Pastor's Tantra

"... Hope?"

Evans muttered.

The power of the holy number eleven... could it be related to this?

[Hope is the power of "possibility", the power beyond perfection, beyond the end of the day, beyond fate and finality]

The head of the mad king in the box of nothingness said so.

That is indeed the power of the holy eleventh -

"So that's it, the fusion of beauty and dusk..."

Combined with the words of the Lord of Scales and Feathers before, Aiwas finally understood.

The ritual of beauty and transcendence just happened to reach the number of nothingness, so the power of nothingness trapped it inside - and the Swan King has not been swallowed by the power of nothingness for so long, precisely because it happened to achieve eternity through this state of solidification of dying but not dying, and thus reached the realm of hope in this box of nothingness through the fusion of beauty and dusk!

It was through the suppression of the status of the holy eleventh that the power of nothingness never completely swallowed his will!

Hope...

That is the power to turn the future to other possibilities.

The power to break fate.

The tenth path that should have been born should be "hope", because the Lord of Scales and Feathers said... Sizhu and Aiwas arrived in this world through the tenth path. And nothingness obviously can't do this.

Therefore, they are likely to enter this world through the path of hope!

Therefore, Huan Tiansi said those words-

[He did not come from the east, nor from the west. He did not come from any house you know]

[My holy number is 11, which is the number of people who belong to us. I am 9 for fools, 8 for the righteous, and 1 out of 8]

Perhaps it was originally the zeroth path. It is because of the hope to split myself that there are paths from the first to the ninth. Because it gave birth to "possibility".

"Sure enough, I just had such an idea because of your influence..."

Aiwas looked at the Swan King and said with great certainty: "Aleister has not come back for a long time, it should be because your power has affected her!"

It was under a kind of "unexplainable power" that he suddenly said those presumptuous words.

Since the words have been said, the truth is said as soon as possible.

It is precisely because of this that Aiwas has the opportunity to understand his true heart at this moment.

——That is the transmission of the power of "hope". The Swan King realized that the day of liberation had arrived, and finally got rid of the disguise that had always been controlled.

[If she were here, I'm afraid I would have to fight]

[After all, you just want to delay time so that you can have a chance to meet me face to face]

The corners of the Swan King's mouth rose slightly, and his handsome head actually had a bit of the breath of a living person.

The corpse-like smell faded, and his eyelids also twitched a few times, like the noise made by a person who was about to wake up.

His words echoed in the empty basement with heavy echoes:

[But there is no need for us to fight, light and fire will be transmitted by themselves]

[We belong to the same law of the Holy Eleven - even if your original intention of mustering up courage has the force of my promotion. Is the emotion in your heart at this moment false? 】

"Of course... that's not the case."

Evans closed his eyes slightly: "Even if the first fire given by others is ignited, the fire in my heart... undoubtedly comes from the firewood in my heart."

He has fully realized the friendly attitude of the Swan King, as well as this... melancholy and calmness that seems to be a will.

As a unique riddler of the Path of Beauty, Ludwig II now speaks out his purpose so frankly. I'm afraid it's because he doesn't have much time now.

——When he wakes up from the Box of Nothingness, the eternally solidified "Wall of Dusk" is destroyed. The miraculous hope that was reached by the accidental seal will also disintegrate.

This means that he no longer has the ability to continue to fight against the power of nothingness.

This is why he has been able to wake up for a long time, but he still continues to sleep. As long as he breaks that solidification, he will not be able to maintain his independent will for long.

"The time has come, the flowers are trembling on the branches,

"Each flower is like an incense burner exuding fragrance;

"The sound and fragrance are floating in the evening breeze;

"Melancholy waltz, lazy dizziness..."

Suddenly, Ludwig II opened his mouth.

It was not the humming of God with echoes that resounded from the void.

It was the human language uttered in a weak voice, a melancholy poem.

It seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

It was like a whisper in a dream.

He sighed, two lines of blood and tears slowly flowed from his pupils, and his eyes slowly opened:

"Each flower is like an incense burner exuding fragrance;

"The violin sobbed faintly like a wounded heart;

"Melancholy waltz, lazy dizziness!

