RUMBLE!
"What the hell is happening now?"
"God damn it, too many things are happening."
Sam had not expected any of this, not even a little.
The mont he placed the [Eye of Void] on the pedestal and the enormous chain began to unlock itself, the entire [Upper Realm] responded as if he had struck the world’s core.
Everything around him trembled violently.
The ground shook so powerfully that dust and fragnts of stone rolled across the floor beneath his feet.
Even the air shook, vibrating in heavy waves that made his clothing rustle.
’Are these chains linked to the [Upper Realm] itself?’ Sam took a step back, shocked by the intensity of the tremors. ’Damn...’
The chain kept unlocking itself, the tal sliding out of the ground with a grinding roar.
Piece after piece erged from the depths beneath the soil until the entire length of the massive chain was freed.
Once released, it slithered upward like a living creature and wrapped itself around the wheel with the eye symbol carved into its surface.
The chanism locked into place with a deep tallic clang.
[Three more to go.]
Sam exhaled slowly and marched toward the next pedestal.
The distance between each pedestal was enormous due to the size of the gate, the chains, and the stone wheels.
Every step he took traveled across enough space to fit a small building.
The sheer scale of the architecture made him feel tiny, but still he continued forward without slowing even once.
But as he approached the next pedestal, a panel appeared before him.
A crimson-colored panel.
[Don’t do this, kid.]
[There really is nothing to gain if you go any further.]
The text glowed with the sa sinister crimson color he had seen previously.
It was the sa signature color that appeared every ti the [King] spoke.
So the [King] was watching.
And he was speaking directly to Sam again.
"I’m not falling for that," Sam muttered and stepped up to the second pedestal.
Fwish! Click!
He placed the [Scale of Judgnt] on the pedestal.
Instantly, the chain connected to it began to loosen and unlock just like the first one.
The realm shook again, even harder this ti.
Dust fell from the ceiling of the sky itself, drifting like gray snow.
The chain eventually pulled itself out of the earth completely and curled around the second wheel of the gate bearing the scale symbol.
[There is no reason to keep going but to cause unnecessary death and fighting.]
Sam stared at the ssage with a blank expression.
"Could have stopped when you sent the [Forsaken Lords] and [Monarchs] to kill ," Sam replied. "No point."
He did not wait for a response. He walked straight to the third pedestal.
Fwish! Click!
He placed the [Tendril of Darkness] on it.
The third chain began to rise and uncoil, unlocking itself with another violent quake that shook the entire realm.
The sound echoed like thunder as the chain moved upward.
Sam did not stop. He did not hesitate.
He simply marched toward the final pedestal.
And then—
[We all know how this is going to end.]
"Either you or die," Sam said. "Might as well end this quickly, then, don’t you think?"
Another panel appeared.
[There is no need to follow so prophecy from so long ago, we can all just do our own thing.]
"As I said, you seed extrely eager to kill before. Why the change of heart?"
Sam narrowed his eyes slightly.
The [King] had always been the image of supremacy.
He was the being said to rule over all realms, the one at the absolute pinnacle of existence.
Yet now, Sam felt sothing faint in his tone.
Sothing he never expected.
He sensed hesitation, stress, perhaps even... fear?
[The final confrontation is always stressful =)]
Sam clenched his jaw.
He had always been nervous to confront the [King].
The [King] had always been confident, always sure of his ability to win.
But now he was almost... wavering.
[Proceed.]
Sam took another step forward.
[Don’t do this, kid.]
[I’ll stay in my realm, while you can stay in yours.]
[There is no need—]
"Shut up," Sam said sharply. "It’s either you or ."
He pushed aside the [King]’s words and continued walking.
After everything that had happened, after all the attacks, after all the ambushes, after all the attempts to kill him long before he ever knew the [King] existed, there was no room left for negotiation.
If the [King] had truly not cared about the prophecy, then why had he tried so aggressively to kill Sam before the two of them could ever et?
Why did he try so hard to eliminate Sam before even considering a conversation?
The answer was simple.
The [King] was lying. He always had been.
And the worst part was that if the [King] had simply done nothing in the beginning, if he had simply remained silent, Sam would have never known about him at all.
Sam would have lived his life normally.
He would have beco strong, probably beco the strongest once more, but he would not have been forced down this bloody path.
He would not have been pushed to this point where everything depended on one final confrontation.
But here he was.
He looked down at his hands, the sa hands he had used to kill countless monsteers and beings.
[This is the only path for us, can’t back away.]
Sam nodded quietly and arrived at the final pedestal.
[Last chance, kid.]
Sam’s expression darkened as the crimson panel appeared again.
[Once you open this gate, there is no going back.]
[I do not wish for our deaths anymore, but if you proceed any further... one of us will have to go.]
[And it will most likely be you.]
[Stay back in the "Upper" and "Lower" realm with your "harem" or whatever, and enjoy your life.]
[To proceed forward is simply suicide.]
Sam inhaled slowly.
"You’re the one that killed them all," Sam said. "All the other primordials, weren’t you?"
A pause. Then a panel appeared.
[Indeed, they needed to go, but I know you are different.]
Sam tilted his head.
"Did you tell them the sa thing?" His eyes burned. "You didn’t feel anything when you killed them."
Another pause. Then another ssage.
[And you didn’t feel anything when YOU killed those close to .]
"They attacked first."
[Much like the Primordials attacked first as well.]
Sam’s eyes narrowed until they were almost slits.
There was still too much he did not know. Too much that was hidden.
Too many truths twisted by soone else’s perspective.
He stood in front of the final pedestal with the [Heaven and Hell Necklace] in his hands.
For a mont, true hesitation crept into his mind.
The weight of everything pressed onto his shoulders.
Was the risk worth it? Was fighting the [King] and the [Colossals] worth the danger?
What if the [King] was telling the truth? What if none of them actually needed to die?
A prophecy did not always need to be followed.
Maybe he could step back now.
Maybe he could go ho, act as if nothing had happened, and live peacefully.
Just maybe.
[Proceed.]
But even as Sam stood there questioning everything, a cold feeling wrapped around his soul.
A heavy, undeniable feeling. The [King] was lying.
He knew it. He felt it. He could not trust him.
Sam extended his hand holding the necklace toward the final pedestal.
[So be it.]
[None of them actually follow what I say, and they all end up dying.]
[Bla yourself, not .]
And so—
Click! Fwish!
Sam placed the final artifact onto the pedestal.
The fourth and last chain began to move, shaking violently as it ripped itself free.
[Let us et at the end of it all, then.]
The final panel vanished. All the ssages disappeared.
Sam stood alone.
[You have the feeling that this was the right choice.]
Sam sighed and stared at the fading panel.
Regardless of everything, he knew what he had to do.
Even if it was the wrong choice. He still needed to keep going.
Reviews
All reviews (0)