Falsehood.

Amid the roar of the platform, Tails was stunned for a full three seconds.

In those three seconds, looking at Ricky in the firelight, Tails's mind flashed many face-to-face scenes with his former "predecessors":

Ashida's calm elegance.

[Not only me, but every magician in the world can easily ...... in their methods in an instant, in the palm of their hand Destroy the world. 】

Giza's terrifying smile.

[You are going further and further down the path of misfortune...... Magian, this is not a talent or a blessing...... It's damnation and bad luck. 】

The mysterious figure of Taurus.

[Remember, child, be self-conscious...... Even if you feel like you've got it under control...... And still not to be taken lightly. 】

The rising platform shook slightly, waking up the distracted Tails.

"So what do you mean?"

The startled Tails hurriedly asked:

"Did the magicians not kill the gods? was that a lie they made up themselves, or were they themselves deceived?"

But Ricky only sneered faintly.

Sakel watched them from the sidelines, deep and silent.

Tails was unwilling:

"Or have the Calamities never surpassed the gods, and the power of the gods is far superior to that of the magicians?"

Ricky didn't say a word, he just closed his eyes slightly, as if chewing on the eagerness and confusion on Tails' face at this moment.

"Haha......"

In Thackel's thoughtful gaze and Tails' questioning gaze, Ricky's shoulders shook violently, unleashing his uncontrollable laughter.

"Hahahahaha......"

Ratchet looked up in a long laugh and looked at Tails, who couldn't catch his laugh at all:

"Kill, transcend, far above, powerful?"

"Look at these words you chose. ”

At that moment, Ricky's smile slowly melted, and his eyes were so fierce that they almost seemed to stab Tails in the eye.

"Mortal understanding is always barren and narrow," Ricky said slowly, "but he is always self-righteous and unaware." ”

"Just like you are now, dear. ”

Tails froze.

"I don't understand. The boy said subconsciously.

Ricky turned his head to himself:

"When it comes to two related objects, you always imagine a chessboard, right?"

Chessboard?

Tails was confused again.

Ricky slowly raised his hands and slowly clenched them into fists in the air, and there was a crunch of joints in between:

"Then the two sides involved are put on opposite ends of the chessboard in your imagination, start a chess game, abide by the rules you have made up, and play with each other to decide who wins and who loses, who is higher and which is lower, who is stronger and which is weaker?"

He looked at his fists, his tone full of mockery and disdain.

Tails frowned, "You mean gods, and calamities?"

And maybe ......

Demon.

Tails glanced at Ricky secretly.

Ricky snorted as he looked at Tails, his fists slowly approaching in the air, touching each other gently.

"You're like a stupid kid who doesn't know how to think and just nod and giggle, and you take out two characters from a mythical bard and a historical drama and discuss who is better, and the standard is, 'Look at who can lift up the big sludge-stained and hard rock in the gutter under the second corner of a left'. ”

He said this in a tone that was still so disdainful.

Tails froze for a second, then shook his head desperately, as if trying to empty his overwhelmed brain.

"Wait, wait...... Can you, stop using metaphors?"

Tails said with annoyance:

"I'm confused enough to stand this. ”

The prince looked frustrated.

Ricky just lowered his fists and narrowed his eyes, shaking his head and snorting.

But Saker, who had been silent, interjected at this time:

"You mean, we think that the two sides of the game can follow the same rules for comparison, but in fact, one side of the game can ignore the rules we think of, go straight over the board and eat the opponent's pieces?"

Sakel stared at Ricky tightly, and Tails, who was listening, was slightly stunned and thoughtful.

Ignoring the rules we think?

What he meant......

This time, Ricky finally put away his banter and looked at Sakel seriously.

"No, I mean ......"

The demon and the Knight of Punishment looked at each other for a few seconds, and finally spoke softly:

"The two sides of the game, perhaps from the very beginning, should not have been placed on opposite sides of the board at all. ”

Tails was stunned.

Shouldn't it be placed on either side of the board?

Ricky's eyes condensed slightly, and he pointed to his head:

"What they play is not the same game, not the same kind of chess, or even - not chess. ”

"It's not even appropriate for them to be in your head at the same time. ”

Sakel changed color slightly.

Ricky turned back to Tails, as if he was particularly enjoying the feeling of bantering the prince:

"And my dear, what you just asked me self-righteously was: Who won this game?"

