Chapter 130: A Story of Sheep
The silence that settled over the throne room was heavy with exhaustion and contemplation. Kay, Arthur, and Aziel had collectively decided to simply sit and rest while they waited for Lara to wake up from her unconscious state.
They didn’t talk much during those long hours of waiting. Aziel was far too tired, his body aching from the ordeal they had all endured. Every muscle in his frame screamed for proper rest, and his eyelids felt like they were made of lead. Kay was still mentally recovering from his brush with death, his mind struggling to process everything that had happened to him. The memory of darkness, of feeling his life slip away, lingered like a shadow at the edges of his consciousness.
Arthur, meanwhile, was completely lost in thought. There was so much to think about, so many pieces of a puzzle that refused to fit together properly. The story from the altar room was still fresh in his mind, every detail etched with crystalline clarity. Everything he had witnessed in the king’s memories played on repeat in his thoughts, along with the strange, overwhelming emotions those visions had stirred within him.
’It doesn’t make any sense,’ Arthur thought, his brow furrowing as he stared at the ornate ceiling above. ’Even pressured by desperation, none of the king’s decisions made any logical sense. Hell, the spell itself didn’t make any sense either.’
The more Arthur reflected on his experiences, the more frustrated he became. He had learned a great deal about the realms during his relatively short time here, but perhaps the biggest revelation was how little humanity truly understood about any of it. At the end of the day, they were all stumbling around in the dark, grasping at fragments of knowledge that might not even be reliable.
’It’s so incredibly frustrating,’ he mused, clenching his fists unconsciously.
As Arthur continued wrestling with his troubled thoughts and the rest of the group maintained their weary vigil, a couple of precious hours slowly ticked by. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Lara began to stir. She gradually dusted off the lingering haze of slumber that had claimed her, blinking slowly as consciousness returned to her tired mind.
The moment her eyes focused and she saw Kay sitting there, awake and very much alive, relief flooded through her entire being. Without hesitation, she grabbed him into a deep and strong embrace, holding him as if she were afraid he might disappear if she let go.
During the time they had spent waiting for Lara to wake up, Arthur had already taken the initiative to confirm that the spell had indeed been broken. The oppressive magical energy that had permeated every stone and corridor was finally gone, leaving behind only ordinary architecture and blessed silence.