39. The Confused Crowd
In front of the war-torn, rough stone gate of Redmane Castle.
"As part of the bet, I'll take this." Kevin looked at the Great Rune in his hand, radiating a pure silver glow. His voice was subtly relaxed, yet also solemn. He had ultimately won the bet.
Radahn nodded calmly, his crimson hair rippling in the evening breeze. His resolute face showed no sign of reluctance. "It should be so," he said in a low, frank voice. A bet is a bet, especially one with Kevin, his new friend, and it was worth upholding. Kevin glanced at the Great Rune in his hand, then at Radahn, rubbing his head. He asked uncertainly, "Is the Scarlet Rot in your body okay without the Great Rune?"
Radahn didn't answer immediately. His weathered eyes gazed past the towering walls of Redmane Castle, toward the vast silhouette of the Silver Erdtree on the distant horizon, visible even in the twilight, radiating an eternal, soft silver glow.
"The new rule..." Radahn's voice held an indescribable calm. "It appears gentle, illuminating all things, yet it also holds the unquestionable will of order."
"In the midst of this radiant light of order, even the Scarlet Rot, like a maggot on the tarsal bone, is... rapidly fading bit by bit."
"That's good. Since everything's fine, we'll be leaving now," Kevin nodded, waving towards the nearby Houraiji Kyuushou. Just as the two were about to return directly to the royal capital via the group chat,
"Please wait, Kevin."
Radahn's deep, powerful voice stopped Kevin. Kevin turned his head. Radahn, the former Starscourge Radahn, now stood before him, his massive figure seemingly brimming with the afterglow of the setting sun. His gaze, piercing the slits of his helmet, locked onto Kevin. His gaze lacked the former wildness and fighting spirit; there was only a settled, almost rock-hard seriousness.
"Kevin, it won't be long before I head to the Royal Capital to pay my respects to the King and the God."
Kevin turned completely around. "What do you want to do? I'm telling you right now. If you try to cause trouble, I won't beg for mercy when that guy's sword strikes you."
The guy Kevin was referring to was Xiling.
Kevin's words reminded Radahn of the terrifying clash between Black and White. He had heard of the Black One, the Black Blade Maliketh. At the Lands Between, the other represented death, a presence that struck fear in countless people. He could also guess the other White. It was the King of the Silver Rule. Such terrifying power! He had actually defeated the Black Blade, Maliketh.
Radahn shook his head slowly, his heavy armor reflecting a cold, hard luster in the sunset glow. "I have accepted the blessing of the Silver Rule. This means I will become one of you, and..."
A terrifying fighting spirit surged from Radahn. He spoke word by word, "The Silver Rule's campaign is far from over. I will be with you—just like Godfrey, the First Elden Lord, who swore his sword with his body as a shield!"
"...Are you serious?" Kevin looked curiously at Radahn, somewhat confused as to why he was doing this.
Radahn didn't reply this time. Instead, he turned and walked into Redmane Castle. Kevin blinked, then turned back, leaving with the chat group travel function and returning to the royal city. Radahn, feeling Kevin's presence vanish instantly, touched his chest. That was where the Great Rune had once been. Radahn recalled the warmth and peace of mind the Great Rune had radiated during his battle with Kevin. It was a feeling the Golden Rule had never before given to Radahn.
...
"Wow!!!!!"
A shrill cry that was muffled by the incoming wind was heard.
The Tarnished felt like a tattered puppet held in the clutches of a child. Everything within sight—craggy rocks, withered trees, cracked earth—was blurringly madly and receding so fast that his retinas could only capture a distorted, sickening torrent of color. This wasn't just a journey; it was pure torture!
The worst was yet to come.
The solid, broad back below him suddenly sank, followed by a sudden, heart-stopping vertical ascent! The feeling of weightlessness instantly gripped the Tarnished's internal organs, as if they were about to burst through his throat and fly out. He clutched the cold metal bars beneath him, his knuckles white as he watched the ground recede from him at a terrifying speed. In the blink of an eye, the entire world was dozens of meters below, transformed into a shrinking, distorted abstract painting.
