NOVEL NEXT 222 – Kingdom Collapse
Long, long ago, the fairy mother, on her deathbed, called for her three children. "My daughters, it is now time for me to depart from this world. Before I go, I will grant you a small portion of my powers. This will become the foundation from which your powers will sprout, a seed of sorts. Nourish it well, and you will reach the same heights as me. But for this to happen, you must dedicate your life to a single purpose. You will get stronger every time you make progress toward this goal. So, what is it that you all desire?"
The oldest and most adventurous of the sisters stepped forward and answered, "I wish to travel the world and uncover the mysteries of the boundaries."
"Very well, I shall grant you the Embryo of Exploration. Every time you make a discovery or step foot in a new place, you will receive the blessings of that place."
Next, the middle child stepped forward to give her answer. "Mother, I wish to collect the teeth of all beings in this world. Let me commemorate their existence within my collection, so they will never be forgotten."
"An admirable goal. For this, I shall grant you the Embryo of Curation. From now on, your powers will be proportional to the size of your collection."
Finally, the fairy mother turned to her youngest daughter. However, unlike the others, she didn't know what she wanted. So, she said that she wanted to be free, able to do whatever her heart desired.
The fairy mother rubbed her head in dismay, racking her brain for a suitable power. In the end, she gave her daughter the Embryo of Chaos. The more trouble she causes, the stronger she will become. With these choices made, the fairy mother scattered her remaining powers and returned to the world's embrace.
With their mother gone, the fairy sisters went their separate ways in pursuit of their quests. The oldest sister traveled the world over the next hundred years, stepping foot in every imaginable corner. She left her mark in history as one of the greatest explorers ever, with many guidelines modeled after her experience.
To this day, one can still see hints of her influence on how explorers approach the unknown. The most notable influences were the companion prisms and Wayfinder compasses, which were crude imitations of two discarded tools.
In her journey, she also awakened a strange race that lived in and held dominion over the zone boundaries. These later became known as Boundary Warpers, the very same beings that dispersed Genji's group on the first trip to investigate the missing village.
After all of this, her powers reached the same level as her mother, becoming one of the apex existences in this world. Eternal Void eventually noticed her excellence and scouted her for its purposes. She, of course, accepted, as she now had the opportunity to explore other worlds and further nurture her adventurous spirit. It is unknown what heights she has reached now.
The middle sister's life was self-explanatory, as she earned the title of the Tooth Fairy after several years of work.
Finally, there was the youngest and most chaotic sister, the one who would become the dark fairy. At first, she lived a peaceful life, content with experiencing the world's pleasures. Food, books, sex, and alcohol—she truly lived an unruly life in her first few decades. But no matter how exciting these activities were, she eventually grew bored and turned to other outlets to satisfy her vanity.
She turned to gambling, sleeping, and even taking on various odd jobs. One such role was being the savior of the world. She took joy in helping others and basking in the satisfaction of giving, disregarding whether others wanted her help. She had somehow turned a generous act into selfish gratification, wreaking havoc along the way.
There was a thin line between this lifestyle and true evil, a line that she would cross when she accidentally killed someone receiving her "aid." But instead of feeling guilt or sadness for her mistake, she grew intoxicated with the defilement. To take something so pure and distort it—nothing brought her a greater rush. That was how she started on the path of destruction.
Harmless pranks turned into malicious acts, until finally, she sought to destroy a whole kingdom out of nothing but curiosity about the excitement she would feel afterward. It wasn't that difficult, given her powers at the time. By the third time, she realized the initial excitement had dwindled to a fraction of its original feeling. She no longer got the same kick out of crushing some helpless ants.
In pursuit of the same adrenaline rush, she started restricting her methods and extending the cycle of destruction. She would nurture a kingdom like a caring mother, bringing it to a golden era before ruining everything with her own hands. Only this way could she feel the same satisfaction as before.
The current queen was only one of the pawns she'd raised. When the queen was still a girl, not yet married, and the fairy was regarded as the kingdom's protector, the fairy told her that the kingdom would be safe as long as she was the fairest of them all. That was the source of the queen's obsession.
Snow White's eyelids fluttered as she struggled to open her eyes. Moments later, soft ash brushed against her cheek, giving her the strength to awaken once more. As she looked around, she found herself in a pile of grey clay that still contained traces of warmth.
"What happened to me?" she wondered aloud, rubbing her sore head.
Suddenly, her eyes grew wide with shock as she noticed several ornaments among the clay—ornaments worn only by the dwarves. Her body lurched forward, grabbing the closest one and examining it with trepidation. There was no doubt: the dwarves had disappeared.
"H-h-h-how could this happen?" she muttered incoherently.
"Don't you remember?" the dark fairy asked at that moment. "You died."
