395 Wake from the Dream (1/2)
The moment Heaven's Door opened, Paganini no longer had time to care about anyone else. He used all his power against the Sword of Judgement, including the Garment of Original Sin. As a carrier of the dark side of his personality, the Garment was a part of Paganini. It carried his evil thoughts and greed and was no different from an internal organ or a backup body.
The 'infinite movement' ritual instantly began. The Witches' Dance strengthened thousand-fold, pushing it to an unprecedented peak.
The Witches' Dance and the Sword of Judgement clashed. It was an explosion of destruction.
At the same time, Ye Qingxuan charged toward the Sword in the Stone. Right before the flood swallowed him, he touched the hilt. It was enough. The sub-originator, riddled with holes, was activated once again. Like a rabid horse frothing at its mouth while pulling a broken carriage, the sub-originator operated with self-destructive strength. It connected with the Sword and reactivated the twelve Chapters of Golden Victory.
The territory of Heaven on Earth was rebuilt. It did not have time to become as radiant as before. The narrow territory was more like a crude shelter. Then the world began shaking and light swallowed everything.
Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and retracted all perceptions. He grasped the Sword and hugged Elsa, using all his might to maintain Heaven on Earth. In an instant, cracks appeared on the sub-originator that used his veins and heart. Boiling blood mixed with the moon's glow, spewing from his pores, dyeing the shelter red.
A jagged crack appeared on Heaven on Earth but it managed to recover.
For the first time, Ye Qingxuan forgot everything. He put everything into the Abstinence music theory, maintaining this small territory without caring about anything else. This was a thousand times harder than at Naica. Only a second was enough to practically destroy him.
In a daze, he had lost all consciousness but his body kept urging the Sword on, mending Heaven on Earth again and again.
After who knew how long, the destructive aftershocks finally faded. He woke from his daze but everything was black. He heard vague laughter. It dragged him from his deep sleep. Power from somewhere caused him to grasp the sword hilt and stab toward the laughter.
Squelch! Pierced through. All he saw was Paganini's shocked face.
Ye Qingxuan laughed even if he was on his last breath.
”You—how can you…” Paganini muttered in shock, ”…still alive?” A sharp cracking sound was heard from his body. Like a burnt piece of porcelain, cracks snaked from where the blade was. The beastly theory within the twelve Chapters of Golden Victory acted like poison. Like the straw that broke the camel's back, it pushed Paganini's well-thought-out 'body prototype' toward destruction.
He had abandoned his human body and suffered in the abyss, gathered music theories, and worked for centuries to create this 'perfect shell.' Even as a prototype, it had withstood the attack of Heaven's Door. But now it was destroyed so easily by a sword?
Again? He was destroyed by the same person again?!
His face twitching, he destroyed the last bit of grace and calm. All that remained was psychotic fierceness. The fury from long ago took over once again—even though his body was close to collapsing.
”Ye Qingxuan!”
Slapped by a broken hand, Ye Qingxuan's body tumbled backward like an empty bag. Paganini gritted his teeth. Without caring that his body was deteriorating, he rushed forward and stomped on Ye Qingxuan's face. His eyes were cruel.
”You think I'll die like that? Don't worry. It's okay if this body dies. I can spend some time to make another one!”
Spend some time? It sounded simple but everyone knew that Paganini must pay for it. His face grew more menacing.
”Thanks to you, I'm not strong enough to take you into the abyss anymore. Are you relieved? But don't get too happy.”
As soon as he finished, Ye Qingxuan screamed. The damaged Garment had transformed into a black sword and stabbed Ye Qingxuan's shoulder. Blood splattered onto Paganini's white face, making the broken face even uglier.
”I have a way to solve this problem. If I can't take your entire body back, I can just take your head. Isn't that right?”
Paganini sneered. Gripping the sword, he aimed at Ye Qingxuan's neck as if finding the right place to start. Then Ye Qingxuan lifted his heavy eyes and looked at Paganini's ferocious face.
Paganini stiffened. In the daze, he saw dim moonlight flash past those eyes. In the moonlight, he saw a vague side profile. The silhouette was so familiar and yet transient like a hallucination. ”Ye Lanzhou? It's you…”
The figure in the moonlight turned around and looked at Paganini, eyes filled with pity and sympathy as if looking at a wild dog.
Sympathy? Pity? Paganini raged. Why the sympathy? Why the pity?!
