The Black Throne Is Mine

Thick fog filled the air as Luther stared at his reflection in the mirror.

In the mirror, a handsome young man who looked exactly like him stared at him in despair, then turned and walked step by step into the depths of the Fog in the mirror.

He never came back.

"Call--"

The strange Mirror, formed from condensed water, suddenly collapsed, as if a gentle breeze had blown it away, scattering it back into Fog.

It wasn't just the Mirror that collapsed; the entire island did too.

"Click, click."

It was the crisp sound of shattering glass, ringing out continuously. Luther felt everything around him collapsing in this endless sound— the Fog, the ruins. It was as if a Nightmare that had lasted for a thousand years had been suddenly awakened.

The sunlight shone down abruptly, stinging one's eyes.

Luther discovered that the Mist Island he had been on had completely vanished, as if it had never existed. He was now standing on a reef several meters wide, with the corpse of "Saint of Darkness" Leomaster lying nearby.

On the surface of the reef beneath his feet, a dragon scale rapidly dissipated into ashes under the sunlight.

"Meow?"

Luna the black cat was also nearby, standing on the rocks, her small face full of confusion, seemingly puzzled by the current situation.

The island is gone?

Luther looked around and confirmed that he was indeed in the same sea area. Besides him, there were many corpses and bones of people who had died earlier scattered on the sea surface, rising and falling with the waves.

Further out from the skeletons lies the Flagship of the Queen Mystic and the King of the Black Throne, who are still engaged in battle.

Illusory flames burned on the sea, and cannonballs occasionally fell into the water, stirring up columns of water. Two giant ships faced each other, their respective kings standing at the bow. Sensing the dramatic changes on the island beside them, they turned their heads almost simultaneously.

Then they both saw Luther.

"Get out of here!"

The Queen cried out urgently.

"Hehe. You're finally out."

Meanwhile, "King of the Black Throne" Barros Hopkins laughed heartily. He could tell that Luther was in very poor spirits, so his smile grew even brighter. "Now, let's have a good chat."

As he spoke, his Spirituality suddenly surged.

Just as the Queen became more vigilant and Luther planned to "Travel" to escape, the King of the Black Throne's Flagship encountered a minor problem.

"Creak--"

Suddenly, the cabin door was pushed open, and a huge rabbit wearing Top Hat and gentleman's attire stood upright and walked out. It quickly walked to Barros's wheelchair, leaned down, and whispered something in Barros's ear.

Barros's expression changed slightly.

"Okay, okay"

The old gentleman shook his head regretfully, "I understand, of course it's more important over there."

After the rabbit stepped aside, he turned around and gave a slight nod to the others present.

"I regret to inform you all that I have some urgent matters to attend to, so let's call it a day," he said, his gaze lingering particularly on Bernadette's face. "Your Queen, I will remember this matter."

After saying that, the large white rabbit pushed Barros's wheelchair and took him back to the cabin.

As if given a command, the Sailor on board all stopped and quickly maneuvered the sails and oars to turn the ship around. The giant vessel sailed away from them for a while, then abruptly disappeared into thin air.

Just like that... gone?

As Luther watched the direction the giant ship had gone, and then saw the Dawn speeding towards them, and Anderson, still shaken, on a nearby small boat, a sense of unreality welled up inside him.

But soon, intense fatigue washed over him, and he decisively gave up thinking and simply plopped down on the sun-heated rocks.

Luna quickly jumped into his arms.

"So, that's the situation. It's completely tied to me now." Luther showed the black key to Bernadette, somewhat guiltily adding, "I didn't want to either; it was a complete accident. Anderson can testify to that."

"."

Anderson, standing nearby, couldn't help but glance at him, then sat up straight under the Queen's gaze, offering a slightly ingratiating smile. "That's true."

But deep down, he had already become somewhat numb.

I have a feeling that whatever happens to Gascoigne will shock me. This guy is valued so highly by two kings of the sea at the same time, one is a "Queen Mystic," and the other, who was it again? Never mind, it doesn't seem important.

Just as Anderson was muttering to himself, the Queen suddenly waved to him.

"Brush!"

The next instant, he was already outside the cabin of the "Dawn," staring blankly at Luther's black cat.

Inside the ship's cabin.

"So do you know what this is now?"

After seeing off the unrelated people, Bernadette turned to ask Luther.

Her voice was relatively calm, and her emotions weren't particularly intense; she seemed relatively safe.

"Knew."

Luther replied, "It's the key to the Black Throne, the Flagship of Emperor Roselle the Great of Intis."

"Then you should know who I am."

I think I guessed it.

Luther nodded slowly.

"You must be Princess Intis."

Bernadette had previously told the "King of the Black Throne" that the key belonged to "her father." Not to mention that Luther already knew her identity beforehand, this alone is enough to deduce that she is Roselle's child.

"I'm no longer a princess."

Upon hearing this address, Bernadette seemed momentarily dazed, then shook her head. "Roselle's eldest daughter is all I am now."

According to seniority, you should call me uncle.

Luther thought to himself.

The two remained silent for a while.

"So, what should we do with this key?" he initiated the conversation to show his goodwill. "Queen Your Excellency, I can assist you if needed."

"That ship is yours."

Bernadette withdrew her gaze from the keys and looked directly at Luther, saying, "My only request is that when you find the ship, let me go aboard and inspect it."

What, is there something your old man left behind on that ship?

Luther wondered to himself.

Thank you for your understanding.

A suitable curiosity appeared on his face. "To be honest, I still don't know what kind of ship the 'Black Throne' is."

"It was Ghost Ship built by the Solomon Empire in the Fourth Epoch, which my father found and modified."

Bernadette replied, "After my father died, the ship also disappeared at sea, only occasionally reported as a sighting. I suspected there might be a message he left on it, so I wanted to find it and examine it. I just never expected..."

You just didn't expect that I would snatch it away, did you?

Luther added in his mind.