Boom——
The metal doors of the majestic tower slammed shut.
All sounds were blocked inside this extremely dark tower.
Hathaway stood up anxiously, ran to the side of the metal door, and tried to push it open.
However, all she got in response was the bone-chilling touch of steel.
It's not just the loss of the extraordinary power bestowed by the elven blood.
When Char left her, he also set up a magic-banning array in this deserted tower, making all spells ineffective as soon as they were chanted.
Hathaway here is just an ordinary elf.
Just like Xia Ya's rather solemn "Goodbye".
...
...
That metal door was like an eternal barrier.
Hathaway and Char were separated into two worlds.
…
Beside Char, all scenes and things were crumbling and disintegrating.
Whether it is the scorching setting sun or the azure and clear sky.
Or the city that was once bustling and lively, but now seems a little quiet under the setting sun.
Everything is becoming unreal.
Then, it burst like a bubble.
Some flew away, some peeled off, and the wind carried the roar of things breaking.
The dark night, and the dead silence that followed, enveloped the world again.
This is a natural sight.
The city where the Arcane Festival is being held is not a real city. Instead, it is an illusion created by Char using magic to materialize the fantasy in the ocean of his spirit.
Just like the city of Atlantis in the fairy tale.
This flooded city reappears in the mist only once every hundred years.
On this day, the residents of Atlantis lived and worked in peace and contentment, singing and dancing, just like the night before it was engulfed by the flood. Occasionally, tourists passing by and accidentally entering would think they had entered a real city that had never been recorded on the map.
And when this day is over, everything in this city will turn into bubbles in the rising sun, and everything will return to nothingness.
"Time is up."
A peaceful voice sounded behind Char.
Char turned around and looked at the black iron throne behind him.
On the black iron throne, the illusory human figure that was sleeping, although still sitting upright at this moment, could make people feel that -
He has awakened.
Suddenly, the haziness covering His face dissipated, allowing Xia to see the other person clearly.
The face of this ancient sun god is now constantly alternating between illusion and reality.
Those are two completely opposite attitudes.
One of them is an extremely handsome elf face with pointed and slender ears, which shows the facial features of the elves to the extreme, making it so handsome that it is difficult to distinguish between men and women.
He was dressed in gorgeous clothes and had a glorious crown on his head.
This is the current body of the old Sun God, the former master of the Elf Court, the Elf King.
The other face that was between illusion and reality frightened Char.
It was a human boy, exactly like Char himself.
"Are you done? Those things you can't let go of."
"If you still have regrets that have not been resolved, it would be okay for me to give you some more time."
The illusory voice sounded again, less majestic but more gentle, somewhat similar to Char's.
Char looked at the figure on the black iron throne that kept changing between illusion and reality, then looked back at the black tower that still remained in the illusion of the collapsing city and had not disappeared with it, and smiled.
"No."
“What needs to be done has been done.”
"If we continue to dwell on it, it will only make the separation drag on and not be as pleasant as before."
"and--"
Xia looked at the old sun god calmly: "Compared to the other true gods I have seen--"
"You give me a feeling of being more human at this moment."
The shadow on the throne was not surprised, but simply said calmly: "Blindly pursuing divinity and stripping away humanity is actually the wrong path. It will only lead to loss of control and madness in the end. This is a fact that I have verified in the Glorious Era with thousands of years of time and painful costs."
"The other mythical creatures have never understood this, so they will naturally continue on this path of constantly collecting divinity, getting deeper and deeper into it."
"Since you know you are wrong and now you have chosen to abandon your previous wrong path and replace it with a brand new container, I will naturally make adjustments and corrections."
"According to my current thinking, there is no such thing as high or low between divinity and humanity."
"Strong power and authority represent a tendency towards disorder and madness. In this case, the human side is needed to stabilize it..."
"There are many ways to do this, such as strengthening the emotional side and increasing empathy with the spiritual world, or through believers, associating and anchoring one's self-perception with the image created by believers."
The old sun god readily admitted his earlier mistakes.
"And there is also the so-called harmony between the soul and the body."
"Although my status is far higher than yours, in order to ensure that my body is flawless after fusion, I naturally need to actively correct myself to match you."
The illusory appearance of the old sun god began to gradually become stable.
