It's a story of freedom and reality.

The Imperial Royalty holds the greatest authority in the world, and in return, the royals are among the most unfree people in the world.

Maybe the emperor can still have these arbitrary and arbitrary possibilities and be a single husband, but as a prince, he is also constrained, especially if he is not a prince, his mother's family is not strong enough, and the prince who is still very low in the ranking is even more so.

Living in the Imperial Palace, or rather, the Imperial Prince, imprisoned in the Imperial Palace, all he could see every day was the unchanging scenery of his mother's dormitory and its surroundings, and the cold wind and heavy rain blowing from the mountains around the imperial capital, as well as the air with incense.

Raised in the hands of a deep lady, this is a word used for ridicule, and it is true that it is true that locked in a small area of the palace, how can it be possible to understand the vastness of the world, and how can it be possible to learn all kinds of attempts correctly?

However, the young prince was very intelligent.

Even compared to his dozen older brothers, four or five younger brothers, and more than a dozen sisters, he is the smartest ones.

So he learned all the common sense taught by his mother, the knowledge taught by his teachers, some prudent secrets taught by his elders, and the clumsiness he learned without a teacher.

Because of this, he managed to become the unremarkable, but not the worst, in the palace, where everyone knew his name and abilities, but did not feel any threat to them.

And as he grew older, the prince's range of action also increased, and he began to have companions, playmates, and was able to walk in some areas of the palace.

But it was clear that he was not satisfied.

He has in his mind the legends he has seen, the legends depicted in the books, his memories have the beauties in those atlases, he is smart, he knows the vastness of the world, far better than the palace, the imperial capital, and even the empire that he can wander around, because his source energy talent is excellent, he can even sense the height and breadth of the heaven and earth with the sound of the wind, far better than he imagined.

The most painful thing for smart people comes from the fact that their cleverness cannot change the status quo.

This is the situation of the prince, he knows everything, he knows everything, he knows that when his father is seriously ill, there is a battle between the adult princes, and he also knows that a prince like him, whose mother is just a daughter of a small nobleman, cannot become an emperor at all.

He even knew that he had to choose a brother's team, and even if this brother wins, he may not be able to live.

The tradition of the Asmodean Empire, but there are very few kings.

- It's so boring, such a life.

He always thought so, sitting on the roof of the palace on a silent night, looking up at the stars and the moon in the sky.

The prince always couldn't help but fantasize about the distance, he wanted to see the mountains and seas outside the city, to trace the source of the long river, to the end of the river.

He wanted to explore the lair of the monster, to discover a superb view that no one had ever discovered, to broaden his gaze and horizons, and to leave his footprints far, far away.

He thought, but he couldn't.

The royal family is not free—the management of the clan, the gaze of the decrepit father, the vigilance of the adult brothers, and the inspecting gaze of the ministers all firmly locked on the young prince.

He even heard several discussions about himself: in the discussions, he became part of the conspiracy several times, became a tool for the open and secret struggle between adult princes, and became a victim of his brother's suppression of another brother.

Other brothers have died, and the infighting of the Asmodean royal family has entered a white heat, and the emperor who wants to choose the strongest heir turns a blind eye, his children are so many that love can only be given to the strongest one, such as the young prince who has no background, from the time the mother is pregnant, he is not eligible for love.

"Get out of the palace, Michal."

The prince's companion, a rewarded border nobleman, the second son of the Saakashvili family, who was not too lucky in a sense, a young man named Akhalonov suggested that he also knew that if he continued like this, not to mention that the prince named Michal would suffer, he and the family behind him would probably be doomed.

"We leave the palace and pretend to be dead - your brothers will not care about a prince who declares himself dead, their energy will not be spent on us, if we declare the complete renunciation of the throne in this way, at least we will survive."

"I've thought about it for a long time, Akhalonov, but where are we going to get out?"

The prince was also very helpless about this, he looked at the crimson moon with a wry smile, and then laughed at himself: "And who said they wouldn't send people to attack and kill?" With my strength, it only takes a small team of people to kill me, and anyone can get out. ”

"Hey, friend, I also want to try the pancakes from your hometown to see if they are as fragrant as you say."

"I haven't eaten it in years, maybe it's also memory beautification, right?" The aristocratic boy obviously didn't have any good ideas: "Hey, your royal family is a trouble, my father didn't choose between me and my brother, he's big, isn't the title his?" ”

"The primogeniture system is indeed stable, and you can't choose the best one."

The two chatted casually, venting their involuntary anguish.

And the sound of their conversation was heard by the prince's mother.

After the mournful woman pondered for a few days, the prince's mother made up her mind and taught the prince one last lesson.

