Elden Ring, but with Wind Spirit Moon Shadow

Chapter 491 'Dragon King' Platon Sanks

Bai Shi grasped the Destiny of Death that emerged from Maricus's black sword, gazing at this rune of death that contained immense power.

The fleeting black and red energy condensed in his palm, eventually slowly receding and transforming into a flowing dark flame rune.

At this moment, the re-release of the Predestined Death had no effect on the border region.

In the game, the process requires first lighting a fire to ignite the golden tree before arriving at Fam Yazler.

That's because the golden tree rejects the concept of death, so even when flames ignite, they don't truly and completely burn away the thorns of rejection.

The reason why the concept of predetermined death needed to be liberated in the game was to bring back the concept of death.

Only in this way can the flames truly burn.

But the burning of the golden tree ultimately led to the return to death of the lives blessed by the gold in the land where the trees were laid to rest.

At this point, the flames had not yet ignited, so the golden tree remained unharmed.

Therefore, even if a predetermined death is released, it will not have much impact on the world itself.

This allows Bai Shi to gently carry out the changes of the times and laws.

After that, Bai Shi will carry out reforms in a gentle and gradual manner.

Let those who should die truly die, and let those who should not die not perish hastily or lose their spirit.

Bai Shi carefully examined the power of this Death Rune, and opened his mind to accept it.

At the same time, Bai Shi quietly sensed the laws contained within and began to analyze them meticulously.

The Fated One, whose ownership had been relinquished by Maricus, did not resist at this moment, but simply allowed Bai Shi to control it.

As Bai Shi's power gradually penetrated into the core of Death Rune, a crystal-clear skull emerged from within the Predestined Death and appeared directly in his heart.

This is precisely the source of the power of the law of preordained death.

Bai Shi was not surprised by this, after all, the skull was an old acquaintance.

It was that otherworldly traveler who, for reasons unknown, drifted to the border region and eventually died here, who later became the 'God of Death'.

He died alone on the border, bringing the first death to a world where the concept of 'death' did not yet exist.

The power of 'destined death' also comes from it; this law is the embodiment of the concept of the end of all things.

It possesses the power of 'destined death', capable of completely killing even any immortal creature on the border.

Of course, this only applies to creatures located at the border.

After all, even the law of death is only a part of the laws that have been extended from this world.

Bai Shi had a complete grasp of the entire situation of Death Rune, and with a clench of his fist, he completely integrated the destined death into his body.

Predestined death is not simply a force of destruction; it is, after all, part of the laws of the world, and is neither good nor bad.

This is the starting point of life and reincarnation, and also the end point of destiny and will.

The Golden Law strips away death, ultimately leaving new deaths unable to be dealt with.

And then, Bai Shi will change this situation...

Upon seeing Bai Shi put away the Fated Death, Maricus, who was kneeling on the ground, lowered his eyes slightly.

At this moment, he was still somewhat lost.

Looking at Bai Shi, who was engrossed in studying the concept of predetermined death, Maricus managed to squeeze out words from his throat:

Can you really guarantee that a predetermined death won't be used in the wrong place?

"With such immense power, and wielding the Decisive Death, then..."

Although Maricus knew that it was too late to say these words at this moment, since his destined death had already been handed over to Bai Shi.

However, as a former guardian of destined death, he still couldn't completely let go of his worries.

Bai Shi noticed Maricus's worry and slowly walked towards him.

Bai Shi did not look down on him as a victor, but instead reached out and helped up Maricus's shattered body.

The power of the sun was released from his hands, and a gentle light enveloped the enormous beast.

As the power beyond the boundary was unleashed, his broken body was instantly filled, and he felt incredibly warm.

While healing Maricus, Bai Shi said to him calmly:
"If I were to pursue destruction, then even without the power of destined death, this entire world would have already been reduced to ashes."

Even your worries are insignificant in the face of me.

“You know my strength; I’m not exaggerating.”

In fact, Bai Shi not only did not exaggerate, but had actually restrained himself considerably.

