Chapter 2919: The Right to Choose

“Dora?”

Ji Xiaodao glanced somewhat unexpectedly at the man beside her, who stood quietly in the center of the shadow, his pupils as dark as ink, seemingly indifferent to everything, and asked curiously, “Why are you calling her?”

Predictably, she received no answer.

And to this, the girl who was long accustomed to such behavior merely blinked, then tossed the “Edon’s Hymn” back to Mo, who casually shoved it back into the bookshelf, smiled faintly, and turned to leave the study.

Being with this person had never been pleasant for a single day, yet she never intended to leave this dead silent place…

Oftentimes, Ji Xiaodao wondered why she was so resolutely determined to stay here, even though she was not welcomed by anyone.

Truth be told, she was the first to appear by his side; whether it was Jiawen, Merlin, Arthur, Osiris, or Dora, they all came later. The NPCs, baptized by his strength, seemed to surpass her, serving him with a zeal akin to faith, pursuing undertakings she could not comprehend.

And Jiawen and Merlin, those two players, always gave Ji Xiaodao a strong feeling that they were Mo’s allies from the beginning. It just so happened they encountered each other in the game called The Realm of Innocence and naturally continued onward together.

Only she was the exception.

She was not his ally, nor was his side a place for her to belong.

Yet somehow, despite all this, she still wanted to walk this path with him.

The indescribable strength made Arthur and the others willingly follow behind.

The convergence of paths made Jiawen and Merlin walk beside him.

He was not alone; more so, every step he took led him further from the word “loneliness.”

But he yearned for solitude; this was the one thing she could feel.

Intuition told her that whatever he wished to accomplish would inevitably be fulfilled as long as he desired it; whatever he longed for would eventually fall into his hands.

Ultimately, he, who craved solitude, would still end up alone.

The NPCs bound by him could not defy his will.

The ones like Jiawen walking the same path as him were no exception.

Thus…

Ji Xiaodao pushed open the study door, took a deep breath of the cold, dry air outside, and let out a silent sigh.

She halted her thoughts, walking slowly into the sunlight willing to treat everyone equally, yet stingily refused to bestow the slightest mercy to the solitary figure in the study.

And as she stepped into that warmth, the study door was instantly slammed shut by an unseen force.

If the sunlight gracing the earth could think, it might have sighed in relief at that moment.

However, it did not receive sympathy, for even natural phenomena were not necessarily innocent.

Mo gently adjusted his mask before slowly approaching the desk, free of documents and materials due to the absence of Sin Knight Telon. He raised his right hand, brushing slowly across the tabletop—

Next, a complex, ancient, three-dimensional, and eerie chessboard phantom appeared before him.

“I know what I am doing…”

He murmured softly, walked to the left side of the chessboard, and stood, a meaningless curve curling at his lips.

In the next moment, the black throne suddenly rose from the left far end square of the chessboard, and simultaneously, a figure emerged on the throne, shrouded wholly in flowing black aura that even distorted light, the eyes behind the mask hollow and cold.

“I also know…what I am doing…”

Words fell, and the far right end of the chessboard gradually illuminated with a hazy glow. As the light dissipated, three golden figures appeared in the air.

The clergy, face obscured by a hood, with a cross hanging on the chest and a Holy Scripture floating behind, gazed down at a sand table completely dyed ink-black.

The Fraud, carrying a lute roughly on the shoulder, held several masks in the hand covering the face, eyes brimming with frenzy and joy, arrogantly raised his chin, lazily gazing at the dazzling fragment of starry sky above.

The Guardian, holding a grand sword level, with wings like shield opened wide behind, stood tall in the center of the battlefield. His clear and peaceful vertical pupils roiled with thunderous anger.

“Those lofty Jokers will soon find their place.”

In the air, a blinding Sun rose gradually, followed by a haze-like luminous flow sweeping by. Around the flow, a profound darkness followed like a shadow, the sound of Gold Coins clashing resonated, the ephemeral Balance, blood-red pupils, ancient tome, twisting words, and other anomalies intertwined above the chessboard.

“But they can’t change anything, just like the bent knees before they were penned in.”

Below the anomaly, twelve pillars of light ascended, six black and six white. Soon, two white light pillars condensed into forms: a bishop clad in a black robe wielding a large Magic Wand, and a King crowned, leaning on a sword.