I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

The eldest prince, Victor, was completely unfazed by his father's threats and simply smiled.

"Do you know why I chose this time?"

The old king's phantom, including the eyes and mouth embedded in his limbs, all fell silent, waiting to hear his eldest son, whom he had raised with his own hands, finish speaking.

"Your consciousness is vying for control within your body with that of nine great beings, and your awakening has been repeatedly postponed, giving me the opportunity to sideline you."

Viktor looked up at the phantom on the throne, his gaze sweeping over the eyes and mouth embedded in the limbs.

"Besides, we share the same name."

The phantom of the old king suddenly let out a very soft sound, which was like a sigh or a laugh.

He did not deny it.

Viktor chuckled, a laugh tinged with a coldness that had been building up for years:

"I have never doubted a father's love for his son. But I have also seen what you have done to your brothers. If you can do this to your own brothers, who can guarantee that you won't do this to me? After all, you even gave me your own name. Who knows if one day you have a problem with your fusion and the first thing you think of is using my body to start over?"

The king's phantom lowered its eyes, and after a long while, it let out a low sigh.

"You guessed right."

His straightforward admission left Viktor speechless.

The king's voice returned to its usual grandeur and calmness, "I did make that preparation. If you are not suitable, I will continue with your body. You are my best son, and the most suitable vessel."

Is that really the case?

Viktor clenched his fists, but his expression remained unchanged.

"But it's pointless to talk about this now."

The dark purple light patterns on the king's phantom began to tremble violently, and the eyes and mouths on its limbs simultaneously emitted sharp buzzing sounds.

"Since you've won this round, then do it your way! Take my power, my authority, and the pact with the Nine Gods!"

Viktor took a few steps and then suddenly stopped, which made the old king want to laugh.

"What's wrong? My child, even at a time like this, don't you trust me?"

Viktor smiled slightly: "Father, did you think I would come to receive your memories and power without any precautions?"

After saying that, Victor took out a huge staff directly from his spatial ring.

A silvery-white halo spread from the tip of the staff, forming a translucent film around him.

The thin film flowed like water across his body, tightly enveloping his soul and memories.

[The Great Staff].

The most powerful relic of the Mage Guild.

One of the sacred relics alongside the Scales of Order, the Golden Crown, and the Holy Sword is the ability to maintain its own state.

The organs in the old king's phantom image simultaneously began to stir.

The mouth on his right arm hissed, "He has that thing in his hands; we can't take his body away!"

The eye on his left leg snapped open, its dark golden pupil reflecting the light of the great staff. "Wait, how did that thing get into the palace? Wasn't it...?"

"Sealed deep within the headquarters of the Mage Guild, it can only be retrieved with the approval of the guild master and more than two-thirds of the council members?"

Victor finished speaking for it, the corner of his mouth remaining unchanged, "Yes, that's how it is according to the rules. But the rules are for ordinary people."

He didn't explain in detail how he obtained the great staff, but grabbed the ball of light and continued:

"Look, Father, I haven't missed a single thing you taught me."

Knowing that he had no hope of possessing the body, the old king finally admitted defeat and said:

"As expected of my son, you even foresaw this step."

Viktor is no longer affected by the other party.

He gripped the large staff in his hand and continued walking up the steps.

With each step, the dark purple light patterns in the old king's phantom dimmed a little.

The eyes and mouth embedded in His limbs slowly closed, like windows blown shut by the wind.

"Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

As the saying goes, "A dying man's words are good."

The phantom slowly raised its hand, pointing to a hidden compartment to the side of the throne.

The hidden compartment opened silently at His will, revealing a black wooden box, similar to the one that had been stolen and sealed the Well of Eternal Night.

The old king's voice drifted out from the phantom, almost inaudible, "These are my insights from my battles against them, now I give them to you."

Viktor didn't even take the wooden box, fearing the other side might have some special tricks up their sleeve.

The old king's phantom had faded to almost transparent, and his voice came from all directions, "There is one more thing: beware of the Church and the Elven Court, my descendants."

The phantom began to disintegrate from the edges, the dark purple light patterns extinguished one by one, and the organs embedded in the limbs disappeared one after another, turning into wisps of green smoke and dissipating into the air.

The last thing to disappear was those eyes.

Before the old king's phantom completely dissipated, his dark purple eyes cast one last glance at Victor.

And then nothing was left.

Nine phantom figures entered Victor's body under the constraints of the [Contract]. Under the checks and balances of successive kings, they had long since had much of their spirit and will worn away. In recent generations, they were even able to control their opponents with the will of ordinary people.

……

Outside the main hall, Ji Tian and his group were walking along the corridor.

The lights have been restored, but the rules generated during the darkness still linger in various corners of the palace. Ji Tian speculates that these rules were released by a more powerful object or being.

Ji Tian attempted spatial teleportation and discovered that the path of spatial folding was distorted by some invisible force, causing the teleportation destination to always deviate to an unexpected location.

With time running out and the task heavy, he stopped trying and led the group forward on foot, following the direction of the aura.

Sonia walked in the middle of the group, holding her skirt in one hand and a bottle of holy water in the other, her eyes scanning the corridor with wariness.

After the lights were restored, she became much bolder, but the traces of the tumors that had protruded from the wall were still visible on the surface, and she would quicken her pace every time she passed by.

"Master, how much further?" Shirley walked beside Ji Tian, ​​still eager to face the next wave of monsters.

"Soon."

Tyrol followed at the back of the group, her eyes scanning back and forth between the decorations and furnishings on both sides of the corridor, when suddenly something seemed familiar.

The painted ceilings, the reliefs on the walls, and the marble patterns on the floor all bear a distinct royal style.

She had accompanied her father to the palace several times as the prime minister's daughter, and she had seen this corridor before, but she had never reached its end.

After turning another corner, a tall bronze door appeared at the end of the corridor, engraved with the royal coat of arms and the crests of past kings.

Sonia stopped in her tracks.

She recognized the door.

This is the main gate of the royal palace.

She had come here with her father when she was a child. At that time, her father held her hand and told her that this was where the throne was located, the heart of the kingdom.

She looked up at the crown relief above the lintel, then turned to look at Ji Tian.

"Why...why is this the main hall of the royal palace?"