Lynn was acutely aware that this was not a fantasy, but a scene meant to appear in the finale, now so vividly real before his eyes.
Lynn murmured to himself, his voice hollow beyond measure.
He recalled all he had done to alter the world line, those struggles he thought were insightful, those efforts made with all his might, creating miracle after miracle, only to find that before the mighty hands of the World Will, he was merely an ant trying to shake a tree.
He had thought himself a breaker of the cycle, yet turned out to be nothing but a puppet in fate’s script, even his rebellion written in advance.
Ironic, utterly ironic.
Lynn stood there dumbfounded, staring at the still-flowing pool of blood, the light in his pupils gradually dimming, leaving behind a void colder than the ruins of the Pantheon.
Soon, Lynn’s vision suddenly turned black, and he fell into unconsciousness.
When he awoke again, he found himself standing beside Ivyst’s bed.
Slowly turning his head, Lynn looked at Ivyst lying in bed, still in a deep sleep, as pale as a thin sheet of paper.
Witnessing this, a wave of despair surged in Lynn’s eyes, especially when recalling everything he had just gone through in the Pantheon, a deep-rooted helplessness, as if nothing he did could stop this destined tragedy.
He reached out, wanting to gently touch her cheek as he had before, but his fingertip halted in midair, trembling slightly, filled with an indescribable fear and unwillingness.
But in the next instant, the despair in his eyes abruptly faded, replaced by a near-mad resolve.
Meanwhile, in the private manor of the Great Imperial Princess Hillena, she sat upright in her room, holding the decree of Saint Laurent VI brought by a maid.
"What a good father indeed."
Hillena’s voice betrayed no emotion as her gaze remained on the open map of the mausoleum, the outline of the Helius Mausoleum circled three times in red pen, surrounded by densely packed question marks.
This was the third decree urging her to visit the Helius Mausoleum in five days.
And this time it was an absolute order, commanding her to completely explore the Helius Mausoleum and decipher its mysterious rules by the end of the month.
"That person is completely unreachable, vanished without a trace."
Hillena appeared quite agitated.
How could she not know that the Helius Mausoleum was a complete trap?
Just over half a month ago, some of her Grave Digger teams had entered it for the eighteenth time, with thirty-six lost inside, and seventy returning to the surface exhibiting varying degrees of body distortion, even showing symptoms of what was called "Shell Syndrome." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel[f]ire.net
These people seemed to have their spirits and consciousness stripped from their bodies, leaving behind mere husks like walking corpses.
For this, Hillena spent a large sum on settling these people.
Ivyst had also been interested in the Helius Mausoleum, but now with her in a complete coma, Hillena had to go alone.
"The owner of this mausoleum was of a Rank higher than a Seventh Rank Saint, otherwise how could he still affect reality so terrifyingly after such a long passage of time."
Hillena felt a severe headache, completely unsure of herself, doubting she could come out of the mausoleum alive.
Yet, she was also irresistibly intrigued by the Helius Mausoleum.
After all, it seemed to contain some sort of Authority, though whether it was complete, she had no idea.
After contemplating for a long time, she gradually stood up and looked out the window.
The dusk dyed the sky in the colors of charred crimson; her fingertips tapped lightly on the window sill, the rhythm growing faster.
Honestly, she wanted to complete this task quickly to enhance her King’s election rating, entirely surpassing the Second Prince Felit.
But the problem was, all her skilled personnel, even the Grave Digger teams, suffered severe losses before the Helius Mausoleum, causing her great heartache, daring not to risk her remaining forces.
On sleepless nights, she even pondered conspiracies, wondering if this place was a trap laid by Saint Laurent VI to weaken her forces, given his actions toward Ivyst, it was highly possible.
Yet the more this happened, the more determined Hillena became, unwilling to lose here.
Hence, a predicament arose.
The one most likely to rescue her from this trap, Lynn, was missing, even after sending people multiple times with no contact, leaving Hillena feeling deceived once again by that kid.
The only solace she found was that during this time, her interactions with Hero Xiya made her increasingly captivated by this subordinate bold enough to propose to her.
Aside from usual work relations, they often went out walking or dating privately.
For instance, strolling under the manor’s shade or discussing the Helius Mausoleum affairs late at night in the study.
Still, Hillena maintained her Imperial Princess dignity, keeping their relationship at a delicate level, only reaching physical contact, them barely holding hands.
This moderately annoyed Xiya, though he did not outwardly show it.
The only disappointment Hillena felt was Xiya’s lack of assistance regarding Saint Laurent VI’s demand for her to completely explore the Helius Mausoleum and decipher its mysterious rules this month.
"Men indeed aren’t reliable at all."
The image of Lynn flashed through her mind, a trace of anger showing on Hillena’s face as she returned to the desk and meticulously reviewed the Helius Mausoleum’s information.
As Hillena was engrossed in the mausoleum map, pondering how to break through, the maid’s soft footsteps sounded again, noticeably quicker, hinting at something urgent.