Shut up, brave man! I don't want to atone for my sins to you!

At the beginning of this incident, the first investigator to come to Diesel was not Mr. White Schilling who wanted to investigate the abnormal magic vibration, but him——

He, Longin Tyr, was the first White Tower investigator to arrive in Diesel.

His successor was White Schilling, White Schilling's successor was Ivan Thorn, Ivan Thorn's successors were the Brave and the Witch.

Four batches of investigators, three generations of sacrifices, but Diesel's abnormality has not yet been properly resolved...

"——But there won't be a fifth group of investigators."

"Diesel's anomaly, those shadows from the ruins of the previous civilization, must be contained today. The anomaly that has lasted for thirty years must be completely ended today."

The emperor thought so, trying his best to keep his eyes open and stay awake, to suppress the severe pain that was shattering his body and soul, and to ignore the muttering and wailing of countless people.

He dropped his cane and sword, and tremblingly reached his hand into his chest, tightly grasping the "heart" that had been with him for thirty years.

With heavy breathing and pain that was unimaginable to ordinary people, he pulled the "heart", the damaged limited wish-making machine out of his chest.

But there is no blood.

Because he had bled to death thirty years ago.

The moment the emperor took out the "heart" and threw it to the brave man, the black shadows that were originally suppressed by the "heart" began to stir again. They crawled onto the emperor's cheeks, trying to capture this pure land that had never been conquered by them in the past 30 years.

The emperor's pupils had already dilated and were gradually turning black, and he began to cough violently.

“Ahem… ahem…” he panted and ordered in a low voice, “… back off.”

The emperor's voice was weak, like a candle in the wind, and the light of life could be extinguished at any time.

But the dark shadows that had already crept onto his cheeks were like being struck by lightning.

They were actually cowardly.

They did not dare to offend the dying emperor. They even retreated slowly, almost crawling under the emperor's majesty.

The emperor did not care about their reactions. He just said to his successor under the throne:

"Take this wishing machine... and then... leave Diesel before my people wake up... leave quickly..."

The witch and the priest were stunned.

But the brave man who had stopped them from approaching the emperor walked straight towards the emperor.

He picked up the limited wishing machine that the emperor had casually thrown on the ground, knelt on one knee like a subject, then raised his head and looked into the emperor's eyes.

"Do you have anything else to say?" he asked.

The emperor looked at the hero, his expression was dazed for a moment, and nodded:

"Remember... whether it's the limited wish-granting machines of the human countries... or the dark shadows that ran out from the ruins of the previous civilization... they... they are all... inextricably linked to the demise of the previous civilization..."

"In the past... thirty years... my people have collected countless documents and... books about... previous civilizations..."

When the emperor said this, the brave man suddenly recalled the endless sea of ​​books in the palace in his dream.

But he said nothing. He continued to listen in silence:

"Surrounded by those documents and books... I seemed to have turned back into... the Longin Tyr who studied in the White Tower... I read all the documents and books carefully... and finally found a sentence in a certain document..."

The emperor's breathing quickened again. He stared at the brave man intently, as if he wanted to engrave those words in the brave man's mind:

"'Do not touch the starry sky'... This is... a warning from our ancient civilization..."

After saying this, he seemed to have used up all his strength, collapsed on the throne, and fell into silence for a long time.

With great respect, the hero waited for a moment before asking a second time:

"Do you... have anything else to say, Your Majesty?"

There was no response from the throne.

"Then I...will withdraw, Your Majesty."

Still speechless.

The brave man gazed at the emperor who seemed to be in eternal sleep, bowed, and saluted the emperor seriously and respectfully.

He stepped down.

The hero's successor is the legendary investigator, Nicholas Kate.

It received the emperor's order and came to meet the emperor.

As if in a last ray of light, the dying emperor opened his eyes, looked towards it, and whispered:

"I...know you. You are...Mr. Nicholas...right?"

The black cat looked at the emperor with compassion and nodded:

"Exactly."

"Then I am relieved." The emperor sighed. "I guess... the first legendary investigator to arrive at Diesel will probably be you."

The black cat was silent for a moment and asked:

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Have……"

The emperor looked at him, and a fleeting light suddenly flashed in his eyes:

"I know...your magic skills...the reason why you were able to arrive at Diesel first...is precisely because your magic skills are so special...so I was thinking..."

"I was wondering... Is there any other way... to replace the limited wish machine to contain... contain those shadows..."

The black cat suddenly guessed what the emperor was going to say next, and began to tremble, but it did not say anything to confirm or deny. It just stared at Longin Tyr on the throne, staring at the real emperor.

