Gawain's Path

The celebrations were underway both inside and outside the castle. After the morning ceremony, there would be a grand float parade and all sorts of traditional festivities in the square. Nearly everyone in the city would have the chance to relax to their heart's content on this day, and the newly designed ceremonial events would undoubtedly drive the people's enthusiasm for celebration to even greater heights.

But before the evening banquet began, the empire's new ruler no longer needed to attend the remaining events.

Gawain sat quietly in his room. He had neither drawn the curtains nor lit the lamps, allowing the dim, tranquil atmosphere to slowly envelop him. The sounds of celebration from within and beyond the castle faintly reached his ears, mingled with music, laughter, dancing, and the bursts of magical fireworks. Those sounds were distant and ethereal, making the silence of the room all the more pronounced.

Through his observations of and inquiries with Melitapornia, he could finally confirm that the Black Trap was indeed connected to the gods, and that some of the measures in the Defiance Plan were truly effective at avoiding it.

Of course, Gawain had already suspected as much, but only today had that suspicion been confirmed.

In the dim, silent room, he curled his fingers and lightly tapped the table in a steady rhythm.

The dragons are still trapped within the Black Trap... They didn't avoid encountering it. They were "stuck" in this state after encountering it... All sorts of thoughts turned in his mind. They also tried to defy it, and then failed? Did the gods discover them, or...

*What a pity I can't ask them. Judging by Melita's condition, any dragon who knows the truth probably can't answer questions in this regard... What exactly was the change that happened to