Tails was speechless.

Sakel's face was solemn.

The expression on Ricky's face was still calm and slightly comfortable.

But at that moment, Tails remembered many memories that he had ignored for a long time:

A nervous confrontation in the Temple of the Sunset.

[That's right, I'm Lisia Arend, the high priest of the Sunset Temple, the goddess of the sunset, and the only spokesperson in the world. 】

An unusual exchange in the Temple of the Bright Moon

[If the gods really existed, if they were really the creators of all things in the world, how could it allow such things to happen?]

Even in the black path under Longxiao City, the light on the Silver Shadow Man flickered.

[After my death, I was lucky to have received the blessings and gifts of a great being......]

Thinking about all this history of his more or less dealings with "gods", Tails was slightly shocked!

"'Mortals often comprehend the gods in their hearts by their own limited imaginations, which are the gods they expect, and which they fear, hate, admire, love, and worship. ’”

Ricky and Saker were stunned.

They both turned their eyes to see the stunned Tails, and subconsciously repeated the words they had heard:

"Mortals always use their barren minds to delight the gods. ”

"Because of the short lifespan, imagine the gods as eternal beings. ”

"Because of the weakness of the power, the gods are presupposed to be incomparably powerful. ”

"Because they think they are part of a multitude, they imagine the gods as a higher and stronger kind. ”

Tails took a deep breath, a solemn look on his face.

"The question is, eternity, power, life, these mortal things ......"

"If the gods are indeed beyond the comprehension of mortals, standing in different perspectives, then do they really see these things in their eyes?"

In the strange and surprised eyes of Ricky and Saker, Tails lowered his eyes and looked fixedly ahead, his tone heavy and his tone ethereal:

"'For the true deity, perhaps far beyond our imagination, is a different kind of being. ’”

Tails exhaled, silently pondering.

On the slowly rising platform, Ricky and Saker glanced at each other in amazement.

"Who said that?" asked Sakel softly.

"The Haoyue Temple in Longxiao City," Tails didn't look back, as if he was still immersed in the thoughts just now:

"High Priest Jewell. ”

When Sakel heard the name of Longxiao City, he couldn't help but frown deeply.

Ricky was silent, then let out a soft sigh.

"Very nice. ”

"This is probably what I've heard in my life, putting the indescribable deity...... The most detailed words are described. ”

Indescribable deities......

Tails frowned.

He suddenly sensed that six years ago, on that night full of blood and intrigue, what the seemingly nervous High Priest Jewell had said to him in the Temple of the Bright Moon might have ......

It's incredibly important.

"Your Highness," Ricky sighed, unwittingly replying to the formal wording, "You can always surprise me." ”

Ricky's eyes became solemn:

"Haoyue. ”

"Sure enough, when the Myojin Church perished, the Holy Day Church split, and the sunset was self-contained, the sun was corrupt and erosive, and the two major temples were cheating and drinking each other under the guise of Erol, only Haoyue, who seemed to be weak and indisputable, was ...... in the world."

I saw Ricky sigh:

"Even though the mountains are gone, the moon is still in the sky, and the people of the Northland really have a bit of a doorway. ”

But in the next second, Ricky withdrew his rare solemn tone, and the conversation changed:

"But...... If she says that, are she sure she won't be deducted from her wages?"

The joke brought Tails and Sack El Qizi back to reality.

Ricky pulled through the sack and pulled out a piece of jerky.

"Eat, there's only one," Ricky laughed as he tossed the jerky to the weakened Saker:

"For the sake of your prince. ”

Sakel was slightly stunned and glanced at Tails.

The prince shrugged his shoulders and smiled a complicated and helpless smile.

The knight didn't say anything more, he lowered his head, and bit off the jerky.

The three of them were silent for a while, each thinking about it.

"You haven't answered my question yet. ”

Sakel's eyes cleared as he put the last part of the jerky into his mouth.

"What the hell are you trying to do?"

But this time, the Knight of Punishment raised his head and looked at the mercenaries around him:

"And, as an underground demon, how did you become the leader of this group of Terminator traitors, who willingly followed an inhuman being?"

Sakel narrowed his eyes and looked at each of the members of the Sword of Calamity:

"That's how you trust these people?"

Following the gaze of the Knight of Punishment, Ricky also looked at each of his subordinates.

