Shadow City, in front of the St. Giles Clock Tower.
when.
when.
The bell rang, loud and melodious. The sound waves rippled in circles, but failed to dispel the fog. The fog in front of the clock tower was so thick that you couldn't even see your fingers, and it was full of malice.
There is a clear picture in the fog. Two men are puffing away in the smoking room, and the middle-aged man and the young man are chatting leisurely.
"Would it be better for everyone if she wasn't here?" the middle-aged man said, "There are already three Chuangjie envoys in the kingdom. Suddenly there is a young Chuangjie, and everyone is having a headache."
"You are so unpatriotic." The young man laughed.
"Don't report to me to the Dawn Knight." The middle-aged man also laughed and flicked the ashes from his cigarette. "This is a fact. Your Majesty, the old leader, and the mage, the balance was maintained very well... but her appearance The balance is completely broken, like a marble jumping on the chess table. I have been suppressed from two aspects, and the recent treatment is even more..."
The young man smacked his tongue: "She can't think of an inventory of all the officials in the city! Do you think politics is as simple as murder?"
"I am a world-creating envoy, so it will be okay no matter what I do." The middle-aged man put out his cigarette butt, "After all, he is from the Knights of the Holy Sword, and he is a commoner in the East District... He doesn't even understand common sense, which makes people speechless. "
"Not even a little bit of empathy..."
The two people in the smoking room were still talking, but the Dawn Knight didn't care. She walked slowly in the fog, analyzing the structure of the trap and thinking about ways to break it.
Situ Yi's methods are despicable, but effective. He activated the collective subconscious accumulated in Shadow Mist City as the material of the trap, and connected the trap with the St. Giles Bell Tower. It was like a bomb installed in the heart, which would destroy both the stone and the stone at the slightest touch. The Dawn Knight cannot forcefully cut through the barrier at the risk of destroying it. She must peel it off, analyze it and then dismantle it.
Dawn Knight goes deeper into the trap step by step. The scene in the smoking room faded, and a new face appeared in the fog. A young woman, she remembered that this person was a contemporaneous student of the Knights of the Holy Sword with her in the past. The woman's face is facing forward, as if she is communicating with someone face to face.
The bells dispersed, and the piano played, with fragmentary scales, vague and absent.
"When you were in the Knights of the Holy Sword? That unforgettable time..." The woman crossed her legs, "You know the nature of that place, right? It was actually a cannon fodder training camp during the Secret War. Not many people really planned to cultivate any elites. Come out, after all, the impermanent method cannot be used quickly. To urgently cultivate combat power for the upcoming war, isn't it just destroying the seedlings and adding fuel to the fire?
So the atmosphere in that place is also very bad... Most of them are orphans, poor families and down-and-out nobles. They have heavy learning tasks, and the atmosphere is as bad as those in public schools. "
The woman's eyes were hazy, as if she was reminiscing about the past: "Now that I think about it, it doesn't matter. It's just the bullying in school... The poor and weak are bullied, and everyone lives like this... But that woman is different. Everyone. She just stood up when everyone was swallowing their anger. Do you know what she did? She dueled with those people! She dueled every day, every day, and won every duel. In the end, no one dared to provoke them. She is... really amazing, just like the protagonist."
The woman giggled, and another person's voice interrupted the scene: "Everyone is grateful to her, right?" The woman's face slowly changed. "Ha..." Her voice dropped. "Those people suffered a lot from her, but in the end they took revenge on innocent people like us. In the end, it wasn't us who were unlucky... we were nosy and self-righteous."
A trace of hatred flashed in the woman's eyes: "I wanted to kneel down and beg her at that time. I really thank you. Please spare us poor people and stop upholding justice."
Fragments of the past flashed through Dawn Knight's mind, but she remained unmoved. She is a creator who pursues reality, and the Dawn Knight will not be afraid of reality.
