61. Placidusax: I... Lost
Faced with the tiny figure, yet radiating with an undeniable will, and the question that pierced through its numbness, the scarred Dragon King finally responded.
One of Placidusax's massive heads, covered in stone scales, slowly turned, its voice low and aged, "...Who... are you... and why have you set foot... here?"
"The current Elden King, the Silver King Xiling"
"Elden Ring?"
A rare ripple, almost smoothed by time, lingered in Placidusax's deep voice. Truly, an immense amount of time had passed, yet even after so much time, the god it awaited had not returned.
And its immortal body had begun to wither.
Its two remaining heads gazed at Xiling's tiny figure.
It heard Xiling's previous words, a new and unknown path. Its shattered body could no longer leave this place. Its life had long since merged with the solidified storm, and leaving would accelerate its withering, its end.
It could still cling on here, maintaining this false eternity.
When it died here, in obscurity, its remaining strength might yet sustain the functioning of this storm prison for a long time, until Crumbling Farum Azula fell completely to the earth.
"Leave, Silver King..." Placidusax's voice returned to its numbness and emptiness. Its massive body began to turn slowly, its dust-covered scales rustling with a dull grinding sound.
Placidusax no longer looked at Xiling, wanting only to sink back into the painless, all-forgetting slumber.
"...Leave here...Leave me...Leave the place of my slumber..."
The enormous dragon's body, like a slowly moving mountain, turned its back to Xiling, ready to exile itself once again into eternal silence. However—
"Swish—BOOM!!!"
A flash of silver-white sword light, with a sharp, piercing sound, instantly glided through the narrow gap between the two massive, rotating heads! It precisely avoided the Dragon King's body and landed on an ancient stone pillar in the distance!
The humming of the holy sword resonated endlessly in the deadly silence!
Along with the appearance of the sword light, Xiling's voice once again reached their ears.
"Are you trying to escape?! The former king—Placidusax—!"
Boom!
Placidusax's intended movement to leave froze abruptly!
It didn't turn completely, but with a teeth-grinding sound of bones rubbing against each other, its two massive, stone-scaled heads suddenly twisted 180 degrees! Four empty, numb dragon pupils were now fixed on the tiny, yet radiant figure!
"Your people!"
"Waiting! Waiting for the day their king returns!"
"But what about you?!" Xiling pointed at the numb, scarred, massive Dragon King itself:
"You're cowering in this self-imposed cage, maintaining this endless storm, waiting for that—absolutely! Impossible!—returning god!!"
Xiling's voice was unwavering, leaving no room for hesitation: "Your god can no longer respond to you!"
Xiling pointed outside: "—But, you!!"
"Placidusax!"
"You—... You still can respond to your people!!!
"Your god has abandoned you!" Xiling's voice was like a sharp sword, piercing the Dragon King's deepest wound.
"Do you also intend to follow your god's example and abandon your people?! Abandon those who still believe in you and look up to you?!"
Xiling took a sudden step forward.
"Will you let them wither away in hopeless waiting like you, without even the slightest response from the being they believe in?!"
"Answer me, Placidusax!"
"Is this the fate you—the former Dragon King—wanted?!"
Boom!
In the sky, the chaotic clouds surged wildly, as if stirred by an invisible giant hand! Bolts of lightning, thicker and more violent than before, crisscrossed and gathered! A terrifying aura, dormant for countless ages, erupted like a volcano awakening from the depths of frozen space and time!
Placidusax's massive body spun completely around! The four dragon pupils, once numb and hollow, were now ignited with a new, blazing light—the light of unwillingness!
"Roar!!!!"
The deafening dragon roar was no longer a dull growl, but instead carried a surge of unyielding unwillingness! Waves of sound, powerful enough to shatter space, engulfed the entire storm's core!
Terrifying lightning entwined Placidusax's body, emitting a piercing hiss! Placidusax's massive head suddenly rose, its shattered scales reflecting a brutal light under the thunder.
"You think I don't want to?!" Placidusaxs' voice, for the first time, was filled with intense emotion.
"What do you know? Look at my shattered body!"
"I—am already withered! My life has long since dried up! I can't even respond to my own existence, how can I respond to those vague beliefs?!"
