Chat group, if you have anything to say to my Holy Sword,

The storm continued to roar.

And within the storm—

Xiling looked at the scene before her, where lightning tore through the chaos and ancient stone pillars stood, supporting this forgotten realm.

Time seemed to have died here.

In the absolute silence at its center—a massive, scarred dragon body coiled above.

Its scales were dull like faded bronze, covered with torn wounds and the dust of time. Most shocking was its neck: two huge, ferocious slits were clearly visible, as if it had been torn apart, leaving only two huge heads covered with thick stone scales, their eyes tightly closed, standing upright towards the sky, in eternal slumber.

This is Platon Sanks, the dragon king from the Elden Ring of Dragons era.

A complex emotion flashed in Xiling's eyes.

He sensed the terrifying yet fragile power hidden beneath that silent shell, and the endless sorrow and... rejection frozen by time.

Xiling began to move forward

Despite the muffled rumble of thunder, Xiling's light footsteps sounded so clear in this space, like a pebble thrown into an ancient well, breaking the eternal stillness.

“Platton Sanks…” Xiling spoke softly, “Is this your choice? To maintain this broken, empty shell in eternal slumber?”

"We await the return of your god, but you will probably never see that day."

The moment the words fell—

Boom... Rumble...

It wasn't thunder from the sky, but the enormous dragon body that hovered above the ground, seemingly integrated with frozen time and space, that moved!

Its massive body moved, the scales colliding and producing a deafening sound like sand being ground together. The Dragon King's mountain-like body slowly sank to the ground, and the eyes of its two dragon heads slowly opened.

There were no earth-shattering roars, no raging flames disturbed from their slumber. There was even little sign of vibrant life.

Only numbness. Only emptiness.

Those four enormous dragon eyes, gleaming with a dull golden light, were like dusty mirrors, reflecting no brilliance, simply staring straight at the tiny Xiling without any focus.

It was as if Xiling was merely a speck of dust that had wandered into the tomb, not worth causing the slightest ripple.

The silent oppression struck like a heavy hammer! The already thick air became even more stagnant, suffocating.

Faced with this unimaginable presence, faced with that chillingly empty gaze!

"Hmm——!"

Xiling drew the holy sword, her tiny body pointing it at the enormous dragon king, Platons.

"Platton Sanks! Rather than waiting there to die—"

Her voice suddenly rose in pitch, silvery-white magic swirled around Xiling, and the starlight on her star-studded cloak flashed wildly. Xiling's words, imbued with intense will, roared at the Dragon King.

"—Why not get back up! Entrust your hope and future to me!"

"Follow me! And your people! On a path you have never seen before!"

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I forgot to send it.

Chapter Sixty-One: Platon Sanx: I... lost.

Faced with that tiny yet undeniably radiant figure, and that piercing question that penetrated his numbness, the wounded Dragon King finally responded.

One of Platons's massive heads, covered in stone scales, slowly turned, its voice deep and aged: "...Who...are you...and why have you set foot...here?"

"The current King of Elphaden, the Silver King, Xiling."

"El... to the Ring of Fa?"

In Platon Sanx's low voice, a rare ripple, almost worn smooth by time, appeared. Time had indeed passed for a very long time, but even after so long, the god he was waiting for had not returned.

But its immortal body has already begun to wither away.

Its two remaining heads gazed at Xiling's tiny figure.

It heard all of Xiling's previous words and found a completely new and unknown path.

Its broken body could no longer leave this place; its life had long been integrated with this frozen storm, and to leave would only hasten its withering and its end.

It can still eke out a living here, maintaining this false eternity.

When it dies silently here, its remaining power may still sustain the operation of this storm cage for a long time, until Fam Azra finally falls to the earth.

"Leave, Silver King..." Platon Sanks' voice returned to its numb and hollow state, and his massive body began to slowly turn, causing the dust-covered scales to produce a dull rubbing sound.

Platonsanks no longer looked at Xiling, only wanting to sink back into that painless, oblivious river of slumber. "...Leave here...leave me...the land of slumber..."

The enormous dragon body, like a slowly moving mountain, stood with its back to Xiling, preparing to once again banish itself to eternal silence.

however--

"Boom-boom!!!"

A streak of silver-white sword light, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, instantly grazed the narrow gap between the two enormous, rotating heads! It precisely avoided the Dragon King's body and landed on an ancient stone pillar in the distance!

The hum of the holy sword reverberated endlessly in this desolate space!

As the sword light appeared, Xiling's voice entered its ears once more.

"Are you trying to run away?! The former king—Platossanks—!!"

Rumble!

Platon Sanx's intended departure was abruptly halted!

It didn't turn around completely, but its two enormous, stone-scale-covered heads suddenly twisted 180 degrees amidst a teeth-grinding grinding sound! Its four empty, numb dragon eyes were now fixed on that tiny yet radiant figure!

