This knight is too perfect

Chapter 17: Follow your heart, even if it is destined to lead to the abyss [Two in One]

'Anna, you have to know that fate is always unknown and uncontrollable.'

"What witches call playing with fate is actually nothing more than choosing the one they think is most suitable for them from among the countless branches of fate."

'This is not a joke, but an alternative choice, part of fate.'

"So rather than saying that witches are manipulating fate, it's better to say that they are exploring more possibilities in fate."

'Because only by seeing more branches of fate and knowing more possibilities can the final decision we make be more perfect.'

"Although we witches cannot directly control fate, we can guide others to make a choice that favors us when faced with the choice of fate."

"You don't have to think there's anything wrong with this, because our appearance is also one of the countless branches of their fate, one of the thousands of possibilities."

"There is one thing you must remember, Anna. Some choices that seem to be the most perfect at the time may lead to the worst outcome in the end."

'So when you face every choice, don't worry about whether it is perfect, but ask yourself, is it... really what you want?'

'If you can keep doing this, then even if one day in the future you stand in front of the abyss of despair, you will still be able to face it calmly without fear.'

'Because this abyss that is led to by countless choices is the answer you give from your heart time and time again and in accordance with your own will.'

'You don't have to regret, and there is no need to regret, because no matter if you do it again a hundred times, a thousand times, or ten thousand times, you will still give the same answer if you follow your heart, and it will lead to this abyss of despair.'

'This is fate, Anna. It will never be played by anyone, and it cannot be played by anyone, because although fate seems to be able to be changed, in fact... it has never been changed.'

"So, please follow your heart, Anna, even if it is destined to lead to the abyss..."

In the ruined church, the Shadow Raven wand in Anna's hand pierced Rhine's chest, and she stared blankly at the dried blood on the wand.

At this moment, she was like a revolving lantern, trapped in inexplicable memories.

It was strange. Anna thought she would have a lot of thoughts at this moment, many of which should be about the Rhine.

But in fact, the first person she thought of at this moment was not Rhine, but her teacher... Vanessa.

As the memories ended, Anna's mind was pulled back to reality.

She looked at Rhine, who was dead but still had a smile on his face.

I finally understood what teacher Vanessa said back then.

"Follow your heart, even if it leads to the abyss..."

"So, the regret you just felt, teacher, was not actually regretting the church's betrayal, but regretting that you went against your heart in a fateful decision."

'In this case, this time I will follow the voice of my heart and give a regret-free and unique answer to my own destiny.'

Anna seemed to finally understand something, and her eyes became extremely firm.

She pulled out the wand that was stuck in Rhine's chest.

And she carefully placed his body on the ground, her movements... full of tenderness.

Then she waved her wand, and countless shadow crows began to circle around Rhine's body and eventually covered him.

And when the Shadow Crows dispersed, Rhine's body underwent a huge change.

The person lying on the ground was no longer Rhine, but Anna... Anna Ortiz.

At the same time, Anna's appearance changed and she became Rhine, Rhine Simmons.

'Rhine' took a deep look at the ground, then walked out of the church without looking back.

And the moment he walked out of the church, a fire broke out...completely covering the entire church.

In the raging firelight, on the narrow streets, under the lonely moonlight, in the deserted town.

Rhine lowered his head and walked alone on the deserted path of the church until he disappeared at the end of the night.

"Rhine, your story should not end here, and the chivalry you uphold should not stop here either."

"I will inherit your chivalry, carry your soul, your fate, and everything about you, and let the name of Rhine Simons spread to every corner of the world."

'Even if the person who truly practices this is not the real you.'

"And from today on, the story of Witch Anna ends, and in its place begins... the story of Rhine Simmons."

After that, a talented church knight named Rhine Simmons suddenly appeared in the Church of Holy Light. He truly implemented the teachings of Holy Light.

Not long after this, a travel novel that was said to be based on the early experiences of the Rhine Knights appeared in the eyes of the general public.

The name of this novel is... "Elegy of Sword and Blood".

By Ana Ortiz
And this fateful dream of "blood and sword" ended completely the moment Anna, disguised as Rhine, stepped into the darkness.

