Start in Terra, immortal

Flying out of the palace, at Bakal's speed, was almost instantaneous.

When they got close enough to see each other's faces clearly, Bakal was lost in thought.

That face—no, those two faces!—was so familiar.

Bakal recalled the last scene he saw in Luke's Silent City: the two people at the very front were them.

"If I am the trial of the blade, then who is this person before me? Why do we, who possess the power of an apostle, revere him?"

Bakal thought to himself.

However, before he could speak, Zhao Xin had already raised his weapon and blocked his way.

"Who goes there? State your name!" The words were imbued with the power of the soul, so that even if one could not understand the language, one could comprehend their meaning.

Startled by the shout imbued with willpower, Bakal had no choice but to stop flapping his wings and muster all his strength to resist.

"Roar! What is this terrifying soul power? Besides Kahn, are there other such terrifying beings among the Apostles?"

Bakal never expected that he could feel the same pressure he felt when facing Kahn in someone else.

Even a casual remark from someone who is merely a follower of the other party requires one's full strength to defend oneself. So how powerful must the person being followed be?

Bakal was plunged into despair.

"There's no escaping it..." He knew it perfectly well. He was only able to escape from Kahn because Kahn, for some reason, failed to kill him, and he managed to escape suddenly, which allowed him to succeed by sheer luck.

But now there's not only "Kahn," but also someone who seems even stronger than Kahn. Where can they run? Only surrender.

With a thought, Bakal stopped retaliating and instead shrank back to human form as the shout dissipated—looking as if he had been turned back to his original form by a shout.

"Have you two come to the Heavenly Realm to find me?"

Bakal's smile was forced, his expression even somewhat awkward. The dignity of being the Dragon King wouldn't allow him to bow his head, but his fear of those stronger than himself compelled him to do so. This conflicting emotion made him appear contradictory.

Seeing that Bakal had no intention of attacking, Zhao Xin stepped aside, revealing Rosso behind him.

"You should already know what Herder is planning, right?"

Rosso, accompanied by Zhao Xin and Bakal, teleported directly to Bakal's palace. He poured himself a cup of wine from the table, walked to Bakal's throne, sat down, and gestured for the two to find a place to sit as well.

What do you think?

Upon hearing this, the conflicted expression on Bakal's face vanished instantly, and the aura of the Dragon King returned.

He no longer flinched in front of Rosso Noodles. He picked up a cup, poured himself a cup, and handed one to Zhao Xin.

"She still believes in that prophecy and wants the souls of the apostles to be elevated to greatness, but she is trapped by the fact that the apostles cannot kill each other. So she wants to use the blades of non-apostles to gradually train and become stronger until they pierce our hearts."

As he spoke, Bakal burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, she actually thinks that with just a few trials, these inferior beings can grow to a point where they can contend with us. We are an insurmountable chasm for inferior beings!"

He raised his hand and took a big gulp of wine, laughing almost uncontrollably.

"Is it funny?"

Bakal's laughter abruptly stopped. Rosso's words were like an invisible hand, gripping his throat.

"Could it be... that you also believe Hilder was right? That prophecy... is true?"

Bakal suddenly crushed the wine glass in his hand, the shards reflecting his dragon-shaped face, his furious flames seeming ready to erupt at any moment.

"It seems you're not ready yet." Rosso put down his wine glass, flicked a spell at Bakal, and imprinted a magic circle on his hand.

"There is nothing wrong with sharpening the blade. From this point of view, what Herder did was also a good thing for the entire universe."

What I want is also a sharp blade with great strength and self-will.

I hope you will proceed as you see fit, let the blade see the truth of its actions, and do everything in your power to make it stronger—even if the price is your death.

Of course, death is not your end. The magic circle in your hand is your last resort.

This universe still needs you.

After hearing this, Bakal was stunned: "Death...is not the end?"

At this moment, he recalled those images again—he, who should have died in the flames, appeared behind Rosso instead.

"I understand! Hahaha! As long as Hilder doesn't achieve his plan, you can take my life!"

Bakal laughed heartily. Ever since escaping the Demon Realm, he had harbored a deep hatred for Hilder, that treacherous villain hiding in the shadows.

His claims of wanting to rule the demon realm and monopolize the water of life... were all just excuses to force him into this realm.

"Heh heh, Hilder, just you wait!"

Emerging from the palace, a bewildered Zhao Xin finally couldn't help but speak:

"My lord, the Hilder you speak of sounds like a heinous mastermind?"

"Let me tell you a story: Long ago, there was a planet called Terra. The people there discovered and captured a kind of energy, and they created some bodies to contain it."

Among the creators was a mother who was about to lose her daughter. To save her daughter, she sealed her daughter's consciousness and energy into her body.

She succeeded.

When they reached the edge of the cliff, Rosso stopped his story.

Zhao Xin remained silent, but in his heart he pondered the relationship between this mother and Herder.

"However, this power is not something ordinary people can withstand."

The daughter survived, but she didn't want to live in this way—she hated her mother.

Later, this power brought about a catastrophe that destroyed the planet; almost all of its vessels were destroyed, except for the daughter who survived.

As the planet teetered on the brink of destruction, the daughter passed on her last strength to her mother.

At that moment, the mother lost her daughter again, and she also lost her hometown.

Later, the mother received a revelation: by gathering the power of the twelve apostles and elevating it to greatness, she could restart the universe and regain her daughter and home.

From that moment on, everything she did was for this goal. Even when I offered her a second option, she never gave up.

After speaking, Rosso looked at Zhao Xin, as if waiting for his judgment.

"Even if the universe is restarted, if no changes are made, won't everything just happen again?"

Her life seemed to have been deliberately orchestrated to reboot the universe.

In Zhao Xin's view, Herder was indeed a villain. A truly good person would never sacrifice another's life for personal gain.

If everyone acted like Herder, what would become of nations and families? Such a world would inevitably perish.

Luo Suo remained noncommittal in response to Zhao Xin's reply.

Everyone has their own principles—Herald did, Zhao Xin did, and so did he.

If Hilder viewed the other apostles as pawns, then whose pawn was Hilder? Was Rosso himself a pawn as well?

No one has the answer, and no one is willing to become a pawn in the game of any existence.