"The sword of the king is powerful, but the one who kills is never as precious as the one that can save people."

As early as Radcliffe's Round House in Oxford, when West read a book about the legend of King Arthur, he was most impressed by this admonition to King Carmellot. In the annals, Arthur Pendragon's sacred sword Excalibur is indestructible, while the scabbard that wields the sword of kings never bleeds. If it hadn't been lost by the Eternal King later, he would not have ended up with Mordred in the final battle of the sword.

At one point, West also had the idea of finding the sheath of the Holy Sword. But when he learns that the excalibur in this timeline was actually forged directly by Merlin with a naked sword and dragon breath, he thinks that this so-called invulnerable artifact does not exist at all.

But—

Looking down at the old parchment in his hand, West's expression was a little complicated now.

- Although none of the temporal logic matches, he will never admit mistakes. What is depicted on it, and coveted by the spirits of the lake, is indeed the scabbard of Excalibur, the sword of kings.

'What the is going on?' ’

It wasn't clear if Vivien knew the value of the thing, but Merlin certainly didn't, so West wisely kept silent. After all, with the character of a mage, if he knew that what he was going to exchange for his life was actually Arthur's life amulet, he would probably make some unpredictable moves...... And for West, nothing is more important than Merlin. Now that he is being coerced, he does not dare and cannot take any risk for it.

What's more, whether he can get hold of the holy relics that were placed in the deepest part of the temple is obviously a very challenging question.

Looking up at the ruins in front of him, which was almost covered with wild grass, the old marble palace pillars were crawling with moss and vines, broken, but still felt the glory of the prosperity that had been. The wind of the deep forest passed through the dark corridors, picking up the smell of dust that had accumulated for thousands of years. In this land that was once sheltered by the White Goddess, even if no one makes a pilgrimage now, it still retains the solemnity and majesty of the gods.

And, something was calling to him here.

The blood flowing in his bones seemed to resonate with the forgotten piety beneath the ruins. Compared to the ethereal feeling when he first stepped over the nameless monument, the feeling of being at the mercy of fate when he actually stood in front of the temple was more clearly visible. West patted his cheek and cheered up, no matter what was waiting in front of him, he had no choice but to keep going.

It was a gamble between him and himself.

……

At the same time, the moment West stepped into the Ukiyo-e Temple, Vivien, who was observing his movements through the water mirror, suddenly felt a sound of breaking the air behind her, and immediately, a rusted sword blade was pressed against the back of the heart.

"You're breaking free of the bondage spell faster than I thought." Without looking back, as if she had expected this situation for a long time, the witch lowered her eyes and smiled slightly, "Should I say, is it worthy of the most powerful magician Emorris?" ”

"If it was really the most powerful, I wouldn't be so wolf by you."

With fire almost bursting into his eyes, Merlin stared at the witch's back with little nervousness. Although his resistance to all kinds of spells has always been surprisingly high, it still takes most of his energy to break free from the magic of the lake elves when he is suppressed to the extreme. The sword he picked up from the bones of the grass unconsciously pushed forward a few points, and it seemed that it only took a single force to kill the witch on the spot, but the mage also understood that this was just a temporary illusion.

- No sword can hurt a mage, no one knows that better than he.

"I don't have time to play child's tricks with you here, Vivien, I'm going to be with him."

Not surprised that the steel sword in his hand would break into several knots out of thin air, Merlin casually dropped the hilt of the sword and turned to walk in the direction West had left. The Lake Elf threatens the boy with his life to risk himself alone, and this has touched Emmoris's bottom line. What's more, the place he was asked to go to, the temple inhabited by the undead, and all the sorcerers had heard of all kinds of terrible legends there...... Thinking that he couldn't stay here and let West die for himself, the mage pursed his lips as if someone had sprinkled a handful of glass shards on his heart, and every breath began to ache in small pieces.

"You can't get out of here."

With a snap of his fingers, countless thick vines burst out of the mage's feet, weaving into a huge cage, but fortunately not overgrown with terrifying barbs like those given to West. Vivien finally turned from the water mirror and looked straight at Merlin, who was furious because she was trapped again, and there seemed to be a flash of pity in her green pupils.

