602 The Path to the Top (1/2)
In the quiet palace, Arthur turned around and walked slowly to his throne, the
Stone Sword in his hand. After so many years of departure, the throne, smelt
of the sweetness of the blood, felt still so familiar to him. He chuckled and
said, ”it feels so good to come back here again!”
Sitting on the throne leisurely, he looked down to the place by Lancelot's side.
”Long time no see, Gawain. You are so weak and timid, as usual.”
Lancelot turned and looked to his side. There was no one there. But he could
hear someone breathing nervously.
”I was just awake from the sleep and you are already here to see me. By this,
you've shown your loyalty to me. I can spare you from the punishment for
doing nothing in those hundreds of years.
”Your majesty…” From the emptiness in the air came a trembling voice,
”I…I've come here to give your majesty some advice…”
”Oh?” Arthur burst into a splutter of laughter. ”The coward who hid himself in
the armor and didn't even dare to speak now has the courage to remonstrate
against his king? It seems a lot of things have changed during these years.
Considering your loyalty, I'll give you a chance to say what you want.”
Supporting his chin with his arm, he said, looking intrigued, ”show me what
you have learnt from those glib-tongued courtiers.”
In the silence, only the gasping of Gawain was heard. Then, Gawain
summoned all the courage he had and said, with a voice like a child's, ”things
could turn better if your majesty could abandon your pursuit of godly
ascension. The people have been waiting for your majesty to come back, and
if you show your mercy to them, the heaven on earth will revive in no time.”
He stumbled over his words, and couldn't say any more.
On the throne, Arthur looked down with both pity and mockery in his eyes.
”That's all?”
”Yes, your majesty.” Gawain said, nervously. That's all I ask of your majesty.
Please take my humble advice. I'll take any punishment your majesty
considers proper on me. I'll try all the experiments and never say no to your
majesty.”
”Or?”
Gawain didn't answer.
In the silence, Arthur heaved a sigh and touched the hilt of the Stone Sword
with one hand. ”You are still so annoying, Gawain, even after you've turned
into ashes.”
Numerous broken pieces of crystal emerged slowly in the air and struggled to
converge together. Finally, an incomplete figure of man showed up, with many
voids and cracks all over the body.
The man had a handsome face that is almost as pretty as a girl. But now that
the face was full of cracks and dust, it was like a discarded mask.
At the corner of the eyes, there was still stains of tears.
”Then…” The figure held the invisible sword in his hand and aimed it at the
throne. ”Please pardon me for betraying your majesty.”
In the silence, Lancelot lowered his head. He stood still, as if there were
nothing happening around him.
Boom!
The sound of clashing of metals was heard in the darkness, and was drowned
by the sound of storm. In the grim light, a cracked crystal ball fell from the
body that had collapsed into pieces with a crisp click.
Then, there was only the moaning of the Stone Sword.
The ashes flew away.
”I thought you have grown stronger than before.” Arthur shook his head
disappointedly. ”You are on the brink of death yourself, how dare you draw
your sword on me? This country has deteriorated in the several hundred of
years. They have lost their manners in front of their king, and even have lost
their awe to their king and their senses…Oh, whatever. Now that I have come
back, I will restore order in this country in no time. And to achieve that, I will
wipe out all those obstacles in my way.”
Saying that, he put the stone sword into the stone in front of the throne. With
both his hands holding on the hilt, he depressed the violent resistance of the
sword against him until the light on the blade went out and the sword became
quiet.
”Let's begin, then.” He raised his eyes, in which the dark sun emerged again.
Staring at the fires and fighting in the city, he sneered. Then, he shouted with
a coarse voice which depressed all other noise in the rioting city and
thundered in everyone's ears, ”the path to the top of the world!”
The earth shook. The dark clouds covering the whole country were torn into
pieces and the dark night sky was revealed, where numerous stars were
twinkling dimly, as if they were to fall onto the earth at any moment.
Endless dark firebirds spurted out of Arthur's body and surged into the sky like
dark flood. Then, the firebirds turned into the shape of hands and rushed to
the shadows of the stars. Pulled by the firebirds, the light of the stars
converged and then was devoured. The pull of the music theories twisted
reality and time, a huge booming noise thundered between the sky and the
sea.
The path to godly ascension was re-opened!
At that moment, everyone saw it. Along with the collapse of the dark firebirds,
a huge crack was cut open at the center of the sky, through which glaring light
poured in. The violent sun, born out of the endless music theories, cracked
open the shell of the firebirds and hang in the sky, spraying out piercing light
that was like fire.
With the stone sword as the channel, Arthur sucked the power of Leviathan
and began to generate the catastrophe like the sun.
In the cheers, Arthur closed his eyes and laughed.
Suddenly, his laugh stopped.
Something was wrong. The operation of the path of godly ascension was
stopped by something.
”What is this?” Shocked, he lowered his head and looked at the ocean which
is full of glaring light. There should be nothing in that place. Yet the smooth
sea surface was covered with light, by which the reflection of Avalon was
shown.
That was the Country in the Shadow which had been sleeping in the
darkness!
The insulation between the physical world and the aether world was broken.
Therefore, the ruined city asleep in the unreal image was reflected in the sea.
In the reflection, there was a white-haired young man looked at the sun over