Chapter 20

A sword?

Talli was momentarily stunned. Not daring to make the young man wait too long, she quickly responded with a “Yes” and hurriedly flew down the stairs. A few elves gave her subtle glances, signaling her to turn left.

To the left was a room displaying long swords.

There were dozens of long swords here, all seemingly identical, with ancient and intricate patterns adorning them, laid out on display racks. Each sword appeared to be a priceless treasure.

However, there was one sword, tucked away in a corner, that intermittently flickered with purple light.

Talli quickly stood on tiptoe to take down that sword. Just as she was about to flap her wings—

“Clang!!”

She and the sword both crashed to the ground!

Was it… this heavy?

Talli first stood up and rubbed her reddened hand, then struggled to lift the sword’s hilt. It felt like dragging a hundred-pound weight. Step by step, gritting her teeth, she dragged the sword out of the display room, climbing up the stairs one step at a time, drenched in sweat, as all the elves watched her with sympathetic gazes. She finally brought the sword in front of the young man on the high throne.

“…”

The young man lowered his gaze and smiled softly. With a slight movement of his hand, he easily drew the sword with one hand.

The blade shimmered as it moved, resembling a long rainbow, reflecting her somewhat pale face.

Talli stiffened, not daring to move. Below her, the elves all lowered their heads in unison, trembling as if they were sifting through flour.

Just as she thought the young man would press the sword to her neck, he stood up, bypassed her, and walked toward the grand doors.

He was very tall, and when he stood up, his imposing presence became even stronger.

Talli was so overwhelmed by his pressure that she had almost forgotten to breathe. Only now did she realize her legs had gone weak, and she couldn’t move. A few elves quietly came over and helped her down the steps. Once she reached the bottom, her cold sweat began to dissipate, and she clutched the sword’s scabbard as she quietly slipped back into the rear row of elves.

At this moment, a fierce wind swept through the sky.

Talli had originally hoped that some elves would whisper among themselves to give her an idea of the current situation, but to her surprise, no one dared speak. After the earlier events, even the elves who had been looking up at the sky now kept their heads lowered, obediently averting their eyes.

Talli stood in the corner of the shadowed right row, from where she could clearly see what was happening in the sky.

A thick, wall-like black cloud gathered overhead, sealing the sky tightly. Soon, the sound of thunder echoed, and within seconds, a lightning bolt, like a roaming dragon, slashed through the wall of darkness. The sound of a horse’s whinny followed, and then, hooves pounded the clouds apart as a white horse galloped toward them. On the horse’s back sat a knight clad in radiant gold armor, with a ripple-like sun halo hovering above his head.

“White Horse Knight!”

The elf next to Talli quickly lifted their head to sneak a glance, unable to contain their excitement as they whispered.

In just a few seconds, a red horse leapt into view. The knight on its back was tall and imposing, fully armored in tough, unbreakable gear. He carried a large sword on his back, and blood steadily dripped from the blade.

“Red Horse Knight!”

Another elf chirped excitedly in a hushed voice.

Soon after, a black horse emerged from the clouds. The rider on the black horse was also difficult to make out, but the figure was tall, and both hands held up a scale, as though weighing something.

Following the naming convention, this should be the “Black Horse Knight,” Talli thought silently.

And sure enough…

Finally, a silver-gray steed brought the grand procession to an end.

However, what surprised Talli was that the rider on the silver-gray horse was actually a skeleton dressed in a cloak. With its head bowed, it seemed smaller than the previous knights, and there were far fewer people cheering for it.

After dismounting, the riders walked into the hall one by one, kneeling on one knee in front of the blue-haired youth, placing their right hands on their hearts, and lowering their heads in oath of loyalty.

The young man then placed the long sword on each of their shoulders, scrutinizing their loyal gazes.

Until the last one.

The knight met the youth’s gaze, but all that could be seen were two dark hollow eye sockets in the skull. There were no vows spoken, no beating heart in its chest.

The tip of the sword hovered just above its shoulder, not falling.

The atmosphere became tense.

In the blink of an eye.

The young man flicked his wrist lightly. With a slight exertion of his clearly defined left hand, no one saw exactly what happened, but the skull was easily severed from the skeleton, rolling across the floor and coming to a stop near the young man’s shoe.

The elves gasped, and some of the more timid ones covered their eyes, retreating behind their companions.

The skeleton knight paused for a moment, bent down, and reached for its head.

But the young man lifted his foot and firmly stepped on the skull, the corner of his lips curling into a slight smile.

The skeleton knight could neither move the foot nor dared to move.

“…Your Highness,”

The Black Horse Knight on his left spoke tremulously, “Please forgive him this time. He didn’t mean it, he was just…”

“I didn’t ask you to speak.”

The young man’s cold voice rang out as he lifted his shoe—

And kicked the skull away.

The elves quickly covered their mouths to stifle any frightened sounds, and at the same time, one by one, they squeezed together, avoiding the pale skull as if it were a plague.

The skull rolled several meters away, and amazingly, it came to a stop right at Talli’s feet.

Talli looked up and realized that the elves had all crowded into the back row, leaving her—who had been in the corner—exposed at the front.

