Chapter 1070 Fragments of Dreams and Illusions
"……hope?"
Aiwass murmured.
The power of the sacred number eleven... could it be related to this?
Hope is the power of possibility, the power to transcend perfection, transcend the end, transcend fate and conclusion.
The Mad King's Skull in the Empty Box said so.
That is indeed the power of the Holy Eleven—
"I see. A fusion of beauty and dusk..."
Combining with what the Lord of Scales and Feathers had said before, Aiwass finally understood.
The ritual of beauty and transcendence just reached the number of nothingness, so the power of nothingness trapped it inside - and the Swan King had not been swallowed by the power of nothingness for such a long time, precisely because it happened to achieve eternity through this solidified state of dying but not yet dead, and thus through the fusion of beauty and dusk, reached the realm of hope in this empty box!
It was precisely through the suppression of the Eleven Saints that the power of nothingness was never able to completely devour his will!
hope……
That is the force that turns the future toward other possibilities.
The power to break fate.
The tenth path that was supposed to be born should be "hope", because the Lord of Scales and Feathers said... Sizhu and Aiwass arrived in this world through the tenth path. But nothingness obviously cannot do this.
Therefore, they most likely entered this world through the Path of Hope!
That's why Huan Tiansi said those words -
He comes not from the east, nor from the west. He does not come from any house that you know of.
My holy number is 11, the number of those who belong to us. I am 9 to the foolish, 8 to the righteous, and 1 among 8.
Perhaps it was originally the zeroth path. It was the desire to split itself that gave rise to the first through the ninth paths. Because it gave birth to "possibility."
"Sure enough, the reason I had that thought just now was because of your influence..."
Aiwass stared at the Swan King and said with great certainty, "Aleister hasn't returned yet. It must be because your power has affected her!"
It was because of an "unexplainable force" that he suddenly said those presumptuous words.
And now that the words have been spoken, I will speak the truth as soon as possible.
It is also because of this that Aiwass has the opportunity to understand his true heart at this moment.
——That was the transmission of the power of "hope." The Swan King realized that the day of liberation had arrived, and finally cast off the disguise that had always controlled him.
If she were here, I'd probably have to fight her.
[After all, you just want to delay time so that you can have a chance to meet me face to face]
The corners of the Swan King's mouth rose slightly, and his handsome head actually had a bit of the breath of a living person.
The corpse-like smell faded, and his eyelids twitched a few times, like the noise made by a person about to wake up.
His words echoed loudly in the empty basement:
[But there is no need for us to fight, the light and fire will pass on by themselves]
We both belong to the Law of the Eleven—even if your courage was initially driven by me, are the feelings you feel right now false?
"Of course... that's not the case."
Aiwass closed his eyes slightly. "Even though the initial fire was ignited by others, the fire in my heart... undoubtedly comes from the firewood within me."
He was fully aware of the Swan King's friendly attitude, as well as this... melancholy and calmness that seemed like a last will and testament.
Ludwig II, a uniquely skilled enigma of the Path of Beauty, now so openly stated his purpose. Perhaps it was because he was running out of time.
When he woke up from the empty box, the eternally solidified "Wall of Dusk" was destroyed. The miraculous hope that was accidentally sealed would also collapse.
This also means that he no longer has the ability to continue fighting against the power of nothingness.
This was why he continued to sleep even though he could have woken up long ago. Once he broke that solidification, he would not be able to maintain his independent will for much longer.
"The time has come when the flowers tremble on the branches,
“Each flower is like an incense burner emitting fragrance;
“Sounds and scents drifted on the evening breeze;
"A melancholic waltz, a lazy vertigo..."
Suddenly, Ludwig II opened his mouth.
It was not the hum of God that echoed from the void.
But it is the words of humans uttered in a weak voice, a melancholy poem.
It felt like a long wait.
Like a whisper in a dream.
He sighed, two lines of blood and tears slowly flowed from his pupils, and his eyes slowly opened:
“Each flower is like an incense burner emitting fragrance;
"The violin sobs faintly like a wounded heart;
"Melancholic waltz, languid vertigo!
"The sky is sad and beautiful, like a great altar."
