Witch, I'm really not the Deep Sea Ancient God!

"Lift the cloth from your child."

"Following your command, great Witch."

The wife carefully lifted the bloodstained cloth from the girl in her arms.

In her embrace, was a beautiful girl.

However, atop her delicate neck, a rose bloomed.

The rose stem, full of poisonous thorns, extended infinitely like a needle, piercing her collarbone, legs, cheeks, firmly rooted in her fragile heart.

Thump! Thump!

A cloth gag stuffed in the girl's mouth prevented her from biting her tongue in agony and committing suicide.

The Witch gently tugged at the flower, attempting to provoke a wail from the girl!

Yet, the girl before her showed no expression.

The anguish that could make grown men fall to their knees and weep elicited no response from her.

She had adapted to this boundless pain.

"Congenital Blood Flower Disease..."

The Witch took another sip of her tea.

The husband anxiously asked:

"My Lady? Our offering, Lady Witch, could it be exchanged for medicine?"

The Witch replied:

"It's a fine medicinal ingredient from someone in Floral Madness, the fact that you two managed to bring her to us is mildly interesting~"

The Ice Witch continued:

"However, this isn't an ordinary case of Blood Flower Disease, this is the misfortune your Golden Canary family has contracted by excessively coming into contact with the forbidden Crack."

She said emotionlessly:

"Unless I raise her myself, I can extend her life by five years, but the price is not something you can afford.

Find a place where flowers bloom and bury her there; even with medicine and surgery, she could at best live another two years."

Bury... The husband's pupils dilated suddenly, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

Not only their Family Head but even the Great Sage, Prophet, of the Witch Sea could not save their daughter.

The husband abruptly retorted:

"No, Lady Witch! I beg you, I'm willing to offer my soul, my flesh, more offerings, even if, even if it's just to extend her life!

Let her have a normal childhood! Please, I beg of you!"

The husband wept painfully, reaching his hand out, trying to embrace the Ice Witch's feet for salvation.

"I am also willing to give up everything, Lady Witch, she is our only child! Please, I beg of you!"

The wife too, banged her head on the ground fiercely.

Yet the gaze of the Ice Witch remained unchanged, showing not even a hint of pity or sympathy.

The Ice Witch, hardened over a long passage of time, was both the Guardian of the Witch Sea and a merciless executioner.

And so, on their knees, they continued to pray until their heads shattered.

"Hmm..."

The Ice Witch looked at the girl in her arms.

The girl in swaddling clothes opened her blood-stained eyes, looking at her.

And as her eyes opened, the petals of the rose growing on her body were blown away by the sea breeze.

"..."

Watching the scene before her, the Ice Witch's expression finally changed.

She picked up a list.

The husband raised his head and sneaked a peek at the list.

There, on that list, were all portraits of little girls.

Legend had it that the Ice Witch would abduct talented girls, training them to become her own followers.

"In Maro Town, there's a better option..."

Murmuring to herself, the Ice Witch then snapped her fingers:

"Let's make a prophecy."

Snap!

With a crisp snap of her fingers, a dreamy vista appeared in the twilight's glow.

This scene, belonging neither to this world nor the past, was of the future!

Prophet!

Prophecy!

The husband and wife were stunned; they vaguely remembered the elder clan head saying that the ability to manifest prophecy was something only a being higher than a Saint, no, higher than the highest Saints, closer to deities, could possess.

In this declining age, in a barren place like the Witch Sea, there still existed such a mighty being!

Like an old camera, future stories appeared one after another in the vista, like a mirage.

Under the care of the Ice Witch, the little girl holding a grand Magic Wand practiced the Forbidden Technique of life, pharmacy, day in, day out.

The Ice Witch steered a small boat to the Black Land, the old home of a friend, passing on the legacy of the Flower Witch to the girl in front of her.

Then, they would cook together, adventure, walking through this perilous sea.

The Ice Witch imparted her own knowledge to the little girl.

They also dealt with the internal conflict between the Blood Blade Pirate Group and the Navy, clearing the many Deep Sea Humanoid Monsters brought about by the forbidden experiments of the Navy and the Whale Group.

Most of the time, however, the little girl didn't see anything; she could only see the Ice Witch returning with the heads of monsters.

Ultimately, one day, the Ice Witch bid farewell to the girl, returned her to her parents, and instructed the girl to learn the Golden Canary Family's Forbidden Knowledge.

With their parents' eyes filled with fear, they said their goodbyes.

And like that, one scene after another flashed by.

Hmm? The Ice Witch watched with interest the everything unfolding in the scenes.

The husband and wife, watching the warm scene before them, could hardly believe it.

In the blink of an eye, more than a decade passed, the little girl had grown up, becoming a talented Pharmacist, though the naivety in her eyes had not yet faded.

She took a voyage ship, as per the agreement, to the Witch Sea.

However, upon arriving at the Witch Sea, she fell into the Deep Sea, succumbed to hunger, and in madness, sought sustenance in Moonstone City.