The image of the woman dispersed, and the fog also disappeared. A red brick road appeared in the slightly clearer world. On both sides of the road were ancient buildings made of white stone, and at the end was an old building covered with ivy. The Dawn Knight is familiar with this place. This is the branch of the Knights in Kulin City. It is the first unit she came to after graduating from the Knights of the Holy Sword.
The Dawn Knight only stayed here for a year. During that year, she walked this road countless times, living a life ranging from the dormitory to the office building. There were always people coming and going on the road, no one talked to her or stood by her side. She walked alone among the crowd, day after day.
Nowadays, the red brick road is filled with gray figures. People whose outlines cannot be seen are shunned aside. They are as full of resistance as their former colleagues in their memories. Their eyes only glance over and then withdraw, with disgust. fear. The Dawn Knight walked across the brick road again, and the whispers of the figures reached her ears, just like before.
"That girl doesn't even know how to hold a knife and fork." "She doesn't have any manners in speaking." "How did she get in here like a barbarian?" "She must have betrayed her appearance, haha!" "Did you see it? She actually corrected my words and deeds today! How ridiculous. Who does she think she is when she talks to me about rules and regulations?" "You are a child who doesn't know how to behave." "Sooner or later, you will be kicked away..."
Rumors, slander, frame-up, prejudice, bad words, strange looks from people. The Dawn Knight was still calm, and the analysis of the trap was more than half over. She walked out of the whirlpool of malice, and she didn't care about these people's rumors, as she had in the past, and as she does now.
"Have you heard, that person went to break the news after work?" "There's something wrong with his brain... It won't look good on everyone's face if this kind of news comes out." "You're crazy to want to be promoted!" "What's the matter? If it's not good, the pig should roll in the mud..." "Hey! I just received the news that she has been selected into the Star Knight assessment list!" "Damn it! Are the people above crazy!
"Hurry up and think of ways to build relationships, hurry up and please that girl..."
The Dawn Knight was approaching the core of the trap. She crossed the red brick road and walked into the office building of the Knights of Kulin City. Everything changed when she walked in. She was in a more familiar environment, standing in the headquarters of the Knights where she now works. There were many people in the hall, everyone was nervous, and no one paid attention to her arrival.
The sound of the piano gradually became denser, playing a cheerful and light tune. Two people she knew well walked into the headquarters, Knight Gaffrey and the old leader, and they were talking nervously.
"Oh my God! You can't imagine what she did!" Gaffrey waved his hands excitedly, "So many investigations and evidence... the entire capital, no, the entire kingdom will be destroyed by her!"
"...Sigh." The old regiment leader did not speak, only sighed sadly. Gaffrey was furious: "Oh my God! What can we do... Maybe we shouldn't be in a hurry to accept her!"
"..." The Dawn Knight's pace slowed down a little.
The two of them walked past her and walked out of the door. Then colleagues appeared one after another. "Too anxious." Yulia sighed. "She's not as 'smart' as she thinks she is..." Raquel shook his head in frustration. "I want to call in sick, really." Sarah rubbed her temples vigorously.
The knights in the illusion said nothing as they passed by the Knight of Dawn, like passengers rushing through the aisle when the train arrives at the station. They were chatting on their mobile phones in the carriage without caring about the leakage of the conversation. They knew that the people in the seats next to them would never see them again in their lives, so they didn't care at all.
The Dawn Knight knew that those were all angry words and that they were all one-sided truth. She knew that her colleagues and friends still respected and loved her, but her pace still slowed down a little... still slowed down...
The voices of other people in the headquarters rang out alternately. Many people came towards her, and many people passed by her. "Does she know what she is doing!" "Damn it, my father is just because of this..." "Okay, I'll see how much the annual salary and benefits will be in the next few years." "The new car I just bought went to work today. She was smashed." "Did anyone ask her to do such a stupid thing?" "I've had enough of it. When will that woman leave?
