Chapter 29: The Ship of Theseus
The Ship of Theseus.
When Ray Eurys posed the question, Charlotte tilted her head in confusion, and Dale stepped in front of her protectively.
“Dale?”
“Did they have Greek and Roman myths in this era too?”
Dale asked with a cold sneer, and Ray Eurys shook his head.
“In worlds where ‘heroes from another realm’ were once spoken of, it was quite famous, wasn’t it?”
”…”
At the mention of the hero, Charlotte’s expression darkened momentarily. Dale, standing in front of her, responded icily.
As the ruler of the empire and the world, the master of gold and shadows, whom none could defy.
“Get to the point, Ray Eurys.”
“Your Majesty once said you would no longer be part of this world’s history, nor be recorded in the ‘Book of Blood.’”
Ray Eurys spoke.
“But now, you claim to be the ruler of the world, toppling the Ninth Empire and emerging in history.”
“Standing on the stage of history is not our decision.”
Dale replied coldly.
“At least in that regard, your insight was correct, chronicler of blood.”
“Is that so.”
“I ask you, Ray Eurys. What are you plotting?”
Dale asked again.
“Even if you are plotting something, it is meaningless before me.”
“Indeed, it is as you say.”
Ray Eurys bowed his head quietly.
“Before Your Majesty, nothing holds any meaning.”
Dale remained silent, contemplating the futility as the god of meaninglessness.
“Therefore, I abandon the revolution here and seek mercy for myself and the Eurys family under Your Majesty’s protection.”
”…”
With those words, Ray Eurys and the vampires present all knelt.
“Nothing can affect Your Majesty, and before you, nothing holds meaning. Just as my brother did.”
“Are you speaking of Mikhail Eurys?”
“Yes.”
Ray Eurys nodded in affirmation.
“Revolution and emperors alike will kneel before Your Majesty. Nothing holds meaning in your presence, so resistance or struggle is futile.”
Kneeling, Ray Eurys continued.
“Your Majesty is the world, and your spirit is the spirit of this world.”
Dale sneered coldly at the flattery that couldn’t even elicit a hollow laugh.
Simultaneously, a chill and darkness swept over, engulfing both Dale and Ray Eurys.
The world of thought constructed by the lord of black and gold.
“You asked if I knew about the Ship of Theseus.”
“Yes.”
Dale pressed Ray Eurys coldly.
“Didn’t you just admit that nothing holds meaning before me? What are you plotting? Was it not you who appeared in my dreams as the ‘Black Prince’ to mock me?”
Thus, Dale spoke, claiming to be the one who turns all meaning into meaninglessness within the chill and darkness.
“Do not misunderstand, Your Majesty.”
Ray Eurys bowed his head again at those words.
“I, too, came to answer the ‘Black Prince’s’ question, just like you.”
“What?”
“The ‘Black Prince’ appeared in my dreams and spoke to me. I could tell. That being is separate from Your Majesty, who stands before me now.”
”…”
“And the ‘Black Prince’ spoke of stories from another realm to mock my existence.”
“It wasn’t your doing?”
“Correct.”
It wasn’t difficult to discern whether his words were true or false. That was the power of the lord of black and gold, the shadow lord.
However, the being before him also claimed to be the lord of lies and gold. Therefore, he couldn’t take his words or the truth he presented at face value.
Nevertheless, Ray Eurys’s shadow cried out its innocence.
“I understand that whatever I plot or plan holds no meaning before you.”
”…”
Dale remained silent.
At first, he thought it was just a meaningless nightmare.
When Ray Eurys later spoke of the dream’s content, he thought it was his doing.
But it wasn’t Ray Eurys’s doing. He, too, was merely a pawn in the hands of the ‘Black Prince.’
Then who was the ‘Black Prince’ appearing in both their dreams, and whose scheme was it?
It was unknown.
“Isn’t it strange?”
Realizing this, Ray Eurys laughed as if amused.
“The greatest genius of the empire, a byword for cruelty who shows no mercy to enemies. That was the ‘Black Prince.’”
As the lord of gold, peering into the lies hidden within Dale’s gold.
“And it seems that being is confronting the god of meaninglessness. Isn’t it truly fascinating?”
”…”
Ray Eurys spoke with amusement, and Dale did not respond.
“At least, Ray Eurys never defeated the ‘Black Prince’ until the very end. Not even the lord of gold or the blood pact was an exception. The whole world knelt at his feet, and this is the result.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I simply cannot imagine the ‘Black Prince’ losing. Even if his opponent is the god of meaninglessness.”
