Immortal Paladin

The World of Losten I remembered had been vibrant, sprawling with cities, kingdoms, and bustling adventurers. The one before me now felt like the hollow shell of a memory.

To be fair, they weren’t doing very well last time I saw them, but it was still another level of bad.

In the month since we arrived, we had seen nothing but devastation. Forests burned down to ash. Villages turned into graveyards. Roads littered with bones that no one bothered to bury. Every step forward revealed another scar carved into the world.

Ezekiel probably had his hands full guiding the pilgrimage behind us.

“This is terrible,” Ox-Head said as he gazed at the horizon. “I could only imagine how great this city was at its prime.”

Before us stood what used to be the final bastion of Losten.

Or at least, that was what the game lore used to call it.

Now the grand walls were cracked, towers collapsed, and the once-proud gates lay half buried under rubble. Wind blew through empty streets, carrying dust and the faint creak of broken structures.

Not a single soul moved inside.

“If the forces of the Six Supremes had succeeded invading the Hollowed World,” Ru Qiu mused quietly as he studied the ruins, “would it also look like this?”

Alice answered without hesitation.

“Highly likely.”

I scratched the back of my head and glanced around.

“Joan and Dave would be waiting for us here, right?”

Before anyone could answer, Gu Jie tugged at my sleeve.

“Father,” she said sharply, pointing into the distance. “There’s fighting over there.”

My body moved before my brain could catch up.

Finally.

Something I could punch.

I activated Zealot’s Stride and burst forward like a bolt of lightning, sprinting across the ruined district toward the sound of battle.

When I reached the edge of a collapsed plaza, I skidded to a stop.

Below me, a brutal fight was unfolding.

A paladin stood locked in combat against a pyromancer whose flames twisted violently through the air.

Dave and Fanarys.

Behind Dave stood Joan, her expression heavy with guilt.

Fanarys’ voice trembled with fury as flames danced around her.

“You weren’t here when it mattered most!” she shouted, brandishing her staff. “When the world was burning! When everything collapsed! Where were you then!?”

Dave stood his ground and lowered his sword slightly.

“Joan had nothing to do with this,” he said firmly. “If you’re going to blame someone, blame me.”

I stepped forward and appeared between them.

“Calm down.”

Fanarys stared at me in disbelief.

“There’s two Davids?” she blurted.

Her expression twisted into rage a moment later.

“Regardless, you die!”

She flicked her hand to cast an Ultimate Skill.

I raised my hand calmly.

“Divine Word: Rest.”

Her body instantly went limp.

Fanarys collapsed forward, falling asleep mid-spell. I caught her in my arms before she hit the ground. For a moment I simply stood there, conflicted.

Of course she’d be angry.

After everything that happened to this world, I couldn’t blame her. Hell, the others would probably react the same way.

Suddenly, a sword bit halfway through my neck.

I turned my head slowly, surprised at how quick and perfect the ambush was.

An angry warrior with dark blue hair stared at me with murderous intensity, both hands gripping the blade lodged in my throat. It was Arthur. He pushed down harder, trying to finish the beheading. However, he never got the chance.

Ru Qiu appeared from the side and kicked him away like a ragdoll.

Arthur slammed across the plaza.

Before I could react, several spells struck Fanarys out of nowhere, breaking my sleep spell and layering buffs over her body.

Her eyes snapped open with burning fury.

She slammed her palm against my chest.

“Final Flame.”

Blazing fire exploded outward and the flames devoured me completely. My health plummeted instantly as the true damage chewed through my vigor. 

I activated Blessed Regeneration immediately, trying to offset the burn.

I released Fanarys as vines suddenly wrapped around my leg and yanked downward.

Fanarys stepped back, raising her staff.

“Hellflame Purgatory!”

A massive inferno descended.

Alice appeared in front of me at the exact moment the spell detonated.

Her hands glowed with radiant light.

A brilliant barrier erupted around us, blocking the worst of the flames.

The heat distorted the air as hellfire crashed against the holy shield.

To the side, dark flames erupted as Ru Qiu clashed with Arthur.

What shocked me was that Ru Qiu was actually being pushed back.

Arthur’s swordsmanship had evolved far beyond what the game mechanics allowed. Each strike carried terrifying precision and momentum.

The vines around my leg suddenly burned and mutated.

They thickened, sprouting jagged thorns and rows of biting teeth.

