Chapter 154 Shí Jiang: Ten Years, Ten Years! (Combined Chapter)
Holy Calendar Year 903, Summer Flower Moon, 13th day.
Frontera Empire border, Northern Ice Field, at the foot of the Three Sages Snow Mountain.
This snowfield once belonged to Ceylon.
But at this very moment, above the desolate ruins of the town, only a few wild beasts roam, the only life in the broken remains.
Boom—
A roaring blizzard descended abruptly, kicking up a sky full of snow on the ice field.
It was a giant crowned griffin. Its jet-black wings obscured the sky, and the formidable majesty emanating from it caused the surrounding beasts to prostrate themselves.
A considerable portion of the beasts that could survive in the extreme north belonged to extraordinary creatures, with many beast kings reaching fifth or sixth tier.
However, before the majestic crowned griffin, even an Emperor-rank beast king appeared no different from an ant.
This was a seventh-tier legendary-rank crowned griffin, equivalent to a legendary beast tamer among humans, and even rarer.
After all, the vast majority of legendary beast tamers contracted with familiars that were only at the peak of the Emperor rank, relying on the augmentation and power boost from seven soul pacts to be comparable to legendary familiars.
The next moment, a slender figure gracefully leaped down from behind the giant griffin.
“Go find food nearby yourself. A significant portion of the beasts here participated in the beast tide that once besieged Ceylon.”
“Although the wanted criminal is dead, Ceylon’s destruction cannot be separated from those beast kings. There’s no need to show mercy.”
Isadorella patted the giant crowned griffin’s head and spoke softly.
Upon hearing Isadorella’s command, this legendary-rank familiar, which was powerful enough to be revered as a totem in the Lost Domain, nodded obediently like a kitten and took to the sky again, flapping its wings.
As Isadorella’s contracted familiar, this crowned griffin had personally experienced the thousand years of the Imaginary Realm and had only advanced to legendary through this long passage of time.
Therefore, it naturally knew very well why its master had come to what had become a ruin of Ceylon…
Everything was for the remembrance of that man.
That man whom their master, defying the current of history and the entire world, had to find.
So, at times like these, it was best to be sensible and roll far away.
The crowned griffin flapped its wings and quickly flew away.
Isadorella stood on the ruins of Ceylon, calmly surveying everything before her with her crimson eyes.
Pure silver hair fluttered in the cold wind of the north, and the black and red military coat with golden threads outlining the black vulture emblem billowed with the wind, yet the Empire’s Second Princess remained unmoved.
“Here… is this the city that gave birth to you?”
The Princess’s soft murmur dissipated in the wind, unheard by anyone.
She then delicately stepped forward, walking through the deserted ruins.
From the Count of Winter’s Lord’s Mansion at the center of the ruins, which had been reduced to ashes by fire and only the incomplete metal framework remained, to the desolate residential houses and shops on the outskirts of the town.
Finally, Isadorella walked out of Ceylon.
She stopped several miles outside Ceylon, deep within a fir forest.
It was a wooden cabin nestled deep in the dense woods, looking very simple and unpretentious.
Because it was not within the city of Ceylon, this small cabin in the woods was not destroyed by the conflagration that burned the city and the subsequent beast tide that massacred its inhabitants. It remained intact.
“This was Shaya’s home in Ceylon before?”
Isadorella paused outside the wooden house, gazing at the simple cabin and speaking softly.
“Yes, it’s here.”
Fiorlen, the Southern Inspector, who had also dismissed her black scale lesser dragon mount and had been silently guarding by her side all along, replied respectfully.
“Although some information is difficult to verify due to Ceylon’s complete destruction.”
“However, after investigating with time-element familiars and holy relics, we were able to reconstruct a part of Ceylon’s past.”
“Shaya Egut was adopted by an old ice field hunter from Ceylon when he was very young.”
As she spoke, Fiorlen pointed to the wooden cabin in front of them.
“And this wooden cabin was that old hunter’s hunting lodge.”
“After the old hunter’s death, this hunting lodge became Shaya’s home, where he lived until Ceylon was destroyed, spending his entire childhood here.”
After respectfully answering, Fiorlen glanced at the Princess before her with some doubt.
Since the Month of Budding, the Second Princess seemed like a different person in her eyes.
From the Month of Budding to the current Summer Flower Moon, for a full three months, whenever Isadorella had some free time, she would search for the young man’s past footprints.
From his now empty residence in the Black Lily District of the Imperial Capital, to the City of Knowledge, Lokiia, where he stayed for several years for further studies in the Black Tower, and finally to the ruins of Ceylon.
