Silent Crown

Chapter 524 Forever

Chapter 524 Forever

"Hyakume?" Ye Qingxuan hadn't thought there was even a shred of Hyakume's body left. The face sneered, and the eye on the face shot a glance at him.

"How brilliant you all are. I hope when the judgment day comes, you can still be as confident as you are now."

"Judgement day?" Ye Qingxuan frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"Why do I have to tell you?" Hyakume sneered. "You thought you would receive a happy ending once you killed me? Don't be naive. Something more terrifying will come after I die. And that something will soon wake up…" Hyakume murmured. "When I die, the world will be totally different from what it is today, and more creatures like me will come popping out."

Hyakume laughed and opened its arms to embrace the moonlight and let itself be destroyed by it.

"As you have put it in the Holy Bible, one day, a real dominator will come to control this world, but what awaits you will never be salvation…"

Soon, the last shred of Hyakume was destroyed by the moonlight. Hyakume fell asleep, sleep from which it would never wake up.

However, Ye Qingxuan was not happy at all; he felt a bit terrified by what Hyakume had said to him.

The moon was shedding its light upon this world, and the whole world was sleeping. Since the music theory in Ye Qingxuan's body was the same as that of the moon, he was not destroyed by the moonlight.

In a few minutes, the Blue Moon dispersed and vanished. Ye Qingxuan was sweating like a beast, since he was close to being devoured by the moonlight and becoming part of the Quiet Moon. If that really happened, he would become an incarnation of his own personality.

Realizing he was still intact, Ye Qingxuan was relieved.

He felt extremely tired and passed out.

In the silent world, Hecatoncheir reached out its hands and held Ye Qingxuan. Ye Lanzhou carefully watched his son, who he had not laid eyes on for the past ten years. He wanted to say something, but stopped. After a long while, he sighed. "Let it be."

Ye Lanzhou turned around and looked at the Palace of Pope. Then he said, "Stick to your promise."

The King of Red nodded and said, "Then I shall bid you well and goodbye."

Ye Lanzhou then closed his eyes.

Ye Qingxuan woke up and felt like he'd had a dream that lasted forever. Much had happened in that dream, and now that he had finally woken up, he felt a bit confused and shocked.

It was afternoon, and he was sitting in a chair and gazing at the tranquil sea in front of him. The breeze blew, bringing the salty flavor of the seawater. Next to him was a bottle of juice with droplets of condensation flowing down along the surface of the bottle.

Everything was so familiar and beautiful. Ye Qingxuan then saw a man sitting next to him. That man had the same white hair and eyes that he did. The man was smiling at him. He was Ye Lanzhou.

"..." Ye Qingxuan was shocked and did not know what he should say.

"Why are you in a daze?" Ye Lanzhou knocked him on his head. "Call me dad."

Ye Qingxuan lowered his head. Somehow, he felt like crying. He wiped his tears with his hands and took a deep breath. After a long while, he raised his head and looked at Ye Lanzhou.

"You have been trapped in the ruins all these years?"

"Yes. After all, I am 'dead.'" Lanzhou laughed. "By the way, I have not taught you the Dream of Eternity, which is the tactic I have been using. Before I died, I locked all of my senses and memories in my brain; luckily, I had Hecatoncheir to help me."

Ye Lanzhou sighed. "My real body then decayed. Five years later, my personality basically formed. But I am always confused and have no idea who I am most of the time. Thanks to you, you have rebuilt the Heaven Ladder, and the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei has been reclaimed by you. Finally, I managed to collect my consciousness. If it were not for reclaiming my own brain, I would still be sleeping."

"I see." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Have you paid a visit to Mom?"

Ye Lanzhou was silent for a while and nodded. "Yes, I have."

"She had been waiting for you until the last breath left her body. You owe her a lot."

"I am sorry," Ye Lanzhou said.

"She did not resent you, though." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "She never did."

Hearing this, Ye Lanzhou did not say anything. After a long while, he looked at Ye Qingxuan and asked, "Have you met Lola?"

"Yes."

"She is a poor thing. I taught her, but I never got the chance to take good care of her."

"She is fine, you do not need to worry about her."

"How about you?" Ye Lanzhou asked. "How have you been all these years?"

"Just so so." Ye Qingxuan sipped the juice and frowned when he noticed the juice was too sour. Then he said, "I can't believe you still remember this place."

