Ch. 77 - Sword of Dawn
Tang Qi didn't know how to describe what was before his eyes...
A soul?
But she clearly didn't have a 'body.'
Her entire being radiated dazzling brilliance that, while unable to pierce through the surrounding darkness, nearly blinded Tang Qi.
He couldn't see her features, only able to discern from the soul's form that this was a woman with an alluring figure.
Yet precisely because she was a soul, shrouded in light, Tang Qi also couldn't make out certain more obvious physiological characteristics.
But regardless, this was completely different from the 'Lathander' he had previously speculated.
Though divine beings would often, for various reasons, manifest avatars in the mortal realm.
And these avatars' appearances mostly differed, depending entirely on the deity's needs.
But the legendary 'Lord of Dawn' most often revealed divine miracles in the form of a golden-skinned, muscular male.
He would wear robes as noble as champagne gold, or exquisite golden plate armor, his manner cheerful and proud.
In comparison, the one before him seemed far too simple.
And too...
Sorrowful.
"Which... deity are you?"
The soul before him slowly shook her head:
"I dare not covet the might of the divine, I am but a slumbering spirit."
Tang Qi thought of Stonecrusher's earlier speculation that this temple might be 'enshrining' something, and he realized:
"Your remains, or your soul, are laid to rest here?"
She nodded in confirmation, but seeming to want to save time, stated her purpose directly:
"My name is [Dawn]. I forged my being through great deeds, my sword's edge pointing toward glory.
Once I slaughtered corruption with the blade in my hand, bringing forth daybreak.
At the end of my life, the [Golden Kingdom] was rife with strife, internal chaos ran rampant, false god worship proliferated, seeking divine authority.
With glory's radiance, I pierced through the evil god's heart, unable to withstand its dying counterattack, perishing together with it.
The world sang of my achievements, praising me as the [Sword of Dawn]."
Tang Qi felt that he had heard the name [Golden Kingdom] somewhere before.
In fact, that memory had appeared not long ago.
But it seemed he hadn't taken it seriously at the time, overlooking it, so that now he couldn't remember where he'd heard it.
Left with no choice, he could only conclude:
"So you're not a deity. But rather... a hero."
As these words left his mouth, he noticed the bright light emanating from the soul before him seemed to grow even more radiant.
No wonder she was fixated on him 'praising her'—she actually quite enjoyed it, didn't she?
"Then what is this place, a soul space? And why did you bring me here?"
"Yet as time flowed and years eroded, death came to dwell in my resting place..."
"Sorry, excuse me."
Tang Qi scratched his somewhat irritated ear,
"Could you speak normally like me? You know, while I can understand this [Refined Speech], it's a bit too cumbersome, and the tone and rhythm are quite different.
When my ears receive these words, they have to go through my brain for translation before I can more deeply understand their meaning.
Let's skip that step, okay? Let's speak plainly."
"I—"
The soul before him froze for a moment, then coughed twice, switching back to Common Tongue somewhat awkwardly,
"My life ended because of the false god, yet in my dying moment, I still sealed it within the blade.
The people of the Golden Kingdom enshrined my undissipated spirit in this tomb, using magic to maintain my continued existence, also hoping I could suppress the false god's remnant for ages to come.
But I don't know when it began—no one came here anymore to repair my tomb or maintain my spirit.
This caused the seal to gradually loosen, allowing necromantic energy to dwell and fill this resting place.
Even...
It attracted an outsider."
"The 'outsider' you're talking about, does he look like a bald skeleton?"
[Dawn] froze, then said in realization:
"You've already met him?"
"Actually, we followed him all the way here."
As Tang Qi explained, he couldn't help but complain,
"Like some kind of obsessive maniac, he put on quite a show in front of us, wanting to take away a young lady from our camp, saying her skull was the most 'perfect.'
He even wanted to use her to stitch together a 'perfect work of art'—meaning a corpse.
Considering he's a necromancer who deals with corpses all day long, I can sort of understand.
After all, I've heard that at the Poet's Academy, there are those who advocate for relations between humans and beasts. For these necromancers to have a thing for corpses doesn't seem that strange, but...
Hm? What's wrong with you?"
Tang Qi noticed that the glow emanating from [Dawn's] spirit was alternating between dim and brilliant.
"I am greatly shocked." She explained.
"Then you're a normal person."
Tang Qi steered the conversation back,
"Anyway, the result is that we severely wounded him. To prevent him from making a comeback the next day, we chased him all the way here—
Running into you is actually perfect timing. I want to ask, why didn't we find an entrance to the tomb after activating the mechanism?"
"Because the craftsman's design required one to 'praise me' to open the passage."
"Your requirement?"
"No."
"Really not?"
"Really not!"
Listening to her increasingly agitated echo and watching the light around her flicker more frequently, Tang Qi felt this wasn't due to her anxious defense.
It seemed more like shame after being exposed.
As expected, you enjoyed it too, didn't you?
Seeming to sense Tang Qi's gaze growing more peculiar, Dawn hastily returned to the main topic:
"Since you originally came seeking revenge, perhaps I need not deliberately ask this of you regarding the calamity within the tomb..."
"No, Lady [Dawn]."
Tang Qi quickly waved his hand,
"One thing at a time. 'Seeking revenge on the necromancer' and 'helping you eliminate the tomb's calamity' are two different matters—we can seek revenge without killing anyone."
"What do you mean?" She didn't quite understand.
Tang Qi rubbed his fingers together:
"If you're attempting to seek someone's help, you should have prepared appropriate compensation, yes?"
"If the necromantic energy is allowed to continue, the entire Golden Kingdom will return to the chaos of the past..."
"Actually, there's no such thing as the [Golden Kingdom] in this world anymore."
"What?"
"Setting aside the orcs, this continent currently only has the [Lord's Alliance] on the eastern coast and the [Terran Empire] in the west.
The [Golden Kingdom] you speak of perhaps only remains in forgotten history..."
Just as he finished stating the facts, Tang Qi saw her light become extremely dim.
He then realized that reality might be somewhat cruel for this hero of the past—
For the sake of protecting that land and people, she willingly sacrificed herself for glory.
Only to discover that her efforts held no meaning in the torrent of time.
"Is that so..."
[Dawn] finally understood the truth of why no one repaired this tomb anymore.
She sighed, seeming to lose interest in continuing the conversation:
"Beneath the tomb, all the treasures buried with me shall be given to you."
"Deal."
"But you must be careful. I can sense the false god's seal gradually loosening—because His body is about to be completed."
Tang Qi had a sudden realization: "That 'perfect work of art' was prepared for the false god?"
He really had thought it was just the necromancer's twisted hobby.
"When you force him into a corner, that person might, in order to survive, guide the false god to break the seal and descend prematurely..."
Dawn slowly floated to Tang Qi's ear, leaning close to whisper an obscure incantation in a soft, calm voice,
"If you truly encounter difficulties you cannot resolve, summon me.
I will use my final glory to annihilate it."
Tang Qi was about to say something when the darkness before his eyes suddenly receded.
In the blink of an eye, he found himself back before that damaged statue.
The moonlight-illuminated words 'Dawn' gradually dimmed.
But at his ear came the rumbling sound of grinding stone.
The statue before him gradually shifted.
Revealing a passage leading downward.
Anbi pinched her nose.
So her sensitive nose wouldn't smell that stench unique to rotting corpses coming from the passage.
Stonecrusher exclaimed:
"Now this is more like where corpses should live!"