Jin Huang's memories returned all at once, and he found himself falling, again.
He was becoming increasingly tired of falling between trials.
There was no ground and no sky- sense of direction at all.
Only an endless abyss of pale light, rushing past him as fragments of shattered illusions drifted in every direction.
Golden palace walls, broken swords- the random and abrupt bleating of a goat.
They were all swirling around him, and were all dissolving into dust.
Jin Huang floated through it all in silence.
His breathing was steady, but his mind was not.
The first trial had tested his attachment, allowing him to instantly realize the nature of the illusion while offering him a choice that felt impossible.
He had felt himself surrender to it, becoming entirely willing to allow himself to stay there forever. For some reason, the illusion itself did not try to convince him as much.
He wondered if it could have been because it relied on his own memories of who his parents were.
As for the second trial, it had likely tested his sense of self in some capacity. Likely his inability realize that there was no obstacle in his way, only himself, was what it tried to get him to realize.
The third had offered him everything he once thought power should look like. Wealth. Authority. Absolute dominion.
What it eventually did was reveal how utterly empty that truly was.
He exhaled, "There's no point to the pursuit of power alone. No substance in seeking exhaltation."
The void offered no sympathy, nor congratulations to him for his moments of reflection.
Suddenly, his feet touched solid ground and he stumbled forward. Stone met his boots, cold and smooth.
Jin Huang slowly lifted his head, realizing that there was no more of that odd feeling in the back of his mind.
The more he felt, the more certain he was that this was the real world.
As he looked around, he somehow forgot how to blink.
The chamber before him was unlike anything he had ever seen. It retained the ancient majesty expected of a royal tomb, yet something about it felt impossibly advanced.
As though ancient civilization had collided with the impossible future.
The chamber stretched for what looked like miles beneath a vast domed ceiling of black metallic stone, etched with glowing silver runes that moved like flowing circuitry.
Massive floating rings rotated high above, humming softly with ancient magical energy.
Towering white pillars lined the chamber in perfect symmetry, their surfaces carved with both knightly iconography and strange geometric patterns that pulsed faint blue light through their veins.
Transparent crystal pathways hung suspended over bottomless chasms of light.
A bright and holographic image, depicting a crowned king battling dragons, hovered in the air. Every now and then, the projection flickered, betraying its impossible age.
At the center of it all stood a raised platform with seven broad stairways converging toward it.
And upon that platform was a stone pedestal. It was far simpler than anything else in the chamber. More ancient.
Like something ripped from myth itself.
Embedded within that pedestal... was a sword.
Its silver blade gleamed like moonlight, its golden hilt radiating soft warmth. Ancient inscriptions ran along it, making the weapon seemed simultaneously dormant and alive.
Jin Huang stared at it, and only then did he notice he wasn't alone.
A lone figure was sitting casually on the pedestal steps, staring directly at him.
A young blonde-haired boy. Lin.
He looked exactly as he always had: his small frame, messy golden hair and bright eyes. He wore an irritatingly calm, smiling expression.
Jin Huang couldn't be sure, but he felt some fondness in Lin's gaze that had not been there before.
Like someone greeting an old friend after far too long.
"I knew you'd be the first one out."
Jin Huang blinked. "You did? I mean, I am awesome but- Why me?"
Lin hopped to his feet and gestured vaguely. "These trials. Didn't you notice the traits that they were specifically designed to test?"
Jin Huang feigned cluelessness and shook his head.
Lin laughed, doing the same, "That's very you, honestly."
Jin Huang stared at him. "What are you talking about?"
Lin's smile softened. "Let me start off with an apology. Also, let me be the first to say that it's good to see you."
His gaze sharpened strangely. "Truly... see you."
Lin stepped forward slowly. "Glad to see you haven't changed. That's why you passed the trials so quickly. They were based on your personality to begin with."
Jin Huang frowned, "What are you getting at, Lin."
The boy chuckled, "I told you when we left Kilgharrah Village. There was something I needed to see."
"I vaguely recall something like that transpiring," Jin Huang cleared his throat.
Lin laughed softly. "This is precisely what I needed to see. Whether or not I was right about you."
He looked toward the sword, then back at Jin Huang. "I really wasn't sure at first; you look nothing like you once did, and you didn't even recognize me."
"Even when I really looked at you, I couldn't tell."
Jin Huang's expression hardened as Lin's smile faded into something far more solemn.
"I couldn't tell whether you were truly him."
Silence filled the chamber. Above, the floating rings seemed louder all of a sudden.
Jin Huang stared. "By 'him,' you mean...?"
Lin grinned, "Curious. You have no memory, no resemblance, but you possess everything else- namely, his magic."
"The Color of Arthur."
Jin Huang's eyes narrowed, "I heard you whispering about that. We all did. Are you referring to my energy?"
"Yes," Lin pointed directly at Jin Huang's chest, "that golden magic. The moment that magic energy erupted during battle…"
His voice grew quieter. "I knew that you were him."
Jin Huang felt the world slow as he made his own realization. Using what he already knew about the Supreme Immortal Body, he was able to piece it together.
Lin continued, "The Last King of Albion. The legendary ruler whose tomb we are now standing in. The master of the Once and Future Sword."
Jin Huang took a breath, thinking back.
The Supreme Immortal Body had many strange incarnations across history, more so than his past self could even remember.
It was a seemingly endless cycle reincarnation, meaning he had many past lives that he could not, and likely would not ever remember.
His eyes widened, and he looked at the sword before his gaze landed on Lin again.
"You understand now?"
Jin Huang nodded. "In one of my past lives... I was Arthur."
The chamber fell silent. Lin's brows furrowed. "One of?"
Jin Huang laughed once, paused for effect, then laughed again.
Lin had nothing else to do but laugh. His, however, was a deeply confused laugh.
Jin Huang pointed at himself, "I suppose it's my turn to tell you something about myself. Perhaps something that Arthur wasn't made aware of before he died."
Lin listened attentively.
"I possess something called the Supreme Immortal Body. It's very special, and hated by Heaven, which is why I've always died in each of my past lives."
"Keep in mind though, Lin. That is an aggressively oversimplified version of the story. I'll have one of the others explain it to you when we get outta here, okay?"
Lin nodded eagerly.
Jin Huang laughed again, regarding the place with fresh eyes. "So, Lin."
The boy came up beside him. "Yeah?"
"What exactly are you?"
The boy went quiet, then smiled. Behind that smile was something far more ancient than his face should've been capable of expressing.
He turned to the sword and walked toward it, each step caused golden light to ripple beneath his feet before the rest of him attained an ethereal glow.
His hair began lifting gently in unseen wind as childish appearance slowly became translucent. "I suppose I forgot to explain that part."
The sword began to tremble, light erupting from its blade.
The entire chamber shook. Jin Huang stepped back, "What's happening? Are you doing this?"
Lin turned, his body now half-made of golden light as he bowed.
Like a knight before his king.
His voice echoed with ancient power.
"My name…" The sword tore itself free from the stone. "…is Excalibur."
The legendary blade rose into the air. Golden light exploded throughout the chamber as Lin's body dissolved into countless particles of radiance.
His final words echoed like thunder:
"It is good to have you back, my King."