"Clatter!" On the still golden Altus Plateau, eleven figures suddenly appeared.
The Black Knives shook their heads, dispelling all the daze from their minds.
The Altus Plateau is where the Royal Capital Leyndell is located. It was also the place that once received the most blessings from the Golden Tree.
Everything here turned golden due to the presence of the Golden Tree. Although some time had passed since the Golden Tree was burned, its traces had not yet been erased.
But through the expanse of gold, one could still see vibrant green emerging. New life would eventually replace the old.
"An eyesore. A golden expanse is much better." A few figures gradually approached from a distance. They were the Greater Will, Fire Keeper, and Patches, who had been waiting for a long time.
"Oh-ho, it seems my brain isn't rusty yet, pretty accurate." Patches rubbed his bald head, chuckling proudly.
This time, it didn't take long to find the landing spot, which was a big improvement.
"You've worked hard." The Fire Keeper stepped forward and bowed to the Black Knives. Then, with a smile, she said, "Rest for a bit. We'll discuss the matter over there tomorrow."
"Thank you, Au… Lady Olivie." The Black Knife recalled the Fire Keeper's name and returned the bow.
The Fire Keeper paused, then waved her hand and said, "Heh heh, just call me Fire Keeper. I'm used to it."
The Black Knives followed behind the Fire Keeper, nodding. Then they looked at the Greater Will and Patches, who were chatting happily further ahead.
There wasn't much to say about Patches; like Yu Jin, he had walked from the Age of Fire to the apocalypse, eventually ending up in The Lands Between.
However, from Yu Jin's words, Patches seemed to act like a transient in every world he visited.
He'd trick a few people, kick a few. But by chance, he always managed to trick Yu Jin. Moreover, Patches had a special trick: no matter how high the fall, anyone he kicked down would absolutely not die.
Yu Jin had tried to learn this trick from Patches for a long time, but unfortunately, he couldn't master it.
As for the Greater Will, the Black Knife looked at him, dressed as a Golden Citizen. In this era where gold had faded, such attire seemed more like a remnant of a former dynasty; not getting beaten was already good.
Seemingly sensing something, the Greater Will turned around and nodded slightly to the Black Knife.
This surprised the Black Knife. The Greater Will, as its name suggested, was a supreme existence in this world.
No one had ever seen him, no one knew his power, and he had never actively intervened.
The origin of the shattering of The Lands Between was one of his beasts. The only connection between The Lands Between and him was through the Two Fingers, receiving the faint messages he scattered throughout the cosmos.
Now he was actually nodding to them, which made the Black Knives somewhat incredulous.
"We've arrived." In a daze, the Black Knives suddenly found the golden plains gone, replaced by endless buildings and city walls as tall as mountains on the horizon—Royal Capital Leyndell, they had arrived.
"Go rest. Just head to the Roundtable Hold tomorrow." The Fire Keeper reached out to pat the Black Knife's shoulder, but finding she couldn't reach, she secretly withdrew her hand.
"Mhm!" The Black Knives nodded; they also had many things to organize. There was much to do, and it would take time… The sun rose as usual, and early the next morning, the Black Knives set off for the Roundtable Hold.
Delaying for a day was already the limit, especially since they carried Yu Jin's decree.
Soon, they arrived inside the Roundtable Hold. Although it was early morning, the Roundtable Hold was incredibly busy, with many matters awaiting attention.
"Let's go, to the second floor." Golden light shimmered, and Godwyn emerged from the specks of gold.
"Mhm." After a simple response, the Black Knife followed Godwyn up to the second floor.
Entering the second floor, the Black Knife found the massive round table surrounded by people. It seemed everyone was very concerned about Yu Jin's situation.
"The King is well. Here is information from that world, for you all." The Black Knife glanced around, said a brief sentence, and then placed a stack of documents on the round table.
"Also, these are letters from the King to you all." With that, a stack of envelopes appeared in the Black Knife's hand.
Then, in the next moment, these envelopes appeared before everyone. Only one letter remained on the table.
Just as everyone was puzzled, Alecto initiative picked up this letter and walked over to the Greater Will.
"One for me too?" The Greater Will, who had been standing, raised an eyebrow; this was unexpected.
"The King says, please do not dwell on this land, as it makes your demeanor seem less than grand." Alecto handed the letter to the Greater Will.
The latter, as if no one else was present, immediately opened and began to read it.
At the same time, the atmosphere in the Roundtable Hold grew solemn. Those words, coupled with the Greater Will's actions recently, almost openly declared his identity.
"Creak, creak!" Godfrey looked at the Greater Will, who was smiling in the distance. He clenched his massive fists, emitting a series of loud grinding sounds.
Marika had truly died; her soul was annihilated, and her body transformed into a blade. In the final moments, Yu Jin had no other power to save Marika.
And the cause of all this was the fellow quietly reading the letter by the hearth in the distance.
"Roar…" Serosh appeared from behind Godfrey, his beast claws resting on Godfrey's shoulder, letting out a soft roar.
Serosh, the Lion Regent. Godfrey, as the First Elden Lord, had willingly borne this Regent Beast as part of his kingly duty.
Godfrey's claim to kingship was his strength. But apart from strength, he had nothing. A king cannot merely possess strength.
Serosh's duty was to suppress Godfrey's battlelust, maintain his sanity, and assist him in handling royal affairs.
Of course, current Serosh mostly reasoned with others on Godfrey's behalf, to prevent Godfrey from being deceived.
For Godfrey, a man whose mind was solely focused on fighting, his first reaction to any matter was always to fight first and ask questions later.
Thus, to ensure the Royal Capital's floor wasn't torn up, Serosh had a long and arduous journey ahead.
"I understand." Godfrey gasped a few times, patting Serosh's beast claws with his muscular arm.
"Good that you understand. You're making some progress." The Greater Will finished reading the letter; it was all nonsense.
Putting the letter away, the Greater Will scanned the round table: suspicion, shock, apprehension… all present.
"The King also said, 'Thank you.'" Alecto, seeing the atmosphere so heavy, tried to lighten it.
The Greater Will and they were not on the same dimension. If he were angered, perhaps only the sun in the Sky could contend with him.
The Greater Will nodded, then met the gazes within the round table, smiling, "No need to look at me like that. I'm not as 'bad' as you think."
"I've never cared for any laws." Saying this, the Greater Will looked at Malenia, Miquella, and Ranni; they were all Empyreans who once had the qualification to usher in the next age.
They carried laws entirely different from the Golden Order. Even so, they were chosen as candidates for godhood.
"If you can create a better law, I'd be happy to replace the Golden Order."
"Ultimately, I just like order. If I were to do it myself, I would definitely add a few more things."
"I only gave you a set of rules for the operation of all things. How to use them, how to interpret them, I haven't interfered at all." With that, the Greater Will said no more.
Since his birth, it was the first time he had spoken so much. But this was enough; everyone's emotions had calmed down.
It was difficult for people to harbor sustained anger towards the Greater Will. Much like after a natural disaster, many might occasionally curse the heavens, but few would continuously hate the world.
And the Greater Will, to some extent, was like that; he was more like the embodiment of the world's rules.
"Has Lanssangx arrived?" The Black Knife broke the silence first; remaining in this deadlock was not good.
"No." Vyke, in the distance, shook his head. Ever since he got married, Lanssangx had stayed in Farum Azula and hadn't come out.
This gave Vyke a headache; why did it seem as if he had done something wrong?
"It seems I'll have to go find her. The King specifically asked for her next time."
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