Chapter Twenty: Silvery Memories - The Final Promise
The man sleeping beside her suddenly blinked his thick, long eyelashes and opened his eyes.
He had the same bright eyes as her, and Huan's heart tightened.
His elegant and perfect body contours, his firm and toned physique, and his healthy complexion shone brightly in the sunlight.
—This is the man, Heng, his lover; they were lovers for seven days.
Huan, who originally thought that the king could not fall in love with anyone, fell in love with his greatest nemesis.
"You woke up so quickly?"
"With someone as alluring as you by my side, it would be a problem if I could actually fall asleep." Heng rolled over and reached out to pin him down.
She gasped for breath, curled up in his arms, and let his hands roam and caress her body...
Scalding, burning erection, swelling...desire...
Huan moaned weakly and seductively, her longing eyes conveying his invitation.
Heng, who had never cherished anything before, has finally found something worth risking his life for...
She buried her head deeply in Heng's chest, gradually calming her breathing. Unconsciously, tears slid down her cheeks, wetting Heng's chest.
These past few days they've been cuddling together, pouring out endless love, and relentlessly conquering each other's bodies...
Finally, he understood his own feelings and was finally able to love someone so honestly... It was Heng's willfulness that taught him this.
Perhaps for him, this was the most meaningful thing he had ever done in his life.
Sadly, this was their last time making love; everything was coming to an end, and they had no more time!
"It's about time we set off." Heng looked up, and even the sky above the barrier seemed to darken and darken along with its master's mood.
"Hmm, it's time to put an end to this. But where should we go?" Huan suddenly realized how naive she had been.
We need to make a final negotiation with God, but... where is God?
"Have you thought it through? If this is what you want to do, I will definitely make your wish come true!" Heng turned his head to make a final confirmation to him, his expression unusually serious.
Hundreds of years ago, when he first faced this choice, in order to preserve the spark of humanity and to prevent the inhabitants of this second world from being completely destroyed as soon as they were created... he made that choice, a choice of compromise, a choice of escape out of helplessness... He submitted to God.
But now... when he saw Huan's firm and clear eyes, he understood—this person was different from him. He radiated pure justice like the sun, and he would not yield to any power.
...
"The Forest of Gods' Tears?"
Standing at the entrance to the forest, Huan hesitated for a moment.
The Forest of Tears...a legendary, eerie forest where a solitary figure weeps, filled with sorrow and resentment...a place no one dares to approach...
"king--"
"king--"
"..."
A cacophony of shouts and hurried footsteps came from behind.
Heng chuckled softly, gripped Huan's hand even tighter, turned around, and faced the crowd.
“Listen up, Huan and I are truly in love. We will never be separated again, and we will no longer be anyone’s king. The conflict between Noah and Nobisola, the survival of humanity… none of that matters to us anymore.” Heng’s lips curled into a wider smile, as if in defiance. “Now we are going to enter this forest and live here from now on… If you’re not afraid of death, come on in!”
As soon as he finished speaking, without giving anyone time to react, and even ignoring Huan's astonished expression, he grabbed Huan and flashed into the depths of the forest like two streaks of light.
"what is going on?"
Heng finally stopped, looking at Huan with a smug expression, waiting for him to ask such a question.
Huan stood there blankly, somewhat at a loss.
He said he wanted to find the masterpiece to settle things, and that his wish would be fulfilled as long as he entered the forest… He broke the barrier and easily escaped both armies, but deliberately slowed down along the way. At that moment, he felt something was amiss, as if he was waiting for pursuers… He never expected him to say those things at that time…
In that case, wouldn't they have become... elopements?
"Are you underestimating me? Or do you think I lied to you?" Huan smiled with a look of understanding. "I seem to remember saying that I also said—have faith in your loved one."
"So... you were acting on purpose? Why?" Huan's voice softened, and the accusatory tone vanished.
He... should have trusted this person from the bottom of his heart; Heng was his most important love.
