The holy sword pierced through his flesh and blood, and the sharp sword light shone through his body.
Almost in an instant, the golden ancient mystery spread along the wound, destroying the internal organs of the flesh and blood body, along with every tendon and vein.
Time moves slowly but cannot be reversed.
In the Valley of the End, under the dim sky covered by dust.
The desolate wind blowing through the canyon brought up blood, which splashed on Isadella's exquisite face.
It was obviously boiling hot blood, but to Isadela it seemed icy cold.
The Uzumaki mask was broken, and the boy under the mask had blood oozing from the corners of his mouth, but he was still smiling.
Looking at the handsome face with soft lines of the black-haired boy under the broken mask.
Isadella, the king of the fantasy belt, had a frozen expression for the first time in a thousand years.
...
...
Distant memories rose up uncontrollably from the depths of her soul, which had been eroded and worn away by the long years, not like those of a human being but more like those of a god.
That was a memory from who knows how long ago.
At that time, she was not the Knight King Artorius, not the throne, and certainly not the "Red Queen", the king of the fantasy belt who is now high above.
At that time, she was just the second princess of the Foresta Empire.
He hasn't even reached the level of legend yet, and he still needs to put a lot of thought into suppressing the rebellion of the sworn families and use all kinds of political tactics to form alliances.
It was at that time that she met a young man from the north with black hair and black eyes.
And because he was short of manpower, he invited the other party to become the Swordsman of the Empire.
The two of them had not spent much time together, but Xia Egut's actions, especially his thoughts and words that transcended time, left a deep impression on her.
And at this moment——
Countless details and countless thoughts filled Isadella's mind.
Let the soul circuit that has been covered with dust due to the long time and can no longer be touched tremble slowly.
The dust fell and my heart roared.
Before Cain died in battle, the ideal country called Utopia that was broadcast throughout Esgania slowly overlapped with the scene he saw in the dream of the succubus queen Diris in his revived memory.
Why do they have similar dreams?
People whose thoughts transcend their times are so rare. For any king, it is already a blessing or even the extreme to be able to get one. How could she be so worthy as to meet two at the same time.
Why do I often sense an inexplicable sense of tacit understanding with the Black Knight Cain?
That's of course because Cain and Shaar are the same person.
Why was it that Char, as a fourth ring, was able to establish a relationship with the two thrones, the Silver Witch Silvia and the Queen of the Night, who had long disappeared, and made them protect an old legend like Guderian even at the cost of killing him?
That was naturally because, in some way, Char had formed a bond with them in past history.
Perhaps it was because of the historical echoes of the ancient country of Cang Ting, or perhaps it was due to other reasons.
But no matter what, Xia Yata was able to form a relationship with the Lord of the White Tower in the ancient country of Cang Ting five hundred years ago.
Then he would naturally be able to cross thousands of years of time and come to Esgania at the end of the Third Age to meet me.
These were details that were subconsciously ignored by Isadella due to Zhu Yue's distortion of the past and her own paranoia.
But at this moment, as Zhu Yue's influence dissipated, the forgotten humanity once again occupied her mind.
All the details, all the ideas, point to that one and only answer.
Cain is Shayya Eguth.
And I, in this way, gave up the black knight who had helped me tirelessly, and the love I had built the fantasy belt to save.
Killed him with the holy sword.
She let go of the holy sword in her hand in a daze. The dim sky and the desolate Valley of the End became illusory, like a dream, and not real.
Then, Isadella watched the boy slowly fall down and land in her arms.
His aura gradually dimmed, as if a light had gone out.
The mask fell off, and Char raised his head, his mouth was crimson, but his eyes were still bright, like the bright falling stars in the night sky.
"king."
"No, Your Highness."
Xia's face was pale, without a trace of blood, but he was still smiling, and his smile was very bright.
"It seems that I won the bet this time."
…
The sky and the earth seemed to disappear, and everything was moving incredibly slowly.
The world was silent, with only the crisp sound of a blade breaking, echoing between heaven and earth.
The pale blue magic flames around Char suddenly shrank, but were replaced by a layer of faint dim fluorescence.
Intense pain spread along the wound of the holy sword, destroying Char's internal organs, and even every tendon and blood vessel.
He could feel that his vitality was being stripped from his body. Even his mental perception and five senses were gradually turning cold and leaving him.
Without the protection of the Black Knight mecha, Char's body was just an ordinary six-ring body, not even specialized in close combat physical enhancement.
How could he not pay a heavy price for taking the angry blow from the throne without any preparation or resistance?
However, that faint fluorescent light lingered around Char.