A boundless space filled with countless broken lenses.

Rhine opened his eyes and looked at this strange space with confusion.

Just as Rhine was wondering why he was here, a familiar yet unfamiliar voice sounded in his ears.

"The iron sword pierced the girl's chest, and hot blood flowed out along the silver-white sword in the knight's hand. The girl's eyes were full of relief, but the knight's eyes were full of sadness, because although he ended the nightmare of the town, he also completely lost his lover. This tragic song of blood and sword, at this moment... fell its final chapter."

Rhine turned his head and saw his 'wife Anna' in his dream. She was wearing her iconic black feather dress, with a crow perched on her shoulder. She was holding the travel book in her hands and calmly recounting the stories in the book.

Rhine looked at her, at this strange witch whom he had never actually met in reality, and asked, "So what is written here is my destiny?"

Anna shook her head.

Then she threw away the travel notes in her hand and stepped barefoot onto the mirror-smooth lake surface in the unknown space.

Anna walked up to Rhine.

At this moment, she was still like in the dream, with a charming figure and delicate face.

But Rhine was different from the original dream.

At this moment, Rhine had a childish face and a thin body, which was his true appearance in reality.

Looking at the young Rhine in front of her, Anna explained: "Rhine, this is not your destiny, nor is it my destiny."

"I simply intertwined two destinies that should not have been intertwined, and presented its result in the form of a dream."

"As for what is written in this book, it is one of the countless branches of fate. It is also the only possibility among all the impossibilities I have seen so far."

"Rhine, you are special. You let me see a different destiny, even if I don't know where this destiny will lead to in the end."

"But just now, I followed my heart and made a decision that I have no regrets about."

"And now, it's time for you to make a decision."

"But before that, Rhine, I want to show you the past that truly belongs to Anna Ortiz. Among the countless branches of fate, Rhine Simmons has never appeared."

Anna waved her hand, and the countless "mirrors" that were originally suspended in the air began to flash in front of Rhine one by one.

What these mirrors present are scenes of fate similar to "Blood and Sword" one after another.

And in these pictures, Rhine saw several familiar people.

One is Anna.

One is Lark, a high-ranking priest of the Church of Holy Light.

And the last one that surprised Rhine greatly was the trainee knight from the Baron’s Castle, the guide on Rhine’s extraordinary journey… Fergus.

Different from Rhine who became Anna's husband in the dream.

Among the countless branches of fate that Anna showed Rhine, Anna had never intersected with Fergus as a 'husband and wife'.

This is because in Anna's heart, even if she could do it again countless times, she would never make this choice.

Therefore, in the countless branches of fate that Anna showed Rhine, she lived as an ordinary resident in the town of Xavier.

But no matter what Anna's final identity was, the final result was that she was found by the church's high-ranking priest Lark, and a 'destined' extraordinary battle broke out.

And at this critical node of destiny, countless branches once again emerged.

Among these branches, some have 'Fergus' and some do not.

And among these branches of fate, Rhine saw Fergus's choices again and again.

But his choices were surprisingly the same.

That is to choose to believe the words of the church's high-ranking priest Lark and stand idly by and watch Anna suffer.

And it was also among these thousands of branches that Rhine witnessed Anna's painful death again and again.

But only once did Anna survive.

That's because in this branch of fate, some residents of the town discovered that Lark was the source of the town's plague.

Anna has been trying to solve the plague in the town and has made a lot of efforts to this end.

Therefore, when Anna was burned with holy fire by Priest Lark.

The townspeople were afraid of Anna's identity as a witch and Lark's power.

But his heroic attempt to save the town touched many people in the town.

Therefore, they finally chose to stand on Anna's side resolutely.

And they used their lives to help Anna pull out the 'holy nail' that was stuck in her chest.

As for Fergus...

In this fateful scene, he escaped.

And it was through this experience that Rhine learned about this.

It turns out that the town of Xavier also belongs to the Thorn Territory of the Principality of Morton.

The story in that picture is actually not far away for Rhine.

Anna was left alone with this fateful scene, and she said calmly: "This is my true destiny and my true past, the past of Anna Ortiz."

"Rhine, I just said that I have followed my heart and made a choice for my own destiny without regrets, and this choice... is you."