“…”

After the young ruler made his declaration, the knight lowered his head, trembling, and dared not speak again.

In the tense atmosphere, Talli leaned the scabbard against the wall, slowly bent down, and picked up the skull.

Its dark, hollow eyes met hers. Despite the emptiness in those eyes, Talli could feel a stirring emotion.

…Earlier, was he angry because he sensed the disrespect from the skeleton knight?

“Bring it here.”

The young man spoke, giving the command.

Talli stepped forward and walked to his side, offering the skull.

For a long while, there was no movement. The young man didn’t look at her or speak.

The hall was eerily quiet, everything still. The only movement was the dim light filtering through the stained glass windows, casting dust particles that floated aimlessly in the air.

It was like a dark, heavy painting.

Just as Talli’s arm grew sore, the young man finally moved.

He flicked his wrist, drew the long sword, and stabbed it into the skull’s eye socket, lifting the skull up.

It was placed steadily on the bare skeleton.

With a soft “click,” the spine was gently reattached.

The young man let out a few cold, sinister laughs from his throat:

“When you all tried every means to stab me, poison me, and drown me back then, you should have known this day would come—before me, you will never again stand tall with your knees and spine.”

No one dared to speak.

Everyone had already knelt to the ground, and the hall was dead silent, as quiet as death itself.

“I know you don’t accept me, because I am not the original god. Although you all swear loyalty, I know exactly what’s on your minds.”

The young man narrowed his ruby-like eyes, and the sharp, overwhelming presence of a superior came crashing down.

“But you all need to understand—whether you’re willing or not, the gods have already fallen.”

The skeleton knight finally transformed into human form, bowed its head before the young man, and bent its spine deeply.

“The gods are dead. All nine powers have been taken by me, and all things in the world serve me as their sovereign.”

“The apocalypse has passed, the vortex at the center of the world has begun to turn again, and the new world is beginning.”

The young man drove his humming, resonating sword into the rocky floor, as if it were his bloodstained laurel of glory.

“—From now on, I am the only god of the new world.”

As the last syllable of that word fell, Talli’s vision was once again engulfed in darkness. She could feel herself being pressed by the heavy weight of a dream, her body rising upward, detached from it.

—This was how it was supposed to be.

Just as she could have opened her eyes and seen the light, suddenly, a huge force from behind her yanked her, pulling her sharply in the opposite direction!

“Ugh!!”

It was as if Talli, who was almost about to reach the shore, was suddenly pulled back under the water. She opened her eyes wide, her body drenched in cold sweat, gasping for air. Just as she was about to cough, a hand reached over and covered her mouth and nose.

In that instant, the shadow of death loomed over her heart. Her reflex was to bite the hand, to scream and howl.

But an elderly voice, like a bucket of cold water, snapped her back to reality.

“Quiet, little girl.”

It was a woman’s voice, low and restrained, as if she didn’t want to be heard. “Look around, see where you are now.”

Talli, clutching her racing heart, first relaxed when she realized it wasn’t the immortal knight. But then, with a delayed realization, she noticed she was still inside the original grand hall. She looked around and saw that it was a small chamber, styled like a temple, ancient and worn. She was sitting near the gilded screen in the center of the room. To her left, from behind the hanging curtain, an old arm stretched out, covering her mouth.

The arm was brown and drooping, with visible veins and interlaced wrinkles.

Seeing that she had calmed down, the old woman slowly withdrew her hand.

“I’ve had a hard time keeping you here for a while. If He finds out, everything will be in vain.”

The old woman spoke anxiously, her voice filled with a hint of fear.

Talli could tell that the woman didn’t mean to kill her, so she slowly calmed down.

“What do you want to do to me?”

“Don’t panic, little girl.”

The old woman withdrew her hand behind the curtain. “I know you…”

Her words were like a thunderclap: “I know you don’t belong here.”

A chill crept up Talli’s spine. After a while, she forced herself to remain calm and responded nonchalantly, “I was dragged in here by you, right? I was almost about to leave this—”

“I’m not talking about this dream.”

The old woman’s voice grew deeper, “…You know, Talli, you know what I’m talking about.”

“…”

Talli remained silent.

But she knew, she might not be able to hold back her rapidly beating heart any longer.

“I’ll help you, Talli. I know you want to leave here, and I have a way to get you back.”

“…Why should I believe you?”

The old woman was silent for a moment before speaking softly, “When you were looking for the sword in the display room, the gleaming light from that sword was my hint to you. You know, if you had taken the wrong sword, do you know what the consequences would have been?”

Talli recalled the young man and the terrified looks from the elves.

“Yes.”

The old woman said, “As long as you’re dead, you’ll be trapped in this dream. By then, don’t even think about returning to your hometown, you won’t even be able to leave this illusion and return to the imperial capital.”

“…I have no other choice, do I?” Talli raised her eyes and said.

She was very clear that for this old woman to be in such a place, her status must be extraordinary. She knew everything about Talli, but Talli knew nothing about her. This information gap was almost lethal for Talli.

As long as she wanted, the old woman could immediately trap Talli forever in this dream, never to escape.

She could only trust her.

“—Well then, tell me your method.”