Chapter 19: Where Shards of your Blazing Dream Once Gleamed, Lie Ashes of Echoes, by an Old Star Deemed (4).
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Under the red sky, the homeland's guards stood far from the unjust aggressor.
"...You would exchange your son's life for your own?"
"I do not know what grudge you hold against me, but I beg you, forgive my son."
Marley bowed, leaving herself unarmed before this unknown enemy.
The blue eyes trembled.
"Hahaha."
Loki held his face, laughing.
Marley could clearly sense the emotions behind that laugh.
It was not a mocking laugh.
It was a hollow laugh.
"Hahahaha!"
The cruel laughter rang through the place, chilling the heart with deep terror.
"Master! Oh master! She tells me to take her life instead of her son's. Oh, such nobility, such warmth! Hahaha!"
Loki fell to the ground from excessive laughter, even his tears flowing abundantly.
"Hehehe! Heek! Heek! Hehe! Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
This enemy left an opening for them to attack, yet they dared not move.
Ice rose from his body and clashed with the surrounding flames.
The place became foggy.
Within that fog, the laughter of a person driven mad by anger was heard.
"Th-this..."
The guards retreated unconsciously.
This was not fear of the enemy's strength.
It was fear born from witnessing hatred and madness.
Hatred that left a person mindless.
"Are you joking with me?"
Loki emerged from the fog, advancing towards Marley.
He extended his hands, gently holding her neck.
"Ughhh!"
Marley felt suffocation.
This masked man was pressing on her neck with malice.
The eyes behind the mask gleamed with a coldness resembling winter.
Her body tried to resist, but she forcibly relaxed her resistance.
This enemy did not immediately kill her son or the Guard Captain, but rendered them unconscious, attempting to lure her out.
The one who does this is not a foolish avenger.
Exposing the guards' corruption, the revenge speech, and killing himself.
"...He wants to prove his existence and his justice."
He wants to justify his revenge; he wants the world to hear his story.
The story of a wronged person's rights being restored is dearer to people than the revenge itself.
Even if he dies, he wants his memory on people's tongues to be that of an avenger, not an invader.
That is why Marley came out before him.
To save her son, to reduce losses, and to buy time, she bet her life.
What the village and her husband need most now is not her life, but forces.
In the midst of their mine's calamity, how could she care for her life?
For the survival of her people, she must buy time.
And if she fails?
Sacrificing herself to cleanse this cycle of old hatred would not be so bad.
Marley knew who the intended "master" was, and the matter of his death was true.
The circumstances of that story, no one knew but her.
The only thing remaining was that circumstances forced her to that outcome.
But would one blinded by the hatred of revenge listen?
So what?
"If I can save my people, what value is my life? Since I chose to walk the Path of Sound, which I had surrendered, I have not cared for this!"
Once one discerns their path, they must follow it without hesitation.
There was a time when Marley had forgotten the shards of her dream, and her life became full of fear.
But 8 years ago, a calamity came to her that guided her towards a radiant light.
Since that day, she walked an old path, buried out of fear of disappointment and misguidance.
And here we are today.
There is no regret anymore.
The pursuit of dreams on life's paths is like a journey through a desert towards a distant oasis mirage.
Whether it succeeds or fails, at the end of the journey, one realizes the worth of their pursuit.
Only if you walk with unyielding determination will you know your answer.
"Murderer! You murdered my master, even though he never wronged anyone. Yet after killing him, you claim kindness? Nonsense! I refuse to believe this posturing!"
Loki increased the pressure on her neck, repeating his words like an incantation.
"Heeek!"
Marley's eyes rolled back, her face growing paler with her trembling.
"Stop! You damned bastard!"
The guards advanced to stop him.
But.
"Stop—... stop... cough!"
Marley's voice stopped them.
"But!"
"No, no... don't... do that... cough! cough!"
Crack!
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Loki dropped her to the ground, staring at the sky.
"...Damn it."
Crack, crack, crack.