"Your people!"

"We are waiting! We are waiting for the day their king returns!"

“And what about you?!” Xiling pointed to the numb, battered, and enormous dragon king himself:

"Yet you cower in this self-imposed cage, maintaining this never-ending storm, waiting for that—absolutely impossible! God to return!!"

Xiling's voice was resolute and left no room for negotiation: "Your god—can no longer respond to you!"

Xiling pointed outside: "—But you!!"

"Platon Shanks!"

"You—can still respond to your people!!!"

"Your god has abandoned you!" Xiling's voice was like a sharp sword, piercing the Dragon King's deepest wound. "Do you also want to be like your god, abandoning your people?! Abandoning those who still believe in you and look up to you?!"

Xiling suddenly stepped forward. "Let them wither away in hopeless waiting, just like you, without ever receiving even the slightest response from the being they believe in?!"

"Answer me, Platon Sanks!"

"Is this the final resting place you—the former Dragon King—desired?!"

boom--! ! !

In the sky, the chaotic clouds surged wildly as if stirred by an invisible giant hand! Bolts of lightning, thicker and more violent than before, darted and coalesced within them! A terrifying aura, dormant for countless years, erupted like a doomsday volcano awakening, crashing down upon this frozen spacetime!

Platons' massive body turned completely around! Those four dragon eyes, which had been numb and empty, were now ignited by a new, intense light—it was resentment!

"Roar--!!!"

The deafening dragon roar was no longer a muffled howl, but rather a roar filled with overwhelming resentment! The sound waves, powerful enough to shatter space, swept across the entire core of the storm!

Terrifying lightning crackled around Platonsax's body, emitting a piercing hiss! Platonsax's massive head jerked back, its shattered scales reflecting a ghastly light in the lightning's flash:

"Do you think I don't want to?!" Platon Sanks' voice was filled with intense emotion for the first time.

"What do you know! Look at my broken body!!"

"I—have long since faded away! My life has long since withered! I can't even respond to my own existence, how can I respond to those faint beliefs?!"

Platonsangs roared in agony, his massive dragon claws pointing at the solidified storm and fragments of space around him: "I—cannot even break free of this prison of despair forged from my own power!!" "How can you expect me to respond—!!!"

boom! boom! boom!

Several violent bolts of lightning descended from the sky, carrying a destructive will of catharsis, and struck the ground around Xiling, blasting open huge craters and scattering fragments of rock and energy everywhere!

Faced with this earth-shattering rage and desperate accusation, Xiling's voice was not drowned out by the thunder; instead, it pierced through all the noise with unwavering clarity, entering Platon Sanks' violently turbulent consciousness with an unquestionable firmness:

"so--"

Facing the raging thunder, Xiling slowly and solemnly extended a hand toward the mountain-like, scarred dragon!

"Leave it to me!"

"The things you want to do... the responses you crave but cannot receive... the burdens you carry but are powerless to bear."

"Leave everything to me!"

Xiling's gaze pierced through the lightning, locking onto the Dragon King's enormous pupils burning with resentment, her voice resolute:

"If you already know this future fills you with despair! Then entrust your future—along with the hopes of your people—" to me!!!

"Nonsense!!" Platon Sanx roared with devastating thunder.

"Anyone can say that! How can you actually do it?!"

A serious smile slowly spread across Xiling's face.

"Then—"

"Let's make a bet!"

There was no falsehood in Xiling's eyes, only pure and unwavering faith and determination. This weighty seriousness was conveyed to Platon Sanks as if it were a tangible reality.

"The bet is simple."

"I will change your predicament—change this storm that binds you, change your fate of withering away!"

"And by then—"

Xiling's finger pointed beyond the storm, towards the direction illuminated by the Silver Law.

"You—Platossanks! Take all your people and receive the blessing of the Silver Law!"

"Become one of us!"

"This bet—"

"You! Dare to accept?"

Platons' enormous dragon eyes contracted violently.

It sensed...that power.

It didn't come from magic, but from the almost arrogant yet incredibly pure and unwavering will deep within the soul of the tiny being before us!

The other person wasn't deceiving or trying to appease him; he genuinely believed he could do it!

But is this possible?

Its predicament is not this storm.

It is not the fact that it withers away.

That's impossible!

How is that even possible!

However... a strange sense of conviction, which it itself could not understand, grew and spread uncontrollably deep within its heart... making it almost blurt out—believe in him!

A suffocating silence enveloped everything, even the raging thunder seemed to await its final verdict.

Time, in this frozen space, seemed to begin to flow slowly again.

Then--

"Ha...hahahaha..."

A low, muffled laugh, initially like suppressed thunder, emanated from the massive, scarred dragon's body. Then, the laughter grew louder and more exhilarating, finally transforming into a hearty, unrestrained roar that shook the very heart of the storm!