Chapter 153: The Story After the Fairy Tale Ending (Two-in-One)
Akshia had a long, long dream.
In the dream, she was neither Queen Helen of the Netherworld nor the Night Traveler Akshia.
Instead, she was a village girl born into a family of small nobility, who dreamed of becoming an adventurer since childhood.
On the day of her coming-of-age ceremony, she secretly sneak out of her home and began her journey as an adventurer traveling across the continent…
On the road, the girl encountered a boy with black hair and black eyes, who had dreamed of becoming a knight since he was little, and together they formed an adventurer team to travel side by side.
They had climbed the most majestic and magnificent peaks of snow mountains and experienced the deepest and most oppressive whirlpools in the dark sea on a ship…
They had spoken with barbarian tribes who lived by herding on vast and boundless plains, and witnessed the dwarves building their glorious kingdom in the depths of dark mountains…
Thus, naturally, the boy and girl developed feelings for each other during their journey…
Until they fell in love and got married.
They established a small wooden house deep in a quiet forest, far from the hustle and bustle of the world, and lived happily ever after.
This was the story recorded in the fairy tale book titled “Chronicles of Silver Wings,” with the only difference being that the protagonists in the fairy tale had been replaced.
It was not the original male and female leads from the book… but Akshia herself and that boy with black hair and black eyes.
The story should have come to an end here, just as all fairy tales conclude — where the princess and the prince live happily ever after together.
Ending at such a place, anyone would sigh and say, “The end, let the flowers bloom.”
However—
Akshia’s dream had not yet ended; it was still continuing.
This was the story that had not been written in the “Chronicles of Silver Wings,” occurring after the happy ending of the two…
The girl born in the small town, dreaming of becoming an adventurer, was actually the reincarnation of an ancient evil god who had brought about world-destroying calamities a hundred years ago.
As long as she existed in this world, she would bring pandemics and disasters, causing countless beings to perish.
And now, the will of that evil god was awakening within her body, taking over…
Bit by bit consuming Akshia’s humanity.
…
The originally warm orange dream shattered, replaced by an all-consuming darkness.
Akshia felt as if she was in an endless, vast blizzard night.
The profound darkness spread out, with not a single glimmer of light; she could not see the path ahead or distinguish the direction.
So, the thinly clothed girl walked through the snow.
The extraordinary powers that had once supported her to become the Queen of the Netherworld were now gone, and she could no longer feel them.
At that moment, she was no different from an ordinary girl lacking the strength to hold down a chicken.
Until all her strength was exhausted, Akshia stumbled and fell to her knees in the snow.
Thousands of snowflakes eroded her body, turning into a chilling cold that slowly stripped away her body heat.
Her body was gradually becoming cold; the blizzard took not only her body temperature but also Akshia’s flickering flame of life, which was as unsteady as a candle in the wind.
The flame of life dulled little by little in the blizzard.
Her bodily sensations crumbled, first her numb hands and feet, then her torso.
Until finally, even her consciousness and memory were being drawn away.
In her memory, the few precious scenes that remained began to dissipate like dreamy bubbles, slowly swallowed by the cold and deep darkness of the blizzard.
In the undestroyed palace, in the warm sunshine, was her first meeting with that boy…
In the dimly lit long night without stars, she listened to the gentle bedtime stories being told by the flickering candlelight…
Stepping in her sheepskin boots, carefully avoiding the patrolling maids, she peered at a corner of the azure sky after the rain…
In the light drizzle, riding a wagon through the streets dyed red by the setting sun, the distance between their hearts reached an unprecedented closeness in silence…
And there was that day on the hillside, in the blazing daylight, where the girl confessed her feelings to the boy…
Everything was shattered.
Sincere emotions, irreplaceable precious memories…
All of it became tainted with the icy temperature of the biting wind and snow, soon to be swallowed by the dark void.
That endless darkness was the will of the evil god awakening within Akshia.
The boundless blizzard surrounding her represented the erosion of the evil god’s will upon Akshia, and the flickering flame she desperately tried to protect… represented Akshia’s self.
When that flickering flame, as unsteady as a candle in the wind, was completely extinguished, her humanity would be entirely consumed, and the true god of evil would awaken in her body.
That was the highest ancient god, and humanity’s self was as humble as dust before it.