The blue aura rippled with absurd chaos, as if to display the sea of its master's emotions.
"Why... why is she kind? 8 years! 8 years of suffering and hardship striving for revenge, to achieve justice for my master!"
He pointed his hand at her, his fingers trembling.
"You have no right! You have no right to claim kindness after killing him! You killed my master with your accomplices. My master was not weak, but you outnumbered him. Otherwise, he would not have died! Why did he die while you live?"
Why did he die while you live!
His entire body trembled.
"This is an unfunny joke... then, for what reason did I suffer?"
He began to mutter like a madman.
But internally, Loki's heart was not moved at all.
He thought to himself: "No one will suspect me after this act. But there is something strange. She is too desperate for a tribal lady. Her death now would crush their morale, even considering maternal instinct. Aren't there more effective ways to save him? Suspicious, there is something suspicious!"
Loki did not know about the mine problem, so Marley's behavior seemed strange to him.
Initially, he thought she only came out to confuse him and support the forces with her abilities.
Loki left the Guard Captain and Grimlock alive primarily for this reason.
The Path of Sound specializes in support and indirect attack.
If she could approach the disguised Loki without him noticing, wouldn't that be in their favor to buy time?
But... there is a behavioral inconsistency.
What deviates from the norm has an extraordinary cause.
Loki's emotions rippled with his intuition, as reason laid out deductions.
All the cells in his body shouted to him, even begged him to realize!
When one does not act according to their interests, those interests lie elsewhere.
Just as plans do not keep pace with changes, one must change their stance according to circumstances.
Loki did not believe in Marley's sincere and sacrificial intentions, not by a single atom.
There is a cause and effect for those actions.
Just as ice is not generated without reasons, just as winter does not come without indicators, her actions have deeper intentions.
When a person is born, they are like the white pages of a book.
As they grow older and experience the world, the stories of their life are written on their book's pages.
From their book's stories, they learn and solidify their affairs through their principles, then their intentions intertwine and become complex.
Thus one lives.
Children can perform good deeds with no intentions other than that; adults cannot.
"The plan has changed."
Loki focused his mind towards his communication Ego.
[Orange Moon Ego, Third Star: Memory Call Dragon]
This Third Moon Ego was somewhat unique.
When used, a mental field is created connecting the person to the one they wish to communicate with, and a will resembling the person takes shape, where they can speak.
They can also communicate and exchange Ego stones.
Why?
This Ego has spatial properties, and since it transfers consciousness to an intangible field, it also has energy storage properties.
But it cannot be used for attack; only pure energy with no unique properties can be carried by this Ego.
Of course, to transfer Ego stones, the receiving party must possess the same Ego.
The most beautiful thing about this Ego is that its energy traces are very faint, meaning there are almost no energy remnants.
Because this Ego, in essence, is composed of will.
Will rarely leaves remnants behind, and thus methods to detect them are rare.
Loki, still muttering madly, raised his hands to the sky.
"Life is unjust! The world is unjust! The wronged's right against the oppressor is retribution, but look at my state!"
Far from his dramatic acting, he cleared his mind, thinking of the form of the person he wished to contact.
From within his core heart, a dragon emerged.
Its spectral form was visible to no one but Loki.
The dragon slowly circled its master, consuming some of his aura.
"Aaaaaah—!"
The mad masked man, before everyone, cast his energy towards the sky, crying out in lamentation.
The ice formed from energy flew high, passing through the ripple of the energy field surrounding the Red Night Forest, colliding with some of it there.
No one noticed the dragon hiding among the ice arrows.
It flew high and far, at a speed no one could catch.
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Raising himself with one arm in the garden, the young man had a premonition.
He wanted to make the world chaotic.
If chaos increased, he could achieve inspiration and step towards a higher level.
Chaos of villages, chaos of cities, chaos of nations.
Towards the vast world, where the elite of powers and kings belong.
He wanted to shatter them and trample them, he wanted to feel the pleasure of looking at the world from that place.
