Cloud Thinking

"Hahahahahaha!" Latifa suddenly burst into a hearty laugh, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. "This is so cute, it's just like kids playing house!"

But Helia didn't think there was anything childish about this.

In her opinion, it is those words that are kept in one's heart and those unnecessary suspicions and concerns that make simple things complicated.

She was determined to be an honest person.

"Elroy has always been by my side, through many difficult times," she said softly, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the corner of her clothes. "When he's around, I always feel so safe. I like this feeling."

Elroy's Adam's apple rolled unnaturally, his jawline tensed, and the tips of his ears turned crimson at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Yeah." He responded softly, his voice a little hoarse than usual.

Helia stared at his flushed cheeks, the corners of her mouth unconsciously raised - as expected, a straight shot is the best weapon to deal with a tsundere.

Although Latifa was joking with them, the healing magic in her hands never stopped.

This professional healing magician focused 80% of his attention on Eric, leaving only 20% for small talk.

So did Helia.

She seemed to be standing next to Elroy, her eyes following Latifa's movements, but in fact her peripheral vision was always focused on Eric, while she was also secretly observing everyone in the room.

When Eric emerged from the strange dream, the first thing he felt was pain.

My heart felt like it was soaked in bitter water, swelling and aching. My eyes felt hot and heavy, tears welling up uncontrollably.

"Brother!" This call was like a ray of light, completely bringing him back to reality.

He tried to move his fingers, but felt a warm touch and slight tingling at his fingertips - someone was holding his hand tightly.

In the blurred vision, a bright red gradually became clear.

And at the border of red and white, there is a pair of eyes that he will never forget, as clear blue as lake water.

"Ah... Aya..." His cracked lips trembled, and his voice became more and more urgent. "Aya... is it really you..."

Helia placed his hand on her cheek, and her heart finally settled down.

"It's me, brother. I'm here."

Realizing that the brother and sister needed some time alone, Latifa gestured to Elroy, and the two of them tacitly left the room and gently closed the door.

"Aya...is it really you..." Eric's voice was so weak that it seemed like it would fade away at any moment. "No...I must be dreaming again..."

Helia guided his hand across her face, from her full forehead to her curled eyelashes, from her straight nose to her soft lips, and finally stopped at her small chin.

"Did you feel it? It's the real me." She said softly, feeling the trembling of her brother's fingertips.

After confirming that the person in front of him was his real sister, Eric suddenly choked up.

In those endless dreams, he had seen too many versions of Helia—angry, disappointed, indifferent, and broken…

Before falling into the last dream, every word Helia said to him stabbed his heart like a knife.

Eric had never been so weak.

He clutched Helia's hand tightly, sobbing like a lost child who had finally found his way home. Every sob was accompanied by a broken apology, and his chest heaved violently, as if he wanted to vent all the emotions that had been pent up over the years.

Helia quickly helped him up, gently patting his trembling back.

She was afraid that he would choke on his tears, and even more worried that the excessive emotional fluctuations would hurt his body which had not yet recovered.

This scene made her feel a little helpless - in the original owner's memory, Eric had always been the calm and reliable brother. When had he ever been so fragile?

Helia, who was not good at comforting others, found it even more difficult to deal with Eric's emotional breakdown than with a mad fire dragon.

When this thought flashed through her mind, she almost laughed at her own metaphor, but she quickly suppressed this inappropriate sense of humor.

They cuddled quietly like this until Eric's breathing gradually calmed down. Helia then said solemnly, "I'm sorry for hurting you."

These words had been brewing in her mind for a long time.

No matter how much she had to do it, she ultimately took away Eric's most cherished sister and occupied everything in this body.

She had to express this guilt in person.

"No...I'm the one who should apologize..." Eric's voice was still hoarse from crying.

At this moment, they both tacitly avoided calling each other "brother" and "sister" - this conversation was a confession between two souls from different time and space.

"This whole thing is ridiculously complicated." Helia took a deep breath. "If you're willing to listen, I'll tell you everything."

She had previously revealed some of the original owner's unique origins. Now she only needed to complete the truth of her own time travel, although explaining it was still not easy.