Judging from his current power, the entire border area would probably only be turned into fuel and then completely swallowed up.

Maricus thought about it for a while with his not-so-bright brain and realized that this was indeed the case.

If Bai Shi wanted to abuse the power of destined death, he wouldn't need to go through all this trouble now, let alone politely advise this obstacle on his path.

Even if Bai Shi wanted to do something using his destined death, he would be completely powerless to stop him.

However, he still spoke up to remind Bai Shi:
"I hope you can always keep this in mind."

"That power of death is the power that brings calamity, and must be treated with caution."

"The current tragic state of the border region is all due to my sins and my destined death."

Bai Shi looked at the Death Rune in his hand, shook his head, and calmly replied:

“Predestined death is merely a law; there is no such thing as it causing calamity.”

“Death itself is also a link in the boundary, and the Golden Law’s rejection of it is a mistake.”

"In the past, both the Night-Colored Queen and you used it as a weapon for conquest."

"And next, I will show how to use it as a tool to make the border areas better."

Having said that, the Death by Fate in Bai Shi's hand was completely extinguished and disappeared into his body.

After thinking for a moment, Bai Shi decided to tell Marykas about his plan.

After all, Maricus was also a key figure in the Night of the Black Knife and had always hoped to banish the Deadborn who had blasphemed the Golden Law.
-
As he listened to Bai Shi's plan, Maricus's eyes widened.

Using the power of 'destined death', the body of the dead prince, deeply rooted in the earth, was completely and utterly killed, and then the roots of the returning tree were cleared...

In this way, those born from the dead will cease to exist and disappear completely.

Compared to his act of devouring the dead roots, Bai Shi solved the problem directly at its source, and his efficiency was far superior.

In the subsequent reconstruction of the spirit world, death will have a normal order, allowing truly equal death to return to the boundary.

This is undoubtedly the most important thing for the current border area.

Realizing that Bai Shi's method could indeed improve the border region, Maricus immediately expressed his willingness:
"When that moment comes, please allow me to personally witness the death of that body, so that the borderland can be completely restored to its original state." Bai Shi nodded, granting his request to accompany him as a witness.

The fact that someone like Maricus was trapped in the past was a great pity for Bai Shi.

His loyalty is worthy of respect, but times need to change.

This also allows the former guardian of 'death' to witness the distortion being corrected and the knot in his heart being untied.

While Maricus did indeed fail in his duty, the collapse of the Golden Law was not his fault.

Even Godwin's own death wasn't actually that important.

It can only be said that it was the final straw that made Marika decide to smash the French Ring.

In order to construct the laws of his own era, Bai Shi constantly studied and researched.

The more he understood the law, the more he was able to resonate with Marika across time and space.

The golden tree's pursuit of eternity... will probably never succeed.

No matter how hard they try, they are ultimately just performers who make a brief appearance on the stage of the true gods.

Marika probably realized this as well.

All past ideals have vanished, while the real mastermind manipulates the fate of everyone in the border region.

However, Radagan does not accept this fact, and the two, who are each other's half-bodies, begin to try to save each other in their own way.

Radagan intends to continuously reduce the other laws within the Elden Ring, leaving only the most fundamental and crucial laws that maintain the world.

This might truly achieve a stable eternity, but it also destroys all opportunities for development, all for the sake of eternity and the continuation of the golden tree.

Marika's choice was even more resolute; she wanted to overturn everything and believe that those who came after her could start afresh.

Perhaps it was only after discovering that the Golden Law, which she had built with her own hands and on which countless lives were placed their hopes, was a complete mistake that she ultimately made that choice.

A giant tree without roots, like the Golden Tree, will eventually fall; it's just a matter of time.

The murder on that distant Black Knife Night simply accelerated this process.

Therefore, Maricus, who was completely unaware of the situation, had no need to blame himself for the entire dereliction of duty.

In the changing times, he was just a tiny grain of sand.

If he truly wanted to atone for his sins, Bai Shi had a more suitable task for him.

