Phrolova: Xiaochen Is a Hero Who Stands Tall Against Heaven and Earth!

"The price? It varies. There's no set answer..."

Truth said, "It depends mainly on what you want to obtain."

"Do you know? To keep the countless beings of the world from growing too conceited, fate always gives them a fitting measure of despair."

"A woman who longed for a child paid with her internal organs, leaving them incomplete. From then on, she could never bear another child."

"A son who wished to resurrect his mother paid with his body, never to embrace his loved ones again for the rest of his life."

"There was also one who surveyed the world and looked to the future. His price was to lose his sight forever."

"Do you understand now?"

Rover nodded. This so-called Truth was no pushover.

"My second question: I want the knowledge to resurrect Imperator's soul."

Hearing this, Truth couldn't help laughing.

"A clever way to ask, but I can't tell you directly?"

"Judging by that look, you're asking me why? Because knowing how to find precisely what you want in the torrent of knowledge is itself a kind of knowledge. I won't cross levels to give you the answer directly."

Truth stepped forward and touched a finger to the space between Rover's eyebrows.

Immediately afterward, Rover saw a luminous path stretching ahead.

Without another word, he was about to set off.

"Wait, you still have a third question. Are you planning to give it up?"

"You're asking me a question. That's knowledge too, and you should pay me a price!"

"Ha ha... just what I'd expect from you. I'll grant you special permission to ask your third question at some point in the future. Good luck..."

Once Truth had finished speaking, Rover raced along the path of light without looking back.

He had no time to waste here.

Watching his retreating figure, the white shadow's lips curved slightly upward.

"Fate always gives people a fitting measure of despair... one who regards saving the world as his life, what will you lose?"

Rover was enduring an ordeal.

Though the path beneath his feet was clear, he felt tremendous resistance with every step.

The torrent of knowledge swept past him, washing over his body. Countless fragments, some familiar and others strange, flashed through his mind, leaving him confused and trying to break down his will.

Even so, he never wavered.

With steady steps, he moved forward one footprint at a time.

The road was long.

Suddenly, a light blossomed ahead, like a lamp in the darkness, lifting his spirits a little.

His steps grew heavier, but his heart was full of anticipation. Seemingly oblivious to his exhaustion, he ran forward a few quick steps and plunged headlong into the light.

The scene before him had changed completely. Compared to where he had just been, it was like another world.

Before him floated countless portals, every one of them shut tight. As far as he could see, they looked like rows of tombstones.

He walked up to a door. Intricate patterns were carved into it, and at the very bottom was an unfamiliar name.

In an instant, he understood it all.

The world before had been full of free-floating knowledge, while this place recorded the pasts of all living beings.

This was precisely the "knowledge" needed to reconstruct a soul.

Before he knew it, he was full of strength again and followed the light forward.

At last, he reached the end of the path, where a towering portal stood before him.

A depiction of the church was carved on the door. Countless worshippers had their eyes closed in prayer, bowing in devout worship.

"There's no mistake. This is where Imperator's soul is!"

Rover reached out and touched the door. With a click, it opened on its own.

He stepped inside and saw a tall woman.

She wore a white robe, looking sacred and pure. Her long, azure hair fell to her hips, and she looked at him with clear eyes.

"Imperator!"

"Charioteer, you're here?"

Delight appeared on the woman's face, as though she had seen her dearest family member.

"Thank goodness, it really is you. Come away with me!"

Rover stepped forward, intending to take Imperator's hand.

But just as she reached out and was about to touch him, she suddenly stopped.

"Charioteer, I can't leave with you..."

"What's wrong?"

"You haven't brought the price. I can't walk out through this door."

Only then did Rover come to a sudden realization. Finding knowledge required a price, and taking it away required one too!

"Truth, I'm using my third question now. How can I take Imperator away?"

The words were out, but no one answered, as though nothing were there.

Clearly, this question was outside the scope of what could be answered. It was time to pay the "price"!

"Charioteer, please leave... visiting time is over."

"What!?"

As soon as she spoke, countless black hands appeared again and grabbed Rover, trying to push him out the door.

"Imperator, Imperator!!"

Rover roared and strained against them, but the black hands were almost like laws of nature. He couldn't resist them at all.

"Charioteer, please don't be sad. There's still hope. We'll have another chance to meet again..."

The door closed. Through the narrowing gap, they gazed at each other until they could no longer see one another.

Inside, the woman's smile vanished, and she lowered her head in dejection.

"Charioteer... Imperator has so much she wants to tell you."

Just then...

"Boom!!"

A violent force smashed the closed door open!

Rover's expression was fierce. The black hands were still wrapped around him, but he held a punching stance.

"Imperator, wait for me. Not in the future, not next time, but this time. I'll take you away today!"

"Wait for me, just wait!"

The door closed again.

No longer dejected, Imperator widened her eyes and hurried to the door. She bent forward, pressed her ear against it, and listened intently.

"Charioteer, I believe in you. I'll wait for you!"

Outside, Rover seemed to have cast everything aside. He charged at the door again and again, only to be thrown back each time.

With every impact, his body grew unbearably stiff. Without even noticing it himself, he was gradually turning to stone.

Even so, he didn't stop. Knowing neither fatigue nor pain, he had only one purpose in his heart.

On his three-thousandth attempt to knock on the door, he turned completely into a statue, still holding his fist clenched in a fighting stance!

"You lost..."

Truth appeared. At this moment, he was no longer a white shadow with nothing but an outline. He had taken Rover's form.

"One who longs to save the world shall lose the use of his body, never again able to do anything..."

He murmured to himself and instinctively reached for his chest, then froze...

"No! There's a hollow in the chest. There's no heart. The real Rover hasn't fallen yet!"

"But with only a heart left, what can you do?"

No sooner had he spoken than something fell from the stone statue with a soft clatter.

It was a button.

From the button Triss had given him came Phrolova's voice.

"Your Xiaochen is a hero who stands tall against heaven and earth!"