“Rast…”
The girl’s weak call floated in the wind and snow.
Although all memories had become muddled, even the boy’s face had faded.
Although she had been pierced by that bloodstained blade, the cold sensation and pain seemed to still echo within her.
Yet Akshia still chanted this name, the name she would never want to forget, even at the end of her life.
Because she still remembered that day when she went out with Rast, the small girl in the hooded cloak had given her a divination—
And the conclusion derived from that divination regarding her fate with Rast.
She knew very well that so-called divinations were mostly tricks to fool people, and understood that the dubious diviner could not be trusted.
However, Akshia still believed in the result of that divination, unconditionally and wholeheartedly.
Knowing the truth of everything, realizing the fact of betrayal, perhaps in the moment before the consciousness named “Akshia” was consumed by the true owner of the Netherworld, she still prayed for unreachable happiness and beauty.
…
In the depths of the Abyss, at the tower of Babel.
On the high platform, beside the amber coffin, both the holy grail and the star cup had completely melted away; the shattered starlight flowed like liquid, slowly gliding between the inner and outer layers of the coffin.
Then, the flowing starlight intertwined with the solidified dusk, merging into one.
The originally small coffin suddenly expanded, transforming into an ice coffin many times larger than before.
It maintained the shape of a coffin but carried vast pressure… as if it was not the coffin of a deceased but a frozen throne nurturing the rebirth of a deity.
In fact, this was not an illusion.
The star cup and the holy grail represented the faith and authority among the three essential elements of becoming a god.
At this moment, Akshia within the coffin, as a perfect vessel of human-deity hybrid, her very existence already symbolized the last element: “Divine Flesh.”
With the last key completed, the ancient road leading to the Underworld opened the final sealed bronze door.
Thus—
It meant.
A complete deity was now able to be fulfilled.
Once the God of d*ath would return to the world in complete form.
…
In the overflowing brilliance, within the translucent ice coffin—
One could vaguely see the girl with ice blue hair silently propping her upper body up from the coffin, like a doll that had been abandoned for a long time and was now wound back up.
She slowly opened her originally tightly closed eyes.
Those violet eyes now radiated a golden glint, like flowing lava.
The dim blackness in the depths of the Abyss was illuminated as if it were daytime.
“This is the moment when the Path of the Underworld is once again opened.”
From a distance, Noah’s avatar of abundance also cast a watchful gaze.
This was the first time since the mysterious retreat of the divine and the end of the Age of Gods that a new deity was born.
Of course, it had been gone for so long—
A long time spanning several eras, enough to wear down the remnants of the power left in the remains of the God of d*ath to a mere fraction.
Even if the ritual of becoming a god was completed again, the God of d*ath reborn in human form had power comparable to less than one percent of a fully flourishing true god.
For Noah, who could be said to be ancient even in legends, a newly reborn deity possessing only the authority and divinity of a god, but with strength far below that of a peak period true god, remained entirely within controllable limits.
This was exactly the purpose of Noah’s journey, apart from exterminating the Guardian.
The revived soul and consciousness of an ancient god… even for the Gravekeeper, held extreme value.
After all, at this moment, the vast majority of the remaining gods were hiding in the threshold of the Radiant Heaven.
And outside the world of the Radiant Heaven was a realm that only mythical beings excluded by the heavens of this era could tread, filled with secrets and unknowns even for the Gravekeeper.
Captivating the remnants of an ancient god’s soul undoubtedly provided access to many highly confidential information from the realm of the gods.
…
Boom—
Boom—
Outside the large hollow at the heart, the entire illusory yellow sea erupted with rumbling sounds.
The so-called Abyss was transformed from the remains of the God of d*ath, and at this moment, the corpse of the past felt its soul returning once again, like mountains toppling amidst terrifying waves.
In the frozen coffin, the girl, whose eyes transformed from violet to golden, was breathing deeply. Although her youthful face was beautiful, it carried the majestic dignity of a deity overlooking all life, as if she was a king ruling the world.
The dim yellow ocean surged rhythmically with her breathing, rising and falling like tides.
As if… the entire world was celebrating the rebirth of this ancient god.
“For that awakening consciousness, this is the beginning of His rebirth, overlooking the entire world again, and once more ruling over all.”
