Chapter 144: The White World
Arthur slowly opened his eyes. Everything was silent. No explosions. No screams. No monsters. Just white.
He blinked several times. "Did I die?" he muttered.
Immediately, notifications began appearing.
[Title Obtained!]
[The One Entrusted By Dawn]
[Given to one who earned the complete trust of an Ancient Kingdom and became the hope of its people.]
[Effect: Greatly increases the willingness of intelligent beings to place their trust in you. Your commands, promises, and leadership naturally carry greater weight. The stronger the existing bond, the stronger this effect becomes.]
Arthur scratched his cheek. "That sounds useful," he said.
[Title Obtained!]
[The Fool Who Challenged Heaven]
[Given to one who provoked an existence far beyond their own realm and lived to tell the tale.] [Effect: Greatly strengthens mental resistance against fear, intimidation, killing intent, and pressure from beings of a higher rank. The greater the difference in strength, the stronger your resistance becomes.]
Arthur stared. "Seriously?" he said. Out of everything, that’s what he got remembered for.
[Title Obtained!]
[Defender of Dawn]
[Given to one who successfully protected an Ancient Kingdom against overwhelming odds.] [Effect: While defending a city, fortress, territory, or allied settlement, all of your abilities receive a moderate increase, and nearby allies recover stamina and morale more quickly.]
"That would have been pretty useful before the Siege," Arthur sighed. "If all of us could have gotten a title like this, wouldn’t we have been able to push back the siege faster?"
But then again, maybe it wouldn’t have allowed Kong or Athy to evolve, since this invasion had pushed them beyond their limits.
Another title appeared.
[Title Obtained]
[Heaven’s Irritation]
[Given to one whose actions have attracted the attention of an existence beyond Gold Rank, and somehow survived their Judgment.]
[Effect: Once activated, greatly enhances perception of danger, allowing the user to instinctively recognize fatal attacks, hidden hostility, and abnormalities. The stronger the threat, the clearer the warning becomes.]
Then, ding.
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
Again and Again.
[Goblin King]
[Level 1 → Level 6]
Arthur chuckled. "Not bad," he said.
But still, he would not find it funny that a Beast Tamer had to always start over from level 1 every evolution. Naturally, no Beast Tamer would be unhappy since the overall beast strength increased.
Whether it’s their potential, skills, or bloodline.
But it is still amusing to see.
Arthur finally noticed everyone was asleep, golden cocoons surrounding every person, exactly like Vedas had been before his evolution.
Arthur immediately walked over. "Sun?" No response, and so he tried knocking it, but nothing. "Still sleeping," he said.
He walked toward Kong. "You’re probably dreaming about food," he said. Kong snored. Arthur laughed. "Called it," he said.
He walked toward Mithra. "At least she’s finally getting some rest," he said, and he glanced toward Leon. "You somehow look serious even while sleeping," he said.
Then he walked toward Vedas.
But Arthur paused and noticed his cocoon shining brighter than the rest. "Still changing?" he murmured.
Then he looked at Eden and saw her smiling in her sleep.
Arthur smiled too. "Guess you’re having a good dream," he said. He gently tapped the cocoon, and golden ripples spread.
Nothing else happened.
He pushed one, but it didn’t move.
"Right," he said. "Rule number one. Don’t mess with mysterious magical cocoons." He nodded seriously. "Seems like a good rule."
Arthur left the throne room and immediately stopped.
"Whoa," he said.
Everything had turned white, roads and buildings and trees and walls and even the palace itself drained of color, and only the Sanctuary overhead still burned golden against it.
Arthur walked slowly through Dawn and noticed nothing had actually been repaired, the damage simply frozen in place as though time itself had stopped along with everything else.
He reached the farming district first, where the greenhouses stood shattered, glass scattered everywhere and the ancient irrigation channels torn apart beneath them.
He whistled. "Those Fire Lizards really hated vegetables," he said. He crouched and picked up ancient soil. "Still fertile," he said, nodding. "Good. Otherwise rebuilding would’ve been a nightmare."
Arthur noticed an old farming tool lying half buried beneath the rubble and picked it up. "...You’re coming with me." He turned it over once, then twice. "...I have absolutely no idea what this does."
He squinted at it. "Maybe it’s for digging?" He held it another way. "...Or maybe I’ve been holding it upside down this entire time." Arthur quickly placed it back exactly where he found it. "...Let’s pretend nobody saw that."
Arthur looked back at the shattered greenhouse. "We should make this bigger." He paused. "Actually... Why stop at one? If every district had one, the city could feed even more people."
He scratched his chin. "...And if we figure out whatever irrigation system they were using..." Arthur’s eyes slowly lit up. "Athena is going to love this place."
He smiled as he continued walking away and felt that they really could rebuild this place.
Next, the great forge district. Destroyed.
Arthur walked slowly through the collapsed furnaces and broken anvils, golden molds scattered everywhere around him.
