He saw... a massive dark figure raising its arms!
He used cosmic energy to create a shield that covered both him and Erline within the blink of an eye.
But the arms shattered the shield to pieces, and he felt a backlash as he coughed up blood.
Feeling there was no hope left, he said, "Run! Let me buy you time, Erline!"
The figure spoke, "Erline... then who are you?"
He was stunned to see it speak like a real person.
Erline giggled, "Ah, I see. You are Gerin, right? Hehe, you must be him!"
The figure replied almost instantly, "Yes! Erline, so it's you. Then this must be Artlan?"
The three finally saw each other clearly.
Artlan fell, sliding down against the wall.
With a huge sigh of relief, he asked, "You... why didn't you say you were Gerin earlier instead of chasing us?"
Erline nodded. "Yes, why did you do that? Phew, you almost scared us both!"
Gerin was dumbstruck by their question and laughed, "Huh? What do you mean chase? I just saw you two here and came over to meet you!"
...
Fear crawled back to the depths of both Artlan's and Erline's hearts.
Both of them exchanged gazes and said simultaneously, "So... then who carried Freol's body and chased us?"
Gerin frowned. "Freol's body? Wait... so he is here too?"
Artlan nodded. "Yep, all of our old crew members are here. I came with Azican, she came with Valkerine, while you two came alone..."
Then, something suddenly struck his mind, and he rushed back to the location of the bodies...
Both Gerin and Erline followed him, both of them panting heavily.
Gerin sighed, "You... idiot! Look, my fat body can't run like that! Why did you sprint off like that, ugh?"
Erline said, "Wait... Gerin, this is serious! You can't be so reckless and naive!"
She walked ahead only to see Artlan kneeling down in complete horror.
She immediately gazed forward and saw that both of their bodies were missing!
Gerin sighed, "I thought you guys told me Freol's body was here? Hahaha, pranking me! Who is nai—"
Erline gave him a tight smack to the head to knock him out.
She scoffed, "Huh, how annoying! Just like he used to be. So Artlan, what do we do now? Flee?"
He shook his head. "No... we can't! Remember when we tried to exit while Gerin met us? We weren't able to...
Which means the other exits must also be locked! THIS WAS ALL A PLAN. SOMEBODY WANTS TO KILL US, I GUESS..."
Then, they suddenly heard a smirk coming from behind them!
When they turned around, nobody was there.
However, the smirking voice grew louder: "I see... you seem to be pretty smart, Artlan..."
Artlan didn't panic and tried to think of the next possible outcome.
The voice spoke, "You were all wondering why you suddenly turned against the king and caused such huge chaos, right? Hahaha, it's because we wanted you to!"
Artlan frowned. "So... we were manipulated?"
Erline frowned upon hearing his words. "So... you are the person who did this to us? Where are Valkerine, Azican and Freol?"
It replied, "Not exactly. My powers controlled you like puppets and made you fulfill my orders!
Now, my power has weakened, gradually allowing all of you to regain control! Hehe, but I am afraid to say you won't survive!"
Artlan smirked, "Because witnesses can't be left behind in a crime?"
The voice laughed, "Good... good... not bad! You are outstanding, Artlan! Maybe I can reconsider letting you live if you forget everything and join us!"
Erline grinned at him, "Hehe, he won't! He would never betray any of us! He will probably find a way to save us all."
Artlan nodded in agreement.
The voice spoke, "Well then... prepare to die! Both of you."
Suddenly, a hand tore through Erline's chest. Artlan killed her on the spot—he plunged into his cosmic energy and created a sword.
It tore through her and stabbed her.
Her eyes widened, and her face went deadly pale.
Her beauty was no longer alluring... her hair was disheveled, with deep cuts running across her body.
She asked, "Why... Art—"
He finished her off on the spot, leaving the voice speechless.
His face and hands were covered in blood.
He grinned, "Done!"
It walked forward, revealing its figure.
It was the dark figure that had chased them...
With a loud laugh, it said, "Artlan... I am impressed. I thought you agreed with her, not me."
He grinned, "Nothing's higher than living! Hehe, friend."
The figure let its guard down. "To think I misunderstood you... Artlan! Prove your loyalty by killing her for real."
Artlan swallowed hard as he asked, "What do you mean?"
It punched through the side of a wall.
Suddenly, Artlan pulled Erline out from behind the wall and started running!
Artlan cursed, "Damn it... how was I caught?"
The figure smirked as it silently pulled the unconscious Gerin away.
Erline asked, "But why didn't he follow us?"
Artlan replied, "Because we have nowhere to run! Neither of us knows how to teleport, so we will probably be caught sooner or later..."
She grasped him tightly. "But... can't your genius brain figure out a way?"
He shook his head. "Sometimes even intelligence can't help you conquer a situation...
Where only strength matters!"
In Fate's Realm:
The Life Crystal said, "Shall I end the lives of these three, Fate?"
Zacian, Celestia Valentine, and the Crystal of Betrayal!
Fate shook his head. "Not now... kill Zacian alone! The other two are significant."
Zacian smirked, "Remember, I have universal beings as my masters! Touch me and offend them... do you dare?"
The whole place grew silent!
However, the Life Crystal pierced its Spear of Life through his forehead, killing him without hesitation or a sense of doubt.
It said, "SO WHAT? HE MIGHT BE A UNIVERSAL BEING, HE MIGHT BE OMNIPOTENT! WHATEVER HE IS...
I DON'T CARE. I'M NOT DYING OR GETTING DEFEATED UNTIL I REVIVE THE DEATH CRYSTAL! HMPH."
Seeing its absurd confidence, the Crystal of Confidence among the crew glowed brighter and brighter...
Eventually, it grew as big as the main crystals.
Multiple other crystals started glowing like stars in the sky—the Crystal of Determination and more, in various colors...
All of them grew due to the Life Crystal.
Seeing this, everyone was stunned.
Only the Fate Crystal was smiling calmly.
Zacian screamed, "Impossible! This can't be true! A person can reach a peak state of a feeling or trait once or twice at most...
But you have done it multiple times!"
The Future Life Crystal spoke with excitement, "And you are the first crystal to ever be chosen by a crystal in entire history!
Life, my past self! I underestimated you... you are in a league of your own!"
The Future Death Crystal was stunned. "Hehe, I knew you could do it, bro! Hahaha, it's just as I expected."
The Fate Crystal wasn't even surprised, thinking, After all... he is one of my pillars! Hehe.
The Life Crystal smiled warmly, "Yes, it's because all this effort of mine is for a good old friend...
Whom I ignored most of the time, thinking he was annoying as hell!
But now I realize how naive I was back then not to have understood this...
You only care about someone or something when you lose them..."
The Crystal of Betrayal frowned, thinking, This doesn't look good. If he is strong just because of a stupid bond called friendship, then why am I not surpassing him when I do this for my own freedom! Why!
Celestia thought, What! I did the same for the king! Are my feelings so weak then? Are you saying my feelings for the king are just in name only?
The Cosmos observed these scenes simultaneously.
It grinned, Unlike the Life Crystal, the Crystal of Betrayal lacks obsession. He has determination toward his goal, but he doesn't have enough longing or obsession toward actually achieving it! He thinks of achieving it, but why? For no real reason...
Celestia's love and lust for the king are true indeed, but here she lacks determination! She is only obsessed.
Hehe, she wants him back, but isn't longing for him as the Crystal of Betrayal does for freedom.
In simple words, both of them lack traits that the other possesses! This is quite fun, hehe...