Thales did not feel good.
Very bad.
The rising and falling soreness in his body, the cold that caused his joints to tremble, the hunger that seemed to burn through his stomach, the pain and numbness from his old and new wounds, and the dizziness and fatigue that caused him to use up all his energy …
All sorts of negative feelings assaulted him like a flood.
The Royal Guards' sobs and gasps seemed to echo faintly in his ears.
It was so stimulating that Thales' vision began to fluctuate.
The Sin of Hell's River, which had always been restless and unruly, was now lying dormant like a seriously ill beast, refusing to give him any more help.
Thales knew that this might be the side effect of the Sin of Hell's River's recovery ability, or the side effect of abusing mystic energy, or even the Alchemy Ball exploding.
He had already tortured this young body too much.
But he had no choice.
No.
Under Quick Rope's worried voice and Beldin's nervous gaze, the teenager used all his strength to stand firm.
But he could not fall down.
In his daze, Thales, whose body and mind were equally heavy, waved his hand and rejected the others' help.
'Not yet.'
He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue a few times, causing himself to shiver.
It was as if he could absorb enough strength from the almost numb pain and focus his mind.
In a different kind of silence, Thales turned around laboriously with the torch in his hand.
He looked at the man who sat against the wall with a desolate and dejected look on his face while he held his injured arm.
Following Thales' gaze, the others also turned to the pitiful man who did not say a word and only stared blankly at the two corpses.
Beldin's bloodshot eyes were fixed on the man, as if he was expecting something.
Canon and Tardin's expressions were filled with shame, as if they did not dare face the man. Samel's gaze contained an indescribable meaning.
But the closer Thales got to the torch in his hand, the more the man shrank back. He even turned his head to avoid it, as if he was filled with fear towards the light.
"Quill Barney.
Chief Vanguard. "
Thales' tired sigh rose.
"I know that you have been through a lot today."
The indifferent figure seemed to have felt something and subconsciously shrank back.
Thales stopped moving.
In the teenager's blurry vision, Barney Junior's figure gradually became clear.
Not long ago, it was this man who extended his rough, callused palm to him.
But at this moment, the vigor in his eyes was long gone.
Instead, it was replaced by darkness.
It was filled with despair, self-blame, pain, and perplexity.
"No, Your Highness." Barney Junior's head was pressed against his shoulder and the wall. Half of his face was immersed in the darkness and could not be seen clearly.
"No."
His words were filled with hatred, which made the brand on his face even more obvious.
"Don't use those emotional tricks on me …"
"Don't comfort me, and don't forgive me …"
Barney Jr. did not continue.
He hugged his injured arm and curled up in the corner, hiding from the light.
He was like a trapped beast that had lost its vitality.
It was a dead end.
Only the walking dead remained.
What took him away?
What took this man away from her?
The warrior who resolutely and fiercely brandished his sword and shield and charged into the enemy's formation?
The Limiteer who had never changed his expression even when he was in a desperate situation, drenched in blood?
Thales inhaled softly and threw away the torch in his hand.
The dim and blurry light and shadow flickered.
Without the stimulation from the torch, Barney Junior finally turned his head slightly.
"Of course not."
The teenager had a gentle smile on his face.
"And I am not prepared to do that."
Thales stared at Barney Junior, and his tone became steady.
"Because you did nothing wrong."
The trembling Barney Junior was stunned for a while.
The underground prison became quiet.
Then, Thales continued to speak.
"Since eighteen years ago, as the loyal Vanguard of the Royal Guards, Barney, your path has always been clear, straight, one-way, and unique.
"You live in the purest world. You only need to be yourself and protect your companions. You never need to choose between two difficult choices."
Barney Junior's gaze slowly froze, but he did not move.
The teenager turned to the other people in the underground prison. His tone was deep, and he seemed to sigh.
"Unlike them."
Zakriel stared at the two corpses on the ground. His gaze was unreadable. Samel lowered his head deeply, as if he was indignant.
"Unlike Nalgi, who was filled with remorse and guilt. He yearned for peace in his heart, but could not find it."
Canon, Bruley, and Tardin each had a troubled look on their faces.
"Unlike Naer, who felt like there was a fishbone stuck in his throat when he learned the truth. He was tormented by hesitation and could not speak."
Thales stared at Barney Junior's expressionless face. In the end, he sighed.
"Unlike …
"Unlike your father."
'Father.'
The moment that word left his mouth, Thales saw Barney Junior shudder violently.
The prince sighed in his heart.
"So, you think that your father should have told you the truth back then, right?"
Thales watched Barney Junior's struggling and changing expression.
