Chapter 615: Cage in the Sky

    Surprise flashed across Gu Luoxin’s eyes. He had indeed been dying to unravel Young Master Ares’ background story, but he had thought that he would have to piece the whole picture by himself through the crumbs of clues and information he picked up along the way.

    Wasn’t it how things were supposed to go? Who could have guessed that the protagonist would take the initiative to tell him himself??

    Not one to look the gift horse in the mouth, Gu Luoxin pursed his lips to suppress his excitement before replying tentatively, "If Young Master is willing to share, this servant will be glad to listen..."

    "Will you, really?" a faint sigh escaped Ares’ smiling lips.

    Gu Luoxin failed to decipher the meaning behind this smile, and thus he merely kept his head down and remained silent.

    Outside the window, the flying shuttle gently rose from the ground and glided across the sky, leaving the huge mansion behind. This was the first time Gu Luoxin had seen the whole building through an aerial view, and he couldn’t help but lament that, despite its grandeur and all, the structure of the mansion oddly reminded him of a gilded cage with its ridiculously tall gates and impenetrable walls that pierced the clouds above.

    But in the next second, he was startled by his own thoughts.

    Wait a minute...

    ’Cage’—wasn’t that one of the keywords in the clue Sword of Heaven had left behind as his dying message?

    Could this place... be related to his death?!

    Gu Luoxin subconsciously held his breath, his wide eyes fixated on the scenery outside as though trying to see if he could gather some other clues. However, Ares’ voice jolted him back to the present, "I think you can more or less guess the reason after seeing what a pathetic mess I was yesterday."

    Turning his head, Gu Luoxin was met with the sight of Ares’ bland smile. There was no embarrassment, shame, disappointment, anger, or mockery in his eyes—only calmness. Yet for some inexplicable reason, Gu Luoxin felt a string in his heart being tugged, making him feel both sour and bitter.

    For he... he had caught the same expression on his face in the mirror in the past.

    It was the expression that was full of acceptance and resignation after being disappointed over and over again. Because the outcome never turned out the way you wanted, gradually you stopped feeling hopeful and could accept everything no matter what came your way.

    "My father never wanted a son—only a perfect heir capable of inheriting his legacy. For that, his expectations of me were scarily high. Any mistakes I made, no matter how small or trivial it was, would be met with severe punishment. He wanted to mold me into the exact person he’d envisioned but unfortunately I... I couldn’t fulfill his lifelong wish. I became afraid, terribly afraid to try anything new because I didn’t want to see the contempt and disappointment in his eyes again. Rather than trying my best only to be dismissed again, it’s better to never try in the first place. Either way, I will always be a failure. Maybe it’s because of this mindset that I can’t control my wings, which is supposed to be a natural instinct for garudas. Isn’t it pathetic of me?"

    He phrased the last sentence as a jest, but at this point, Gu Luoxin’s eyes had already turned red.

    "Young Master..." he called out in a nasally voice.

    Wuwuwu, how tragic! He had always been weak to this fragile and depressed young master trope!

    Had this been a romance story, someday a handsome young man would have broken into the cage that kept the young master captivity and pulled him out to fly together across the boundless blue sky. He would have taught the young master freedom, liberation, and happiness. He would have given the young master all the love and affection he deserved...

    Too bad Gu Luoxin was not that destined young man.

    For starters, this wasn’t a romance story, and he didn’t even possess a pair of wings that could bring Ares soaring freely in the sky. He was just a weak, helpless and vulnerable human who was scheduled to leave in two days. By then, Young Master Ares would continue living the same bleak and oppressive life...

    Gu Luoxin bit his bottom lip. For the first time since entering the Nightmare Cycle, he wished this world was just an instance, and once the players departed, it would reset and be on standby to wait for the next batch of players. He wished Young Master Ares was just an NPC created by the Nightmare rather than a real person. This way, it wouldn’t be so cruel on him...

    Oh wait, weren’t there rumors saying that high-level Cycles were completely separate realms outside of the Nightmare’s authority?

    Recalling that, Gu Luoxin couldn’t help but fall back into gloom.

    It was Ares who broke into a fit of soft giggles. Perhaps seeing someone else more depressed than him gave him amusement, for his eyes twinkled in mirth, injecting a shot of vitality and liveliness to his otherwise dismal face. "Oh you..." he sighed before poking Gu Luoxin on the cheek. "Why are you crying in my stead? Wipe your tears. But honestly, this is one of the reasons why I was drawn to you. Your eyes..." Ares smilingly peered at him through the mask, his profound gaze laden with meaning. "They’re so pure and clear, so unlike me. I just couldn’t bear to leave you alone despite knowing what I will put you through. I wonder if you will come to blame me one day..." The last few words he muttered were too low for Gu Luoxin to catch.

    "Young Master?" Gu Luoxin blinked in confusion.

    Somehow he could understand each word Ares said, but when strung into one sentence, it became utterly incomprehensible to him. What ’so unlike him’? What kind of situation was he talking about? Why would Gu Luoxin blame him? Why was he speaking in riddles?

    Alas, Gu Luoxin was doomed not to receive the answers he wanted, for Ares’ gaze shifted to the window and he exclaimed, "Oh look, we’ve arrived at the land territory! Aren’t you glad to be back in your hometown?"

    Gu Luoxin followed his line of sight, and only then did he realize that the flying shuttle had begun its descent. Pushing past the scattered clouds, the panoramic view of the whole city was spread before his eyes, causing Gu Luoxin’s eyes to light up at once.

    "Wow...!" he breathed in awe.

    The cyberpunk city of my dream! So freaking cool!!

    With a low drone, the flying shuttle smoothly landed on top of a high-rise building which, according to Gu Luoxin’s visual estimation, should exceed a hundred floors.

    "We have arrived," Ares softly announced, and for some inexplicable reason, Gu Luoxin’s heart began to race in a mixture of nervousness and anticipation.

    Finally, would he be able to meet his teammates or Noir here?