"No matter what, I have always been a part of you."
"That's why you made a bet with me—to see if my brother would fall in love with you, if he would choose you over me."
"If you won, it would prove that human emotions were false, and I would naturally be reabsorbed into you."
"If you lost, I would remain a separate individual forever, right?"
"But unfortunately, I possess your intelligence. I quickly realized that such an outcome was impossible."
"I hold thirty percent of your strength. If I were to become fully independent, then you would no longer be you."
"So no matter what, you could never truly abandon me."
"Even if you lost the bet, you would forcibly absorb me back into yourself—flaws and all—and you would kill my brother in the process."
As Na'er spoke confidently, Gu Yue's delicate face gradually turned pale.
"Gu Yue, do you know why I agreed to this bet? Because I knew you never truly understood human emotions."
"To you, my bond with my brother was romantic love."
"But you were wrong. What we had was more of familial love. Perhaps I did love him romantically, but he only saw me as his sister."
"However, his feelings for you—were love."
"So from the very beginning, I knew I was destined to lose."
"But even though you won, you still didn't achieve the result you wanted."
Gu Yue's dark eyes stared deeply at Na'er.
"You think I didn't know all of this?"
Na'er laughed, but there was a hint of mockery in her smile.
"Of course you knew."
"Someone as intelligent as you would have seen through it immediately."
"When you tried to distance yourself from my brother, you had already realized that emotions were affecting you."
"But by the time you noticed, it was already too late."
"He had already taken root in the deepest corner of your heart. That feeling had grown and spread, no matter how hard you tried to remove or suppress it—it was all in vain."
At this moment, Gu Yue's expression shifted significantly. Her breathing became unsteady.
"You think that means I can't kill him?"
Na'er replied, "If you were truly capable of doing so, you would have done it long ago."
"A solitary ruler would never hesitate like this."
"And once you completely absorb me, you will be me, and I will be you—you will only be affected by him even more."
Hearing Na'er's confident response, Gu Yue suddenly erupted in anger.
"You sound just like a human!"
Na'er responded matter-of-factly, "That's because I am human. I've always believed that."
"That's why I don't want to destroy humanity. What I hope for is peaceful coexistence—between humans and soul beasts."
"Gu Yue, face your true feelings. Hatred only blinds you."
At this moment, Gu Yue's spirit was in turmoil, and bitterness spread across her face.
"I truly regret it."
"I should have listened to Di Tian's advice from the start. I should have abandoned this bet and absorbed you directly. If I had done that, perhaps with my immense spiritual power, I could have fully assimilated you."
"I did win the bet, but I also failed to get what I truly wanted. You're right—now I can't bring myself to kill him. I can't even allow anyone else to harm him."
"That's why I have to leave him, to let time erase everything."
"One day, either I will kill him without realizing it, or he will grow strong enough to kill me."
"You must understand—our conflict cannot be reconciled."
"The conflict between humans and soul beasts, between gods and divine beasts—it is built upon mountains of corpses, upon oceans of blood. No matter what, neither of us can bridge this unfillable chasm."
Na'er fell silent. After a moment, she spoke anxiously, "But if we both leave, he will be heartbroken."
Gu Yue's body trembled slightly at those words.
"That's still better than me staying by his side. He shines too brightly—his Golden Dragon King bloodline has already drawn attention. More than once, others have urged me to devour him as soon as possible."
"You have to understand—our subordinates, our fellow soul beasts, are incredibly powerful. Some of them should have become divine beasts long ago."
"I can barely suppress their opinions for now."
"But… Di Tian is different. He is a being that once regressed from a divine beast, yet he has ruled over the soul beasts for countless years as the Beast God."
"When he survived his 300,000-year tribulation, he had already accumulated enough to become a true god."
"Bi Ji and Zi Ji are his wives. They must have a way to contact him. Once they do, and he learns about this situation, he will not sit idly by."
"You should know Di Tian's nature. He is utterly ruthless when it comes to such matters. If he learns the full truth, he will stop at nothing to kill Wulin."
"Moreover, when we parted ways years ago, he defied me not once, but three times."
Upon hearing this, Na'er's face turned cold. She bit her lower lip, then muttered angrily, "Di Tian…"
After venting her emotions against his name, Na'er suddenly smiled, her expression relaxing.
"Gu Yue, you've changed."
"You've learned to consider his well-being. Your departure is meant to give him more room to grow."
"You're hoping that, one day in the future, he will grow strong enough that neither you nor Di Tian will be able to kill him."
"Perhaps." Gu Yue's voice was indifferent. "I have my mission, but I also don't want to hurt him."
"So for now, I will face this contradiction alone."
"I don't know what to do, but I must keep moving forward."
"Come back, Na'er. From today onward, I am no longer Gu Yue, and you are no longer Na'er. The name Gu Yue Na can finally be whole."
Shimmering lights flickered as Gu Yue's body suddenly became transparent—a crystalline silver-white glow.
A six-pointed star appeared beneath her feet, forming a light barrier that enveloped both her and Na'er, sealing them completely within. Not a single ripple of energy escaped.
At the same time, Na'er's body also became transparent. Step by step, she walked toward Gu Yue.
Their voices, now completely synchronized, echoed from within:
"I'm disappearing, but I can't bear to leave them—my brother, my teacher…"
"You know the truth. You have no origin of your own. You must return, or you will simply fade away."
"And you once said—once you return, you will be me, and I will be you."
The silver-white figures overlapped. Na'er and Gu Yue each spread their arms, slowly merging together.
Gu Yue's black hair vanished, replaced by silver strands. Her black eyes turned violet. Na'er's youthful innocence faded as she rapidly matured.
When they finally became identical—when Na'er had grown three years older—
A brilliant silver light flashed.
The figure vanished from the silent, desolate Sea God's Island.
(End of Chapter)