He said softly, "The problem is, if he had been honest with you, what would you have done? What would you have chosen?"
'If he had told me the truth …'
The outline of Barney Junior's face contorted under the firelight on the ground.
But in the end, the vanguard still turned his head around stubbornly and indignantly. He faced the wall and avoided the light. He did not say a word.
He only exposed the ugliest brand to the firelight.
Thales calmly watched Barney Junior's reaction.
He continued, "I guess …
"Would you listen to his difficulties, stand with him, and be like him, fight to the death in front of the palace gate without returning, and be buried with your choices and sins?
"Would you bear the blood debt of regicide and sleep eternally?"
Barney Junior still turned his head away without saying a word, but the brand on the side of his face twitched inexplicably.
Thales' tone became heavier.
"Or would you be loyal to the late king and stand against him? Would you be disappointed, sad, puzzled, angry, and pained when you met him with weapons, and would you destroy your own family in the name of justice?
"Would you carry your father's name and live a nightmare?"
The outline of Barney Junior's face twitched. Visible veins popped up on his fists.
Thales chuckled softly.
"Or would you lose yourself in confusion and hesitation, refuse to accept reality, and run away alone to escape everything that is about to happen, just like you are now?
"Would you live your days in chaos with the guilt of a coward?"
The teenager's gaze shifted to the sword Zakriel had snatched from Barney's hand.
"Or even … die and be done with it?"
'Die and be done with it.'
The vanguard shuddered while he hugged his injured arm and avoided everything.
He seemed to be unwilling to give up. He only uttered a few vague words.
"It doesn't matter anymore …"
But Thales did not let him continue.
"I think this is his worry and his fear."
The prince's voice became downcast.
"He knows you and understands you. That is why he is afraid. He is afraid that when you know the truth, when you know his choice, you will not have any other path to take …"
Thales looked disheveled, and he looked exhausted. Only his eyes were bright and spirited.
"I think this is also the tacit understanding and agreement between your father and your brothers who kept you in the dark for many years."
Barney Junior's breathing stopped for a few seconds. He was stunned.
He ignored the serious injury on his shoulder and arm. He turned his head around again and looked at Tardin and the others.
But they all lowered their heads and avoided his gaze.
Thales ignored Barney's confused and pained expression. Instead, he stared into the distance, which did not exist, and sighed softly.
"Your father did not intentionally betray and deceive you, Vanguard Barney. He did not place bets on both sides and curry favor with you in the middle, as Nalgi said."
There was regret and sorrow in the teenager's voice.
"The truth is, he loved you.
He wanted to protect you. "
Thales paused for a moment, and Barney's breathing became increasingly erratic.
"He just …"
"I don't know how to express it."
The prince's voice was steady, but there was a profound meaning to it. There was an indescribable emotion in it.
"So, he made the choice for you."
No one knew that at that moment, Thales clenched his fists tightly.
The choice you made.
Barney Junior's thoughts stopped for a moment.
The vanguard was in a daze.
In his distant memories, the familiar figure that often visited his nightmares for the past 18 years appeared again.
That sturdy, tough, stubborn figure that he thought would never fall.
And the voice that used to be there.
Solemn, forceful, and earnest.
[Your grandmother wrote … She wants you to go back.]
[I think it should be your choice.]
Barney Junior's gaze was unfocused in the firelight.
Make a trip back …
The choice is yours …
Barney Junior subconsciously hugged himself tightly and shuddered. An inexplicable fear rose in his heart.
But in the next second, what he heard was a voice that was rarely heard from the other party. It was not so forceful, and it even sounded a little weak and helpless.
[No, we can't escape.]
[My son.]
The voice became more and more indistinct, but the face became clearer and clearer.
Let me choose …
No.
Barney Junior's expression slowly twisted.
He hugged his injured arm in pain. His breathing was intermittent.
"No …"
Barney pressed his face against his shoulder. He could not help but twitch. His voice trembled so much that it became distorted.
"Father …"
As if he did not want to appear too weak, Barney Junior, whose face was contorted, stuffed his left index finger between his teeth and bit down hard on the whimpers in his throat.
The guards quietly watched Barney Junior's sorrowful, angry, and pained expression. An indescribable sorrow spread in the air.
Thales sighed slowly. There were a myriad of emotions in his heart.
"His plan obviously fell through."
The prince tried his best to speak in his most gentle but also most serious voice.
"Even though it was eighteen years late, you still faced the truth.
Cruel, but true. "
Barney Junior started to tremble again.
The vanguard closed his eyes, as if he could stop certain things by doing so.
"I know your tricks, Your Highness."
He snorted stubbornly.