"Actually, God isn't here at all. The so-called Weeping Forest is just a manifestation of people's inner turmoil. Isn't everyone like that?" Heng said self-deprecatingly, then his expression suddenly changed, revealing a hint of ambiguous confidence. "We came here not to find God, but to find a place where we won't be disturbed—to wait for our God to come to our appointment."
To keep the appointment?
Huan still couldn't understand.
Heng pulled him into his arms and whispered affectionately in his ear, "The date invitation will be delivered to us soon. We just need to wait patiently..."
Now, we can hug a little longer.
This is the most precious hug.
...
"Stop it, all of you!"
Upon hearing Loku's report, Elsa, who had rushed over, immediately ordered her troops to halt their battle with the Noah forces that had also arrived.
A temporary ceasefire has been declared.
From within the enemy's army, a woman's voice, equally authoritative, rang out. Elsa squinted and looked over—was that the legendary Moyin?
Noah and Nobisola's armies stood side by side at the entrance to the forest, an unprecedented sight, and remained at peace.
The king, who was the source of our spirit and strength, has disappeared, and he even eloped after saying those words... In this leaderless situation, it is indeed very difficult to fight.
The more important thing now is... to solve the king's problem!
But that forest—
The Forest of Gods' Tears… Elsa frowned. They really know how to pick a location. A place the army would absolutely never dare go…
Huan-gege! What happened? Huan-gege promised to protect her forever after the war... He wouldn't betray his promise, would he?
No matter what, she will absolutely not back down this time!
Standing at the entrance to the forest, Elsa was suddenly attacked from behind. She did not dodge, and the other person simply stood beside her—it was Moyin.
The two exchanged a complex look, neither uttering a single word, and stepped side by side into the so-called "forbidden land."
...
In Heng's arms, Huan suddenly stiffened.
"Here you are," Heng said calmly, releasing him.
Elsa? And another dignified and beautiful woman...
Elsa...
Suddenly, I remembered the promises I had forgotten while basking in Heng's love...
However, Heng's expression didn't seem surprised at all.
"You're here?"
"Um."
His casual conversation with Mo Yin was as if nothing had happened. Although Elsa was anxious, she remained calm and silent, waiting to see what would happen.
"You arrived later than I expected."
“There’s nothing I can do. This kind of thing—eloping with the enemy—has happened not only to the king I’ve served so diligently, but also to my husband… I need some time to process this. I’ve suddenly become an abandoned woman; I need to at least assess whether this kind of thing is really going to happen.”
This woman... is Heng's wife?
So, if I'm with Heng... wouldn't that mean I've stolen her husband?
Huan turned around uncertainly to look at Heng, only to be met with a deep, affectionate gaze from him.
But to Elsa and Morgen, that look represented despair.
The last hope was dashed; it wasn't a misunderstanding after all... These two truly loved each other, even at the cost of betraying their respective peoples...
“Brother Huan—” Elsa’s eyes welled up with tears, and she finally couldn’t hold back anymore, “What about the promise you made to me? Didn’t you say that after the war, you would stay by my side forever? I’m all alone… It was all a lie…”
"Elsa...I'm sorry..."
Huan lowered his head, hesitant to speak. He couldn't find the right words to express his guilt, but love is love, and there was no going back.
Elsa's gaze began to turn cold.
He never accepted her love, never daring to ask for more, because what she longed for was an illicit love, just to be by Huan-gege's side... Little did she expect that her Huan-gege would make such a choice now, an illicit love between two men, and the other was his sworn enemy, betraying both of their people, unable to face the bloodshed and sacrifices his people had made for his mission over the past hundreds of years... In the end, he abandoned everything and eloped here...
"Elsa, we didn't elope here, we came here to solve the problem!"
Elsa and Moyin looked up at the same time.
“God has played us—whether it’s Noah or Norbisola!” Heng continued, his gaze sharpening as he looked at the two women. “We want to have a serious talk with him.”
