Chapter 1301: Crucible
“Alright then. I’ll help you with your little favor. At the very least, this old man will get to witness something amusing during the child’s Ascension Trial.”
Dravek’s eyes lit up.
“A child with True Will and an impressive mind. How fascinating.”
“Thank you for your—” Dravek began, but the Verge’s form suddenly flared.
“The favor has been repaid. You may leave.”
Dravek vanished before he could react, suddenly reappearing high in the skies of a planet wrapped in an endless blizzard.
Realizing where he was, he straightened mid air, and his expression snapped back into its calm, composed mask.
Without wasting another second, he sped off toward the planet’s center.
…
An aged man with a flushed face sat at the corner of a rowdy bar. Littered on the table in front of him were a staggering number of bottles, all drowned and emptied into his bulging stomach.
The shouts and laughter from the men and women in the bar did little to pull the aged man from his thoughts.
His eyes were unfocused as he stared at the bottles, a small trail of drool slipping down from the corner of his mouth. He looked like he was in his own world, far removed from the bustling bar.
Suddenly, the rowdy hall fell silent. It was an unnatural silence, like a switch had been flipped. Still, the man remained deep in thought.
“My liege.”
A voice broke the stillness, coming from a man who had clearly caused the sudden silence.
Everyone turned to look. Wearing a fur coat thick with snow, a large man stood in front of the aged figure, bowing slightly.
His hair was braided, as was his long beard. Behind him were other men with similar braided hair and snow covered coats. They bowed their heads in respect.
The aged man didn’t respond. He simply stared.
The large man sighed lightly, as though used to the scene.
“Help me carry the king,” he said, and the men behind him nodded.
Together, they approached and lifted the man, carrying him out of the bar while ignoring the baffled, whispering onlookers.
They were met by an intense blizzard that slammed into them the moment they stepped outside. Their attire shifted, now extending to cover and protect their heads against the freezing storm.
They carried the aged man into a small aircraft built to endure the relentless blizzard, before zooming off toward the palace.
Once they landed, the king was taken to his chambers. The maids cleaned and changed him, restoring his appearance. But even then, the aged man’s eyes remained unfocused.
“My king,” the large man said, standing before him with a saddened gaze.
“It’s been centuries since their deaths. The queen and the princess would be saddened to see you like this.”
“…”
“Your people need you, my king,” the large man added, voice filled with desperation. But when no response came, he sighed heavily.
‘There’s no bringing him back,’ he thought, shutting his eyes.
After the deaths of his wife and daughter during their Ascension trial centuries ago, the king had lost all reason to live.
The number of times he had stopped him from ending his own life… he couldn’t even count.
But due to their failure at the trial, their world had been thrust into the Crucible, to rot for all eternity.
Such was the price for failure.
Time in the Crucible was still… but life outside kept moving.
Every world that failed its Ascension Trial would be cast into the Crucible, cursed to endure an eternal blizzard until the last of its inhabitants perished.
It was cruel.
In the Crucible, there were no births, only deaths. With the blizzard devouring their world, their population was doomed to dwindle.
There was only one way to escape this hell. And the large man doubted it was even possible, not with their god, their king, in this state.
He shook his head, trying to dismiss the intrusive thoughts that came every time he saw his king like this.
Killing him would be so easy. But he couldn’t. He would never do that to his king.
The Circle had voted to execute him multiple times, and each time, he’d been the one to hold them back.
He turned and was just about to leave the room when a voice filled with heat cut through the silence.
“You can have them back.”
The large man’s eyes narrowed to pinpricks. There was no one on the planet who could escape his senses.
He turned, and his gaze locked onto a man with blazing red hair and crimson eyes. Somehow, the temperature in the room had spiked.
“Who are you?” the large man barked, reaching for his sword, but froze the moment an aura washed over him.
His eyes widened. He couldn’t move.
“My name is Dravek,” the man finally said, not even glancing his way. His gaze was fixed on the king.
“Bella. Triana. There’s a way to bring them back.”
The large man’s eyes widened in shock. How did he know those names?
The king’s wife. His daughter.
But before he could start unraveling the implications, something even more shocking happened, the king’s eyes suddenly regained their clarity.
He turned toward Dravek, trembling.
“B-bring t-them back?” he asked, voice cracking.
“Yes,” Dravek said with a simple nod, as though resurrection were as easy as boiling water for tea. “But you’ll need power. A lot of it.”
The king’s eyes lit up with a light the large man hadn’t seen in over a century. He rose shakily to his feet, his determined gaze locked onto Dravek.
“A-anything. I—I’ll do anything.”
“Good,” Dravek nodded. “Now listen. I’ve pulled some strings. You’ll be called to fight a newly ascending world soon. I’ll give you the resources you need to ensure you’re strong enough to win.”
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.
“All you have to do… is kill its god, and everyone else on that planet. Do that, and I’ll show you how to bring your wife and daughter back.”
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