Chapter 317 315-So That’s How the Story Goes
Ethan turned around, confronting several snarling little faces.
"Brats," Ethan said dismissively, "scram. I've got no time for your antics right now."
This incensed the group, who rolled up their sleeves to reveal arms with a hint of muscle.
"What did you say? Dare to follow me to the restroom?" the ringleader boy growled, like a little lion in a fury.
Without a word, Ethan slipped into the bathroom.
The group followed him in.
Seconds later, Ethan emerged from the restroom.
He nonchalantly shook the water from his hands, humming a tune as he entered the classroom.
When class time arrived, those boys came back with gloomy faces.
Their clothes were damp, a faint, lingering smell of urine around them.
The leader, eyes red and swollen, said to Professor Goodrian:
"Professor, I'd like to go home. I've got all wet."
Professor Goodrian, well-versed in magic, noticed the water stains and the urine that couldn't be scrubbed clean, and frowned:
"Best head back now; don't catch a cold."
There were always students who knew what had transpired.
The tale of the boys being shoved into the urinals spread like wildfire.
Eventually, everyone knew.
Laughter erupted among the crowd, and the boys, even more embarrassed, ran off as fast as they could, like rabbits fleeing from a wolf.
Lana Mokos slipped Ethan a note: "Aren't you scared of them?"
"What's there to be scared of? It's not like they can eat me, right?"
"True, you are the duke's son after all."
The days that followed were unremarkable. Ethan attended classes regularly, engaging in occasional discussions about Illusions with Lana Mokos.
Yet Lana did not grasp Ethan's point, as if willingly ensnared within the Illusion.
Impatience was growing within Ethan; he had been in this milieu for nearly a month.
He had almost memorized every corner of Goot City without finding the key to breaking out.
Why did Lana Mokos's Illusion exist?
Ethan fell into profound contemplation.
His Illusion stemmed from his yearning to become a deity.
But having encountered numerous deities, especially Phito and that enigmatic Sword God.
The power of deities had greatly influenced him.
He both desired and feared to become a deity.
Hence the scene within the Illusion emerged: a sky filled with deities was Ethan's trial.
Should Ethan kneel, he could be absorbed by the deities within the dreamscape, achieving godhood therein.
If Ethan refused to kneel, he would shatter the demon of fear for deities within him, break free from the Illusion, and regain his liberty.
But what was Lana Mokos's inner demon, her fear?
At last, Ethan glimpsed a clue.
Perhaps Lana Mokos's demon was her brother, Sheridan Mokos.
This inkling came to light through Lana Mokos's own unwitting revelation.
During these past months, Ethan had even visited Lana Mokos's palace.
Lana Mokos displayed a lukewarm demeanor towards everyone around her.
But towards her own brother, Sheridan Mokos, she exhibited an almost sycophantic attitude.
At first, Ethan thought this was normal, since Sheridan was her elder brother.
As children, what sister hadn't played the role of her brother's minion?
However, connecting this to the grown Lana Mokos, Ethan sensed something was amiss.
Sheridan Mokos seemed to vanish from Lana Mokos's world.
Even as Lana Mokos surfaced in the remote Flame City, amidst various dangers,
Sheridan Mokos never appeared, never exhibited the desire to protect her.
Lana Mokos never even mentioned him.
Could it be Sheridan Mokos was dead? Was this Lana Mokos's lifelong demon?
Thus, Ethan had been monitoring Sheridan Mokos.
At last, Ethan caught hold of a vulnerability in Sheridan.
Fourteen-year-old Sheridan Mokos was mature to a frightening degree.
His expression was perpetually somber, his every action measured, as if he were the heir to the kingdom.
The king was highly pleased with Sheridan Mokos.
Sheridan was intelligent, rational—truly the ideal imperial successor.
Regrettably, Sheridan possessed no magical talent, and even the path of the warrior proved exceedingly arduous for him.
Moreover, Sheridan's constitution was weak, plagued by a congenital illness.
This was a point of contention among many imperial counselors.
While the kingdom's ruler need not possess towering divine power, how could one who appeared perpetually infirm command respect?
At this juncture, the king's third son began to garner the counselors' esteem.
The third prince, just as smart, kind, and affable as Sheridan,
What was most crucial was that the third prince had exceptional talent, poised to become the empire's mainstay.
Thus, within the royal family, the inevitable drama of imperial power struggle commenced its performance.
Ethan kept a watchful eye on Sheridan Mokos and witnessed something that made his skin crawl.
