The Gravekeeper

Do you recognize me?

Seeing the girl's reaction, Ivan continued to press, "Who am I? Where am I? And what is this world all about?"

"I recognize everyone buried in this Graveyard. I am the caretaker of this Graveyard."

The girl's voice suddenly choked up and then disappeared, becoming ethereal and melodious; she seemed to have controlled her emotions very well.

"You are a Knight, and everyone buried in this Graveyard is Knight, including you."

Do you know my name?

Ivan hesitated for a moment.

"I crawled out of the Coffin and saw the name [Ivan] engraved on the tombstone, so I used it. But is it really my name?"

If you consider it your name, then it is your name.

The girl calmly replied, "As for me, you can call me the gravedigger, Knight. If you don't mind, may I have your hand?"

Ivan extended his hand without hesitation. For some reason, he felt a strong sense of trust in this girl, despite his amnesia.

Although he could no longer recall who he was or even a single detail of this world, he believed that this girl would not harm him.

After he extended his palm, the girl groped her small hands out and grasped his palm. Her fingertips pressed against his palm, causing Ivan's palm to emit a faint light.

Ivan was taken aback, but the changes in his body quickly made him realize that the girl was helping him better absorb that "light source."

As the light in his palm gradually faded, Ivan felt that the light had been completely absorbed by him, becoming a part of his body and filling the tiny, insignificant void within him.

His body became stronger and more agile, and his mind became more active, no longer as sluggish and dull as it had been when he first stepped out of that empty, quiet room.

"This world is no longer as Order, peaceful, and beautiful as it once was."

The girl finished assisting Ivan in absorbing the energy, withdrew her hand, and picked up the flower wreath from her leg.

"It is already in its twilight years, at its end. Life and death are reversed, day and night are out of balance, and time and space are disordered. Those who should have died rise, and those who should have risen fall to the ground. People devour each other, and from these people are born many powerful monsters. Then these monsters go and devour the remaining people. There should not be many survivors outside now."

She straightened the flower wreath in her hand.

"Knight, you don't need to leave this Graveyard. Although the Order of death has been disrupted with the fall of the Nether God, and there are occasionally some wandering skeletons in this Graveyard, it is still the safest place compared to the outside world. You can stay here and quietly wait with me for the end of this world."

Ivan glanced at the sky, thought for a moment, and then rejected the girl's suggestion.

"No."

He said, "I think, regardless of whether this world has come to an end, I should go out and see it. I still know nothing about myself. I want to go out and see the world, to see if there's anything about me. If my fate of destruction is unavoidable, then at least I want to die knowing the truth. If the end of the world comes during my journey, then I will die on the path of exploration, and I will die without regret."

A gentle breeze blew by, lifting the girl's long, silvery-white hair. Petals from a floral wreath danced in the wind, drifting towards the distant setting sun.

"As always, a reply in your style, Knight lord."

After a long silence, the girl slowly spoke, a hint of laughter in her ethereal voice.

"Please wait a moment."

As she spoke, she began to fold the wreath in her hand.

Ivan didn't know how she did it, but he watched as she folded the unfinished wreath three or four times, turning it into a small flower, and then strung it with hay to make a ring.

Please take it with you.

The girl held the Flower Ring in both hands and pleaded, "Though I am blind and unable to carry heavy loads, as long as you wear this ring, my lord Knight, I will stay by your side on your journey."

"Thanks."

Ivan accepted the ring and carefully placed it into the only remaining pouch on his tattered armor.

"Once you step out of this door, you'll be in the outside world. However, the outside spacetime is in a chaotic state, and I don't know which country this door leads to. Knight, if you encounter any survivors with self- Consciousness during your journey, you can also introduce them to this safe place."

The girl gently pursed her lips and said, "Also, outside this gate stands a powerful guardian. Although its power is no longer as strong as before due to the weakening of the Crystal's power, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Knight, you are not what you used to be either."

"I see."

Ivan nodded seriously.

"Then I won't see you off."

The girl smiled at Ivan and said, "May the light of the Sacred Tree and Crystal be with you."

She continued weaving the wreath, taking fresh flowers from some unknown source, and began to weave them little by little, her movements appearing lighter and more agile.

Ivan bid her farewell and walked to the gate on the other side of the Circular Plaza, looking up at the enormous doorway.

The door was cast in steel, with faded emblems on it that had peeled off and were almost unrecognizable. It stood several meters tall and was incredibly heavy, as if separating two worlds.

Fortunately, the bolt on the door was on Ivan's side. After some effort, he managed to remove the bolt and slowly push open the door.

With a heavy hum, the gate slowly opened, revealing an even more open space outside the Circular Plaza gate in the afterglow of the setting sun.

A tall Knight, his entire body shrouded in black, was crouching in the center of the open space. He was about thirty meters tall, and in front of him was a massive Black Iron Giant Sword that resembled a city gate.

His armor was engraved with wondrous patterns, but these patterns had faded with time. Ivan noticed a hole in his chest containing a shimmering Crystal.

"Judging from their structure, they don't resemble humanoid life forms like me or that tomb-keeper girl."

Ivan looked him up and down.

"Is it one of the original creatures of this world that I didn't know about, or is it simply a driven steel Puppet?"

As he sized up the towering enemy, he cautiously approached. This time, the aura emanating from the figure truly posed a deadly threat to him.

However, this towering Puppet blocked his only way out, guarding that single exit. This meant that if Ivan wanted to leave, he had to pass by it.

Ivan tried to hug the edge of the road and go around it as far as possible, but just as he stepped into the line parallel to the tall Black Iron Knight, the Black Iron Knight's eyes suddenly emitted a red light.

With a deafening roar, it stood up, pulled the Giant Sword from the ground, and then looked toward where Ivan was.