That is such a thing as 'life', which is indeed 'self-owned'.

The prince, whose mother accidentally fell into the pond and died, was given the opportunity to return to his hometown with his mother's bones, and the grieving prince certainly knew the meaning of his mother's actions, and she used her life to bring a chance for her children to live.

"You have to live well, Michal." The note with his mother's handwriting was swallowed by the prince, and he couldn't leave any evidence, and then just like that, he embarked on the road back to his hometown.

Sure enough, in the middle of the road, a group of men came to attack and kill, but they did not find the prince and his companion.

At the very beginning, they had already left the convoy and entered the wilderness.

Surviving in the wilderness is not simple, even very simple, but fortunately the prince and the companion are not delicate, but also for this moment to prepare for a long time - they were successfully chased by passing source energy beasts all over the world, and this matter is simple before being eaten, they were saved by a talented hunter boy who lived in a mountain village.

The tall boy swung a giant wooden stick as tall as the others, and with just one blow, the flesh and blood of a black-spotted python were blurred, and the head was dented.

"At that time, I was just relying on brute force, and my skills were really unsightly."

Irowice rarely recalls the past, but when he gets older, he always reminies.

The long life span of the powerful in the calamity, but they have to endure the pain of a huge source of energy, and they can control more energy than their own person, which is a helpless thing, and it is the world's punishment for the descendants of the creator who slay.

But the Burning Spirit Realm is different...... Burning spirits are gods.

And the fate of the gods, in this world where the gods killed the Creator, is doomed to death.

Irowitz knew that he didn't have much time to live, maybe decades, maybe a hundred or two hundred years, it sounded like a long time, but for the gods it was almost eternal, and for what could be considered immortal, it was only a short moment.

As the highest condensation point of source energy, the Mind Light Body of the Burning Spirit Realm is so powerful that even if they exist, they will absorb the source energy around them, and finally, gradually, turn their Heart Light Body and even their soul into a 'Source Energy Speciality Point'.

In other words, they will destroy themselves because of their excessive source energy and be completely destroyed.

Unless...... Find a sustenance.

An indestructible sustenance that can withstand almost endless source energy.

The story of the prince, the companion and the hunter boy has come to an end for a long, long time, but in the beginning, they ventured out into the land, explored the ancient ruins, and they walked the world like brothers who were truly connected by blood.

The prince saw the mountains and distant places he dreamed of, and although it was hard, he never regretted it.

The companion was free, he didn't have any obsessions, he felt that it was quite good to be able to eat something good and live a peaceful life.

The talent of the young hunter was so high that it seemed a little incredible, and after the prince taught him how to practice the source energy, the genius who lived in the mountains and forests became a true transcendent, and he excitedly announced to his two friends that he would become their knight in the future, guarding them and abiding by all the rules of loyalty and morality.

"Come on." In this regard, the prince smiled: "Say it as if I am still the prince - we are friends!" ”

"You'd better hone your barbecue skills." And the escort was washing mushrooms by the river, and he complained: "The moa legs you roasted last time were all fucking raw, and you used to eat this kind of thing to live?" ”

"Hey, Michal you idiot, don't soak your stinky feet upstream, I'm washing vegetables!"

This kind of freedom lasted for quite some time, and even gradually made a name for itself among adventurers and mercenaries.

And just as the prince was excitedly trying to form a mercenary group to continue their adventures on the continent of Aion, a royal guard appeared in their small manor in a fixed village.

In addition to making wine, the hunter boy dug a small pond empty-handed, saying that he could raise some fish to eat in the future - this is not only their base and home, but also the base camp of the future trio mercenary group in the prince's heart.

But when the black-armored guards opened the door, everyone knew that such a future no longer existed.

"Good day, Your Highness, Your Majesty asks you to return to the imperial capital."

“…… I don't want to go back, you can see it, I don't want to be a prince, and I don't want any imperial inheritance, why can't I continue to die here in an unremarkable old age? ”

"This is unbearable for you, Your Highness, your achievements in the past few years are dazzling enough, Your Majesty admits that you have looked away, your ability has entered Your Majesty's eyes, you are qualified to compete for the throne, you must go. It was an order of the emperor. ”

The prince was silent for a long time.

He longs for freedom and exploration, but he knows very well that if he refuses, the only end is death.

Even if he doesn't die, then his two friends will die.

When you die, everything is meaningless, whether it is freedom or dreams of exploring the future, everything will disappear.

Freedom is nothing but a dream, and survival is an inescapable reality.

He didn't have a choice.

