Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"Are you sent by the king?" I sheathed my sword and stepped closer to him, then asked, "Are you a warrior sent from abroad?"
He nodded and pulled out a warrior badge that only the king could bestow upon someone. "That's right. My name is Feng Tang Song. One of my duties is to monitor you all, to prevent anyone among you from killing the Demon King and trying to take his place." He approached me and patted my shoulder firmly. "I hope you understand; it is time to announce the death of the Demon King and put an end to this battle!"
I nodded and severed the Demon King's head. Slowly, I walked toward the main door, intending to pull it open. However, just as my hand rested on the door knocker, I felt the heavy iron door suddenly tremble. Frowning, I was about to listen for any sounds outside when the great iron door was abruptly pushed inward.
In an instant, one of the large doors broke free from its frame, as if a giant outside was smashing it down. The iron door flew into the hall along with me. I crashed heavily onto the ground, feeling as if my entire body had fallen apart, as if my insides had turned to mush.
In a daze, I lifted my head and saw the yellow sand outside gradually settling. A group of monstrous figures with fierce faces rampaged outside the door, and Juan Juan along with several others were completely under their control. The sunlight grew increasingly intense, blindingly bright, making it hard for me to open my eyes. I had forgotten how long it had been since I last saw such sunlight.
Amidst the dazzling light, I spotted a monster approaching me. I recognized his clothing; he was the leader of the rebels. His expression was ferocious, deeply sunken as if he had no eyeballs at all. The corners of his mouth were split wide open, seemingly reaching up to his ears. He had four arms and two powerful thighs that looked capable of stomping a large hole in the ground. It dawned on me how they had managed to break through the door that we struggled so hard to push open.
He grabbed my collar with one of his arms and lifted me high into the air, making it difficult for me to breathe.
"Haha! Haha!" The Rebel Leader laughed maniacally as more monsters poured in from outside.
After laughing for a while, he said, "Thanks to your help! Thanks to you, we can rise from below and reveal our true identities! This is all your doing! We have been underground for too long; because of you, we have been revived!"
"You are the real demons!" I exclaimed as he held me high above; from within the hall, I could see down the steps outside. The true face of the rebels was revealed as they slaughtered people throughout the castle—guards and ordinary citizens alike were torn apart while blood rained down from above.
"No, no, no," said the Rebel Leader. "We are not demons; demons thrive in darkness while we do not. We love light and despise darkness. Do you truly understand what defines a demon? We are saviors here to bring light and hope to this world."
The Rebel Leader continued, "Do you know what is most despairing?"
I shook my head.
"The most despairing thing is hope intertwined with despair," he said. "For years we have lived underground after being defeated by warriors. We hoped several times to return to the surface and reclaim our dominion over this world. But there was no way; that warrior had the protection of the Five Great Lords. Each time we ignited hope, we awakened in despair; the reason warriors did not kill us was so we could suffer in agony between hope and despair!"
"Who do you think is truly a demon?" he trembled as he spoke.
Suddenly something resonated in my mind; I recalled what the Five Great Lords had said. Regret washed over me—I should have understood long ago. Wherever there are people, there will be both good and evil: those who help others and those who harm them—that is what makes up a true world.
I had always subconsciously believed that the ruler of the Shadow Maze was a demon. Under his reign, the world was shrouded in darkness, rife with all manner of evil. Yet, I never expected that those who often referred to themselves as the most virtuous were often the worst demons. Although the sands swirled around us, they did not use the Luminous Pearl to create a bright illusion. Even though the world was filled with violence, this was indeed a living, breathing reality.
Absolute light equates to absolute darkness; I should have understood this truth much sooner.
"There is darkness, there is light, there is good, there is evil," said the Rebel Leader. "This seems like common knowledge, but have you ever considered what would happen if a world were left only with light and only with good? I had been trapped in a misconception, believing that we were truly demons."
"But that will not be the case anymore!" the Rebel Leader declared. "Why should we accept that those who come from outside are necessarily heroes while we are demons? Now, I will fill the world with light; the sun will never set again. I will eliminate everything that differs from us. What we call good is good; what we call evil is evil."