"
Finally, there was no one in the hall, and the piano sound stopped, as if the song had ended. The Dawn Knight walked alone, searching for the core of the trap. There was a monotonous noise looming in the silence, like a train passing by the railway. She thought of the house she lived in when she was a child. Behind the house was a railway track, and there would be such a sound when the last train passed by at midnight every day. In her dream, she woke up due to the noise, stared at the cracks in the ceiling, and fell asleep again after a long time.
Noise accompanied her footsteps as the Dawn Knight walked through the empty hall, walked through the deserted corridor, and opened an office door.
The space behind the door is spacious, with a vast screen floating in the middle, like a movie theater. Orianna sat in the center of the screen, and the depressed look on her face was magnified by the screen. Her voice sounded sad and guilty.
"I asked Knight Arlandia before, and she said that my abilities were insufficient... I know she was telling the truth, but I'm still very sad... I'm sorry, I..."
Orianna said softly: "I think she's right, I can't help her. Maybe she doesn't need help?"
The screen flashed, and a new picture emerged. It was the time Jane Diela spent with her, her first follower, and her former friend.
"Hello, Knight Arlandia! I, I, I have always admired you!" Jane greeted her nervously when they met for the first time. "Are you really willing?! I will definitely work hard! I will never betray your trust!
"Jian, who became a follower, danced excitedly. "You know so many things. Jane was amazed during the investigation. "Do you like watching detectives?" Um...not very ladylike..." Jane joked with her. "Fish and chips are too common! I want to enjoy the high life~" Jane waved her knife and fork and chatted with her.
"The prisoner is...ah, is it wrong again..." Jane, whose reasoning failed, held her head and cried. "I sometimes think, actually you don't need my help..." Jane said frustratedly. "Knight Airandia, I think I really fall in love with His Highness the Crown Prince! He is simply a perfect gentleman..." Jane told about hypocritical love. "Why, why do you want to break my dream!" Jane cried painfully. "I'm much better, Knight Airandia." "Sorry." "Wrong again." "I'm so incompetent." "Maybe I should... No, it's nothing."
"Knight Arlandia... why do you want to destroy the captain's armor...?" Jane's eyes were full of shock, but there was a hint of twisted joy hidden in the depths.
"I am your friend...Dawn Knight!
Your followers are looked down upon!
Are you just watching and doing nothing? ! How can you be so heartless!
"
The screen jumps quickly to the night they parted ways. Jane knelt in the corridor, looking at her with hatred in her eyes. Then a new picture appeared, showing Jane Diera fighting in the outside world. Jian was fighting Gongsun Ce and Yulia. She looked so strange. Her former friend was as crazy as a demon and was roaring hysterically.
"The value of my existence, the meaning of my existence, completely disappeared next to the Knight of Dawn!
That's why I want revenge! Revenge on Airandia! "
Unknowingly, the Dawn Knight stopped. She looked at those pictures and was speechless for a long time. After a few seconds, she moved on, pushed open the exit door, and walked out of the movie theater-like space.
The new room is blank, without any unnecessary furnishings. Two doors one behind the other served as the exit and entrance. Jane Diela stood in the center of the room and said expressionlessly: "I hate you. Airlandia Helleson."
The Dawn Knight walked past his former entourage and opened the exit door. The new room was exactly the same as here. Another Jane stood in front of her, expressionless, with cold hatred in her eyes. Her voice echoed the Jane behind her.
"No one wants to be around you."
"Everyone has had enough of your authenticity."
The Dawn Knight opened the doors one after another, and what greeted her was always the same scene. It's like infinite rooms have been copied and arranged into an identical maze. No matter how you move forward, it feels like you are pacing in place. Countless Janes spoke in front of and behind her, and the stacked sounds were weird like a tsunami.
"No one asked you for help."
"Don't be so self-righteous, okay?"
"Everyone's life has been ruined by you..."
Unknowingly, the infinite room disappeared, and stars lit up in the darkness. The endless light screen enveloped the Dawn Knight like a sphere. Endless humans cast hateful looks at her, and the figure in the center of the picture Jane said with hatred.
"——It would be nice if you weren't here."
