Chapter 414: Her Decision, Charlotte’s Feelings

In the courtyard,

Nia tilted her head, her golden twin ponytails swaying gently. Her deep blue eyes looked down curiously at the soft balloon she held tightly in her arms, her little head full of wonder.

Huh? When did this balloon appear?

The feelings of reluctance, sadness, melancholy, and sorrow were cruelly taken away, disappearing like bubbles that never existed. The children couldn’t fight against the great power even time couldn’t defy. Besides the warmth from receiving the gift, there wasn’t even a hint of discomfort in their hearts.

The little girl looked around at the other children who were also holding balloons. Her bright eyes scanned the group, and then she happily ran over to Mother Ellie, asking in a clear voice:

“Mother Ellie! Did you give these gifts to Nia and everyone?”

Sister Ellie was surprised for a moment, then crouched down to gently stroke the child who was acting cute and said softly:

“What did everyone receive? I don’t remember. Maybe some other kind people gave them?”

Nia blinked in confusion but quickly forgot about these small thoughts. She held up the pretty guitar-shaped balloon to Sister Ellie.

It was both showing off and sharing.

The little girl carefully let Sister Ellie touch the guitar balloon and happily shared her treasure.

This soon inspired other children to copy her. Everyone quickly gathered around Sister Ellie, eagerly letting each other touch their balloons, and proudly praising them.

“The cat balloon is the best!”

“The puppy is the cutest.”

“The tank looks the coolest.”

“The guitar is the most amazing; Sister Charlotte will definitely like it too!”

Emma did not want to be left behind. She looked at the animal balloons for a long time and said excitedly,

“My balloon has a signature.”

Nia leaned closer to look. She examined the writing, which looked like half of the words had been erased. After hesitating for a moment, she read aloud:

“Is this… ‘Yuki’ in Japanese?”

After Nia spoke, the child beside her showed a surprised look and asked curiously:

“Nia, when did you learn Japanese? Didn’t you hate studying the most? Last time, you only got three math problems right on your homework.”

The little girl first looked a bit annoyed, then puzzled.

How did she recognize it? Was it because they had watched a movie about Dongliu Island in class activities recently?

Nia fell into deep thought. Suddenly, Sister Liuli’s story about Sherlock Holmes came to her mind.

In the story, the great detective was super smart. Nia thought maybe she was also very smart, but just never found this amazing wisdom inside her.

The little girl said loudly:

“I’ve made up my mind; today I will do five more pages of homework!”

When these words were spoken, the nearby kids were very surprised.

What does this mean? How can someone want to do more homework on their own?

For a while, no one agreed, and no one tried to compete. The children quietly scattered, running around the yard with their new animal balloons, leaving only the little girl with a serious face standing still.

Sister Ellie listened to the lively noise of the children playing and laughing, smiling softly as the pain inside her heart slowly healed. All extra feelings disappeared, leaving only clean, pure calmness, happiness, and peace.

Since adopting Charlotte, after retiring from the front line, she had settled in Sankt Wolfgang. She built a small church that followed the Pure White High Wall and took in many abandoned children.

The years passed by quickly and quietly.

The past battles and hardships slowly faded away with her peaceful life. Compared to the magical girls who died in battle, she was indeed lucky. Surviving the hardships and living the life she wanted was what her old friends had dreamed of.

Sometimes, she felt guilty because of this.

Even if external factors no longer allowed her to move forward, the feeling of running away at the last moment, growing farther from her friends, or even losing them forever still tormented her heart.

This heartache was hard to get rid of, even though she took care of the children herself and watched them grow up healthy.

Only when her beloved daughter Charlotte gradually grew up, showcasing talent that surpassed Little Jasmine, breaking old records, and becoming a magical girl called the “Lighthouse,” did things begin to change.

Sister Ellie found herself in a daze for a long time when she first heard the news.

It felt as if a train roared past her ears, the carriage named “the past” rushing away in the strong wind, passing by her current self.

And the one who took that train, continuing down the unfinished road instead of her, was her daughter, who she had watched grow from a little snowball and porcelain doll into a young woman.

