Ultear lowered her head, her gaze dimmed, and her voice became deep: "Using you... Actually, like your mother, I also had thoughts about you that a sister shouldn't have..."
"You're different, Big Sis, you..." Tike wanted to refute. He could feel Ultear's sincerity towards him; it was definitely not something that could be described by the word "using."
"No, I am the same."
Ultear interrupted Tike. She closed her eyes, recalling that dark past.
"If I had been the first to escape from the Magic Development Bureau back then, I probably wouldn't have gone back to save you."
"At that time, my mind was full of escape. I didn't have any spare energy to care about others, including... you."
"I thought it was something big. Isn't that normal?" Tike shrugged indifferently. "I can understand your urgency to go back to Mom Ur. It wouldn't have been a big problem for me to stay there alone. At least there was food, so I wouldn't have starved."
"...The reason I was eager for you to call her 'Mom' back then was less about wanting you to be my family and more about wanting you to divert Mom's attention from Gray and the others."
"I know."
Tike's voice was soft, but it clearly reached Ultear's ears.
"As expected... nothing can be hidden from you."
Ultear smiled bitterly. She knew that in front of Tike, any pretense or concealment was futile.
Tike reached out with both hands, gently lifting her chin, gazing into her teary eyes.
"Compared to letting Gray and Lyon share Mom Ur's love, you were more willing to share it with me. From the beginning, you treated me as someone you were willing to share with, didn't you?"
In Tike's view, the selfishness Ultear spoke of was just a child fighting for her mother's love out of spite. There was actually not a trace of malice toward him; instead, it was full of acceptance and love for him.
Ultear hadn't expected Tike to interpret her motives with such goodwill. She had thought that after confessing those dark thoughts, he would be disgusted and distance himself from her.
And her darkness didn't stop there.
"When you told me to attack you back then, I really considered doing it."
Even if it was just a fleeting thought, it made Ultear ashamed, making her feel incredibly despicable.
Perhaps, as Master Hades had once said, she was born to stay in the darkness—a cold and heartless witch unworthy of light and warmth.
"At the time of Deliora, I was the one who proposed you choose between me and your mother. I deliberately said that because I knew you would definitely choose your own mother."
Of course, Tike knew he wasn't as important as her mother in Ultear's heart. If anything, he had actually used that point himself.
"Mom Ur would definitely have died using Iced Shell then, and I wouldn't have really died there. I just wanted to use that method to give myself a boost. Look, aren't I full of life now? Watch me perform a backflip for you."
Saying this, Tike tried to stand up from the platform to prove he was really fine.
"No need!"
Ultear quickly reached out, pulled Tike into her arms, and hugged him tightly, stopping his dangerous move.
She didn't need Tike to prove anything this way; she believed he was really fine.
Ultear gently wiped the corners of her eyes, calmed her emotions, and then asked about Tike's recent situation: "So, you've been staying with your biological mother for more than two years and only came out recently?"
"No, I ran out the same day I woke up. I was delayed on the road for about half a year. The reason for this time difference is probably because I slept for two years before."
Compared to Alice's time dilation theory, Tike leaned more towards Ur's explanation, which also matched his physical sensation better.
Ultear's small hand paused. The lake of her heart, which had just calmed down, rippled again.
(Something did happen after all!)
"Did the side effects of that magic worsen again?"
Tike thought for a moment, carefully recalling the situation when he used the magic before.
"Not necessarily. When I used it last time, I only needed to sleep until the next day. Although by then Blake didn't need to be killed by me anymore, and that magic wasn't needed either."
Ultear carefully analyzed the information Tike provided and proposed her guess.
"As long as no life is taken, there won't be corresponding side effects?"
"My mom said that to use that magic to devour life, one must endure the same aura of death, so conversely, it's not needed?"
Tike felt Ultear's words made sense. A plan suddenly sprang to mind. He condensed a crystal-clear small water knife and postured as if to stab his own chest.
"Let me test it!"
"Don't test it!"
Ultear turned pale with fright. She snatched the small water knife, threw it forcefully down the high tower, and then grabbed Tike's shoulders tightly.
"Promise me, regardless of whether there are side effects, that magic can only be used at the most dangerous moments!"
Looking at Ultear's nervous expression, Tike immediately said obediently, "I know, I was joking."
Ultear didn't think Tike was joking at all. If she hadn't stopped him, he would have really stabbed himself.
"You can't always rely on your strong recovery ability to self-harm. Mom and I will worry about you."
Tike's smile froze on his face. He scratched his head awkwardly, his eyes shifting.
"The protagonist in a manga does this, and I thought it was pretty cool."
"Read less of that stuff in the future; read more positive and uplifting things."
Ultear really didn't know what to say to him, so she could only admonish him like this.
Tike nodded obediently immediately.
"Mm-hm! Then Big Sis, come back and pick good manga for me to read!"
Ultear hesitated for a moment, finally revealing a gentle smile, and said softly, "Mm, after I go back and give the Master an explanation, I'll return."
"You don't need to explain anything to him!"
Tike waved his small fist, grinning to reveal a pair of sharp little tiger teeth.
"If that Master dares to gossip, see if I don't beat him until his teeth are all over the floor!"
The corners of Ultear's mouth curled up slightly, then she shook her head again.
"Don't be so impulsive. Master Hades is my mentor after all; it's necessary to greet him."
Tike was stunned for a moment.
"Eh? You learned magic from him? Is Maker Magic not enough?"
"Maker Magic is said to be the magic of imagination, but in reality, it's just the solidification of elemental magic, only the shapes differ. What I really needed was magic that could find you."
"Magic to find me?"
"Mm." Ultear reached out and ruffled Tike's hair, speaking slowly, "Not long after you disappeared, I figured you were taken away by someone using Space Magic. So I thought about finding someone to help or learning Space Magic myself. That's exactly why I met Master Hades."