The last bit of vitality remained in Char's body, so that he did not die immediately, but retained the last bit of ability to move.
[The one-time item "Night Watcher's Dagger" has been broken, and you enter the "Battle Continuation" state which lasts for 30 seconds]
[Night Watcher's Dagger]
[Prop Category: Disposable Extraordinary Props]
[Item Description: When receiving fatal damage, the wearer will enter a short-term unyielding state, refusing to die for 30 seconds. The item disappears after being triggered.]
[Note: Mute the world and listen to the sound of the dagger breaking. 】
[He took out an item, the Night's Watch's dagger! 】
This is not a trump card that can reverse the situation of the battle, but merely a means of surviving.
Even if triggered, it does not have the ability to heal or recover from trauma, but simply refuses to die within thirty seconds, leaving behind only the last trace of blood.
Once half a minute has passed, everything will return to normal, and he will still be in the seriously injured and dying state he is in now.
Given the huge power gap between Char and Isadela, the outcome of the battle would not have changed even with the extra thirty seconds of time.
However, what Char wanted to do was never to defeat or kill Isadela.
The price is to give up resistance and voluntarily die.
Char used his own blood to awaken Isadela from her paranoid, indifferent attitude towards humanity.
This is the most dangerous part of the plan that Yui came up with after countless calculations.
No one knows to what extent the soul circuits of this King of the Fantasy Belt have been corroded by time and the Scarlet Moon after thousands of years, and whether there is still a trace of humanity left that can be awakened.
Even Char couldn't be sure.
But fortunately, Char's gamble paid off.
Char felt his body being gently embraced.
What came into view were not the indifferent and ruthless eyes of a god that belonged to the King of the Fantasy Belt.
Instead, there was a pair of beautiful red eyes belonging to the second princess Isadela, which had not been seen for a thousand years.
There are crystal clear water droplets in it.
"Obviously, the me before is no longer the Second Princess or the Knight King you know. I am just another existence that bears the name of Isadella."
A cold voice sounded.
Isadella stared at the young man in black clothes stained with blood in her arms.
No longer was there the indifference as if he was looking down on the world from the clouds, but instead there was an uneasiness that was difficult to conceal.
"Is it really worth it for you to go to such lengths and pay such a price for someone like me?"
However, the questioning stopped abruptly before it was finished.
"On that winter night of the Lantern Festival, I made a vow in my heart."
"On the next Lantern Festival, which symbolizes reunion, we will gather again in the mansion in the Black Lily District, and no one can be left behind."
Char's words became somewhat dim due to blood loss, but the boy's dark eyes were still bright, like a morning star.
It was exactly the same as their first encounter on the day of the King's Election.
"Even if Your Highness has changed into someone I don't recognize—"
"But as long as I remember what you looked like from beginning to end, that's enough."
The boy's answer shocked Isadella's mind, leaving her stunned for a long time.
After a long time, the princess finally revealed a bitter smile and shook her head.
"I'm sorry... but I'm afraid I can't go back."
Her eyes fell on the holy sword in her hand.
"The establishment of the Fantasy Belt is against the laws of this world, and is not tolerated by the long river of history."
"I'm too deep in this place. The time that was blocked and tampered with is already irreversible."
"Even with the protection of the Holy Sword... I can't hold on for much longer."
“Perhaps in five years, perhaps in ten years, this fantasy zone will be corrected by the corrective force of history.”
"And when history is corrected back to the right track, I, as the king of the Fantasy Belt, will be crushed by the correction power without any resistance, and all traces of my existence will be wiped out."
"This is the irreparable sin that I bear."
"From the beginning to the end, there was no possibility of turning back."
Isadella's words were a little bleak, but not full of regret.
The moment she killed Merlin and built the Fantasy Belt, she never thought of going back.
Before being erased by the power of correction and forgotten by the whole world, she was already satisfied enough to be able to see the boy she had been thinking about again.
"I can't go back anymore."
"Beside you, there is the little girl from the Ingulite family, the Winter Flower, and the witch from the White Tower... and many other people and things that are worth your nostalgia."
Isadella's voice became softer.
The moment Xia Ya revealed his identity, she became extremely clear in her mind.
Regardless of her identity as the Second Princess of the Empire or as the Knight King, her relationship with Char was purely that of a trustworthy partner and a superior-subordinate relationship.
Not a lover.
No matter how strong and deep her twisted attachment to Cain was, it was merely her own wishful thinking.
From the beginning to the end, Xia Ya did not belong to her alone.
She is also the little girl who has contracted the Holy Spear, and the everything in the life of the Blue Silver Witch.