Crassus of the Sword of Calamity was silent for a while.

"You know what, Knight of Punishment. ”

Ricky's eyes were deep, but his tone was a little pity and emotion:

"Do you know why we're always understaffed, even with the help of the Shadow Shield for this operation?"

Sakel did not answer, just waited quietly.

In Tails' eyes, Ricky put his hand on his chin, sighed very humanely, and pointed not far away.

"Salander Clay. ”

Tails and Sakel's gaze followed his fingers to the sword, the swift middle-aged Sword of Calamity.

"He came from the Reinvention Tower, one of the inglorious products of the Northlanders' pioneer wars decades ago—his father was a knighted Northland nobleman, and his mother was a barbarian who had been taken captive in the mountains. For this reason, he will never be accepted as a member of either parent. ”

Clay, who was not far away, turned his head alarmingly, and when he saw that it was Ricky, they immediately threw an inquiring look at him.

Ricky waved at him, signaling that everything was normal:

"The lords of the Northland who rebuilt the tower regarded him as a pawn to appease the barbarians and whitewash the peace after the battle, but behind their backs they only felt that he was a dirty and ugly little mongrel, and the elders of the barbarians relied on him to negotiate and bargain with the Northlanders, and on the other hand, they disliked him as a sign of their own conquest, and a shame of defeat in the tribe because of adultery. ”

Ricky's tone became a little sad:

"No matter how skilled he is, Clay's identity always precedes his abilities, but he never knows who he is, because he is neither a Northland nor a mountain barbarian, but a homeless orphan wandering between two races. ”

Tails and Sakel didn't speak, just looked at each other.

Ricky snorted and turned to the other side.

"Falken Josh, a native of Carensa, was born in the Thornlands, and served in the royal spy of the Kingdom of Allenbia. ”

Tails recognized that resting on the edge of the stone platform was the spy that the mercenaries had sent to the Bone Prison in advance.

"In the ridiculous and pathetic political struggle of Allenbia, like many of his peers, he lived in a dim world, just for the sake of the 'Kingdom Mission' that he did not know whether it was true or false, blindly obeyed the orders of his superiors, did not hesitate to sell his conscience, and was stained with blood, arresting, torturing, tortured, and persecuting batch after batch of 'enemies of the kingdom', thinking that in this way he could exchange his stability in the world, so that he could deceive himself every night when he held his wife and children, 'I just want to support my family'. ”

Ricky's eyes were complicated, and he shook his head at Josh, who also felt that he was looking back:

"Until one day, his father-in-law was also condemned as an 'enemy of the kingdom' and imprisoned. ”

And Josh's boss, who was also trying to provide for his family, turned Josh's wife and children into bargaining chips for torture. ”

From that day on, the excuses he used to deceive himself were shattered. ”

I don't know if it touched anything, Sakael sighed softly after hearing this.

Ricky seemed to be emotionally aroused, and he turned to Tails, his eyes slightly darkened:

"And Sonny, who unfortunately died in battle, is a native of Neda and comes from the state of Ligutan in the Eastern Continent. ”

Tails couldn't help but be stunned when he thought of Sonny, who used an axe and ended up dying in the battle with Barney Jr.

"That's right, he used to do the most promising and representative profession of the Nieda, the robber, and he was quite skilled and successful, until one day he fell in love with a girl he had taken captive. ”

Ricky stared at Tails intently, but as if he was looking at another person:

Sonny gave up everything, just wanted to tie the knot with her, start a family and have children, and for this reason, he did not hesitate to turn against the gang and fight for succession. ”

Ricky sighed lightly, and his tone revealed unspeakable pain:

"But when he had gone through many storms, when everything had settled, and when he was happy, and when he had children and lived in peace, his captive wife poisoned herself, her daughter, her son, and the food of the whole family except Sonny......"

Tails' eyes widened.

Ricky's words continue:

“...... As a weak woman who can't grasp her fate, the last, the most bleak, the most helpless, and the most cruel revenge. ”

Ricky said slowly:

From that day on, Sonny understood that perhaps the world was doomed: he did not deserve happiness, only hell. ”

Sakel pursed his lips.

