Sword Monument

At Lucia's current stage, his speed was ultimately far inferior to Lansseax's, so after the two of them left Dectus far behind, she deliberately slowed her pace. In any case, with an ancient dragon's speed, they would reach Leyndell before tonight no matter what, so there was no need to hurry.

Along the way, they discussed in detail the follow-up plans for the matters Lucia had just mentioned. Lansseax also briefly introduced a few things worth paying attention to in Leyndell. After that, most of their conversation centered on casual chatter about the scenery and people of Sky City and Leyndell.

After a long, rambling conversation, half a day slipped by before they knew it. Looking down from high in the sky, great stretches of fertile farmland and pasture gradually replaced the wilderness. Farther away, the Golden Capital had already revealed its glorious, majestic outline, its magnificent buildings of marble and gold stretching all the way to the end of the horizon.

Just then, Lansseax suddenly beat her dragon wings and hovered in the firmament. Lucia stopped with her, only to see her gaze turn toward a remote hill in the distance.

By a rough estimate, that place was still at least a hundred miles from Leyndell. Perhaps the rugged terrain and the barren soil covered in jagged rocks had blocked people from opening it up, for there was not the slightest sign of habitation near the hill. The only thing that might leave an impression was a few strange stone pillars standing on its summit.

"Come with me," Lansseax said. At some point, her eyes had become somewhat melancholy, and an indescribable sorrow showed in her gaze.

They swooped down from high altitude. As the distance closed, Lucia finally began to make out the true appearance of those stone pillars—they were entirely forged from obsidian, perhaps even reinforced with magic or incantations. Their unbearably rough surfaces could still reflect a faint measure of the sun and moon's radiance. In form, they were flat slabs of differing sizes, and near the upper ends, two guard-like protrusions could be discerned. Viewed abstractly, they looked like crude stone swords thrust upside down into the ground.

"These are... Sword Monuments?"

Lucia landed on the mountaintop and looked at those weathered, dilapidated stone swords, momentarily lost in thought.

"That's right." Lansseax walked ahead of him. She extended her slender white hand and slowly brushed it over the letters on the monument's surface, already somewhat mottled from years of wind and rain. "Recorded here is the history of the ancient dragon war. The smaller monuments behind it list the heroes of the Erdtree who rendered extraordinary service in that war."

Lucia looked in the direction of her finger. At the very top of the list was the foremost of the demigods who shone upon the world—"Son of Marika and Godfrey, wielder of the sun, 'Golden' Godwyn."

The inscription recorded the glorious deeds of this Golden Prince, who had defeated the ancient dragon Fortissax, known as the mightiest of rock, in a one-on-one duel, then turned enmity into friendship with him and together founded the ancient dragon faith of the royal capital.

"Lucia, I know that the legacy of the goddess and His Majesty lies within you, and that from the moment of your birth, you possessed wisdom far beyond your peers." Lansseax's soft voice came through the clear wind atop the mountain. She turned around, her faintly somber gaze fixed on Lucia. "After we met again today, and I heard of all the things you've done during this time, I became even more certain of that."

"But if I told you that before Her Majesty Marika sent that invitation to Sky City, she had earnestly asked for my opinion, and that I was the one who gave an affirmative answer—you would probably resent me very much, wouldn't you?"

Lucia froze where he stood, startled and doubtful all at once.

What startled him was that he never would have imagined this elder sister he had only just acknowledged possessed such weight in Queen Eternal's presence. What puzzled him was, why would she think he would prefer to stay in that drafty Sky City?

Back then, when he accepted the Golden Dynasty's invitation, one reason had been that the situation forced him to back down. But another was that after confirming he could not return, he had repeatedly weighed his options and determined it was the best choice. True, being a hostage was a bit risky, but he was not the only demigod invited to the royal capital this time. Weren't those three from Caria also on the invite list?

His original thought had been that after arriving at the royal capital, he would have the two priests who had preached in Leyndell for more than ten years above him to hold the line, and in ordinary times, he could mingle with the most awesome group of demigods in the Shattered War. He would not dare say he could learn any ultimate techniques from them, but if he kept steady, he could at least build connections and leave a good impression, right?

