[Thousand Faces] passed the inspection by the Wing Army guards and stepped into the magnificent palace.
However, the atmosphere there always felt somewhat strange to him.
The aristocracy certainly enjoyed a life of Thousand Faces. For people of this historical period, aesthetics were still at the stage where bigger was better and more was more beautiful.
Such a large Crystal Cluster Palace would naturally require hundreds or even thousands of servants.
Although I haven't been here many times, I've seen those skeletons working before.
But what's going on today?
[Thousand Faces] followed the memories and walked inward, trying to find [Hard Armor] or [Crown] to ask for clarification.
Finally, he entered the council chamber that belonged to the councilors, only to find a huge, ever-expanding ball of light.
[Thousand Faces, you've arrived.]
The information was directly implanted into the mind, far more efficiently than the Skeleton Man' conventional Psionic Energy communication.
[Thousand Faces] looked at the ball of light with some astonishment:
"Who are you? Where is the [Crown]? Where is the [Hard Armor]?"
Can't you tell? I am the Crown.
Although it's still information implantation, the tone does sound somewhat familiar.
[Thousand Faces] calmed down a little:
What happened to you?
[Because this is my true form; what was shown before was only a part of it.]
Now that I have regained my power, it's time for you to become even stronger.
[You have protected the Sand Capital very well; you deserve some reward.]
This sounds like an attempt to strengthen oneself?
But something feels off.
[Thousand Faces] asked with some concern:
"Is there anything I can do for you?"
[Nothing is needed, no integration is required, no sacrifice is required, no loss is required, and of course, your consent is not needed, nor is your presence required.]
"Wait, what is this...?"
[Thousand Faces]'s extensive experience told him it was time to run away.
Regardless of where you're going or which clone you're going to rely on, the point is, it's time to run.
But as soon as he took a step, he was shocked to find that his legs were completely unresponsive.
"When did you start controlling me?"
He turned to look at the enormous sphere of light that had pierced the ceiling, and angrily questioned:
"I didn't do anything wrong, why is this happening to me?!"
At this moment, [Thousand Faces] felt a great sense of grievance.
He was always the one betraying others, but now that he had been betrayed first, he felt wronged and even angry, thinking, "I should have struck first."
Am I really controlling you?
The message came again, but its content completely stunned [Thousand Faces].
"Who else could it be but you?"
[Thousand Faces] roared and tried to force his body to move, but he was even worse than before and could not move an inch.
The inability to move allowed [Thousand Faces] to experience the inside of his body in greater detail.
He suddenly realized that there seemed to be a force manipulating his body.
How could this be?
If it wasn't made of that ball of light, then who was it?
It's me.
A voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
The voice was both magnetic and alluring, making it impossible to tell whether it was male or female.
"Who are you..."
A blurry figure flashed through [Thousand Faces]'s mind.
The figure was imposing yet warm, a memory from "Hall's " earliest days, yet it only filled him with waves of fear.
[Thousand Faces] hesitated for a moment, then involuntarily uttered that title:
"Father... Mother..."
"Gender doesn't matter, and it means nothing to me."
The voice said:
In this respect, you are the one most like me.
So, what exactly did I do to make you unwilling to even call me?
"True Ancestor."
The moment that revered term appeared, [Thousand Faces] realized that he had truly reached the end of his road.
There's no way around it.
Faced with that consciousness that was about to resurface, he, after his split personality, had no way to deal with it properly, and even delaying it was impossible.
"Good boy, go to sleep, just like you did to your sister Rosalind."
Vlad Tsepesh, the True Ancestor of vampires, spoke with a lot of vocal inflections, as if he were singing a lullaby.
[Thousand Faces]'s eyes gradually became unfocused. A beam of starlight shot out, striking him squarely between the eyebrows and sending him flying into a corner of the room.
[Don't get in my way.]
The [Thousand Faces] body, which had been knocked away, now had a new owner, yet it showed no anger whatsoever:
"I do indeed need some more time to master this body. It's a pleasure to cooperate with you—a god from another world."
The Crystal Cluster wall came to life and swallowed [Thousand Faces]'s body whole.
The enormous sphere of light continued to expand and contract rhythmically.
Two Skeleton Man were created as if they were clay, and they knelt in awe before the sphere of light.
[Go and send a message outside the city; I want to negotiate peace with them.]
"Yes, Crystal Lord."
Colin is a roughneck whose mind is only on the thrill of fighting; he's completely incapable of negotiation.
After Luokenuosuos i learned that Nuowa was about to take over the mess of the empire, the entire dragon race relaxed considerably.
Unsurprisingly, the two envoys representing the rebels and the imperial army were chosen by [Ginseng Rooster] and [Great Wei Boxing Champion].
