Chapter 799: Act 149 – The Age of Mortals I
“I, how could I possibly do that?” Freya stared at the direction of the voice in the air and suddenly stood up from beside the round table, surprised: “How could I stop a deity from awakening?” Her mind was a jumble, and she had no idea why Milos had chosen her. She was just an ordinary person, as common as they come, completely unrelated to the gods. In fact, she believed her ability to accept things had been strong enough. Ever since escaping from Buche, a series of changes had left her dizzy. After working hard to piece together her thoughts and barely adapting to her current identity as a knight officer, suddenly, a deity wanted her to help prevent its resurrection?
What could she use? Pull out the Lionheart Sword and stab the giant god dead? Of course, perhaps someday a legendary story would be written of how Freya the lady knight assassinated the last deity—the Frost Giant Father Milos, truly ending the age of gods after the Knight of Azure. And then these records would gradually be sealed in tomes over time, stored deep within the parchment literature of wizards, until thousands of years later someone would bring them up again.
Freya suddenly broke off her wild imaginings, her face turning red as she hastily shook her head. What nonsense was this? No matter how she thought about it, it was impossible; that was clearly a deity. How could she, a mere mortal, kill it? The idea of pulling out the Lionheart Sword, stabbing the giant god, and being documented in history felt utterly ridiculous. If Brendel were the one to write history, perhaps such things could happen; after all, it was all absurd.
She gently patted her cheeks, trying to calm herself and waiting for Milos to speak.
After a while, Milos finally opened his mouth:
“Actually, it’s quite simple. All you have to do is stab me with the Lionheart Sword when I awaken.”
Freya’s eyes widened, her mouth half-open, completely forgetting to lower her hand that had been patting her face, as though she had turned to stone.
Milos suddenly laughed, “Your imagination is quite rich, young girl. But indeed, as you thought, it’s not that simple.”
Freya blinked, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly. She was momentarily dazed before realizing that this Frost Giant Father was teasing her. This made her somewhat angry. What could she say? That was a deity. Had there ever been such a precedent in history for a deity to joke with a mortal? Although even if it was a deity, it seemed to be a quirky fellow akin to Brendel, Freya couldn’t help but smirk inwardly. Then, a moment later, she suddenly reacted, looking a bit panicked: “You, you can see what I’m thinking?”
“After all, I am a deity. Don’t worry, young girl, I won’t hold that little offense against you,” the voice responded with a laugh.
So that meant he had actually heard her, but simply chose not to mind it. Freya’s face flushed deeply; she opened her mouth but couldn’t find the words.
“Back to the point, young girl, actually, this matter is really not that difficult for you.”
“How could it be? I’m just an ordinary person. You suddenly want me to stop you from waking up; there’s no way I could achieve that,” Freya shook her head, feeling it was impossible.
“It is precisely because you are an ordinary person that I chose you,” the voice replied.
Freya paused slightly; she heard the hidden meaning in his words and asked in confusion: “Why?”
“Because in this age, only ordinary people have the power to determine their fate.” The voice paused: “Have you heard the story of the Knight of Azure?”
“Are you referring to the legend of how the Knight of Azure pierced the heavens, causing the stars to fall and thus bringing about the age of mortals?” Freya’s expression suddenly turned a bit melancholic. She nodded, “When I was very small, I heard such bedtime stories.” There were some things she didn’t finish saying; at that time, the mountains of Buche were still lush green, and in spring, flowers bloomed all over the hills. War seemed like a distant word; who would have thought that ten years later, it would come to this?
The owner of the voice seemed to notice the girl’s low spirits and gently comforted her, “Sorry for reminding you of the past. However, this story is very important for both you and me.”
“Isn’t it a fairy tale?” Freya looked up, dazed, and asked.
“Then do you believe it ever happened?”
This was a good question, one that left Freya momentarily stunned. Did she believe in myths? Regardless of Erluin or Cruz, there were many myths and legends, from the distant accounts in the Ode of Azure to the stories of his predecessors, Eke, and their knights expanding their territories, and even to the folk tales that frightened children in the woods—the grim prophecy books. But should people believe these stories? Some were fabricated, some were indeed true, but after decades or even hundreds or thousands of years of distorted transmission, they had lost their original form, more or less, through artistic exaggeration.
Perhaps the legend of Eke was still fresh, while the tales of the Flame King and the other three sages were left only with the glorious details on the murals. As for the earlier tales about the Twilight, they felt distant as a dream—filled with both sweet and nightmarish visions. Yet, who could say what was real and what wasn’t?