Godwin, who died because of his dereliction of duty, now has a blank soul waiting in his body.

Once Koyater is rescued and handed over to Maricus for supervision and education, Bai Shi can rest assured.
-
After Bai Shi finished making arrangements for Maricus and the other Storm Knights, he sent them back to the border region.

He also didn't forget about the Dragon Armor Tree Guardian, and had Maricus take it with him.

Subsequently, Bai Shi set off again under the guidance of Celine Sangles.

This time, Celine Sands transformed into a dragon and carried Bai Shi all the way to the massive storm at the center of Nafam Azra.

As the man and the dragon drew closer, Bai Shi clearly sensed that the space-time around him was beginning to change slightly.

The space was sometimes as viscous as a swamp, and sometimes as soft as cotton.

This also means that the spatial distortion near this crevice has become so strong that it cannot be ignored.

Bai Shi has just figured it out; the spacetime distortion at the outer ruins of Fam Azra is not that serious.

For example, Maricus is now the only one left on the border.

Because of the existence of the spacetime rift, the flow of time around Fam Azra is slightly different, making it difficult to find traces of it from the outside.

However, the difference in time and space will not cause two Maricus to appear at the same time on the border.

He had only recently returned to Fam Yazra.

As the most powerful beast priest in existence, Maricus is capable of doing so.

After collecting most of the Dead Roots on the borderlands, Maricus returned to Fam Azra to properly protect the Predestined Death.

Previously, in the Beast Temple in the Borderland Dragon Tomb, his avatar, Granger, had already been attacked by Bernal once, and even lost a Black Sword familiar.

Because he was unwilling to use Fated Death, and because he had consumed too much Death Root at the time, he fell into a state of chaos.

In the end, he only repelled Bernal as a beast priest and did not pursue him.

Realizing that his identity as the Beast Priest was beginning to be exposed, he returned to Fam Azra to avoid being targeted by other, more powerful individuals.

If he could, Maricus would also like to hide by the Dragon King's side.

Because the phenomenon of true spacetime distortion only occurs at the Dragon King's location in the eye of the storm.

Hiding in the cracks of time and space is tantamount to hiding in the past.

Only by hiding the predetermined death there can one completely cut off all prying eyes.
-
With Celine Sands' support, Bai Shi rushed into the twisted storm rift.

In the midst of that storm, Bai Shi suddenly felt various ancient scenes from the past appear before him.

Everything that happened on the borderland in the past is presented side by side in this place where time is disordered, and Bai Shi even discovers scenes related to himself in them.

As he watched the various scenes unfolding on those ancient borderlands, Bai Shixin gradually memorized them, gaining an understanding of the whole story.

However, no matter how hard Bai Shi searched, he seemed unable to find any images of the future.

Upon realizing this, Bai Shi frowned and became concerned.

Logically speaking, places with temporal distortions shouldn't only include the past; the future should also appear...

Just as Bai Shi was pondering this, Celine Sanders had already broken through the storm and truly arrived at the center of the spacetime rift.

A massive and ancient altar floats in the center of the storm, a testament to its past grandeur and achievements.

Furthax remained in human form, standing quietly at the edge of the altar.

Upon seeing Bai Shi and Celine Sangs arrive, she immediately bowed to greet them.

Bai Shi nodded to her, then shifted his gaze to the enormous creature beside him.

The Dragon King's body was far larger than he remembered, and the gray-white rock scales were still covered with scorch marks from the flames of the Beile Thunder.

However, on the neck of that body, new flesh sprouted from the broken point, wrapped with colorless spacetime power.

These signs all indicate that Baylor's situation has improved since his defeat.

Praton Sanks, who had been sleeping soundly with his head tilted back, slowly awoke. His two enormous heads bowed down to look at Bai Shi, his eyes filled with wisdom and vicissitudes.

The Dragon King's voice, like the tolling of an ancient bell, reverberated through the void:

"Welcome, King of Humanity."

(End of this chapter)