IBHJ Chapter 787

She gave him a bitter smile. "There's no way, Eternal King."

"Maybe not in this world, but in the past, there was a way."

"What are you..."

He looked at her seriously. "There is a way, and you know it too."

Surprised, she asked, "You mean... through the dream?"

"This time, you won't be alone. I'll be by your side," he said softly.

She looked at him, her expression blank, and then shook her head. "No way... There's just no way that's possible..."

He reached out and gently took her hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Nothing is impossible. Come, let's see this through together, all the way to the end."

Slowly, he loosened his grip and extended his hand towards her, palm up, inviting her to join him. Skadi hesitated, uncertainty flickering across her face as she gazed at his outstretched hand. Moments passed, the silence broken only by the soft whisper of the wind. Then, with a deep breath, she placed her delicate hand in his, her cold skin meeting the warmth of his palm.

As their fingers intertwined, a smile spread across Shirou's face, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He activated Merin's Records and suddenly, the air around them shimmered and danced, as if the very fabric of reality was being rewritten. Beautiful pink cherry blossoms burst into existence, their delicate petals fluttering and swirling in the breeze. The soft, ethereal glow of the blossoms cast a warm light on Shirou and Skadi's faces.

...

Skadi woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling. Where was she? As she furrowed her brow, pondering the question, a warm voice suddenly rang out beside her.

"You're awake?"

At the sound of the voice, she quickly turned her head and saw a man sitting by the bed, looking at her gently. He was about thirty years old, dressed impeccably in a suit and leather shoes. The creases extending from his nose to the corners of his mouth gave him an air of solemnity and maturity. However, when facing Skadi, the man's eyes were incredibly warm, and a bright smile appeared on his face - just like that sunny, brilliant young boy from many years ago.

Skadi stared at the young man intently. He looked so much like the one in her dreams, except that despite his mature face, she could still vaguely see the shadow of that rascal Eternal King.

Unable to resist, she asked softly, "Are you... Eternal King?"

"Of course it's me. Who else would it be?"

She immediately frowned. "What did you do to me? And where are we?"

"Hey, your expression changes way too quickly! I know I didn't leave the best impression on you before I got my pre-reset memories back, but you must have had at least a little bit of goodwill towards me, right?" Shirou said, scratching the back of his head, looking a bit distressed.

"You're right, there was. But that was Scathach's goodwill, not mine. When I first met you, my body was sending me messages of warmth, but I was afraid Scathach's feelings would interfere with my responsibilities. That's why I locked you up," Skadi said calmly.

"Ah, so that's how feelings work. No wonder you treated me like that when we first met," Shirou sighed. "You're so heartless."

At the mention of this, Skadi found it hard to remain composed. She gritted her teeth and said, "I should've beaten you to death back then to prevent you from humiliating me like this."

Upon hearing this, Shirou stopped poking her cheeks and said, "I guess I should thank Scathach for making you show a bit of mercy and not killing me."

He added, "Oh, by the way, the taste of those blue fruits is actually pretty awful. Think you could do something about that?"

Skadi gritted her teeth even harder. Why did this guy enjoy teasing her so much? His younger self's temperament wasn't nearly this frivolous.

And when she thought about how she was now a mere Divine Spirit, no match for Shirou at all, she felt even more depressed. Shaking her head, Skadi looked at him and asked, "Where are we, anyway?"

"This is the dream you've been having for over two thousand years. In this dream, you're Scathach, and I'm your student. Pretty amazing, right? Don't you feel like your dream just got ten times better?"

She let out a soft sigh. "Wrong. It's actually ten times worse now. And who knows if you're even telling the truth? For all I know, this might just be one of your illusions. I have all of Scathach's memories, and I know you can use that obscene Magus's illusions."

He gave a helpless look. "This isn't an illusion, but a dream intervention. All I did was bring us into the dream realm."

"Who knows? Scathach said you're the best liar. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I'm not dumb enough to believe a liar."

Shirou felt even more helpless. Was this the consequence of lying too much? His own teacher, Scathach, was really something else. How could she say something like this to other people? Didn't she know that family scandals should be kept private? How was he supposed to face people in the future?

"If this is a dream, then some things just can't be changed. But from what I can see now, the freedom to move my body according to my will feels just like being inside an illusion rather than a dream," Skadi said while moving her palms.

Indeed, if it were a dream, what they could say or do would be greatly restricted. And even though Skadi's divinity had been worn down and her power wasn't what it used to be, she could still see through this at a glance.

Shirou was speechless at her sound reasoning, and he could see that she had a good point. Still, he was also helpless in this situation. While he knew this was really a dream and not one of his illusions, he had no way to prove it.

At that moment, his body suddenly moved on its own, like a tiger pouncing on its prey, pushing Skadi down on the bed.

She was startled by his sudden action and exclaimed, "What do you think you're doing?!"

"I... I don't know! My body just started moving on its own!" Shirou said, looking at Skadi who was now within reach.

Skadi wanted to break free quickly, but found that her body couldn't move at all!

"Why? Why can't I move?" she asked, panic rising in her voice.

"It's a mandatory event!" He pressed his lips together and said, "This must be one of those mandatory dream events that can't be changed, not even for the Eternal King."

As he spoke, Shirou lowered his head.

"Don't... don't come any closer!" she said, her tone laced with panic.

"It's a mandatory event, I can't stop it," he said helplessly.

"End the dream, now!" she said anxiously.

"I can't, it takes time to activate the records," he replied, equally helpless.

"Don't... don't come any closer!" She closed her eyes, bracing herself.

However, the anticipated blasphemy never came. Instead, she felt the sensation of a blanket being placed over her body. Opening her eyes, she saw him reaching out to cover her with a blanket, his face stern as he said, "Seriously, you're just like a soldier. No matter how strong you are, you should still take care of yourself."

Undoubtedly, this line coming from his mouth was another mandatory event in the dream. Only after this event had passed did the two regain control of their bodies. As soon as she could move again, Skadi quickly distanced herself from him.

She felt that Shirou was too dangerous. Although there were legends of gods and humans becoming couples, she had no desire to enact such a myth herself.

Seeing Skadi subconsciously holding her body and looking at him warily, Shirou asked helplessly, "Do you believe this is a dream now?"

Skadi hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "I believe you."