When the Mad King's Skull fully woke up, everything around it was shaking violently.
The world turned upside down—the earth melted into air, the sky turned to stone, fire grew cold, and water burned without a trace. The entire Earl's Palace vanished into nothingness... as if it were only a dream. Or as if a dream in which the Earl's Palace did not exist had replaced reality.
In the distance, a blood-red comet streaked across the sky, and the torn atmosphere emitted a shrill hiss.
That was Aleister who had woken up and was rushing towards this side.
But the Mad King's Skull still did not resist or attack.
Everything around him turned to chaos as he yearned for it. The sky turned upside down, the sun and moon turned upside down. Not only the material world... even the entire dream world was trembling.
Pitch-black lines gradually began to spread across his face. They looked like oozing blood vessels, or like some kind of curse.
And he remained where he was, murmuring a melancholy poem softly:
"The violin sobs faintly like a wounded heart;
"A tender heart hates the wide, dark death!
“The sky is sad and beautiful, like a great altar.
"The sun sinks in its own blood."
"——Aiwass!"
In the distance, Aleister was coming from a distance.
In her hand she held a massive halberd formed from hardened blood, its tip swirling in a crimson storm.
Her voice shook the atmosphere, transforming into visible waves that shattered the earth—
Aleister's voice rang out from Aiwass's heart and ears at the same time: "Stay away from him!"
At this distance...she only needs to wait for Aiwas to step back, and she can instantly penetrate the box of nothingness!
“…No need.”
Aiwass shook his head, but rejected Aleister.
Not only did he not retreat, but he stood in front of the Mad King.
He already understood...what Ludwig II was going to do.
If Ludwig II's soul had been contaminated by the Box of Nothingness, he would not be able to enter the Dream World and become a god. Because in that case, the Whisper of the Void might have entered the Dream World along with his soul.
In other words, he must die here.
He chose to be a human being, reciting poetry and passing away like a falling flower...
"A gentle heart hates the wide, dark death!"
His voice got much louder, becoming hoarse as a result.
The second and fourth lines of each stanza are repeated in the first and third lines of the next stanza, echoing over and over again like a repetition of music.
"It holds all traces of the glorious past!"
His poems are like blessings and prophecies.
Without any attack, cracks appeared all over Ludwig II's head.
It was like glass suddenly shattering in the summer.
His voice was hoarse and stuck: "The sun is sinking in its own blood..."
Looking at Aiwass, Ludwig II opened his mouth with all his strength.
Finally, he said the last sentence:
“Thinking of you…it’s like seeing the Blessed Sacrament glow.”
It was a trembling of despair and a weeping of melancholy.
But at the same time, it is a peaceful and harmonious relief.
Hope, as brilliant as the throne of God, always illuminates his heart. This is what allows him to endure the infection and erosion of the empty box... Under this dusk sky, he can also feel the beauty and sorrow of life.
But now, there is no need to persist anymore.
The next moment, it shattered and disappeared along with the empty box under its "neck".
It’s as if I have never been in this world.
——Ludwig II used his power to erase the possibility of his own existence in the material world.
Then, he and the empty box containing the power of nothingness disappeared together.
“…”
Watching all this, Aiwass was speechless for a moment.
He felt a faint sadness for Ludwig II... but at the same time, a sense of peace.
Fateful tranquility——
The fire of the past has been passed to him.
Will it be his turn to do something like this someday?
Suddenly, in front of Aiwass, the air rippled like water waves, and a rune emerged from it.
It distorts reality, constantly changes, and eventually becomes a book and stabilizes.
"This is……?"
Aiwass was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously reached out and took the book.
It wasn't the secret book he'd imagined, but an old fairy tale book titled "The Swan Knight."
Strong wind and light power surged into his body the moment he touched the book.
The system panel suddenly appeared in front of Aiwas:
[Tiansi Fragments - Fragments of Dreams and Illusions]
[——The law of dreams and fantasies, the remnant of the power of the Empty Box. Used in the right way, there is a chance to become a Dream God or a Fantasy God.]
Update completed! Back to 6,000 words!
My sleep and rest schedule has completely collapsed again. I'm going to have a midnight snack and go to bed...
(End of this chapter)
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