“And for Noah and the Gravekeeper behind him, this is the best opportunity for them to probe the secrets of the Radiant Heaven and becoming a god.”
“Indeed…”
“This is the ceremony of ascending to godhood, the grand venture that allows myth to be replayed here.”
“In such an unprecedented grand scene, everyone’s gaze was focused on the resurgent ancient god.”
“Who would care for the feelings of a vessel acting as a key, a consumable during the god-ascension ceremony…”
“This was merely a speck of dust in the grand tide of the times, a necessary sacrifice, unknown and unregarded by anyone.”
Rast’s muttering vanished amidst the overwhelming sound of the tide, unheard by anyone.
Before him, in the amber ice coffin, the magnificent pressure slowly expanded, transforming into a vast dignity that overrode everything, stirring up a storm.
And at the center of the storm—
Someone was reciting his name: “…Rast… Rast… Rast…”
The girl’s lament drowned in the wind and waves, growing weaker until it became barely audible.
…
“It’s time.”
“Activate the contingency plan I set up in advance, Rast.”
Noah’s indifferent words crossed the distance, ringing clear in Rast’s ears on the high platform.
“Imprison the revived God of d*ath vessel.”
“Then, by exchanging bl**d, replace the divine bl**d flowing within this vessel with your own.”
“When the time comes, you will be the newly born God of d*ath.”
With those words, a finely crafted gem slowly materialized from the void before Rast.
Rast realized that this was the contingency that Noah set up.
The legend of this Gravekeeper seemed to harbor no excessive malice.
He truly wanted Rast to ascend to the throne of the newly born God of d*ath, then guide him into the ranks of the Gravekeepers.
At this moment.
All he needed to do was activate this gem, and Noah’s contingency plan would be triggered.
And he would truly inherit the seat of the God of d*ath.
Or, to say it more simply.
From “him”.
To “Him.”
But—
Rast’s thoughts suddenly stirred.
In the next moment.
An aged book suddenly fell into Rast’s hand.
On the book, beautifully illustrated was a knightly boy holding a silver sword, alongside a sorceress enveloped in black mist.
Due to its age, the cover of the fairy tale book bore mottled scars.
This was a fairy tale.
Titled “Chronicles of Silver Wings.”
It was also the gift that Akshia had personally given him as a return for rewriting a handwritten copy during that day on the cliff.
Having been authenticated by the Night World, this “unfinished fairy tale” had been elevated from a mere book to a true emblem armor.
In the next moment.
With a rustling sound, the old fairy tale book suddenly began to flip by itself without any wind.
Then, the pages settled on the last page.
That was the ending of “Chronicles of Silver Wings,” where the male and female leads lived happily ever after, followed by a few blank pages that appeared inexplicably.
It was also the origin of the emblem armor name—”The Unfinished Fairy Tale.”
Looking at the blank fairy tale book, Rast raised the gem and slightly rotated his wrist.
Slice—
A flash of cold light swept across, accompanied by the sound of a blade cutting through flesh.
He did not activate the gem but used it as a kn*fe to directly cut open his own wrist.
Veins ruptured, and scarlet bl**d splattered in the wind on the high platform.
So that the pure white of the pages was tainted with the deep red of bl**d.
…
Within the dream, indistinguishable from reality or illusion.
The girl with ice blue hair curled up…
Although the cold wind and snow were beating against her weak shoulders, chilling her to the bone, Akshia still made an effort to spread her thin arms, trying to shield the flame beneath her from the storm.
That was the essence of Akshia’s soul, and it was her last self that had not yet been eroded by the awakened consciousness of the ancient god.
Within that tiny flickering flame lay all her memories with that boy with black hair and black eyes…
She was unwilling to share with anyone, not wanting anyone to see.
No matter who it was… whether a deity or fate, no one could take away or covet this treasure that was absolutely irreplaceable.
At that moment.
Akshia felt a faint warmth gradually ripple from her soul.
The blizzard quietly dispersed, taking with it the darkness that consumed light.
What replaced it was a beam of warm sunshine.
…
The splattered bl**d dripped onto the blank last page.
Then, unexpectedly… the bl**d formed clear strokes and lines.
The writing began anew in this unfinished fairy tale book…
That was the story after the grand conclusion.
(End of this chapter)