Since I have never expressed my feelings directly, I don't have the right to monopolize the other person so willfully.
"For me, you were able to travel through time to see me for the last time..."
"That's enough."
Isadella forced herself to suppress the huge sadness that was surging in her heart and making her heart ache.
Then, he gave a forced smile.
"Let me use my holy sword to protect you and help you return to normal history..."
"For you, the right world has people and things that are more important than me."
She raised the holy sword, and a golden glow shone.
He will use the ancient mystery to carry Char back to the correct history.
However, the next moment.
She raised her head in surprise.
"Your Highness."
"If you can't hold on sometimes, don't force yourself."
Two illusory rays of light slowly emerged from Char's hands.
It was a glove and the shadow of a dice.
The death-rejecting effect of the item "Night Watcher's Dagger" is coming to an end, with about five seconds left.
However, five seconds——was more than enough for what Char was going to do.
Although there was no trace of blood on his face, Char's dark eyes were flashing with light.
The next moment.
The shadow of the glove slowly dissipated.
The dice was spinning slightly.
Finally, it stopped at six o'clock.
【Thief gloves (disposable)】
[Rarity: Purple]
[Category: Extraordinary Items]
[Price: 15 pieces]
[Description: After wearing, the designated object will be activated, and two items will be stolen randomly from the target. The items will disappear after use.]
【Note: Secretly? secretly! 】
…
【Dice of Destiny (Unreal)】
[Rarity: Purple]
[Category: Extraordinary Items]
[Price: 30 pieces]
[Description: After throwing the dice, the luck value is determined according to the number of points on the front of the dice. The prop disappears after use]
[Note: Orion Fee, ALL IN!] 】
…
The Thief's Gloves and the Dice of Destiny were products that Char had seen on the panel of the Sands of Time Mall when he first opened it.
At the first sight, Char noticed the combination of the two.
The thief's gloves simply steal two target items randomly, which doesn't really make much sense. After all, the concept of "things" is too broad. Anything from a wallet to a button can be stolen, so the success rate of stealing the target items is not high.
If you accidentally steal something like panties, you might be caught as a pervert on the spot.
However, if the dice of fate were to help, everything would be different.
As long as you pay enough, you can roll a full six points of luck.
Then according to the principle of what you wish for, the objects stolen by the thief's gloves can be locked from random things to predetermined options.
The reason why the thief's gloves are so rare is that they are purple and are on par with rule-based items such as the Dice of Fortune.
This is because what it can steal are not just physical objects.
Instead, it includes many illusory concepts that do not exist.
For example, the identity of the King of the Fantasy Belt.
For example——
Falsifying history will cause the cause and effect and sin itself to backfire due to the force of correction.
Of course, once this ability to directly steal the origin is activated, if the enemy is already hostile, it will inevitably cause resistance, causing the effect of the stealing to be weakened or even ineffective.
Otherwise, Xia could just find an ancient god and steal his power directly.
Only when the other party completely trusts oneself and is completely defenseless, can the success rate of theft using thief's gloves reach its maximum.
This is why Char is willing to take risks to awaken Isadella's human side.
…
boom--
A huge mystery emerged beside Char.
In a very short period of time, it even surpassed the mystery contained in the holy sword.
Isadella suddenly opened her beautiful red eyes wide and looked at the weak figure in her arms in disbelief.
The long river of time that had condensed into substance was surging from Char's body, roaring and surging, causing the boy's figure to become illusory and transparent.
Although Char was clearly in her arms, Isadela could clearly feel that the body in her arms had disappeared, and there was no longer any real touch.
The two of them were clearly very close to each other, yet they seemed to be separated by two completely different timelines, and could never be touched again.
The canyon is shaking and the earth and sky are roaring.
Not only the terrain of the Valley of the End is collapsing, but the entire world is collapsing.
A clear sound came from the holy sword in Isadella's hand.
The historical correction force that had been hanging like a mountain from the beginning to the end and could only be barely resisted with the protection of the holy sword suddenly dissipated at this moment and no longer oppressed Isadella.
boom--
In the fantasy zone, the real material world collapsed.
The long river of time overflows through the gaps created by the fantasy belt, making everything around it colorful.
Countless images from the past, belonging to the future, and not belonging to the same time node all intersect in this collapsing time, and then collide and melt.
"Life is the end of things."
The boy's voice rang in Isadella's ears, yet it seemed as if a whole world away.
“Life is a pilgrimage of accumulated pain.”
"But, Your Highness."
"The legend of the Knight King, I suppose."
“It is definitely not a story of death and severance.”