"Michal, relax...... We will accompany you. ”

At that time, the knight encouraged his arm muscles and comforted each other stupidly: "It's a big deal to die together, and the three of them are not lonely!" ”

"Yes, brother, no matter how vicious your brothers are, there are even more vicious ruin guard puppets we have seen?" And the escort shrugged his shoulders, although he was not as free and easy as the knight, but obviously not so sad, and seemed to have been mentally prepared for a long time.

The comfort of his friends was indeed reassuring, but the prince had been silent ever since.

Without rights, without power, there is no freedom, there is no survival.

My father could arrange his life at will, and there was no escape unless he came to participate in this battle for the throne according to his will.

Moreover, without power and power, he could not judge the wicked people he wanted to judge, he could not kill those enemies who stood in his way, and he could not change the empire and the world that he hated so much.

But, most importantly, you can't live without it.

You have to live, otherwise your mother's sacrifice or everything else will be meaningless.

Man has no freedom, only to do what he should do in the existing conditions.

It's like people can't choose their parents, they can only choose what to do.

So, in this world, whether it is dreams, freedom, or everything else that human beings pursue, is essentially rooted in existence.

Dead, it is nothingness.

Memories of his youth flashed through his mind, and Irowitz was flying in mid-air, but his eyes were always on the land.

The strength of the emperor's guards back then was irresistible to them when they were young, but to put it bluntly, it was nothing more than the peak of their hearts, touching the edge of God's will, not to mention that they could kill 10,000 with a breath now, and they would surpass him in a few years.

But weak also has the benefit of being weak, at least not so strong that it spontaneously combusts.

The strength of the Burning Spirit Realm is improved, unless it can surpass the entire Aion World, otherwise it is equivalent to accelerating suicide, even if Michal chooses the branches of the Burning Divine Tree as his sustenance, but the fragments of the Divine Tree cannot carry this almost endless source energy.

So, they set their sights on things that are not objects, and they are not souls.

That's the whole empire.

In order to help his overly powerful friend, after becoming the emperor, a huge network was generated in the hands of the former prince, a huge network was established between the mobile cities, they have no substance, just a kind of imprint, and within the scope of the imprint, it belongs to the territory of the real empire.

And the Burning Spirit Strongman can use some kind of oath and contract to transfer the source energy pressure he needs to bear to all the land, buildings, and humans in the entire empire.

On the other hand, the Soul Burner can also use the power of the entire empire to increase his own strength.

The genius-like idea was jointly implemented by the three of them, and the emperor joked that the knight had become the spirit of the empire, and the knight rolled his eyes, he felt that the emperor himself would reach this realm, where was he qualified to make fun of himself.

And the former accompaniment, although the current general is not so strong, he is the most handsome, and now he is married and a child has been born.

In order to celebrate, the emperor even hid his identity and left the palace to personally celebrate the birth of his friend's child for a night.

……

So, when did it become like this?

Probably...... I guess it was after I knew that the Holy Day was going to go out.

The world is about to end, and all the environment that humans can live in will be gone.

There is no escape, it cannot be ignored, it is close at hand, and for the strong who can live for a long time, it is almost a matter of tomorrow.

finally reshaped the Nuoda Empire and exhausted his efforts to complete the reform, but suddenly learned such news.

Comparing hearts to hearts, Iloviz will also feel that Michal will be devastated, and even feel that what he has done in his life is meaningless.

However, Michal clearly cheered up, he found a way to keep more people alive, he quickly made plans and arranged the steps, he was the strongest and best emperor of the Asmodee Empire since its birth, he did have the qualifications to save this civilization.

"Necessary evil, I also understand, in order to survive in the mouth of the beast, the herd will leave behind a part of the old and weak, so as to facilitate the survival of the herd as a whole...... But why? ”

Why did Michal become like this?

Irowice didn't understand, he never did, just as he never understood why the aristocracy exploited the plebeians to death, or that taxes had to be so large that the peasants couldn't survive.

He didn't understand why those meaningless luxuries had become fashionable for the upper class, and he couldn't understand why the resources that were enough to feed millions of people had finally become the consumption of a banquet in the imperial capital.

In this world, there are obviously not so many points worth fighting for! Everyone does their best, does the right thing, everyone deals fairly, compares hearts to hearts, and helps each other in times of difficulty, not like the current Aion world, which has to be divided into so many big camps to interfere with each other in the face of the end of the world......

As long as you are not selfish, content, and know how to choose......

If everybody could do this, where would there be so much, so much war and so much killing!

Obviously, between life and life, it should be friends, friends who work together to survive, instead of competing and exploiting each other like this, and being enemies of each other!

"Obviously, everyone is a good person, and everyone will be happy...... Michal, you know, you know that everyone takes a step back, and everyone can get more than a step! ”

However, the knight also understood.

You take a step back, and others go further.