Snow White turned around, and memories flashed through her mind. *That's right! The old lady and her poisoned apple!*
"Let me show you," the fairy said as if reading her mind. With a wave of her hand, a projection of the day's events played before their eyes. Snow White watched the recording with labored breaths, eventually bursting into tears as the dwarves sacrificed themselves at the end.
"Why? What did I do to deserve this? What grudge did that old lady have against me?"
"For the same reason I saved you all those years ago," the fairy answered. "Because you're the fairest in the land."
"WHY?!? For what? I didn't choose how I would look. Why does she want to kill me?" Snow White screamed.
The fairy gave her a few minutes to vent before asking about her future plans. "What do you want to do now? Do you want to fight for revenge? I can tell you who the old lady is and how to find her. Just say the word. You have more than enough power to make her pay after my homunculi dwarves poured all their gathered magic into you. Just know that you won't live long afterward since this power is non-replenishable and is the only thing binding you to this world. Your time will end for good once it runs out. If you choose not to go down this route, I can take you to a safe zone where you can live out the rest of your life. Your friends would prefer it this way."
"Absolutely not!" Snow White vehemently refused. "My dearest family died to save me! I refuse to let the culprit go unpunished." She clenched her fist, exposing the blotches of disfigured skin where the queen had originally focused her knife. Now, they looked mismatched, like a patchwork sewn together from various discarded parts. "So who is that old lady?"
"The current queen and your stepmother."
"Impossible!" Snow White gasped in disbelief.
"Why not?"
"Because she has no reason to. Why would she care about someone who isn't even in her life anymore?"
"What if she's the one who sent the killer back then?"
Snow White wrestled with the idea, and the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. After all, it wasn't easy for someone to sneak into the castle and kidnap a princess. This was only possible if someone allowed it and directed the guards elsewhere.
"So she was rotten from the start," Snow White quietly murmured. Then her voice rose, growing more feverish with each word. "In that case, I'll be doing everyone a favor by getting rid of you. The people don't need a selfish ruler who abuses her position to satisfy her own desires."
Meanwhile, the fairy watched Snow White's mood shift with interest, noting how she was still trying to justify her upcoming actions. 'Still so innocent after everything. I wonder how long this will last.'
Forboding and unease - Genji experienced these feelings as he entered the castle walls. The queen beside him remained oblivious to his unease. He decided to cash in his teeth now and leave the following morning. He didn't want to stick around for whatever disaster might strike the kingdom.
"I'm going to get my weapon checked." He casually made an excuse and slipped away before the queen could say anything else.
When he entered the Tooth Fairy's shop, she flashed him a knowing smile and asked if everything had gone well. She obviously knew they had committed some crime with her items but couldn’t care less. She was happy as long as she got her teeth.
"I need to exchange more fairy dust. Do you have some with stronger effects?"
"I do, but it'll cost you several times more."
"Here." Genji handed over a bag still containing some speckles of blood. Among these were several molars that belonged to Snow White. He hadn't even let those go when the queen mutilated the body.
"321," the fairy quoted. "It's normally 90 per piece, but I'll give you a discount today since you're in a hurry and because you're a high-spending customer."
"Okay. You can keep the change."
The fairy's smile widened as she handed him a purple bag containing a few pinches of golden, salt-like particles. Genji transferred the contents into a glass jar and returned to the castle. He had one more task to complete before leaving, but for that to happen, he needed the queen to leave the basement first.
When he reached the descending stairs, maniacal laughter echoed from below. The queen was still celebrating her success.
'Isn't she getting too caught up in her emotions?' Genji thought bemusedly as he waited in the shadows.
The revelry lasted several more minutes before being abruptly cut off. The queen then exited the basement with dull, unfocused eyes, akin to a puppet’s. If Genji didn’t know better, he would have thought she was a walking corpse.
'What happened to her?' he wondered as the queen stumbled past him. 'Whatever, not my problem.'
Shortly after, Genji heard another set of footsteps from below. His eyes narrowed as he pushed his stealth to its limit. Even a fool could tell something was off. After all, only the queen had entered, but several people had exited. Unless there was a secret passage or a way to teleport in, it was highly likely that the newcomer had bad intentions.
Seconds later, a girl wearing a black cloak with a hood pulled over her head and a fairy with black wings hovering a few centimeters off the ground came into view.
Genji immediately averted his gaze, afraid the newcomers would detect him. With how much his instincts were acting up, he knew he stood no chance against them. He would rather not risk detection over something so minor.
Luckily, the intruders were rather relaxed and didn’t scan their surroundings too closely. Genji waited for them to disappear around the corner before calming his racing heart.
'Whelp, kingdom's going to hell. Might as well make the most of it.'
He then headed downstairs, following the map he had previously sketched. After a few turns, he arrived at a certain room containing a specific mirror. Negative emotions swelled in his mind when he laid eyes on it, but he quickly squashed those feelings.
