Chapter 125: Chapter 120: The Weight of a King’s Choice (Part 3)
A single pulse of golden light.
It lasted less than a heartbeat.
Yet everyone saw it.
The faint glow emerged from Asterion’s chest before vanishing beneath the sea of black corruption.
John’s eyes widened.
"He’s still alive..."
Caelis slowly nodded.
"Not only alive."
"He is resisting."
The False Heart remained motionless.
Its expression didn’t change.
But the darkness surrounding Asterion’s body rippled violently for an instant.
As if something inside was struggling against invisible chains.
---
The Soul Raven’s wings trembled.
"Asterion..."
For thousands of years, it had believed its oldest friend had willingly abandoned everything they once protected.
Now...
It understood.
He had never stopped fighting.
He had simply been fighting a battle no one else could see.
Alone.
For millennia.
The realization weighed heavily upon the ancient guardian.
"If I had remembered sooner..."
The Soul Raven lowered its head.
"Perhaps..."
Caelis interrupted gently.
"No."
The guardian looked toward him.
"You would’ve done exactly what you did."
"What?"
"You protected the World Tree."
"You protected the survivors."
"You fulfilled your duty."
Caelis’ silver eyes softened.
"Do not blame yourself for failing to notice a burden deliberately hidden from everyone."
The Soul Raven closed its eyes.
"...Even so."
"I was his friend."
"And friends should have seen through his smile."
No one spoke.
Because none of them had an answer.
---
John quietly watched the exchange.
He thought back to his previous life on Earth.
There had been times when people around him smiled...
Even though they were struggling inside.
How many had hidden their pain because they didn’t want to worry others?
How many had carried burdens alone?
Asterion had done the same.
The difference was...
His burden had lasted thousands of years.
John couldn’t even imagine such loneliness.
---
Lythriel stepped beside him.
"You look troubled."
John gave a small nod.
"I keep thinking..."
"What if I had been in his place?"
She looked toward Asterion.
"Would you have made the same choice?"
John remained silent.
Eventually...
"I don’t know."
It was the only honest answer.
Lythriel smiled faintly.
"Good."
John blinked.
"...Good?"
"If you’d answered immediately..."
"I would’ve worried."
She folded her arms.
"Questions like that shouldn’t have easy answers."
John let out a quiet breath.
"...You’re wiser than you act."
She grinned.
"Don’t tell anyone."
"It’ll ruin my reputation."
Despite everything surrounding them...
John chuckled.
---
Nearby...
Aerion had quietly sheathed his sword.
Sylvara noticed immediately.
"You’re putting your weapon away?"
"For now."
"What if it attacks?"
Aerion looked toward the False Heart.
"It won’t."
Everyone turned toward him.
He continued calmly.
"If it wanted us dead..."
"We already would be."
John considered those words.
He was right.
The difference in strength remained overwhelming.
Even with everyone working together...
None of them could confidently defeat Asterion in a direct confrontation.
The False Heart didn’t need tricks.
It simply...
Didn’t see them as immediate threats.
---
Caelis noticed John’s thoughtful expression.
"You’re learning."
John looked up.
"I’ve been wondering..."
"Why hasn’t it attacked?"
The old man smiled.
"Because it is calculating."
"Unlike wild corruption..."
"The False Heart values certainty."
"It has waited thousands of years."
"It can wait another few minutes."
John slowly nodded.
"So..."
"It’s observing us."
"Exactly."
"It wants information."
---
The False Heart suddenly spoke.
"You continue discussing me..."
"...as though I cannot hear."
Its tone remained strangely polite.
Aerion shrugged.
"You can."
"We’re not hiding it."
For the first time...
The being looked mildly puzzled.
"You possess remarkable confidence."
Aerion corrected him.
"No."
"I’m simply too old to waste time pretending."
Lythriel laughed.
"That’s definitely you."
Even Sylvara smiled.
John found himself relaxing despite the impossible situation.
These small conversations reminded him of something important.
Fear didn’t disappear because danger vanished.
Fear disappeared...
When people faced danger together.
---
The False Heart observed them in silence.
Then...
It asked a question.
"Why do you trust one another?"
Everyone blinked.
The question itself seemed so...
Ordinary.
Caelis smiled knowingly.
"There."
John looked toward him.
"It is trying to understand."
---
Aerion answered first.
"I trust them because they’ve fought beside me."
Lythriel nodded.
"They’ve saved my life."
Sylvara smiled softly.
"They’ve accepted me despite my mistakes."
The Soul Raven lowered its head.
"They chose to save me..."
"...when abandoning me would’ve been easier."
Finally...
Everyone looked toward John.
He thought carefully before answering.
"I trust them..."
"...because they choose to stay."
Silence followed.
John continued.
"They’re free to leave."
"They’re free to disagree with me."
"They’re free to walk their own paths."
"But every day..."
"They decide to remain."
His gaze moved from one companion to another.
"I don’t think trust is something you demand."
"It’s something people give."
The battlefield became completely silent.
---
The False Heart didn’t speak.
Its black eyes remained fixed on John.
Deep beneath the corruption...
A faint pulse of gold appeared once again.
This time...
It lasted slightly longer.
Caelis noticed immediately.
"So..."
"You heard him."
The old man wasn’t speaking to the False Heart.
He was speaking to Asterion.
---
Suddenly—
A strained voice echoed from within the darkness.
"...John..."
Everyone froze.
The voice was weak.
Hoarse.
Yet unmistakably Asterion’s.
The black corruption surged violently around his body.
The False Heart’s expression twisted.
For the first time...
Emotion appeared upon its face.
Annoyance.
The golden light struggled against the darkness.
Asterion’s voice came again.
"...Don’t..."
The corruption tightened.
His body trembled.
"Don’t..."
He clenched one hand against his chest.
"...fight..."
John instinctively stepped forward.
"What?"
Asterion raised his head with tremendous effort.
Golden cracks spread across one side of his face.
His right eye briefly returned.
Filled with pain.
"...The Heart..."
His breathing became ragged.
"...wants..."
"...you..."
Darkness exploded from his body.
The golden eye vanished again.
The False Heart regained control almost instantly.
It sighed.
"...How troublesome."
Its voice had become noticeably colder.
"I had hoped he would remain asleep."
John’s heart pounded.
Asterion had risked everything for just a few words.
Whatever he had been trying to say...
It was important.
Very important.
Caelis’ expression became grave.
"He isn’t warning us about himself."
John looked at the old man.
"What do you mean?"
Caelis slowly turned toward the massive roots beneath the World Tree.
His silver eyes narrowed.
"The False Heart..."
"...doesn’t want your life."
John felt a chill crawl down his spine.
"Then..."
"What does it want?"
The old man’s answer came in a whisper.
"It wants your blood."
The words struck the entire group like a bolt of lightning.
John instinctively looked down at his own claw.
His blood.
The blood of the Ancient Dragon Kings.
The same bloodline the World Tree had recognized.
The same bloodline the System had begun awakening.
Asterion hadn’t been trying to kill John.
The False Heart had been waiting.
Waiting for the last heir of the Dragon Kings to arrive...
So it could claim the one thing it had lacked for thousands of years.
A true Dragon King’s heart and blood.
---
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