However, the young man who had shone brightly at the recent banquet, becoming the focus of the entire Western Continent, had, along with the maiden who was confirmed to be the Count of Winter’s only daughter, vanished without a warning.
Their last known trace was at a hotel in the arcane city of Lokiia.
There, Isadorella had a private conversation with the Azure Silver Witch, the Master of the White Tower, who had also acted at the banquet and killed Count Goodrian.
The content of their talk was unknown, but afterward, the Second Princess chose to temporarily set aside the mountain of military and political affairs and embark on a journey to retrace Shaya’s past.
At a time of such turmoil across the Empire and a critical juncture of imperial succession, Isadorella, as the primary candidate for the throne, making such a capricious decision naturally caused dissatisfaction among the Empire’s many dignitaries, ministers, and even the elders within the royal family.
However, in the parliament.
Isadorella merely dismissed all doubts with a single understated sentence.
“Shaya Egut.”
“He is the future Prince of the Empire.”
“And also, my beloved and consort.”
“After I ascend the throne, he will be my Empress’s Husband, and he alone.”
Such a brazen declaration of her future spouse.
One could imagine what kind of storm it would stir across the entire Western Continent.
It could even be said that this was a declaration that directly determined the Empire’s destiny for the next few decades.
As a former member of the White Tower and a retainer who had served both the Princess and the Azure Silver Witch, Fiorlen knew more and felt more overwhelmed.
If she wasn’t mistaken…
The Master of her family’s White Tower also held favorable feelings for Shaya Egut, and in a one-sided way.
And the Princess’s bold declaration was clearly a declaration of war between rivals to the Azure Silver Witch.
The Empire and the White Tower had finally connected and formed an alliance, with the White Tower even establishing a branch tower in the Imperial Capital.
And for His Highness to do this was clearly pushing the two forces, who were in a honeymoon phase, into a blazing inferno.
If the White Tower and the Empire were to truly break off, one side being her current employer and the other being her family, just the thought of it made Fiorlen’s head ache like a cow’s.
“And also…”
“Shaya Egut.”
Fiorlen mentally repeated the name once more, a name she had uttered countless times in the past six months.
It was one thing for the Master to be involved… but how did His Highness the Princess get entangled with him?
It was clear to Fiorlen that just over three months ago, the relationship between Princess Isadorella and Shaya was merely that of a trustworthy Sword Holder and a relatively familiar friend.
They were far from having mutual feelings or romantic intimacy.
How in the blink of an eye had the nascent seeds of affection blossomed into love, even reaching the point of directly nominating him as the future Empress’s Husband?
To make an imperial Princess, a Legendary Expert, and future Empress make such a resolute declaration.
How profound must their love be?
…..
On the other side, Isadorella paid no mind to Fiorlen’s gossipy thoughts.
After the Imaginary Realm was corrected by historical accuracy, even legends could only detect slight anomalies in the river of time.
Only those on the throne and demigods could retain the complete memory of a time that had disappeared.
Isadorella knew that her actions would be questioned and misunderstood by her ministers and even her family elders, but she didn’t care.
If not for this, she would not have betrayed the entire Round Table to establish the Imaginary Realm back then.
Moreover, with her current status, she had long possessed the right to disregard all criticism and do as she pleased.
Isadorella gently extended her hand and pushed open the wooden door before her.
The wooden door of the hunter’s cabin creaked open.
Isadorella did not let Fiorlen accompany her but entered alone, observing everything in the room.
The space was neither large nor small.
It contained a single bed and a wooden table. On the table, a cheap hourglass for timing and a piece of solidified candle sat bare. All the furniture was covered in a thick layer of dust.
Against the wall was a wooden bookshelf, filled with basic introductory books on arcane arts, magitech, and beast taming knowledge.
These books would appear ordinary in the City of Knowledge but were quite rare in a border town like Ceylon. Apart from the private collections of lords and nobles, they could only be obtained from traveling merchants.
It was clear that it wasn’t easy for Shaya to gather these introductory books.
Isadorella carefully examined the books on the bookshelf. Each book had been read so much that it was old, even somewhat tattered.
And on every blank page of the books, dense notes were filled in with a strong handwriting.
On the magitech books, Isadorella saw several rough sketches and conceptual drawings of simple constructs.
Although very crude, Isadorella could still discern from the drafts the black mech that Shaya had used in his final battle in Escarnia, and the nascent form of the alchemy bomb that exploded like a star.
Opposite the wooden table was a window, through which one could see the fir forest and, beyond the trees, the faintly visible, towering Three Sages Snow Mountain.
Isadorella imagined Shaya as a child.