[You have discovered: Mirror of Uncertainty]
[Mirror of Uncertainty]
Rating: Legendary (Degraded Once)
Type: Unusual Artifact
Requirements: Medium affinity with fate
Durability: 42/50
Effects:
- Unreliable Query (Active): Once a day, you can ask the mirror a question related to yourself. There’s a 50% chance of obtaining a relevant answer and a 50% chance of obtaining a wrong answer.
- Mental Aggravation (Passive): Amplify the negative mental states of anyone who looks into its reflection. If no conditions are present, induce a dormant effect within the observer.
- Fate’s Bolsterment (Passive): Increase the effects of all fate-based abilities by 50%.
- Providence Overdraw (Active): Your next divination will be 100% accurate, but you will be plagued with -10 luck for 3 days. Cooldown of 2 days.
Description: A strange mirror discovered by the first explorer during one of her many adventures. It can grant the user many conveniences, but it comes with a high price. Use it wisely or be devoured by the consequences. The explorer later left this mirror to her third sister as a parting gift.
'So this is what the queen's been relying on. No wonder she was so unstable.'
Genji put away the mirror and brought out the life-saving teleportation consumable he'd purchased before coming to this world. It was a costly escape, but better than running into the two bosses and potentially getting trapped inside a barrier.
Genji crushed the object, and a firm spatial fluctuation wrapped around him. This commotion alarmed the strongest fighters in the castle, prompting them to rush toward his position. This included the newly empowered Snow White, who arrived just as Genji disappeared.
Snow White realized that this disruption had interfered with her plans. She controlled the queen to cause a commotion, stalling the incoming guards long enough for her to find more favorable terrain. However, she couldn’t maintain her subtlety for long. A chaotic battle ensued as guards attacked in droves while Snow White unleashed torrents of magic.
Amidst the chaos, hoodie guy and Lynn could be seen running toward the treasury. They also recognized the worsening situation and intended to flee. With decisive strikes, they killed the guards and broke into the room. Lynn plundered the nearby loot while hoodie guy weaved numerous hand signs.
"Do rie me, hu ginn faso aban su. Align the eight directions and release the ancient seal. Second layer open!"
He slammed his palm into the ground, causing the room to shift and reveal a hidden passage. They had been targeting this passage from the beginning, as it led to some of the royal family's most secretive treasures.
Unfortunately, the thief who had discovered this location had died in an unexpected accident, prolonging the time it took to crack the secret. They entered and came upon several degraded racks covered in dust. It was evident that no one had visited this place for a long time. They even doubted if the queen knew about this place at all, suspecting the king took this knowledge to the grave with him.
"Oh well, all the more for us." They shrugged and plundered the ancient artifacts within this room. After finishing, they pulled out their own teleportation items and made their getaway.
It was unclear how long the battle lasted, but dusk had fallen when the commotion finally subsided. Black smoke rose from the castle ruins, highlighting its collapsed structure. The dark fairy watched from a distant hill, sipping from a wine glass and swinging her legs.
*Sigh* "Mortals, always so rash and short-sighted. They believe what they want and reject what they can't comprehend. Both this kingdom and the girl. They reject each other, feeding this cycle of causality. She might think this coup was successful, but the dragon slayer will always become a worse tyrant. People's true colors always show when given immense power. It's only a matter of time. But that's what makes it so fun to destroy them. Will they finally wise up and show something new, or will they keep relying on external factors to maintain their peace?"
"I see you're still up to your usual activities," a voice sounded from behind.
Turning around, the dark fairy spotted ripples in the air, followed by the Tooth Fairy emerging from teleportation. "Hey sister," the dark fairy greeted. "We meet again."
"Yes, and right as I set up a stable supply chain. Couldn't you have waited until after I finished collecting my teeth before you destroyed this kingdom?"
"Sorry," the dark fairy apologized, sticking out her tongue. "Things just happened this way. You know I buried these landmines long ago and can't control them too precisely. Anyway, there are plenty of fish in the sea. You can always settle somewhere else."
"I know, but I'm about to break through to the next level. It's a crucial time for me."
"Really? That was fast," the dark fairy replied with surprise. "I thought it would take at least another decade."
"It would have, but a few people provided some valuable specimens. That greatly sped up my progress."
"I see. That’s a shame. It'll take you a while to build a shop with the same scale of customers. But at least the view here is great," the dark fairy said, admiring the newly kindled fire consuming the castle ruins.
*Sigh* 'There goes another one of my farms. A dynasty, destroyed just like that,' the Tooth Fairy inwardly sighed at her sister's antics, mourning the fall of yet another stable kingdom.
Meanwhile, Genji had removed his disguise and headed toward the rendezvous point under the guidance of his [Stalker Compass]. It was time to enter the endstage of this world and see what he could scavenge.