Placidusax roared in agony, its massive dragon claws pointing at the solidified storm and spatial fragments around it:
"I—can't even break free of this cage of despair forged by my own power!!"
"How can you expect me to respond—!!!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several violent bolts of thunder descended from the sky, carrying a cathartic, destructive will, slamming down on the ground around Xiling, creating massive craters and sending rubble and energy fragments scattering everywhere!
Facing this devastating rage and desperate accusation, Xiling's voice, unmistakably drowned by the thunder, pierced through the clamor with unmistakable conviction, reaching into Placidusax's turbulent consciousness:
"So—"
Facing the raging thunder, Xiling slowly and solemnly extended a hand toward the scarred dragon, as if it were a mountain!
"—Leave it to me!"
"What you wish to do...what you long for but cannot receive...what you bear but cannot bear"
"—Leave it all to me!"
Xiling's gaze pierced through the lightning, locking onto the Dragon King's enormous pupils, burning with resentment. His voice was unwavering:
"If you already know this future, and it makes you despair! Then, entrust your future—along with the hopes of your people—"
"Entrust it to me!!!"
"Nonsense!" Placidusax roared with the devastating roar of thunder.
"Anyone can say that! How can you prove that you can do it?!"
Xiling's face slowly curved into an expression of deep earnestness.
"Then—"
"Let's make a bet!"
There was no falsehood in Xiling's eyes, only pure conviction and determination. This weighty earnestness was transmitted to Placidusax like a physical object.
"The bet is simple."
"I will change your predicament—change this storm that binds you, change your fate of withering!"
"And then—"
Xiling pointed his finger beyond the storm, toward the direction of the Silver Rule's radiance.
"You—Placidusax! Bring all your people and accept the Silver Rule's blessing!"
"Become one of us!"
"This bet—"
"You! Do you dare accept?"
Placidusax's enormous dragon pupils constricted violently.
It felt... that power.
It didn't come from magic, but from the almost arrogant, yet incredibly pure, unwavering will deep within the tiny being before it!
The other party wasn't deceiving it, he wasn't trying to appease it; he truly... believed that he could do it!
But is it possible?
Its predicament wasn't this storm.
It was the very fact of its withering.
It couldn't be done!
How could it possibly be done! Yet... a strange sense of conviction, one it couldn't even comprehend, grew and spread uncontrollably within its heart... making it almost blurt out—"Believe him!"
A suffocating silence enveloped everything, even the raging thunder seemed to await its final verdict.
Time, in this frozen space, seemed to begin its slow flow again.
And then—
"Ha...hahahaha..."
A low laugh, at first like suppressed thunder, emanated from the massive, scarred dragon's body. Then, it grew louder and louder, finally transforming into a hearty, heroic roar that shook the entire storm's core!
"Hahahaha!"
Placidusax's two remaining heads rose high, their shattered scales trembling with laughter!
What was it laughing at? What was it worried about?
What was there to worry about in this fading life, already destined for its end?! A sense of heroic resolve, dormant for years, surged once again within its ancient, scarred heart!
The laughter suddenly ceased.
Its massive head bowed, its four dragon eyes, blazing with a new flame, fixed their gaze on Xiling with unprecedented intensity. Each word, pronounced with unwavering determination, was like a vow:
"If you—can truly do this..."
Its voice boomed, carrying a desperate resolve:
"I will admit defeat!"
"And lead all my people—to you! Silver King!!"
The smile on Xiling's face finally blossomed, transforming into a smile brimming with confidence and strength! The holy sword at his waist had already silently returned to its sheath.
Xiling clenched his fist, raised it, and with determination and fearlessness, thrust it towards the scarred Dragon King!
"Then..."
Placidusax stared at the tiny fist. Its massive body leaned forward slightly, and its right forelimb, covered in thick stone scales and streaked with cracks and battle damage, slowly raised.
The enormous dragon claw, powerful enough to easily crush a mountain, extended its fist toward Xiling with unprecedented solemnity and...respect. Gently, yet imbued with immense weight—
It touched his fist!
There was no earth-shattering burst of energy, only a silent oath solemnly sealed amidst thunder and silver-white light!
"—Let's make a fistfight!"
At that moment—
When the tiny fist and the scarred dragon claw, as vast as a mountain, lightly touched, forging a vow that transcended time and space...