Even if others die, even if his tale is penned In the blood of men, even if he makes war's fields extend.
Even if he dies while striving still.
Even if he's tortured For a thousand years, Against his will.
even if he becomes hollow upon the hill.
So what?
Compared to the sight of his dream's faint gleam, To the taste of the climb, the relentless upstream — What is life worth?
He wanted to taste the strong one's lonely grace, The chilling beauty of that desolate place.
The peak is cold and alone, it's true, But the horizon seen from there — no other view.
The young man smiled; his crimson eyes Spilled over with contentment, no disguise.
He enjoyed the exhaustion that training brings, He enjoyed the hardship, the struggle of kings.
He enjoyed evolving when the world's chaotic disasters Came, crashing down— it was his wings to rise Again.
"If the world is absurd, then I am absurdity's king, If the enemy is insane, then I am lost in chaos's, insanity Dream."
Leon laughed, recalling an old refrain His master spoke again and again; The leader of his sect, his lord and guide:
"Because the journey is filled with misery's tide, The sky is worth the painful stride."
"Hmm?"
While increasing the heavy gravity on his body, the young man felt a slight tremor.
Inside his core heart, the Green Moon was steady.
The world around him was black; red stars surrounded the entire place.
The brightest stars revolved around the moon, numbering three.
On the Green Moon's surface, strange creatures lived.
Some were red wolves like star dust, some were black tigers, with crescent-like white marks on their faces flashing.
Sharks swam in the space surrounded by red stars, their bodies strangely rippling as they orbited in a deep orbit.
Castles gleaming in crimson and black surrounded every place.
Inside the castles stood armies of warriors, with swords, spears, arrows, daggers, and bloody weapons.
Some had absurd laughs, some were faceless, and some were cold, devoid of emotions.
Above each castle, a man sat on a throne wearing a black mask with golden inscriptions, his crimson eyes gleaming with majesty.
In the void, they awaited their king's signal.
A number of Egos floated with the stars, swimming in the void, devouring starlight.
These Egos numbered in the dozens.
Most were at the First Moon, the number gradually decreasing as rank increased.
Inside 7 great castles, the strongest Egos resided.
Strangely, these Egos resembled human appearances.
"Roar!"
A crimson dragon cried out wildly, shining with twilight light.
Before the dragon, another appeared, then the two merged together, emitting twilight light.
Seeing the sight, the seven smiled with terrifying radiance.
Above the twilight light, a white aura rippled.
The aura was cold as winter.
"Loki?"
In the blink of an eye, the dragon vanished from his core heart.
Leon caught the dragon, staring at the words floating above it.
The dragon's majestic size shrank, becoming the size of a fist.
Its form became light, colliding with Leon's body, and became a necklace.
A red necklace, with a gem resembling a dragon's eye.
Leon transferred his will through his energy clearly.
Will—it is an expression of intention, a clear desire towards something.
As I desire, clearly, with determination.
Will is composed—in essence—of thoughts, emotions, and energy.
Emotion is the raw intention, the origin and pure essence; Anger and joy, sorrow, happiness, envy, anxiety, and the rest of the separate emotions—through their existence, the embryo of will is born.
Thoughts are the intertwining; Thought connects emotions together, Through thoughts, emotions are refined, and means of expressing them and how to justify them are formed.
Core energy is the medium; Through it, intention becomes tangible and transitions from illusion to reality, Through it, one can affect the world.
Emotion, thought, then energy—when all can be used consciously, will is formed.
Accustomed to this, Leon found no difficulty in expressing his intention.
That intention was acceptance.
He closed his eyes, finding himself in a purple world where snow fell.
He stood calmly, staring at the flower field.
Despite the snowfall, spring flowers had not withered.
"Leon, I fear there is something strange inside Glaimore's tribe."
Before him stood the white-haired one.
This time, he was not in disguise.
But he was not wearing his usual clothes, nor an academic's uniform.
It was black military attire worn only by Jianghu folk.
