Chapter 200: Destined Tragedy - Stop Hypnotizing Me, Villainous Princess!

As the Witch's calm voice slowly drifted down, Lynn stood frozen in place. Dead? Instinctively, he lifted his head to gaze at the tranquil girl encased in the cocoon of light. Even now, a hint of gentle laughter lingered on her face, as if she were amidst a dream she wouldn’t awaken from. An intense sense of unreality rose within him. Just moments ago, that girl had woken up beside him from the same bed, chatting at a short distance. Logically, this cocoon of light shouldn’t even exist in the Pantheon. The only explanation was that his recent actions, which disrupted Tiya's destined path, caused a significant alteration in the future. But, as the original heroine protected by the world's will, could she really die so easily? Lynn found himself doubtful. Taking a deep breath, he suppressed a certain emotion that had quietly surfaced within him and asked, "Can you tell me how she died?" The Witch gave him a calm glance. "Are you very curious about her?" A dangerous question. Tiya was a woman, and a very beautiful one at that. And no matter what, the Witch and Ivester were ultimately the same person, fundamentally unchanged. Ignoring the intense possessiveness akin to Ivester due to her cold, noble exterior would be courting disaster. Should he answer "yes," Tiya’s body might face destruction at her hands. In truth, for Lynn, this question should leave no room for hesitation. After all, his relationship with Tiya had always been one of mutual use. Yet, in this moment, the inexplicable weight in his heart wasn’t false. Perhaps, while he thought he was exploiting her guilt to achieve his aims, he was similarly influenced by these emotions without realizing it. Ultimately, if not for his presence, Tiya would have followed the original world line to grow close with Sia, living a carefree life — provided she could equate herself with the second generation Moon Goddess. But now, instead of that future, she was imprisoned in the Pantheon, silently perishing for reasons unknown. This was not the fate befitting a heroine. Lynn shook his head. "Saying I'm 'curious' wouldn’t be accurate. I'm just confused as to why the future Moon Goddess would die so casually. Could there be a hidden plot behind this?" He was lying. As a woman with keen intuition, she saw through Lynn's statement immediately. However, a deep look from the Witch did not break his cover. "The term 'future Moon Goddess' isn't precise." "She, Tia Jehsti, strictly speaking, is only a part of the Moon Goddess." "A mistake born within a vessel, one that shouldn’t exist." Lynn nodded. Although clearly detailed in the original work, to him, this 'fusion' seemed more like assimilation and usurpation. After the Moonlight Holy Ritual, the original Tiya disappeared, replaced by an impostor named Beatrice. But due to the high esteem of a goddess persona and Tiya's unchanged body, the mental discrepancies were overlooked by readers. Seeing Lynn understood her meaning, the Witch continued in a soft voice, "According to the original trajectory, Tiya at that time had a spirit too weak, thus was easily obliterated and assimilated by Beatrice." "Yet because of your actions interfering with fate in the past, her future changed as well." "What kind of change?" Lynn instinctively questioned. The Witch replied indifferently, "For unknown reasons, Tia Jehsti wasn't assimilated by the Moon Goddess during the Moonlight Holy Ritual." "She seemed to awaken a strong sense of resistance, frustrating even Beatrice and leading her to remain a second personality, greatly influencing the goddess over the years." "The most significant aspect was...she didn’t follow the predetermined path to establish an intimate relationship with Sia, who was supposed to be her partner." How could that be? If this world were a book, each character having an inevitable fate. Tiya's destiny was to become a part of Sia’s harem. It was her raison d'être as a female character in the story. Thus, even though Lynn had been working to alter her fate, he was always aware of the invisible hand of the world's will correcting his influence. Even if now uncorrectable, in countless years, an opportunity would arise to set things right. Lynn couldn’t exist in the future, only the present, yet Tiya rejected all of this. She forsook her role as heroine, effectively challenging the world's will. Throughout history, none who opposed the world’s will met a good end. No wonder the world's will ceased to favor her. Noticing Lynn’s silence, the Witch continued narrating the harsh reality, "Due to coexisting with Beatrice in one vessel for so long, their two consciousnesses showed signs of actual merging, terrifying Beatrice like never before." "Ultimately, she sought help from the future Sia to extricate herself from that body." "Possibly as a form of spite, Beatrice tormented her for tens of thousands of years until Tia Jehsti’s consciousness completely faded, sealing her in the Pantheon." This was the sad depiction of Tiya’s drawn-out yet brief life. From beginning to end, she seemed incapable of escaping the fate of being an "error," forever toyed by Beatrice, concluding in tragedy. But was it truly a tragedy for her? Staring at the slight smile on the cocooned girl's lips, Lynn suddenly doubted. Perhaps by her nature, she never truly hated anyone, even at the end. "Enough of these irrelevant matters." The Witch waved a hand, concealing the cocoon. "It seems you've reached the limit of divine grant factors, let me enhance your abilities." "Furthermore, complete the final stage of the ascension trial quickly. Upon reaching the third tier, I shall grant you a new ability to compensate for your lack of combat skills." Saying this, a strong red light erupted from her. Lynn seemed a bit stunned. "The final step?" At this, a cold glint flashed in the Witch's eyes as she halted her actions, her expression unfriendly. "Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your initial task?" "I haven’t forgotten." Lynn returned to his senses, shaking his head. The original mission involved gaining Tiya’s trust as quickly as possible, then using the Hour of Fall to turn her into a puppet. Consequently, Beatrice, descending into this vessel, would fall under the curse's influence, becoming a slave to his commands. Such a substantial deviation from the plot would suffice to shatter the chains of order the Witch held. Most importantly, this fulfilled her desire for revenge against Sia and others. This had been the plan from the start. Only the Witch's orders were ones he couldn’t refuse. Sensing the oppressive mood of the devotee, surprisingly, the Witch didn’t exhibit Ivester’s unreasonable side. Though she harbored some anger, her exterior was serene. "Honestly, whether you accomplish it or not, the outcome won’t change." "Because...it's a destined tragedy." A destined tragedy? Thinking it over, maybe it was true. Returning to reality and doing nothing would lead to the first bad ending — the tragic tale of being separated and tortured by Beatrice for millennia. Alternatively, using the Hour of Fall would result in the second bad ending, where Tiya becomes a walking corpse, merely a pathetic casualty in the goddess' feud, unnoticed by everyone. Perhaps from the moment they met, her fate was sealed. But upon further reflection, it didn't seem entirely correct. Even if we take a step back. Even if he had never interacted with her from the beginning, according to the original story, during the Moonlight Holy Ritual, Tia would still have her consciousness obliterated by Beatrice. In other words, there was no option where she could achieve a perfect ending. Lynn took a deep breath, instinctively clenching his fists. "I understand."