Chapter 193: The Last Save Point Before the BOSS Battle (Two-in-one)
Fragmented World of the World Tree.
A faint and indistinct, cold and stern shadow transformed into a layer of gloomy curtain, faintly diffusing within the dignified hall.
This was a magnificent side palace, and also the former bedchamber where the Elf King resided within the Elf Royal Court.
Following the outbreak of the Great Calamity, the Elf Royal Court fell upon the boundless seas of the Prime Material Plane. This former bedchamber of the Elf King was also fused by the new Elf King into the branch of the World Tree, becoming his eternal resting place.
Although a thousand years had passed, and many metal structures had already shown signs of weathering and decay, the original luxurious appearance could still be vaguely seen.
A thousand years ago, during the distant Glorious Era, countless legends and demigods had entered this palace to pay their respects to the supreme Elf King.
However, at this moment—
As the sole creature within this magnificent side palace, Heiser felt no joy in possessing this splendid hall.
She merely sat silently on the bedding covered with velvet, illuminated by the radiance of the magnificent chandelier embedded with a night-shining pearl, gazing at the gloomy curtain of shadows outside the side palace, lost in thought.
The material conditions in this side palace were excellent. The luxurious velvet bedding and the food delivered at regular intervals through the shadows each day were far more extravagant and comfortable than Heiser’s previous living conditions on the Lost Island.
Yet, she had no inclination to enjoy any of it.
Because the Golden Elf knew very well—
All these conditions before her.
Were all exchanged for her by Shaya.
Even though half a month had passed since that day, amidst the flickering and indistinct state of her semi-conscious mind.
The youth’s faint and indistinct words seemed to still echo in her ears.
“I will, replace her…”
“As a trade, return her freedom…”
Although they were mere fragments of words recorded with a sliver of unwilling willpower in her semi-conscious state.
However, just these few fragments…
Were enough for her to infer and complete a corner of the truth.
A chess piece like herself, insignificant in the eyes of the ancient Sun God…
After directly challenging that ancient Sun God, she was not directly killed by his authority. Instead, she was even afforded treatment that could be described as luxurious.
The only reason was that Shaya had made a deal with the ancient Sun God.
And the stake Shaya put forth in this deal—
Was his physical body, his self.
Although the ancient Sun God had promised to preserve Shaya’s self-consciousness and even help him reconstruct his physical body after returning to his divine throne, everyone knew that even if the ancient Sun God’s words were true…
The process of returning to the divine throne would inevitably involve countless twists and turns.
If even a slight misstep occurred, the human named Shaya Egut would face a tragic end of complete disappearance.
His physical body occupied, and even his self dissipated.
And Shaya had made this choice with full knowledge of the risks involved.
All of this was to seize a sliver of hope for herself, her Golden Elf lineage, whose bloodline was controlled by the ancient Sun God.
After learning the truth of all this, the Golden Elf had thought of suicide countless times, of seeking death.
Shaya had done nothing wrong.
It was she herself, who had lived for a thousand years yet still held unrealistic fantasies for her kin, that had made a grave mistake.
As a result, she had implicated Shaya, causing him to fall into this vortex of disaster.
Heiser did not want to be a burden or a hindrance. She wanted to use her death to free Shaya from his shackles.
However, just as this thought arose in her mind and she was about to act upon it.
The next moment.
Those wisps of shadow, flowing from the blood within the Golden Elf’s body, slowly overflowed.
Then, they transformed into shackles of curse.
Imprisoning her physical body and her soul.
She fell onto the soft velvet bed, unable to move, unable to mobilize even a sliver of power.
This was not Heiser’s first attempt, but all her attempts in the past half-month had ended in the same way.
Clearly—
A pure-blooded Golden Elf, even a legend,
Did not warrant even a glance from the ancient Sun God.
However, a Golden Elf who was valued by Shaya, someone he was willing to sacrifice himself to protect, was worthy of the ancient Sun God’s careful consideration.
She was the bargaining chip that made Shaya willingly surrender and become His vessel—
How could He possibly allow her to commit suicide?
“I really am… a pathetic burden.”
Feeling the pain that spread from the depths of her blood, like piercing bone.
What Heiser felt in her heart was not pain, but remorse.
“If I had known this would happen, perhaps I should not have explored the Astral Realm from the beginning.”
“And even less so, to have met him.”
