38. The Holy Scripture
The massive beast and the black sword of death plummeted from the sky, crashing into the shattered arena.
Maliketh, his pupils drooping, gazed at the silver tree that covered the sky. It had lost, but this was its final defeat. The premonition of death had already dawned, but Maliketh felt no fear. Instead, he felt a heavy sense of relief.
Yes... It should have died long ago. What sustained it in this world was only a lingering obsession.
Looking at the silver-glowing Erdtree, Maliketh felt an unprecedented sense of peace.
It felt like the time when it still stood by the side of the Queen Marika the Eternal.
The faint, almost inaudible sound of footsteps rustled across the gravel, reaching its fading hearing. It knew who was coming, but now, its limbs were like rotten wood, and even the strength to lift a single claw was gone.
Xiling stared at Maliketh as his body slowly began to dissipate.
"Anything else you want to say?" Xiling asked, his voice as calm as an everyday greeting, yet remarkably clear amid the dead silence of the ruins.
Silence stretched for a moment amid the dust. Maliketh's dazed pupils seemed to gather a faint light with great difficulty. A hoarse, cracked voice, like the rubbing of gravel, uttered intermittently from its crumbling mouth: "Queen Eternal... Where... is she..."
"I didn't kill her. But whether she is still the 'Marika' you remember... I don't know."
Maliketh's massive form fell silent once again. Only the subtle rustling of its disintegrating form signaled the approach of its end. After a long moment, the hoarse voice struggled to rise again, this time with a strange calmness:
"Silver...Rule..."
"...makes me...feel...reassured..."
Its distracted gaze seemed to pierce Xiling, casting its gaze towards a distant, bright, and hopeful future: "Silver...King...ah..."
"Your...conquest...is not...over..."
"...but...I have...seen...the dawn..."
Xiling nodded slightly. "Well, leave it to me."
After Xiling watched Maliketh leave those words, its massive body, like a burnt ember, quietly crumbled and dissipated in the invisible wind, transforming into a cloud of ash, completely vanishing from the world. In its place, only a deep, dark energy, seemingly capable of devouring light, remained—the unleashed Death Rune, the symbol of absolute death.
The moment Maliketh vanished, the unrestrained Death Rune immediately became restless! Like ink dripping into clear water, the terrifying aura of death spread outward, corrosive, attempting to devour all life around it!
However...
Xiling raised his left hand. With a slight movement of his mind, vast, pure silver-white magic instantly arrived, like a holy cage woven by a living being, precisely and powerfully imprisoning the restless Death Rune! The deathly aura that threatened to wreak havoc was instantly compressed and restrained, like a venomous snake encountering an invisible barrier, unable to advance an inch.
After suppressing the death source that could overturn the Lands Between, Xiling stepped forward, stretched out his hand, and grasped the Death Rune, firmly bound by the silver-white magic. After a glance, Xiling tossed it into his Starry Cloak and walked towards the silver tree. Wherever Xiling passed, the earth shattered like spiderwebs, deep cracks appeared, and boulders overturned by the shockwave... All the scars left by the previous devastating battle silently healed and reshaped beneath his feet. Silvery magic brushed the ground like a gentle divine hand, and the ground quickly became smooth and flat, as if the devastating battle had never happened.
Xiling walked into the interior of the silver tree, patted his chest proudly, and said to Luo Tianyi and Lemuen, "How is it? Handsome, right?"
Xiling pointed his thumb at his chest again.
"This is the power of the legendary hero! Do you understand its value?"
"Wow!" Luo Tianyi's reaction was extremely enthusiastic, and little stars seemed to twinkle in her beautiful eyes. She clapped her hands vigorously.
"Amazing, Xiling! Absolutely awesome! That beam of light just now, and the way you repaired the ground in one go! It's Super-cool!"
"Hmm! That's really impressive, Xiling."
Lemuen smiled gently and sincerely, and generously gave Xiling a pair of thumbs-up.
"Excellent job."
"Ahem," Xiling tried to suppress the wild smile that rose from his lips at his companion's unabashed praise, but failed. He waved his hand with feigned reserve.
"It's just so-so, just basic skills. Keep a low profile, keep a low profile."
Watching Xiling, who was clearly smug yet trying to be humble, Luo Tianyi and Lemuen exchanged a silent smile.
Just then, a message popped up on the chat group panel, requesting support from the Tarnished.
Luo Tianyi, who was constantly monitoring the group chat, immediately faltered in her smile. She gave Xiling and Lemuen a rather awkward salute: "Frontline calling! I'm leaving first!"
Xiling, recovering from his elation, warned Luo Tianyi, "Be careful on the road!"
"Don't worry, don't worry!" Luo Tianyi's voice lingered, but she had vanished in the glow of the chat group's transmigration system's activation.
Suddenly, only Xiling and Lemuen remained inside the tree, and the relaxed atmosphere seemed to subside. Lemuen took a deep breath and turned to Xiling.
"Xiling," Lemuen said, his voice a little deeper than usual. "There's something I need to discuss with you."
Noticing the strangeness in Lemuen's tone, Xiling's relaxed expression vanished completely: "Yes, I'm listening."
