Chapter 152: My Lord (1/2)

Arthur opened his eyes after an unknown amount of time. It took him more than a moment to realize he was back to reality. As he looked around, it took him another moment to understand what was going on.

The chamber was the same, but not the same too. The metal that made up the walls, as if shying away, bent forward. The runes were shining brighter than ever despite the emptiness of the chamber of mana.

He felt a chill, suddenly aware that his clothes have disappeared in his breakthrough. He was naked, sitting in the same position he had assumed before he started practicing his art.

”…What the hell is going on?” Arthur's head tilted in confusion. He pulled a set of sportswear before throwing it over his body.

As he dressed, he noticed another thing. The clarity of his mind and responsivity of his body. As if he was drowning all this time and only now that he managed to surface, his body felt light and weightless. And full of power.

He felt invincible. He had an itch to run amok, but he knew better. He looked at the metals that had protruded from the walls and bent forward with a face of confusion before he opened the chamber's door to leave.

Another bizarre sight. He looked around the training hall and found that the ground had deep marks running along with it. He even thought a giant monster used its talons to attack the training hall, but he knew that was impossible.

Luckily, the runes were still shining and gears shifted to fix the damage done. As his eyes looked around, he found Li in an instant.

It was a wonder what had happened as he broke through, but Li's robes were ragged. Arthur walked over hurriedly in concern but he stopped when Li flinched in response to his appearance.

”…What happened?” Arthur asked in another fit of confusion.

'Did my breakthrough do this?' His cleared mind failed to understand how this would happen. 'That's right, I saw Jizo…' He suddenly remembered how Jizo stopped him from going beyond the wall.

The longing to return suddenly overtook him as a heavy feeling overtook his heart. Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted as everything around him started trembling. Li was the same. Arthur broke free from his trance as he felt his head aching. There was something far and distant that he hadn't felt before, but he now did. It was something he had lost but wasn't aware that he did.

Arthur shook his head as he looked at Li more carefully. The mask Li wore was slightly cracked and a black miasma was seeping through. When the world trembled earlier, the mask cracked again as a piece of it fell to the ground.

For the shortest moment, Arthur saw the skin that lied underneath. An unblemished and clear white skin as if illuminated by the moonlight. However, the moment it came in contact with the air, it started rotting visibly as Li grunted and fell to the ground. Li tried to close the hole that has appeared in the mask.

Another grunt took place and Arthur realized how serious it was. He walked as he held the piece from Li's mask and handed it over. Li snatched it and placed it in its place. As Li poured mana into the mask, it started to fuse again into one piece.

The process lasted for a while before the mask was whole again. There was only silence in the hall interrupted by Li's laborious breathing.

Arthur watched as Li stood up, looked at him from beyond the mask, and noticed how Li's hands were trembling under the ragged robes.

Before Arthur could react, Li's body lowered and fell on one knee. He looked blankly as the masked man held out an arm in front of their chest. Then, the most beautiful voice Arthur had heard came out.

”Allow me to serve you,”

It was the first time Arthur had heard this person speak. It was a deep and magnetic voice, radiating coldness as it traveled toward Arthur.

”What are you talking about, Li?” Arthur looked at him calmly. ”There's no reason for you to serve me.”

Li shook his head in response, his arm faintly trembling in front of him.

”It is fate that I witnessed your mightiness.” The way Li spoke was ancient. ”Please, allow me to serve you.”

”No,” Arthur responded after a minute. ”I don't know what you saw, but that's not a reason for you to serve me.” Arthur felt uncomfortable as he heard the worship in Li's tone. ”Please stand up.”

Li nodded and stood up. It seems he was back to normal, but Arthur wanted to confirm what happened.