Chapter 295 - 59: Legend! Legend! (7)

"At the same time, the Balance Keepers also reduce prosperous nations to smoldering smoke and shatter beautiful worlds into dust, paving the way for unforeseen disasters."

"Creation and destruction, nurturing and reaping—in our eyes, they are but different tools necessary to maintain a greater equilibrium. There is no eternal prosperity, just as there is no absolute stillness."

"Everything is in flux, everything is changing. And our duty is to ensure this change... does not spin out of control, does not slide into utter chaos or lifeless stasis."

Murphy listened quietly, then said:

"Enough with the cryptic talk. Tell me, Ironspine Duke—or should I say, ’Balance Keeper’ Hakon Perik. What is your current objective? Here in Blackstone Fortress, in the Deep Red Wilderness, with me... what is it you’re trying to do?"

Duke Hakon gazed into Murphy’s unflinching eyes, the faint trace of a smile on his face finally vanishing, leaving only absolute calm.

"Haven’t I already told you?" he said slowly. "To maintain the balance. Generally, I do not excessively interfere with the specific course of worldly affairs, unless... a ’variable’ appears that could potentially subvert that ’balance’."

His gaze bored deep into Murphy’s eyes.

"And you, Governor of Melfield—or should I say... Otherworldly Guest—you are just such a ’variable.’ Your influence on this world’s normal trajectory has grown so great that I have no choice but to ’observe’ you personally, and prepare for necessary ’intervention’."

Otherworldly Guest!

The two words struck Murphy’s mind like a clap of thunder.

But on the surface, his pupils only constricted slightly before he regained his composure.

Twelve years ago, that Wizard Apprentice, Saren, had managed to see through part of his origins. It wasn’t too surprising that this unfathomable "Balance Keeper" before him could do the same.

"Intervention?" Murphy’s voice grew cold. "So, what does your intervention entail at this stage? Or rather, what is it you want me to do, or not do?"

Duke Hakon once again avoided a direct answer.

He just gave Murphy a deep look, his eyes filled with too much unreadable information.

"You will receive the reward you deserve," Duke Hakon finally said, offering only this cryptic, contextless statement.

The words had barely left his lips, not even giving Murphy a chance to ask another question.

His figure, like a drop of ink in water, rapidly faded and blurred. Within a single breath, he vanished completely, leaving no trace of his presence or aura, as if he had never been there at all.

The very instant he disappeared.

HUM!

The tremor in spacetime itself passed through once more.

The frozen world suddenly came "alive"!

The Order Knight’s suspended right foot fell with a THUD. His cape began to sway again, the flames on the walls resumed their flickering, and dust motes continued their aimless drift.

The distant clamor of voices, the clang of metal, the groans of the wounded... all the sounds rushed back into his ears like a tidal wave.

The Order Knight seemed completely unaware of the bizarre interruption that had just occurred.

He turned back, his expression still deferential. "Lord Melfield, this way, please. The stairs to the upper levels of the Inner Castle are just ahead."

Everything was as it should be.

It was as if the conversation in that frozen moment of time had been nothing more than an overly realistic illusion.

Murphy stood his ground, not following immediately.

He slowly lowered his head, looking at the scabbard at his waist.

The humming from within the scabbard had completely subsided, now as quiet as ordinary iron.

’Time stop? No...’ Murphy analyzed calmly. ’Or perhaps it’s a distortion that directly affects the five senses of every living being within range, creating the illusion of stopped time...’

The power and methods of this Ironspine Duke—or rather, "Balance Keeper" Hakon Perik—were far more unfathomable than he had estimated before coming to Blackstone Fortress.

’Otherworldly Guest... variable... maintain the balance... the reward I deserve...’

Duke Hakon’s words echoed in Murphy’s mind.

Murphy lifted his head, his gaze piercing through the corridor as if seeing the command center at the very top of the fortress.

He had originally thought that would be the final stage for showdowns and probing, but now it seemed it might only be the midpoint of a much larger game.

Without hesitation, he strode forward to follow the Order Knight.

"Let’s go," he said, his voice calm and steady.

Whether reward, trap, or a deeper fog lay ahead, he had to keep walking.

A moth drawn to a flame is seen as foolish by most.

But to the moth, that light is warmth, direction, its life’s very purpose.

What one deems advantageous or disastrous has always depended on their point of view.

And he was no longer the same lone individual who had first arrived in this world.

The deep blue figure once again merged into the flickering firelight, advancing steadily toward the heart of power.

...

Finally, the Order Knight led Murphy through several heavily guarded, massive gates and corridors, arriving before a huge oak door carved with the Peric Clan’s Iron Hammer Mountain Range crest.

Standing solemnly before the door were eight Forbidden Guards of the Peric Clan, fully armored, their presence as heavy and still as a mountain.

The tips of the long spears in their hands glinted coldly. Their hawk-like gazes swept over Murphy, and after confirming his identity, they bowed respectfully and silently stepped aside, clearing a path.

"Lord Melfield, the Lord Duke and the Bishop are waiting inside." The Order Knight turned to the side, placed his right hand over his chest, and made a gesture to welcome him in.

Murphy gave a slight nod and pushed the door open.

Inside was a wide and solemn stone hall.

The walls were built of heavy Blackstone, adorned with several tapestries depicting the great deeds of the Peric Clan’s ancestors.

The hall’s furnishings were simple. In the center was an enormous oak table, upon which a detailed military map was spread.

One end of the long table faced a massive, arched observation window, which offered a panoramic view of the entirety of Blackstone Fortress, both inside and out.