Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 370 The Arrival of Sazarras - The Birth of the Shadow King

“When you gaze into the abyss, you do not see darkness, but your own reflection—only that reflection has been gazed at for too long and has become ‘it’.”

—Excerpt from "Tales of the Mirror Realm: Fragments of the Sacrifice"

The northern part of the royal capital, Alleston, is currently engulfed in a bizarre and blasphemous dream.

The streets vanished, replaced by endless silver mirrors, like the gaze of a god, mercilessly tearing reality into chaotic fragments.

On the wall, millions of pale eyes stared indifferently like the dead, each slowly rotating as if following the panicked and uneasy heartbeat of the person who stepped in.

The stone-paved road undulated like decaying skin, and withered, twisted arms stretched out from the dark crevices, accompanied by faint moans, trying to drag the soldiers into the darkness.

A knight of divine grace was deathly pale, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

His silver shield trembled slightly, and his ankles were tightly wrapped by a gray-white arm, pulling him little by little toward the abyss.

He gritted his teeth and struggled, but his companion swiftly drew his sword and severed the arm. Black blood splattered out and quickly turned into a phantom and vanished.

"This is no longer our city." Edel's voice was as deep and cold as iron as he stood on horseback in the center of the army formation.
His gaze swept across both sides. "Hold your guns and clear the area. Carefully distinguish between real and fake weapons. Do not harm innocent people!"

The soldiers quickly formed ranks, their muskets roaring like thunder, scorching bullets piercing through the eerie phantoms.

Each shot was accompanied by a nauseating scream, as if the monsters themselves were suffering some unspeakable pain.

On the other side, Liseria sat atop the lion, her eyes sharp as swords.

The noble guards behind her stood silently and solemnly, their steps firm and swift.

Following them were the tense-looking students of the night class, these once-despised holders of mystical arts.
Now, with determination and fear, we step into this cursed battlefield to search for and rescue the remaining humans.

"Stay alert! Night class participants are not allowed to leave the group!" Liseria's voice was calm and steady. "The reflection could impersonate anyone; we must use trickery to test it!"

A student hurriedly activated the secret technique, a faint light flashing in his hand: "Detect enemy!"

An invisible wave spread out, and several figures in the crowd instantly twisted and cracked, screaming as they transformed into mirror-like monsters that lunged forward.

The trainees retreated in panic, and the guards immediately drew their swords, swiftly and neatly cutting the monster into nothingness.

But each successful purge only intensifies the oppressive atmosphere, the frequency of the reflected creatures increases, and their camouflage becomes more cunning and unpredictable.

At the front of the procession, on a high platform, Medusa stood proudly, her red and white royal robes fluttering in the wind, and the royal scepter gleaming in her hand.

Her gaze was like a sharp blade tearing through the darkness, piercing the thick fog ahead, and her voice was resounding:

"Continue the advance! All soldiers, listen to my command: regardless of the cost, we must reclaim the people of Trelian! Cowards are enemies of the Empire!"

Her words echoed like a bell, instantly dispelling the oppressive atmosphere with their determination to fight to the death. The soldiers cheered and threw themselves back into the mopping-up and rescue efforts.

However, as a team of night students stepped into the dark alley, a sudden change occurred.

Deep in the alley, a child was curled up crying, his sobs heart-wrenching.

The trainees were eager to step forward, but a slightly more experienced trainee suddenly stopped them:

"Be careful, use the Mysteries of Fate to discern first!"

The young student quickly used a secret technique, gently sweeping the sound waves over the child, but the child showed no abnormality, and the crying became more and more painful and real.

"It's a real person, save him!" The young student reached out to help, but the moment their fingertips touched, the child suddenly looked up, his face as smooth and flawless as a mirror.

The trainee pulled his hand away in terror, but it was too late—countless sharp, lens-like tentacles suddenly burst from the child's mouth, piercing his chest!
"Help, help me!" The student screamed as he fell to the ground, blood splattering everywhere. He was dragged into the depths of the alley, leaving behind only a shocking patch of crimson blood and scattered mysterious cards.

The other trainees, still shaken, fled back to their ranks and reported tremblingly, "Your Highness, the reflections are transforming; they are no longer afraid of the lion's power!"

Liseria frowned, turned to meet the gazes of Medusa and Edel, all three with icy expressions.

"Salzeroth is about to awaken..." Medea's voice was cold and hard as she looked up at the ancient, scar-like fissure in the mirror-like lake above.

"We must find Arthur and Victoria before it comes."