Carnivorous vines.

Great.

I waited patiently for the caster.

A moment later an enormous Owlbear teleported beside me. It was Yggdra. She must have used a teleportation scroll. I gathered aura in my leg, preparing to punt the oversized chicken bear across the plaza.

Before I could move, Ox-Head burst out of nowhere like a freight train. His battleaxe swung down with killing intent. The blade cleaved clean through the Owlbear’s neck.

Yggdra’s head separated from her body instantly and her massive corpse collapsed to the ground.

Ah.

Shit.

This was a mess.

The Owlbear’s corpse didn’t stay an Owlbear for long. Its body twisted and shrank as the feathers and fur melted away, revealing Yggdra’s true form beneath it. Her body lay there for a brief moment, headless.

Then vines exploded out of the stump of her neck.

They lashed outward like frantic serpents, grabbing the severed head from the ground. The vines pulled it back and forced it onto the stump. The vines tightened, flesh regrew, and bone knitted together.

In a few seconds, Yggdra stood back up completely healed.

That maneuver would have been completely impossible in LLO as a game.

Ox-Head had already stepped forward to finish the job, but the moment his axe moved again, something flashed across Yggdra’s body.

A thorny aura erupted outward.

The next instant, Ox-Head jerked back as a deep gash suddenly appeared across his neck. If not for his thick hide and monstrous durability, his head would have flown clean off. It was Thorn Bramble, a reflect skill. It was almost on the same level as a fully stacked Paladin Reflect.

“Enough.”

A massive surge of divine power erupted from my body.

I poured every ounce of Divine Qi I could into the ground beneath my feet.

“Judgment Severance.”

A colossal rift tore open in the sky above us.

It formed into the shape of a gigantic cross.

The moment it appeared, every supernatural power in the area began collapsing inward, sucked violently into the rift.

Magic flickered.

Auras dimmed.

Buffs shattered like glass.

The battlefield suddenly felt suffocatingly empty.

“Stand down,” I ordered firmly. “No killing.”

Of course, no one listened. Using my superior physical abilities, I blitzed past the battlefield and appeared directly behind Yggdra.

My hand clamped down on her skull.

She screamed instantly.

“Ow! Owwww! That hurts! Stop! Stop it! Let go!”

Her voice sounded absurdly childish for someone who could reattach her own head.

Across the plaza, Alice had already pinned Fanarys down with holy restraints. Thankfully, she caught on to what I was trying to do.

Arthur, however, was still moving like a demon. Even under the effects of Judgment Severance, his speed was monstrous. Ru Qiu matched him blow for blow, dark flames flickering violently around his fists as killing intent poured out of him.

“You have to go through me first—!” said Ru Qiu as he realized Arthur’s eyes were on me. “Immortal Art: Defying the Heaven’s Decree.”

I appeared behind Ru Qiu and karate-chopped him straight on the top of the skull.

CRACK.

He slammed face-first into the ground and carved out a perfectly shaped human crater. Arthur froze mid-motion, completely baffled.

Ru Qiu slowly pushed himself out of the crater, dust falling from his robes. He looked absolutely livid. “What’s that for, Da Wei?!”

I dusted my hands.

“They’re friends. You don’t hit friends.”

I paused.

“Well, sometimes you hit them. Like I did to you.”

Arthur’s confusion quickly turned back into rage.

His sword pointed straight at me.

“Talking?” he snarled. “We’re beyond that, David.”

His eyes burned with hostility.

“You’ve joined the enemy. Look at your clothes. Look at the power inside you. It reeks of their power.”

His voice cracked with anger.

“Why? Why did you betray us?”

I sighed.

“I believe there’s a misunderstanding. I never betrayed anyone.”

I rubbed the back of my neck.

“It just… turned out that way.”

That sounded way worse out loud.

“It’s a long story,” I continued calmly. “Can you please just hear me out first?”

I released Yggdra’s head.

She immediately scrambled away and hid behind Arthur like a frightened child. She peeked out from behind his shoulder, clearly nervous.

Still, she hesitated before speaking.

“U-Um… Arthur…”

She tugged his sleeve slightly.

“I think… maybe we can try listening first.”

She glanced nervously at everyone surrounding them.

“M-moreover… we’re outnumbered. There’s only three of us.”

Fanarys immediately snapped back.

“I’d rather die than talk!”

Gu Jie crossed her arms beside me.