Lemuen gently placed a hand on her abdomen, as if feeling the Elden Ring. Her expression became unusually complex.
"Just now... when you fought Maliketh, you ignited that radiance that pierced heaven and earth, embodying the essence of the Silver Law..." Lemuen's voice was soft, as if afraid to disturb anything. "It was witnessed by countless beings in the Lands Between."
She paused, as if sensing the vast and clamorous reverberations of the ring within her body.
"Those who witnessed that light... no matter how deep their despair, no matter if they had previously been numb, mad, or yearning for death... in that moment, the same thing ignited deep within their hearts—a profound longing for the 'Silver Rule.'"
And so, the Rule answered them, and the blessing... descended.
This should have been cause for celebration. However, Lemuen's hands, covering her abdomen, suddenly clenched tightly around her clothes, her knuckles turning slightly white from the strain. Her face was devoid of any joy or relief, but instead filled with deep worry.
"As a vessel of the rule... I can clearly feel it..." Her voice trailed off, a tone of almost painful insight filling her. "Those awakened by the light in despair, they grasped at more than just 'hope'..."
"It's more like a drowning person desperately grasping at a last piece of driftwood! Their numbed minds are revived by the intense stimulation. Those seeking death rekindle their twisted desire to live. Those driven mad by the shattering of the Golden Rule gain temporary 'sanity'... but this 'sanity' is not a return to normalcy..."
Lemuen raised her head and looked directly into Xiling's eyes. Anxiety and sadness swirled deep within her golden pupils.
"The common denominator they share is... an absolute, fanatical worship. This worship... is so intense it's heart-pounding..."
Lemuen knew this was not what she wanted, nor was it what anyone else wanted. Looking at Lemuen's clenched hands, Xiling knew what she was thinking.
Lemuen lowered her head, her long hair falling, obscuring the confusion and chaotic thoughts swirling in her eyes. Just then, Xiling's steady footsteps stopped in front of her wheelchair.
Lemuen instinctively looked up.
What she saw was Xiling, kneeling on one knee. His knees bent at just the right height for her to meet his gaze without the effort of looking up. He raised his head. Beneath his silver hair, Xiling's eyes were focused and gentle, staring directly into Lemuen's slightly stunned and confused eyes.
Xiling's lips curled slightly, and his tone became particularly gentle. "Lemuen."
This familiar call made Lemuen respond softly, almost instinctively, "I'm here..."
Xiling reached out and warmly grasped Lemuen's slightly cool hand, which rested on his knee. His palms conveyed a reassuring warmth.
"Do you remember what I said?"
Under Lemuen's gaze, Xiling spoke.
"Help each other. That's what I said. It's what I promised you, Lemuen. Do you remember?"
Lemuen's fingertips curled slightly in Xiling's warm palm. She nodded gently, a flicker of reminiscence in her eyes. "...Yes, I remember."
Xiling held Lemuen's hand with one hand, while he raised his other hand and solemnly placed it on his chest, where his heart beat. "So," his voice became clearer:
"If you feel lost, call me."
"If you feel confused, call me."
"If you need help, call me."
Xiling stared into Lemuen's eyes and uttered his final vow with absolute certainty: "I'm here. I'll always be here."
As Lemuen watched Xiling's earnest expression, as if he were making a vow, her worries, confusion, and fear for the future of the Lands Between instantly dissipated, replaced by a sense of peace. Looking at the hero kneeling on one knee, holding her hand, Lemuen stood up and gently offered him an embrace.
Xiling let Lemuen hold him.
Lemuen gently pressed her cheek against Xiling's head, feeling the true support. A relieved, warm smile finally appeared on her lips, and she whispered, "Thank you, Xiling."
Feeling that Lemuen had regained her composure, Xiling's voice tinged with laughter.
"Why should you thank me? We've fought side by side! As a hero, if I can't even reassure my companions..."
"Wouldn't that be a dereliction of duty for me, a hero?"
Lemuen chuckled, releasing Xiling from her embrace, her smile returning to normal.
"Then there's something... I'd like to ask you, Hero."
Hearing this, Xiling stood up straight. He spun around, his silver hair tracing a graceful arc in the air as he snapped his fingers crisply.
"Ding! Hero Question and Answering Time—officially begins! Speak, Miss Lemuen. Whatever your question, I will answer it!"
Lemuen began to ask her question: "How can we reduce people's extreme worship of the Silver Rule?"
"This question is neither difficult nor easy, neither simple nor hard." Xiling pushed Lemuen, who, despite her legs already being cured, was still in a wheelchair, to the edge of the Elden Throne. The two of them looked down.
Countless people knelt on the ground, prostrating themselves before the Silver Erdtree, repeating the gesture as if offering their faith.
Looking at the people below, Xiling said, "They know nothing about the Silver Rule, so someone needs to teach them what true prayer is."
"True prayer..." Lemuen repeated the word subconsciously, pondering its meaning. Xiling reminded her, "Think of your hometown, Lemuen, think of Laterano."
"Laterano..." The name was like a thunderbolt, instantly shattering Lemuen's chaotic thoughts!
"—Holy Scripture!!!"