NOVEL NEXT Chapter 65
65 Epilogue: Interrogation
The fat crow squeezed into the narrow cage surrounded by shadows was motionless as it had its eyes closed.
After the person left, it tried all means but failed to break through the cage at all. Be it forcefully breaking out or turning into a whirlwind to escape, it was blocked by the restrictions on the cage no matter what it did.
It finally had to admit that it had no choice. It chose to close its eyes helplessly and rest.
At the very least, from the other party’s previous words, its life wouldn’t be in danger for the time being.
Moreover, it was in Currere now. If it died, it would only return to the Moon Realm.
After an unknown period, heavy footsteps woke it up.
It opened its eyes and saw the terrifying man sitting in front of it. He held a staff made of pure frost and was looking at it coldly.
“I’ll be doing the questions next. You are to answer them,” the other party said calmly, but under his calm appearance, the crow sensed that he was in a very, very bad mood.
The crow opened its beak and was about to say something when emerald-green flames instantly spread to the cage. An intense pain tortured it until it couldn’t help but let out a miserable cry.
The fire was fleeting as if the other party was demonstrating what he was capable of.
After it recovered, the person looked at it and asked the first question, “Who’s your master?”
“Father… Father of the Crows, Summoner of the Storm, C… Ah!”
Before it could finish announcing its master’s full title, the flames burned again.
“That’s not what I’m asking. Its name, its real name.”
Looking at the crow bathed in flames, the person continued calmly.
“True name… How can I know my master’s true name? Every Moon Realm spirit will protect their true name…”
The crow shouted as the afflicting Soul Fire burned.
The Moon Realm was an existence that reflected Currere. Every formed Moon Realm spirit naturally had its source in Currere, and their true names could be confirmed through this. When facing enemies who knew their true names, as long as their true names were spoken, the power of this Moon Realm spirit would be greatly weakened.
It was said that the 12 Judgment equipment were each engraved with the true names of the 12 Void Sovereigns. This was also one of the reasons why the Judgment equipment could cause damage to the essence of their corresponding Void Sovereigns.
The flames stopped and the crow continued intermittently, “I… I’m just a… messenger who was created not long ago. It’s impossible for me to know my master’s real name…”
The person studied the crow for a while as if he was determining if it was lying. Finally, he continued asking, “Alright, then. The second question is, what did you bring to the Nightmare Swamp as a messenger?”
The crow looked at the looming flames on the cage and fell silent for a moment before answering honestly,
“A deal. A fragment of a dream in exchange for a fragment of a soul.”
“A fragment of a dream?”
“A fragment of Ms. Zamara’s Nightmare Incarnation that was shattered a thousand years ago,” the crow replied. It looked at the looming flames around it and shuddered before continuing,
“As for the soul fragment, it’s…”
“It’s this, right?”
As the person spoke, he opened his palm, and an illusory crow’s tail appeared in his hand.
The crow subconsciously nodded and said, “That’s right, that’s right. It’s this… Huh?”
It came to a realization. It was indeed this, but… why was it in his hands? Shouldn’t this have been retrieved by the Lord of Nightmare?
Without waiting for it to ask the question in its heart, the person continued asking, “Next question, whose soul fragment is it? Is it your master’s?”
The crow nodded and said, “My master’s soul was shattered into pieces in the distant past, causing it to only be able to fall into a prolonged slumber in the Moon Realm. Every time it wakes up temporarily, it will attempt to collect the fragments of the past.”
“Do you know when and who shattered its soul?”
The crow shook its head and said, “I’m just a messenger created for the deal in the Nightmare Swamp. I don’t know anything about my master other than the purpose of this trip.”
With that said, it shrank its head, afraid that the fire would descend on its head again.
“I understand…”
The person’s expression kept changing, but he didn’t continue torturing it. He only stood up after some thought and slowly walked out of the room.
After the other party walked out of the door, he suddenly turned around and asked it, “Speaking of which, have you seen your master?”
The crow shook its head.
“My master sleeps deep in his quarters most of the time. Even if he occasionally wakes up, he will only give orders or make a prophecy to his crows.”
The other party didn’t say anything else. With the sound of a heavy iron door closing, the entire room fell into darkness again.
…
After returning to his room, William silently took out the two spoils of war he had snatched from the Void Sovereigns’ phantoms and placed them on the table.
An illusory crow feather and a seed emitting white light.
He recalled the empty tomb from before, the sarcophagus covered in scattered crow feathers, and the iconic black sword, as well as the contents of the stone plaque.
Could the owner of this soul fragment be the person he was thinking of?
Was he still alive? What state was he in now?
Moon Realm Overlord, Father of the Crows…
William recalled the demon summoner he interrogated at the Scar of Sorrow. The other party only said that title before his entire soul was torn apart. Even he couldn’t stop the process.
Coles… Is this something you’ll do?
With this in mind, William turned his gaze to the seed emitting white light.
If what had happened previously only made him feel heavy-hearted, the appearance of this seed made him extremely uneasy.
Seed of Hope… But why is it here?
This was a seed that could only be condensed deep in the Moon Realm after gathering the hope of an era’s salvation. Just holding it could greatly increase the morale of the surrounding comrades.
Moreover, this seed was the only item in the game’s plot that could revive someone without any prerequisites.
However, this wasn’t its greatest value.
Looking at this thing that shouldn’t have appeared here, William jogged through his memories and the save file that he had deleted after completion.
The Seed of Hope was one of the prerequisites for achieving the eclipse ending and becoming the 14th Void Sovereign-King of Hope and Despair.
End of Volume 1: Stranger at Home