"The sky is sad and beautiful, like a high altar."

When the head of the mad king woke up completely, everything around him was shaking violently.

The whole world turned upside down - the earth melted into air, the sky turned into stone, the fire became cold, and the water burned without a trace. The entire Earl's Palace turned into nothingness without a trace... as if it was just a dream. It was like a dream without the Earl's Palace replaced reality.

In the distance, a blood-red comet streaked across the sky. The torn atmosphere made a shrill hissing sound.

That was Aleister who had woken up and rushed over here quickly.

But the Mad King's Skull still did not resist or attack.

Everything around him turned into chaos with his thoughts, the sky turned upside down, the sun and the moon turned upside down. Not only the material world... even the entire dream world was trembling.

On his face, dark lines gradually began to spread. It looked like leached blood vessels, and also like some kind of curse.

And he was still in the same place, whispering a melancholy poem:

"The violin sobbed like a wounded heart;

"The gentle heart hates the vast and black death!

"The sky is sad and beautiful, like a high altar.

"The sun sinks in its own coagulated blood."

"——Evans! "

In the distance, Aleister was coming.

In her hand, she held a huge halberd made of hardened blood, its tip spinning and rolling up a scarlet storm.

Her voice shook the atmosphere, turning into visible waves that shattered the earth -

Aleister's voice rang out from Aiwas's heart and ears at the same time: "Stay away from him!"

At this distance... as long as Aiwas steps back, she can instantly penetrate the box of nothingness!

"...No need. "

Ewas shook his head, but rejected Aleister.

Not only did he not step back, but he stood in front of the Mad King.

He had understood...what Ludwig II was going to do.

-If Ludwig II's soul had been polluted by the Box of Nothingness, he could not enter the dream world and become a god. Because in that case, the Whisper of the Void might follow his soul into the dream world.

In other words, he must die here.

And he chose to die as a human being, reciting poems like falling flowers...

"A gentle heart hates the vast and dark death!"

His voice became much louder, and therefore became hoarse.

The second and fourth lines of each poem are repeated with the first and third lines of the next poem. Echoing over and over again, it is like a piece of music.

"It contains all the traces of the glorious past! "

His poem was like a blessing and a prophecy.

Without any attack, cracks appeared on Ludwig II's head.

Like glass suddenly shattered in the summer.

His voice was hoarse and stuttered: "The sun is sinking in its own coagulated blood..."

Looking at Aiwass, Ludwig II opened his mouth with all his strength.

Finally, he said the last sentence:

"Thinking of you... is like seeing the Holy Host glowing."

It was a trembling of despair and a cry of melancholy.

But at the same time, it was a peaceful and harmonious relief.

Hope was as brilliant as the throne of God, always illuminating his heart. This allowed him to survive the infection and erosion of the empty box...Under this dusk sky, he could also feel the beauty and sadness of life.

But now, there is no need to hold on any longer.

The next moment, it shattered and disappeared together with the empty box under the "neck".

It was as if he had never been in this world.

--Ludwig II used his power to erase the possibility of his existence in the material world .

Then, he and the empty box containing the power of nothingness disappeared together.

"..."

Watching all this, Aiwass was speechless for a moment.

He felt a little sad for Ludwig II... but at the same time, he felt a kind of tranquility.

Fateful tranquility -

The fire of the past has been passed to him.

One day, will it be... his turn to do such a thing?

Suddenly, in front of Aiwass, the air rippled like water waves, and a rune emerged from it.

It distorted reality, constantly changing, and finally turned into a book and stabilized.

"What is this...? "

Evans was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously reached out to take the book.

It was not the secret book he imagined. It was an old fairy tale book with "Swan Knight" written on it.

The strong power of wind and light attributes surged into his body the moment he touched the book.

The system panel suddenly appeared in front of Aiwas:

[Tianshi Fragment-Dream and Illusion Fragment]

[——The law of dreams and fantasies, the remnant of the power of the box of nothingness. If used in an appropriate way, there is a chance to become a dream Tianshi or a fantasy Tianshi.]