Chapter 67: This Doesn’t Seem to Be the End

The flickering memory was from a long time ago in his previous life.

At Dolores’s suggestion, Grin had given up his claim and the symbol of the King of Land.

Grin had actually tried to avoid thinking about it because, under his rule, the Land Kingdom had still met a tragic end. Although the objective fact was that the Land Kingdom had already been in decline due to successive disasters, it was an inevitable outcome from any perspective.

This wasn’t Grin’s fault.

No one blamed him; during that time, Dolores gave Grin nothing but tenderness.

The People of Land were a resilient race, but Grin was not a king who could lead them to victory. He had made a promise but failed to fulfill it.

Perhaps the conversation with Doroth just now had triggered his memory, but combined with Doroth’s restrictive words and Dolores’s prophetic behavior in his previous life, Grin even suspected that Dolores might have known about this symbol.

Such harsh conditions were almost impossible to fulfill even in a true legend, especially the requirement of being an “outsider.”

Under what circumstances would a kingdom like Land, where the Royal Family obtained power and claims through the Ancestral Land, allow an outsider to become king?

That was exactly Grin’s situation in his previous life. The original Felts IV had little time left after burning his life force during the Dragon Calamity, and both the First Prince and the Little Prince had died in successive disasters.

The Ancestral Land had dried up, and the collateral bloodlines could not activate it. After Dolores briefly served as Queen to maintain stability, she transferred the throne to Grin through a Marriage Contract.

Perhaps, rather than being ruled by a female queen, the People of Land at that time preferred Grin, her husband, to serve as a male King of Land. Part of the reason was that Dolores hadn’t shown any brilliance back then. But from Grin’s current perspective, it wasn’t that Dolores lacked ability; she just didn’t want to do it.

She likely knew more about her country’s legends and symbols. Perhaps she wanted him to bring this symbol into the present. If that were the case, then everything would make sense.

Unfortunately, this was just a simple dream rather than a memory from the System. He couldn’t speak with the Dolores in the Dreamscape. What he saw and heard now was everything Dolores had done and said in the past.

Over time, many things would fade, only to be recalled clearly for various reasons. Like a piece of sheet metal being pried up at the corner, he first thought of a part, and then it became complete and clear, as if he had returned to that day.

“Are we just going to give up on Land like this? My dear, they believed in us so much. We promised them…”

This was Grin’s voice, the words he had spoken to Dolores back then. He was unwilling and helpless, but the facts were irreversible; it had already happened.

“Stories don’t always end the way we want, my dear. I wish so much the world would give us a chance to start over, to return to the past with our memories.”

Dolores looked at him with equal sorrow. Petite and fragile, she looked as if she might break at any moment, yet she possessed a deep passion for the future of this land.

“If I could make a wish to the gods or a dream to return to the past, I hope I could change many things and prevent many tragedies from happening.”

“I’ve forgotten so many things. The past and their faces have blurred in my memory. I hate tragedies, I hate betrayal, and I hate taking matters into one’s own hands.”

“My dear… does sadness cause one to lose their memory?” Dolores suddenly asked Grin.

Her movements suddenly became stiff. She turned toward the dark exit and murmured, “I seem to have forgotten a lot of things. Why is there a voice in the depths of my heart telling me that tragedies can be changed…”

“How strange…”

“Why do I feel like this isn’t the end?”

Grin was certain he had heard these three sentences from Dolores in the past, but he had never remembered them. Because he was immersed in grief at the time, he had heard but not memorized Dolores’s subtle murmurs.

Grin heard Dolores repeat, “How strange,” once more. An impulse made him want to see Dolores’s current expression. He broke free from the constraints of his perspective and stepped in front of Dolores.

He saw Dolores’s face—pitch black, without features.

He should have known. This was just his memory. If he hadn’t seen Dolores’s face at that moment, how could he know what her expression was?

At this moment, Dolores was like a stiff doll, making no movement. Her black face transformed into the gentle appearance from Grin’s memory, but it was completely disconnected from the surroundings.

Grin chuckled self-deprecatingly. This was just his memory; he could alter it at will. ‘I won’t find the answers I want here.’

In the next moment, an intense dizziness enveloped Grin, and he woke up from the dream like a fish leaping out of water.

After waking up, Grin found himself on a rock in the center of the swamp. The area wasn’t actually that small, at least several dozen square meters, so he had a place to stand.

But this was the first time Grin had seen the still-living Golden Tree from such a close distance. On an inconspicuous branch, he saw the small twig he had given the King, hanging there alone.

This was a projection of part of the Land legend in reality. Grin placed his hand on it and could feel a faint but existing life force. Immediately afterward, Grin walked directly across the swamp again. The surface of the swamp he stepped on was as hard as rock.

Only after he left did the twig on the Golden Tree behind him sway slightly, as if waving goodbye.

Felts IV had already been waiting for him at the exit for a long time. He didn’t say much when he saw Grin.

The two of them continued through countless corners and paths in silence, eventually returning to the surface. As they left, Grin felt something and looked back at Felts IV, seeing a Rock King with a straight back and determined eyes.

Determination and fire were hidden within his emerald eyes. After staring at each other for a few seconds, Grin turned and left.

‘He has his own pride. I don’t have the right to comfort him now.’

***

On the west side of the Royal Palace, there was a gate leading to the outer city.

Several fully loaded carriages entered the Royal Palace from outside the city, followed by many personnel. The Royal Guards watching the gate did not conduct any inspections.

These guards bowed to a man in a black robe, and the carriages then moved to a relatively secluded corner. This corner was the brewery within the Royal Palace. The man in the black robe directed his followers to unload the cargo—variegated gemstones emitting a dangerous aura.

These were materials that could be used for Magic Stone Explosives.

The man in the black robe ordered them to begin assembling the Magic Stone Explosives there, while he himself went into a room. Someone had been waiting for him in the dim room. As he pushed open the door, a raspy, muffled voice questioned him:

“You’re late, The Ninth.”

The man in the black robe suppressed his anger, snapped his fingers to open a barrier, and slammed the door shut before violently slapping the table.

“Don’t you know the current situation? Tell me, why couldn’t the Dragon we spent so much to lure away even break through the Royal Palace of a mere Land Kingdom!”

“And where is the collapse of the Kingdom you promised? The Dragon has already destroyed all the underground seals outside the city. Why is there still no reaction from underground?”

“Furthermore, where are the Holy Scroll and the Elf’s Last Wish you promised? All the savings I’ve accumulated in Land over the years will be lost in this operation, and I haven’t obtained a single thing I wanted!”

The blurry figure across the table made a shushing gesture before continuing:

“That’s why I had you bring the Magic Stone Explosives here. I’ve already found the location of the Royal Palace’s final Seal.”

“Soon, we’ll find the entrance to the true Past Kingdom…”

“Once we find ‘it,’ I will take you to an audience with ‘The First’ and give you everything you desire. Land will return to its place as a victim in its destined history.”

“The process has been a bit rocky, but everything will proceed according to plan.”