"What a mistake—!" This time, it was a complete, tearful wail. Dizziness pierced the depths of his brain like countless fine needles.
"What happened?" Morgott's steady voice came from below, without even a breath. He was carrying two people and a heavy metal cage on his back, running and leaping as if he were walking on flat ground. His tone was filled with pure confusion. The Omen King clearly had no understanding of the suffering of his passengers. The Tarnished felt his stomach churn. Fighting the urge to vomit, he groaned weakly, "No...it's okay...don't worry about me..." He swallowed a mouthful of nonexistent saliva hard. "I...sometimes...like to talk to myself..." After saying this, he felt as if his soul was about to be thrown out of his body by the turbulence.
"There's something wrong with your soul," Morgott concluded decisively, with undeniable authority. He even slowed down slightly, though it was still frighteningly fast for the Tarnished.
"No...no! Don't overthink it!" The Tarnished quickly denied, adding, wailing inwardly, "Even if there's nothing wrong with my soul, I'm almost feeling there's something wrong!"
The Tarnished struggled to turn his stiff neck and looked at his unfortunate companion—Mohg, bound as tightly as a dumpling in thick chains, curled up in the metal cage beneath him, eyes closed, clearly still unconscious. The Tarnished himself, like a piece of unseemly luggage, sat cross-legged on the cold roof of the cage.
Morgott, after all, was unable to bring himself to kill Mohg due to his blood relationship.
Knock him out, tie him up, bring him back to the royal capital for strict guard, and discuss the matters later—this was the limit the dutiful Omen King could do.
The Tarnished had abandoned the safe chat group travel function and insisted on accompanying Morgott on this "hellish roller coaster" because he was worried that if Mohg woke up and attacked, Morgott would be in danger, so someone needed to look after him.
As for Luo Tianyi? After quickly and efficiently clearing out the soldiers blocking her path, she simply wrinkled her delicate nose, glanced disdainfully around the blood-soaked and dusty battlefield, uttered a faint whisper while clutching her nose, then vanished into a point of light, traveling back through the chat group travel function.
Another sudden, unpredictable descent! The intense feeling of weightlessness blinded the Tarnished, and his heart pounded against his chest. He closed his eyes tightly, buried his face in the cold, rough bars of the cage, and only one thought remained in his mind: Royal Capital... Xiling... When will this torture end?
...
When the Tarnished finally escaped Morgott's torture-like high-speed mobile service, his feet once again touched the solid, cold ground at the edge of the Royal Capital. It was already morning when the stone tiles of the meeting room came into view.
Before entering the city, the Tarnished spoke to Morgott and then used the chat group's time travel system to request a meeting with Xiling.
After the other party agreed, the Tarnished expected to appear in Xiling's room, but that wasn't the case...
The air in the conference room was tinged with a near-desperate, restless atmosphere. He blinked his eyes, stinging from the bright light, and after a moment's adjustment, he finally took in the scene inside the circular conference room. There were three people, two of them with gloomy expressions, as if racking their brains.
The Tarnished looked at the two gloomy-faced people:
Kevin was slumped in his chair in a distorted posture, his face filled with... 'Life is hopeless' expression.
Xiling propped his head weakly with one hand, the fingertips of his other hand pressing hard against his throbbing temple.
The Tarnished blinked and walked over. "Kevin, Xiling, what's wrong with you two? Aren't you supposed to be asleep at this hour?"
Kevin suddenly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the Tarnished. His expression was a mixture of extreme fatigue, resentment, and an accusatory, "Why did you just get here?" His mouth drooped, nearly to the ground.
Xiling slowly raised his face. When his lusterless eyes focused on the Tarnished, a terrifying glint suddenly erupted, like a hungry wolf seeing flesh and bones! It was the ecstasy of a drowning man seeing driftwood!
"What the hell with that look?!" The Tarnished's hair stood on end, and he instinctively took a half step back, shouting with disgust, "Just tell me what you want! Stop staring at me so creepily!"