"It's a common tactic among nobles. Just like how you dealt with the others just now, you took advantage of their weakness and gave them conditions they could not refuse in exchange for what you wanted the most."
On the other side, the expressions of Canon, Bruley, Tardin, and even Beldin and the others changed slightly.
Barney Junior snorted and said to Thales,
"Right now, you are taking advantage of my feelings towards my father."
Thales paused for a moment, as if he could not bear to do so.
But in the end, he still took a deep breath and slowly enunciated his words.
"So that's your weakness?"
"Your father?"
When he deprived you of the chance to make your own choice, so that you could avoid making a painful choice, and even avoid the consequences of your choice? "
'Father.'
Barney Junior's arms began to tighten. He felt the pain from the fracture gradually increase.
'No.'
He loosened his teeth as cold sweat broke out. He opened his bloodshot eyes and stared at the prince indignantly. He wanted to say something, but did not.
"Do his actions mean anything to you?"
But Thales shook his head.
"Don't answer me," the prince said softly.
"Answer yourself."
Barney Junior froze for a moment.
Thales turned his head and swept his gaze over Samel, who had a complicated expression on his face, Beldin, who had hope in his eyes, Tardin and the other two, who had an indecipherable expression on their faces, and Zakriel, who had gone through a huge change and was in a daze.
The prince took a deep breath to relieve his dizziness.
"For example, will you be like what you were doing just now …"
Thales turned around, stretched out his hand with great difficulty, and picked up the longsword on the ground.
"Just like what your father envisioned, worried, and feared."
Will you become that cowardly veteran, Quill Barney, who lost his life, sank into despair, and only wished for death after he learned the truth? "
Barney Junior's gaze was fixed on the longsword in Thales' hand.
His whimpers gradually became softer, and his trembling stopped.
Thales sighed softly.
"Will you?"
The prince lowered his head. His voice was low, and there was sadness in his voice.
"If you do that …
"Then it will only mean one thing — that your father is right."
Barney Junior shuddered violently.
"Because regardless of whether you admit it or not, you have confirmed your father's worries and confirmed his judgment. You will not be able to withstand everything he faces."
Thales took a step forward. He endured his dizziness, inhaled, and spoke.
"You have acknowledged your father's idea, agreed to the choice he made for you, and followed the path he paved for you."
The vanguard gritted his teeth. His expression became more pained, and his face became more contorted.
His gaze moved back and forth between the prince, who was determined and could not be refuted, and the longsword on the ground, which was covered in blood.
"You used your actions to prove that your father should never have told you the truth, that he should never have shared his choice with you, and that you, who are weak, should never have known this secret!"
Thales' words were tough, and his gaze was fierce.
Beldin and the others behind him looked at each other at a loss for words.
But Thales continued speaking, and his tone became stronger.
"Because of you, Vanguard Quill Barney, because you cannot endure that kind of pain, and you cannot bear the consequences!
You do not have the right to make your own choice. "
Barney Junior clenched his fists subconsciously, and his breathing quickened.
The vanguard and the prince stared at each other in silence. One of them struggled and hesitated, while the other was firm and cold.
Unexpectedly, in the next second, the prince's tone became softer, and he became tired again.
"But …
"Are you?"
Thales sucked in a deep breath, turned the longsword upside down, and handed the hilt to Barney Junior while trembling.
"Are you?"
Barney Junior froze.
"Your grandmother sent you a letter … She wants you to go back."
A familiar voice echoed in his ears.
"Very well, then I will not go back."
His gaze, which was fixed on the sword, changed back and forth between confusion, pain, and indignation.
Then, Thales gently lowered the hilt that no one took from him.
The underground prison became quiet again. Only the sound of breathing could be heard.
It felt as if a century had passed.
Finally, Barney Junior opened his mouth and took a deep breath in the dull underground prison. He tried his best to calm down.
"But what if …" Barney Junior's next sentence was filled with sarcasm and disappointment.
"What if I am the one?
The one who cannot bear the truth after it was shattered? "
Barney Junior's voice was nasal, dull, and hoarse.
"What if I am that kind of coward and do not have the right to choose for myself?"
But Thales smiled.
He gently threw the longsword away and let it whine on the ground.
"You said it before, Barney." The prince's voice was gentle and hoarse, as if he was afraid of waking up a person who was asleep.
"Those brothers that you cherish, they are the reason why you have been struggling in the darkness and persisting until now, aren't they?"
When they heard this, the breathing of the guards became disorderly.
Barney Junior's body trembled slightly under the firelight.
The man followed Thales' gaze and swept his gaze past the two corpses of his comrades in a daze and numb manner.