I slowly began to clarify my thoughts. The warriors sent by the king had not fallen into demons. The reason he could not return home was that once he left this place, the demons would return and reclaim the land. The Five Great Lords were not demons; I had initially judged them based on appearances and assumed they were demons, but they were not.
It is often demons that deceive people; this is what the Rebel Leader taught me. Yet those Lords had never taken human form; it was the rebels who truly deceived me from the very beginning. I asked, "So from the very start, this was your plan?"
One of the rebels grabbed me with one hand while holding his chin with another, his other two hands waving joyfully as if dancing. He said, "That's right; it has all been a lie from the beginning. The so-called prophet and the rebellion against the demon king's rule—it's all false."
He laughed and said, "In truth, what the prophet really left behind was that he would kill what he deemed to be demons."
"This statement is quite interesting," said the Rebel Leader. "All species in this world, whether human or demon, cannot defy the words of the prophet. Do you understand why those people hesitate to tell you what they want to say but cannot?"
A chill ran through me.
The rebel grinned and continued, "That's because if they speak it out loud, then it ceases to be a prophecy and loses its power. Our hope lies in your hands; you can kill the demons—the ones you believe to be demons. What’s gratifying is that those you consider demons are just like us; thus, I have triumphed."
"They lost because they trusted you too much," he scratched his head and said. "They believed you could discern fact from fiction. I am different; everything must be held firmly in my own hands to be reliable."
"From the moment you appeared in this world, I knew it was time," said the Rebel Leader. "At that market, our people made their move against you. Unexpectedly, their ambush failed. Do you know why those at the market looked at you with such expressions? Because from the moment you stepped out of that market, falsehood began. The people at the market have seen too much of this and have long since become numb."
I recalled how people at the market had looked at us with eyes like those of living corpses when we left. Perhaps they were mourning for us.
"They dare not speak," said the Rebel Leader. "Because if they do dare to speak out, I will kill them in the most brutal way possible. There must be a boundary between falsehood and truth; otherwise, even I could become confused within it. So I kept a real market until you all left it. Everything is false; everyone you see and every world you perceive is fake."
"Are the Five Great Lords truly just five kinds of animals?" asked the Rebel Leader. "If you go back and look at their corpses, you'll understand—they are humans just like you! Didn't I tell you before? We are masters of deception. What you see as light now is all an illusion."
I trembled all over, realizing that everything I had seen for so long was merely an illusion; everything was false.
"The sky you see is fake," the Rebel Leader continued. "The yellow sand is meant to blind you. There are sunrises and sunsets on the ground, but you either cannot see them or simply do not want to. You have always believed that the Shadow Maze looks this way, so I created an illusory Shadow Maze based on your perception."
"The only thing that is real is this palace, yet it still dares to try to awaken you!" the leader of the rebellion scoffed. "Why not create an illusion like I did? If what you see is reality, then you would believe it, right? These warriors cling to outdated beliefs; otherwise, I would have been eliminated long ago. Ha ha!"
I took a deep breath and said, "What they uphold is the boundary between becoming a demon! So you are the true demon; I will kill you! Just as the prophet said! Kill what I believe to be the true demon." I struggled desperately but found it hard to escape his control.
"Everything is too late," the demon said. "You have already killed what you thought was a demon. And how could you think that the prophet's words were meant for you? Sorry, but what I just said was not for your ears. You are not the protagonist of this story; you are merely a supporting character, a pitiful worm."
I frowned, not understanding what the Rebel Leader was saying. Yet suddenly, my heart sank with an overwhelming sense of desolation.
"Think carefully," the Rebel Leader continued. "Did you really eliminate the Five Great Lords? Did you truly kill the demon you believed in?" I recalled that I should have been dead; I should have been a supporting character in a story who dies upon their first appearance. If it weren't for Feng Tang Song, at the inn, at Candle Shadow Xiang Liu's place, or even in the palace, they could have killed me. Feng Tang Song saved me time and again, rescuing a mere supporting character in a story.
"I know you're there," the Rebel Leader said, looking around. "Did you hear my words? Lock them up. I don't believe you won't come; do you still hold onto your beliefs? Then come save them! Ha ha!"
Comment 0 Comment Count