Chapter 695 - Darkness Does Not Rule, I Rule Darkness (1/2)
Chapter 695: Darkness Does Not Rule, I Rule Darkness
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Boom!
Link felt great power burst within him. It swept through him like a wild flood, quickly healing his injuries. The wound on his heart started mending at a speed visible to the naked eye.
At the same time, a hymn-like voice rang out in his mind.
Darkness, our lord, is boundless. With shadows as his flag, murder as his sword, he destroys the weak and rules the Void!
This sound was as ancient and magnificent as before. It was as if millions of people were chanting at once. Under this prayer, Link saw the sky darken. The golden sunlight turned dark yellow, then red and dark red, until it finally extinguished.
After the sun extinguished, countless stars appeared in the sky. But it didn’t end. The stars faded and disappeared too. Finally, the entire world was pitch black, devoid of any light. Only the hymn from before remained. As time passed, the voice grew stronger and stronger. It felt like the hymn was getting closer to Link.
He felt instinctively that something was about to happen. Pushing down his shock, he waited patiently.
After who knew how long, when the hymn was booming around him, the pure darkness before his eyes suddenly formed an image.
Thy sky had already been dark before. But after this black image appeared, the sky seemed to have a shred of light in comparison.
Link felt that there was nothing blacker than this in the world. It devoured all light, almost devouring even Link’s mind and soul. Thankfully, Link’s soul was now strong enough. He felt the lure, but he could still anchor himself down. He wouldn’t get sucked in.
Then the figure spoke. “Mortal, I shall crown you!”
Link wasn’t sure what was happening. He didn’t get flustered by that sentence either. He remembered Morpheus’ words: the Shadow Divine Fragment wasn’t a blessing. It was a curse—a curse of misfortune.
He was still guarded against the Divine Fragment.
“Who are you? Tell me your background!”
“Ha, do you have any choice now?” the black shadow asked in reply. At the same time, a few shreds of light shone from behind him, illuminating the area around Link.
In that area, Link saw himself. He was still half-kneeling on the ground, supported by his sword. But he was surrounded by thick darkness. The space around it was highly distorted. Because of the chaos, rapid air currents kept appearing. It looked like a web of dense silver-black lightning.
Not too far from Link, Saroviny had sat up on the ground. She was badly hurt and couldn’t move. At the moment, she was screaming at Frost Knight Therodeau who had hidden away. He was now thousands of feet away and was flying towards Link.
With his speed, he could cross that distance in less than a second.
Under these circumstances, Link would get killed by Therodeau if he didn’t agree. He had no choice.
Link was very practical; he quickly calculated the costs and benefits. He would either get killed or choose this mysterious road. The former was a dead end. The latter had risks but also a sliver of hope.
It was obvious.
“I accept,” Link agreed.
As soon as he spoke, the black shadow laughed heartily. Then it quickly transformed, solidifying into a circular thing. Looking closely, Link saw a crown.
It floated towards Link’s head. That moment, the game system actually reacted and showed the specific stats of this crown.
Crown of Eternal Night
Level-19 (Can be upgraded to Level-29)
Effect 1: Boundless Darkness. The wearer’s max power will be increased by 200%, magic resistance increased by 80%, and physical resistance increased by 30%.
Effect 2: Dark Thoughts. The wearer’s mind will speed up, and their spiritual energy will increase. They can easily sink the enemy into panic and chaos.
Effect 3: Eternal Night Divine Authority. With the ancient dark contract as a witness, the wearer can easily control all dark creatures below their level.
Effect 4: Ultimate Incarnation of Darkness. After activating the power contained in the crown, the wearer will transform into the sovereign of Eternal Night for a short period (less than five seconds). In this state, the user will be immune to any spell and spirit attacks. Their power recovery rate will be increased by 300% and physical defense by 90%. This effect can be used once per day.
Side effect: Dark power will flow through the body, corroding the user’s mind. Finally, the user will become the representative of the Sea of Void’s origin of darkness and be ruled by darkness.
(Note: Ash to ash, dust to dust. All originate from darkness and will return to darkness.)
Seeing the dark attributes, Link sighed inwardly. He knew this was the Crown of Eternal Night’s use, but he still had no other choice.
Bowing his head, the crown—seemingly made of black glass and with an ancient yet majestic style—lowered slowly on Link’s head. In that instant, he felt something icy and cool settle in his soul.
This power’s invasion was unstoppable. After it entered his soul, Link instantly felt his thoughts turn indifferent. Everything that he’d treasured and loved seemed unimportant now. He could sacrifice them at any time.
This was the cost of choosing darkness.
Strangely enough, Link didn’t feel fear. His soul seemed to have split into two now. One of the souls became the bystander. He floated in the air, watching calmly as darkness invaded his soul. He could even see the process clearly.
The watching soul was the Link from before. Everything he cared for was preserved well. They weren’t affected at all.
The situation was strange, but it happened naturally. Link didn’t know how he did it either.