But at this moment, they knew perfectly well that it was probably too late.

The soldiers looked up at the sky and saw the huge crack in the center of Mirror Lake slowly expanding, like an open eye in the void, looking down on the tiny humans.

The soldiers' faces were distorted and deformed in the reflection of the mirror lake, their eyes filled with horror and despair.

Medici's gaze was sharp as she stared at the sky, anger and determination surging within her. She roared:

"Arthur, Victorian, do you think such a blasphemous sacrifice can destroy Trelian?!"

Her voice, like thunder, pierced through the eerie resonance of the mirror and resounded throughout the entire battlefield.

Her response was only a cacophony of overlapping, distorted whispers, voices that seemed to emanate from the void beyond the stars, sending chills down her spine:

"Sister Medici...it's too late..."

"Dawn no longer belongs to you; Sazeroth has devoured the city's light..."

Before the sound faded, the rift in Mirror Lake suddenly expanded, and a huge deer-like creature slowly emerged, as if breaking free from the shackles of the void and stepping into the mortal world.

The soldiers trembled with fear; it was not a real deer, but a bizarre and incomprehensible being.

Its enormous body is composed of countless mirrors of a shimmering starry sky, with a viscous liquid flowing between them like a nebula.

Most horrifying of all was its head, which was twisted and intertwined with Arthur and Victorian, their naked bodies coiled like snakes.
His face was contorted with madness, his eyes filled with empty darkness, as he whispered eerily and insanely:

"My Lord Sazeroth, the supreme god in the mirror, the reflection of the void."

“Our flesh and soul are fused with Him; at this moment, we are His will.”

The giant deer descended completely, standing tall in the sky, its countless starlight shimmering, looking down upon all living beings as insignificant as ants.

The moment it descended, all the light in Alleston was mercilessly swallowed up.

Only the countless mirrors on the giant deer's body, like blasphemous stars, shimmered faintly, barely outlining a terrifying silhouette beyond human imagination.

The Allied soldiers were struck by this unprecedented fear, and their morale collapsed in an instant.

Some of them collapsed to their knees, some retreated with pale faces, and some completely lost their minds, muttering to themselves with empty eyes.

Edel's face turned ashen. He forcefully tightened the reins, and the warhorse, feeling the immense pressure, neighed in fear.

He raised the military command ring high and growled:
"Hold the formation! Trelian has never succumbed to any darkness, and even the resurgence of the Old Gods cannot shake our bloodline!"

His words were as steady as iron, but a hint of unavoidable fear was suppressed in his eyes.

Even he himself understood that they were facing an existence beyond imagination.

Liseria's lion raised its head and roared, but could not hide its own trembling, its limbs tense like a bowstring.

Liseria's face was pale, her hands trembled slightly, but her gaze remained resolute, her teeth clenched her lips, and a trickle of blood seeped out.

Medici stared intently at the sky, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead. The scepter in her hand trembled slightly, not from fear, but from the extreme manifestation of her own anger and determination.

She raised her head proudly, her voice piercing the darkness like thunder:
“Arthur! Victorian! Even if you sacrifice your souls to that evil god in the mirror, you will never be able to shake Trelian’s throne!”

The two human faces on the giant deer's head slowly twisted and smiled eerily, their lips moving slightly as they responded in a low, indescribable tone:
"Trian? Sister, soon, this place will no longer belong to the mortal empire, but to the eternal feast of the Mirror Lord Sazeroth!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the giant deer suddenly raised one of its forelegs and stomped hard on the void.

In an instant, the sky trembled violently, as if the sky itself had shattered, and a terrifying shockwave suddenly erupted, knocking the allied soldiers to the ground.

The Divine Knight's spell shield shattered one after another, and the soldiers fell to the ground, screaming and wailing, struggling all over.

Countless eerie mirrors emerged from around the giant deer, rapidly reflecting the soldiers' images.

In an instant, each reflection came to life with a sinister grin, extending its dark arms from the mirror and lunging at its own body without hesitation.

Medici gripped her scepter, gazing at the nightmare before her, her eyes filled with a resolute determination to fight to the death. She shouted sharply:

"Listen to my command! Our souls will never yield to any false god!"

But before she could finish speaking, the stag's head twisted again, and Arthur and Victorian's crazed and ironic faces slowly spoke, whispering coldly:

"No need to rush, sister. This is just an appetizer before the feast."

"The real celebration is just beginning."

Medici's face turned pale as she watched in horror as the edge of the Mirror Lake spread rapidly like a virus.