”…That is merely my past.”
“Perhaps. But isn’t it coincidental?”
Dale remained silent.
“At least the ‘Black Prince’ I know never played a losing game. And it seems that being wishes to confront the god of meaninglessness.”
“Was it the work of the demon of evolution?”
“That day, my brother died. He lost the meaning and function of his existence.”
As he said, there was no doubt. The demon of evolution, Mikhail Eurys, had forsaken his demonic power and died.
“I truly do not know about that being either.”
Then who was the ‘Black Prince’ mocking Dale and Ray in their dreams?
“Moreover, both the emperor and the revolution knelt at Your Majesty’s feet. Nothing in this world can oppose you, and you shall once again become the ruler of the world.”
Thus, Ray Eurys knelt with amusement.
“And no matter how much I struggle, I understand that nothing holds meaning before you now.”
Watching this, Dale silently extended his arm.
The chill of the end scattered, enveloping Ray Eurys’s existence, and with a mere gesture, he could return his existence to nothingness. Yet Ray Eurys did not resist. Nothing held meaning before this being.
When the god of meaninglessness once pursued the emperor of the Ninth Empire, countless nobles knelt and surrendered before him.
They realized the futility of their resistance and struggle.
Yet there was a being mocking that god. A specter of the past, taking the form of the ‘Black Prince.’
“Even so, the ‘Black Prince’ appeared before us, willingly mocking our existence.”
“Can you truly be certain it wasn’t your doing?”
“Nothing in this world can hide the truth from you. No resistance holds meaning before you, does it, lord of gold and shadows, and god of meaninglessness?”
At Ray Eurys’s words, Dale furrowed his brow slightly.
“What do you want from me?”
“What I desire is only to record the wheel of history in the ‘Book of Blood,’ as my father did. Even if it means kneeling and pledging loyalty to the lord of black and gold.”
At those words, Dale remained silently contemplative.
”…I will believe you.”
After a pause, the god of meaninglessness replied.
After Dale dispelled the world of thought, the Night Raven Knights hastily drew their swords.
“There’s no need to worry.”
But Dale quietly extended his arm, stopping his knights.
“Ray Eurys, I accept your loyalty.”
Dale said, and Ray Eurys bowed his head.
“But there is one thing you must promise me.”
“What is it?”
“Hand over the leaders of the revolution who follow you to me.”
At those words, the Eurys family members held their breath. However, Ray Eurys, as if expecting this, bowed his head willingly.
That day, the revolution came to an end.
The leaders of the revolution who followed Ray Eurys to the end abandoned their cause and knelt, and the remnants of the revolution scattered, but it held no meaning before the ‘Blue Spider’s Web.’
The purge was carried out without Dale needing to lift a finger, and it concluded.
With the emperor and revolution both fallen, it was the god’s role to rule over them.
“Brother.”
His sister, Lize, called out to Dale, and he turned his head. There stood his sister, her eyes covered with black bandages.
“Your Majesty… no, Uncle Dale…”
Beside the master of the Blue Tower, Yufi cautiously called his name. And immediately, she realized the ‘something’ happening within her.
“Miss Yufi.”
“You… you noticed, didn’t you?”
Yufi asked, flustered. But her fluster was merely tinged with shyness.
“Lady Lize said I have a talent for magic.”
”…Congratulations.”
“She said it’s quite exceptional.”
“Th-thank you, Lady Lize.”
Yufi couldn’t hide her embarrassment and smiled. At her words, Dale quietly remained silent, and after a pause, he spoke.
“I had a dream, Lize.”
“A dream?”
With her vision obscured by a black bandage, it was impossible to tell what she was seeing.
“The days when I was known as the ‘Black Prince’ have returned,” he said.
Yufi tilted her head, clearly not understanding the significance of his words. Lize remained silent.
“At first, I thought it was just a nightmare. But it wasn’t. So, Lize, do you have any idea what this could mean?”
Dale asked, not intending to press her too hard. Yet, the manipulation of thoughts and consciousness was undoubtedly the work of the Blue.
“You promised, Lize. Sacrifices made unilaterally only bring suffering to everyone.”
Dale spoke, recalling the day he encountered Lize in the winter of the universe.
”…”
Lize didn’t respond immediately, but her silence didn’t last long.
“Forgive me, brother.”
“There’s nothing to forgive.”
Dale replied with a bittersweet smile, embracing Lize.
As he held her, he lowered his head.
In the shadows cast by her figure, the ‘Black Prince’ was smiling.