"Of course I do." Ye Lanzhou nodded and pointed. "I remember it was your fifth birthday, we spent the day on this beach. If it were not for your cousin, you would have jumped into the sea."

"Let's talk about something else." Ye Qingxuan shook his head.

Ye Lanzhou sighed. "You still resent me?"

"Not really." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "I am just feeling a bit sad. Many things happened, and I can't change any of them, so I am feeling sad. I do not think one needs to hate someone."

Lanzhou reached out his hand and touched Ye Qingxuan's hair. "Thanks."

Ye Qingxuan did not say anything.

Ye Lanzhou stood up and began to walk on the beach. "You must have already know what happened to the Ye family."

"Yes." Ye Qingxuan nodded.

"If you do not want to get involved in this business, just let it go…" Ye Lanzhou shook his head. He then smiled when he saw his son had grown up so tall. "You know what, I met your mother when I was the same age as you are now."

Ye Lanzhou waved his hands and asked Ye Qingxuan to come over. "At that time, I was kicked out of the east side, and since then I have been wandering in the west like a homeless dog. I was afraid people were walking behind me or staring at me. I was afraid of people's shadows. I was afraid of people, including myself… I did not care how I looked or how this world looked. But when I met your mother, for the first time, I felt this world was good. The world that held your mother was good."

"In her eyes, I was a hero."

"But I know I am not a hero. Still, I want to become a hero for her and make the world where she was a better place."

Suddenly, Ye Lanzhou became quiet and turned his back to Ye Qingxuan.

"At last, I became a hero, but I failed to protect her," Ye Lanzhou murmured. "This was the biggest mistake I ever made. Later, I refused Ludovic's request, destroyed the mechanism of purgatory, and displeased Hyakume, but I do not regret all this. I am so sorry that I failed to accompany your mother for her whole life."

Ye Qingxuan was silent. Suddenly, he heard a cracking sound. His father's face had cracked, like a mirror.

"What is going on?" Ye Qingxuan was shocked.

Ye Lanzhou forced out a smile. "The consciousness of a human is not compatible with a catastrophe. I finally managed to wake up, but to make it compatible with my consciousness, I would have to sleep for at least a few decades or centuries."

"You…" Ye Qingxuan looked at his father in a daze. Ye Lanzhou reached out his hands and hugged his son. Ye Qingxuan could feel his father's heart beating and his hot tears.

"My dear son, listen. This world is beautiful, do not resent it. One day, you will also meet a girl, a good girl. When you meet her, you will find that you would do anything for her, you would change this world into a better place for her. I am so sorry that I can not stay by your side. I have a lot of things to tell you… but I do not have the time."

Ye Lanzhou backed away, looked at his son, and laughed.

"I am so happy to see you becoming a decent man."

Ye Qingxuan turned around so he would not see the cracks on his father's face.

"Do not behave like a child, turn around and say goodbye to me."

After a long while, Ye Qingxuan said, "Goodbye."

Ye Lanzhou laughed. He reached out his hands and touched his son's hair. "Meeting your mother and having you as my son are the two best things in my life."

Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan clenched his teeth and did not say anything.

"Then, I shall say goodbye." Ye Lanzhou backed away a few steps. Then he turned around and opened his hands. His past rose up like the fog, then it fell into his dreams.

A sleeping city appeared in the fog. The gone Avalon became bustling again. In the city, all the dead people were reborn and walked the streets. Young boys were wearing their sunday best, and young girls were wearing makeup. They walked side by side and hand in hand. Everyone was full of hope, and the homeless found their own shelters.

Ye Lanzhou was stumbling in the street. He crossed the crowded street, a quiet alley, and finally found the path home.

He saw that slim figure again.

Hearing his footstep, the young girl turned around.

"Why are you so late?" She watched him. "I have been waiting for you for a long time. The ball is about to begin."

Her eyes were so gentle and beautiful, he cried when he saw them.

"I am sorry I am late." Ye Lanzhou knelt down on one knee and held her hands. "Would you do me the honor of having a dance with me?"

"Sure." The young girl nodded and held his hands. "We can dance as long as we want."

"How about we dance for our whole lives?"

"That is too short."

"A thousand years then?"

"Well, it is still a bit short."

"Forever then?"

"Yes, forever."

The everlasting ball began at last. Ye Lanzhou smiled and held her hands.

The two walked together into a dream, the dream of eternity.

"Deal then." He hugged her and said gently, "Forever."