In an instant, the entire city of Areston was swallowed up by the eerie mirror, with every street and every building turning into a cold, distorted reflection.

The world is collapsing silently, and the boundary between reality and illusion has completely disappeared.

The allied forces were completely routed. The soldiers retreated in panic, some kneeling and crying in despair, others with vacant eyes, having lost all will to resist.

Veins bulged on Edel's forehead as he suppressed the horror welling up inside him, drew his sword, and roared:

"Anyone who dares to retreat will be executed!"

But before he could finish speaking, a beam of light shot up from the ground like lightning, instantly enveloping the soldiers in his area.

The soldiers in the mirror pounded on the edges of the mirror in terror. The next moment, their reflections tore through the mirror with a sinister smile and lunged at their real counterparts.

The soldiers screamed and struggled, but were quickly overwhelmed by their own reflections, their shrill screams echoing across the battlefield.

Edel finally realized that the true horror of this battle was not the enemy's strength, but the complete disintegration of people's hearts and minds, forcing them to confront their deepest, darkest fears.

He looked at Medici, his voice tinged with suppressed anxiety:
"Meddess, we can't let Mirror Lake expand any further, or it will be too late!"

Medici took a deep breath and responded calmly and resolutely:

"I understand. But right now, the most important thing is to keep the troops in line and not to lose our composure!"

As soon as she finished speaking, another mirror rose from the ground, heading straight for Medici.

Medici's gaze suddenly sharpened, she raised her scepter high, and a mysterious power erupted from her:
"Blessed by the Holy Mother, all evil cannot invade!"

In an instant, an extremely dazzling white halo surged out from her body, violently smashing open the surrounding mirrors. The mirrors could not get close and could only twist and struggle strangely at the outer edge.

Medici gritted her teeth and whispered coldly:

"Want to imitate me? Sazaras, you're far from qualified!"

On the other side, facing the surging tide of reflected creatures, Liseria's pale face revealed a resolute expression. She sat firmly atop the Azure Lion, holding the Azure Lion Card high, her voice loud and decisive:
"I am the Lord of the Azure Lions, and in the name of the Lion King, I will suppress all evil!" The Azure Lion raised its head and roared with earth-shattering fury. An invisible yet powerful aura rippled outward from it, instantly suppressing the surrounding shadowy creatures to the ground, making it impossible for them to advance an inch.

Lyseria seized the opportunity and shouted:

"Warriors, take up your swords! We cannot lose to ourselves! For Trelian, fight our way back!"

Upon hearing her words, the soldiers seemed to be filled with renewed fighting spirit. They gritted their teeth, stood up again, and swung their swords to slay the reflections.

At this moment, their fear was gradually being replaced by anger and determination.

Medusa breathed a slight sigh of relief as she watched the morale rise again, but when she looked up at the sky, her eyes remained as cold and hard as iron.

High above, the colossal stag head of Sazeroth was looking down at them, its reflection of stars like a vast eye, seemingly about to swallow all the light in the world.

Medici's eyes narrowed slightly, like morning mist suddenly freezing into frost.

Her resolve ignited deep within her lifeline, and she turned to look directly at Edel and Liseria, her words carrying the unquestionable authority of a ruler:

"To shatter this nightmare, we must destroy its source—Sazarras. This time, we will end it ourselves!"

Aedel nodded solemnly, his sword held high, his sharp gaze piercing the giant stag in the void like a knife:
"It's time to counterattack!"

Without hesitation, Liseria spurred the Azure Lion, which roared thunderously and soared into the air, enveloped in the light of royal life runes. Her sword pointed directly at the strangely intertwined humanoid head, her voice resolute and unwavering:
"Arthur, Victorian! Even if you choose to betray us, you cannot sever the will that flows in our blood!"

Medici finally looked up, her scepter held high, solemn and majestic like a judgment on a throne.

Her voice echoed in the hearts of every soldier, serving as both encouragement and the final command:

"Sing, holy maiden, let us remember that light has never been defeated by darkness!"

A high-level mystery of fate, the chant of the sacred maiden!

As soon as she finished speaking, a pure and noble maiden appeared behind Medici. She parted her lips slightly, and a sacred and melodious hymn echoed throughout Alleston.

The soldiers felt their chests pounding, their blood boiling again, and the fear that had gripped their hearts dissipated like a mist, replaced by resolve and fearlessness.

"Charge!" Medusa shouted, and three dazzling figures leaped into the sky at the same time, heading straight for the giant mirrored deer shadow.

