People are at the border, but they become the incarnation of the sun

84. Malika's Ambition (5K)

[Eternal Queen] Marika, the goddess of the Golden Law, the holder of the Elden Ring, is currently the most powerful god in the borderland. She has killed and conquered countless races and can be said to be a cold-blooded and ruthless goddess.

But now, appearing in front of him, everything she showed had nothing to do with the so-called cold-bloodedness.

She was graceful, with a black long dress as soft as silk casually spread on the ground. The golden branches embroidered on it gave her a more noble temperament.

There was always a pure and sweet smile on her lips, but her eyes were as charming as poppies, as if she possessed both the innocence of an angel and the evil of a devil.

It was as if the murderous intent that had just flashed in his eyes had never appeared.

"...Your eyes are very pure. Even though you are getting stronger, you haven't lost yourself in the power. I like it very much." Marika suddenly praised.

Her voice was soft, but it was loud enough to echo in the silent room.

"I'm honored to receive the praise of the goddess of the Golden Dynasty..." Reinhardt bowed his head slightly in gratitude, then raised his head to gaze at Marika's face and said, "But I still have the same question. It's so late, I wonder what brings you to the room of a stranger you've only met once?"

Reinhardt slowly let go of the "De" in his hand. It seemed that just like last time, the goddess had no intention of taking action.

Even if he really had the intention to kill just now.

It seems that the secret between herself and Radagon is really important to her. Just a casual mention of it caused such a huge fluctuation in her emotions.

"...I told you last time that I'm very interested in you, Reinhardt."

"Besides, everything at the foot of the Golden Tree belongs to me, including the Royal City of Rodel and this mansion... I'm just walking into a room that belongs to me. How can that be considered walking into a stranger's room?"

"Do you think I'm right, Knight Reinhardt?"

A hint of playfulness slowly appeared on Marika's lips, just like an experienced driver teasing a young and innocent boy.

For a moment, a series of words such as strong, domineering, unreasonable, etc. popped up in his mind, but these words seemed not enough to describe Marika.

Moreover, at this moment, he seemed to understand what the Mimic Veil had described at the time, what "Malika's playfulness" meant.

This goddess is a little bit indecent...

Thinking of this, his gaze moved slightly downwards and he saw the mountains shrouded in clouds and mist.

Well, it's indeed very indecent.

Da da da--

Just as he was thinking about how indecent it was, he suddenly heard the distinctive sound of high heels stepping on the wooden floor, and then he felt a slight chill on his chin, just like the cool breath after a rain in the empty mountains lingering on his nose.

When he came to his senses, Marika had appeared in front of him, bending over and looking at him, with a large area of white skin revealed.

The proud plum blossoms grow on the cold snow-capped peaks.

This distance makes people think that "it's either a fight or a kiss."

At this moment, she seemed to no longer be the almighty deity, but more like a succubus who led people to fall.

Not only that, Marika extended a slender green finger and gently lifted his chin. While still smiling, she whispered in his ear, "...Knight Reinhardt, are you... interested in my body?"

The soft breath and her gentle whispers echoed in my ears.

My heart started beating wildly.

But fortunately, he had good teachers to hone his skills in the past, so now he can remain calm even when faced with such temptation.

So he moved his body slightly, putting some distance between himself and Marika.

"Your Majesty, please respect yourself. I am a knight serving Her Highness, Lani, and I must not have second thoughts."

"...What a loyal knight."

I don’t know if it was an illusion, but when I heard the words "knight serving Lani", the smile on Marika’s face seemed to become even more intense. She even leaned over again and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Your words only make me more interested in you, Reinhardt... whether it's your body..."

As he spoke, he stretched out a finger and gently stroked it along the muscle lines on his chest, as if teasing his nerves.

Every time his fingertips brushed against a muscle, his body would tremble involuntarily.

Now he was sure that this woman was just teasing him!

This is not a god at all, it's a living succubus!

"Or your law..."