Xia's face remained pale, but the solidified river of illusory time around him became increasingly thicker.
The corrective force of history roared and changed direction.
It no longer rushed towards Isadella as before, but rushed violently towards Char.
So, in an instant.
Isadella understood everything.
He didn't know what method Xia used.
Not only does he want to show his authority and status as the king of the fantasy belt...
Along with it, the sin of establishing a utopian belt and falsifying history was also stolen.
Then, he carried it all on his own.
boom--
The material world completely collapsed, and no trace of Esganiya's original appearance could be seen anymore.
Instead, there is the roaring river of time.
It is not an illusory projection on the main material plane, but a real river of time.
With unstoppable and irreversible force, Isadela will be washed away and returned to the correct history.
The holy sword's brilliance was shining, but at this moment the light seemed a little dim.
Before this, the Holy Sword had consumed too much power. Now that it had lost the authority and blessing of the King of the Fantasy Belt, the little remaining power was no longer enough to support her staying in this space and time that did not belong to her.
But even so, she still forced the last remaining power of the holy sword.
Isadela barely stopped in that collapsed time, looking at the upstream of the long river of time, at the only figure in the virtual world that was being madly crushed by the force of correction.
He clearly bore all the sins of Isadela's distortion of history and became the target of the correction force.
But in the constantly collapsing and fragmenting fantasy belt, Char's face remained calm.
The shadow of the palace between the thrones appeared behind him, and countless broken black metals slowly gathered behind the young man's thin figure.
Finally, it turned into a black iron throne.
Just like the identity of the King of the Fantasy Belt that he bears at this moment.
The young man sat on the black iron throne and looked at Isadella across the roaring river of time.
"Why……"
"Why would you do this for me?"
From the mouth of the silver-haired princess came a wail that even she herself could hardly recognize.
Obviously, I haven't even expressed my feelings.
It's obvious that they are not even lovers.
But what the other party did for him was far beyond the scope of ordinary lovers.
Carrying the sins that will be crushed into dust by the power of correction and forgotten by the whole world.
"Why is that?..."
Char sat on the black iron throne, also thinking about this question.
It is obvious that he has lost the conceptual immortality and the capital to wander around freely.
But even so, he still chose such a dangerous path.
This is not in line with Xia Egut's usual style, but more like what Cain would do.
But Cain was obviously just a false vest. With the disappearance of his immortal body, he should have ceased to exist in the world long ago.
"Because of guilt."
"Also, be greedy."
Char looked at the slender figure that was about to fall below him and spoke softly.
"In the past, I just treated everything in the remnants of history as a game of life."
"You act in order to achieve the mission rewards, and in order to gain the so-called character's favor, you put on layer after layer of great and glorious personality for yourself. Once you achieve your goal, you can just pat your butt and walk away from the remnants of history."
"But, for you, Your Highness, and for Sylvia, that unforgettable feeling is real."
"Because of a scumbag's words, the girl waited for me for five hundred years, a thousand years in a dark tower, on an empty throne. She even bore a sin that history would not allow."
"Although your Highness, you and Sylvia don't care...but I do."
"I feel... that only after having experienced the same thing, I am qualified to accept this relationship."
Char's voice slowed down slightly.
"I do have a fondness for you, Your Highness. Perhaps it comes from the time we fought side by side, or perhaps it was even earlier, and I didn't even realize it myself."
"And I'm a very greedy and stingy guy."
"So, I cannot accept that your Highness, you fell in love with Cain, not me."
Xia sat on the throne with a deep look in his eyes.
"My real name is Xia Egut, and Cain is just a pseudonym for the non-existent Great and Glory created by me."
"It doesn't seem that different from a minotaur to me."
"I hope that the person you fall in love with is me, the one and only Char Eggot in the world, and not some other identity like Char Ingrid, Cain, or the Templar Knight."
There was a slight pause in his words.
On the black iron throne in the fantasy belt, the lonely figure fell into Isadella's eyes.
It slowly overlapped with the thin figure who had his back to the world and was fighting against thousands of enemies alone in the Valley of the End, and was exactly the same.
"Your Highness."
The black-haired, black-eyed boy leaned slightly to the side with a faint smile on his lips.
The afterglow of the flowing time fell on his profile, making the outline clear and deep.
"Now I am——"
"Can I become the only male protagonist in your story?"
The roaring river of time dispersed the last bit of power left in the holy sword and also took away Xia's unfinished words.
Isadella was thus swept away by the flow of time and washed downstream in the long river of history.
Watching the lonely figure on the throne gradually walk away and finally disappear.
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