A tender little boy in thick animal skins, excitedly returning with fish caught on the ice to cook fish soup with the old hunter.
She imagined Shaya living alone in Ceylon after the old hunter’s death.
A half-grown child, carrying a short bow, with a small snow mink following behind him, exchanging the day’s catch with traveling merchants for a few simple, worn introductory books and writing materials.
She imagined Shaya as a youth.
The black-haired, black-eyed youth, by the dim candlelight on the table, holding a worn-out feather pen, sketching the mechanical creations of his imagination on the book, the stars so brilliant.
Spring warmth, summer days, autumn days, winter nights…
One year, two years…
He grew up slowly in this simple hunter’s cabin, and then appeared before her.
Isadorella extended her pale white finger and lit the candle, her crimson eyes reflecting the dancing candlelight.
“So fortunate.”
She murmured.
Fortunately, on that day, she had extended the invitation for him to become a Sword Holder.
Fortunately, on the day she drew the Sword in the Stone, she was able to meet him again under a different identity.
Fortunately, the long wait of a thousand years in the Imaginary Realm had not turned into a fleeting dream but had ushered in a real miracle.
…..
Isadorella stayed in the simple hunter’s cabin for a long time, until the sun set and the clear moonlight once again sprinkled on the snowfield.
Although magnificent buildings a hundred, a thousand times more luxurious than this cabin were abundant in the Imperial Capital, none had ever made her feel so attached or linger for so long.
Buzz buzz—
The sound of a magitech communicator buzzed from outside the house.
Isadorella extinguished the candle on the wooden table and activated her spiritual power, gently sweeping away all the dust in the room.
After doing all this, the silver-haired Princess walked out and closed the wooden door, exiting the hunter’s cabin.
She slightly raised her eyes, looking at Fiorlen outside the wooden house, who had just finished receiving a magitech communication.
The tenderness that Isadorella had revealed earlier in the wooden cabin had vanished, replaced by a stern killing intent.
“What is it?”
“I have received a secret report from the southern border, which borders the Lost Domain.”
Fiorlen replied respectfully.
“In the Lost Domain, the frequency of beast tide activity has significantly increased recently, and large-scale cults also seem to be gathering their followers.”
“Furthermore, according to secret reports from the rebuilt Sword Holder organization in the Imperial Capital.”
“It seems that the Oathbound families and high-ranking nobles, who had previously disappeared after the Borgia Family’s defeat and Goodrian’s death, obediently surrendered their power to us—”
“Recently, their ties with the Lost Domain, especially the cults, have become closer again, and they are likely plotting something in secret.”
A hint of hesitation flashed in Fiorlen’s eyes. After a moment of deliberation, she spoke again.
“As someone of my status, it may be presumptuous to criticize the current Emperor of the Empire.”
“But all those with foresight in the Empire know that Your Highness’s father, His Majesty the current Emperor, is growing weaker, and the succession ceremony is imminent.”
“I believe that those disturbances are likely because they intend to pursue their own agendas during the Empire’s imperial succession ceremony.”
Fiorlen looked at Isadorella. “Your Highness, I believe that with the White Tower and the Empire currently allied… those Oathbound families and high-ranking nobles are not fools.”
“The reason they dare to harbor ulterior motives, even after the Borgia Family was executed as a warning, must be because they have gained new confidence.”
“And this confidence is something that no single cult or lost kingdom can provide them. After all, just a few months ago at the banquet, Master Sylvia of the White Tower personally demonstrated her Throne-level power.”
“The only source that could drive them to such urgency, to the point of no longer fearing even the Throne… I believe there can only be one.”
“That is…”
“The Abyss itself, isn’t it?”
Isadorella’s stern voice echoed in the desolate fir forest.
Fiorlen, not having stepped into the legendary realm, was naturally unaware of everything that had happened in the river of history.
But Isadorella knew very well that the True Gods originating from the Abyss could not possibly be ignorant of the history that had been altered.
A King of the Imaginary Realm returning unharmed… this was an incredibly extraordinary event, even in the eyes of True Gods.
Especially since she possessed the Holy Sword and had led an allied army that killed a large number of Abyss Monsters a thousand years ago.
Even the Ancient God of the Abyss, the Crimson Moon, had perished in that Imaginary Realm.
Therefore, at this moment, both she and Shaya must have entered the Abyss’s sight.
Especially Shaya, who not only accomplished the feat of killing the Crimson Moon but also erased its concept and the Star Chalice, making it impossible for it to be resurrected even if it waited in the Astral Realm.