Ricky took a deep breath and looked into the distance as if he had come back to his senses:

"And, of course, the royal guard you know best, Colin Semir, who was left worthless after the tragedy of eighteen years ago, and his old daughter, Marina Norfolk, who came from an aristocratic background but fell to the end of the world. ”

Hearing Samir's name, Sakel's expression was gloomy, and he said thoughtlessly, "I'm sorry." ”

I don't know who it was for.

Semir.

Marina.

Tails looked at the two men in the distance in a daze, then at Clay and Josh.

That's what it is...... The Sword of Calamity?

Ricky stared at the knight for a few seconds, then shook his head nonchalantly.

"Everyone who becomes the inheritor outside the tower has their own story," Ricky said, the light in his eyes becoming serious:

"Everyone is an inhuman being who is rejected by the world. ”

Rejected by the world.

At that moment, Tails remembered the lonely figure with a single sword a long time ago.

[It's called the Sin of the River of Hell, and there's a reason.] 】

[We should have left the world forever, but we deceived the ferrymen of the Prison River again and again, and evaded the call of death in a few moments. 】

Therefore, our existence is the sin of the River of Hell, and it is proof that it has not dutifully controlled death. 】

Tails figured it out.

"Do you understand?"

Ricky looked up and answered the question of the Punishment Knight:

"It's not me who they're following. ”

"What they follow is the resentment and anger in their hearts that are born of despair and injustice, and which they grow from it, but have nowhere to vent, and can only burn inexhaustibly in empty wounds, and never die. ”

Sakel's eyes froze.

At that moment, Tails clearly felt that the Ricky in front of him was different.

The power of the end in his body steamed again, giving the boy an incomparably dangerous premonition:

Hot.

Repression.

Heaviness.

Tails shuddered, and the scene of the Sword of Calamity and the Shield of Treachery fighting each other appeared before his eyes:

Ruthless, crazy, and leave no stone unturned.

Sakel clearly felt something, and the whole body of the Punishment Knight stiffened, and his right arm trembled slightly, as if he was suppressing the desire to make a move.

But Ricky paid no attention to the Punishment Knight's strange appearance, his eyes were like knives, and he coldly cut through the air in front of him.

Even his voice has a little more of the shuddering meaning it had before:

"This is far from what the so-called swordsmen of the end in the Tower of End, who have been corrupted for many years, who are accustomed to flattering the children of nobles from all over the world, who are left and right among the major powers, whitewash the peace, and hypocrisy and high can imagine. ”

The next second, Ricky looked straight at Sacrael, as if reading through his soul.

"Join us, Knight of Punishment. ”

His tone was resolute and unquestionable.

"We have too many similarities: you are a mighty warrior, but like other wretched creatures, you still can't escape the cage of fate. ”

"You may not understand what we mean, but you will, and we will show you that fate is not inescapable of breaking free. ”

Sacael was silent.

Ricky's expression was still terrifying, and he held out his right hand to the Knight of Punishment:

"In the gloomy world, we find each other alone, just so that one day, you and I can see the tomorrow we hope for, and move towards the palace of requiem. ”

Tails arched his eyebrows, only to feel that Ricky's words had some inexplicable meaning.

But Sakel just moved his buttocks, hugged his injured left arm, and turned his head.

"I'm sorry, I swore an oath. ”

"This sword is only for the emperor's order," the knight's voice was hollow and hoarse, but there was another composure and firmness:

"There's no other use. ”

The knight's words were simple and direct, which made Ricky's face stiffen like his outstretched palm.

This sword is only wielded for the Emperor's Order.

Listening to these distinctive words, translated from the Ancient Empire, Tails sank slightly: he remembered what Naki and Nai looked like before they died.

Looking at Saker, who was stubborn and did not eat oil and salt, Ricky frowned.

In the end, with disgust and helplessness, he shook his head:

"Damn the Imperials. ”

"Imperial Order, huh?"

The demon then turned to Tails.

Tyers, who was burned by the war between the two, subconsciously twisted his buttocks, changed his sitting position, and looked solemn.

The teenager raised his eyebrows:

"Uh, ahem, you should probably go find the red-haired guy over there with a crossbow...... He should be helpful in your gang propaganda and recruitment......"

But not before Tails could finish.

"Nope. ”

"Forget it," Ricky didn't care what he said, just looked away and waved his hand in disappointment, "You forget it." ”

"It's not timely. ”

Tails, who was still looking forward to it for some reason, didn't even finish the joke, and the curvature of the smile on the corner of his mouth didn't have time to retract.

