Chapter 154: A Kingdom Reborn
Arthur watched several Stone Guardians carefully place another massive stone block onto the wall. He tilted his head. "You know," he said, "if there were a few hundred more of you, I think the Kingdom could probably double in size before the end of the month."
Several Builders stopped hammering. "Double?"
Arthur nodded seriously. "Wouldn’t that be nice?"
One Builder slowly looked toward another. "He’s right," he said.
Another clenched his hammer. "We’re getting left behind," he said.
A third immediately pointed toward the unfinished street. "Then stop standing around! We’re rebuilding faster!"
The entire construction site suddenly became twice as busy. Stone blocks began moving. Runes were carved more quickly. Builders practically ran between projects.
Arthur blinked. "Looks like everyone suddenly got more motivated," he said.
Vedas quietly watched the Goblins working themselves into a frenzy. He simply smiled before letting out a small sigh. "As expected," he said.
Arthur tilted his head. "Hm?"
Vedas shook his head. "Nothing," he said.
Arthur picked up one of the newly forged swords and swung it once. "Not bad," he said.
The Builders immediately smiled.
Arthur looked back toward the forge. "Although," he said, "I think you could make it a little lighter. And probably sharper. Maybe a stronger handle too."
Silence.
One Builder slowly reached for the sword. "Give it back," he said.
Arthur blinked. "Hm?"
"We’re making another one," the Builder said.
Another Builder immediately rolled up his sleeves. "This one is only Version One," he said. "We can definitely do better."
Soon the entire Forge erupted into activity again.
Arthur smiled happily. "I knew you guys could improve it," he said.
One elderly Builder laughed. "Our Prophet already believes we can make something better. How can we disappoint him?"
Every Builder immediately nodded. "We can’t."
Arthur looked confused. "Was that really enough motivation?" he asked.
No one answered as they were already too busy redesigning the weapon. Vedas quietly watched, then smiled to himself.
Then they continued walking through the city which was slowly beginning to resemble how the city looked the first time they saw it.
And then they saw a group of Goblin Builders carefully repairing the stone roads, replacing every cracked slab with newly carved ones.
Another group worked on ordinary houses, arguing over which roofs looked better while several Stone Guardians quietly held entire walls in place until the mortar hardened.
One Builder folded his arms. "The window is crooked."
Another immediately frowned.
"It isn’t."
"It is."
"It isn’t."
Before either could argue further...
A nearby Goblin Statue slowly walked over.
It stared at the window for several seconds.
Then without saying a word it gently pushed the stone frame less than an inch to the left. The two Builders froze and the Statue slowly nodded once before walking away.
Silence.
Then one Builder scratched his head. "It was crooked."
The other sighed dramatically. "Let’s pretend that never happened."
Arthur burst into laughter. "I don’t think you’re ever winning against someone who’s been building this city for over a thousand years."
The Builders looked toward the departing Statue before immediately returning to work with renewed determination. "If the ancestors are watching... We can’t embarrass ourselves!"
Arthur smiled. ’They’re really treating this like a competition...’
...
The two continued walking and soon they heard children’s laughter echoing from one of the newly rebuilt buildings.
Arthur peeked through the doorway. Rows of little Goblins sat on neatly carved stone benches while an elderly Goblin stood at the front, writing symbols across a large stone board.
"Today we begin learning the history of both Dawn and Utopia."
Every child immediately straightened.
One little Goblin excitedly raised his hand.
"Teacher!"
"Will the Prophet really take us on adventures when we grow up?"
The elderly Goblin laughed. "Only if you work hard enough."
Another child quickly stood.
"I’ll become a Hunter!"
"I’ll become a Builder!"
"I’ll become a Mage!"
"I’ll become stronger than Gruk!"
The entire classroom erupted into excited voices.
Arthur quietly stepped away from the doorway while rubbing the back of his head. "Why am I suddenly getting dragged into this?"
Vedas couldn’t stop smiling. "Looks like they’re already dreaming."
Arthur looked back toward the classroom. "Good... They should dream even bigger."
...
Further ahead...
The city square had become another lively place.
Several Goblin children chased one another around a Stone Guardian.
The enormous construct remained perfectly still.
One little Goblin suddenly pointed upward.
"Again!"