”You're dead! You're rotting in a coffin!” he roared at the youth's darkening eyes. ”Why do you pity me? Your tricks can't fool me!”
No one replied. Perhaps he had seen a hallucination but he refused to believe it.
”Ye Lanzhou, come out!” he yelled to all directions. ”I know you're here! You arranged all of this, right? You always have a hidden card! Get out! Come kill me! Just like how you played me before! Don't you always dream of proving your innocence? You couldn't forget your wife even in death! Come out, come out and kill me! Then you can go beg for forgiveness from the Sacred City like a dog!”
Still, no one replied.
Ye Lanzhou was long dead. Or did he not want to take Paganini's life?
Paganini stared blankly at the still and broken world. In the sky, the iron whales were slowly closing in. Black dots parachuted from them and he could hear faint whistles in the distance. The Knights Templar was approaching. He had no time to hesitate.
Lowering his head, he looked at Ye Qingxuan's eyes again. He finally realized that there was no moonlight in those empty eyes. He only saw his reflection. His face, crazed like a rabid dog, was disgusting.
The insignificant reflection reminded him of his laughable state. He had abandoned his status as a saint for his desire of music theory. Falling into the abyss, he had thought he was high and mighty but without realizing, he had become so laughable.
You've already lost, a mocking voice said in his heart. Paganini, why are you still lying to yourself? You have many excuses to explain everything but you've completely lost this. You were defeated by a mere musician. You don't have any dignity left.
Gaping at Ye Qingxuan's face, Paganini seemed to be seeing him but also someone extremely similar. Finally, he buried his face and howled with laughter, laughing at himself. ”In the end, you still won,” he murmured.
Throwing down his sword, the craze faded from his face until all that remained was a terrifying serenity. He lifted Ye Qingxuan's neck, looking at the pale face. Ye Qingxuan looked back with difficulty.
”You win, Ye Qingxuan,” Paganini stated without any reservation. His voice was dark and cold, devoid of any wildness. ”I admit, you toyed with me like a cat playing with a mouse. As a failure that had fallen into the abyss, I've never felt such humiliation. This battle was filled with emotions, hard work, and victory.
”Justice won over evil; love and peace defeated greed and fighting. There are no flaws. It can practically be written into history books. What happened today deserves to be written about in your life…” He paused. His eyes grew cruel as if watching a child play with fire in the distance. ”But sadly, you're dreaming.”
Looking down at Elsa lying in the ruins, his voice hardened. ”What do you think you're doing? All your sacrifices since the beginning were meaningless? You're doing it for yourself, thinking you're right. Even if you defeated me, even if you did everything to save her…do you think she'll have a future and be happy? Or, do you think the world will be as you wish?”
In that moment, Ye Qingxuan understood what he meant and was overcome with fear.
”Stop living in dreams, Ye Qingxuan.” He tossed the youth to the ground and looked at his face of fear. He laughed. His smile was full of icy animosity as if watching a bubble about to be popped. ”Time to wake up.”
Under the metallic clangs from the distance, his body crumbled bit by bit. A narrow gap leading to the abyss opened in his broken body. It swallowed him and he sank into the abyss.
Ye Qingxuan fell to the ground. He was still trembling from the animosity from those words. Reinforcement was here so why was he scared? Blood flowed from his shoulder wound, taking away his body heat. Maybe it was because the fire was extinguished so now his body slowly froze to the bones. Even his lungs and heart were shaking from the sudden cold. He was terrified like a kid who was about to be thrown into the icy wilderness.
The sound of metal boots approached. The piercing sound suddenly woke him from his dream. Using all of his strength, he used his hands and crawled forward. Bit by bit, he painted the ground red with blood.
”Elsa…”
The cold statues stared at him, enjoying his pathetic state. Their broken mouths seemed to be smiling. Pale fingers pressed onto those faces, leaving behind marks of bloody pain. Ye Qingxuan crawled past them bit by bit.
”Elsa…”
He stared at the sleeping girl in the distance. As if waking up from a long dream, the girl finally startled awake. She opened her eyes, not knowing where she was or who she was. She stared blankly at Ye Qingxuan, this unfamiliar youth. She did not understand why he was in such pain and did not understand…why his gaze was so sad.
”Run, Elsa!” Ye Qingxuan stared at her eyes. His broken vocal chords emitted a distorted voice, ”Run! They're here to...”
The heavy steps were closer and they could hear swords being unsheathed. Ye Qingxuan lowered his head, hiding his weak tears. ”They're here to…kill you!”