“You need to have a proper talk with God—” he repeated, his eyes still fixed on the two of them—
"Ugh!" Elsa suddenly clutched her throat frantically, collapsing to her knees in a terrifying state.
Looking at Mo Yin now, he had collapsed to the ground unconscious. Judging from his distorted expression and the large amount of white foam at the corner of his mouth, he must have experienced great pain.
Ah! What happened? Two people so strong... in an instant—
Huan was about to rush to Elsa's side when Heng grabbed her arm. Her arm ached from the pull; Heng was determined to stop her from getting close, hence his domineering behavior… But why!
What is that?
Elsa and Morgen's bodies slowly rose, even though they had lost consciousness... they were rising! As if they were being lifted up by some force...
As they rose to a certain height, Elsa and Moyin's bodies began to rotate until their backs touched, and their upper bodies seemed to suddenly lose support, bending to both sides... The shape was like two tender buds that had just sprouted.
"The leaves have already sprouted... Next... it's time for it to bloom!" Heng muttered to himself.
Unexpectedly, disregarding Huan's shock, he released her hand at this moment... In just a moment, his body was already between Huan and "Elsa, Moyin".
"When did you find out? Heng, you're really something."
The voice was like a merging image slowly rising from between Elsa and Moyin... no, from their bodies—gender was indistinguishable, and no aura of good or evil could be sensed. The only thing that could be felt was a sacred and irresistible sense of oppression that made it hard to breathe.
This is... God...
"You know that while you gave your body and power to me and Ring, you also split your soul in two, placing it in the bodies of Elsa and Moyin respectively? Is that what you mean? I don't think there's anything commendable about knowing such a thing."
Heng shrugged, his tone casual, not even using the formal "you" when addressing the creator god.
However, even so, he only came to understand this matter after meeting Tamaki. He would never have thought about such troublesome things that brought him no benefit before. Everything was for the sake of fulfilling Tamaki's wish!
"What an arrogant king! May I ask—how do you know this?"
Huan secretly glanced at the image, and unconsciously took a step forward...
"Hehe, if you're really interested in this kind of boring stuff, I'm happy to oblige." Heng said, subtly hiding the ring behind his back again.
This time, Huan fully understood his good intentions... Facing danger, he shielded his lover with his own body... He did it so quietly, yet he couldn't suppress the burning emotion in his heart.
Heng ignored him and continued his conversation: "I've been curious about Moyin for a long time. Her power doesn't belong to the king, and it's far superior to that of other clansmen—it's unnatural. Perhaps it was this curiosity and power that attracted me to choose her as my wife... Until I met Huan, besides discovering what true love is, I also heard some interesting things from him, namely Elsa. Didn't you divide your body and power between the two of us? We were created, so how can we be blood relatives? That's a huge joke! When you created Huan, you created the illusion of a 'sister' in his memory! Why? Just think that we were created to oversee this mutual slaughter, and it's not hard to assume—who will oversee the two of us? Once you think about it this way, it's easy to understand the position of these two special clansmen beside us."
So... at that time, the words he spoke to both armies, conveying the message to the two of them through those people, he was certain they would come after him... because of love! And because of this, he naturally brought the host body away from everyone and to his side... Huan suddenly realized.
The host... I just want to hug Elsa's frail body... What's happening now, what's about to happen... she's probably completely oblivious to it all...
"Alright, considering how outstanding you two are, I'll give you this chance—what do you want to talk to me about? But let me make this clear first, never betray me!"
God's tone remained indifferent, devoid of any emotion.
“We’ve come to beg you—” Huan rushed ahead of Heng, “Please abandon the Noah Project…and spare the inhabitants of the Second World!”
"Oh? Did I hear you wrong? Explain your reasoning—"
Heng noticed a slight change in the light emanating from the image of God… a dangerous sign.