"I have placed my future, my destiny, and everything I have on you."

"Because you let me see the only possibility among countless impossibilities, the only possibility that can bring me salvation."

"Rhine, please forgive me for concealing this at the moment, because I cannot tell you my exact situation right now."

"You only need to know that from that day on, the witch named Anna was gradually influenced by hatred, walked on the wrong path, and never looked back."

"I thought it was the perfect choice for me and the best revenge for the Church of Holy Light."

"But after I saw this destiny intersecting with yours, I suddenly realized that I was wrong. It turns out that the answer I really wanted was not this."

"Rhine, although the dream is false, your salvation of me is real."

"So, are you willing to believe a witch's words again, believe her confession, and bear her twisted soul, so as to correct her mistakes and bring her redemption?"

After Anna finished speaking, two doors appeared behind her at the same time.
The door was full of light, and inside it was filled with flowers and applause.

But there was no trace of Anna in this door.

The other door was filled with dim light and was surrounded by thorns. Rhine could also vaguely see a twisted, blood-stained figure from inside the door.

There is no doubt that this is the question Anna raises at this time, and it is also the choice Rhine faces.

Is to choose to ignore Anna's request and walk the extraordinary road of light alone.

Or he chose to lend a helping hand to Anna, taking on himself the mistakes that were not his, thus embarking on a road that was destined to be bumpy.

The decision seemed difficult, but Rhine gave his answer almost without hesitation.

He raised his head and gave Anna a pure and warm smile, just like in the dream of fate.

"No knight would turn a blind eye to an innocent person's cry for help, even if the person is a witch."

After he finished speaking, Rhine decisively walked towards the door of destiny that symbolized darkness and thorns.

This is his answer.

However, just before entering the door of destiny, Rhine suddenly stopped.

He turned around and looked at Anna, and said with sincerity from the bottom of his heart: "Anna, I hope that next time we meet, you can still give me a sincere smile like the one in my dream."

"If that moment really comes, then this will be the best gift you can give me for my decision today. After all, you are really beautiful at that moment."

"By the way, I never believed in you as a witch, but as a kind and innocent person."

"Because, I, Rhine Simmons, have heard the prayers from Ana Ortiz in that distant place that you cannot see, and I am here... to give her the response she wants."

"She needs redemption and deserves to be redeemed."

After saying that, Rhine did not listen to Anna's response, but stepped directly and resolutely into the door of fate that was destined to be full of thorns.

Just like in his dream, he stepped into the raging holy fire without hesitation.

Never stand idly by when faced with an unjust trial.

Never give up on any innocent soul that deserves to be saved.

This is Rhine's way, and also the choice he made for his own destiny.

Even if the person who needs to be saved is not Anna...

Looking at Rhine disappearing in the Gate of Destiny, Anna's face had already turned red because of what Rhine had just said.

After calming down, she raised her slender jade hands, cupped her baby-like smooth cheeks, and murmured to herself: "Am I beautiful like that..."

Anna stood there alone for a long, long time.

Then she came back to her senses and looked hopefully at the figure that had completely disappeared into the dark door of fate.

"Grow up quickly, little Rhine."

"My destiny, my future, everything I have, is now entrusted to you."

"From now on, I will accompany you and walk together on the road to an unknown destiny."

“Even if this road does not lead to the light I expect, but to a deeper darkness, I will not regret it at all, because this is the choice I made after following my heart.”

“Although Ana Ortiz’s past does not include you, her future…will definitely include you.”

"You and I will meet again at some destined node in the future. By then, Ana Ortiz will definitely give you the best gift you want."

"The most sincere smile from a witch who is made up of lies."

After saying that, Anna's figure turned into a pitch-black crow and flew into the door of destiny chosen by Rhine.

At the same time, on the back of Rhine's hand in reality.

A pitch-black emblem of fate shaped like a crow's feather appeared on the back of Rhine's hand.

And it started from this moment.

The extraordinary characteristics that belong only to extraordinary people slowly emerged in Rhine, a former mortal.

This marked that the extraordinary door of the Rhine had been opened and welcomed his arrival.

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(End of this chapter)