"There is a curse of the gods buried in the ukiyo-e forest, and even if you can break free from my spell, you can't break free from the shackles of nature itself...... What's more, Merlin, even if you reach the Temple of the Dead with your little magic left, you will never be able to accompany that young man on the path he is about to embark on. ”

“…… What do you mean? ”

Danger narrowed, and something seemed to be burning and rolling in his chest like lava. Merlin stood straight in the thorny cage, imprisoned, but he didn't know if he realized something, and his brows gradually revealed the solemnity and majesty that belonged to Amorris.

"You should have thought about it, too, why Avalon wanted to suppress your magic, and why did you let that young man regain the strength he should have."

There was a palpable tiredness in his expression. Perhaps he has been exiled here by his homeland for thousands of years, and he has long wanted nothing but the obsession of returning; Or maybe it's too many times in a long life to look forward to and be disappointed, at the mercy of the so-called predetermined fate. Vivien turned her head again, faintly looking at West, who was vigilantly walking in the dark corridor in the water mirror, and her voice was very soft.

"You shouldn't hate me, Merlin. Fate has called West here because all those involved in your cause and effect are subject to the temptation of the gods, and I am only the one chosen by it to bring about the future...... Just as the Three-Faced Goddess gave your king the final judgment, now, it's time for that teenager to choose his future. ”

"So, watch quietly, the 'guide' of the Hermit. The fate of you and him is destined not to stay in this era alone. ”

……

Legend has it that on the other side of the Ukiyo Forest, where souls live, there is a pure white goddess who is in charge of thousands of living beings in the world. She spends her days wandering in the land of dreams in full bloom, and receiving pilgrimages from the elves, the sun weaving into her beautiful blonde hair, the stars adorning her skirt, the bard's songs all born for her, praying with the most beautiful voice in the world, bathing all of Albion in the radiance of the gods.

Later, because of the innate cowardice and greed in human nature, the stars faded and wars broke out. The creatures of Avalon were separated from the mundane world and became an ideal land that only appeared in ancient poetry. And in the darkening lands of Britain, magic and knights have gradually appeared, ancient religions have risen, and the age of the gods has become a relic. This forest, once known as the "Dream Land", also began to be explored by magicians who came to visit, until the elves finally abandoned this land, and the evil beasts and undead reigned, which gradually became a forbidden area for today's strange and dangerous things, and became the penal colony of Avalon to imprison the guilty.

- And Vivien, presumably one of the Lake Elves who were banished here.

Thinking so faintly, West flicked the strange stud in his right ear and groped in the darkness with his feelings.

In the temple was a gray place of death.

Obscure light poured overhead, unable to blend into the black dust. The broken marble pillars lay crookedly on the ground, overgrown with weeds, and the cracks in the stone were already covered with moss. In this way, he walked alone among the ancient and empty ruins, as silent as an eternal ice field frozen under the surface of the water.

- The Hall of the Sages.

Once upon a time, this ornate building was indeed called by this name, and was once a sacred place for elves to worship the gods. And now, after an unknown number of years of desolation, it has become a nest for the undead to wander. From the moment he stepped onto the steps, his ears were filled with a large number of miserable howls, and the obsessions of countless dead people entered his consciousness through the telepathic induction, boiling in every inch of blood and bones, but he did not dare to approach half a minute because he was afraid of the fragments of light in his palm.

And the sinister nature of the temple is actually much more than that.

'Boom-'

Perhaps the first unscrupulous visitor in thousands of years to awaken the sleeping Guardians. Underneath the main hall, with a shaking, the mechanisms that had been placed here by the elves to guard against those with evil intentions also began to activate. In the corridor leading to the deepest altar, West's eyes saw that the knightly statues that had been quietly embedded in the walls gradually stepped down from the stone seats, and instead of weathering the sharpness of their swords in their hands for thousands of years, they became more and more shiny, and with the ethereal song coming from nowhere, they raised the blade of judgment towards the intruder in their eyes.

"I knew that the reason why Vivien had to trick me must be because there are levels that magicians can't handle."

The runes on the armor of the stone statues are completely insulated from magical interference from the outside world. And because of the large number of them, and all of them carved from real marble, the average knight is no match for it. However, for West, who is not one of the two, he has at least five ways to neutralize the threat of these stone knights.

Lowering his eyes slightly, just a thought flashed, and the time flowing in the corridor completely stopped, along with the scattered insects outside the window, and the tinkling of spring water across the stone face in the darkness. Under the retreat of the powerful force of time, those knights with teeth and claws seemed to have been pressed the freeze button, and they could not advance for half a minute.

