CHAPTER 1167: CHAPTER 1166: CRUELTY WRAPPED IN GENTLENESS

The process of resurrecting Elysia was not difficult for Fang Zheng.

Of course, only Fang Zheng would dare to say "not difficult".

First, he returned Elysia’s soul to her own body. Then, using his Time Dragon’s power, Fang Zheng "retrospected" Elysia’s body to before her death. However, this was far from sufficient; Time Retrospection could not unify the soul and body, so Fang Zheng had to "cut" a piece of soul from Precia and fuse it with Elysia’s remaining soul.

If a comparison were to be made, it was more like an organ transplant surgery between family members. Fang Zheng chose Precia because she is Elysia’s mother, making their soul waves more compatible.

Next, Fang Zheng only needed to use his power as the "Third Magician" to materialize the soul, and he could resurrect Elysia.

Of course, directly cutting the soul is far more painful than the body. After all, anesthesia can be used on the body, but there is no drug in the world that can anesthetize the soul, so for Precia, it was no different than cutting a piece of flesh from herself alive, and no matter how painful it was, she couldn’t faint from it.

"Ugh... ah..."

Precia, within the Light Orb, had a contorted face, biting her lips tightly, her eyes wide and bloodshot. The occasional cries she let out were somewhat terrifying to others.

"Mother..."

Fate looked at Precia, who was suffering in the Light Orb, with a complex expression, unsure of what to say for a moment.

"I really can’t understand it."

At this time, Illya also wore a face of frustration.

"Clearly, she’s so good to her daughter... why must she be so cruel to Fate... that’s just too much..."

"Because she can’t do it."

As he maintained the transmission of Soul Power, Fang Zheng responded without turning his head. Hearing Fang Zheng’s response, Fate, Nanoha, and the others were surprised to look at him.

"Can’t do it?"

"That’s right, she can’t do it."

While slowly moving his hands, Fang Zheng continued to explain to the girls.

"Now, you all know that everything Precia did was to resurrect her daughter, right?"

"Mm..."

"That’s right."

Upon hearing this, the girls nodded in agreement.

"The first method she thought of was to copy Elysia’s body and inject her memories into it, thus ’resurrecting’ Elysia."

Saying this, Fang Zheng glanced at Fate.

"However, there are no two identical leaves in the world. Clearly, Precia’s plan failed, as the person she ’copied’ looked exactly like Elysia in appearance but was completely different inside. This clearly didn’t meet Precia’s expectations..."

"But, but, even so, wasn’t Fate good to her?"

Little Sakura couldn’t help but ask, and Fang Zheng nodded.

"That’s right, precisely because of this, she distanced herself from Fate."

"Eh?"

Upon hearing this, not only Fate but also the others were stunned.

"Teacher, I don’t quite understand what you mean..."

"Humans are not plants; who can be without emotions?"

At this point, Fang Zheng snapped his fingers, adjusted the frequency of the soul waves, and continued.

"You see, when others are good to you, you will also be good to them in return, right? But for Precia, she couldn’t do that. She was afraid, terrified that if she started to love Fate like her own daughter, she might gradually give up on resurrecting Elysia. But Precia would never give up, which is why she rejected Fate’s love because she didn’t want to ’abandon’ Elysia."

"This..."

Upon hearing this, the girls exchanged glances, only Nanoha nodded gently.

"I think... I can understand..."

"Nanoha?"

"When I was little, my dad was once seriously injured."

Looking at Little Sakura, Shisei, and Illya around her, Nanoha raised her head with a somewhat bitter smile.

"Because of his injuries, Dad stayed in the hospital for a long time. Mom, brother, and sister were busy with the Midoriya business and taking care of Dad. I was still young, so every time I came home from school, I was the only one there, even on days off. I knew I shouldn’t complain because Dad was seriously injured at that time and needed care, but I still felt lonely..."

"That’s why Precia mistreated Fate."

Fang Zheng took over the topic.

"In fact, she hoped Fate would hate her because the hurt inflicted by an enemy and a loved one feels completely different. If you hate someone, no matter how that person treats you, they can’t break your spirit and soul. But conversely, if someone who loves you causes you heartless pain, you will only break down and get hurt."

Saying this, Fang Zheng also shook his head helplessly.

"So, if either side could harden their heart, it wouldn’t have come to this. If Precia could let go and give up resurrecting Elysia, she could start a new life with Fate. If Fate could let go of her love for Precia and turn to hate, she wouldn’t be so hurt."

"So what you mean, big brother, is that it’s because they are both too gentle that it turned out this way?"

Hearing Fang Zheng’s sentiment, Little Hei had an incredulous expression, and the others also showed complex expressions. If one of them had been wrong, they could have supported the other side. But now, after Fang Zheng’s explanation, they suddenly felt neither side was wrong.

Was Fate wrong to love her mother deeply?

No.

Was Precia wrong to want to resurrect her daughter?

No.

So, in fear of possibly abandoning her idea of resurrecting her daughter, she hurt Fate to drive her away.

Neither of them was wrong, yet it still led to this tragedy.

For a while, everyone fell into silence, saying nothing.

After a few moments, Fate finally spoke.

"Then... what should I do?"

"That is a question only you can answer."

Fang Zheng said this, then raised his hands again, and as he did so, suddenly, two Light Orbs began to shine brightly.

In the next moment, they gently unfolded like petals, revealing the two individuals who had been enclosed within.

Seeing this, the girls quickly ran to their side, carefully observing them. After a moment, Elysia’s eyelashes moved slightly before slowly opening her eyes. She first looked at everyone around her, showing a slight smile, then turned her head to the side. At this point, Precia had also awakened, and her eyes were fixed on Elysia, as if awaiting the final judgment.

Staring at Precia, Elysia smiled slightly and then extended her hand.

"Mom... mother..."

"Elysia!!"

Upon hearing Elysia’s call, Precia could no longer hold back and tightly embraced Elysia, both holding each other tightly, unwilling to part.

After a long while, Elysia finally released her grip, then looked at Fate standing beside her—perceiving Elysia’s gaze, Fate instinctively trembled, then hid behind Fang Zheng. However, Elysia didn’t mind, she merely continued to smile and held out her hands to Fate.

"Come, Fate, come here."

"..."

Looking at Elysia’s open arms toward her, Fate hesitated for a long time before slowly stepping out from behind Fang Zheng. She cautiously approached Elysia, looking at her, then glanced at Precia, unsure of what to do.

But at this moment, Elysia took the initiative to come forward and hugged Fate.

"I can finally... hold you in the real world... my lovely sister..."

"Ugh... Waaaah!!"

Upon hearing these words, Fate could no longer hold back; she hugged Elysia tightly and began to cry.