"You created humanity only to then annihilate it all; you created this second world, yet you treat its inhabitants as mere tools… What you seek to accomplish is nothing more than refusing to accept reality in the face of a failed work, blindly pursuing aesthetics while ignoring humanity, ignoring the objective law that humans develop according to the guidance of their hearts… It is nothing but destruction, slaughter, and annihilation—this is not what the God of Creation should do!"
A bolt of lightning struck down from the sky—
Oh no, that wasn't ordinary lightning! Ring—
When Huan came to his senses, he found himself pushed several feet away, while Heng, who had pushed him away at the last second, lay there covered in blood... A huge crater was clearly visible on the ground!
"Heng—"
He held Heng tightly, shaking him desperately, as Heng's blood continued to seep out, soaking his snow-white clothes.
Heng opened his eyes with difficulty and smiled at him, "I'm fine."
He knew how difficult that smile was; Heng's voice was so weak he could barely hear it...
It was just lightning, how could such a powerful force be...?
Huan turned her head and glared at Shen, a deep anger rising in her clear eyes!
"Is this what you call winning people's hearts? It seems even he's been infected by you. Should I feel gratified?" God ignored his hateful gaze and coldly watched everything.
"Do you want to avenge your lover?" Who would have thought that even a god would be provoked.
However, Huan did not move, holding Heng, remaining silent for a long time.
After a brief standoff, he wiped away his tears, swallowed hard, and kept his eyes closed, muttering softly as if to himself: "Give up, this isn't your true self. It's just a helpless escape from the face of an imperfect reality... Give up... The destruction you're carrying out through our hands isn't your intention, but rather a lingering hope in your subconscious..."
"Shut up!" God was finally provoked.
This would anger God, which was exactly what he expected. Huan finally opened his eyes and looked directly at God without flinching.
Even if you are a god—please look at your own heart!
“Alright, I apologize for using you. So—” God paused, a pause that gave Huan a bad feeling, “So—let me, this lightning bolt, resolve all of this myself! First World or Second World, these imperfect things I created… let me end them with my own hands—”
Tens of thousands of bolts of lightning rose backwards into the sky from behind God—
Oh no, should we start with this second world? When those lightning bolts strike the ground... that will be the end of everything here...
Absolutely not! That was the only thought that remained in Huan's mind in that instant!
A miracle happened—
Huan's body rose into the air, surrounded by thousands of lightning bolts. His entire body radiated intense light, attracting the lightning and gradually absorbing its power...
Lightning...light...when everything disappeared...
"Huan—" Heng cried out his lover's name in anguish.
Unfortunately... Huan can no longer hear—his body has become one with the light, and this is the price he must pay to save the world.
"Is this my body... and my power?" A hint of confusion flashed in God's eyes.
"No, this is the true love of a savior!"
He murmured to himself as he gazed at the sky where the ring had disappeared.
The ring—that's the true power of the ring.
Wasn't this outcome already anticipated when he arrived? Why then did he still shed tears?
It seems his mission has come to an end... To stay by Huan's side, to offer his unchanging love, even if they both perish, it doesn't matter... as long as Huan...
"Stop! This isn't over yet!" The light of God changed once more!
That was—the light of the ring!
"I want to give life again to those I admire!"
Heng's stiff body trembled.
To be given life again...that means...
"Let's put the matter of fate aside for now. I will wait for him to be reborn, until he grows up in the human world and becomes the person he is today. Then we will settle things again! Until then, you are responsible for preserving everything about him except his body. Of course, how much you can preserve and what you can preserve... that is your business, your love."
Perhaps that person was right—God himself, deep down, also had expectations.
...
The light and image of God vanished without a trace. Elsa and Moyin lay on the ground, their faint breathing audible...
...It's as if nothing ever happened.
Heng fiercely wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and struggled to his feet. This wicked god was not even sincere in his repentance and was capricious!
What a cruel choice!
The soul, memories, power of the rings... and their love...
Given his current physical condition, it would be quite difficult for him to seal even a small portion of it within his body. If he were to force more, it would only cause him and everything else around the ring to disappear completely.
Ring... what do you want most?
...
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