The handsome appearance of the Elf King became less and less, while the appearance of the human boy became more and more.
He stretched out his hand calmly, without any actual action, but Xia felt that the distance between him and the other party had become closer in an instant.
"The illusion you created just now is quite interesting."
“Although it seems to be something that is imaginary and between illusions, it can blur the boundary between reality and illusion for a short time, interfering with reality with ethereal fantasy and thoughts.”
"Is this what you call magic?"
Xia nodded: "Of course."
“Distort reality and reshape nature.”
“Such a magnificent spectacle is the true meaning of magic, blurring the boundary between the real and the fake, and turning fantasy into reality.”
“It’s an interesting road.”
The shadow on the throne did not try to hide its admiration.
"Although in terms of volume alone, the magic you have displayed is still far from the path to becoming a god by gathering divinity and authority."
“But from it, I saw a bright road that is no less brilliant than the Long Stairway to Godhood.”
"When you and I become one, I will study the mysteries of this matter carefully."
"Perhaps compared to the path to becoming a god, this path called magic and arcane has a better chance of reaching a higher realm."
Xia smiled and said, "It is an honor for me to be praised so highly by the Creator of the Glorious Era."
During the conversation, the illusory figure had already stood up from the black iron throne.
There was no pressure or fluctuation at all, but he just walked towards Char step by step.
He raised his eyes indifferently and looked at Xia carefully. After a moment, he showed a satisfied expression.
Satisfied with the excellence and strength of the body that he is about to obtain.
Even in that era when He Himself sat on the throne of heaven, overlooking all living beings, He had never seen such excellent materials.
But he did not expect that after that cataclysm in which He destroyed Himself, there should have been an era in which all souls withered and civilization declined.
But it allowed him to see again the existence before him, which was enough to be called amazing even by the knowledge of the former Sun God.
"Actually, you don't need to resist."
"For you, this is not the disaster or catastrophe you imagined, but a great opportunity."
He spoke calmly.
“This is a win-win deal for both sides.”
"Whether it's you, me, or the little golden elf girl you care about, we can all have a perfect and happy ending."
"And the only price you need to pay is a brief sleep before I ascend to the throne of heaven again."
“Will there be a happy ending for everyone?”
Char smiled.
He did not resist, and there was a hint of calmness in his words.
"Wait for you to ascend the throne of heaven again... and then help me rebuild my body. That kind of thing is too far away, and I don't expect it."
"My only request is that you return Hathaway's freedom after you get what you want."
"Of course."
The old sun god stood in front of Char, and as if unwilling to delay any longer, he gently pointed his finger.
"To me, the elves in the Elf King's Court have lost their usefulness." "There is no need for me to break my promise to you for something that is of no use and suffer your backlash for it."
"So, that's enough."
Char closed his eyes.
As if he had completely given up resistance, he let the finger of the old god fall towards his forehead and spoke in a low voice.
"Since you want."
"Then take it."
A smile appeared on the handsome face of the Elf King.
That light finger landed on Xia's brow.
Then - within the Elf King's already decayed body, that vast will, like a river or sea, surged into Char's spiritual world.
The gray-black cloud representing Char's self-will did not reject this external will, but seemed to recognize its fate and allowed the vast will of the old sun god to leave the nearly decayed body of the Elf King and enter its own spiritual world.
Even with the knowledge of this former sun god, a hint of joy could not help but emerge from the depths of his will at this moment.
Crossed the barrier of Char's self-awareness and entered his spiritual world.
Having achieved this, His plan has been half successful.
Next, all we need to do is erase Char’s self-will in this spiritual world.
He could then completely replace Char and become the new master of this nearly perfect container.
As for the promise made to Char earlier to preserve his self-consciousness until he had a chance to rebuild his body... that was of course just talk.
No matter what, Char is the true owner of this body.
If he really wanted to preserve his self-will, then if the other party suddenly changed his mind at the critical moment of his battle with other mythical creatures and fought for the control of his body, it would be likely that new turmoil and changes would come.
Even though the probability is very small... but as the former owner of the Heavenly Throne, the Old Sun God will naturally reduce all risks to the minimum.
How can I allow others to snore beside my bed?
However, at the same time.
The Old Sun God suddenly realized that in the spiritual ocean, Xia's self-conscious body opened its eyes.