The prince looked at Nalgi and Naer's bodies, which were gradually turning cold, with sorrow.
Thales sighed softly.
"But I feel that it is the exact opposite."
Barney Junior's fingers tightened slightly, and his breathing became more erratic.
Thales raised his gaze and glanced at the underground storage room in the Prison of Bones. It was covered in dust and a mess.
The guards noticed that the prince's expression became unfocused and perplexed.
"Nalgi said that in this dark, bottomless dungeon, everyone has been tortured."
"But there is one and only one person."
He lives in the only place where light shines. "
Barney Junior's gaze froze for a moment.
All the Royal Guards were stunned.
Thales' voice was very soft and careful.
"In there, he has what they have lost, and what they desire the most."
The disheveled teenager with a bruised and swollen face lowered his head and flashed a relaxed and light smile at Barney.
Barney Junior was stunned.
"Compared to the others who have a tacit understanding or have their own secrets, you are able to maintain the purest persistence, the purest loyalty, and the purest sincerity."
Beldin lowered his eyes in a daze, Tardin lowered his head in pain, Samel placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, and Canon and Bruley did not say a word.
Thales spoke in his brightest and most regretful voice.
"This is what they have lost a long time ago. This is what they envy the most, are jealous of the most, look up to the most, desire the most, but are unable to touch the most, and the most precious thing. This is what your father saved for you at the cost of his own downfall, and it is what your brothers and sisters paid the price of eternal guilt.
"It is what makes them feel ashamed of their inferiority, what they yearn for the most, and what they dare not look at directly."
His enunciation was clear, and his voice lingered for a long time.
Barney Junior did not speak anymore. He just stood there in a daze.
The remaining Royal Guards had different expressions on their faces. Some were confused, some were indignant.
Thales glanced at Nalgi and Naer, who had their eyes closed on the ground, and smiled.
"The truth is, Quill Barney, before I came here, you were the light in the dark for your brothers and sisters. You were bright, hot, painful, and piercing to the eyes. You represented the brightest and most beautiful side of you that they could not accept, did not dare to think about, and did not dare to destroy."
Every word Thales said made Barney Junior's chest heave. The others lowered their heads and sighed. Even Zakriel was no exception.
"Do you admit it or not, Quill Barney Junior?"
Thales bent down with great difficulty. His palm stopped above the blood-stained, broken sword for a second before he slowly moved it horizontally.
He picked up the torch beside him.
"You are the only existence that they still hope to remain loyal to in this despairing world where betrayal is everywhere.
"You are the only coordinate that they can see when they are immersed in self-blame and guilt, and when they doubt themselves in a meaningless future.
"You are the only light that they can see when they raise their heads and are covered in wounds while they struggle in the darkness that reeks of blood.
"You are the only existence that they can respect, love, envy, and be jealous of. You are the only existence that they can look up to without reservation or apprehension.
"You are the last bit of comfort that they have when they look back at the past in the bitter, cold, and lightless lives."
Thales could be heard sighing.
"For eighteen years, you were the reason that kept them alive.
And after all that happened, are you — "
But Barney Junior interrupted the prince.
"It's fake."
He was a little embarrassed and angry, but his limbs and expression showed that he was at a loss.
"It's fake!
"It's all an illusion. It's something they created through despicable and betrayal." Barney Junior shook his head absentmindedly and clenched his fists, as if he could clear his mind by doing so.
"It never existed."
He growled in a hoarse and weak voice.
"It doesn't matter whether it's my father or the others … Back then, they didn't give me a choice at all!
No! "
Barney Junior was a little agitated. His words made most of the guards avert their gazes in shame. They did not dare to look him in the eye.
At this moment, Thales suddenly took a step forward!
He raised the torch in his hand high!
The light from the torch approached him and flickered continuously, causing Barney Junior to subconsciously raise his hand to avoid it.
"No, they didn't give you a choice," the teenager said airily.
"But your life was given to you."
Thales spoke very slowly, and the agitated Barney Junior subconsciously calmed down as well.
Thales sighed softly again.
"However, compared to the others, your choice came later, but it was more crucial and important than theirs.
"At this moment, right here.
"Eighteen years later."
Thales turned around and looked at everyone, including Zakriel, who was also immersed in darkness.
"Yes, Barney, when the truth comes to light, when all pretenses are torn apart, and when a brutal confrontation occurs," Thales said faintly.
"You will understand that everything you've experienced before is for today, and what kind of choice you will make."
Thales turned his head around and stared resolutely at Barney, who was dodging his attacks.
"And this choice is," he said softly.
