Chapter 121 Goodbye, Your Majesty… Perhaps Never to Meet Again (Two-in-One)
The wind blew down bl**d flowers.
It stained this tranquil night red.
A tremendous feeling of tearing came from the chest, accompanied by heart-wrenching pain.
Helen’s deep purple eyes struggled to open.
What came into view was the crimson blade of light that pierced through her chest.
It was an incredibly hot and dazzling blade, gathering countless rays of light.
The scorching sunlight illuminated the dark sky, as if dawn were breaking at daybreak.
bl**d dripped onto the blade forged from pure brilliance, evaporating in an instant without tainting that pure light in the slightest.
And in front of that piercing blade of light, the twilight enveloping Helen, the power from the “God of d*ath” sequence, and her authority as Queen of the Underworld…
Everything was becoming fragmented, vanishing into the void in the radiance of the fierce sun.
That was the blade that Cecil had condense using the might of the “Sun” sequence, which was handed to Rast.
Upon it gathered all the strength of this strongest human of the Sixth Epoch.
Even Cecil had poured all his efforts into gathering this blade of light, maintaining a strict vigil around the watchtower during his recovery phase and keeping everything highly confidential from the outside world…
Because if the information about this legendary figure being in a weakened state reached the outside, especially the forbidden beasts in the ocean, it could lead to unimaginable consequences.
Only this blade, which gathered all the power of a legendary being, had the qualification to pierce through the defenses of the Queen of the Underworld and obliterate all powers and obstacles.
In the next moment.
The blade of light that pierced through the chest was withdrawn.
Crimson flowers bloomed atop the cliff, and the scorching bl**d fell down the steep precipice, most of it swallowed by the roaring ocean below, vanishing without a trace in an instant.
A small part was stained by the small trees growing at an angle on the cliff face, dyeing the trunks with a hint of eerie scarlet.
Replacing the blade of light, penetrating the hollow void in her chest, was a hand, as white as jade, with distinct joints.
It was Rast’s hand.
In his long fingers, something was emitting a faint glow.
It looked like a chess piece, wholly translucent like jade, yet surrounded by twilight-like brilliance.
“Relic of the God of d*ath,” “Remains of the Divine.”
It was the source of all storms and whirlpools surrounding this small city and enveloping Helen.
Rast had indeed deceived Grey and the members of the Guardian team.
From the very beginning, this relic of the God of d*ath was not within the palace of the Royal City but located within Helen’s body, merging with her heart.
This was the core that constructed this nation, and it was because of its existence that “Paradise” could persist in the real world for an extended period… This land of the dead was built upon the remains of the ancient deity “God of d*ath.”
It was precisely because she had contained the heart of the God of d*ath since birth that Helen could possess innate strength.
Without undergoing any trials, growth, or transformation, she could already stand beside legends in her domain, becoming the Queen of the Underworld endowed with the power of d*ath.
Rast’s slender hand gently grasped the translucent yellow chess piece, seemingly made of crystal.
“Then, goodbye, Your Majesty.”
“No—”
“Perhaps never to meet again.”
The black-haired boy gazed at the girl in his arms, speaking with indifferent words.
His pitch-black eyes were calm and profound, yet held an unwavering light.
He slightly spread his arms.
Then, the girl, whose heart had been pierced by the blade and was left with only a hollow void, devoid of any remaining strength as all powers and authority had been stripped away along with that chess piece…
Slowly slipped from Rast’s embrace.
However, during that process, there was not a trace of betrayal’s anger, despair, or hysteria in the girl’s deep purple eyes.
She merely stared blankly at Rast, as if a seal upon something within her was being broken… The undulating, flickering brilliance resembled the flow of a galaxy.
The girl’s soft body traced a falling arc against the dark sky.
The feeling of weightlessness surged, accompanying the whistling wind by her ear.
She fell down the steep cliff, below was the turbulent, dark ocean.
Time slowed but could not be reversed.