Eric nodded slightly, and even stroked the back of her hand with his fingertips, as if to soothe her anxiety.

"It's okay, just take your time. I'll listen to every word."

Helia smiled bitterly inwardly—in reality, time was running out, and the world outside was probably already in chaos.

But she still chose to stop at this moment and reveal all her secrets.

This was a huge gamble. She placed all her trust in Eric, betting that the man who once loved her sister the most could understand and accept this soul from another world.

Two long hours passed, and the sky outside the window had turned from bright to dark.

Eric finally had a preliminary understanding of this soul from another world, and vaguely sensed the extraordinary burden on her shoulders.

As Helia continued to tell the story, Eric gradually realized a fact - the girl in front of him was also a victim of fate.

She was thrown into this strange world so innocently, like a fallen leaf falling into a turbulent river.

Without guidance or support, one can only rely on his own courage to struggle for survival in a foreign land full of dangers.

The dangers she downplayed and the pain she mentioned with a casual air all broke Eric's heart.

She could have escaped, could have given up, but she chose to carry this mission that did not belong to her on her thin shoulders.

Behind those seemingly calm responses is the wisdom accumulated from countless sleepless nights.

Behind those amazing growths are countless experiences of walking on the edge of life and death.

Eric suddenly realized that who could he blame her? She was just trying to survive in this cruel world.

How can it be wrong to struggle for survival?

In the flickering candlelight, he stared into Helia's eyes - the same blue eyes as his "sister's".

But what he saw at this moment was not the spirit in his memory, but the reflection of a lonely soul walking alone under the unfamiliar starry sky.

An indescribable heartache surged in his heart. Without hesitation, Eric opened his arms and gently embraced the girl who carried a double fate.

He felt her momentary stiffness, followed by her cautious relaxation.

"Thank you for your hard work over the years." His voice was a little choked, and his palm gently stroked the back of her head, like soothing a frightened little animal, "Thank you... Thank you for being here."

Helia rested her forehead on his shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent of incense she remembered.

This hug is both a farewell to the past and the beginning of a new relationship.

Two wandering souls found a temporary harbor in this warm embrace.

Outside the window, the last ray of sunset faded quietly, but the candlelight in the room stretched their shadows very long, intertwined together, and could no longer be distinguished from each other.

It was dusk and the stars outside the window began to light up sporadically.

Helia knew it was time to leave—she needed to reunite with Tarod and complete her almost crazy plan: to kill the gods.

But before leaving, she had to ensure stability in the rear.

Just as Claude explained, only the brother and sister can work together to help the empire survive this catastrophe.

"Brother, I'm leaving soon." She slowly pulled herself out of the warm embrace, the warmth of Eric's clothes still lingering on her fingertips. "This time I'm going to solve a...big problem."

She gave a brief account of the current situation and plans.

When Eric heard that Helia had chosen to risk her life again, he felt as if his heart was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

The pain was sharp and suffocating, as if thousands of silver needles were piercing into the bone marrow through the blood vessels.

Helia, however, smiled nonchalantly, as if she were simply discussing tomorrow's breakfast. "This is my choice, and it's an indispensable part of the plan."

She tilted her head, her hair glowing a soft golden color in the candlelight. "Brother, you will support me, right?"

Eric's Adam's apple rolled.

How could he refuse?

This girl has paved the way for the empire with her blood. If he retreats at this moment, won’t those sacrifices become a joke?

He suddenly recalled the chivalric novels he had read in the past, where the protagonists always found a way to have the best of both worlds in desperate situations. But reality was far more cruel than these stories—some roads, once embarked on, were destined to reach the darkest end.

Before speaking frankly, Eric would never agree to this nearly suicidal plan.

But at this moment, he knew better than anyone what kind of burden Helia was carrying and what kind of desperate situation the empire was facing.

These cognitions dragged him like chains, forcing him to nod.

"I'm leaving now, brother." Helia's skirt rustled across the carpet as she stood up.

Eric suddenly grabbed her by the sleeve.

The silk fabric slipped through his fingers like quicksand.

When he looked up, his blue eyes, which were exactly the same as Helia's, were filled with so many emotions——

Can you not go?

Does it have to be you?

