Chapter : 69

The vast palace was empty. A blond man in a plain white robe knelt before the throne. His hands were folded on his knees, his back was straight, and his long, curled eyelashes were tightly closed. His long hair was loose, with a few strands covering half of his face, hiding all his emotions.

"Still staying here?" A man who had appeared at the palace gate at some point had his arms crossed, leaning against the door frame, and said to the person kneeling below the throne.

He had fiery red short hair, which seemed to sway like a ball of fire between his strands as he walked. It complemented his flamboyant and sharp features, like a drawn sword that could pierce you if you weren't careful.

The man kneeling above didn't open his eyes, just slightly turned his head, "What is it?"

"Nothing, I just happened to pass by and saw that the door was not closed. I came in to see which fool did this. As expected, it's you again."

The red-haired man's face was expressionless, "How many years have you been sitting here? Still waiting for that person? He has long abandoned us. I advise you to give up as soon as possible. This is meaningless, Silf."

Silf was not hurt by his words. He just said in a calm tone, "If waiting is meaningless, why are you and Theodore searching for him all over the world? Divik."

Divik clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Silf looked up and finally deigned to open his beautiful eyes. His gaze fell虛無地on the throne, as if recalling the expression of that person who once sat on the throne and looked down on everyone.

"Counting, it has only been a hundred years since the King's departure, but I feel as if I have been waiting for a very, very long time."

Silf's voice was still calm and emotionless, as if he was still the same Elf King who could not be affected by anything.

"So long that I feel like I'm about to forget the King's appearance... But if I recall carefully, the King's face is still clearly imprinted in my memory."

"..."

Divik turned his face away and fell silent.

A hundred years had passed since the disappearance of the Eternal Lord, and they, his retainers, had still not given up on finding him.

Everyone firmly believed that the Eternal Lord's departure was only temporary, and that he would eventually return.

"How long are you going to wait?"

"I made a pact with the King. If he could protect the elven race in this chaotic world, I would never betray him... Now that the King has not violated his past promise, I will wait forever."

Silf said, then he looked back at the once free and unrestrained dragon prince, "Speaking of which, your hair seems to have faded a lot. Did you run into trouble when you went out this time?"

Divik was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, "How is that possible?!"

Silf sighed and waved his hand. A healing spell landed on Divik's body, "I smelled the blood on you before you even came in."

Divik glared fiercely at Silf, who had exposed him, and cursed, "Are you a dog's nose? Even Boros's nose isn't as sensitive as yours."

Silf: ...

Silf averted his gaze and ignored Divik's irritability, "Be more careful next time you go out. I might be returning to the forest for a while and won't be able to heal you in time."

Divik was stunned, "...You're going back? Didn't you say you were going to wait here forever?"

Silf looked at the top of the palace. The glazed dome shone with colorful light under the sun, making the palace look even more magnificent. Once upon a time, this place was so lively, but now it was as deserted as a cage.

Did the King choose to leave for this reason too?

Silf did not know.

"The Eternal Lord has been gone for too long, and the world is gradually becoming chaotic. I need to go back to the forest to make some arrangements..."

Silf paused, "And by the way, choose the next Elf King."

"You?!" Divik was startled and took two quick steps forward, his eyes locked on Silf, "What do you mean? Are you going to die?"

Silf was the first elf to be born in the world. He had watched countless elves be born from the Mother Tree, and had seen countless elves die and return to the Mother Tree's embrace. He naturally became the king of the elven race.

The Elven Mother Tree was equivalent to his companion tree. As long as the Elven Mother Tree did not die, Silf would not die either.

But Silf was going to choose the next king. Could it be that something had happened to the Elven Mother Tree?

Silf said helplessly, "No, don't overthink it."

"I just have a premonition... I might not be able to take care of the elven race in the future. If that's the case, it's better to choose another Elf King to protect them."

Divik also fell silent upon hearing this.

The world was indeed about to become chaotic. As long as the Eternal Lord did not return for a day, the other races would be leaderless for a day. For now, they could still rely on Theodore and him to suppress those who were gradually developing dissent. But if it dragged on any longer, he and Theodore might not be able to continue suppressing them.

"I understand."

The palace returned to silence, and Divik also left.

Silf closed his eyes again, quietly listening to his own breathing, one breath after another, long and lonely.

So quiet.

The Eternal Hall without the King was quieter than the forest.

***

The Forest.

"King, have you made your decision?" The first few elves to be born had now become the elders of the elven race. He looked at Silf with concern.

Silf looked at the Elven Mother Tree, which was still lush with leaves. He stretched out his hand and gently stroked the traces left by the years on the Mother Tree, as if he could still remember every elf born from the Mother Tree in retrospect.

"I must do this." Silf said, "In the High Priest's prophecy, only by doing this can the elven race have a glimmer of hope for survival."

The Eternal Lord had been gone for five hundred years, and the world had finally fallen into chaos. The Eternal Tower was about to collapse, and no matter what he did, he could not avert the tragedy.

The flames of war were about to spread. Could there be a second Eternal Lord who could turn the tide now?

No... there wouldn't be.

There would only be one master he submitted to.

"I will store my memories in the crown and entrust it to the next Elf King for safekeeping." Silf said, "After that, let every batch of newly born elves undergo a baptism."

When every elf died, what they were once good at and knew would turn into memory fragments and return to the Mother Tree along with their lost souls, to be brought out by the next reincarnated elf.

This was the memory inheritance of the elves, but the memories inherited in this way were not complete, and it was unknown which past elf they came from.

Silf stored his own memories in the crown, so that everything he was good at and everything he knew would become the newborn elves' initial understanding of this world.

The turbulent era that was about to come no longer allowed newborn elves to get to know the world on their own and form naive and romantic personalities.

This was the elven race's self-rescue.

And Silf, who alone retained the memories of the King, would return to the Elven Mother Tree and offer all his power to the Mother Tree, so that the Mother Tree would have sufficient energy to bless the elven race through the next turbulent millennium.

Five hundred years of waiting was really too, too long.

He could no longer bear this endless silence. He had finally made a choice.

Silf would slumber in the tree, waiting for his master to descend upon the world once more, and at that time, he would—

Be reborn on the branches of the tree.

Volume Three: The Underground Kingdom of Mandiper