"I’m sorry..."
Arthur clutched his chest, which was growing unbearably hot. He could even feel his Undead soul being seared by the Sunflower. The intense pain caused his soulfire to flicker violently, and he couldn’t help but drop to one knee.
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP...
The sound of a heartbeat grew real and strong, overwhelming all his other senses. Calvin’s questioning voice was gradually swallowed by the monotonous, heavy thumping, growing faint until it disappeared completely.
However, the soul-searing pain then receded like a tide.
It wasn’t because the Sunflower on his chest had gone out. On the contrary, it had grown even brighter and warmer!
The light even pierced through his cold breastplate and slowly drifted out from his chest, like a small, bright lamp illuminating the boundless darkness before him.
Arthur snapped out of his pain and belatedly raised his head.
Calvin and Lid, the Fifth Legion’s encampment—all of it had vanished. He was now in a world of pure darkness.
He could now see clearly that the blessed feather he had always treasured was suspended in the center of the light, slowly burning. It had become the fuel for the glow; no wonder he had felt such scorching heat.
’Is this... a trial?’
"That’s right."
A voice suddenly responded from the darkness. A small patch of soft green light approached from the distance, bobbing up and down as if it were strolling through the dark.
As it drew closer, Arthur saw that it was a small, green Slime, blinking its perfectly round little eyes and observing him with curiosity.
"Lady Violet?" Arthur asked uncertainly, performing a Knight’s salute.
He was certain the voice coming from this Slime was nearly identical to that of Lord Violet, whom he had met in the Tree Spirit Territory.
But how could a tree spirit lord become a blob of Slime? The idea was so absurd it felt like a bizarre dream.
Violet seemed to hear his thoughts and happily blew a stream of small bubbles. "Your feeling is correct. This place is like a Dream Realm."
"Originally, your guide was supposed to be some Slime Sage, but I suspected that little lord wasn’t very skilled at this, so I planted a small suggestion in your mind to appear in this form."
She wobbled her Gel body. "The fact that you’re here and can see me means that crow gave you the blessed feather in the end, right?"
Arthur nodded. "Count Brand said he was worried it might have some kind of curse on it, so he gave it to me."
Violet laughed. "Hehe, you silly Knight. That crow is much smarter than you think."
Arthur paused, his mind flashing back to Count Brand’s usual carefree, loud, and boastful demeanor.
For some reason, thinking of him now sent a wave of warmth through his heart.
He looked down and discovered that his cold, hard, skeletal body, clad in old armor, had vanished. In its place was a faintly ethereal human figure.
When the light from the burning feather shone on him, he could even see traces of warm blood flowing through veins and the dark red shadow of a heart beating in his chest.
Violet hummed smugly. "See that, Knight? This is the redemption nature has granted you."
"Take up the lamp and go forward. Cross this darkness. As long as you leave this place before the feather burns out, you will be reborn."
"And I mean truly shedding your Undead body and becoming a living, breathing human again."
’Become... human again...’ Arthur subconsciously raised a hand to touch his face.
An unfamiliar elasticity and warmth met his fingertips, no longer cold bone. An indescribable tremor surged within him.
He had long since accepted his identity as an Undead and used it as a new starting point to move forward.
But upon hearing that he could become a living human again, the long-dormant desire in his heart was rekindled.
If he truly became human, perhaps... he would have more courage to face Alice, to make up for past regrets, to feel nature and life more intimately...
For the first time in a long while, he felt the desire known as a "stirring of the heart."
Violet chose that moment to throw a bucket of cold water on his hopes. "But redemption comes at a price. To be reborn, you must abandon something."
Her voice turned serious. "Be careful. Consider every choice you make from now on with extreme caution. They may even affect the fates of others, and all of this is the sacrifice required for rebirth."
Arthur was confused, but he nodded to show he understood.
"Very well. Now, go forward."
After she finished speaking, her small Gel body dropped into the darkness below. A moment later, the space around them shifted, and she landed on Arthur’s shoulder.
Following her instructions, Arthur cautiously reached out to touch the ball of light where the feather was burning.
The light twisted and condensed. Matter materialized from thin air, wreathed in warm flames, and finally formed an old-fashioned lantern with a rusted surface.
He gripped the lantern’s bronze handle, raised this sole source of light, and took a step into the unknown depths of the darkness.
At first, the place was dead silent, with only a void of darkness beneath his feet, as if he were walking through an endless emptiness. Gradually, however, that void somehow became solid wooden planks. When he shone the lantern to the sides, he could even see the patterns of old yet familiar wallpaper.
He had appeared in a long, seemingly endless corridor.