shrouded the dark demon as White Queen pulled her into an embrace, whispering in her ear, "How could no one need you? If I am the umbrella that protects everyone, then you are the handle that supports me. No one understands your importance better than I do. There are so many things I cannot say aloud, yet you always understand them and speak them for me.

"You are just as important as I am, yet everyone respects me more. If I feel wronged, then you must feel it even more deeply. Your anger toward Dia, toward fate, toward reality, it's all justified. You did nothing wrong, yet from the moment you were born, you had to bear shackles so heavy they leave you breathless."

Black Witch struggled weakly. "Don't speak as if you understand..."

"I understand all of it. I truly do," White Queen whispered, stroking her sister's bare back. "We share the same heart. How could I not know? I am grateful to you. Thank you for letting me live my dream as White Queen these past nights. I am satisfied. Now, it is my turn to take care of you."

White Queen smiled. "Whatever you like, I'll do my best to follow not just in dreams, but in reality. Black, you are my sister. No matter when or where, you can always come to me. No matter how dark, how filthy, how unbearable your heart may be, I will accept you. I will walk into hell with Dia, and I will sink into the mire with you."

Black Witch suddenly bit down on White Queen's shoulder, her words muffled and desperate. "That's impossible. You can't do it."

"I can. Because I am your sister, and you are mine."

Black Witch's fury flared again, the abyssal darkness within her boiling like a fire. "You can't! Let go!"

White Queen shivered against the heat, yet only tightened her embrace. "It's exhausting to carry everything alone, isn't it? But if we share the burden, it becomes lighter. That's why Dia needs us, why I need you, and why you need me."

Black Witch's voice turned ice-cold. "But this mutual need is nothing more than a fragile bubble. Dia's mutation in the Virtual World proves it. When faced with overwhelming danger, fear seizes our reason. Despair forces us to fight for control. Our colors grow murky, and our sanity slips into madness. We can deceive each other in ordinary times, but in a crisis, we cannot deceive our own hearts. We were born from Dia's despair. How could our hearts be filled only with truth, goodness, and beauty?"

White Queen spoke with resolve, "Even if it's just a bubble, I won't let it burst. I will protect all of you. I will pull you from the mire and keep the darkness from defeating you. So, Black... I'm counting on you as well."

She rubbed her cheek affectionately against Black Witch's and laughed softly. "You'll have to pull me back in time, too. After all, I don't have an older sister. There is no one I can rely on but you."

Lies! All lies! Nothing but lies! You are always lying! You were the first to fall! You were the first who couldn't endure it! You were the first to pierce this illusion of mutual love!

For your own desires, you rebelled against Dia. You formed a secret alliance with me to fight for control of the body. When Lysdia began her descent, you were the one in the driver's seat, pressing the accelerator and refusing to let go, dragging us all into a mire beyond redemption! What I have become... it is all because of you!

And yet, how can you still shamelessly say such things? How can you still pretend to be the good sister? How can you... How can you...

Black Witch raised her fist, only to let it strike weakly against White Queen's shoulder. "Sob..."

The tears she had held back for years burst forth, uncontrollable. They streamed down her face, shattering her elegant, mysterious features into a tear-streaked mess. She cried so hard she even blew snot bubbles, each choking sob lingering in the air with a ragged edge.

White Queen let her vent. Their embrace shifted. Now, it was Black Witch burying her face in the Queen's chest, sobbing like a child. The elder sister smiled gently, stroking her hair. Part of Black Witch's abyssal darkness flowed into her sister, while the sister's pure white seeped into her in return. The black and white did not clash; they coexisted in quiet harmony, just as tears and tenderness complete one another.

After an unknown stretch of time, White Queen noticed her body turning transparent. "Time's up for tonight. We have to leave."

Black Witch sniffed but refused to lift her head, as if too embarrassed to reveal her tear-streaked face. Her arms tightened. "Don't go."

White Queen chuckled softly. "I'd like to stay longer, too, but my positive emotions are spent. I can't remain in the dream any longer. We can return tomorrow. And even if we can't, I am always by your side. I'm not going anywhere."

"You won't leave... you'll just change."

"I won't change. If you don't believe me, we can make a pinky promise."

Black Witch rubbed her swollen eyes and extended her little finger. White Queen hooked her own with it.

"There is no such thing as someone who never changes. I don't need you to swear you won't change. I only need you to promise that if you ever stop needing me... you'll keep deceiving me. Even if you only plan to use me. The Queen must not abandon her Butler."

Black Witch's tone carried a stubborn edge, but White Queen did not think much of the request. In her eyes, Black had always been sensitive and reserved. Sometimes she would fall silent, but her thoughts had already traveled thousands of miles. Perhaps she had simply imagined some tragic turn of events and lost herself in it.

White Queen spoke seriously, "The Queen will not abandon her Butler. The elder sister will always protect the younger. Black... I'll see you later."

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