Above the Spirit Realm.

Shiayar felt his consciousness drifting in the cracks between the Main Material Plane and the Dimensional Void, going with the flow.

In his mind, Shiayar replayed and savored everything that had happened in the past few hours. He felt a surge of pleasure.

Fighting is exhilarating. This must have been the biggest front I've ever put on since crossing over to this world. Single-handedly, I stood against an army of ten thousand. Afterwards, at the cost of my own life, I spread the will of Daybreak to every corner of the continent. Just as Captain Gol D. Roger sparked the great age of piracy with his dying words, "Go and find it! I've left all my treasure in that one place!" so too did I, Shiayar, usher in a new "Daybreak Era" for Escarnia with my final words.

Once the fires of rebellion are lit, they can never be extinguished. With the abilities of the Knight King, Vortigern's throne probably won't be warm for long... And the name of the new era's instigator—the Black Knight Cain—will grow ever greater with the prosperity and praise of the new age, eventually ascending to sainthood among the masses and all beings. The living can never defeat the dead. As long as Cain remains alive, there will always be outsiders questioning him, calling him a hypocrite and the like. In fact, even within the Knight King's rebel forces, there are plenty of voices questioning whether the Black Knight Cain, as the King's trusted advisor, is truly worthy of his position. But with this move of mine, from today on, all those voices of doubt will dissipate like smoke. I will use my own body as bait, drawing everyone in the world into my scheme. And then, I will become the purest and most virtuous—Caint.

Furthermore, my King, since ordinary efforts have failed to advance my position in your heart, then what about this move? Those who ascend to the Throne achieve perfect enlightenment; they are supreme and unrivaled. As you sit on high, wielding great authority, your word becoming the law of the land, the emotions of a mortal will grow ever fainter. Eventually, they will turn into cold reason, no longer easily swayed. So only by doing this could I ensure that such emotions are deeply ingrained in your heart forever.

Shiayar gave himself a mental pat on the back for his ingenuity.

What's that saying again? The most beautiful is always the unattainable. It's not because the person from the past was truly that perfect or irreplaceable... but because the memory of that unattainable love can always be frozen at its most beautiful moment. And then, with each passing day and night of longing and remembrance, it is beautified even more. Just like Prime Minister Cao's unattainable love, Chen Gong, the Black Knight Cain will also become the unattainable love in the Knight King's heart, forever beyond anyone else's reach. We never cherish what we have until it's gone, and only then do we regret. The unattainable is always alluring.

Shiayar's consciousness stirred slightly.

In the next moment, a deep blue screen silently appeared in his mind.

[Historical Legend Rank—Watcher]

[Rarity: Gold]

[Affiliated with: Shiayar Egutt]

[Territory: Escarnia]

[This is the radiant silhouette of the purest and most virtuous one, shining in the Darkness.]

[You once lit the spark of civilization and order on a long night devoid of starlight and moonlight.]

[And at the moment of farewell, you turned your back on all beings, letting go of the entire world.]

[Your true name is unknown, your deeds immortalized.]

[This is the medal awarded to the Watcher of civilization.]

...

Looking at the title that emitted a faint golden glow, Shiayar couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.

It's finally done. If even going to these lengths wasn't enough to raise my Historical Legend Rank to gold... then I truly wouldn't know what else I could do. What more can one do when dead, after all?

Next, it's time to take the Daybreak Organization underground, waiting for the Empire to be established and for the time to be truly ripe. Then, I'll let the dead Cain return from Hell in the new guise of the Demon King, to appear once more before the Knight King and all the people. The boy who slays Dragons will eventually become a Dragon—and then, I will let this world feel the pain! Simply perfect!

Shiayar felt the smile on his lips widen, almost uncontrollably.

Such delight. Truly delightful. But that's for after the Despicable King is overthrown and the Fresta Empire is established. At least for the short term, the Cain persona must be put aside, to give the world enough time to mourn.

Shiayar stretched languidly within the Spirit Realm, feeling somewhat tired.

Although he didn't know why, he had been cursed with Undying. Yet the pain of injury was still very real. In that moment when the Sacred Spear was completely unleashed and fell from the heavens to earth, he genuinely experienced the process of his entire body, all his flesh and every particle, turning to Ashes.

That was... all I can say is, exquisitely painful.

If it weren't for Shiayar's continuous focus on strengthening his spiritual power, making his will uncommonly tenacious, the agony of being turned to Ashes would probably have knocked many a Beastmaster unconscious. Moreover, unleashing the Heaven Sentinel's Sword of Damocles took a massive toll on him. Jayee's artificial intelligence could only play a supportive role, as Shiayar had to be personally involved in most of the calculations. The extraordinarily complex calculations for the kinetic orbital weapon's descent trajectory also kept Shiayar's spiritual power in a constant state of Overload, leaving it utterly depleted.