The robe was dark with red embellishments, and on the left chest was a symbol of a crimson dragon flashing with majesty.
In the midst of the coiled dragon were written clear words: "The reckless dreamer's pursuit of the unknown."
Leon wore the same robe.
Glaimore? Who is this?
He found himself wondering about this person called Glaimore.
Regarding names, Leon the genius was simply an idiot.
Especially when a person left no impression on his memory.
Leon did not ask about this, but said: "Something strange?"
"Yes." Loki nodded lightly, explaining the situation.
Currently, what was speaking were the wills of Leon and Loki.
Intention is changeable, but rarely changes after formation.
Will is not free-thinking in most cases, nor can it respond to what it was not built for.
This essentially means its line of thinking is limited to what it was built upon.
If one attempts to distort it with matters it was not built upon, it becomes polluted, leading to its destruction.
Will requires consciousness to make a decision outside the reasons for its formation, so a part of consciousness must be left for situations beyond its capabilities.
This requires separating a part of consciousness from its owner; this is called multitasking.
If one reaches a higher level, they can divide their consciousness and do several things at the same time.
Multitasking is something everyone does unconsciously.
Walking, seeing, listening, speaking, and thinking—all this happens unconsciously.
But this is the surface of the water.
It is not a skill unless done deliberately.
Cut wood with one hand, sew your clothes with the other, and read a book while doing so.
One requires sharpness, the second requires precision, and the third requires focus. This contradiction cannot be done unconsciously.
Most of one's actions are determined by the unconscious.
Before their thoughts become tangible, their mind already decides what to do.
In the land of sorcerers, there was a saying: Before the blink of an eye of your desire for something, your brain already wanted it.
Human actions are governed by habit; that habit moves their emotions and thoughts.
What has been predetermined takes time to change; this contradiction strains the mind.
Dividing consciousness for several things strains the brain, creating confusion.
Once the mind is confused, thoughts contradict and intermingle, leading to randomness.
That randomness builds the foundation for errors, and through errors, negative emotions are generated.
As negative emotions increase, confusion increases, and the process repeats to create a vicious cycle.
Hence, you fail when you try to divide your consciousness.
If one resolves that confusion and becomes accustomed to its strain, their focus and division of matters improve over time.
This is not a gift for the talented, nor a monopoly of anyone.
It is a skill acquired through conscious repetition.
Exercise your mind on this always, whether studying or playing, in sadness or joy, at rest or work, even in your dreams.
By seconds, by minutes, by days, by years if necessary!
The mind is like a muscle; it gives you as much as you give it, it challenges you as you challenge it.
Accustom it to strain, it will strive; accustom it to rest, it will slacken.
If you engrave that strain into your cells, you will see what your shortcomings have blinded you to.
Loki was acting, observing the environment around him in the Shield Wolf Ghoul Village, while his will transmitted information at the same time.
As for Leon, he focused most of his consciousness on his training, managing his resources in his core heart, analyzing the habits of the village's Senate, while keeping some of his focus on Loki's information.
"Oh, oh! I remember now!"
Leon's will suddenly shouted with a bright face.
Leon had such times, where inspiration would suddenly come, and being accustomed to it, Loki was not surprised.
Loki's will listened attentively, hoping Leon's inspiration would solve this puzzle.
"Glaimore! He's that big ugly one! That fool married to five women. Hehehe, what a genius I am!"
"..."
Inspiration.
"Yes, inspiration, my ass..."
Loki's will stared at the winter sky of his mental field, questioning himself about his sins in life to pin his hopes on this damned one.
"Alright, let's set aside my genius in remembering people aside..."
Damn it! If will were tangible here, I would beat this scoundrel black and blue!
"I did not send you aimlessly, Loki, no, no."
Ignoring Loki's angry will, Leon's will laughed heartily.
"Your disguise as a disciple of an old master who died mysteriously, the Lady of the Dream Cloud Voice, our village's enmity with them, snow and winter, the mysterious attacks on our external forces recently—all this built my suspicions, so I decided to take the initiative."