Not everyone wants to win, everyone just wants to make sure they can survive.

Other people's lives are like mustard in the eyes of some people, they don't care, and they can be indifferent even if they die hundreds of thousands or millions.

Even, many people don't even care about their own lives, even if they are in the midst of the plague, they will not take the slightest protective measures, they simply feel that they are the chosen ones.

In all the worlds, there are too many people like this, so the world can never be peaceful.

The knight sped through the air, bringing thunder and storms.

He was not selfish, because he was not afraid of death, which meant nothing to Irowice.

He may have been the illegitimate son of a nobleman's relatives, with no parents or friends, and was adopted by a childless hunter who was killed by beasts of prey when he was a child, and he struggled to survive until he met the emperor and the general.

At first, he didn't know what the meaning of being alive was, whether the food was delicious or not, and he couldn't figure out what to do as a happy thing, he just imitated the hunter's way of life in the past, living day after day, his clothes didn't need to be repaired, and there was no need to fix the leakage of the house, in short, he was alive, like a walking dead in nothingness.

It wasn't until that time that the prince taught him how to practice, and this kind of thing that was far more interesting than anything finally gave the knight a real sense of life, and he began to feel that becoming stronger was what he should do, and becoming stronger itself also gave the knight a lot more ideas, allowing him to help his friends and make his existence meaningful.

To this day, Irowitz still has no regrets about saving Michal and Akhalonov that day, and the joy of their adventures in the past has not been forgotten to this day.

And, most likely, it was not the emperor who changed, but himself and Akhalonov.

He went from being the son of an empty hunter to a guardian of morality, to the first knight of the Empire.

He went from being a companion to the prince and a teenager who just wanted to live in peace, to an imperial general and a defender of the imperial order.

And he. Michal. From start to finish, it's exactly the same.

He's just someone who wants to live.

- Life is selfish.

This selfishness trumps everything, even if you can't live, your descendants will live, and if your descendants can't live, you must leave a mark on the world and leave a legacy.

For some people, inheritance may be more important than bloodline, but at the end of the day, it is nothing more than existence and continuity. How could Irowiz not understand? He had accompanied emperors and generals on their adventures and explored the ruins of the previous era, and they felt the nothingness of civilization after its demise, as well as the significance of inheritance represented by the existence of ruins.

And in the face of the end of the world, if you want to live 100%, you have to be more selfish than anyone else.

He made his choice.

"It's just possible that you forgot your original intention, forgot why you want to live, just to live for the sake of living."

Closing his eyes, Irowice whispered to himself, "You're obviously an adventurer who wants to explore distant places, aren't you?" ”

"Did you forget, or did you say it was part of your plan?"

At this moment, the knight could already see the Xiguang Tower, and he could sense the incomparably powerful source energy fluctuations at the top of the tower, as if it could cover the entire mountain range and the sky.

That's where the man who made Akhalonov self-judged, Svetley the Hopeful, lived.

A good guy in the truest sense of the word. So good that the knight is ashamed of himself.

None of his actions are for himself, or just for himself, and his gaze is always on the whole world, gazing at all things equally.

His thoughts and actions are correct, and his program is far clearer than his own 'why'.

The knight had no intention of revenge, even if he wanted to fight, not for this reason.

He walked all the way, just wanting to ask the other person a word.

"What are you living for?"

Or.

"What is it for you to be so powerful and shelter all living beings so much that you have existed...... What exactly? ”

But soon, the knight, who noticed something, frowned.

He turned his head sideways and looked to the south, sensing an unbelievable fluctuation of aura—there, on the land where the nobles of the southern realm were located, hundreds of strong men suddenly appeared, almost a catastrophe.

The celestial phenomena reacted, and even half of the Aion world roared an unstoppable wind.

This is obviously wrong, even weird.

Hundreds of catastrophe realm powerhouses, if the nobles of the southern realm have such power, as long as there are a few top-level catastrophe realms among them, the pile will also pile themselves to death, and after their death, the emperor with the same contract will also be affected.

All in all, the nobles of the southern realm will become the number one force in the world of Aion on the spot, and they can easily bulldoze the entire world.

So, he turned straight and sped south.

Then the knight saw it.

He saw the sacred trees that were growing and spreading in the city.

Wailing, cheering, roaring, and crying, all mixed together, spread miserably in all directions in the light of the blood moon.

Subconsciously, he stopped flying and was suspended in mid-air, and Ilovice stared at the scene in a daze.

He saw the dancing of flesh and blood, the condensation of bones, and the ultimate fusion of 'life' and 'being'.

He saw it.

A tree of blood gods perched on top of the moving city, with all the branches and leaves of a human face.

(End of chapter)