The sudden change left no one knew how many people staring in shock.
Whether it was Huai Shi's sudden ruthless strike, the ashes of the isolated realm, or even Alastair's death... before anyone could react, the ruler had restored himself once more.
But was that restoration, or rebirth?
Or perhaps... some kind of replacement?
One had to know that whether it was the Great Arcanum, other scrying mirrors, or even detection methods from hell, they had all reached one definite conclusion in that instant.
Dead!
There was no question about it. After taking a blast from the Dragon Calling Flute head-on, there was no way Alastair could have survived.
Even Gnome King Shuangyue of the Sea of Thunder would not dare claim he could emerge unscathed after taking that shot head-on. With the isolated realm now shattered and himself covered in wounds, Alastair should have been utterly, completely dead by any reasonable measure.
Then who was this before them?
A second Alastair!?
Though his features were completely different from before, something in his bones was exactly the same. That strange, sinister aura had not changed in the slightest.
Instead, it had grown increasingly ferocious and sharp with the aging of his face.
For a moment, every gaze looking down shifted across the cards on the chessboard. Seeing that cryptic number after his name and connecting it with his words, they all seemed to come to a faint realization.
XXI
Roman numeral twenty-one.
In the tarot, it corresponded to the World, symbolizing the perfection and imperfection of all things!
Which meant...
The previous one numbered XVI... had been the Tower, number seventeen in the tarot sequence?
Following that deduction, every rumor and mystery surrounding Alastair seemed to be confirmed—within Golden Dawn, the name Alastair did not refer to one person, but