Episode 181
“Why the long face?”
Dale asked the Crystal Prince, ignoring the dark blood coursing through his veins and the chill of impending doom.
“Oh, that’s right. You mentioned you’re cursed to live forever, unable to die. The immortal prince.”
Dale, in his current state, understood.
“Perhaps I could end it for you now.”
The weight of the Shadow Lord’s power made the being before him seem as insignificant as a mere insect.
“You…!”
The Crystal Prince’s expression froze again. The Frost Watchers bristled with hostility, but then—
“Alright, everyone, that’s enough. You’re dealing with someone beyond your reach. Keep pushing, and you’ll meet a fate worse than death.”
Master Baro stepped in front of Dale, addressing the Frost Watchers. He turned his head, his usual smile replaced by a chilling seriousness as he looked at Dale.
“More importantly, are you really the person I know?”
Master Baro asked. The Shadow Lord didn’t answer immediately.
“No matter how much you disliked that elf, you never looked at him like he was a bug.”
It was a sharp observation. Dale chuckled bitterly at the remark.
A coldness seeped into every part of his body, but it wasn’t the chill of the environment. It was a coldness that froze even the emotions a person should naturally have.
“Please forgive my rudeness.”
So Dale bowed his head quietly. That was all.
The Second Empire, peering into the future beyond the veil of the ancient elves. That was the test the Blue Veil and the Fairy Council had set for the Shadow Lord, and this was the result.
When countless stars fade and the universe falls silent, the world will be enveloped by the chill of the end.
What Dale now held was a fragment of the universe’s winter, destined to arrive after eons, alongside the primordial darkness of the Mother of Old Shadows.
The Shadow Lord returned to the council chamber, where two elf lords knelt.
They knew all too well the nature of the cold storming within Dale’s heart.
At the same time, an uncountable number of blue butterflies filled the room, forming the silhouette of a person.
The Blue Veil knelt with the two elf lords and spoke.
“The Riders of Shadow humbly greet our lord, who has reached the end of providence.”
The elves accepted Dale as the Shadow Lord without a hint of doubt for one reason only.
When the universe’s winter arrives, the ‘ultimate providence’ that will rule this world resides within his body.
The chill of the end.
“As the Lord of Providence and Truth, I gladly accept your loyalty.”
Shadow is truth. The truth beyond the mirage of gold and sunlight. And it is never beautiful, often too horrific and despairing to accept.
Just as the ancient Elven Empire, having glimpsed the universe’s truth, could not bear it and perished.
As the Shadow Lord, what Dale proved to them was the truth of this world.
The truth that will come at the end of the universe is singular. And it is not something mere mortals can resist. Realizing this, the Elven Kingdom does not resist providence.
Thus, they kneel before the Shadow Lord.
For this world will end in ice and darkness.
In the deepest chamber of the imperial palace, the Emperor on the golden throne lifted his head.
“Even the resplendent golden throne is but a fleeting shadow before this assembly.”
Emperor Arthur spoke. In the heavy silence, the Lord of Fire and Blood spoke from the shadows.
“Shall I light the way, Your Majesty?”
“Do so.”
At Arthur’s command, the Lord of Fire and Blood snapped his fingers. A brilliant light dispelled all shadows. The darkness vanished.
“Some say this world will end in ice.”
The Golden Lord spoke quietly.
“Does that mean we were created to lose from the start, before an inescapable fate and cruel truth?”
There were those who willingly called themselves the Golden Riders, led by the Lord of Fire and Blood. Just as there were those who called themselves the Riders of Shadow before the Shadow Lord.
Those who knelt under the Lord of Lies, willingly calling themselves the Riders of Lies.
“Rei is ready, Your Majesty.”
The Lord of Fire and Blood spoke, and beside him, his adopted son Rei Yuris knelt as well.
“Remember, child of lies. We were not created to lose.”
“I will remember it well.”
Seeing this, the Golden Emperor spoke. Rei Yuris nodded with determination.
The Lord of Lies, who resisted inevitable fate and truth, was paradoxically more human than any other.
The Shadow Lord was there.
Having gained the loyalty of two elf lords, holding the pledge of their kingdom to become the Riders of Shadow.
On the scorching land where the Lord of Sand and Desert reigned, facing the kingdom’s former exile.
“Master Sepia.”
“Dale…”
Dale spoke. Sepia couldn’t find the words and swallowed hard.
In the War of Roses, it was Dale’s decision to learn Sepia’s truth and grant her freedom.
After the Blue Tower’s enchantment was broken, it was also Dale’s will that relieved her of the burden of life she carried.