Yet, in mid-fall, Helen’s lips, turned ghostly pale from bl**d loss, suddenly moved gently.
“Goodbye.”
“Rast.”
The girl’s quiet self-talk was swallowed by the raging sea wind, unheard by anyone.
It was not the Queen of the Underworld calling for her servant.
Rather, it was Akshia, the top student at Starry University, the first seat of the Round Table, president of the student council… bidding farewell to Rast.
The blade of light, gathering all the power of a legendary being, pierced through not only the domain and authority of the God of d*ath, the deity’s remains, nor all powers of the Queen of the Underworld.
Also pierced was the soul of the girl, the memory seal imposed by the Night World.
At this moment, the memory seal shattered, unlocking the memories belonging to “Akshia,” the top seat of the Round Table of Starry University.
Surging memories revived like a tide, intertwining with fragments of the Queen of the Underworld “Helen,” merging completely, never to part again.
She quietly gazed at the increasingly blurred figure of the boy on the cliff.
In her deep purple eyes sparkled a brilliance; her gaze held both Akshia’s closeness and protectiveness toward Rast as well as a sense of longing and slight unwillingness belonging to Helen.
As if she intended to etch the visage of this black-haired, black-eyed boy forever deep into her soul.
In a brief moment.
The cold sensation of seawater swiftly engulfed her.
Akshia’s body sank deeper into the sea, as if plunging into an abyss.
The light gradually dimmed.
The shimmering sea surface was no longer visible; only a little glimmer penetrated the dark waters, illuminating this silent world.
The seawater here was very cold, chilling to the bone.
Hearing, sight, smell…
All of Akshia’s senses rapidly faded, returning to the void.
Only a hazy figure remained on the cliff above, that increasingly faint shadow of the boy.
At the moment the “Heart of the God of d*ath,” and consequently all of Akshia’s strength and powerful source, was stripped away—
This once-mighty Queen of the Underworld, whose words could transform into instant d*ath word spirits, now bore little difference from an ordinary, fragile girl.
However, just as Akshia felt the oxygen in her lungs about to be completely exhausted, the suffocating pain about to swallow her whole, separating her life from the girl…
She suddenly sensed a crack open in the earth at the end of the deep sea.
A light interwoven with darkness and twilight gently enveloped her.
Akshia’s body plunged into that swallowing light, and her consciousness began to fade.
Dissolving into the boundless darkness, not knowing where to go.
…
In the real world, in the hall by the Tower of Secrets, next to the Era Tombstone.
The image on the light screen had quietly frozen, captured at the moment Akshia fell into the depths of the sea, the glimmer on the sea surface gradually dissipating as endless darkness engulfed everything.
“This kid…”
Mr. Silver’s fluffy white tail stiffened in mid-air.
He realized that his champagne had indeed been opened too early.
Clearly, he should have guessed it earlier.
When he first met Rast, he had used “The Moon of True Words” to peer into Rast’s heart.
At first glance, this guy’s mental world was clear and luminous, like the bright stars.
Yet, upon closer inspection, one would find his psyche terrifyingly deep, as if it were black as ink, swallowing all light like a black hole.
With a mind like that, how could he be wrapped up in a fairy tale’s romantic atmosphere affecting his judgment?
He cursed himself for that brief moment earlier, believing Rast would act in accordance with the story’s atmosphere, similar to the protagonist in that fairy tale.
Looking back, he realized he still didn’t understand Rast well enough.
“However, this time we are utterly doomed!”
Just freed from that previous frantic emotion.
Immediately, a grave sense of foreboding emerged in Mr. Silver’s mind.
“Rast really went and stabbed Young Xiya without understanding the situation.”
“What should we do next?”
“Clearly, Young Xiya went to help that guy due to your and my request from the beginning.”
“But because of the Night World’s meddling, it resulted in a tragedy where students of Starry University killed each other in the Night World.”