When Marika's voice rang out again, Reinhardt instantly calmed down. He stood up from the bed, leaving behind the gentle comforts. He looked directly into Marika's eyes and said calmly, "Queen Marika, you came here today not just out of interest, right?"

To be honest, he had no way of telling what this woman was thinking, let alone guessing. It was like being wrapped in layers of fog, impossible to see clearly or guess.

The last time they met, Malika was as holy as a god, but this time she was as seductive as a devil, constantly teasing his heartstrings.

This look reminded him of Michaela.

In other words, Michaela's personality was inherited from Marika, and he felt that Marika seemed to be more thoughtful and cunning, several times or even dozens of times more so than Michaela.

However, Marika did not answer his question directly. Instead, she leaned on the bed, slightly supporting her proud figure with her hands, and looked at him with a smile while tilting her head slightly.

Her long hair, as white as gold, was tied into a pigtail and quietly slid down her smooth back as she moved.

After a long time, he finally spoke:

"...Dark Moon and Sun are both ancient laws of the borderland, and are also the most ancient existences in the starry sky..."

"Once, having angered the Supreme Will... the people of Nox, living in the Eternal City, followed the stars and the dark moon in the borderland sky, while the ancient dragons, with their long lives, accompanied the sun..."

Malika did not answer his questions, but told him a story instead.

However, he had seen this story in the books in Kalia's study.

In the distant past, it was said that the ancient dragons believed in the sun, and Fam Azra was said to have been built with the help of orcs. It was a city-state ruled by ancient dragons and was also a harbor where the sun always shone.

At that time, in the border area, death had always been a symbol of equality, regardless of status or race.

The dead are guided by the sun's rays or by special creatures living at the border—the dead birds and their priests.

During the defense of Kalia, the lost dead who were summoned proved this very point.

Therefore, Reinhardt dared to conclude that there was some connection between the sun and death.

And in his memory, after Godwin became the dead prince, Michaela even went to the city of Thor on the snowy mountains to seek the sun.

It’s a pity that the sun has long lost its power and has become a useless star.

However, when Malika suddenly told this story, he seemed to understand its meaning.

"So, you intend to take the laws of both the Dark Moon and the Sun into your possession and manifest them within the Elden Circle? And you came here today and said so much, and did so much, just to tell me that you want to arrange a marriage for me and crown me a demigod? Or even a god-man?"

This can be said to be the most common method used by the Golden Tree.

Under the pretext of a so-called peace and marriage with Kalia, he held the entire Lienia in his hands. Radagon even secretly conspired with the academy to completely overthrow the rule of the [Full Moon Queen] Lenara.

As for gods and such...

After all, no one has ever said that the God-man must be female and the King of Elden must be male. It is enough as long as one God and one King can unite and give birth to an heir.

It just so happened that the gods and deities currently on display were all female, and among them was a man-woman named Michaela.

However, Reinhardt suddenly thought of something and added, "If I disobey, then I will die, right?"

That's what Malika would do.

Just like when she threatened Kalia in the Dickas elevator—

"The Golden Tree governs everything. Make your choice—"

"To be integrated into the law? Or to be separated from the law... and become a powerless border tributary?"

If Kalia had refused the marriage, Marika would probably have taken action personally and destroyed everything in Kalia and Lienia, just like what she did to the giants on the snowy mountains.

This is also the main reason why he thinks this woman is cold-blooded and cruel.

However, such behavior is exactly the quality that kings possess. After all, they are not heroes, but kings.

"Reinhardt, you're a smart kid. What you said is exactly what I was thinking..." Marika looked at him with a look of relief, but then shook her head and said, "But this is just a past thought. The Law of the Sun cannot be manifested in the Elden Ring, and it is a power rejected by the Golden Tree..."

"...Then what is Her Majesty the Queen going to do? Do you plan to skip the attempts at winning them over and just kill them directly?" Reinhardt said half-jokingly, but his hand had already reached into the leather bag he was carrying and grabbed the two Chapoli grapes.

