Chapter 126: The Elf King’s prayer in the illusion ends.

Shu Li retreated in horror, not daring to look directly into his eyes. He could not help wondering whether the blond Elf before him truly was... the Elven King.

He had seen the Elven King in previous illusions, but those versions of him had been entirely different from the blond Elf now pointing a sword at him.

And yet his crown, his features, and the Guota Ring on his finger were identical to those of the Elven King Shu Li knew.

Shu Li swallowed. Summoning his courage, he took another two steps forward while carefully maintaining a safe distance from the icy blade in the Elven King’s hand.

“I... I’m Sperien of the Faerie Forest,” he answered in a trembling voice.

“Sperien... of the Faerie Forest?” the Elven King repeated. His blood-red eyes stared unwaveringly ahead, his gaze as sharp as an arrow. Shu Li shuddered beneath it.

This was an Elven King he had never seen before.

He resembled a wounded beast, wary of every creature that approached him. Even covered in blood and reduced to such a wretched state, he still radiated the overwhelming majesty of a king.

Nervously clutching the hem of his clothes, Shu Li began to ramble. “Y-yes, I’m Sperien of the Faerie Forest... We’ve met before. The most recent time was last month. Oh, it was last month for me. I went to the ancient battlefield in the northern part of the Elven Kingdom to search for the Wood Elf. While I was there, I was transported into the War of the Gods from ten thousand years ago. You and the Wood Elf were leading an army against the God of Death. Later, you sent me back, and the Wood Elf returned with me. Um... do you remember any of that?”

When the Elven King showed no reaction to his words, Shu Li’s ears drooped in disappointment. “So this really is an illusion? I thought I might have the ability to travel through time... But the king said he had no memory of me, so I suppose it’s true.”

If this was an illusion, then everything here was false!

Thank goodness it was!

If all the corpses he had just seen were real, how tragic and horrific must this war have been?

Shu Li relaxed and began regarding the Elven King with curiosity instead.

In his previous illusions, the Elven King had always appeared elegant, noble, sacred, and powerful. Shu Li had no idea why this illusion had placed him in such a miserable state.

He looked like a king who had been dragged down from his throne and stripped of everything, sitting alone in a corner of a ruined palace as he silently licked his wounds.

Although the Elven King was still pointing a sword at him, Shu Li could not help feeling heartbroken on his behalf. His nose stung, and his eyes immediately filled with tears.

“Um... would you mind lowering your sword first? I’m only ten years old, and I only recently became a Senior Mage. I’m no match for you at all.”

Shu Li raised both hands to show that he was harmless, hoping to gain the other’s trust.

The Elven King frowned slightly and scrutinized him with piercing crimson eyes. Shu Li offered him a friendly smile. After an indeterminate amount of time, the sharp blade pointed at him slowly lowered.

With the threat gone, Shu Li gave himself an approving pat on the back.

Tentatively, he took a small step forward. When the Elven King did not attack him again, he pushed his luck and continued approaching. Like an innocent little animal, he edged closer bit by bit until the other cast him an icy glance. Shu Li obediently stopped where he was and did not dare move again.

“What... happened to him?” Shu Li craned his neck, trying to see the... Fairy in the Elven King’s arms more clearly.

Yes, the “person” in the white robe soaked with blood was a young male Fairy.

From a distance, with the Elven King holding him so tightly, Shu Li had been unable to see him clearly. Now that he was closer, he could make out the young man’s pointed ears and the shattered pair of delicate wings on his back.

As a fellow Fairy, Shu Li could almost feel his pain. His own wings began trembling involuntarily.

A Fairy’s wings might appear as thin as gauze, but they were actually filled with nerves and extremely sensitive. Damaging them was like tearing out a fingernail—the pain was unbearable.

Only a third of this blond Fairy’s wings remained. It was equivalent to having all ten fingernails torn out at once, with the pain multiplied many times over. Shu Li could scarcely imagine it.

Fortunately, this was only an illusion. The Fairy was not real.

When his question received no answer, Shu Li was undeterred and continued, “He’s badly injured. Aren’t you going to heal him?”