She stared motionlessly at the gloomy curtain of shadows outside the window, tears rolling down from her light golden beautiful eyes.
“If I had just died of old age on the Lost Island, never having met you…”
“Then you wouldn’t have been…”
“Burdened by me like you are now.”
…
Fragmented World of the World Tree, beside the bedchamber.
Shaya stood by the table lamp on the stone pillar, his dark shadow stretching infinitely in the dim light.
He thus looked through the curtain of shadows at the Golden Elf maiden behind it, remaining silent.
The curtain of shadows, which allowed for only one-way vision, was very thin. The authority and power contained within it were not strong.
Even in his current suppressed state, Shaya had many ways to break through it and see Heiser behind the curtain.
And as He had described to Shaya.
The ancient Sun God on the black iron throne was indeed in the process of gradually unlocking His self-imposed seal and awakening His true form.
This involved breaking the seal, reviving His decayed body, and controlling the divine nature that was on the verge of going out of control and could erupt at any moment. The process was undeniably tedious.
Even for the status of the ancient Sun God, this process was by no means easy.
If Shaya wished, he could now completely shatter this thin curtain of shadows and take Heiser to escape into the Astral Realm.
Given the ancient Sun God’s unresurrected state, He might not be able to stop them.
However, this was meaningless.
As the ancient Sun God had said, all those who carried the Elven bloodline were merely chess pieces with His contingency plans.
Even if Shaya took this opportunity to escape with Heiser to a great distance, or even hid in the rifts of the multiverse, it would be of no use.
As soon as the ancient Sun God revived, a single thought could put any Elf to death.
Therefore—
The ancient Sun God even dared to grant Shaya freedom for these two months, giving him the privilege of free access to the entire Lost Island.
Furthermore, Shaya’s request for Heiser’s living conditions to be improved was also fully met.
Because He had such composure and confidence.
As long as Shaya truly cared about this Golden Elf as he appeared to, whether He believed it or doubted it, whether Shaya was willing or not, it made no difference…
By exploiting His control over the Elves, Shaya would ultimately have no choice but to give up resisting and merge with Him, allowing His body to be willingly taken over.
“I didn’t expect this ancient Sun God to be quite humane…”
Shaya’s gaze was fixed on the thin curtain of shadows.
“To use the language of my previous life, would this be considered giving a death row inmate a good final meal before execution?”
“After a full meal, satisfying some regrets and wishes…”
“Then, when being possessed, one’s resistance and willpower would naturally be weaker, making it easier for Him to take over.”
A smile played on Shaya’s lips.
He had to admit that although he had speculated before, the secrets within the Lost Island had indeed exceeded his expectations.
Mainly due to the current situation of the Elf race…
The entire race were chess pieces of the Creator of the Glorious Era. Their life and death were dependent on the Creator’s whim, leaving the entire Elf race with no means to overturn the table.
Shaya’s previous words to the ancient Sun God were not empty threats.
He knew very well that in his heart, since their first encounter in the Arcane City of Lokiia, there had always been a place for his teacher.
Logically speaking, since he met his Shī Jiang in the Fourth Era of the future, Heiser should have survived the calamity of the Lost Island and broken free from the constraints of the contingency plan.
This meant that even if Shaya ran away on his own right now, his Shī Jiang would probably not be in any real danger.
However, everything that happened in the Historical Echoes of Escarnia at the end of the Third Era clearly indicated one thing—
That a predetermined future might not necessarily remain unchanged.
The fantasy realm that defied the correct history, and the Crimson Empress Isadorella, who wielded the Holy Sword and opened up the fantasy realm.
Experiences like these had not happened long ago and were still vivid in his memory.
Shaya was unwilling to gamble, and he dared not gamble on whether the ephemeral historical correction force was reliable.
He could not afford the price of losing such a gamble.
Of course, this did not mean that Shaya would truly give up resisting and willingly become the ancient Sun God’s vessel as predicted.
What the other party held was indeed Shaya’s weakness.
However, Shaya was never one to entrust his fate to others, sit back and wait for death, and only hope they would keep their promises.
As for the majesty of great figures and the Creator of the Glorious Era never breaking promises and such nonsense, Shaya would never believe it.
Sima Yi had sworn on the Luo River that he would not kill Cao Shuang and would let him live as a wealthy man, yet he eventually met his end.