The Stone Guardian carefully lowered one gigantic hand. The children climbed aboard without hesitation. Slowly the Guardian raised its hand high into the air and the children erupted into delighted laughter.
"Higher!"
"Again!"
Nearby...
Several Spectral Goblins quietly floated around a small playground. Whenever a child stumbled a transparent hand gently caught them before they could hit the ground.
One little Goblin blinked before looking upward."Thank you."
The Spectral Goblin simply nodded.
It never spoke.
Yet the child happily smiled before running off to play again.
Arthur watched the scene for several moments and then his eyes shifted toward another Spectral Goblin. It was silently helping a little Goblin hang colorful ribbons between two stone pillars. "You know..."
Arthur said thoughtfully. "I’ve been thinking."
Vedas looked over. "Hm?"
Arthur smiled. "For warriors who spent a thousand years protecting this city... They’re surprisingly good babysitters."
Silence.
Several nearby Goblins immediately covered their mouths. Even one Spectral Goblin paused and then to everyone’s surprise...
Its shoulders trembled slightly.
It wasn’t laughing but it looked incredibly close.
Vedas looked toward the ancient spirits before softly smiling. "Maybe... This is the peaceful future they always wanted to protect."
Arthur’s smile slowly softened. "Yeah. I think you’re right."
...
The final section of the wall still wasn’t complete. Arthur folded his arms while looking up at it. "It’s almost there," he said.
Several Builders proudly nodded.
Arthur continued. "I thought it’d be finished before lunch."
Silence. The Builders slowly looked at each other. "Before lunch?"
Arthur nodded. "I figured you all would’ve already started arguing about making it taller. Maybe thicker too."
The Builders stared. Then one suddenly shouted, "You heard him! We’re behind schedule!"
Another immediately answered, "Twice as thick!"
A third slammed his hammer onto the ground. "And taller! Nobody wants the Prophet thinking we stopped improving!"
The entire worksite erupted into motion. Stone Guardians immediately grabbed larger stone blocks. Goblin Mages rushed over carrying more rune tablets. Even the Goblin Statues silently joined in, adjusting walls that were already perfectly straight.
Arthur smiled. "See? I knew you all could do it," he said.
One Builder grinned while carrying an enormous stone on his shoulder. "Of course! We’re Builders of Utopia! We won’t lose to our Prophet’s expectations!"
Arthur blinked. "Lose?" He looked genuinely confused. "I wasn’t competing with anyone."
The nearby Goblins only laughed harder as they continued working.
Vedas watched the scene unfold before quietly rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Partner," he said.
Arthur looked over. "Hm?"
"You really are incredible," Vedas said.
Arthur smiled. "I know," he said.
Vedas chuckled softly. "I wasn’t talking about that," he said.
Arthur only tilted his head in confusion while the Builders worked even harder behind him.
The city was finished. Only one place remained. The Wall of Names.
The laughter gradually disappeared. Everyone naturally gathered there. Builders. Hunters. Children. Stone Guardians. Goblin Statues. Spectral Goblins. Silence filled the area. Only broken stone remained. Ash scattered across the ground.
Several older Goblins quietly lowered their heads.
Raku slowly knelt. "This was where every hero was remembered," he said.
Luka gently picked up a handful of ash. "Thousands of years," she said. "Gone."
Even the children became quiet.
Arthur didn’t interrupt. He simply let everyone remember.
Several long moments passed. Finally Raja quietly broke the silence. "What do we do with it?" he asked.
Nobody answered.
One Builder sighed. "We can rebuild the wall, but the names, they’re gone," he said.
Another slowly nodded. "Even if we carve a new monument, who will remember them?"
Silence returned.
Arthur suddenly smiled. "Then let’s make a new one," he said.
Everyone turned toward him.
Raku blinked. "A new one?"
Arthur nodded. "We aren’t rebuilding Dawn anymore." He slowly looked around the city. "We’re building Utopia. So let’s give Utopia its own Wall of Heroes."
Luka quietly shook her head. "But the names, we’ve already lost them," she said.
Before Arthur could answer a small voice spoke. "It’s alright," it said.
Everyone looked toward Athy. She calmly hopped forward. "I memorized them," she said.
Complete silence.
Luka trembled. "R-Really?"
Athy nodded. "When Arthur first brought us here, I read every single name," she said. "I’ve always been good at remembering things."
