Chapter 115

Chapter 115

“It’s over,” Noele whispered as she stared into the distance.

The purple sky faded away, and the clouds dispersed to reveal the moon and the stars overhead. She no longer sensed the overwhelming aura of the Void. The air was clear— she could breathe easily now without the pressure bearing down on her shoulders.

“She really did it, huh?” Garron said softly.

Saros scoffed and crossed his arms. “She should have done this right from the start— what was the point in letting us run around like idiots if she could have stopped the Lich King before he even left Arelioth’s Pass? We wasted our damn time...”

Noele glanced towards her two companions. Her eyes flickered, and she lowered her head.

“But that’s the point,” she said simply. “If we rely on Amelia’s help too much, we won’t be able to achieve anything on our own. We have to stand on our own legs and deal with our problems ourselves.”

“Well, we didn’t do shit on our own.” The gnome rolled his eyes. “All we did was get our asses kicked, before she bailed us out.”

The blonde girl looked back up to face him. He didn’t meet her gaze. He harrumphed and looked away with a scowl on his face. She swept her gaze past him, eyeing the undulating mountaintops in the distance that masked the battle that had taken place beyond.

“This time, Amelia saved us. But what happens if she’s not there the next time around?”

It was a simple question. It was posited not just to the gnome, but to all of them. However, the three adventurers gathered here knew the answer, even as none of them said a word.

—--

But it wasn’t over. Not just yet.

Even as the Seal of the System took hold of the Fledgling God Vessel, the battle hadn’t come to an end. The Voidgod’s influence rapidly faded away as the wisping purple aura dissipated. The rift began to close, sewn shut by the crimson threads of a divine power.

The transformed Lich King was drowning in a world of pain. Ar’elith screamed, and it was not just his voice that cried out. The Fal-Deus joined him. It screamed— but not just in agony. It also screamed in anger.

Its control over his body began to fade. The bone-like wings broke apart, and the purple flesh clinging onto his bones melted away. His legs grew numb as he felt like his lower body was evaporating into a simmering mist. It was too much to endure— a searing, stinging pain.

And yet, even though Ar’elith was being physically ripped apart, he found relief elsewhere. Somewhere deep inside of his soul...

Arthur jerked his head up, blinking his eyes open.

He hadn’t been able to move. He couldn’t even breathe. He had been held in place by a thousand limbs— drowned in a sea of darkness. But now, he inhaled deeply. He could finally see again. He could finally feel once more.

Arthur craned his neck to see the dark tendrils pinning him slowly recede back into the floor. He wiggled back, pulling himself out of the remainder of the loose bindings. He clambered to his feet, panting heavily as he rubbed his neck.

There were no visible marks on his skin. Even as he felt the phantom grip of the darkness cling onto his body. He knew he was free. And he sighed in relief.

“I... am free,” he started as he rose to his feet. He swept his gaze over his surroundings, and the darkness was replaced by a crimson light. Runes and symbols which he didn’t comprehend began to fill the dome overhead. He felt the warmth of the World System return to him as he smiled. “I—”

—--

And Ar’elith opened his eyes.

Once again, he woke up. But this time, he was no longer in his soul. He was back in the real world— he had been forcefully returned to reality, freed from the bindings placed on his soul. And the Lich King groaned as he raised a hand.

“I’m alive...?” he asked himself.

Then he paused. Ar’elith stared with wide eyes as he looked at the back of his hand. He was no longer covered by the purple flesh of the Void. But that was not surprising. He had expected to return back to his ordinary self. So he thought he would come face to face with the pale ivory of his bones.

However, instead, he only saw flesh.

Human flesh. Calloused and tanned, but still the skin of a human. He narrowed his eyes as he sat up, before he felt a gust of wind sweep over him. And his golden locks blew behind him.

He had hair. He had eyes. He felt the cuts on his skin, and he could feel the coldness of the night breeze.

Ar’elith took a good look at himself. And he realized— he was not Ar’elith any longer. He was not the Lich King who had threatened the world over.

He was Arthur. He was the [Priest] who had lost his family to a deadly plague. He was a mortal again.

He rubbed his head as he tried to process what had happened. But before he could piece together anything, there was a flash of red light. He recoiled as the World System spoke to him.

[SYSTEM ERROR:

CLASS AND TITLES REVOKED!

YOU HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE WORLD SYSTEM!

Reason: You have become a vessel for the Void.]

“What...?” Arthur squinted at the screen, utterly perplexed.

And right as he read those words, he heard the rustling of footsteps approaching him from behind. He spun around, facing a winged figure with twelve eyes. He recognized it immediately.

“You’re—” he started.

But the angel wouldn’t let him finish. It raised a lance as it spoke in a monotonous voice. Destroying the Fledgling God Vessel.

Arthur recoiled as he heard those words echoing in his mind. He raised a hand, eyes growing wide. But the angel just swung down—

And Amelia caught the attack with a single finger. She held the angel’s gaze, shaking her head as Arthur just looked on.

“I’m not going to let you do that,” she said simply.