"I'm sorry..."
Arthur clutched his increasingly scorching, unbearable chest, even feeling as if his undead soul was being burned by the Sunblossom. The intense pain caused his Soulfire to flicker violently, and he couldn't help but drop to one knee.
"Thump, thump, thump..."
The heartbeat gradually became real and powerful, even overwhelming all his senses. Galvin's questioning voice was slowly swallowed by the monotonous, heavy thumping, becoming indistinct and finally disappearing completely.
However, the soul-scorching pain receded like a tide at that moment.
It wasn't because the Sunblossom in his chest had extinguished; on the contrary, it had become even brighter, even warmer!
The light even pierced through his icy chest armor, slowly drifting out from his chest like a small, bright lamp, illuminating the boundless darkness before him.
Arthur snapped out of his pain and belatedly looked up.
Galvin and Lide, the Fifth Legion's garrison, were all gone. He was now in a world of pure darkness.
Only then did he see clearly. The blessing feather he had always treasured in his embrace was now suspended at the center of the light, slowly burning, becoming the fuel for that radiance. No wonder he had felt such scorching heat."Is this... a trial?"
"Correct."
A response suddenly echoed in the darkness. A small patch of gentle green light pulsed up and down, approaching from afar as if strolling through the dark.
Looking closer, Arthur realized it was a small, green Slime, blinking its round little eyes and observing him curiously.
"Lady Viola?" Arthur performed a Knight's Salute uncertainly.
He was quite sure the voice emanating from this Slime was almost identical to that of the Dryad leader, Viola, whom he had met in the Dryad domain.
But how could a Dryad leader turn into a Slime? This was as absurd as a bizarre, fantastical dream.
Viola seemed able to hear his thoughts, cheerfully blowing out a string of small bubbles. "Your feeling is correct; this place is indeed like a dream."
"Originally, your guide should have been some Slime Sage. But I estimated that little lord wasn't very proficient in this business, so I planted a small hint in your heart, appearing in this manner."
She shook her gel body. "You being able to appear here and see me means that crow finally gave you that blessing feather, right?"
Arthur nodded. "Count Bran said he was worried it might have some curse on it, so he gave it to me."
Viola laughed. "Hehe, silly knight, that crow is much smarter than you think."
Arthur was taken aback, his mind recalling Count Bran's always boisterous, noisy, and boastful manner.
For some reason, thinking of it now, he felt a warm current flow through his heart.
He looked down and discovered his skeletal body clad in old, cold, hard armor was gone. In its place was a somewhat illusory human figure.
When the light from the burning feather shone through, he could even see traces of warm blood flowing in the veins and the dark red shadow of a heart beating within the chest cavity.
Viola hummed triumphantly. "Knight, do you see? This is the redemption nature bestows upon you."
"Hold the bright lamp and advance. Traverse this darkness. As long as you leave this place before the feather burns out completely, you can be reborn."
"That means truly shedding your undead body and becoming a living human again."
"Become... human..." Arthur subconsciously raised his hand to touch his face.
His fingertips felt an unfamiliar elasticity and warmth, no longer the coldness of bone. An indescribable tremor surged within him.
He had long accepted his identity as an undead and used it as a new starting point to move forward.
But hearing he could become a living human again reignited the long-dormant yearning in his heart.
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...
He felt that desire called "Heart Impulse" once more after a long time.
Viola timely poured cold water on this. "But redemption also has a price. To gain new life, you must give up something."
Her voice became serious. "Pay attention. Be cautious with every choice you make from now on. They might even affect the fate of others. And all of this is the necessary sacrifice for gaining new life."
Arthur was puzzled inside but still nodded to show he understood.
"Good, then proceed."
After speaking, Viola's small gel body dropped into the darkness below. Immediately, the surrounding space shifted, and she landed on Arthur's shoulder.
Following her instructions, Arthur carefully reached out to touch the light emanating from the burning feather.
The light twisted, condensed, and matter appeared out of thin air, swirling with warm flames, finally transforming into an old-fashioned, rust-marked lantern.
He gripped the lantern's copper handle, raised this sole source of light, and took a step into the unknown depths of darkness.
At first, it was utterly silent. His feet trod on nothing but void-like darkness, as if walking in boundless emptiness. But gradually, the void beneath his feet somehow turned into solid wooden planks. Shining the lantern to both sides, he could even see old yet familiar wallpaper patterns.
He had appeared in a long, seemingly endless corridor.
Fingers tracing those intimate and nostalgic patterns on the wallpaper, Arthur froze.
"The Arevalo manor... This is my home."
His feet moved forward unconsciously, walking along this corridor that seemed to have no end, flanked by unchanging wallpaper and rows of silent, tightly shut wooden doors.
They wouldn't open, and no sound came from within, as if they were mere background.
However, at that moment, he seemed to hear faint weeping coming from far ahead.
Although the sound was so faint it was almost inaudible, it inexplicably stirred sadness within him.