”Ye Qingxuan?” Steel boots stopped before him. The priest clad in a red cloak looked down. His face was somber as metal.
They all had a blood-red holy emblem before their chests. Their arm plates were carved with the Discipline Hammer—the emblem of Witch Hammer, the Church Ministry of Information's secret institution.
These priests were known as sanctors. They were the elites left behind when the Inquisition disbanded. They were responsible for checking the thoughts of every priest, ensuring that their religious beliefs were pure and true, untainted by the temptations of the abyss. When necessary, they would burn the perpetrators at the stake.
They existed secretly even in Knights Templar so the knights could implement the Sacred City's orders at critical points without outside interference.
Now, the sanctor bent down, locking a pair of black handcuffs around Ye Qingxuan's wrists. ”You were reported to be suspected of betraying your brethren during the trial and colluding with the demons. You will now be arrested for further investigation.”
Around him, the priests moved their blood-red cloaks, revealing their hands wrapped around sword hilts. The message was chilling: ”If you dare protest, you will be killed immediately.”
Ye Qingxuan stared blankly at his handcuffs but his eyes went past them and the crowd to where Elsa was.
The priests quietly waiting for a command finally received a reply and nodded.
”Understood.”
Thus, they no longer hesitated. They pulled out their red-hot blades and aimed at the blank girl.
”In the name of the Sacred City established by the nations,” the sanctor announced the belated judgement, ”purify this demon!”
Something shattered. Then there was a cry of pain and the youth's roar of anger like a lion. The moment the handcuffs clicked, Ye Qingxuan looked up, his eyes burning with furious moonlight. The dim moon lit up again in his chest, as blinding as the sun. The sub-originator that had inherited Avalon's enchantment's core music theory had exploded!
Blood boiled and moonlight burned in his body! This was the final desperate melody from the School of Stone Heart. He reversed the sub-originator and fully activated the aether within him. He could instantaneously break through all past restraints and receive unprecedented power.
And the cost…f*ck the costs! He didn't care if his sub-originator shattered, if his heart disappeared, or if he lost his life…It did not matter even if he burned himself to nothing!
Wild moonlight filled his empty body. Blood poured from his pores, causing his body to swell and face to bruise. He was ugly like a monster crawled out from Hell. The aether inside his body turned his bones to iron and his flesh to stone. He was transformed into something inhuman—a furious and burning piece of metal about to explode!
”Get—” He grasped the handcuffs. Metallic veins bulged on his arms, ”—the f*ck out!”
Boom! The black handcuffs instantly distorted and warped. Broken shards of metal flew from his hands, turning silver-white under the moonlight. They were full of murderous intent as they broke through the air.
It was the Sword!
The red-hot blade instantly warped. Countless shields and armor emerged on the priest but then they all shattered and he flew back.
Ye Qingxuan climbed up from the ground and pounced onto the priest before him, grasping the sword hilt. The priest looked at his horrible face in shock. Ye Qingxuan grinned like a demon. Then he pulled the sword out and swung!
The red-clothed sanctor blocked reflexively but his armor twisted and shattered. He was thrown out and rolled on the ground, unable to get up.
At the same time, the other priests all attacked. The members of the Witch Hammer were chosen from the best of the Knights Templar and musicians. Not only were they skilled swordsmen, they also needed to be at the official musician level. Otherwise, they would be tainted by the abyss while fighting.
Now, the dozens of priests unsheathed their swords and a familiar melody rang out. First came the majestic trumpet. Silver-white cones shot from their waists. Zipping past the air, they linked into a chain to wrap around him.
It was Night on Bald Mountain! However, they did not get the fire and judgement that they expected. The chains wrapped around Ye Qingxuan but did not harm him. Not a bit of his power came from the abyss!
The priests froze. Within the cage, Ye Qingxuan roared! Snatching a sword from a priest, he hacked at the bars. Shards flew under the tragic sounds. Within the countless chains, Ye Qingxuan looked up, welcoming the priests' swords with red eyes.
He took one step and another. Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! The youth was like a humanoid monster. He broke the chains, tore apart the shackles, and swung his sword down at every obstacle without hesitation.
”F*ck off!” His swordsmanship was extremely rough. He was practically waving the sword around like a stick. Anyone who was trained could block his blows with their eyes closed. But the sword was shrouded in aggressive electric light. Everything in its path burned. It was Indrah's Eye!