He didn’t expect anything in return. Yet, he hoped Sepia would recognize his actions.
“I’m glad to see you again.”
Dale said, feeling like the child he once was, speaking calmly.
”…”
Sepia didn’t respond immediately. She was struck by how much her young pupil had grown into someone so reliable. And the fact that those days were nothing more than a puppet’s dance filled with lies pained her even more.
“Why do you do so much for me?”
So Sepia asked.
“What I showed you was never my true will.”
“Perhaps.”
Feigning a cold voice.
“But even if everything you showed me was a lie.”
Dale continued.
“Your lies, Master Sepia, were more truthful to me than any truth.”
”…”
“I like you.”
Dale said.
“Not as the child I once was, but as a man who can face you directly.”
“You’ve become quite the man.”
Sepia smiled softly.
“But I…”
“There’s no need to say more.”
Dale gently shook his head, stopping Sepia from continuing.
“The Crystal Queen awaits you.”
”…!”
“You can return home now, Master Sepia.”
Sepia caught her breath at Dale’s words.
“You are no longer an ‘exile’ of the Crystal Kingdom.”
Sepia could never have imagined. What Dale had become, having gained the body of the Abyss and the chill of the end.
“The Shadow Lord has decreed it.”
At that moment, the silent Elder from afar interjected.
“The one before you has proven himself as the ‘Shadow Lord,’ and both I and your mother have willingly become his riders. Moreover, the Lord wishes for your innocence as an exile.”
“Impossible!”
Sepia gasped, overwhelmed by a turmoil unlike anything before.
Sepia had once been the leader of the Frost Watchers before the Crystal Prince, and she knew what it meant.
“It’s not for you, Master Sepia.”
But Dale shook his head coldly.
“It was solely to consolidate my power and influence as the Shadow Lord.”
To mask the debt she felt in her heart.
“My only desire is the downfall of the Empire and to dethrone the Golden Lord.”
The Shadow Lord spoke icily. And it was no lie.
“The Crystal Queen awaits. You should go.”
Dale understood Sepia’s hesitation. So he, too, did not hesitate further.
“Let’s go, Baro.”
“Where to?”
“Where else? To my domain.”
“Oh, uh, right.”
Master Baro nodded, flustered, and Dale began to move. Or at least, he tried to.
“Wait.”
Sepia spoke. Dale paused.
“Do you have something to say?”
“It wasn’t a lie.”
Sepia said. Dale held his breath.
“But I still can’t be sure if those days were true.”
“Is that so important?”
Dale asked coldly. Sepia nodded silently.
“Then won’t you give me another chance?”
”…”
For a moment, Dale held his breath.
“Of my own will, I want to walk the frozen lands of Saxon with you again.”
Sepia said, a faint blush of shyness uncharacteristic of her.
“I want to understand my heart there once more.”
Sepia spoke, and Dale turned his head.
The ancient darkness coursing through his veins, the chill of the apocalypse—who could dare call Dale human?
Yet when Sepia finally opened her heart to him, what wrapped around Dale’s chest was a profoundly human emotion. For the first time, he felt tears welling up like a child. And yet, he couldn’t cry.
He couldn’t show those black tears in front of Sepia.
“Ah, so many humans visiting today.”
In the frozen wasteland of the universe’s winter, ‘Winter’ spoke, an embodiment of the very chill of the apocalypse.
“The Shadow Lord must have come here,” Ray Eurys said, standing before him.
“Child of falsehood, shall I reveal the truth to you?”
“Gladly.”
Ray Eurys bowed his head, and Winter chuckled as if amused.
“──You can’t even reach the Shadow Lord’s heels.”
The inescapable, brutal truth spilled from Winter’s lips.
“And this world will end in ice. No one can change that. That’s the truth.”
Winter laughed mockingly. Ray Eurys remained silent.
“Is that the truth?”
After a pause, Ray Eurys asked, and Winter nodded.
“Facing an unavoidable fate and truth, you struggle so futilely. It’s so foolish, I’m at a loss for words.”
“We weren’t created to be defeated,” Ray Eurys replied, echoing the words of the Golden Lord from long ago.
“Ha, haha! How amusing.”
Winter burst into mocking laughter again.
“Go on, struggle desperately, child of falsehood!”
With a sneer, Winter erupted into laughter.
“Etch into your bones the fate that you’ll never reach the Shadow Lord’s heels, engrave the inescapable truth of the universe into your heart, and yet, defy fate and truth to the end with your lies!”
Simultaneously, the apocalyptic chill swirling around him engulfed Ray Eurys’s very being.
“I’ll gladly watch your futile defiance and foolishness against fate and truth!”