Athena smiled warmly. "She’s telling the truth," she said. "There have been countless times where I forgot something, only for Athy to repeat it word for word."
Mara blinked. "Every name?"
Athy nodded. "Every single one," she said.
Several elderly Goblins immediately covered their mouths. One quietly began crying. "They weren’t forgotten," he said.
Arthur slowly grinned. Then he clapped his hands together. "Well? What are you all waiting for?" He pointed toward the empty foundation. "The heroes have already waited a thousand years. I think making them wait another day would be rude."
Stone Guardians lifted massive slabs into place and Goblin Builders prepared their chisels to carve out the names.
One elderly Historian took a careful breath. "The first name?"
Athy closed her eyes and, without hesitation: "Guardian Khor."
The Goblin Builders immediately carved.
One little Goblin quietly tugged on Raku’s sleeve. "Why are they writing so many names?"
Raku smiled. "So no one is ever forgotten."
The child looked toward the wall. "T-Then... would my mom be remembered?"
"Depending on what she does in the future, yes."
"...Even me?"
"Of course, even you."
The little Goblin trembled before a faint smile appeared. "...I’ll remember too."
Raku gently patted his head. "I know you will."
"The second?!"
"Guardian Lora."
"The third?!"
"Guardian Esten."
She never paused or stumbled.
But then one Goblin Builder suddenly froze. "Wait!"
Everyone looked over as he quietly stepped aside.
One Stone Guardian slowly approached the wall. Its enormous hand reached toward a chisel. Silence spread and it carefully carved one line beneath the newest names. The movements were slow but it was respectful.
When it finished, the Guardian quietly stepped back and nobody spoke.
"I see, you guys want to also help?" Arthur asked with a faint smile.
The Stone Guardian slowly nodded.
"Then go ahead," Vedas said with a nod.
And then the names continued to be spoken by Athy, with the Goblin Builders and Stone Guardians carving the names. Every name came immediately, one after another, as the sound of chisels echoed through Dawn. Several elderly Goblins quietly began crying, having thought the names of their ancestors were lost forever.
Now Athy was bringing back hope.
Vedas quietly stepped forward. "Leave space."
Everyone looked over.
He smiled. "For those in the future."
Luka’s eyes widened. "A-Are you suggesting—"
"Yes, the wall shouldn’t only remember the past. We should remember everyone, especially those lost Goblins who fought with us during the siege and those who had died in the village after the beast’s attack." He closed his eyes.
Silence fell over the area.
Arthur slowly smiled. "I like that."
The Builders immediately nodded and several quietly moved farther down the wall. They continued expanding the slab while keeping in mind to make it even bigger.
A Goblin child suddenly raised his hand. "Can we help?"
The Builders laughed. "You?"
The child nodded seriously. "We can carry tools."
Another shouted, "I can bring water!"
"I can clean the stone!"
"I can hold the chisels!"
The Builders looked at each other and then one smiled. "...Alright. But don’t get in the way."
The children immediately cheered and they ran in every direction.
Several Builders laughed. "Future Builders."
Another quietly corrected him. "...Future Heroes."
Children hurried over carrying tools twice their size.
And then one little Goblin suddenly raised his hand. "Shouldn’t the Prophet be on it?"
Arthur immediately shook his head. "I’m still alive."
The child frowned. "...So?"
Arthur laughed. "I’d like to stay that way."
Everyone burst into laughter.
One young Historian looked toward Athy. "That’s... thousands of names."
Athy nodded. "Yes."
The Historian slowly swallowed.
"The Goblin Builders will be writing all day."
Arthur smiled. "Probably."
The Historian suddenly straightened. "Then we’ll help them the best way we can!"
Another Historian immediately nodded.
No one wanted to be the one responsible for delaying the heroes any longer. And soon, after twenty minutes, the first section was finished.
Only ten names.
But ten names were enough, and the ancient stone gleamed beneath the afternoon sunlight.
Guardian Khor.
Guardian Lora.
Guardian Esten.
Everyone could read the names, and it made the Goblins tremble in joy. Silence spread across the plaza before they all bowed.
And then got back to working.
The chisels echoed across Dawn. Children laughed while carrying tools. Builders argued over spacing. Historians checked every name twice. Stone Guardians silently watched over everyone.
Arthur smiled as more and more names continued to be added.