Although the two maintained a high level of information exchange every day, they had not actually seen each other in the game for several months.
After meeting each other, the two exchanged glances and greeted each other, then began to communicate by typing using the game's chat system.
Guided by two Skeleton Man, the two entered the Sand Capital and arrived at the Crystal Cluster Palace, where they entered a beautifully decorated conference room.
"It looks like something that lawmakers would use."
I think so too.
The two were led to their seats, one on each side. In the main seat sat a Skeleton Man with a drooping head, his body appearing as if hastily pieced together, covered with glowing cracks.
The door closed, and the Skeleton Man, without making a sound, finally uttered a voice:
"You've arrived."
[Ginseng Rooster] and [Great Wei Boxing Champion] exchanged a glance, and he spoke first:
"Yes, we came after hearing about the peace talks. May I ask which member of parliament you are?"
"If you'd like, you can call me 'Crown'."
[The Great Wei Boxing Champion] was slightly taken aback:
"Crown? Where is your Crown?"
The Skeleton Man did not answer, and the dimly lit conference room suddenly lit up.
A giant sphere of light descended from the sky, piercing through the ceiling and revealing a bright corner of it, which expanded and contracted over time.
Are you satisfied now?
"The Skeleton Man asked."
Neither of them had ever seen such a "Crown" before, but it was indeed quite dreamlike, so they both nodded in agreement.
"Then, shall we begin peace negotiations?"
[The Ginseng Rooster] asked.
"I come on behalf of Councilor [Broken Sword]."
"I come on behalf of Imperial Marshal Luokenuosuos i."
The two introduced themselves, but the skeleton asked a strange question:
"Besides that, you must have other identities, right?"
I don't understand what you mean.
The first to speak was [The Great Wei Boxing Champion], whose tone carried a hint of seriousness:
"You might as well be more explicit. We're here representing our lord; we don't have time to play games with you."
"Good."
The skeleton man said calmly:
"Then I'll just ask directly--"
"Did your world also suffer from the invasion of the Demonic Tide?"
"What?!"
The moment they heard the question clearly, the two men, [Ginseng Rooster], felt their hearts stop beating.
What do you mean by the world you come from?
What does it mean to also encounter Demonic Tide?
How did he know?
Moreover, World of Disorder...
Isn't it just a groundbreaking, high-tech game?
I don't understand what you're saying.
At the crucial moment, [the Great Wei Boxing Champion] chose to remain stubborn.
However, the younger [Ginseng Rooster] ultimately lacked composure.
He looked at the drooping skull, then looked up at the dreamlike ball of light, and asked, almost as if possessed:
"You... are you also a 'time traveler'?"
"No..."
The Skeleton Man voice came, but it did nothing to help anyone shake off their state of stress.
"It's not just me..."
The voice said softly:
"According to you, the entire Skeleton Alliance is made up of Transcendents."
"Hehehaha!!"
Accompanied by chilling laughter, the voice continued:
"Have you guys been having a lot of fun lately?"
"Now, it's our turn!"
The sound of Crystal Clusters shattering, wood breaking, and cloth tearing...
Countless pieces of information symbolizing Shattered flooded their minds in an instant.
The brightly lit council chamber was suddenly plunged into darkness, then slowly lit up again like a polished gemstone.
This time, however, it wasn't the starlight overhead that illuminated the surroundings, but rather the sunlight outside.
The Crystal Cluster Palace had become completely transparent, and the two saw countless Skeleton Man emerging from beneath Crystal Cluster Palace at an extremely fast speed.
Dozens? Hundreds?
No.
Hundreds of thousands, millions...
The glimpse of the Skeleton Man lasted only a moment; as if they were inside a kaleidoscope, the two immediately lost their sense of gravity.
Around them, irregular images began to flicker one after another:
It is a magnificent ancient architectural complex in red and yellow, the temple ruins of a lost civilization in the wilderness, a solemn religious sanctuary located on the seashore, and a tomb eroded by the desert winds for thousands of years...
And more fragments gradually light up, a dazzling display of light and shadow in the city, a bustling port—traces of modern human civilization.
As the third fragment lit up, the two were able to see one horrified expression after another.
A psychic Psionic Energy enough to crush souls struck, and the two lost consciousness in an instant.
Before plunging into darkness, [Ginseng Rooster] realized--
The public beta test of "World of Disorder," which he had longed for, began at this moment.
On the last day of the year 909 of the World of Disorder's Royal Calendar, which corresponds to 2038 in the real world, the barriers between worlds were completely shattered.
This event was later known as the Great Rift.
(End of Volume 6)