Let's run away?

Even just this once, can you be a coward?

Helia saw her own reflection in his pupils, so small, so fragile, yet stubbornly glowing.

She suddenly realized that Eric's eyes at this moment were exactly the same as when she said goodbye in Sad Forest.

All Eric knew about the gods came from obscure records in ancient books. It wasn't until he witnessed the fire dragon wreaking havoc in the Sad Forest that he truly understood what it meant to be "divine might as hell."

The overwhelming power gap made it impossible for people to even think of resisting.

But Helia actually wanted to kill gods.

The thought sent chills down Eric's fingertips.

He was afraid that this would be a farewell forever, and afraid of experiencing the heartbreak of losing a loved one again.

But what was even more terrifying was that he knew in his heart that someone had to step up.

Allowing an out-of-control god to run rampant will only result in the destruction of all lives.

The moonlight filtered through the window lattice, casting a silver edge around Helia.

Eric vaguely saw two overlapping figures: one was the little girl who always hid behind him in his memory, and the other was the soldier who stood with his back straight at this moment.

If he were standing in this position...

This hypothesis was nipped in the bud as soon as it emerged.

He knew better than anyone that he could never be as decisive as Helia.

Helia gently pried his fingers apart and placed a warm kiss on his palm.

"I promise you," her voice was as light as a feather, "this will never be the last time we see each other."

Okay, I'll refine the wording of this scene while preserving the original plot and character relationships. Here's the polished version:

The moment Helia opened the door, she was met with a pair of inquiring eyes. Archbishop Latifa had been standing outside the door the entire time, now leaning against the pillar, her fingertips twirling a strand of purple hair as she studied her with interest.

"Thank you for your assistance, Your Excellency the Archbishop." Helia thanked him sincerely, then got straight to the point. "You are waiting here. Do you have any other instructions?"

Latifa suddenly took her arm as intimately as a close friend and pulled her to the corner of the corridor without saying anything.

This supposedly solemn clergyman stood on tiptoe, his warm breath brushing Helia's ear:

"Your Highness, listen to my honest opinion—" Her voice was as light as a feather falling to the ground. "Stay away from the Vatican. The water there is much more turbid than you imagine."

Helia's pupils shrank slightly, but a confused expression appeared on her face: "Your Excellency, what you are saying... I don't understand."

"Too much curiosity can easily lead to trouble." Latifa regained her dignified appearance in the blink of an eye, as if it was not her who whispered just now.

The elf bishop gracefully bowed in farewell, her skirt swirling in a gorgeous arc.

Helia was lost in thought as she watched the crimson figure walking away, when she suddenly felt someone gently tugging at her sleeve.

"What trouble are you going to get into this time?" Elroy stood with his arms folded, a frost in his misty purple gemstone eyes.

They had been together for so long that he could judge the degree of danger from the frequency of her eyelashes trembling - at this moment, the alarm was ringing sharply in his mind.

Helia unconsciously stroked the floral decoration on the hem of her skirt.

She hesitated, a rare moment, unsure whether to reveal her crazy plan.

This brief silence allowed Elroy to grab her wrist.

He leaned forward, almost asking through gritted teeth, "Who said we were close friends? Who said we had to be honest with each other? And in the blink of an eye—"

"Okay, okay, I say!" Helia raised her hands in surrender, thinking that the boomerang had hit her really well.

When she finished her plan, the corridor fell into silence.

"You're crazy." Elroy released her wrist, his voice colder than the arctic wind.

When he turned around, the hem of his clothes raised in a sharp arc, like a cut rope.

Helia looked at her empty palms and said with a wry smile, "If I don't go, who will?"

As someone who once chased after gods and aspired to be as powerful as them, Elroy knew better than anyone how terrifying gods were.

It's like the ink on the page trying to rebel against the person who wrote it, or the ant trying to shake the mountain.

But when he thought of the God of War lurking in Helia's body, he had to admit that perhaps this absurd plan really had some chance of success.

Understanding does not mean agreement.

Watersiser is an ancient god of war, but Helia is just flesh and blood.

What finally made him clench his fists was a simple fact: what they cared about was never a heroic act of salvation, but only Helia as a person.