Chapter 433: Act 185 – The Final Moment (Part 1)
Brendel did not expect that Andisha would have assistance here. Although the elder said that there were several people on the other side of the mist, it did not necessarily mean they were on the side of the Pastoral Keeper. Those who could align themselves with the Lord of Decay were likely not to be good people.
In any case, this was not good news.
“How much time do I have, Master William?” he turned around to ask.
The elder’s wise gaze pierced through the mist, looking towards the other side of the valley. He casually opened a dimensional rift in the air and withdrew a silver staff from it:
“Andisha seems to have been intimidated by the wolf leader Echis, but after all, she is the Lord of Decay of the Pastoral Keeper. I think she will react quickly, and you have at most a few minutes.”
Brendel nodded, understanding that the meaning of the wizard leader was that his time was limited. He had to open the gate to Valhalla before Andisha could react.
He turned back, and the gate to Valhalla stood tall between the valleys.
This artificial stone wall was so majestic that it was built by the great craftsman Delruha and many of the ancients. After thirteen thousand years, the ancient black stone walls seemed to have traversed the unchanging laws of history and sat here quietly, reappearing in their field of vision.
Behind the drifting mist—
The epic said that the gate was inscribed with poetry praising light and fire in the script of many tribes. At this moment, those peculiar characters lay on the cold black wall, the mysterious patterns resembling a hanging firmament.
Gazing at this firmament induced a sense of impending collapse, filled with an oppressive feeling that was almost suffocating.
The three slowly approached the giant door—placing their hands on this meticulously crafted masterpiece, a heart-shaking power responded from the cold stone, seeming to carry the lingering warmth left behind tens of thousands of years ago.
Blades and halberds clashed and echoed through the heavens and earth, the cries of battle filled their senses, as if blood washed over, flowing from the black rocks and parched earth. Finally, the fate bell of Pendulum Island rang through the sky, a blue beam of light shot up to the heavens.
A dragon spread its wings, blocking out the sunlight, and darkness heralded the arrival of the next era.
Brendel shook his head, suddenly waking from such fantasies, the weight of history pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe. He felt the cold sweat on his forehead as he turned back and caught the elder’s silver-gray pupils.
William smiled.
“Not everyone knows this history. The azure knight shattered the firmament and brought us a new world. The Duskgazer Dragon fell to the earth, putting an end to long-standing suffering; however, people also lost their honor,” the elder said with a cheerful smile.
If this were in the past game, Brendel might have been interested in responding with, “Suffering has not ended, and people have not lost their honor. Oppression has always existed in this world; heroes do not exist in people’s imaginations but are needed by the times—”
That would be a standard answer to inspire the plot.
But here, Brendel had no mood to discuss past myths and the difficult current affairs with this leader of the Silver Alliance. He was past the age of indulging in adolescent fantasies, and compared to that, the glint of the sharp sword behind him made the sense of urgency even stronger.
Especially since that sword was now in the enemy’s hands, and Andisha was closing in.
He glanced at William Pister and then turned to ask, “Funiya, do you sense anything?”
“I feel a voice calling me, Brother Brendel,” Funiya said with her eyes closed, looking a bit tense as her fair little hand rested on the black rock, creating a contrast.
“What does it say?”
“It says, ‘Key of the Door, Light of Starlight, the Ancient Spirits, the Guardian King.’”
“This is a verse from the Druid’s Thorn Poem; it could be a code. Did the Druids teach you this doctrine?”
“No, I only learned ‘The Way of Nature’… Brother Brendel.”
“Three months for so little learning?”
“Yes, I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay; it’s not your fault. After all, those damn fools are so good at wasting time that even ‘The Great Divide’ hasn’t changed them,” Brendel suppressed the urge to curse. “Perhaps their lifespan is too long, teaching them the bad habits of elves.”
“You know a lot about Druids and elves?” William asked calmly, as this young man always surprised him.
But Brendel had no time to answer him; he was recalling some memories and strategies about Valhalla. Because the times were too distant, his memories were already blurry. He could only recall some fragmented pieces, but he was about to rely on these fragments to save his life.
“I don’t know if this is it,” Brendel replied. “You are the Key of the Door, Funiya. Tell it that you are the one who walks on the earth holding the staff of the forest and mountains, the daughter to whom the gods have granted authority among mortals, the chosen one blessed by the ancient spirits.”
Funiya’s eyes widened as she stared at him.
William also grabbed his silver ram horns, squinting at the scene.
“Just repeat after me—”
“Spirit of the Door.”
“Spirit of the Door—” Funiya inhaled and loudly recited, “I am the one who walks the earth holding the staff of the forest and mountains, the daughter to whom the gods have granted authority among mortals, the chosen one blessed by the ancient spirits.”
The two recited in unison; the girl’s voice was tender but filled with infinite strength.
“So?”
The door suddenly made a rumbling sound, responding with a massive voice that rolled like thunder, piercing through the fog in everyone’s hearts.