Xiling completely ignored his disdain and protests, leaping from his seat with quick swiftness that he rushed behind the Tarnished in two steps. With irresistible force, he pressed down hard on the Tarnished's shoulders, forcing him to an empty chair next to Kevin. The force was so strong that the chair legs scraped harshly on the floor.
Xiling's finger, pointing at the Tarnished, trembled as if he were thinking of something exciting. "You studied magic, you must be very smart."
The Tarnished's tone was dissatisfied. "What do you want? Come on, tell me! If you don't, I'm going to go back and catch up on some sleep."
Xiling retorted with an equally discontent tone. "Sleep, sleep, sleep, what the hell is that? Can't you just skip a day?"
Of course, the Tarnished could skip a few days of sleep. The only ones in the chat group who couldn't skip sleep were Luo Tianyi and Houraiji Kyuushou. That's why these two weren't in the meeting room, but instead getting plenty of sleep at home.
"Tell me what you want to do."
Xiling handed a piece of paper to the Tarnished. The Tarnished glanced at it with a puzzled look, then a bewildered expression. Then, The Tarnished asked unsurely, "Are you writing some kind of religious text?"
"It's called a Holy Scripture!" Xiling, as if his last bit of strength had been drained from him, collapsed back into his chair with a thud, face-first onto the table. His voice was thick with exhaustion and weakness.
"Holy Scripture?" The Tarnished was even more confused. He turned to Kevin. "What's going on? Why are you suddenly doing this?" Kevin sighed, poking his tangled hair with his pen, and explained weakly, "Were you teleported back directly? You didn't see the city, did you?"
The Tarnished shook his head. He'd been teleported back directly, so how could he have seen it?
At this moment, Lemuen, who had been sitting a little further away, buried in her writing, raised her head. Unlike the two dying fish beside her, her face, though with a hint of fatigue, remained bright, and a gentle smile even played at the corners of her mouth.
"The Silver Rule created by Xiling is undoubtedly noble and beautiful in its concepts, but it currently lacks concrete and authoritative explanation and guidance."
"This has led many people into blind fanaticism, failing to truly understand the rule's true purpose."
"Someone must step forward and write this guide to lay the foundation for the rule's dissemination."
The Tarnished nodded in understanding, then looked at Lemuen with confusion—specifically, at Lemuen's hair. "Lemuen, what's wrong with your hair?" the Tarnished asked, puzzled.
"Well, is this what you're asking about?" Lemuen glanced at her white hair and smiled. "This is the Silver Rule side effect."
"Once we successfully remove and stabilize the Elden Ring, Lemuen's appearance will return to normal." Xiling's muffled voice drifted from the table. Xiling looked at the Tarnished and said in a calm tone, as if he was just letting you know:
"Oh, by the way, Tarnished, there's something I need to tell you in advance."
"What? Is there something wrong with me?" The Tarnished looked at Xiling.
Xiling tilted his head, as if to say that the weather was nice today.
"Didn't I tell you about this long ago? All believers who accept the blessings of the Silver Rule will gradually converge with the rule's origins in their life forms. This is a deep, fundamental form of convergent evolution, one that will ultimately eliminate the significant physiological gaps between species and achieve a relatively balanced average... well, to put it simply, everyone will gradually become more similar."
As Xiling spoke, as if reflecting on something incredibly amusing, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upward, letting out a low, slightly mischievous chuckle.
The Tarnished's eyes grew sharp, sensing something was amiss. He immediately demanded, "What else? Xiling, tell me!"
"What's the rush? I'm telling you, because they believe in the Silver Rule, those blessed will align themselves with it, and they'll have a defining characteristic."
"What characteristic?"
Xiling raised a thumbs-up. "All will have white hair!"
"Are you serious?"
Kevin glanced at the Tarnished. "Are you dissatisfied with white hair?"
The Tarnished glanced left and right, seeing nothing but white hair.
"...I didn't say anything was wrong."