The Knight of Dawn is not afraid of the truth.
Dawn Knights are impervious to malice.
There is no weakness in the Sokai Mago who pursues reality.
However. However.
Arlandia Helleson still feels pain and sadness.
Truth is the sharpest blade, which cannot be denied and cannot be broken. When it pierces your heart, you have nowhere to hide. There is nothing you can do but accept it, but the human mind has its limits after all, and is not as eternal as the principles of gods.
"..."
After a long absence, Alandia once again felt ethereal, as if she was about to fly to the other side. She should accept it all. She cannot escape the truth. The Island that is not needed by others, the Island that does not need others...
Will it eventually become an eternal reality? Stay alone in the world.
As a result, the truth of reality grew stronger little by little, and Islandia, as a human, gradually became smaller.
·
"Ilandia!" Gongsun Ce roared, shaking his fist into the fog outside the bell tower, "Wake up! Islandia!"
"
Gongsun Ce can "see" what's going on inside. See the mist that surrounds her, see the illusion in the mist, and see her condition trapped in it. But he couldn't get through, and he couldn't go to the inside of the barrier no matter what. It was like there was an invisible wall locked on the outside of the bell tower, and no matter how hard he beat, he couldn't get past it. He attacked the wall again and again, but failed. He was counterattacked by his own power again and again, and fell back to the platform of the bell tower.
"Stop, Gongsun Ce!" Yulia behind him grabbed his shoulders, "What are you doing! Have you fallen into the enemy's illusion!"
Yulia couldn't see it. He understood immediately. Yulia's power cannot extend to the inside of the barrier, but his telekinesis can. But now there is no extra time to explain, we must race against time. Alandia's condition was very bad. She was clearly unscathed but had a look in her eyes that he couldn't understand. The existence of Arlandia Helleson seemed to be changing. The change made him unable to explain clearly. He only felt that something was becoming weaker and thinner...
“Hey… Airandia!
"
Gongsun Ce suddenly understood the crisis. Previously, when he looked at the woman in the environment, he could imagine her helplessness, but now he gradually can no longer understand the other person's feelings. Airandia has become strange, she is gradually transforming into a "creature" that he cannot understand, like a real machine.
She is still so beautiful and powerful, but can she still communicate with him like that? Will you patiently correct his etiquette again and again? Not anymore. If Dawn Knight's transformation continues, those past will disappear along with her existence. She will never share her emotions with you, teach you knowledge in the afternoon sun, or even say thank you after everything is over... then she will be just a cold statue.
This is a murder, a murder of a "person." The Alandia he knew was about to die, and the woman he loved was going to disappear forever and remain in his memory!
"Don't go there...! Come back, Airandia!"
Alandia was still walking in the fog, the humanity in her eyes almost gone. He punched again, and was counterattacked by force again. The young man fell to the ground in pain. The strong impact made it difficult for him to breathe. Blood flowed from his forehead, blurring his vision.
What are you doing? You are the invincible Knight of Dawn. You can kill all enemies with just one sword. No lie can hide from your eyes. But why are you tied up by such dirty tricks? Shouldn't your mind be much stronger than mine? How could you be defeated by mere human malice?
"I've also seen that smoking man. When he was chatting, he said that the Dawn Knight must not be an armored prisoner, but an upright knight. Your former female classmate worked in the Blue Church District. I saw her talk to her colleagues with my own eyes. You checked back then and said you were a man of integrity!"
Gongsun Ce struggled to get up and stood tremblingly. He thought to himself that the Dawn Knight should not be so fragile. There will always be a reason for her failure... What is Situ Yi's thinking... What is the core of this trap...
——I am the one who wants revenge! Revenge against you! Revenge on Airandia!
He suddenly understood, he knew why this trap worked. Because Islandia is lonely. Everyone was hostile to her, few valued her, and she had only a few friends besides her good-tempered colleagues. She puts the friends she finally made in the most important position in her heart, but her former friends turned against each other and hurt her heart. Her heart was hurt that day, and the wound never healed.