Pick up the pace and walk through the rest of this dark corridor. The moment he stepped into the arch at the end, the telekinesis receded, and time flowed through the temple again. Listening to the roar of the gargoyle knights behind him who retreated to the stone seat because they had lost their goal, West's face turned pale, and he couldn't help pinching his throbbing temples, and a trace of blood red slowly oozed from the corners of his mouth.

The greater the power of domination, the greater the price to be paid—Professor X had already warned his adopted son at the beginning of teaching the boy to develop his abilities. After the first genetic mutation stopped its own growth, if it continues to be left unchecked, no one can predict when the next mutation will come and what kind of burden it will put on West. Therefore, since the age of seventeen, Charles strictly forbade him to use this ability without authorization, and drew a red line that must not be crossed for him, so as to ensure the safety of the teenager for nearly half a century.

But now, for all sorts of reasons, he's obviously crossed the line too much—

Glancing down at his wrist, the wound on it that had been pierced by the vine not long ago was now only a faint white mark after healing, and the young man frowned. He didn't know if this extraordinary self-healing was a sign of the second mutation, but the only thing he knew for sure was that this ability, which came at the cost of an overdraft, was anything but a blessing for him.

Reaching out to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, West pulled himself together and began to look around at his current location. After passing through the winding corridors outside, he seemed to have come to a place that resembled a patio in the temple. Pale and dilapidated marble carvings are scattered everywhere, the walls of the second floor are covered with inverted crosses, and an obscure pool of still spring water lies in the center of the view, even if it is abandoned, the surface of the pool is covered with dead leaves that have drifted from nowhere, but they have not evaporated and dried up, and they are as clear as ever.

"This is the source of the river of living beings in the Ukiyo Forest, and it is said that in ancient times, the tears of the gods gathered to cleanse people's memories and thoughts, and it was called the Fountain of the Sages by the elves."

Suddenly, I don't know how to use it, Vivien's voice suddenly sounded in his ears. Knowing that in Avalon, wherever there was water, the will of the lake elves could reach it, West was not surprised by this, but took a few steps forward and stood on the edge of the pool of the Sage's Spring.

"Excalibur's scabbard here?"

Leaning over to look at his reflection floating on the water, he blinked, his gaze only touching the smooth and empty bottom of the pool. Naturally, every move of the young man could be observed from the water mirror, and the witch adjusted the lower angle and said lightly:

"Look at the center of the spring."

In the legend of the Lake Elves, the sword of the king, Excalibur, was forged by Amoris in the dragon's breath long before its scabbard was forged by Avalon and hidden deep beneath the magic-infused waters, accessible only to those appointed by fate. The history of Britain has now reached a point where it has to be changed. A divided territory, or a declining ancient religion, all need to be brought to an end by the heroes of the times. Thus, Arthur became the king of the past and the future who forged the new order; So, Merlin became Emoris who would eventually bring magic back to Albion. All of them were moving forward on a set track, until one day, the mage picked up a teenager in the forest who had strayed into this time.

He became the accident of all doomed.

Or, as ignorant as it may seem, it is still in line with another, more ancient and benevolent possible future.

"I think I've found it."

The eyes as blue as the ocean reflect the dark spring water. In the center of the Philosopher's Pool, a gold-forged scabbard lay quietly in the still floating water, several dazzling gems inlaid on the edge of the openwork pattern, unlike the invincible silver blade, it is like a sun that contains a qiē, it looks vulnerable, but it can keep the wear away from danger and heal all pain.

"Pick it up, hermit, pick up the choice that the gods have given you......"

In her ears, Vivien's unfinished words seemed to begin to blur. As if bewitched by something, and as if he had seen all the lost mysteries in his life, West stretched out his hand a little dazedly, his eyes wandered to every corner of the void, and gently touched the spring water that had been slightly cooled by the years.

With a 'bang', a circle of transparent ripples spread from the edge to the center, blurring his reflection.

Even time is rippling at my fingertips.

……

"How can I compare you to summer? You are not only cuter than it, but also gentler than it...... The eyes of heaven sometimes shine too fiercely, and its shining golden face is often obscured; Broken by chance or impermanence of the Heavenly Dao, there is no beauty that will not finally wither or disappear......"

