Chapter 420: Star, the Parallel Universe (5)

Chapter 420: Star, the Parallel Universe (5)

Sean li Arcadia had once been the most emotional, passionate, and tearful person in the world. When had he started to lose his emotions? It was probably after he had ascended to the throne.

Your Majesty! The fact that the Vice Prime Minister was exploiting powerless artisans for his own benefit has been made known! Its time to make a decision!

Hes framing me because hes jealous of how Ive been by your side for a long time! Please punish him, Your Majesty!

No, Your Majesty! Ive been your teacher all this time, so you should trust me!

How dare you! Who do you think youre speaking to?!

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

Please trust me, Your Majesty!

The Heavenly Dragon Emperor had believed that he and his comrades would be together on his journey for the rest of his life. They were his friends who had gone through good and bad times together, so they were supposed to be the subjects who would aid him in becoming a good emperor.

Yes, that was what the Heavenly Dragon Emperor had believed. He could have died at any moment, but he had managed to survive several life-or-death battles against his siblings with great difficulty. That was why he had decided that he would never repeat the horrors of history, and would become a sagacious ruler.

However, his dream had shattered the moment he ascended to the throne. He and the others had once shared drinks together and protected each other as they fought against their enemies, but they were pointing swords at each other today.

What was it about power that blinded people? Was it simply so sweet that it could make people forget all about their nostalgia and previous resolutions? Or was it because of their faith? Each of them served a different Star Sign, so were they fighting to spread their beliefs?

Fine. I have no idea what kind of power, faith, or hope you desire, but if you love it so much, Ill take everything and let no one else have it.

Slash!

Your Majesty?

The day the Heavenly Dragon Emperor made up his mind, a large-scale purge took place in the Imperial Palace. The subjects who had contributed the most to the emperor taking the throne were executed under charges of treason. Many of the Great Families were destroyed; one of them was the Prezia Family, which had been receiving public support for a long time. At least tens of thousands of peopleno, perhaps even hundreds of thousandswere slaughtered, so no one dared to speak.

The Star Order? They had all been as pompous as if they were the Star Signs they served, but they were unable to speak one word in front of the Heavenly Dragon Emperor. Everyone in the empire had been forced to lay low and walk on eggshells around the emperor. That was how the emperor had become an absolute ruler that no one could challenge.

* * *

After that, the Heavenly Dragon Emperor secluded himself in the Imperial Palace and never revealed himself to the public again.

Im out of liquor.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

Then, the Heavenly Dragon Emperor had drowned himself in alcohol. Even he did not know how long it had been since he had begun his seclusion. Some truly passionate subjects occasionally visited him and begged him to return to the imperial court, but the emperor continued to ignore them for a long time. He did not even know what was going on in the outside world now, so what would happen if someone with a complaint tried to take over the Imperial Palace?

Itll be good in a way, as I can use it as an opportunity to have a picnic outside. Ill be able to lessen my boredom a little.

With that thought, the Heavenly Dragon Emperor yelled, Liquor! Bring me more liquor! Im out of liquor.

However, it was quiet, perhaps because no one was outside.

Is everyone off duty today? How cumbersome.

It was quite disrespectful for no one to answer an emperors call, but the Heavenly Dragon Emperor only grumbled and did not really mind. He stood up to get more liquor. If he headed to the underground storage, he would be able to find quite a lot of fine liquor, so he planned to use this opportunity to have a taste of the Eos wine that his servants had been persistently refusing to give him. Perhaps it would look ridiculous for the emperor to enter the liquor storage, which only the servants frequently visited but so what? The fact that the emperor was dead drunk was already ridiculous. But just then

Drip!

The sound of liquor filling an empty glass filled the air, and the Heavenly Dragon Emperor quickly looked in that direction. He was sure that no one had been on his opposite side, but a woman was sitting there now. Although her exact physique was unclear because she was wearing a robe, she was small and bespectacled, with chin-length hair.

Its definitely bitter. I have no idea why humans like it so much.

The woman had a sip from the Heavenly Dragon Emperors glass and frowned, not finding the wine to her taste in the slightest.

The emperor asked with a frown, Who are you?

No matter how drunk he was, he was a Celestial who had finished his <Transcendence>. Still, the woman had managed to sit in the storage undetected. It was natural to assume that she was a force to be reckoned with. Besides, she had refilled the empty glass, which meant she was an exceptional wizard who could restore an object out of thin air.

Who was this woman? An assassin? No, she was too talkative for an assassin when she could have just aimed for his neck. Then who was she? A thief? A servant? Or a lady-in-waiting? There was no way a person who could speak so casually to a supreme emperor was merely a human. Was she a Star Sign from above?

Im asking you a question. Who are?! The Heavenly Dragon Emperor asked.

I dropped by after getting the scent of my boy from close by, but I found something very interesting.

The woman stared at the Heavenly Dragon Emperor as if his question did not matter. Her reaction was so unfamiliar that the emperor froze. Anyone who stared at the emperors face was usually executed for blasphemy, which had been his oft-used justification during his purge. However, he could not speak to accuse her of blasphemy, being immersed in her every word and gesture.

Hmm? Im asking you a question. What is your name?

Sean li Arcadia, the Heavenly Dragon Emperor answered finally.

Sean? Li? Is that so? Your name is also similar to his. I guess this is one of the secrets that Worldlines with similar starting points have. This is noteworthy.

The woman scribbled something on a notebook, which she had pulled out from who knew where.

So identify yourse!

Judging from your surname of Arcadia, you seem to be a member of the Imperial Family No, are you the emperor? Your Divine Class is certainly high.

