The Amber Sword

Chapter 185 – The final moment (1)

Brendel contemplated the canyon’s shape one more time.

The places that one could hide near Hati’s pit mostly consisted of small boulders and gaps, and given how good at Andesha was tracking people, she would have encountered the person William was describing very quickly. If she did not murder the person immediately, then it was unlikely for them to be anyone good.

[Just who exactly could it be? Another member of the Tree Shepherds? Even if that person is not, he would probably be one of the bad guys. Bad news, in any case.]

“How much time do I have, Grandmaster William?” He asked.

The old wizard’s intelligent eyes studied the pit, while his hand opened a dimensional portal and took out a silver staff:

“Andesha seems to be stunned from discovering Hati. But she’s the Mistress of Withering Decay, and I believe she will recover from it very soon. You have a few minutes before she arrives.”

Brendel nodded; the Archmage was hinting to him to open the gate now. This place was not a good one to do battle with Andesha, and the youth was not sure how much William was going to help him.

“Are the conditions wrong?” Brendel frowned as he muttered to himself.

He kept looking at the lore stated in the forums in his mind, but the more pressure he put on himself, the more unfocused the words became. No matter how good his memory was, there was a limit to it.

William’s eyes suddenly glanced at the valley’s entrance. This subtle action did not escape Faena’s observation, and she started to become restless:

“Hurry up—”

“Shut up!” Brendel exclaimed.

“You—” Faena was like an angry cat, hissing loudly, but she knew who was in charge and could only sulk in silence.

“Brother Brendel, there’s another voice, and she’s asking me something.” Sifrid suddenly spoke.

“What?” Brendel was jolted out from his memories and he replied in a daze: “What is she saying?”

“She’s asking me, where is the Lord King who will guard Order?”

[…… The Lord King?]

The memory from the gate flashed through his mind again.

[Ahh— I see. The Lord King is Valhalla’s lord, the king of the Forest and Mountains.]

Sifrid was the wielder and keeper of the Forest and Mountain’s authority. But the day would come where the authority was handed to its true owner. The Lord King shall lead the Heroic Spirits of Valhalla and guard its vicinity, just like how the chronicles described it.

Brendel placed his hand onto the wall, speaking within his mind:

“Oh past Lord Kings and Heroic Spirits, I am willing to receive your blade and guard this land against the Chaos. I will never let it cover this land, and allow Order to break the fog of Chaos for all eternity. If this is your responsibility, then allow me to take over; if this is the crown of glory, please coronate me. The Light shall sunder the Wall of Clouds and allow the sun to illuminate the earth once more. The miracle that the Ancestral Citizens witness shall be repeated.”

Brendel could feel each word carve into his heart:

“Many more than a thousand years have passed, but the Sacred Oath still remains—”

Time seemed to stop for a moment. And a venerable voice spoke:

“May it be, Successor.”

Brendel and Sifrid felt an invisible energy pushing them away from the door, and they took a step back. There was a slight movement of the gates, with a faint rumble coming from above the Wall of Clouds. At first, they could not sense anything, but the earth started to tremble and shake, and the rumbling turning into resounding roars that came like an endless wave.

The pebbles around the gate started dancing like a king’s jester, creating tiny clacking noises.

Faena was so terrified that she backed away from the gate and crashed into a boulder without even feeling anything. William was so astonished that his eyes opened wide to witness this spectacular scene.

The gate was slowly opening revealing a small dark gap between the doors, but a gust of strong wind blew out of it, causing everyone’s hair to flutter freely. The wind was not musty and instead had a scent of nature.

It was quiet after the doors were opened fully.

Brendel took a deep breath. Peering into the dark cave within the gate made him feel like there was a fearsome beast lurking somewhere within it.

“S-s-surely we’re not going in there……” Faena stuttered when she saw the cave’s ominous darkness.

There was a sudden long cry that came from the cave, sounding a little like a bird, and it immediately crushed her mental strength and turned her face pallid.

“Sure, it’s not really necessary for you to go in. After all, there might be monsters that are more terrifying than Andesha.” Brendel took out a strip of cloth from the bag on his waist and tied up Veronica’s sword to his belt. He then pulled out Halran Gaia out from its sheath on his back.

“Y-y-you think you’re scaring me, I-I-I’m not frightened…..” Tears were swimming in the girl’s eyes and threatening to spill out.

Brendel cast a final glance at her, patted Sifrid’s shoulder, and led her into the darkness.

“Archmage William……” Faena turned to the old wizard when she saw that Brendel went in without hesitation.

“Little girl, your Lord is right. There is no telling what dangers lurk in the ancient ruins, but there might be a possibility where it’s significantly less dangerous than what you encountered earlier.”

“He’s not my Lord!”

“I see, well then, at the very least, you wouldn’t need to worry about his safety.” The Archmage replied with a smile, lifting up his staff and prepared to enter into the darkness as well.

Faena’s face turned red in shame, then turned white in fear, but she gritted her teeth and eventually followed them. She did not know whether Brendel was scaring her on purpose, but a possible danger could not compare with a danger that was all too real.

“That old man is right. That man rescued me from Andesha even though I did him wrong. I-I-I can’t leave him when he might face a great danger. T-that’s right!” She muttered to herself and persuaded herself in a twisted manner.