However, just as the three approached, the stag slowly raised its eerie head, and a sinister smile suddenly appeared on Arthur and Victorian's overlapping and distorted faces:
"Foolish resisters, your destiny will be utterly annihilated beneath the Mirror of the Supreme!"

The next moment, the world suddenly reversed, and Mirror Lake opened like a huge and eerie eye, reflecting the shadows of every soldier in the Allied Forces.

Countless figures struggled frantically within the mirror, eventually breaking free and pouring downwards like a rainstorm of doomsday. Each figure wielded a weapon, their eyes gleaming with a madness and killing intent completely opposite to their true forms.

From the head of the giant stag came the fused whispers of Arthur and Victorian, cold and mocking:
"This is the real 'twin disaster'!"

Medici's expression suddenly turned grave. She understood that they were facing not only a familiar traitor, but also a mysterious entity completely beyond human comprehension.

“Even if I sacrifice my life for fate, Sazarras, you will surely fall today!” Medusa’s eyes flashed with a resolute light as cold as a star.

As Sazaras broke free of the Mirror Lake, the laws of heaven and earth seemed to be ruthlessly overturned in an instant.

The center of Mirror Lake suddenly cracked open, turning into a dark and silent black hole, which then spread outwards at an alarming speed.

The Reflection Realm suddenly expanded, and the overwhelming power distorted the entire battlefield into an unrecognizable and bizarre scene.

The Allied soldiers felt the world around them being torn apart rapidly, and they were horrified to find that the shadows beneath their feet began to struggle and writhe.
Then, they mysteriously rose from the ground, transforming into true replicas of them, with every detail identical, even the wounds on their bodies and the cracks in their armor clearly visible.

"What a nightmare this is?!" a Divine Knight roared in terror. His shadow slowly rose, his face expressionless, and thrust his sword through the knight's chest.

Blood splattered, and the knight fell in disbelief, his eyes filled with despair.

The same tragedy repeated itself. The shadows drew their swords like ghosts, and eerie smiles bloomed on their faces. With each kill, a new reflection was born. The morale of the allied forces collapsed instantly, and their formation quickly crumbled.

"Stay calm! No matter what fear you face, you must not back down!" Edel shouted with all his might, but at that moment, he suddenly felt a chilling killing intent rising up behind him.

Edel whirled around, his pupils contracting sharply. He saw a mirror image of himself, identical to him, standing with his sword drawn, coldly staring at him, a sarcastic smile playing on his lips:
"With your kind of will, you dare to dream of saving the already rotten Trelian?"

Before he could finish speaking, the Mirror Image of Edel's sword light came like a storm, each strike precisely predicting his movements, as if his inner fears and struggles were being seen through by his opponent.

Edel struggled to defend himself, his heart filled with terror, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

His every move was completely controlled by the mirror image, as if he were fighting against a darker version of himself.

With each clash of weapons, his fear intensified, causing his swordplay to gradually slow down, creating a perilous situation.

Meanwhile, high in the sky, the mirrored form of Sazarras had fully emerged, with countless mirrors refracting eerie starlight.

It coldly looked down at the struggling crowd below, like a god watching the death struggle of ants, cruel and merciless.

Medici knew that this was no longer a war between people, but a fateful duel between mortal destiny and the indescribable—

An epic battle that transcends the map of destiny has only just begun.

Medici's mirror image stood before her, a face identical to hers, bearing a twisted and cruel smile, like a self-projection soaked in shadow.

The mirrored gaze was cold and sharp, its voice carrying a deadly irony, like the whisper of a venomous snake:
"You arrogantly proclaim yourself the new king of Treion, yet you are nothing but a false god nourished by the blood of your subjects."

With a cold laugh, the Mirror suddenly raised the scepter in its hand, and a strange light mixed with holiness and scarlet descended swiftly.

Medici hastily raised her scepter, desperately trying to erect a shield, but it crumbled instantly before that nearly identical yet even purer power.
The massive shockwave sent her flying, shattering the stone slabs on the ground, and blood seeped from the corner of her lips.

Mirror Image Medici approached step by step, her eyes burning with ruthless contempt and mockery, and said softly:

Your heart is trembling. You fear you cannot bear the true power.
Fearing that you're never qualified to handle the role of the "Breeding Mother," and even more terrified of becoming the loser you deep down despises.

Medici felt a sudden shock, cold sweat instantly soaked her back, and her rationality almost collapsed.

The voice was like a sharp dagger, each word precisely cutting into her most hidden pain and struggle.