Although imprisoned in the shadowy underbelly of the Alps, he lives in the humiliation and shadow of death all day long. But occasionally, on a sunny day outside, there will always be a glimmer of light falling through the cracks in the skylight at the edge of the dungeon, for people to think about, and they can easily recall the vitality and vitality they once had.

He lost contact with the world during the snowy season, and now the spring flowers are blooming outside, and the hot summer is faintly shadowed. These hundreds of days and nights of torture not only dragged down his body, but also drained his will, and if he had not still had hope, perhaps he would have sought eternal sleep and liberation.

"What are you reading, West?"

Comfortably nestled beside the boy, squinting his eyes and looking for sleepiness in that slightly hoarse voice. Adelaide moved his shoulders and tugged at the corner of the man's clothes, a little unhappy that he had changed his bedtime story without permission.

“…… But your long summer will never wither, nor will you lose your pure red fragrance, or the Grim Reaper boasts that you are adrift in his shadow, and when you grow with the time in immortal poems. ”

Closing the worn-out fairy tale book in his hand, West Xavier lazily raised the corners of his mouth and looked down at the girl's green eyes:

Shakespeare's sonnet, appended at the end of this story. Did you like it? ”

"Not at all." Shaking her head and looking at the fairy tale book that had reached the last page, Adelaide pouted dissatisfiedly: "I prefer my Nightingale Rose and Princess Pea, but they don't want to give me more storybooks." ”

“…… It's not a charity after all. ”

His expression darkened for a moment, and West's fingers clutching the pages turned white with force. Elizhe's madman imprisoned the humans and mutants he captured here, not even for such a young child. At this age, she should obviously run freely in the sun, pestering her parents to be coquettish, and being loved by everyone as a little princess. Instead of being locked up in the dark underground like this, and not knowing when he will die worthless on the real platform stained with countless blood, even listening to a bedtime fairy tale is a luxury.

"When we get out, can you tell me a new story every day?"

Perhaps there is no concept of death in Adelaide's eyes – and that's why she always reminds people of hope and anticipation. The girl opened her eyes like reindeer cubs, and said this, with no false innocence and clarity in every inch of her gaze.

"Of course, I'll give you a fairy tale book that fills an entire estate."

Stunned, although he knew that since Charles had not been able to find him for several months, the chances of being successfully rescued in the next place would become more and more slim with the passage of time, but West still replied with a smile.

- Naturally, he will not puncture a child's purest expectations...... Even he himself, to this day, has to draw the obsession of living from this simplicity, instead of being disheartened and exiled to his mind and body.

"Then let's just say okay, you can't go back...... Ah! I see Abby coming for me!! ”

Jumped out of the boy's arms and even accidentally hit the iron pipe overhead. The corners of West's eyes twitched, and he wanted to say a few words to her, but he couldn't help but laugh and rub his head against the tearful girl. Adelaide's telepathic range is wider than his, even now that this ability is greatly suppressed. Although he had not yet sensed the brain waves of the lady who had been taking care of her, he would not doubt the girl's judgment.

"Alai."

Sure enough, as he was scrambling to comfort the girl who was about to cry, there was a not-so-brisk footstep, and a woman with an oriental face appeared in front of his cubicle. Because Adelaide was too young when she was brought back, the reformers who managed it entrusted her to the care of a human lady who had no power, and allowed her some freedom of movement in the prisoners' colony...... It's just that when the time comes, I'll have to go back to my cubicle.

Nodding at Wise, the lady named Abby took the blue-eyed girl's hand. The footsteps gradually disappeared into the dim corridor, and before it was dark, the girl could still be seen looking back reluctantly.

"You're so nice to that little girl, you can't have a crush on her mother, right? Or do you have pedophilia? ”

Perhaps his attentive gaze was too obvious, and the straightforward and rugged Russian next door poked the young man through the bar, and teased a few words in not very standard English. Retracting his gaze and glaring at him without any energy, West shook his head, a little instinctively that he really didn't know how to explain to this straight-headed middle-aged man.

Unlike Adelaide, West doesn't actually like Abby very much. While it was true that he had been well protected by Charles, that didn't mean he hadn't faced the heat of the world - he could see that the look in the woman's eyes was too cowardly, and that taking care of Alley might have been at the behest of the administrators, not sincerely. And this kind of obedience, once oppressed by the powerful, it is unknown whether she can really protect the girl......