The Elven King lowered his head. The ice in his eyes melted away, replaced by boundless sorrow.

He set down his sword and gently stroked the Fairy’s hair with his slender fingers, softly wiping the blood from his face.

Shu Li leaned forward and carefully studied the blond Fairy.

The Fairy’s face had been turned toward the Elven King’s chest, preventing Shu Li from seeing his features. Now, as the Elven King moved him, his delicate face gradually came into view.

Huh?

Shu Li stared blankly at the blond Fairy in the Elven King’s arms, his pale green eyes wide and unfocused.

Had he seen him somewhere before?

He was beautiful—extraordinarily, breathtakingly beautiful. His features appeared meticulously sculpted and utterly flawless, while excessive blood loss had left his skin deathly pale.

He was severely injured.

Not only were his wings shattered, but there was also a gaping, bloody hole in his chest. It was this wound that had soaked his white robe in blood and rendered him unconscious.

“My king... hurry and use magic to stop the bleeding. If it continues, he’ll... die...”

The moment Shu Li uttered the word “die,” tears spilled uncontrollably down his cheeks.

He did not know why he felt so grief-stricken. He knew this was merely a false image inside an illusion, yet he could not stop crying.

“Please save him...” Shu Li knelt down. Ignoring the Elven King’s icy gaze, he placed both hands over the bloody hole in the blond Fairy’s chest and silently recited a wood-element restoration spell.

Green light glowed beneath his palms.

Without his magic staff, the healing spell’s effectiveness was greatly reduced. Unexpectedly, however, it still worked. The gaping wound slowly began to close.

The Elven King had raised one hand toward him, but it stopped two inches from Shu Li’s neck.

Completely unaware that he had just narrowly escaped death, Shu Li watched the blond Fairy’s chest heal completely and smiled in relief.

“That’s wonderful! The bleeding has stopped.”

He withdrew his hands and wiped the thin sheen of sweat from his forehead.

Restoration spells certainly consumed a great deal of magic.

“It’s no use.” The Elven King, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke. “He is dead.”

“Wh-what?” Shu Li froze. “What... what did you say?”

Dead? The Fairy in the king’s arms was not unconscious, but dead?

So that was why the king had not tried to heal him and had allowed the blood flowing from the wound to stain his white robe crimson.

“How could that be?” Shu Li choked out. Tears poured from his eyes, and his small body shook violently.

The crimson in the Elven King’s eyes gradually faded, revealing an emerald green. His hand moved upward and slowly settled atop Shu Li’s head.

Shu Li jolted. The warmth against his head made him momentarily forget to cry.

The sensation felt so real.

Even the way those fingers stroked his hair was identical to reality, down to the exact amount of pressure.

“My king?” Shu Li gazed tearfully at the Elven King and was startled to discover that his eyes had returned to green.

“Your name is Sperien?” the Elven King asked calmly.

“Yes. My name is Sperien.” Shu Li sniffled.

“You are not a monster created by the Dark God to deceive me?” the Elven King asked again.

“Of course I’m not a monster!” Shu Li shook his head vigorously. “Even if you’re only the king inside an illusion, you still can’t falsely accuse me!”

“An illusion...” A strange light appeared in the Elven King’s green eyes. “You believe I am a king inside an illusion?”

“That’s right!” Shu Li extended his fingers and began counting. “I’ve already encountered you in illusions several times. The first was in the Hall of the Gods. You looked younger than you do now and were playing a harp for the gods. Another time was during the Midsummer Festival. You invited the gods to celebrate with you, and the Dark God deliberately came to cause trouble. The third was the one I just mentioned. I went to the ruins of the ancient battlefield in the northern part of the Elven Kingdom to search for the Wood Elf and entered an illusion of the War of the Gods from ten thousand years ago... And then there’s today. I was praying to the Light God in Miradi Palace when this illusion suddenly began for no apparent reason.”

“This illusion is awful. It makes me so sad.” As Shu Li spoke, tears began streaming down his face again. “My king, I’m sorry. I didn’t deliberately make you suffer so much inside the illusion... I can’t control what happens here...”