Once he muddled through until the Night of the Black Knives ended and the Shattered War began, then considering Farum Azula's isolated overseas position of negligible strategic value, all he had to do was shut the gates and remain neutral. Great Runes? None of my business. Black Blade carrying Destined Death and whatnot? Don't even think about entering—no matter how they fought, the fighting would never reach him.

By comparison, if he stayed in Sky City, that father-king of his was still slumbering in the cracks of time and space, with no sign of waking any time soon. As for those old dragons in the council of elders, some relied on their seniority and ignored him, while others were simply ambitious and scheming. Before his own wings had fully grown, if he insisted on staying in Sky City, was he supposed to become someone else's puppet?

Later, when he had truly set foot on the Golden Dynasty's territory, seen with his own eyes so many Wyvern Warriors and Storm Knights die to protect his life, then, through Samuel's shell, witnessed the abyssal strength and strategy of that Gloam-Eyed Queen, and later still personally witnessed and participated in the chaos outside Kallen City that devoured thousands of lives... Though it had only been a few short days, it had been no less than a soul-cleansing baptism from the outside in.

Thus, at this very moment, faced with Lansseax's question, he was already certain that his path as a demigod should—and had to—begin from Leyndell.

"Sister Lans," he sighed softly, his gaze gentle. "During those few days in Sky City, I always saw you looking distracted. Was it because you were struggling over this? Back then, you already knew Her Majesty Marika would definitely send me an invitation soon?"

"I was clearly the one asking you first." Lansseax shook her head helplessly. "Demigods really can't be measured by common sense. By human standards, you had only been born two days then. You should have been at the age where you cried for milk. How could you see so much?"

"Strictly speaking, I'm already over a thousand years old, aren't I?"

"That does make perfect sense." Lansseax lifted her head slightly. "That's right. I was indeed thinking about this at the time."

"The three children of the Carian royal family displayed extraordinary bloodline talents very early on. Half a year ago, I sensed the intention of those two sovereigns to bring them to Leyndell. So the moment you were born, I knew that they would definitely send us an invitation very soon as well."

Hearing this, and standing by coincidence before these Sword Monuments, Lucia felt he completely understood Lansseax's state of mind back then.

On one side was the equality and independence that the ancient dragons had won ten years ago at the cost of countless blood and lives. Yet in the face of the ever-widening gap in national strength between the Golden Dynasty and Sky City over these years, as well as the New Party's increasingly undisguised hostility toward foreign races, the peace treaty that had once "turned enemies into friends" was already on the verge of collapse. Refusing the queen's invitation would be no different from adding another weight to the already dangerous balance between the two nations.

On the other side, as a member of the ancient dragon royal family and also a priestess of the Sky Temple, she was both Lucia's blood relative and, in practical terms, a minister entrusted with an orphan. If one also took into account that after the former High Priest Gransax died in battle, voices within Sky City calling for her or Fortissax to become the new king had never disappeared, then her choice became especially sensitive.

Just as she had said, if she accepted that invitation, Lucia was very likely to resent her after learning the truth, and an irreparable rift would inevitably appear between them. This was not wild speculation, but the pattern of royal affairs seen throughout the rise and fall of countless dynasties, ancient and modern.

"Sister Lans, actually, you really don't need to worry about this." Lucia took two steps forward and came to Lansseax's side. He reached out and touched the ruined Sword Monuments, feeling the roughness against his palm as he continued, "During the days before I set out, I spent most of my time soaking in Sky City's great library, trying to understand this world through those ancient histories—to understand the Ancient Dragon Dynasty, and everything beyond it."

"It wasn't long, but I learned of that Dragon-Tree War. Though the people of Leyndell prefer to call it the 'ancient dragon war,' as if we were the ones who started the conflict—but I know that if the wings of the ancient dragons had not blotted out the Erdtree's light, how could we ever have had the qualifications to negotiate with them as equals?"

"The treaty ten years ago ended that war, allowing us not to crawl beneath the Golden Order, and even to spread the faith of the Elden Ring within the Golden Dynasty's territory. I also understand that what truly ended the war was not that treaty, but High Priest Gransax's life-risking strike against the royal capital, and the countless dragon warriors who fought in blood on the Altus Plateau."

