Chapter 339: The Prophesied One, Spoil of War

The Emperor dipped his brush into a blue pigment. "Is there anything else you wish to report, Gideon? If not, you are dismissed. You should rest for the remainder of the day before deploying your forces back to the Eastern Realms."

Gideon remained bowed. "There is one final matter to report, Your Majesty."

Alexander grew slightly curious, as Gideon rarely saved trivial matters for the end of a briefing. "What is it?"

"I encountered an exceptionally talented individual during my deployment in the Eastern Realms," Gideon explained. "He is an enrolled student of the Live Streaming Academy, currently residing at the Azure Dragon Sect for his practical classes. He traveled to the Azure Moon Kingdom as part of an official escort mission organized by Pavilion Master Yue, under the direct request of Princess Syra."

The Emperor hummed thoughtfully, his brush gliding across the canvas. "If you are taking the time to call someone ’talented’, Gideon, then he must truly be special. And if he is currently attending the academy, that places him anywhere between the ages of eighteen and twenty. To impress a paladin at such a young age makes him exceptional without a doubt. What of him?"

"I offered him a position within the Lumiere Imperial Vanguard," Gideon stated.

Alexander paused his painting for a full second, turning his head to look directly at the paladin. "For you to personally extend a recruitment offer is incredibly rare. This individual must be truly magnificent to warrant such an invitation."

He turned back to the canvas, resuming his strokes. "My schedule is completely booked for the remainder of the week, but I will make the time to meet this young prodigy personally after tomorrow’s morning mass."

Gideon remained silent for a few agonizing seconds before responding. "He rejected my offer, Your Majesty."

Alexander stopped painting entirely. He turned toward Gideon, genuine surprise etching his royal features. "What was his reason for the refusal? Did he find the imperial terms lacking? Was the financial compensation insufficient? Send a missive immediately and inform him that whatever initial sum you offered, the Lumiere Dynasty will multiply it by ten."

"His reason for refusal was not financial, Your Majesty," Gideon clarified gently. "He explicitly stated that he simply did not want to get involved with kingdoms or royal politics."

The Emperor felt a brief flash of irritation upon learning that an unknown youth had casually rejected an offer from his highest-ranking paladin.

"I will send a diplomatic letter to the Live Streaming Academy administration regarding this individual," Alexander decided, setting his jaw. "It is not uncommon for royals and high-ranking nobles to actively recruit generational talents from across the realms. If I can manage to secure an individual whom my own paladin holds in such high regard, it will undoubtedly ensure the continued peace and prosperity of the Lumiere Dynasty."

Gideon simply bowed lower in response.

"Unless, of course, he is already affiliated with another sovereign power?" Alexander asked curiously. "Does he belong to any recognized royal or noble kin? Does he hail from a prominent family branch? If that is the case, I completely understand the rejection, and I will not send the letter to avoid a diplomatic incident."

Gideon shook his head. "As far as I am aware, Your Majesty, he is a commoner with no aristocratic ties. Although, I must admit, his physical appearance is incredibly striking. He could easily surpass the most refined nobles in aesthetic grace and rival the royals themselves in pure presence."

The Emperor was clearly impressed by the description. "If a mere commoner can display such overwhelming martial skill and possess such a commanding presence, then he must truly be destined for greatness. Tell me, Gideon, what does this prodigy look like?"

Gideon visualized the boy. "He is tall and athletically built. But his most defining features are his striking silver hair and his piercing silver eyes."

The Emperor froze completely.

The paintbrush slipped from his fingers, clattering loudly onto the marble floor. Alexander stared blankly at the canvas he had just subconsciously finished painting while they spoke.

It was a flawless, hyper-realistic portrait of Solomon, clad in dark armor, holding a brilliantly glowing greatsword.

"Is the name of this young man..." Alexander asked, his voice suddenly trembling with an ancient, deeply buried emotion. "...Solomon?"

Gideon was utterly shocked to hear the boy’s name fall from the Emperor’s mouth. The paladin looked up, breaking his bow. "Yes, Your Majesty. Do you know Solomon? Have you been watching his live streams as well?"

The Emperor did not answer the question. He stared at the painted silver eyes on the canvas. "You are dismissed, Gideon. Go rest."

Gideon knew better than to question the Emperor when his tone shifted to command. The paladin bowed one final time and quickly exited the grand chamber, leaving the ruler alone.

Alexander stared at the painting of Solomon. The vibrant colors seemed to blur as a chilling, inescapable prophecy echoed through the vast, empty chamber—a prophecy narrated to him two decades ago by a blind seer.

"There will come a time when the world is suffocated, bathed in the rigid absolutes of blinding white and suffocating black. And from the collision of those two extremes, a single streak of pure Silver shall emerge.

That Silver will not conform to the canvas of reality. He will paint the world as he pleases. He will keep painting, and painting, and painting, drowning empires and leveling mountains, until there is nothing left to paint.

The Silver will be the spoil of war, and thus only wars and battles can sate his hunger. And since that Silver was born from the ashes of black and white, the paint he leaves behind in his wake will inevitably be perceived as either white or black by the masses. For some, the darkest black will be hailed as a blinding white salvation. For others, the purest white will be condemned as the deepest, most terrifying black. But for him, and him alone, everything will remain Silver.

His insatiable desire to paint the world will inevitably change the world. Painting over the established order will be his conquest, and it is no hidden suspense or divine secret that he will succeed. The Silver cannot be stopped. He cannot be reasoned with by the blinding white of the heavens, nor can he be corrupted by the suffocating black of the abyss.

If you truly wish for his brushstrokes to be stopped, you cannot fight him. You simply have to give him more of the world to paint. Once there is nothing left for him to conquer, once every single canvas is filled, the world will finally become colorful for the rest of humanity. But for him... it will remain colorless.

He will seek the ancient crowns. He will hunt the forgotten thrones. He will tear down the established hierarchy until there is only one solitary throne left standing in the ruins of reality, but no crown shall be left for him to wear.

That will be the era of the Crownless King.

Whether you choose to oppose him and try to stop his conquest, or you choose to bow your head and help him... it does not matter. Nothing will change his trajectory. He is but a tool of the cosmos, but he is a vastly greater, more terrifying tool than all the rest combined.

He is pure Silver. The child of Silver and Silver."

The prophecy echoed in the silence of the chamber, heavy with the weight of inevitable destiny.

Emperor Alexander slowly lowered his gaze to his own hands. "To think that the tiny, fragile infant I once held in my own arms has grown so much... and is now making such a name for himself across the realms."

Alexander slowly lifted his head. He looked at the ornate, sovereign-class broadsword magically suspended directly above his head, the razor-sharp tip pointing ominously down at his own skull, which was a physical reminder of the burden and the looming threat of the imperial crown.

"Must I wield my sword against the world once again?" the Emperor whispered to the empty room. "Shall I stand against him... or with him?"