The Elven King reached out and wiped the tears from his face with one finger. “If you believe I am merely a king inside an illusion, then everything here is false. Don’t cry.”

Shu Li nodded and haphazardly wiped the tears from his face. Embarrassed, he said, “I don’t usually cry this easily. It’s just that seeing you and him... like this makes me feel terribly sad.”

The Elven King lowered his head and gazed at the young Fairy in his arms.

Unable to bear the grief in his eyes, Shu Li consoled him. “My king, please don’t be too sad... Maybe... he went to another world.”

Hadn’t Shu Li suffered an accident in his original world, only to find himself alive and well in another one?

“Another world?” The Elven King raised his eyes to Shu Li.

His profound gaze seemed capable of seeing through everything, making Shu Li feel inexplicably guilty. He looked away and stammered, “Y-yes... There may actually be many worlds... existing in different times and different dimensions. They’re called parallel worlds. Each world develops in a completely different direction and can take countless different forms. Normally, they don’t interfere or intersect with one another and simply continue on their own... But if some irresistible, miraculous power appeared, perhaps it could cause travel through time and space, reverse the flow of time, or return someone to the past...”

His voice grew quieter and quieter. Under the Elven King’s increasingly fervent gaze, he could not continue.

“Parallel worlds... travel through time and space... reversal... returning to the past... I see...” the Elven King murmured as his finger touched the silver ornament on Shu Li’s forehead.

The ornament emitted a flash of light and transformed into a small green flower crown.

“Huh?” Feeling the flower crown return to its original form, Shu Li hurriedly pressed a hand over it.

The Elven King suddenly pushed him.

Shu Li toppled backward onto the grass, his small face filled with disbelief. He could not understand why the Elven King had pushed him away.

“Go back, little Sperien. Return to your world...”

The Elven King aimed his palm at him and released a beam of gentle light that enveloped the small boy.

“Do not... die for me again...”

The sigh-like words echoed in Shu Li’s ears. Before he could respond, the illusion abruptly vanished.

“Ah!”

Shu Li’s eyes flew open.

The solemn temple filled his vision. Around him were the Elves and Fairies praying devoutly, while ahead stood the Elven King in his magnificent purple robes.

There was no blood, no damage, and no trace of sorrow—only the solemnity of prayer before the statues of the gods.

Thank goodness!

It really had been an illusion!

Shu Li clenched his hands, tears of relief filling his eyes.

The Elven King was the Child of Light, the Light God’s representative in the Human World. He had emerged unharmed even from the War of the Gods ten thousand years ago and led the Elves and Fairies in defending this sole remaining sanctuary. How could he ever be reduced to the tragic state Shu Li had seen in the illusion?

Shu Li truly was terrible. How could his imagination have conjured such an outrageous illusion?

He completely overturned his previous theory.

Traveling through time and space? It did not exist!

The king had already stated clearly that his memories contained no trace of Shu Li.

Therefore, all his previous experiences had merely been false illusions.

As for the Wood Elf’s appearance, that must have been nothing more than a coincidence!

She had probably been asleep within the ruins of the ancient battlefield all along. When Shu Li went exploring, the emblem Mr. Lizard had given him must have fulfilled the necessary condition and released the seal.

Shu Li’s thoughts ran wild until sharp pains began throbbing in his temples. Only when Disio’s voice sounded beside him did he realize that the prayers had ended.

“Sperien, why did your flower crown return to its original form?”

At his words, Shu Li raised a hand and felt the flower crown’s emerald leaves.

What was going on?

Why had the flower crown, which should have remained disguised as a silver forehead ornament, returned to its original form?

He had not recited the incantation!

Only inside the illusion had the Elven King touched the ornament and transformed it back into the flower crown.

“I... I don’t know. Maybe its magic... stopped working in the Light God’s presence?” Shu Li was utterly baffled and could offer only this absurd explanation.

Before the statue of the Light God, the Elven King slowly turned around and looked toward Shu Li, who was surrounded by the Little Fairies.

A trace of profound sorrow appeared in his green eyes.