Charlotte’s arrival, carrying the old hopes and wishes, cleared the dark clouds in her heart that had lingered for many years, helping her let go and embrace true happiness and peace.

Sister Ellie often thought that such a shining and lovely daughter might be a gift from heaven to her and to the world.

Even knowing the road ahead would be hard, somehow that child always gave her a strange kind of comfort, making her feel everything would be okay if she trusted her, and that the world could become a better place.

Sister Ellie herself did not know whether this came from the innocence she retained from her time as a magical girl long ago, or if it was some quiet guidance from fate.

But one thing was clear.

She sincerely hoped the child would create a bright future.

As Sister Ellie settled her thoughts, she could not understand why so many memories suddenly came to her mind, as if her heart instinctively tried to find something lost.

The woman shook her head and smiled softly, not thinking too much. She slowly stood up and walked back to the statue of the Virgin Mary in the little chapel, gently asking:

“Little Jasmine, is that you?”

The silver-haired, red-eyed girl slowly appeared. She wore a beautiful medieval dress, unlike before. She looked like an elegant noble lady, not floating like a ghost, but stepping lightly on the ground, feeling more real.

If Ellie could see, she would recognize that the dress was the Original Witch’s Magic Armor from long ago, which held a deep meaning beyond words.

Esther came up beside her and quietly said:

“Yes, it’s me.”

Esther was accustomed to Ellie’s strange intuition.

Even though she had lost her body, magic, and even her humanity was gradually fading, arriving like a cyber ghost without stirring a breeze, her traces could still be perceived by the other.

This was a joyous matter, as if… between them, there still existed a faint yet unbroken, invisible bond.

But this time, she could not feel happy.

Esther looked at Ellie’s profile; she wanted to say something but hesitated, remaining silent for a long time. Her soft pink lips moved, whispering:

“Charlotte has been… good lately. Do you want to listen to her concert? I recorded the audio and sent it to your phone. You can listen anytime.”

Sister Ellie gladly accepted this wonderful gift, a smile spreading across her lips as she softly said:

“Little Jasmine has grown so mature. It was hard to imagine you would become so thoughtful before.”

“Yes, Ellie was the one who always took care of me before.”

Esther calmly responded to Ellie’s joke, like an old friend stopping by without any special reason, chatting aimlessly.

The pure white wave pattern became more unusual, indicating that the collapse of this great creation was drawing nearer.

The “Dazzling Stage” project accelerated and officially moved into the implementation phase. This time, the debut tour for all the advancing participants was meant to rehearse the final world-class technique.

If nothing goes wrong, and after the final corrections and preparations, the moment that would determine the fate of humanity would unfold in 30 days, or perhaps even sooner.

This would be her last meeting with Ellie.

After today, the personality called Esther would gradually dissolve. She would complete her final mission as a judge and fully merge into the Celestial Instrument, serving as the core base for the world-class technique and sacrificing together with the Lighthouse for peace.

Regardless of whether Shining City was built, the Celestial Instrument would inevitably face collapse.

This was because it needed to not only support the core of the technique but also guide the Intracastral Sea and carry the assistance from the world’s consciousness.

This was a conclusion that had been reached many years ago.

Even if other salvation plans were adopted, to perfectly utilize the gifts of the stars, her sacrifice would still be necessary.

So, just like the forgotten Pure White Witch, she came to bid farewell to Sister Ellie.

Even more similarly, neither she nor Chu Yuanqing would speak the whole truth or genuinely say the words goodbye.

Esther enjoyed remaining by Ellie’s side; without much effort or struggle, she could overlap with her past self and retrieve the treasure named emotion during a shared breath.

Because of this, the typically stern and impartial super AI frequently hesitated, countless thoughts flickering in its mind, torn about whether to mention Charlotte.

Both the Lighthouse and the Celestial Instrument were fated to become worn-out materials crushed by the wheels of time.

Death was nearly a predetermined outcome.

If possible, she, who was aware of Charlotte’s relationship with the other, would surely hope that Ellie could have the right to know.

But…

Even if the truth was known, what could be done?