"A woman you can't stand looking at...!"
Gongsun Ce wiped the blood from his face and stepped forward again. Unprecedented emotions filled his body, and the emotions made his strength become majestic. For the first time in his life, he wanted to completely destroy something. He must break this invisible wall and destroy it even if he exhausts all his strength.
The "psychic power" expanded rapidly at this moment, and the indescribable violent power was concentrated in the boy's remaining right fist. In an instant, his aura became strange and fierce, like a demon in mythology who wanted to burn the world. Gongsun Ce jumped up with a roar after taking a run-up, pumping his fist at all costs, and used his will and thoughts to hit the barrier that divides the world!
·
"Alandia...Alandia..."
I heard someone calling.
It's like the noise of a train. Like noise in a dream.
"return……!"
Going back there?
Endless figures floated around her. So many people are telling one fact. There is no need for her existence in the human world. The moment of decision has arrived. She slowly floated up, surrounded by countless people, upward, upward...
"Are you a troubled child? Are you feeling so uncomfortable because your followers betrayed you?
"
But someone's voice is still there.
Clear and loud, not like noise anymore. There was a dull sound, like someone hitting the wall with a fist. The shallowness of those words made her helpless. It was not such a simple question. That is the contradiction between the way of existence and what I want in my heart, it is the isolation between me and the world, it is...
"It's just because of loneliness! It's because I feel like I'm hated by everyone!
"
No matter how far the distance is, it is nothing more than this. The gods are thinking about the true eternal principles and exploring the new existence forms of life. However, the young man watching does not have such a high vision and realm. He can only think with his own monotonous logic, and only thinks that she is alone. People are very pitiful and lonely.
There is no resonance or understanding. Just shallow wishful thinking. The foolish delusions of young people are on a parallel line that has nothing to do with her. The lives moving forward on their own tracks will never intersect like heaven and earth.
However, the sound of beating never stopped.
However, on the parallel line, he is still showing off his filial piety.
"A woman you can't stand looking at! If that's the case..."
The beating sound came one after another, and the arrogant humans never stopped for a moment. The endless figures began to vibrate, and everything was shaking unsteadily, like an angry giant punching the planet from the outside, trying to carve his will into it. The blow came like a meteor, creating a pure white crack between the surrounding figures!
The whole world was shaking, the humanoid figures condensed with malice flashed and disappeared, and Jane Diela's illusion reappeared, but was shattered by the aftermath of the attack before she could make a sound. Cracks bloomed between the fierce attacks, spreading to every corner of the world. With the last punch, the sky was shattered at the same time. The broken human face was shattered from infinite heights. Millions of light rain fell in the dark world, like a The stardust is scattered!
As the light dissipated, the real world emerged. It was neither a giant nor a shooting star, just a young man in black clothes and black hair waving his fist. He was seriously injured, his head was bleeding, and he only had one arm left. He was in a miserable state but stood tenaciously. The young man jumped down from the air, reached out to her, and roared at her.
"If you feel lonely, just let me be your follower!"
Their eyes intertwined in the flash of lightning. They were so close but never so far away. On the parallel line, he had exhausted all his strength and could not touch her hand.
So Airandia stretched out her hand and grabbed the young man who risked everything to save her.
Gongsun Ce was pulled back to the ground by her, and he looked nervously at the silver-haired woman in front of him. She still seemed dazed, still in the fog. Her eyes slowly focused on his face, gradually revealing his familiar smile.
"Thank you." Alandia said softly.
On both sides of the barrier, big bells rang simultaneously. The pure white power echoed inside and outside the barrier with the sound of the bell, soothing the Shadow Mist City that was about to collapse. The Dawn Knight took the boy across the realm and came to the outside of the barrier. The clear white light swept across the royal capital, swaying the ghosts of all beasts under the sword.
Gongsun Ce calmed down and lost consciousness.
He knew it would all end now that the knight he knew had returned to reality.