Freya was dazed for a long moment before asking, “So it’s true, right?”
“Some of it is. But indeed, it once happened, on this land.”
Freya knew Milos’s next words might be the crux. She quieted down, listening intently as this Frost Giant Father began to recount. The surroundings fell silent, the firewood crackling in the hearth, occasionally causing her to feel as if this spacious room might be situated within a deep mountain, and she could even sense a tremor that seemed to come from the depths of the mountains. She did not know when it began; a low, buzzing sound echoed around.
The tea still had a lingering fragrance, and the teardrops that had splattered onto the tablecloth had yet to lose their warmth. The silver cutlery reflected the warm candlelight, and the faint flames dancing on the white porcelain plate fluctuated, sometimes bright, sometimes dim.
“It’s related to the war with the Duskgazer Dragon. The deities quarreled over the future of this world. Martha, our mother, watched over us in the hall as always. There stood the Tower of Babel, which later became a ruin due to the war—but at least at that time, it was still the center of civilization. On the golden temple, the floor of beautiful marble floated like clouds. The deities were lined one after another, and I could only stand at the end of that long queue. When the argument became most heated, the entire hall echoed with the voices of Alphons and Crystal.”
“Was it the Dragon of Fury and the Dragon of Knowledge?”
“Yes.”
“‘Why should we carry out this plan?’ Alphons said sharply. He was the most temperamental among our mother’s children. Although Tiamat was even more resolute, he was far more stable.” The voice continued to recount slowly, as if narrating a firsthand experience: “Crystal did not respond, but Alphons continued to sneer: ‘The age of bronze has been lost. To me, returning to ancient times is more in line with the beauty of order. We shouldn’t believe those foolish lies, let alone hand over the decision-making power to those worthless beings. This is the conspiracy of twilight, which could easily ensnare us.’ ‘Enough, Alphons.’ At this moment, Crystal finally spoke. She was Alphons’ youngest sister, and their bond had once been considered more solid than the indestructible summit of immortality, but cracks were beginning to show. ‘They are also mother’s children. Do you really want to hurt our mother?’ Under his sister’s fierce attack, Alphons panicked: ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.’ He replied, but Crystal’s wisdom was boundless. She continued: ‘Everything you described, the arbiters will naturally judge right and wrong. Our task is to protect the operation of order, not to meddle. Here, you can only choose yes or no.’ After a moment of silence, Alphons could only reply: ‘I absolutely disagree.’ He looked at his sister, disappointment evident on his face. The rift between them formed rapidly like the birth of a new sea and became irreparable.”
Freya quietly listened to the unfolding story. Even just hearing Milos’s descriptions, she could imagine the intense disputes on the floating cloud temple. But she found it hard to believe that even deities could argue; weren’t they supposed to always be the guardians of the Order in the world, like amiable elders silently watching over the myriad lives on the Vaunte continent? Whether it was slander or gratitude from mortals, the grace always came from above, yet there had never been any demand.
“Why?” she finally couldn’t help but ask: “‘Those worthless beings,’ is that referring to us?”
Milos’s voice paused for a moment: “Yes, our conflict arose from a choice.”
“Choice?”
“Whether to continue the mistakes of the age of gods, or to give the choice to mortals, especially in the face of enemies like the Duskgazer Dragon—such a choice seemed exceptionally heavy even for the deities.”
“But why was there such a choice?” Freya asked.
“Do you know about the age of bronze?”
Freya furrowed her brow and shook her head.
“In fact, you have seen them.” The voice hinted.
The girl was slightly taken aback, but this time Milos did not make her guess further and directly answered, “The concept of the age of bronze is rarely mentioned now. The People of Silver and the People of Gold have destroyed all related documents. The few preserved parts are locked deep within forbidden places, unreachable by common folk. This is because it once proved Lady Martha’s mistake. Though mother does not care, it does not mean we, her children, can easily accept it. The Bud people feel the same—while the age of bronze represents those fallen creatures scattered across the land. On the once-great earth, apart from the glorious people of order were the chaotic seeds of twilight. Beasts of chaos did not exist in this world.”
Freya was completely dumbfounded. She knew of the golden races, the People of Silver, and even the black iron lineage, but had never heard of the original monsters—the bronze remnants between the silver and black iron. But how could this be? She instinctively rubbed her forehead, feeling a bit dizzy. The owner of the voice evidently sensed this and asked, “Are you feeling a bit incredulous?”