A sudden change occurred!
"Buzz!"
The silent space was completely ripped apart by a low, soul-shaking hum! Xiling's previously gentle silver-white magic power suddenly surged! It was no longer a gentle glow, but a dazzling pillar of pure silver will, piercing heaven and earth! It soared from Xiling's tiny body, illuminating the entire space with a translucent silver-white glow!
This majestic stream of silver-white light did not dissipate. Instead, like a river finding its home, it flowed along the point where Xiling and Placidusax's fists and dragon claws touched, surging like a raging river, toward the scarred ancient dragon's body—rushing in!
Placidusax didn't even blink. It stared directly at Xiling, watching the silver-white magic flow into its body, the moment the silver-white magic touched it.
A miracle happened!
The horrific scars that covered its body, like an eternal curse, the deep, lifeless wounds that reached the bone, the shattered and curled edges of its scales, like weathered rock... began to reverse! Under the scalding and permeating effects of the silvery-white magic, the shattered dragon scales seemed to come alive, their edges rapidly growing, healing, and re-covering themselves with a resilient luster! Within the deep wounds where the bone was visible, the necrotic, rock-like flesh melted like ice and snow, replaced by pure energy. New, living tissue, flowing with dragon blood, grew and reconstructed at a speed visible to the naked eye! Even the two massive, hideous fractures on its neck, symbols of shame and defeat, wriggled violently under the silvery-white light, the broken bones growing and the muscles reshaping!
"Roar..."
A deep, shocking dragon roar, filled with disbelief and ecstasy, emanated from Placidusax's throat. It felt a long-forgotten sensation—vitality!
The nearly depleted dragon blood within it, like solidified magma, began to boil and flow again, fueled by the silvery-white magic!
Power was reviving and igniting within this "immortal" yet long-dead body! Feeling the transformation within its body, Placidusax felt as if it were a miracle.
All the wounds on its body should have been too severe to heal, but under the enveloping silver-white magic, they began to heal rapidly.
The will of the hero transcends the world.
The hero's magic drives everything.
The vast, silver-white magic, guided by its master's will, washed over every inch of Placidusax's massive body without reservation.
However, the source of this miracle—
Xiling began to tire, but his gaze remained unchanged. The magic continued to follow his will.
It poured into Placidusax's body, constantly mending its injuries.
Since the oath had been made, it must be fulfilled.
This is a hero promise!
The silver-white magic power not only did not weaken, but intensified instead!
Placidusax watched the small figure. It could sense the other's body weakening, yet its will remained unwavering.
...It lost.
It was a complete defeat, because...
Even its heart told it... It had already lost.
The silvery-white magic was dazzling.
But the figure clashing fists with it was even more dazzling.
The light enveloped everything.
Outside the storm.
The ancient dragons roared in excitement.
For at this moment, the eternal, unfalling city in the sky began to transform.
They gazed at the brilliant pillar of light at the center of the storm, feeling the trembling earth beneath their feet and the unchanging aura of their king.
The pillar of light seemed to reach its zenith—
The next second,
Crumbling Farum Azula began to fall!
Their cage was broken!!
Crumbling Farum Azula's fall elicited countless reactions from those in the Lands Between.
Even the demigods had never witnessed such a sight.
A city fell from the sky.
But the chat group members smiled knowingly at the sight. Feeling the strong wind caressing his face, Xiling smiled happily, even though he was feeling a little weak from excessive magic power consumption.
"Looks like I won!"
A dull voice came from below Xiling.
"I lost!"
Above the endless clouds, Placidusax, carrying the exhausted Xiling on its back, soared above the sea of clouds.
"I will fulfill the contract between us. I will lead the Ancient Dragon Clan in submission to you."
Not submission to the Silver Rule, but submission to Xiling personally.
Feeling the wind whistling beside him, Xiling's eyes slowly closed. He was tired. Placidusax flew so slowly, giving him the illusion of sleeping in a rocking chair.
Xiling's voice was a little slurred.
"Not submission, but partnership."
"Partners who will march forward together..."
Feeling the Silver King sleeping soundly on its back.
Placidusax flew silently, and its flight became more stable.
Target—the Silver Tree.
——
——
A/N [Author Note]:
The story is nearing its end.
By the way? Where are my readers?