“Father, they clearly won’t listen to reason,” she said flatly. “Even after seeing your power.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“The only way forward is for them to experience the life you lived.”

I considered that.

“A wise suggestion.”

Unfortunately, my life would be far too much for them to process. Two centuries of war, death, and madness would probably break them. Of course, the time I spent wasn’t the issue, but there contents.

I turned to Dave.

“Can you do me a favor?”

Dave immediately stepped forward, then he knelt before me without hesitation.

“Your will is my will, my lord.”

Through my Ophanim, I connected to him.

Divine Possession activated.

Instead of showing them my memories, Dave became the medium.

Light erupted around him as his memories began unfolding outward like a massive tapestry.

The power surged toward Arthur, Fanarys, and Yggdra.

They were about to relive the life Dave had lived beside me.

The moment we were whisked away from our worlds.

I turned toward Joan.

The moment my eyes landed on her, a strange heaviness settled in my chest.

“You’ve suffered so much.”

Joan lowered her head slightly.

“But you are here,” she said gently, “and that’s all what matters to me, my lord.”

Something I once believed was merely a game character had turned out to be a real person. A living, breathing existence capable of loyalty, pain, and devotion. It never stopped amazing me. And it also terrified me.

Because if Joan was real…

Then what did that mean for everything else? Every story, game, movie, and fictional world on Earth. Were they all real somewhere? Entire realities simply waiting behind the veil? My mind drifted to a deeper question. Just what was the Source exactly? What was the World of Losten? What about the Hollowed World? And the Greater Universe?

The deeper I went, the more it felt like staring into an endless abyss.

I forced myself back to the present.

“Brief me on what you’ve found out,” I ordered.

It was something someone in my position should probably do more often. Even if it was simply to show initiative. The original plan had been simple. Send Dave and Joan ahead to scout the remains of the World of Losten and wait for us here.

But clearly things had gone far worse than I anticipated.

This world had endured for hundreds of years with barely any resources or fighting capability. I had hoped, perhaps foolishly, that they would manage to hold on just a little longer.

It seemed the loss of the “blessings” had been far more devastating than I realized.

Joan nodded and began her report.

“We found this place exactly as it is now when we arrived.”

Her gaze drifted toward the ruined city surrounding us.

“We faced many battles since entering this world. When the enemy discovered our existence, they spared no effort sending their forces after us. We dealt with them with extreme prejudice.”

That explained the increasing ambushes my party encountered on the way here. At least the enemy hadn’t discovered the pilgrimage following behind us.

Joan continued.

“Since discovering this location, Dave and I began establishing contingencies. We also began recovering nearby survivors and liberating those held in captivity. We rebuilt a church and established a small community there. It serves as our base of operations. As for the enemy, we engage them carefully so they cannot trace our activities back to the church.”

I nodded approvingly.

“Excellent work, Joan. You’ve done far more than I expected.”

Her shoulders visibly relaxed after hearing the praise.

Before she could respond, Dave stepped forward.

“It’s done, my lord.”

Behind him, the three LLO veterans looked completely shaken.

Yggdra had tears running down her face.

“So it was them… it has to be them…”

Fanarys, however, looked like a volcano about to erupt.

Her staff trembled in her grip.

“This ‘Lost Gods’ and the ‘Six Supremes’…” she demanded furiously. “How are they related to the suffering of our world?”

Her blazing eyes locked onto me.

“You, the Voice of David—answer me!”

I exhaled slowly.

“It’s going to be a very long conversation.”

I looked around the ruined city.

“The mythology of this world is fragile. Small compared to what actually exists out there. There are things you will find impossible to comprehend. And there are things you might think you understand… but truly don’t. I am an ally. A friend. That much, I want you to believe.”

Arthur’s eyes were cold as frost.

“How can I believe you?”

His grip on his sword tightened.

“The Lost Gods were our allies. Our protectors.”

His voice grew harsher.

“And they vanished.”

Fanarys scoffed loudly.

“Exactly.”

Her glare shifted sharply toward Alice.

“And now you show up dressed like one of them.”

Her eyes burned with distrust.

“Standing beside creatures that reek of the same power that destroyed our world.”

The hostility in her voice was unmistakable.

I glanced at Alice.

“Please. Let her go.”

Alice frowned. She clearly didn’t like the idea. Still, she slowly released the restraints and stepped back.

Fanarys immediately moved beside Arthur again, gripping her staff tightly.