"Halburn," he said, looking upward. "Your journal better have instructions." He imagined dozens of Goblin Builders crying. "Because if not, they’re going to spend the next twenty years cursing Fire Lizards." He scratched his head. "Actually, they’ll probably blame Crystal Serpents too."
Arthur wandered between the shattered furnaces and stopped in front of one nearly twice his height.
He knocked on the metal.
Dong.
"...Still solid." He looked around the workshop, imagining the argument that must have happened here once.
"Move it left."
"No, it’ll block the airflow."
"The King said over there."
"The King isn’t a Builder."
He laughed to himself. "Yeah... Builders probably haven’t changed in thousands of years."
Arthur slowly walked deeper and saw that one furnace had completely melted.
Another had collapsed.
Yet another still held half-finished golden armor.
He crouched. "They were making this..." He gently brushed the dust away. "...Let’s finish it."
Arthur then continued walking until he reached the forge filled with weapons next. He saw broken racks, ancient spearheads, and scattered armor pieces filling the room. He quietly picked up one broken golden spear.
"Even broken," he said, "it’s still better than most equipment." He sighed. "We definitely need to learn how these were made."
Arthur walked farther inside and found several broken training weapons scattered across the floor. He picked one up and gave it a careful swing.
"...Balanced."
He grabbed another. "...Too heavy."
A third. "...Definitely ceremonial."
Then he picked up a fourth, and the moment he lifted it, his shoulder sank.
"...Okay. This one was definitely not made for me." He put it back carefully. "...Good thing nobody’s awake to see that."
Arthur reached one enormous crater and looked down.
"This is where one climbed out," he said.
He jumped inside, and the underground chamber was still intact around him, ancient mechanisms and tracks and massive gears buried among the stone fragments scattered across the floor.
He knelt, running his hand across them. "How did Halburn even build something like this?" He smiled. "No. How did he convince someone to build dozens?"
Arthur reached another building next, where broken walls led into a secret chamber.
Empty.
"The Statues came from here," he said. He walked around, examining everything. "They don’t look like Golems," he said. "They don’t look alive either." The more he studied them, the more curious he became. "I seriously need Halburn’s notes," he said.
Arthur walked over to one unfinished Stone Guardian resting against the wall and poked its arm. Still nothing, and he crouched beneath it and started studying the glowing runes carved into its body. "So... where’s the part that makes you move?"
He traced one of the symbols with a finger. "...I understand absolutely none of this." Arthur sighed dramatically. "I really need Athena." He looked back at the statue. "...Or whoever built you. For someone made of rocks... you’re surprisingly complicated."
Arthur quietly reached the ruined King’s Temple and looked around. "This is where the Spectral Goblins appeared," he said.
He knelt, touching the floor. "Thank you," he said.
He didn’t know who heard it.
Maybe nobody, but still, he said it anyway.
For a long moment he simply stayed there. "I saw what you guys were doing. I promise this new kingdom will be better than ever."
Silence answered him. Yet somehow the room felt warmer than before.
Arthur slowly walked on, revisiting every battlefield.
The crater Kong created. "He’s absolutely going to brag," he said.
Arthur climbed down into the enormous crater Kong had punched into the ground and slowly turned in a full circle. "...Yeah. Kong is never letting this go." He could already picture it: Kong standing proudly beside the crater, pointing at it, then pointing at himself, then back at the crater, over and over again.
He chuckled in amusement. "...I’m going to have to pretend to be surprised every single time."
And then he reached the place where he and Leon fought the thunderbirds. He climbed back onto the rooftop where the Hunters had launched him and carefully looked down. "...That’s really high." He leaned over the edge again. "...Seriously high."
And then he glanced around to see all the other locations.
Every location brought back memories.
Arthur looked beyond the broken wall, and the battlefield had finally gone quiet, weapons and towers and countless Beast corpses scattered across mountains reduced to rubble.
He turned around. Behind him, the city still stood.
Damaged. Broken. Scarred. But standing.
Children would laugh here again. Builders would complain again. Hunters would boast again. Life would continue.
Arthur smiled. "...We really did it." He closed his eyes for a moment. "...Nice work, everyone."
As he turned to leave, something caught his eye between two cracked stones, a single white flower that had somehow bloomed there.
He crouched beside it. "...Huh."
After Judgment.
After the siege.
After everything.
Something still found a way to grow in this strange place. Arthur brushed one finger gently across its petals, and a small smile crossed his face. "...Yeah. That feels about right."
He stood back up. "Let’s go."
Footsteps echoed quietly behind him.
Slow. Calm. Unhurried.
Arthur smiled before he even turned around. "I didn’t think you would show up."
A familiar laugh answered him, and Halburn walked to his side, hands resting behind his back as he looked out across the silent kingdom.
Arthur didn’t speak, and neither did Halburn.
They simply looked.
Broken walls.
Collapsed homes.
Shattered towers.
Then at the white flower.
Halburn smiled. "It bloomed."
Arthur looked over. "...You knew it would?"
Halburn quietly nodded. "It always does."
Only then did he look toward Arthur. "So, I’m guessing... you have questions."