Pillar of Yita

”But... how could that be?”

”Good and evil eventually reap what they sow, Manlo.”

Manlo sat down abruptly on the ground, his head covered in cold sweat as he said, ”No, it can’t be like this, even if you absorbed the power of Dragon’s Golden Eyes. You’re just turning into another Dark Giant Dragon, no, we haven’t failed...”

Lady Misu looked at him with a complex expression and shook her head, but didn’t speak.

Meanwhile, Fang Hong stood by silently, watching this scene in the Phantom Realm, with his heart in turmoil like stormy waves.

The illusory realm gradually faded away—

But within the sea of flames, Fang Hong still saw many fragmented scenes.

They included the ruins of Grey Oak Square, filled with the dead, charred corpses, twisted skeletons, and pillars of fire that raged on...

Manlo’s icy corpse still retained the expression of horror from before his death, his heart ripped out by Misu’s own hands.

The fifteen acolytes of the Dragon Worship Sect lay decapitated, while the master of the ceremony at the center of the array had long since been reduced to nothingness.

The square was deathly silent.

Blood-soaked Misu staggered away from the place, and before leaving, she pulled out the Knight Commander’s sword from atop a statue and gently placed it on the chest of the elderly knight.

A golden light flowed slowly from her hands and into the body of the knight.

”We had an agreement, Mr. Knight.”

”I don’t have much time left.”

”But you must succeed.”

Fang Hong also saw—

She rescued the unconscious Luen Linxiu from a burning room in Traveler’s Rest, placing a bloodstained ring on the young man’s chest.

Then, without saying a word, she left Jeffrey, who was desperately pleading within the sea of flames, disappearing into billowing smoke and dust.

After that, many more phantoms.

Overlapping each other.

The elderly knight found the future Chairman of the Black Goat Commerce Association, unconscious amidst the rubble.

After that, Dolifen was reduced to ruins.

Some came to investigate, others came seeking opportunities for adventure.

Over many years, this place gradually became a playground for adventurers.

Different people, different faces, intermingling and changing; some came, others went. Until a young man came into his sight—a young Alchemist who, during an adventure, saved a black cat.

Behind that cat, stood a girl, quietly at the back of a tree.

It was a clichéd story, like many story beginnings, the start of everything. The phantoms of Dolifen were being unraveled by a brave and kind young man, but behind him, there always lurked several dark shadows.

People came closer, step by step, to the heart of the sealing.

But at that moment.

All illusions returned to nothingness, black smoke swirling and converging into a dialogue from thirty years past, resonating in Fang Hong’s mind—that was what Manlo hadn’t finished saying: ”You’re just turning into another Dark Giant Dragon, no, we haven’t failed...”

The one who answered him was Misu’s voice, stern and righteous, ”I have never coveted the power of Dragon’s Golden Eyes, Manlo, you will never understand that.”

”Because Dragon Slayers are not like you.”

”Dragon’s Golden Eyes will be left here, waiting for the one truly recognized by that ring to return—”

”You all have no understanding of what Dragon’s Curse is, Manlo,” Misu said softly, ”including your master, Nikopolas... She has never given up the struggle.”

”So, you won’t succeed.”

”And I,” her voice became a bit strained, as if mixed with a hissing sound, ”also... still have time—”

All the voices gradually turned into nothingness.

The black smoke formed an image of a girl.

That figure, Fang Hong had seen once before—covered in scales, with elongated wings, pale long hair, golden eyes. Apart from the appearance, there seemed to still be a trace of Lady Misu from days of old, but in her flowing golden eyes like molten lava.

There seemed to be nothing left but infinite resentment.

”You have taken my power.”

”Just wait.”

”You’ll regret it.”

She spoke coldly.

The voice that came out seemed both like Hes and Misu’s, yet with a strange flavor. That voice, Fang Hong had heard before.

In Traveler’s Rest.

It was the voice of Nikopolas.

The black smoke slowly converged towards the ring in Fang Hong’s hands.

The woman’s figure gradually disappeared, and then a somewhat gentle, system-like voice only then rang out in his mind:

’World event knowledge has ended, recording experience gained—225,000 points.’

’Perfectly cataloged into the world event directory—Phantom of Dolifen.’

’Superior directory updated, Dragon’s Witch.’

’Superior directory updated, Arrival of the Third Star of Calamity.’

’Earned the title ’Perfect Recorder’’

Fang Hong looked at the prompt line by line, momentarily stunned.

...