This wasn’t just something Charlotte had agreed to and decided; it also involved all of humanity, even the survival of the entire planet and world.

Even if they informed Sister Ellie, humanity wouldn’t find a second “Lighthouse” to replace Charlotte.

And if this outcome was fated to be unchangeable, it would be better to delay the sadness a little longer, just a bit longer.

…

…

Austria, Innsbruck.

This capital city of Tyrol is nestled in the Alps and is not very large, with a permanent population of only around a hundred and fifty thousand.

Recently, nearly 100,000 people from outside the city squeezed into Innsbruck through various forms of transportation to participate in the city-wide celebration today.

The bright blue sky sparkled with a meteor shower, streaking rainbow arcs that colored the soft white clouds in vibrant and beautiful shades. Thousands of colorful notes fell across the streets and alleys, dancing to angelic melodies that rose and fell.

There was no stage, no specific venue, no lighting system, and definitely no audience seating.

The Last Diva seemed to return to the moment in Sea City when she unleashed Shining Magic. With the supernatural tides of her heart, coupled with the self-evolving magic energy and the overflowing idol power throughout the valley, she achieved all elements of absolute dominance.

This was her twelfth concert.

Even though Austria didn’t have any large stages suitable for tens or hundreds of thousands of people, she still managed to perform throughout the city without a stage, thanks to her magical girl abilities and advanced projection technology, achieving terrifying efficiency unmatched by ordinary idols.

By now, nearly all the citizens of Austria had passively or actively experienced Charlotte’s concerts, with the feedback on their shine and intensity even rivaling one twentieth of the entire Daxia region.

It’s important to note that Austria’s total population is not even one thousandth of Daxia’s. If live streaming earnings were excluded, Charlotte could single-handedly compete against more than half of the participants from the Daxia competition.

Although the advantage of full magic utilization was huge, the difference still highlighted the superiority of the Lighthouse.

Of course, Charlotte was an overachiever, nearly performing concerts every day during her tour, which was a crucial factor as well.

If she weren’t attempting to avoid other participants in the Vienna region, she could easily hold two concerts in one day, seamlessly continuing throughout until now.

At that moment, as the entire city watched on with mixed feelings of regret and satisfaction, the super idol who wielded a magic wand as a microphone, resembling a fairy enchanting everyone, finished singing her debut song “forget-me-not,” politely smiled at her fans, and vanished.

With that, the tour that enthralled the entire city had a flawless conclusion. Everyone remained immersed in the lingering melodies, savoring the emotions within their chests, and passionately praised their national flower, heightening their sense of fandom.

At the same time,

The Last Diva teleported back to her hotel in the neighboring city. Exhausted, she removed her Magic Armor, lazily laying down on the soft, spacious bed. After resting for about fifteen minutes, she woke up refreshed, checked her social media, and began her work.

As was her custom, after posting her thoughts about the end of the concert and expressing her love for the local fans, she eagerly checked the time in Daxia. Once she found that her cute daughter was available, she dialed the phone with a beaming smile, entering full-on doting mom mode.

Though she relished her life as an idol and didn’t find the daily touring particularly exhausting, the moment she “remembered” that she had a precious daughter, everything regarding Chu Wang Shu rose to the highest priority in her life, surpassing her ambition of being an idol.

If it weren’t for the need to expedite the progress of the “Dazzling Stage” project, she definitely would not have been able to resist using vast amounts of magic every day to teleport to Daxia, fulfilling her daily tasks of hugging, kissing, and lifting her lovely daughter, fulfilling her “obligations” as a mother.

Charlotte spoke with her daughter for half an hour and, while confirming that the powers of the Son of Mankind hadn’t fluctuated, finally reluctantly ended the call.

The girl sat against the headboard, her frosty blue lashes hanging low, the beautiful gradient colors in her eyes slowly dimmed, tinged with guilt and sorrow, her smile fading as she softly murmured:

“I’m sorry, Little Shu.”

Charlotte knew that even if she had thought of Chu Wang Shu’s existence long before accepting the responsibilities of the Lighthouse, she would still have chosen the same path.

So…

From the very beginning, she could never be a qualified mother.