The ordinary see events as coincidence, the intelligent see them as a system.
And the wise manipulate them.
Leon's will extended its hand towards its head, speaking calmly: "Shattered Dream News."
A transparent mass of energy flowed from the will's body towards the hand.
Little by little, the mass of energy swelled, its form appearing strange.
Its composition seemed like words.
As if the letters of a book floated and intertwined.
The crimson color of the words flashed, as they floated slowly, away from Leon's will.
With the consumption of the energy keeping the will cohesive, its form became transparent.
Leon's transparent form looked strange.
Staring at the falling snow, Leon thought about the intention he had now.
Laughter.
Regardless of situation or place, let alone time, this will would do nothing but laugh.
"My time is almost up, so I'm leaving now. Farewell, brother."
"...Why make it dramatic? It's not as if you're going to die."
"Tsk, not fooled."
Leon's will muttered.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing."
Loki's will raised its finger near its ear, twirling it.
Leon had always been eccentric.
Loki's will walked towards the mass of energy, then touched it with its left hand.
In the blink of an eye, the crimson mass of energy was absorbed, and the information flowed into the will's mind, transmitted to the main body.
"Farewell, Leon."
With a wave of the hand, the entire world rippled, crumbling towards nothingness slowly like a mirage.
The will separated from the mental field, returning to the original body.
In the Shield Wolf Ghoul Village, the madman was running.
Forgetting Marley sitting dazed and coughing, ignoring the Ghouls' shouts, unconcerned with Grimlock and the Guard Captain.
Towards the two unconscious ones, a wolf with an armored body ran and dragged them with its teeth.
"Valko?!"
Marley shouted with clear distress.
Whoosh!
"Kyaa!"
The wolf ran towards her and grabbed her with its teeth, throwing her high before letting her fall onto its back.
Straddling it, Marley sighed in relief, but worry did not leave her.
"As soon as I saw my son and heard his faint breathing, tears overflowed without my knowing."
"Thank you, Valko... thank you, my husband."
Marley smiled lightly, smiled with joy, and finally laughed radiantly.
My son is alive, and I am alive.
The intention to live is natural, and even if one is not terrified of death to that extent, death is still terrifying.
With overflowing tears and a radiant laugh, the wolf Valko ran into the village.
The last thing Marley saw was a man laughing with abundant tears.
"...That man... poor soul."
His pursuit of revenge drove him mad.
A madman who laughs at the world, but weeps.
In the end, nothing remained.
Like a sad song, this man became the hero of a miserable tale.
Before Loki were armored wolves, attacking him and pouncing.
Clang!
With a wave of his sword, it scraped against the wolf's solid body, producing a sound like metal striking hard stone.
Unfortunately, the resistance was momentary, then the wolf's body was cut.
"Howl!"
The remaining wolves howled in anger and sorrow, attacking this masked invader of their homeland.
"You honorless one! Face me!"
From afar, the tribal chieftain was seen flying, with the elders spreading around the place.
"Aaow! Hoo! Haaaaa!"
Above the broken walls, white monkeys ran on the melting ice.
Before the monkey pack was a king, massive in build, his crushing fangs visible.
And from his expression, malice was evident.
"Hahahahahaha!"
The running madman laughed with joy.
"Yes! These are lies! It's impossible for my master's killers to be good! Die all of you! Hahaha!"
The place became chaotic.
Wolves and monkeys clashed, Ghouls rode on their monsters' backs, and the tribal chieftain flew, chasing a masked man laughing madly.
Internally, Loki smiled with bloodthirst.
If Leon's guesses were correct...
This conflict would not end well.
The chaotic desire is like a winter storm.
It is like frost, freezing bodies, sweeping away life and uprooting it.
But if you survive it, you deserve to fly.
Who will die, who will remain—Loki knew none of this.
But that's fine.
This is the life of someone who loves winter.
He will see nothing but falling snow.