Then it heard the emperor say:

"Please exile me... Please exile me and my kingdom... Mr. Nicholas... Since even the ancient civilization warned us not to touch the starry sky... then please..."

With great sorrow and determination, the emperor pleaded:

"Please banish me and my kingdom... to the depths of the starry sky..."

[To be continued]

-

72. It makes sense

Diesel's exile began.

Verdin Tudor picked up her teacher, the legendary investigator of the White Tower, Nicholas Kate the Black Cat.

The black cat in a top hat stared at the emperor on the throne through a crystal monocle and asked in a low voice:

"Are you... ready?"

A hint of relief rolled out of the emperor's already dilated pupils.

"Well..." He raised his hand with difficulty, and then gently put it down, as if saying goodbye to the entire Pangaea, "As early as... thirty years ago... I was already... ready..."

"Well then," the black cat nodded to the emperor, paying him sincere respect, "goodbye--"

"Diesel's, His Majesty the Emperor."

The top hat and monocle fell to the ground. Something broke through the black cat's body and spread out, almost losing the concept of "thickness" and extending indefinitely in all directions.

The shadow transformed by the black cat slowly engulfed the entire Diesel, the ruins, the slender ghosts wandering in the ruins, and the great, generous and loving emperor of the slender ghosts...

Everything about Diesel is included in it.

At this moment, Black Cat suddenly recalled the scene they had witnessed outside the Wall of Sighs a few days ago -

All the slender ghosts that had left Diesel and spread across the entire Pangaea in the past thirty years were on their way back home.

"That may also be Longin Tyr's decree to his people."

The black cat, having freed its true form, wrapped the emperor on the throne as gently as possible.

As an emperor, he was impeccable.

As an investigator, he performed his duties conscientiously.

He was already very tired, he... needed to rest.

Night replaced day, silently engulfing every corner of Diesel. Then the exile began, and according to the Wall of Sighs created by the Limited Wishing Machine that had not yet dissipated, the entire Diesel was cut off from the Pangaea and slowly floated into the sky.

Verdin Tudor, in perfect harmony with his teacher, built a mirror large enough to accommodate the entire country.

Under the dome, a huge water mirror opened, and colorful stars appeared on the mirror surface.

The dark kingdom was illuminated by the starlight, and under the gaze of his successors, the emperor and his kingdom slowly broke away from the Pangaea and rose into the starry sky in the mirror.

There, the emperor and his people will begin a wandering without end.

Facing the starry sky, Emperor Longin Tyr on the throne suddenly recalled the wish he made to the Limited Wishing Machine thirty years ago -

"I want my kingdom to last forever."

So, the limited wishing machine fulfilled his wish -

In the boundless starry sky, in the endless wandering, he and his kingdom will...

They will enter eternity together.

……

In the gap between dreams and reality, the brave man, the witch and the priest watched the emperor and his kingdom go away.

After the last part of Diesel disappeared in the mirror, the witch suddenly asked for no apparent reason:

"Do you think we can see Longin Tir and the emperor again in the future?"

The hero was silent for a moment, then turned his head and looked into the witch's blue eyes. He answered seriously, word by word:

"Will do."

"But..." The witch hesitated, "The previous civilization warned us not to touch the starry sky, and now Diesel has..."

"Will do."

The hero repeated his answer.

Then, he raised his head, stared at the mirror that reflected the stars, and whispered:

“Because looking up at the stars is something every child is born to do.”

"is that so……"

"Ah."

The conversation between the two came to an end for the time being.

Just like Diesel’s story - perhaps one day in the future, after solving the mystery of the previous civilization’s demise and finding a way to contain the Slender Man, this season’s civilization on the Pangaea will step into the starry sky - then, they will reunite with Longin Tyr in the starry sky.

And before that...

The hero suddenly reached out his hand to the witch and the priest.

"Come on," he invited her, "we should get out of here."

Logically speaking, both the witch and the priest should grab the hero's hand and leave the gap between dreams and reality with him.

Because destruction could come here at any time.

The sky is collapsing, the earth is shaking, and all entities are silently welcoming annihilation.

Dreams and reality coexist interdependently. If one of them disappears, the other will collapse as well.

With the separation of the real dimension, it would not be long before this place would turn into nothingness. If they did not leave in time, they would probably disappear along with the dream.

But the witch smiled and shook her head.

"No," she whispered, "you—you two should get out of here."

She suddenly gently pushed the pastor beside her and pushed her to the brave man.

She backed away, deliberately moving away from the hero and the priest.

In the end, she stood on the opposite side of both the hero and the priest.