Silent Crown

 The fire has been lit. Observing the world through a lens, the old musician stared dully at the cold Ultimate. An overwhelming sense of fear has seeped into his consciousness.

“… What is this?”

Even his voice seemed to become denser and heavier in the air, but the sound of metal against metal remained as sharp as ever. The Sickle of God’s Wrath was raised towards the sky.

“Deus-vult…” The old musician muttered under his breath.

The sickle was lit with flames. The elements brought down the power from the Originator as they embedded themselves into the sickle to subdue all sorts of poison, disaster and rebellion in the world.

This was judgment. This was the conclusion. This was what the Gods wanted!

An irresistible destruction appeared in Ye Qingxuan’s hands. He moved forward one step at a time as his black armor turned red from all the friction with the rock-like air particles. He was burning. He could feel incredible pain in the depth of his bones but he could also feel a sense of consciousness and relief that he had never felt before. It was as if he had suddenly realized that life was as such. His body was burning and being tortured by the flames, yet his soul was freer than ever to soar up to the skies.

With the Sickle of God’s Wrath in hand, Ye Qingxuan bashed through the dust and crack that was in his way, leaving behind a trail that seemed to be made by a blade and was pointed in the direction of the white knight.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The white knight’s armor trembled as he let out a roar of fury. His stiff body trembled as he tried to escape the grasp of time. Flames shot out of his raised staff, distorting the boundaries of the physical world and forcing back the effects of time.

Bathed and shrouded in flames, he howled and screamed as the long spear shredded the physical world. Countless music theories were entangled because of his roar. With a boost from the abyss, a grand image of darkness appeared behind the white knght.

The bell of darkness tolled.

In the south, in the north, in the World of Dark and even in the Sacred City… tens of dark ministers opened their eyes to answer the call. They pumped all their powers into the illusion of the abyss as the ancient illusion became more concrete and more realistic. It was as if the future has suddenly been revealed at this very moment.

In that instant, the staff clashed with the Sickle of God’s Wrath. Both were in flames as they were each trying their very best to finish off the other and turn the other into nothingness.

In that single instant, the staff and the Sickle of God’s Wrath clashed more than a thousand times.

The sickle continued to burn as fiercely as ever but the flame on the staff was beginning to dim, until it broke down and its elements were completely cracked. But in the next moment, it was filled with the catastrophe’s flames of fury and a power, that was capable of turning the world into darkness, emerged from within.

This was the element of the white knight. It represented the fate of the world after it has been taken over by catastrophes and demons; it represented the heyday of the Originator in darkness. Ancient darkness of the abyss!

“Kneel, rebel, and prepare to die!” The white knight roared in the darkness, “You are but a mere dust particle. You should have known to be respectful and fearful! I am the ruler of the world! I am the king of all!”

“No, you are not.” A hoarse voice replied. Beneath the cracked faceguard, Ye Qingxuan looked up. His face was still burning even as he stared at him with indifference, “Everything that you have are all stolen items and you are just an empty shell with a crown!”

Boom!

The flaming sickle struck. Countless streaks of lightning were accompanied with a roar as the melody of Day of God’s Fury played.

The element of Ancient Darkness suddenly cracked, followed by the white knight’s crown. Next, the war horse’s head was hacked off. The sickle changed direction and struck sideways, tearing apart his armor. Then, his arm and his chest were also torn open.

Even as time stood still, only the sickle gleamed with every strike.

Nothing could survive God’s punishment. When the moment, that time stood still, passed, it was followed with booms throughout the entire Ultimate. Oceans shook and islands trembled. The stake grew out from beneath the ground as everything was covered in flames.

The abyss was broken down and there was a roar of despair. As the flames burnt, the white knight fell from the broken war horse. His entire body was covered with terrible wounds and was almost on the verge of breaking apart. The white flames in his eyes dimmed. He was about to die.

In front of the white knight, the armor that was transformed from Firebird has already reached its limit and began to dissipate. Ye Qingxuan walked out from within. He lowered his head and looked down at the catastrophe at his feet.

“It is time to resolve everything. ‘Your Majesties’, this day should have come long ago.” He announced softly before lying down and putting his hand deep into the open and broken chest of the white knight. He grabbed hold of an invisible illusion tightly and wrested it out and before raising it high.

The figure was wearing a crown on its head and was being choked by Ye Qingxuan. It kept struggling and it seemed to screaming at him angrily, even if not a single sound could be heard. Nevertheless, Ye Qingxuan remained indifferent. He only stared at it coolly, “The King of the Sun of Burgundy, you have been arrested for possessing a heretic structure. In the name of God, I will give you a fair trial.”