Ready to crush it at any time to release the remaining yellow smoke fire in order to awaken the dormant solar power in the body.

But Marika's behavior was completely opposite to what he had imagined. She had no intention of taking action. Instead, she sat on the bed and slightly crossed her long legs, revealing her snow-white skin.

"Your point is interesting, but our relationship hasn't reached the point of being hostile, so I don't have any such plans..." Marika said with a smile, her eyes shifting slightly to his hand reaching into the bag. "But... I advise you to let go of what's in your hand."

"That flame is an ominous presence. It's not just the power rejected by the Golden Tree, it will also bring destruction to the borderland... Since you didn't understand its meaning the first time, I'll forgive you this time, but I don't want to see it a second time."

Marika's soft voice was filled with cold threats. It seemed that her resistance to the mad fire was far beyond his imagination.

But one thing that surprised him was that this woman actually considered the creatures in the border area.

Here, he slowly let go of the grapes in his hand.

"Very good, you're a good child..." Marika's voice gradually soothed, and even her expression softened. "Although I don't intend to erase your existence, there is something I need you to do..."

"Of course, the rewards are certainly not small. I wonder what you will choose?"

"...Do I have any choice?" Reinhardt sneered.

But Malika didn't seem to care.

"Not a bad answer..." As she spoke, she stretched out a hand towards him: "Before I tell you, hold my hand. I want to take you somewhere."

However, Reinhardt had no intention of reaching out. Instead, he was thinking about what this woman, Marika, wanted him to do.

Could this be an opportunity for me to die in Godwin's place?

Although I don't know Marika's plan or thoughts on Black Knife Night in the game, this possibility is not impossible...

"...Why, are you scared?"

Marika's sudden voice interrupted his thoughts. When he looked up at her, he found that her face was full of teasing and amusement. He didn't know what she meant by fear.

However, what is there to be afraid of at this point? At worst, we can just fight back against the enemy with our troops and block the water with our earth.

So he tightly grasped the slender hand that Marika extended towards him.

Suddenly, a golden light flashed in the room, covering Reinhardt's vision. When he recovered again, gusts of bone-chilling cold wind blew through his body.

Fine snowflakes fell from the sky.

Marika brought him from the eternally daylit city of Rodel to the top of Giant Mountain, which was covered with thick snow.

Below, countless giants who had turned into ice sculptures knelt there, as if repenting for their mistakes.

The place where Marika brought him was a snow-capped peak above the clouds. From here, he could clearly see the huge golden tree standing in the distance, the royal city at the foot of the tree, and even everything under the sea of clouds.

On another high peak beside them, there was a cauldron guarded by the only remaining fire giant, connected with heavy chains and filled with ash-extinguishing flames.

This is the place closest to the sky, and it is also the place pursued by all pyroxene magicians and stargazers.

Without the cover of clouds, the sun in the distance shone directly on Reinhardt.

The power of the sun in his body was gradually awakened, his muscles expanded again, and his body gradually bulged, almost the same as when he fought against Marennia.

The scorching heat emitted caused the surrounding snow to gradually melt.

"Queen Malika, what do you want to do by bringing me here?"

Perhaps because the power of the sun was gradually awakening, his eyes gradually became indifferent, his tone was full of arrogance, and he lost his awe of Marika.

However, Marika just gave him a charming smile, took a slow step, letting her crystal clear round toes sink deep into the snow, and stood on the top of the mountain, gazing at everything in the distance like a king looking at his own kingdom.

Then he slowly opened his arms as if embracing this narrow space.

After a long moment, she lowered her arms, turned around, and asked, "Reinhardt, what do you think of this narrow space now?"

"Of course, you have to witness it with your own eyes."

"Haha, really? Is that your answer?"

Marika smiled again, but this time it was completely different from the previous times. It was as if she had lost her majesty and charm, and had unloaded the burden of being a god. It was a smile that came from the heart.

"Then, Reinhardt, witness it with your own eyes."

"What do you mean?"

"...literally, of course."