Arthur’s gaze never left me.

There was no hesitation left in his eyes.

“I can’t trust you, David.”

The way he said it made it clear. To him, the man he once knew was already gone. Still, that was unfair. In the first place, I’ve never been the same David he knew. The person he should be saying that was the one besides me. To be ignore so thoroughly by old friends and comrades, I couldn’t imagine just what was my Holy Spirit going through.

Yggdra suddenly stepped forward.

“No.”

Her voice carried surprising firmness.

“The Voice is different.”

Arthur and Fanarys both turned to her in confusion.

Yggdra gestured toward me as she spoke quickly, her excitement rising with every word.

“Their mythology is vastly different! The Voices are not enemies. They are beings that whisper behind our ears from a plane of existence beyond our reckoning and imagination. When the blessings descended upon our world in the ancient past, the Voices came with them. They guided us. Helped us. Shaped our destiny! They were our allies!”

Her voice trembled with urgency.

“Surely you remember. Arthur. Fanarys.”

Her gaze grew distant as memories surfaced.

“Your first quest. The first call to adventure. You remember it, don’t you?”

She placed a hand on her chest, her expression softened with nostalgia.

“I know I remember. In a small forest. Near a small village. A strange power guided me. Whispered to me. Showed me a path. That was the first time I accepted a quest. I had to gather herbs deep inside a forest filled with dark wolves. I remember swinging my staff desperately and casting thorns around their legs. I would have died ten times over, iIf it wasn’t for that Voice guiding me and lending me power.”

Hope filled her expression.

“The blessings,” she said softly. “Do you remember?”

She slowly walked toward me.

Her eyes were bright with expectation.

“Do you remember? In that forest. A little elf.”

I shook my head.

“Every Voice is unique.”

Her hopeful expression faltered slightly.

“I’m sorry,” I continued calmly. “But I wasn’t the Voice that guided you.”

For a moment she blinked. Then suddenly she laughed.

“Ah!”

She slapped her forehead.

“I forgot about that part!”

Her excitement returned instantly.

“So that’s what it meant when they said every Voice is unique!”

She spun toward Arthur and Fanarys again.

“That means everyone has a little Voice inside them! Some strong. Some weak. And those who could hear their Voice eventually became the Immortal Champions who protected the realm. Us! And we failed! But the Voice is back! We can make it right again!”

Listening to her speak made me remember something. Gab. He used to be the Voice behind Yggdra’s character. And knowing him, he absolutely would have obsessed over the lore. It made perfect sense that his avatar ended up becoming like this.

I looked at her curiously.

“How do you know all of this?”

Her chest puffed out proudly.

“Of course I know. I’m a historian!”

Right. That was one of the subclasses in LLO.

She suddenly clapped her hands.

“Oh! Can you open my Item Box for me? I have a lot of literature stored there. Oh, I missed my little darlings so much!”

Her enthusiasm was starting to overwhelm me.

I scratched my cheek awkwardly.

“I don’t think I can.”

Joan remarked calmly. “You can access it once you reach the Eighth Realm of the Longevity Path. I’ve recently opened mine. It won’t increase your strength much, but the Longevity Path helps expand one’s horizons.”

Arthur sighed deeply, the exhaustion in his face was obvious. “Ah…” He rubbed his forehead. “I don’t even know what to think anymore. What about you, Fanarys?”

Fanarys crossed her arms and her expression remained guarded. 

“The Crimson Tower and many other magic towers have conducted research about the Voice. They are considered a mysterious phenomenon. Some believe they are magical principles. Others believe they are spiritual entities. But one thing every theory agrees on… A Voice is a willful existence. Often eccentric. Greedy. Power-hungry. Tyrannical. Sometimes even a murderous maniac. Tell me something, Voice of David.”

Her voice grew cold.

“Just who are you? And what do you want?”

Hearing that description almost made me laugh. The player community of LLO had really left quite the reputation behind. If players viewed this world as a game… Then these people saw players as mysterious Voices guiding their destiny.

The difference in perspective was staggering.

If I answered like a typical gamer, the answer would be simple.

Items.

Level ups.

Power.

But that wasn’t who I was anymore. I looked at her calmly.

“I’m Da Wei. Holy Emperor. Wandering Adjudicator. Supreme Bearer. And I only want one thing.”

I spread my hands slightly.

“A happy ending.”