They were clearly on the battlefield but they suddenly found themselves in the courtroom of a trial. Ye Qingxuan gripped onto the sickle tightly and announced his judgment, “You have been sentenced to execution by fire and the sentence shall be carried out with immediate effect!”

“May the flames purify your soul.”

Boom!

Flames shot out from his fingers and devoured that illusion. When the flames were extinguished, nothing else remained except for fine grains of salt that fell from the flame and dissipated into the air.

Soon after, Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and stretched out his hands to drag out the second wandering soul, “The Sage of the Iron Moon from Caucasian, you have been arrested for collaborating with the demons. In the name of God, I will give you a fair trial. Carry out the fire execution!”

“Master of the Golden Palace from Asgard… The Sultan of Fate from Canaan… The Magadha king from India… All are guilty of disrespecting God. In the name of God, I will give you fair redemption. Execution by fire!”

Amidst the raging flames, nothing remained of the ancient kings. In the end, only the white knight was left and all that remained of him was just… a distorted and empty shell.

His eyes were wide open as he glared at Ye Qingxuan. He opened his mouth and roared while his hands were outstretched, as if he was desperately trying to wrest back his possessions, only to be cruelly stepped on by a foot. Soon after, the sickle was lowered and hooked onto his throat.

“White knight from the abyss, you are guilty of arrogance, heresy and blasphemy. In the name of God, I sentence you to the ultimate punishment and destruction.” Ye Qingxuan looked down at him. His eyes were filled with electricity and his hoarse voice reverberated throughout the Ultimate.

“There will only be death and emptiness that awaits you and your ancient darkness!”

“No!!!” Countless voices screamed in the empty shell. The sickly was raised before striking and cutting off his throat.

Under the punishment of the Sickle of God’s Wrath, the broken body suddenly stiffened before breaking apart into fine grains of salt. The decapitated head screamed even as it was also breaking apart until only an empty skull remained.

Smack!

The skull was crushed into pieces underneath the metal boot. The flames continued to burn as the entire Ultimate remained in dead silence. Eventually, the heresy subsided with the flames and the Sickle of God’s Wrath withdrew itself and reverted back to the Staff of Fate in the hands of Ye Qingxuan once again.

Ye Qingxuan raised his head and looked around the Ultimate. “Is this the end?” He muttered softly, feeling extremely fatigued.

“No, not yet.”

In the warm glow of the burning stake, there was the sound of footsteps from far away. The newcomer took off his hat and looked at Ye Qingxuan with a mixed expression on his face.

“Naberius?” Ye Qingxuan looked at him and sighed softly, “Are you here for revenge?”

“To be honest, even if you killed all the dark ministers, what has that got to do with me? I am the Dark Musician, the evil and cunning Dark Musician! A concept such as ‘revenge’ is unknown to me.” Naberius shrugged his shoulders, “Besides, I have no wish to fight a monster like you. Ye Qingxuan, relax. I am here to bid farewell.”

“Farewell?”

“Yes, I’m leaving.” Naberius waved his hand, “Things are changing, Ye Qingxuan. It is not as simple as you think. I have already taken whatever I need. There’s no need for me to linger further on this chessboard. Therefore, before the chessboard is overturned, I must flee. After all, I still have a child at home to care for. Goodbye, my dear friend. Please take care. I really hope to be able to see you again somewhere in the future.”

“The chessboard will be overturned?” Ye Qingxuan frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll see soon enough.” Naberius smiled and wore back his hat again. He stepped back and gradually disappeared into the shadows.

In that instant, Ye Qingxuan turned back sharply and saw a glorious scepter shooting up into the sky from the Ultimate. He was stunned.

Schubert!

—

10 minutes ago, amidst the chaos in the Ultimate, dust and black snow fell from the sky. The entire city was filled with debris and while half of it was drowned in flames, the other half was still trembling, as if it would sink anytime.

The sound of the earth shattering came from far away. Crushed stones fell from the wall and rolled to the foot of the nun. The old nun did not seem to notice, except to lower her head and close her eyes. It was as if she was turning into a statue, until a deep voice spoke from behind her.

“Sister Teresa, how have you been?”

The old nun opened her eyes and turned back, only to see a figure clad in red. She remained silent for a long time before finally asking softly, “Sancta Sedes?”