Such nonsense was best taken with a grain of salt; believing it would likely indicate a problem with one’s brain.
Rather than entrusting his fate to ephemeral luck, Shaya preferred to grasp his fate in his own hands.
Even if it meant the path ahead would be much more difficult and dangerous.
But it was, after all, a path held in his own hands.
“It seems, Teacher Heiser.”
“Becoming the sole male protagonist in your story is truly not a simple matter.”
“However, this is my promise, and also the direction I have always strived for—for our reunion.”
“Not a projection, nor an illusionary body.”
“But a return from the far reaches of the multiverse’s banishment, meeting with our real physical bodies.”
Shaya’s gaze lingered on the Golden Elf maiden behind the curtain of shadows for a moment.
Then, he withdrew his gaze.
Turning around, he left the Fragmented World of the World Tree and entered the darkness of the Lost Island.
In the sky, the hundreds of pseudo-stars converged into a river of stars, slowly flowing, rippling, and rotating beneath the curtain of eternal night.
Sprinkling a layer of clear and cold afterglow.
Shaya bathed in the starlight like this.
The next moment, a gleam of mercury flashed in his hand and disappeared.
The Lost Island belonged to the ancient Sun God’s world.
Here, not only space, but even the passage of the river of time had become distorted.
As the ancient Sun God had said, at His peak status, He was not far from truly transcending the river of time and the force of historical correction.
Although He had experienced the Great Calamity, within the Lost Island, there was still the effect of interfering with the rules of time.
If Shaya relied solely on Shiny’s ability, it would be very difficult for him to return to the Fourth Era.
However, since he had entered the Lost Island, Shaya had naturally prepared a contingency plan.
A contingency plan that could force him to disengage, ignoring the environment and rules.
A silvery snake silently appeared in the void.
Then, Shaya placed it in his palm.
He took out his firearm “Sea Blue Judgment,” which had been strengthened multiple times by Yui.
Then, he aimed the muzzle at the silvery snake.
“You’ll have to endure this, little snake.”
“As long as I shoot you, it should forcefully trigger Fate Reversal and return me to the Fourth Era, right?”
The Quicksilver Snake glanced at the dark muzzle of the gun in Shaya’s hand and couldn’t help but roll its eyes.
How could you say that?
Never mind, I’m just a tool snake, I’m used to it.
*Hiss hiss hiss~ (According to the feedback I received from fate, it is indeed so.)*
It flicked its small tongue, its brass-colored snake eyes glancing at the World Tree that covered the sky, its gaze becoming more solemn.
*Hiss hiss hiss~ (But—Master, I need to make it clear to you first.)*
*Hiss~ (The ancient Sun God has not fully recovered yet, so it is highly likely that He will not detect our method now.)*
*Hiss~ (However, once He completely unseals Himself, He will definitely have the ability to interfere with the flow of fate.)*
*Hiss hiss~ (In other words, once He fully revives and begins His possession, we might not have the chance to activate “Fate Reversal” and reload the game.)*
This was a matter of course.
The Quicksilver Snake’s status was only that of a True God.
Although it could be considered special among mythical creatures due to the uniqueness of fate, once the ancient Sun God fully revived, He might have means to deal with fate.
“I understand—”
“If we were playing a single-player game right now, then this would be the last supply point and safe house before the BOSS battle.”
“That ancient Sun God is the big BOSS waiting for the challenger in the BOSS room.”
“And you are playing the role of the system voice that warns of the danger ahead, advising players to save the game and prepare thoroughly before challenging.”
“After this, it’s the main story progression, where saving is impossible and there’s no turning back, right?”
Shaya smiled.
The next moment, his finger moved slightly.
The muzzle of the Sea Blue Judgment erupted with flame, and the bullet spun out.
The Quicksilver Snake’s physical quality was only level five, meaning it was not much different from an ordinary Shiba Inu.
This bullet was enough to kill it.
However, just as the bullet was about to touch the Quicksilver Snake’s body.
Suddenly, everything around, whether it was the flickering candlelight, the flowing breeze, or even the sound of heartbeats.
Even the starlight flickering unstably in the distant sky, all froze in an instant.
Then, all the scenery, all the sights shattered at the same moment.
Countless overflowing fragments of light, carrying Shaya’s will… flowed down the river of time.
From the First Era, returning to the Fourth Era.