Funiya’s eyes lit up in surprise as she looked at her brother Brendel in disbelief.
Faina even exclaimed, “Brendel, it—it spoke…”
William squinted slightly, his silver eyes narrowing into slits.
“So?” Funiya asked in confusion.
“So please open your great door—” Brendel said.
“Please open your great door!” Funiya shouted.
But the voice echoed in the valley, and this time the door remained unmoved.
“What’s wrong?” Faina asked.
“The conditions are not right.” Brendel frowned, the words from the forum flashed like lightning in his mind, but the more anxious he became, the blurrier they were.
After all, that was nearly ten years ago.
The elder turned back, this slight movement did not escape Faina’s eyes. The young lady could not help but feel anxious: “Hurry up—”
“Shut up!” Brendel snapped.
“You—” Faina glared in anger, but she knew who was in charge here, and since her life was in the opponent’s hands, she could only turn her head away in frustration and say nothing.
“Brother Brendel, the door is speaking to me,” Funiya suddenly said at that moment.
“What?” Brendel was taken aback. “What does it say?”
“It asked me, where is the Guardian King?”
The Guardian King?
Brendel’s eyes lit up as he suddenly understood, quickly placing his hand on the rock wall. So that’s it, the king is the only master of Valhalla, the ruler of the forest and mountains.
Because Funiya, as the daughter of the forest, is the bearer of the staff of the mountains and forests.
However, one day the bearer must hand the staff to its rightful owner, this king who holds the staff rules over the spirit hall and the vast territories beneath the mountains of Valhalla, just as that legend describes.
Brendel placed his hand on the stone wall and thought:
“O ancient spirits and ancestors, I wish to take up your sword, to guard this land, so that darkness does not cover the earth, and order breaks through the chaos of the mist—”
“If this is a responsibility, then let me take on this heavy burden; if it is a glorious crown, may the ancient kings personally crown me.”
“For this light shall pierce through the heavy clouds and shine upon the earth.”
“Just as the ancients saw upon the dark wilderness.”
“A thousand years later, the holy oath remains—”
For some reason, the lines from the game felt heavy as mountains when he spoke them himself at that moment, as if a thousand pounds were inscribed upon his heart.
The door fell silent for a moment.
Then an ancient voice said:
“May it be so, inheritor.”
Immediately, both Brendel and Funiya felt an invisible force push them back from the door, and they stepped back, raising their heads to look at the giant door.
A faint sound emanated from within the massive door.
That sound was like rumbling thunder coming from the cloudy skies, initially weak to the point of being nearly inaudible, but then gradually rising into an endless wave, thundering and echoing together.
The earth trembled.
Shattered stones quivered on the black ground, as if a jester was dancing on the obsidian surface, madly waving its arms and making a crackling sound.
Faina was so frightened that she backed away and bumped into a rock, completely unaware, while the wizard leader William could not help but narrow his eyes to witness this spectacular sight.
The gigantic stone door was slowly opening a crack.
Behind the crack, it was pitch-black, and a gust of wind blew out from inside, causing the hair of everyone present to billow. But the wind did not carry that musty, dusty odor; it rather bore a heavy atmosphere.
It was the heaviness that came from between the stone walls, beneath the dust.
Then everything fell silent, and the dark space behind the door seemed to hide a ferocious monster. Brendel took a deep breath.
“A-are we not going in… Br-Brendel…” Faina stammered, her mouth agape as she looked at the gap forming in the door and the dark space beyond.
She stared at the door, which opened with a long sound resembling a howl emanating from the abyss, completely breaking down her psychological defenses, turning her face pale.
“You don’t have to go in. After all, there might be monsters more terrifying than Andisha inside,” Brendel said, sheathing the Azure of the Firmament and drawing the Sword of the Earth from his back.
“D-don’t scare me, I-I wouldn’t be scared by this…” The noble lady spoke with a tone that suggested she might cry at any moment.
Brendel glanced at her, then turned back to pat Funiya on the shoulder, leading the little girl inside.
“W-William Master…” Faina watched helplessly as Brendel walked in, turning back with a pitiful expression.
“Little girl, your Lord said it well; no one knows what kind of dangers lie within the ancient ruins. It’s entirely possible that what you deemed dangerous before may turn out to be a mercy,” the old mage replied cheerfully as he steadied his staff, preparing to enter.
Our noble lady’s face turned red and pale, but as she watched Brendel and the old mage enter one after another, she could only grit her teeth and follow—
She did not know whether Brendel was trying to scare her, but in any case, the potential threat was never greater than the actual danger. It is well known that humanity is a rather cunning species.
“Moreover, the old man is right; although he is not related to me, he saved my life. I can’t just leave him be—at least the pride of the Crusian prevents me from doing so.”
“Y-yeah!” The noble lady took just a second to convince herself.
(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to give a recommendation or vote on qiDian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