Though to the Night Travelers of the present world, everything in the Night World was merely remnants of the past, echoes of a false history.
The experiences of the Night Travelers within the night world echoes, however, were all real.
d*ath meant d*ath.
When a Night Traveler died in the Night World, they would truly d*e.
Life was irretrievable; this was the ironclad rule of the Night World.
Even in a modern era with highly advanced treatment technologies, where disabilities like amputated limbs could be healed, resurrecting the dead was something no known sequence could achieve.
If it were for the exploration of the Night World, to conquer historical remnants, resolve dusk disasters, and thoroughly cut off the root of all turmoil… Then the sacrifices and deaths of the Night Travelers in the Night World might be acceptable.
After all, as a member of Starry University.
Every Night Traveler had long made the resolve to dedicate themselves to the night, transforming into a brilliant star on the obelisk before entering the Night World.
However—
Not dying in the projection of the Night World, battling against the powerful source of disaster.
But rather to be buried due to misunderstandings arising from the Night World’s rules, falling to the hands of companions they could originally trust.
This was something neither Mr. Silver nor Starry University could accept.
“Little Ferret, don’t panic.”
Unlike Mr. Silver, who was pacing anxiously as if his head was as big as a bull, almost rushing into the Night World right away…
Beside him, Ophelia’s voice remained calm.
However, when Mr. Silver turned his gaze toward Ophelia at the source of her voice.
He was taken aback to find the delicate expression on the second princess’s originally pristine face now bore the hint of an unnatural flush.
“Little Ferret, do you really think that someone who could earn my sister’s approval would be a complete simpleton without any ability to think for themselves?”
“Exactly the same appearance as the Akshia I’ve seen in reality, completely identical sequence long stage, and the same supernatural ability.”
“Even her d*ath-depriving word spirit, her habit of communicating through writing rather than speaking—all precisely the same.”
“If it were just pure coincidence in appearance, it could be explained as a fluke or a familial relation.”
“But beyond appearance, there are so many coincidences in personality and daily details… If we were to use coincidence and the like as excuses to deceive ourselves—”
“Then Rast would not qualify to be my brother-in-law.”
Ophelia’s wine-red eyes shone with unusual brilliance.
On her doll-like fair face, that unnatural flush deepened further, as if she were slightly tipsy.
“Miss Akshia couldn’t realize it because her memories in the real world were sealed away.”
“But Rast is different.”
“He has already perceived the unnatural similarities between Queen Helen and Miss Akshia, and must also hypothesize about their connections… Yet, he still chose to walk this path.”
“This indicates he was fully prepared to bear all the consequences of this choice.”
A silver glow flowed in Ophelia’s eyes, resembling arcs of electricity.
Matrices of calculations flickered in her eyes, rotating and then disappearing, rising and falling erratically.
In the next moment, on the light screen before them—
The image, already frozen in darkness, flickered once more.
Initially, it was a vague and ethereal shadow.
But soon, the wavering of the light stabilized, transforming into a clear image.
No longer from Akshia’s first-person perspective.
Instead, it was a scene from the peak.
The black-haired, black-eyed boy was holding the translucent chess piece, gazing into the abyss below, where the dark ocean devoured all in the night.
As soon as Akshia fell from the cliff, Ophelia activated the contingency she had left in the projection crystal.
It caused the projection crystal to split off a subsidiary body, fixed on the cliff.
What had originally been locked on Akshia’s first-person view switched to a fixed position, solidifying the camera’s lens at the cliff’s peak.
“So there are still experts?”
Mr. Silver glanced at Ophelia, surprised, as he wagged his tail.
This little girl’s thoughts were always deeper than he could anticipate, not at all like her sister.
But soon, Mr. Silver’s attention returned to the scene in the light screen.
Unexpectedly, even after the main character had exited, he could still see the continuation of that romantic variety show.
Just right—
He also wanted to see what Rast’s resolutions meant, which Ophelia had mentioned.
(End of Chapter)
