webnovelvip Chapter 25 Having Both
Chapter 25 Having Both
At daybreak, Arthur went to find Morgan.
The tower's magic circle sensed his arrival, and the door opened automatically before he could touch it.
Morgan was sitting at a black stone table, with a roll of parchment covered in magical patterns spread out in front of him.
She looked up, her icy blue eyes sweeping across his face, then put down the quill pen.
You look terrible.
Arthur sat down opposite her and recounted the scenes from his dream.
A shattered sword, an extinguished sapphire, a wasteland swallowed by darkness.
He spoke calmly, as if he were narrating something unrelated to himself, but the knuckles of his right hand, which was resting on the table, were slightly white.
Morgan didn't speak immediately after hearing this. She stood up, walked up to him, and extended her hand.
Give me the sword.
Arthur pulled the sword from the stone and handed it to her. Morgan grasped the hilt and closed her eyes.
Her magic seeped into the sword, not through forceful probing, but through an extremely gentle touch, like caressing fragile glass.
Ice-blue magical patterns spread from her fingertips to the entire sword, causing the sapphire in the sword to shimmer, as if responding to her inquiry.
After a long time, she opened her eyes.
"The sword is fine now. The structure of the blade is intact, the magic channels are clear, and there are no signs of damage."
She returned the sword in the stone to Arthur:
"But what you see is not an illusion. The trajectory of the stars shows you 'possibility,' a future that is destined to happen if left unchecked."
Arthur gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.
Why did it break?
"Because it's incompatible with your power."
Morgan sat back down at the stone table, his long, slender fingers tracing the magical patterns on the parchment:
"The power of the Sword of Kings originates from 'acknowledgment,' acknowledging your right to be king."
But the "god-killing" principle you learned from Scáthach is "transcendence," transcending the realm of kings and moving towards the domain of slaying gods and destiny.
This sword has chosen you, but you are exceeding its limits. It's not that it's not strong enough; it's that you are too strong.
She paused, a rare seriousness appearing in her icy blue eyes.
"It will break sooner or later."
Arthur looked down at the sword in the stone in his hand. The sapphire still shone quietly, and the temperature of the hilt was as familiar as the lines on his palm.
He recalled the day he drew the sword, when he was fifteen, in the forest, on the stone platform, the sword having waited for a thousand years in the morning light.
It chose him, even when he himself didn't believe he could become king.
It wasn't a weapon; it was his starting point.
"Is there any way to stop it?" he asked.
Morgan did not answer immediately; she stood up and walked to the window.
The tower window faced the walls of Camelot, and the morning light tinged her long, silvery-white hair with a faint golden hue.
"There is only one way: find a sword that won't break to replace it."
The Sword in the Stone is the sword of kings, but in British legend, there is another sword, the Holy Sword of the Stars, the weapon of salvation.
The sacred sword of the lake, guarded by the fairy of the lake.
The sword's mission is to "save the world".
Its source of power is different from the "acknowledgment" of the Sword in the Stone; it is "bond".
It won't break as the holder becomes stronger; instead, it will grow stronger as the bond deepens.
She turned around, her icy blue eyes staring directly at Arthur.
"Go to Avalon before the sword in the stone breaks, and obtain the sword in the lake. You can possess two swords at the same time: the proof of choosing a king and the power to save the world."
"Is this even possible?"
"No one has ever done this before."
A slight, cold smile played on her lips.
"Do you choose to walk the 'predestined path' and wait for the sword in the stone to break?"
When Arthur stepped out of the tower, it was nearly dusk.
Instead of returning to the palace, he walked into the forest, across the clearing where he had pulled the sword from the stone.
The stone platform is still there, covered in moss, with pebbles scattered around.
He stood there for two whole hours before drawing his sword that day, while Melly ate wild fruit she had picked from who-knows-where, and when she got impatient, she threw fruit pits at him.
……
We arrived at the pond.
Mary was sitting by the pond, holding a wildflower in her hand, casually teasing the frog.
The frog ignored her, so she poked its head with a flower petal. The frog jumped away, and she held out the petal again, repeating this over and over, enjoying it immensely.
"You're here?" she said without turning her head. "Did Morgan tell you?"
"You found out?"
"My eyes can see." Mary tossed the wildflower into the pond and watched it drift away with the current.
"When you came out of the tower, your right hand was pressed on the hilt of your sword as if you were afraid it would break at any moment. You can tell what happened even with your toes."
Arthur sat down beside her.
Morgan said, "I can retrieve the sword in the lake before the sword in the stone breaks."
"uh-huh."
She said no one had ever done that before.
"No, there really isn't." Meryl turned her head, a hint of seriousness in her amethyst eyes.
"Do you know what this means? The sword in the stone is the 'chosen sword,' and it has chosen you to be king."
If you retrieve the Holy Sword from the Lake while it is intact, you are telling fate, "I will transcend the path you have chosen for me."
She reached out her finger and poked Arthur's chest.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Arthur did not answer immediately. He looked at his own reflection in the pond and at the sapphire sword in the stone at his waist, which shimmered with a faint light.
The sword glowed faintly in its reflection, as if it were breathing in the water.
"I dreamt it shattered," he said softly.
"In my dream, it shattered into countless pieces in my hands, not because it was broken by an enemy, but because I was too weak and couldn't control my power, so it couldn't withstand it."
The feeling of watching the sword that had chosen me shatter in my hand... was more painful than any wound.
He turned his head, his emerald green eyes meeting Meryl's gaze.
"I don't want it to break because it was the first thing that 'chosen' me."
When I myself didn't believe I could become king, it chose me. It wasn't just a weapon; it was my starting point.
Mary stared at him for a long time.
The usual playfulness in his amethyst-like eyes gradually faded, replaced by a rare, warm seriousness.
"You really are..." She shook her head, her long, silvery-white hair swaying gently in the evening breeze.
"You could have waited for it to break before looking for a new sword. That would have been simpler, safer, and more in line with 'destiny.' But you insisted on taking the most difficult path."
She stood up and patted the grass clippings off her skirt.
"But that's who you are. I knew it from the day you drew your sword. You're someone who won't accept 'destiny'."
You insisted on holding both swords while they were still intact, because you couldn't bear to part with them.
She turned and walked deeper into the forest.
"Come with me, the road to Avalon isn't always open."
Arthur stood up and followed behind her.
The setting sun shone through the gaps in the leaves, turning Merry's silver hair a pale gold.
She walked ahead, her steps light and quick, humming an off-key tune.
"Merry."
"Um?"
"Thank you."
Mary paused for a moment, but did not turn around.
"Hmm, no one has ever imagined possessing two holy swords at the same time. How could I possibly miss such a once-in-a-millennium spectacle?"
Her voice returned to its usual lightness, but Arthur detected a hint of tenderness beneath it.
He gripped the sword in the stone at his waist.