Chapter 949
“This is…”
The corners of Rhode’s mouth lifted as he looked fixedly at the ceiling. Although there were no unique patterns on the gray walls surrounding him, he immediately recognized where he was.
“So the rumored young lady on the 55th floor of the Deepest Labyrinth was you, Alice.”
“?”
Alice looked at Rhode curiously, but the latter didn’t explain further. The Deepest Labyrinth was the most well-known dungeon among players. As the final maze of the game, it was the best platform for high-level players to display their strengths. As the dangers of each floor far exceeded the average level of players, only the strongest groups of players could overcome them. Everything from the grass and roots of every floor had been rummaged by them and basically nothing was left unturned.
On the raid rankings for this maze, Starlight always held the first position while others chased closely behind. After all, Starlight was the number one guild and apart from focusing only on this dungeon, they were also occupied with other matters. This was the reason why Starlight wasn’t the first to clear every single floor. There were also countless players who searched for hidden tasks in the maze and with their incessant efforts, they actually discovered some secrets.
One of the most popular secrets was the ‘sleeping young lady on the 55th floor’.
There was also a rumor among players that if one passed through the 55th floor using the right method, one could find a young lady laying in a bed of petals inside a crystal coffin at the exit and… That was all.
That’s right. That was all to it.
Players couldn’t open the coffin because it was entirely a virtual image that couldn’t be touched. Not only that, but there were also no triggered missions and players couldn’t engage in further investigation as though she didn’t exist at all. Besides, despite using several ways to bring information of the image out of the dungeon, it didn’t activate any mission. There was once a period of time when players believed that the young lady was only a BUG in the game. Some players also suggested and complained on the official forum but failed to receive any response from the game masters. This meant that there was indeed a mission tied to the young lady, but players just couldn’t accept it no matter what. Over time, players treated the image as something like a post-credit scene and passed it down to the later generations for fun. Of course, some players also came up with fan-fiction stories about that mysterious young lady and narrated the reason for her death.
No, it can’t be. This must be a coincidence…
“Your Majesty.”
As Rhode pondered with knitted brows, he heard a voice behind him and turned around. It was Alice, hugging a huge, heavy book and slowly approaching the mysterious young lady. The young lady revealed a kind, heartwarming smile.
“Alice… You’re here. How’s the situation over there?”
“Chaos is gathering. They have discovered the gaps in this world and it is only a matter of time before they pass through the dragon soul protection.”
“Is that so…”
The young lady closed her eyes and pondered in silence. Then, she spoke.
“Indeed. Chaos is as powerful as we imagined, but this is all we can do, Alice.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Alice bowed humbly before lifting her head.
“Your Majesty, I may go overboard for speaking out of turn, but must we resort to this? It is extremely dangerous to go on the path toward the outer world…”
“This is the only solution that we can think of.”
The young lady waved her hand and interrupted.
“The future that we predicted is identical to the past that you saw, at least from what we’re seeing now. Alice, we have to change before we’re dragged into the inevitable destruction of a contradictory spiral. We need to find a way to keep our world alive. No matter how small the possibility is, as long as we keep repeating, we will have the possibility to turn them into identifiable facts. No matter if it requires a hundred, thousand, or tens thousand times, we must continue to find the opportunity that will change this fate… I’m sorry, but this is our willfulness.”
“No, Your Majesty.”
Alice lowered her head deeply.
“It is our honor. No matter how many times history spirals, we will do our best to fulfill your wishes and let the gear of destiny completely detach from its original trajectory. This is what we should do as your subjects.”
“Thank you, Alice. I wholeheartedly wish for all of you to find your true blessings in the future.”
The young lady gazed at Alice and for some unknown reasons, Rhode felt like her gaze was as though penetrating through Alice and into him.
“In future, I may not appear before all of you again. But I believe that there will be a person who will guide all of you away from this fate. Until that day comes…”
“…!”
Suddenly, all the clamors around him were muted abruptly. The whole world fell into complete silence and darkness, only for a dazzling crystal coffin to appear in midair. There was a young lady with her eyes closed within as though in deep sleep.
“Now’s the chance, Your Majesty. Please remove the seal! Destroy that coffin!”
“This is the critical moment…”
Rhode shook his head and cleared his head. Then, he raised his right arm and a silver holy sword appeared in his hand. He brandished the sword and released a blinding blade ray that divided the dark world into two. In the blink of an eye, the crystal coffin shattered and its fragments erupted into countless magical rays that wound around Alice, slowly shaping into a plain, pitch-black dress. Then, Alice slowly descended from midair and landed into his arms.
At the same time, he heard a voice whisper to his ear.
… I’ll leave it to you, Big Brother…