If you know my identity, then you should!

Hahahaha! Xerx and Kali will be laughing so hard if they found out about this. Im a slave soldier, but Im an emperor in this world?! It would make a great third-grade novel.

You should at least tell me how you got in here if you dont want to!

The look on his face would be very funny. This is it. Im going to use it as the main story in the next dream, so Ill start with him standing like a doofus

Hearing the woman talk on and on made the Heavenly Dragon Emperor feel as if he was sobering up. No, he had actually sobered up long ago. Nevertheless, the emperor did not want to angrily yell at her, thinking that she would eventually look at him after she finished talking, so he just sat down on the floor.

I want water. The Heavenly Dragon Emperor was thirsty for some reason.

* * *

How could a person who resembled him be someones dear memory? The Heavenly Dragon Emperor wanted to ask that person about how he could perhaps find a way to fill the hole in his heart and relieve his thirst a little.

I feel a little refreshed to have met someone who resembles him.

Is that so?

Yeah, speaking of which

?

Theres one more person whos in a similar mess as me. Is it okay if he joins us?

Why not? The Heavenly Dragon Emperor nodded nonchalantly.

* * *

After that day, the Heavenly Dragon Emperor had met Crom every day. Of course, they did not do much and just chatted with each other. The emperor sipped his liquor, and Crom sat on the other side from him, reminiscing. That was all.

The one difference was that the Heavenly Dragon Emperor had gained a new drinking buddy named Xerxes. He was an interesting guy in many ways. He was very shy and was particularly unsociable one day, but he became incredibly valiant and challenged the emperor to a drinking bet the next day. He was sometimes peculiar like Crom, or serious like an academic. It was as if he took turns wearing several different masks.

From what the Heavenly Dragon Emperor had heard from Crom, it was because Xerxes had several personalities, but he piqued the emperor for an entirely different reason.

He looks like me, the Heavenly Dragon Emperor thought.

Xerxes looked like a replica of the Heavenly Dragon Emperor. Of course, Xerxes was far too wild in contrast to the emperor, who was always decently dressed in imperial garb. Still, their appearances were too similar.

When the emperor asked him about it, however, Xerxes shook his head.

No, Im just volunteering to be my friends shadow.

Your friend?

Yes, my friend.

The Heavenly Dragon Emperor could tell that Xerxess friend was the person whom Crom had told the emperor about. That person and the emperor not only had similar personalities and ways of talking, but also looked similar. The emperor could not help but wonder about that friend even more, and sincerely wished to meet that person if he had the chance.

* * *

Right now, the Heavenly Dragon Emperor had finally gotten to meet the friend whom Crom and Xerxes had told him about. He could not believe that their friend was another version of him from a parallel universe, a concept that a certain magic scholar had told him about some time in the past. On top of that, the emperor had never imagined that he would be the famous Divine Twilight.

However, the Heavenly Dragon Emperor was well aware of what had happened between Xerxes, Crom, and Divine Twilight. After becoming friends with Crom and Xerxes, the emperor had investigated what they went through in secret.

The death of Divine Twilight, the conflict against <Horoscope> afterward, plummeting and being sealed in the Imperial Palaces dungeon The Heavenly Dragon Emperor had initially believed that Crom and Xerxes had simply lost their friend during those incidents; and yet, after discovering the full story, he had only one word with which to describe Divine Twilighttraitor.

Crom and Xerxes still considered Divine Twilight to be their friend but the Heavenly Dragon Emperor could not understand them. If Divine Twilight had not made such choices at the time, the two would not have had to go through such hardships. And yet, Divine Twilight had the guts to show up after all this time. In the end, all their misfortunes had happened because of Lee Chang-Sun, the Divine Twilight!

However even after the Heavenly Dragon Emperor criticized him, Chang-Sun just nodded instead of getting angry, saying, I know.

Chang-Suns answer seemed too dry for a person who truly acknowledged his fault.

The Heavenly Dragon Emperors eyebrows twitched as he replied, You know what?

I know what Ive done wrong.

If you know, then how can you even think about coming?!

Thats why I want to apologize to them.

! The Heavenly Dragon Emperor froze up.

But I have to meet them to apologize, although Im not sure if those two will accept my apology If they resent me, Im going to embrace it. Chang-Sun extended his hand forward with a darkened expression.

Chang-Sun looked at Crom and the shadow around her with his wide-open [Gnostic Eye].

Untie.

Clink!

Chang-Suns [Wordwielding] caused their bindings to disengage.

Come back.

Creeeak!

The shadow chains were untied one after another.

Whooosh!

The untied shadow threads quickly flew into Chang-Suns shadow. Xerxes was a Celestial who had once lived in Chang-Suns shadow, so it was a very natural instinct to return to the place where he originally stayed.

On the other hand, Crom had lost her body and only existed as a soul, so she needed a physical body. Chang-Sun already had experience with resurrecting Kali, so he could revive Crom as his subordinate.

[The old Celestial Wandering Shadow is seeping into your shadow!]

[The old Celestial Thousand-Year Slumbering Dragon is transforming into a Changgwi!]

[The old Celestials Myths have been found in your memory.]

[Faiths have been created, awakening the old Celestials Divinities.]

[The two Celestials are resurrecting!]

The eyes of Kali and Baek Gyeo-Ul slowly filled up with delight. In contrast, the Heavenly Dragon Emperor sank to the floor with a vacant expression.

Those two There is no way that those two kind-hearted people would resent you, the Heavenly Dragon Emperor mumbled, his head drooping.