"When you face all the darkness in this world, when you are angry because of betrayal, resentment because of deception, pain because of hatred, despair because of failure, when everything you have fought for has left you."
"What kind of person will you choose to become?"
No one spoke.
Another indescribable silence ensued.
But Barney Junior's gaze was no longer ethereal. He just stared at the prince with a complicated expression. His meaning was difficult to understand.
He sneered through his nose, desolate and helpless.
"That's easy for you to say." Barney Junior gritted his teeth and leaned his chest forward, as though he was resisting something with all his might.
"Because you weren't there!"
He gritted his teeth fiercely.
"If it was you, if you had experienced all this: betrayal, deception, hatred, failure …"
Barney Junior raised his voice and said to the prince resentfully, "What kind of choice can you make?
"What kind of choice can you make? What kind of person can you become?"
But he was quickly interrupted.
"It's simple."
Thales sighed.
"The teacher who taught me swordsmanship in Constellation told me on the first day."
The next moment, Thales moved his arm!
Barney Junior was startled, but he reacted quickly and caught the thing Thales threw at him.
It was a torch.
It was the torch Thales picked up from the ground.
The flame burned stubbornly in front of Barney Junior's eyes. It illuminated his entire body, from the bleeding, scars, holes, to the marks and brands.
It chased away the darkness.
"She said to me, 'Raise your shield.'"
Thales was calm, but his words left no room for doubt.
"There are only two situations in which you can put it down."
At that moment, Barney Junior shuddered as he held the torch.
The flame flickered violently in his hand and swayed back and forth.
But in the end, it did not fall.
"No matter how f * cked up this world is, Barney, no matter what kind of facts they try to use to convince you, deceive you, tempt you to open up to hatred, to fight hatred with an eye for an eye, to surrender to anger, to bow down to despair, to become a captive and slave under their rules …"
Quick Rope, who had been watching quietly from the side, was the first to sense Thales' emotions change.
"No matter what reality does to you, no matter how others attack you, hurt you, or torture you, no matter how limited and painful the choices life gives you are …
"No matter how many times the damn world betrays you, betrays you, hurts you, or forces you …"
Under the light of the fire, Prince Thales, who had been adventuring with Quick Rope over the past few days, showed a rare and complicated emotion.
Pain, sorrow, numbness …
And vulnerability.
These were the things Quick Rope thought he would never have a chance with the optimistic, humorous, strong, and resourceful Thales.
After a few seconds of pause, Thales took a deep breath.
"There is only one thing that matters."
Before Barney Junior's dazed expression, Thales flashed a faint smile, but it was hard to tell if it was more of resignation or melancholy.
"They can't change you.
"They can't make you put down your shield."
In the silent, dreary, and dim dungeon, Barney Junior stared at Thales with a dumbfounded expression.
A scene from a long time ago suddenly flashed before his eyes. It was when he had just joined the Royal Guards.
At that time, he was young, complacent, proud, and confident.
On that day, he swung the wooden sword in his hand at the country girl, who was in a sorry state after falling on the sand, and whose face was filled with pain …
She was a vain girl who he once thought had climbed up the royal family's high branch and obtained the crown prince's favor, which was why His Highness jokingly shoved her into his hands to "learn some martial arts".
'"Believe me, my lady. I hate this mission as much as you hate me right now."'
He still remembered how he endured the judgmental gazes of his colleagues in the training field. He said to the "training target" appointed by the crown prince in contempt and disdain,
'"Now, honorable Lady Jines, raise your shield."'
He still remembered the girl's gaze when she gritted her teeth and got up from the ground.
'"There are only two situations where you can put it down …"'
He remembered the sweat on her face, which was mixed with dust and blood.
He also remembered that no matter how badly the girl was beaten up by him, she still held the shield tightly in her hands and never let go.
'"You die, or the enemy dies."'
Barney Junior's vision became blurry.
"You don't need comfort or forgiveness, vanguard."
Thales raised his voice.
"You only need to face yourself."
A few seconds later, Barney Junior seemed to be unable to withstand the prince's bright and hopeful gaze. He subconsciously lowered his head and avoided Thales' gaze.
At that moment, his heart was in a mess, and he did not know what to do.
"Is that possible?"
Barney Junior turned his head and looked at the two corpses on the ground. There was doubt and sorrow in his eyes, and his tone became a little hesitant.
Thales looked at Barney Junior, who was gritting his teeth and holding the torch. He smiled faintly.
"Of course.
Because that is what I did. "
Thales slowly turned around, leaving the vanguard with a swaying back, who was struggling to move forward.
"From the first day." Under everyone's gaze, the teenager took a step forward, smiled, and raised his head.
"Until the last day."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