But the next second, her eyes suddenly sharpened, she gritted her teeth, and with all her might, she propped herself up again, letting out a low, resolute roar:

"You are nothing but a shadow in my heart! You think you can shake my destiny?"

Having said that, she stepped onto the star map and charged back towards the mirror image. The scepter burst forth with intense incantation light, and the two figures clashed fiercely once again, light and shadow clashing against each other in the center of the battlefield.

However, the battlefield was now dominated by chaos and fear.

Edel's face turned ashen as he realized that he had to stop this spreading despair immediately.

He narrowly dodged the mirror image's fatal blow, raising a special mid-tier Fate-type card in his hand, his voice calm and decisive:
"By the bloodline of the royal family, in the name of the military spirit, I will temporarily suppress the inner demons of you all!"

The card instantly emitted a pale golden ripple that quickly spread across the entire battlefield, causing the soldiers' fear to subside slightly and their composure to return.

But Edel knew very well that this brief reassurance was far from enough to reverse the course of a battle that was destined to fail.

The power of Sazarath continued to expand, and his shadow minions surged forth like a flood, making the situation extremely volatile.

At the same time, the mirror image of Madame relentlessly pressured the original, her mockery filled with sarcasm:

"Give up! You will never be able to defeat yourself, let alone control the supreme power you are trying to reach!"

Medici's heart pounded, a fine layer of cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and she struggled to her limit, but she gritted her teeth and tried her best to remain calm.

"No, I will never lose to a shadow..."

But the devastation and ruin around her surged like a tide, gradually making her resolve fragile and hollow.

Sazeroth hangs high in the sky, its enormous, twisted mirrored stag mercilessly gazing down upon the earth.

Countless lenses refracted a cold and eerie starlight, as if all the fear and despair of this land had transformed into a source of power that nourished its ever-expanding power.

Medici gazed with difficulty at the battlefield, screaming incessantly:

"The Knights of Divine Grace! Hold the line until death!"

However, these resolute words seemed so pale and powerless, like a torch about to go out, unable to ignite the already broken morale.

On the other side of the battlefield, a commander was trying his best to restore order, but before he could speak, a sword silently pierced his chest.

The soldiers stared in astonishment as their commander's reflection withdrew his bloodstained sword, and their formation completely collapsed.

Further into the city, citizens stared in terror at the dark and eerie sky.

The old man knelt on the ground, praying helplessly, while the mother tightly covered her child's eyes, trying to shield him from the distorted truth.
Many others simply stood there, numb, letting fear rob them of their last shred of courage and hope.

Edel's longsword was riddled with cracks. He gasped for breath, gazing at the giant stag in the sky, his eyes filled with unprecedented exhaustion and despair. He murmured softly:
"If this continues, we won't be able to hold on much longer..."

Liseria rode atop the blue lion, her pale face unable to conceal the inner turmoil and grief within.

She had never felt so clearly her own insignificance and powerlessness, even though the courage of the late King Henrian flowed in her blood, it now seemed so pale and powerless.

Medici slowly stood up, her gaze resolute yet revealing a hint of undisguised confusion, and forced herself to shout again:

"Hold on to the bitter end! We cannot allow this land to fall completely! For Trelian, we are willing to die standing!"

But a voice inside her was mocking her softly:
"Can you really do it?"

At this moment, far above the ruins, the God of Fate gazed upon this desperate battle, his eyes deep and empty, and murmured softly, like an ancient prophecy:

"Dawn is gone, only the illusion in the mirror remains..."

The whispers of the God of Fate drifted in the air, coldly and cruelly announcing the end of reality, as if the final curtain of a tragedy was slowly falling, completely extinguishing Trean's last glimmer of light.

In the midst of the battlefield, Edel and Liseria struggled to approach Medici. The three of them stared at each other in silence, their gazes a mixture of determination and despair.

Liseria asked in a trembling voice:

"Sister, is there really still hope for us?"

Medici did not answer, but stared intently at the giant deer in the sky, her nails digging deep into her palms, blood seeping from between her fingers.

She knew all too well that this catastrophe might be irreversible, and that Sazeroth, the sovereign of the mirrored lake, hung high above the world, cruelly and coldly proclaiming Treian's inescapable fate.

Beneath the dark sky, only the endless starlight of the void flickered coldly, slowly devouring the city's last vestiges of life and hope.

"When the mirror stops reflecting reality and begins to write falsehood, the boundary between reality and reflection will disappear forever."

—Excerpt from *The Mysterious Revelation: Reflections and the Revelation in the Mirror*

(End of this chapter)