Chapter 817: 563, Holy Sword Future, Hero Bond

The bluish ghostly candle flames flickered in the grand hall, casting shadows that looked like the grasping hands of demons emerging from the abyss.

“What is that?”

Lin Da’s heart trembled.

His Chaos Seven Stars-tier Demon Sword, Philo, a blade of absolute pinnacle quality, paled in comparison to Tricia’s tree-like longsword.

This surpassed the boundaries of Chaos-tier.

It was a true Divine Artifact!

Tricia spoke with regal authority: “This sword is called the Holy Sword ‘Future.’

The sword severs the present, cleaves the past, and slices into the future.

After the battle with the Time Giant Dragon, I poured all my lifeblood into its creation.

All for this very day.

Hero, I offer you my gratitude.

Without you bringing back the godhead of the Time Giant Dragon, the cycle between the Demons and the Adventurers would have dragged on for thousands, even tens of thousands of years.

You are the greatest among all the Heroes across the ages; of this, I am certain.

And now, please go die.”

Tricia raised the Holy Sword “Future.”

Endless emerald light engulfed and completely surrounded Lin Da.

The world seemed to transform into a blank sheet of white paper.

Sound, scent, perception–everything began to fade away.

A moment later, the light dissipated.

Lin Da’s figure vanished from the Demon King Hall.

The story of the Hero.

It seemed as though it had never existed from the start.

…

…

In front of the Demon King’s Castle.

Rumble!

Rumble!

Violet lightning serpents writhed wildly in the blackened clouds, tearing deep, dreadful fissures into the ground below, flattening the surrounding thousand kilometers.

The legendary battle approached its end.

Though the Adventurers’ legendary warriors were outnumbered, without “Angel” Tina, the Demons had no one strong enough to contend with Coldmoon Duke Evelyn.

“Starfire! Explosive Flame Slash!”

A red-armored girl raised a great sword, her eyes wide with ferocity, as fiery sword light cut down towards the earth.

A Demonic legend below turned pale in terror, too late to escape–his figure was consumed by the roaring flames.

“Another one down.”

Lia wiped the sweat from her brow, panting heavily as she spoke.

Adding this one, she’d taken down three Demonic legends.

She wondered how “he” was faring on his side.

Had he succeeded in defeating the Demon King?

She needed to hurry to his aid.

Clenching her teeth, Lia dashed towards the Demon King’s Castle.

She fixed her eyes on the castle’s gates, opening her mouth to shout out that person’s name.

Just like the iconic scene in so many adventure shadows: when a comrade is about to be struck down by the villain, the protagonist shouts their name and arrives just in time at the pivotal moment.

This was her moment; if she didn’t call out now, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

But…

The words stuck in her throat.

Lia froze.

Wait…

“He”–who was “he?”

She couldn’t remember at all.

An excruciating needle-like pain stabbed at her mind.

That boy she’d picked up by the roadside in Sparrow District so many years ago.

His face grew vague, his figure like ash scattered into the wind, light and insubstantial.

“–It’s been a whole month now. Ice Flower Adventure Team has climbed to the eleventh floor, while we’re still stuck on the eighth. The gap keeps widening!

Are you even trying?!

Say something, damn it?!”

That night, who had she yelled at in such frustration…

The man sitting behind the desk, his gaze laced with disappointment.

What was his name?

An uneasy fear welled up in Lia’s heart.

It was as though a hole had opened in her chest, her memories spilling out through it.

She widened her eyes, desperately trying to glimpse the man’s face.

But reflected in her pupils was nothing but an empty sofa.

The warm yellow light of the streetlamps cast on the study’s window, and in the distance were faint, firefly-like glimmers–the World Tree of White Dove City.

The red-haired girl stood alone by the window, looking dazed and bewildered.

There was no one behind the desk, nor was there any scattered strategy papers she’d thrown to the floor in a rage.

This piece of memory–it seemed like she had only been sulking with herself after all.

“No, that’s not right!”

Lia clutched her chest, trying to stop up the “hole” with her hands.

Something deeply important was stripping itself away.

The figure of that person was fading, bit by bit.

The past, the present, the future…

Seconds later.

Lia rejoined the battle among the Demonic legends, as though nothing had ever happened.

…

…

Darkness surrounded him.

It was as though he was submerged in the ocean, his body heavy and tremendously fatigued, breathing itself a herculean task.

Lin Da sank deeper and deeper.

The sound of “tick-tock, tick-tock” surrounded him.

It sounded like a clock.

But wasn’t he submerged in the ocean? How could there be the sound of a clock in the ocean?

No, something wasn’t right–how had he even ended up in the ocean? Lin Da pondered, confused. If his memory was correct, he was leading the Adventurers’ Alliance into the Devil’s Continent, and then…

Flash after flash of scenes whirled past his eyes.

“Tricia!”

Lin Da snapped awake.

He gritted his teeth and roared out that name.

The so-called World Tree Goddess–a lowly bitch, through and through!

Responsible for countless deaths, and she wanted to use him as fertilizer to boot.

Claiming she did it for the good of the world, when in truth, it was probably just cowardice…

If Tricia were a Witch, he’d crush her beneath his rod until she was purified to death!

But now wasn’t the time to swim in this “sea.” He needed to find the Sanctuary and the remains of the Time Giant Dragon.

If there was anywhere that could grant him a chance to ascend to the Divine Rank, it had to be the Sanctuary.

He had already reached level 99; his experience points bar was 0/0, unable to rise further.

Even though he had obtained a fragment of the godhead from the Time Giant Dragon’s Law, it lacked any Divine Power–it was hollow.

Perhaps Kafni could help? Lin Da’s mind flashed with a possibility.

After the battle with the Goblin Prince, Kafni had recuperated for over a decade; she might possess at least a trace of Divine Power now.

Whichever path he chose, he first had to leave this accursed “seawater.”

Summoning all his strength, Lin Da pushed himself forward.

With a cry, he opened his eyes.

“Where… am I?”

In the endless void, Lin Da looked around, utterly bewildered.

Everywhere, scattered and twisted clocks filled the space around him. Some drooped and warped, as if melted by intense heat. Others bent at impossible angles, exuding a haunting sense of chaos and disorder.