Sheridan Mokos was conspiring with court ministers to assassinate the third prince.
Upon learning this, Ethan was first shocked at Sheridan Mokos's ruthlessness—to conspire against his own flesh and blood.
Secondly, he saw a solution to freeing Lana Mokos from her Illusion.
The night of the full moon was the appointed time, at Goot City on Rearflower Street.
The day before the full moon night.
Ethan intercepted Lana, who was about to leave, and feigned shyness as he said:
"Princess Lana, I would like to invite you to Rearflower Street for a stroll, would you join me?"
As expected, upon hearing the words "Rearflower Street," a flicker of alarm sparked in Lana's pupils.
The sky abruptly filled with flashing lightning and the rumble of thunder, as if a tempest was about to unleash.
Lana Mokos instinctively shook her head: "No... I won't go."
Ethan was now certain; Lana Mokos must have witnessed Sheridan Mokos plotting to kill the third prince, that scene becoming her lifelong nightmare.
Her own brother, willing to turn on his sibling—then who might be next?
This was also why Lana Mokos was almost sycophantically warm towards Sheridan Mokos.
She was just trying to present herself as harmless.
She wanted to convey a message to Sheridan Mokos, "Brother, don't kill me. I'll be good."
The struggle was evident in Lana Mokos' eyes, yet at present she was unaware of what would transpire on Rearflower Street; her resistance was a mere reflex of the subconscious.
Ethan upped the ante, his expression one of anguished pain as he said:
"Tomorrow is actually the anniversary of my mother's death; she died on Rearflower Street. She was a pitiful soul, conceiving me after whatever happened between her and my father."
"She intended to shoulder the burden of raising me alone, but then she fell gravely ill and passed away... I didn't even get to see her before she died."
"Princess Lana, you're my best friend. I was hoping you could accompany me..."
At this point, Ethan Mokos was choked with sobs.
Lana Mokos, visibly moved and without a moment's hesitation, replied: "Ethan, I will go with you tomorrow."
Ethan sniffled twice, and with deep emotion said, "Thank you, Princess Lana."
Watching Lana Mokos' retreating figure, the tear stains on Ethan's face instantaneously vanished.
His expression turned somber; presenting Lana Mokos with her inner demon was utterly cruel.
Cruel to a point that even Ethan barely dared to imagine.
The rain poured for two days and nights.
The tumultuous sound of the downpour hammering on the cobblestones was unusually chaotic and noisy.
The entirety of Goot City was shrouded in mist, the darkened skies casting a mysterious hue over the city from above.
On the night of the full moon, Ethan and Lana Mokos walked side by side down the street.
Lana Mokos was silent the entire way, not even noticing that Ethan held nothing in his hands.
Ethan was not at all in the demeanor of one who was going to pay tribute to his mother.
By now, Lana Mokos must have been caught up in her own internal struggle, battling with her conscience.
Just as kneeling or not kneeling was a tangible expression for Ethan in his escape from illusion, the real situation was likely as with Lana Mokos, walking as though she were a living corpse.
Lana Mokos took the lead, stopping at the entrance of an alleyway.
A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.
The ghastly flash illuminated the entire alley entrance.
The scene inside flickered by in an instant.
Though it lasted but a brief second, Ethan saw it all too clearly.
Sheridan Mokos held a dagger, without hesitation, he plunged it into the chest of the third prince.
The prince, not yet come into his own, was taken by surprise, utterly unable to resist.
His expression was one of sheer despair and shock.
The scene, like a frozen frame from a horror film, was startling and ice-cold.
Lana Mokos stood motionless, her face expressionless as she watched the entirety of Sheridan Mokos' murderous act.
Ethan knew, Lana Mokos had come to her senses.
He discreetly vanished from sight, no longer prying into any of Lana Mokos' actions.
It wasn't long before the entire world began to crumble.
Once again, Ethan felt that sensation of sinking endlessly into an abyss.
Then, in the next moment, he awoke with a start.
He was back in Dream Garden Town, a place filled with rainbow bubbles.
Lana Mokos was still somewhat disoriented as Ethan scooped her up in a princess carry.
"What... what happened to me?" Lana Mokos asked, her voice filled with confusion as she looked into Ethan's face.
Thinking of Lana Mokos's adorable childhood self, Ethan felt a surge of pity, "It's nothing, just think of it as a bad dream."
Lana Mokos snapped to full alertness, exclaiming in surprise: "Was it you sitting next to me when I was young?"
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