Freya nodded.
“Then it must start from the order of ancient times.”
…
Kehua’s cold voice echoed through the hall—
“Before the world of Vaunte was born out of light, from chaos emerged first the People of Gods and Martha—the supreme existence. With Martha’s help, the People of Gods wove this world and created seventeen thousand deities to govern it. The deities then created the race of gold from the blood and bodies of the People of Gods; this is the origin of the golden race.”
“The golden race serves as both servants and warriors, steadfast guardians of order.”
“And then there was the age of silver, created because Martha made a pact with the four element lords, shaping their bodies from elements and creating a populace from the blood of the golden race. The silver people are countless, living in the earthly realm, subjects of order.”
“This is the ancient classical order, the brightest era, where the Tower of Babel stood at the center of the world, overseeing the land. Each boundary of the kingdom had a fortress; Valhalla and Avalon were among them. Legends say that in that age, the ground was paved with silver, diamonds sparkled in the sky, trees bore golden fruit, and rivers flowed with thick milk.”
“But such a glorious dynasty also fell in the twilight.”
“In the next two eras, the People of Gods rebuilt the world twice, but what was the outcome? One by one, the People of Gods passed away, and everything wise from ancient times has dwindled to mere fragments. The civilization’s greatest success against the Duskgazer Dragon came from the last war.”
As she paused, the entire spiral hall was uncontrollably tipping down under some kind of force—the central platform had completely twisted under immense power, and over a dozen long bridges had been twisted into coils, being yanked towards the abyss below. Brendel had previously escaped from this sudden change, but he soon realized it was merely jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
The reason for everything was due to Kehua’s earlier actions.
While everyone’s attention was focused on the fierce battle in the center, Brendel and the Young Female Dragon were specifically ambushing Anlek, leading to chaos on that front. That daughter of Echis seized the opportunity to fly toward Gray Saint Mephistopheles. She only exchanged symbolic blows with Mephistopheles in mid-air before being struck in half by the Gray Saint’s sword. Just as Mephistopheles wondered how such a demigod from the age of chaos could be so easily defeated, Kehua used the force from the strike to crash in another direction.
The direction she fell in was towards the center of the hall, and behind her, besides the throne on the platform, only that amethyst crystal was left half-suspended in the air.
The battle situation was so tense; neither side had the time to notice in what direction Kehua was falling. But it was this oversight that gave her the greatest opportunity. As she neared that amethyst crystal, Kehua flipped in mid-air, clawing towards it. If Mephistopheles had noticed this subtle movement, he would undoubtedly have been wary of her earlier faux slip, for the force behind this claw was so terrifying that it at least had the power of a law peak, instantly shattering the crystal into pieces.
And in an instant, the scene mirrored the moment that Brendel had barely dodged the sword strike from the lizardman sword saint.
The spiral hall shook violently, and the entire ground rotated downward, the long bridges above the abyss tore into a long thin strip, with only a few capable of flying or casting spells. Most people, including those black-robed knights, lost their footing and fell down. At this moment, Brendel finally realized something was wrong. He looked up and barely saw Xi stab her Azure Spear into the wall, miraculously not falling, but he could no longer see Lord Laurena and her husband within the crowd, let alone the Young Prince and the Crown Prince of the Cruz.
Charles and the others were also completely out of contact. Brendel attempted to connect mentally but only felt a din below; something was interfering with everyone’s mental world in this hall.
In this place, he could only think of one thing.
But soon, he saw a giant maw suddenly erupt from the darkness below. This thing resembled a massive sandworm, its wide-open mouth filled with thousands of teeth. Just one glance made Brendel understand what creature it was—Frostbite’s Tooth; that damned thing was originally here, not living in the glaciers, but was imprisoned beneath this hall.
He should have realized that sooner.
Nevertheless, with one hand gripping the edge of the long bridge, he looked up in confusion at Kehua in mid-air, beginning to understand what this daughter of Echis was planning—he had never heard of such a thing in the game.
“I once experienced that war firsthand.”
Kehua floated in mid-air, finally finishing her last sentence, her eyes somewhat hazy as if lost in recollection.
…
(PS: Here’s the second update. Today was another day of ten thousand words! Everyone, don’t hold back! If you want to see another ten thousand words update tomorrow, come on, give me some motivation! o(−v−)o rolling~)