An indescribable, faint embarrassment welled up in his heart.

Am I that bad?

At this moment, the Knight of Punishment added: "By the way, no one is interested in self-hypnotic cults, except for madmen." ”

Ricky was silent for a moment.

"Self-hypnosis, you say?"

Ricky chuckled and returned to his calm and deep nature as a leader.

"You know, a long, long time ago......"

"I mean, when the two Magical Empresses weren't empresses," Ricky leaned back to his stone platform, a disturbing smile on his face, "they had another nickname among mages, another nickname that has been forgotten. ”

The Magical Queen's ......

Nickname?

Tails' nerves tensed, and he subconsciously pricked up his ears.

Sakel was also slightly stunned, his gaze bypassed Tails and returned to Ricky's body:

"The Magic Empress?"

Ricky was not in a hurry to answer, he tilted his head and looked at the Knight of Punishment with interest:

"Sakel, tell me. ”

"Didn't you really think it was strange when you purchased the core of the magic gun from the Imperial Kingdom, why did only the Empress possess that kind of technology, affecting the situation of the whole world?"

"And eighteen years ago, your comrades, your kingdom, your past...... When you look back, do you feel that the world is so unfair?"

In the next second, Ricky's tone deepened, as if he were a mysterious soothsayer:

"I feel like fate is so...... Ruthless?"

Destiny?

Ricky's barrage of questions almost stunned both Tails and Saker.

Sakel frowned:

"What are you hinting at?"

Ricky smiled.

He looked left and right, as if he was scrupling about something.

"Listen up, dear. ”

"Just like the Truth Brothers, before they became the Empress, those two magicians—Bloodthorn and Heilan—were called ...... by the mages."

At that moment, the demon looked at Saker and Tails with both mockery and warning in their eyes:

"The Twins of Destiny. ”

Tails and Sakel were stunned.

Destiny......

Gemini?

Wait, combined with his previous words......

Is he implying what I think?

In a near-incomprehensible astonishment, Tails saw Ricky say in the most complex and incomprehensible tone:

"Knight, your king is great. ”

But he couldn't overcome fate. ”

Sakel stared blankly at the demon, his face changed sharply, and he shook his head subconsciously.

"Trust me," Ricky looked up, in the dim light of the fire, at the blackened walls around him:

"The prison of bones is not the end, destiny is a bigger prison. ”

Destiny is a bigger prison.

A distraught Tails breathed in a trance.

"And we have the key to open the prison......"

Ricky pulled out the green hedron in his arms and looked at Tails, the eagerness in his eyes sending chills through his heart.

"Maybe it'...... The only key. ”

For a moment, neither Saker nor Tails were speechless.

"Now," Ricky laughed:

"Who's crazy, who's self-hypnosis?"

Silent.

There was a long silence.

In the endless cacophony, Sakel finally sighed.

But he eventually lowered his head.

"You, your name is Ricky, right?"

"My name is Ricky now. ”

Ricky changed his relaxed posture, withdrew his sensational expression, and raised a smile: "Think about my proposal again?"

Sakel looked up, his eyes clear.

He looked straight at Ricky:

"I suddenly had a feeling that you ...... Not like a demon. ”

"It's more like ...... Mankind. ”

At that moment, Ricky was stunned.

His gaffe and Saker's words made Tails suddenly wake up: the guy in front of him was an anomaly.

What did he say...... You can't trust it all.

"Interesting. ”

Ricky remembered something and chuckled:

"How do you know what a demon looks like?"

Sakel didn't speak immediately, he stared at Ricky for a long, long time.

"There are many accounts of the demons from hell being cruel, harsh, and tyrannical," Sakel said in a slightly deep tone:

"There is no humanity. ”

Ricky raised an eyebrow.

He stroked his chin, as if in deep thought:

"Well, this one, the real demon, is indeed inhumane. ”

In the next second, Ricky suddenly leaned forward and put his hands on the ground, lowered his gaze, and looked up at Saker and Tails.

He smiled mysteriously at the two of them:

"For example, they can be inhumane to the point of ...... It makes you think: they have a human face. ”

Tails shuddered slightly.

Looking at Ricky's rather humane smile and chewing on the deep meaning behind this sentence, the boy only felt an inexplicable creeping.