"So—" He looked openly at Lansseax beside him. "How could I, understanding the weight of this peace, bear resentment toward you?"

Yet as soon as the words left his mouth, he discovered that the expression on Lansseax's face was extremely subtle. She seemed to be forcibly holding something back, and after several times looking as if she wanted to speak but stopped herself, she finally could not hold it in and burst into loud laughter.

"Heh, hahaha... As expected of the prince of our Ancient Dragon Dynasty. Your awareness really is something else!" After a hearty, unrestrained laugh, she looked at Lucia teasingly, the corners of her eyes still shimmering with tears and full of bright amusement.

"Sister Lans, you..." Lucia looked blank.

"You! At such a young age, you can already think about so much. That's already very touching to me, but—"

Lansseax suddenly gave Lucia a light slap on the head. "Did you think something that could make your big sister agonize for that long would be such a small matter?"

"Huh?" Lucia was now completely dumbfounded where he stood. A threat that might trigger a second Dragon-Tree War in the near future was a small matter? Then what the hell counted as a big matter?!

"You know, your big sister was already very powerful during the last war!"

Lansseax narrowed her eyes slightly. "Back then, Godwyn held the royal capital, and by relying on the Erdtree, he could unleash power close to that of a god. But I slaughtered a full dozen heroes under the Erdtree right before his eyes. Even the New Party, which has grown more and more arrogant now, has no one who dares shout in my face."

"Did you think the letter I sent back to Sky City was fake?" She looked at Lucia, her gaze filled with gentle feeling. "If you truly hadn't been willing to come, then even if we fought another Dragon-Tree War, so what?"

"Sis, you..." Lucia wanted to say something, but when the words reached his lips, they suddenly caught in his throat, and he could not say a single thing.

"I wanted you to come to Leyndell because I've seen too much here over these years—" Lansseax sighed softly. "The Golden Dynasty has in fact already come to rule the entire continent, and Queen Marika is an extraordinary sovereign rarely seen in any age. Under her governance, countless capable and extraordinary people of different races, different civilizations, and even different faiths have all gathered here."

"There are ancient and powerful Crucible Knights here, sorcerers who traveled far from Raya Lucaria and Sellia, court Perfumers who can both save and kill with their Perfume Arts, and even Alabaster Lords and Onyx Lords from beyond the stars. Different cultures collide and merge here. Almost every day, new combat arts or magic are born, or else brand-new mechanical creations... Such a scene has not appeared in The Lands Between for a thousand years."

"In the distant primeval age, we too were beings who led an era like this." Lansseax sighed faintly. "But that Forbidden War hidden in history destroyed everything. Sky City became what it is now. The goddess vanished, His Majesty was gravely wounded and fell into slumber... High Priest Gransax kept silent about the matter back then, so even I don't know who our opponent truly was."

"I only know one thing—" She looked at Lucia. "We cannot keep clinging to Sky City. If we do, we will only become a stubborn stone rotting day by day, and one day, we will be crushed beneath the wheels of the age."

Lucia's eyes lit up, as if a flame had newly kindled deep within his pupils, and his heart beat ever more fiercely along with it—he understood better than anyone that this era would soon usher in an earth-shaking upheaval that would overturn everything and start anew. Before this magnificent tide, those who changed would live; those who resisted would perish.

"I want you to come to the royal capital, to the central stage of this era, and grow alongside those extraordinarily gifted demigods. I want you to learn martial arts from the Crucible of Life, sorcery from Raya Lucaria Academy, incantations from the Erdtree... and become the greatest of all the demigods."

Lansseax gazed into Lucia's eyes. "I believe that one day, you will become the king who leads us into the next glorious age."

Lucia looked back into her clear, bright eyes. The same flickering flame burned within them, and something blazed hotly in both their chests.

"I will," he promised.

"I know," Lansseax said with a gentle smile. "From the moment we met again today at Dectus, and I saw that Dragonscale Blade that had never been drawn, I knew you were already walking the path of a king."

"However," she said, blinking, "you are still very young. If one day you encounter something like that again, I hope that before you make any decision, you will remember one thing."

"What?" Lucia asked curiously.

"You are not alone. Behind you stands a Sky City that will one day rise."