But in a situation where tomorrow we might die, why is there any need for such fears?

Lie down on a cold stone platform that is used as a bed, with your hands behind your head. The boy closed his eyes, ignoring the complaints of the Russians next door who were scolding and scolding that this place did not provide vodka, and emptied his mind a little tiredly, and gradually fell asleep.

And looking at his once pale wolf face, as if he was watching a movie that already knew the plot, he lowered his eyes and looked at his transparent fingertips lightly, his heart should have been throbbing, but at this time it was as if he had been hollowed out, and there was nothing else but dazed.

The Fountain of the Sage can retrace people's memories. Forgetting the most basic law of this ukiyo-e forest, and reaching out to touch it recklessly, it seems understandable that he will fall into this kind of old thing.

Leaned over and sat down in the dirty, damp corner, but his eyes did not take his eyes off himself twenty years ago. West put his hand on his bent knee, and only then did he suddenly realize that he could still remember every image of these things he thought he had forgotten, and he could recall the smell of moss and dirt decay in the dungeon, and the only ray of sunlight that scattered from the skylight, warming the skin that remained with the cold touch of the blade, and what precious hope and courage it had brought him.

And, Adelaide.

It wasn't the German girl who died with hatred for him, and it wasn't the gram who was madly exploited by Elizhe twenty years later. Prosperous. Body. She is still alive vividly, crying, laughing, coquettish, pestering everyone to tell her stories, and sneaking to his cubicle every day, smiling at him through the bar.

Well, the rest is already clear.

The recombination of memories and memories is not as painful as imagined. He watched as time had already flowed slowly forward again, piecing together a whole cage leading to the past—

The optimistic Russian next door was taken out of the dungeon at some point and never returned, while the blood-fed wild roses outside the window bloomed more vividly; Adelaide came less and less often, and though he was as innocent and innocent as ever, the way Lady Abby looked at him gradually became more complicated and wary; I don't know if it's because of the breakthrough in Yi Laizhe's real yàn, he hasn't been seen often recently, and he rarely tosses Westra on the real yàn stage. If it weren't for the smell of blood still in the air, he might have thought that everything he had suffered before was just a nightmare that he would eventually wake up to.

Until a certain day.

He watched as he was shoved awake from his sleep twenty years ago, stumbling into an empty room that was blindly bright. The potion of inhibition was dissolved, and his spirit was restored little by little, but before he could figure out what kind of trick Yi Laizhe was playing, he was coldly attacked from behind.

It's Abby.

He looked back differently.

Obviously, for the transplantation of mutant abilities for ordinary people, that mad doctor has already touched a bit of a threshold. By the time West had nearly been cut in half by a blade, he had discovered more than five different mutant talents in Abby, and the moves were so lethal that even if he didn't want to fight the lady again, he would have been dead if he hadn't fought back.

He promised that if I kill you, I will be free.

In Abby's cloudy eyes, the boy could easily read such a message. He knew all too well that in such a desperate environment, even the most untrustworthy straw would be clutched in the palm of his hand. What's more, transplanting too many genes that don't match itself has already put Abby's body to the limit, and even if you don't have to look at it with your eyes, you can feel the sorrow of the flame of life gradually extinguishing.

Set me free.

Please, set me free.

The grief of the living can never be shielded from the brain, it is the gift of the psychic and their burden. West pursed his lips and controlled the air flow to suppress his opponent against the metal wall, his raised right hand covered in a layer of extremely sharp air blades.

- Kill me, kill me!!

The blood flow under the choked neck is faster, and you can even feel the heat of the burn. He looked at himself twenty years ago and hesitated, unable to respond to Abby's plea, but instead of saving, it made her even more painful to die.

'Peng-'

The high blood pressure finally made the heart overwhelmed, and the backflow of blood was completely blown into pieces, and the bright red spurting stained his body. Stunned by the sudden death, the boy didn't have time to wipe away the blood that didn't belong to him on his face, and the thud of the metal door being opened reached his eardrums again.

Who else will come?

The boy hesitated and looked back. Reflected in those eyes as blue as the ocean were Adelaide, whose expression gradually turned from shock to anger, and Elijah, who was smiling casually behind her.

Knowing the intended end, West closed his eyes in exhaustion.

It's just a simple trap.

But it was such a simple trap that ended up ruining so many people.