For the Abyss, this was an unforgettable hatred. All True Gods born from the Abyss would undoubtedly want to eliminate this freak who could completely kill gods.
This hatred was eternal and would not diminish with the passage of a thousand years, as no Abyss True God would want to see Shaya grow stronger and then come to “completely kill” them.
“Since they cannot find his whereabouts, they intend to strike at me, who is still in the open?”
“They think that I, as the King of the Imaginary Realm who bears sin, must have suffered a great loss of power due to the correction force even if I returned. Although I appear to retain the status of a Throne, I am actually just a flimsy facade with no substance…”
“And the Holy Sword, because it served as the foundation of the Imaginary Realm and bore the brunt of the correction force, is unable to replicate its strongest power?”
A chilling glint flashed in Isadorella’s crimson eyes.
She slightly extended her hand, and illusory brilliant golden motes of light gathered in the void.
Then, they condensed into a long golden sword.
Under normal circumstances, it might have been as the Abyss thought.
However, due to the efforts of a certain young man, all their plans were destined to fail.
Isadorella’s gaze turned towards the distant Three Sages Snow Mountain.
But her gaze seemed to pierce through the layers of mountains and clouds, reaching another ethereal world.
Although the entire Western Continent believed that Shaya, who had been missing for three months, would never be found again.
Perhaps lost in a dimensional rift, perhaps harmed in secret by some cult, most likely dead.
However, Isadorella firmly believed that the black-haired, black-eyed young man was in some corner of the Multiverse, quietly waiting for the opportune moment to reunite with her.
This belief seemed distant and lacked any reason, yet Isadorella remained steadfast.
This time, she would not foolishly create an Heroic Spirit Hall, attempt to bring back the deceased, or even establish an Imaginary Realm for that purpose.
At their farewell, the young man had made a promise with her: to continue the dream of King and Knight in the real world, to become the male protagonist in her story.
Therefore, she would unconditionally believe him.
Because the young man was that kind of person who valued promises; even if she was trapped in the Imaginary Realm a thousand years ago, he would traverse time to save her from the abyss of despair.
And this time, he would not break his promise.
“If that is the case then.”
“Allow me to eliminate all those who harbor ill intentions towards you before your return.”
“Then, I will use the blood of an Ancient God of the Abyss to welcome your return.”
The silver-haired Princess’s solitary words dissipated into the howling north wind, unheard by anyone.
“And, to declare to the entire Western Continent—”
“You are my husband, and also the lover of the Empress of the Empire.”
…..
What met the eyes was an boundless darkness, with faint illusory stars dimly visible at the end of the extremely dark world, reflecting dazzling starbeams.
It was like a sea of stars.
This was the so-called Astral Realm, also known as the “Outer Side of the World.”
It was the most hidden, most vast, and the convergence point of myriad mysteries in the entire Multiverse.
Whether it was a legend, a throne, or even a demigod and a True God, once they entered the depths of the Astral Realm, they were like pebbles dropped into the ocean. Unless they had a marker to locate them, it would be extremely difficult to track them.
Countless ancient beings, believed by the world to have perished, disappeared, or died, concealed themselves in the depths of the Astral Realm.
Suddenly, the myriad dim stars flickered simultaneously.
The starlight shattered.
First, crystal high heels.
Then, a jet-black Gothic dress, and a crown made of dark red rare metal, adorning the snow-white neck.
The Golden Elf, with one eye open, hovered in the sea of stars, calmly scanning the eternal Astral Realm ripples.
The next moment, the Golden Elf wizard’s previously closed left eye quietly opened, and arcane blue flames slowly leaped within her crimson-gold eyes.
The imprints of time in the Astral Realm flowed, and a segment of illusory time river was silently projected into the Golden Elf maiden’s left eye.
Feeling the illusory time flowing in her eyes.
After a long time, the Golden Elf maiden sighed softly.
“You said you wanted to become ‘the male protagonist who makes my heart flutter.’”
“But, for how many people are you planning to be the male protagonist?”
A clear and cold voice rippled through the illusory sea of stars.
“Ten years…”
“Ten years.”
For some reason, the Golden Elf’s clear and cold self-talk carried a rare hint of gritted teeth.
But soon, this Golden Elf wizard, bearing the name “Eternal Page,” gently extended her hand.
A pale white finger pointed casually.
The next instant.
Spatial fluctuations rippled outwards.
In a very short period, they transformed into myriad sharp spatial cracks.
Through the pitch-black cracks, one could see beyond the spatial fissures—
That vast and secluded palace that seemed to have fallen into slumber.
………………
P.S.: A combined chapter, one Monthly Ticket Bonus Chapter, and one remaining.