Then, he looked at himself.
"In fact, you are not sure about ascending to the throne of heaven again."
"After all, you have been claiming to be the creator of the glorious era, the ancient sun god."
"But the real you... is nothing more than the remnants abandoned by the true Creator."
"A genuine—"
“It’s just a fake.”
…
In the illusory spiritual world, the majestic shadow of the Elf King paused for a moment.
"Most of the secret information you stated is true."
"But you concealed only one thing."
The spirit body formed by the gray-black mist, representing Char's self-will, whispered in the spiritual world.
"The creator of the Glorious Age was named the Sun God."
“No matter how much He realizes that His path is flawed and He chooses to abandon His superfluous divinity and cut off His superfluous authority…how could He possibly abandon the authority of the scorching sun itself?”
“And this lost island shrouded in the veil of eternal night is exactly the opposite of the name of the Sun God.”
Xia looked at the handsome Elf King Will in front of him and said lightly.
"So, it's the exact opposite of what you described."
"The real you is nothing more than the disordered and crazy part abandoned by the Sun God, the residue that will be thrown into the trash can."
"It's just that the madness and loss of control of the Creator are more serious than imagined. As the disordered side, you should also be prepared."
"For example, the backup plan of the Elf King Court and all the elves... For example, the Elf King who is secretly controlled by you and serves as the new vessel..."
Hearing Char's words, the will of the Elf King was not surprised.
"A fake... maybe..."
“It’s just that the line between the real thing and the fake has never been so clear.”
"If I can revive first, devour Him, and replace Him... then I am the real thing, and He is the fake."
"And your excellence has allowed me to see that possibility."
He shook his head indifferently, looking down at Xia's consciousness in front of him: "What you just said now cannot change anything, and it is meaningless."
All of His will has entered into Char's spiritual world.
Indeed, the spiritual body of the young man in front of him is very deep and powerful.
It was beyond his previous expectations and had a strength that was almost comparable to that of a true mythical creature.
However, in front of the fully revived Elf King, they could not escape the fate of being eroded and swallowed, and ultimately wiped out.
It's just a matter of time.
He has been sleeping on the Lost Island for a thousand years, so he naturally has enough patience and confidence to fight with Char.
“It’s meaningless…”
"Perhaps."
Xia smiled faintly.
"Indeed, this news itself doesn't change anything."
"And the reason I said this is, in fact, just to give myself courage."
He stroked his chest gently.
"After all, I usually do things well prepared. I will only take action after I have a 100% chance of winning and have arranged multiple escape routes."
"It is a rare exception to do something without any certainty, like today."
"I always unconsciously try to find some comfort for myself."
"In theory, the fake version of the big boss is always easier to defeat than the real one."
"Of course, this is nothing more than turning a hopeless situation into a situation where there is a chance of survival."
Char chuckled.
Those eyes, which had clearly already dimmed, seemed to have given up hope of living and were no longer struggling.
At this moment, there is a faint light flickering.
"But it's not the Noraml End or the True End."
"But, for my teacher's happy ending..."
"There's always something—"
"It must be done."
He just quietly looked at the shadow of the Elf King in his spiritual world, which had already begun to spread out its vast will, which was constantly eroding his spiritual world and wanted to rewrite Char's self-awareness.
Then--
He placed his left hand on his chest, leaned backward, and slowly fell down.
Not just a consciousness in the spiritual ocean.
Along with Char's real body in the plane of the world tree fragments, it also tilted and fell backwards.
What does he want to do?
Such doubts arose in the mind of the old Sun God.
The fragments of the World Tree belong to His world.
What Char did was simply not enough to allow him to escape from this plane of World Tree fragments.
However--
The next moment.
The hot and dazzling silver spear light pierced through the dark curtain among the fragments of the World Tree.
The dark palace was torn apart, and along with it, the secondary dimension formed by the branches of this world's trees was pierced through.
In the wreckage of the collapsed palace.
Xia, along with the Elf King, had entered his spiritual world with all his will and divinity.
Towards the bottom of the palace that was pierced and shattered——
Falling into the boundless and dead silent void.
Only the boy's voice remained.
It echoed throughout the shattered palace and the Lost Isle.
"With me—"
"Let's fall into the abyss together."
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