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This sight somehow spurred melancholy in him.

He was standing on top of a slope, gazing upon the city that was reminiscent of a massive beast resting under the drizzle. The rain pattering on him swiftly wet his clothes.

It took a while before he remembered where he was.

This is Artasia’s kingdom.

Roel was always transported into the midst of the city, so he never had such a broad view of the city before. The weather was always clear too, regardless of day or night. This was the first time he had seen it drizzle here.

He had struggled to recognize this place right away due to these differences, but he was able to figure it out through the architectural design.

That put his mind at ease.

At least I’m still alive, given how I still have a sense of consciousness. It also means that I still have the powers of my Kingmaker Bloodline, since I’m able to enter Artasia’s domain.

This was the first time Roel had remained Sia-fied for so long. He had known that he would suffer a severe backlash for that, but at least the price was not death. He probably got off lightly thanks to the gift he received from Sia, and his reaching Origin Level 1 likely helped too.

After confirming his own condition, Roel began making his move. He took a moment to ascertain his position first before making his way into the city.

This was not the first time he had embarked on this pilgrimage, but the journey seemed longer than before. In this deserted city, he could only hear the pitter-patter of the raindrops. Looking at the gray sky, he felt like something was weighing on his heart.

“It looks like ominous dark clouds are crushing the city,” Roel remarked as he advanced ahead.

Half an hour’s journey later, he pushed open a heavy gate and entered a castle.

His speed was impressive considering how he had just walked half of the city, but a perplexed frown formed on his face as he couldn’t help but notice Artasia’s absence. This was not the first time they were meeting, so there was no need for any formalities. In fact, in recent days, the Witch Queen would just directly transport him to her castle whenever she wanted to meet him.

With a mind full of questions, Roel traced the familiar mana pulsation and finally found the Witch Queen.

Artasia was standing alone in the courtyard, dazedly staring at the drizzling city. Her spells kept the rain from pelting her, but her forlorn silhouette looked inexplicably melancholic.

“…”

After some hesitation, Roel decided to approach her. His footsteps caught the Witch Queen’s attention.

“My hero? What are you doing here?”

“Weren’t you the one who summoned me?”

“Hm? I didn’t… Ah, I see.” The white-haired witch was initially confused, but her eyes soon widened in realization, and she nodded.

“What is it?”

“I might have been subconsciously thinking about you. You happened to be knocked out, so I ended up summoning you here.”

“What a coincidence,” Roel remarked.

“Yes, what a coincidence,” Artasia replied with a smile.

Roel silently stared at the Witch Queen’s madder-red eyes for a few seconds before asking, “…Are you not going to avoid the rain?”

“It’s fine; it won’t reach me anyway. It’s rare for it to rain here,” Artasia said.

“Is that so?” Roel leisurely replied.

He strolled into the courtyard and made his way over to Artasia’s side, but he didn’t deflect the raindrops with his mana, allowing them to pelt him. The Witch Queen looked at him, but she didn’t say a thing.

The two of them stood side by side as they gazed at the drizzling city.

Something’s wrong, Roel thought with an impassive face as he glanced at the Witch Queen with his peripheral vision.

The domains of the ancient gods could be described as snippets of the ancient gods’ most impressionable memory while they were alive. They weren’t real locations, so the concept of changing seasons and weather didn’t apply.

For instance, Roel had been to Grandar’s sunset plains many times now, but there had never been a change in it. It was the same for Peytra’s mountain valley. Yet, Artasia’s kingdom felt so oppressive today, and even the drizzle felt icy-cold.

What in the world happened?

Roel thought about Artasia’s earlier performance during his battle with Carolyn, but there wasn’t anything amiss. Knowing that he wouldn’t get to the bottom of this doing nothing, he spoke up. “Artasia, you said you were thinking about me earlier. What were you thinking of? I’m surprised it brought me in here.”

“…It’s nothing. I’m just worried about your body.”

“My body?”

“Your condition is better than I thought. You should be able to recover in half a month with that evil god’s help… No, just a week or so should suffice.”

“…” Roel noticed how the Witch Queen had changed the topic. He shook his head and decided not to beat around the bush anymore, asking, “Artasia, what happened?”

“What could you mean by that, my hero?”

“I should be asking you that. The rain… feels a bit cold.”

“…”

Stifled by Roel’s words, Artasia raised her hand and dissipated the mana around her, allowing the rain to fall on her hand. The raindrops felt icy cold, sending chills through her body.

“…”

“Everything in your domain is a reflection of your heart, from the gloomy weather to the rain,” Roel calmly pointed out as he looked at the Witch Queen mildly. “Artasia, what happened? Or should I ask, ‘What’s about to happen?’”

“!”

The Witch Queen shook a little upon hearing the latter half of Roel’s words. There was a subtle change in her expression as she confronted Roel’s peaceful eyes.

Did I hit the nail on the head? Roel wondered.

In the end, Artasia let out a sigh and remarked, “My hero, why do you always have to get to the bottom of things?”

“How can I not get to the bottom of things after seeing you in this state? So, what happened?”

“You can say that I’m getting nervous from remembering the past…” Artasia softly murmured. She continued to stare at the drizzling city before suddenly turning to Roel and asking, “My hero, can you promise me something?”

“What is it?”

“Do everything you can to recover as quickly as possible, and if a battle breaks out soon, you should absolutely avoid fighting alone.”

“Fighting alone?”

Roel was confused. He didn’t even know whom he was going to fight with!

There was nothing urgent for him to deal with at the moment. The deviants were still fighting amongst themselves after losing their leader. The only battlefield he might step onto was the war in the Austine Empire, but the chances of that were slim.

Lukas was the former emperor, after all. Roel, as a noble of the Saint Mesit Theocracy, couldn’t carelessly involve himself in the war, else it could lead to animosity between the two countries.

Roel shook his head, thinking that he was unlikely to get into a fight in the near future, but before he could ask Artasia about what she was getting at, he suddenly froze up.

Wait a moment. Is it possible that…

Roel stared at Artasia with eyes widened in horror as he asked, “Is the Savior on the verge of awakening?”

“…” The Witch Queen was silent for several seconds before slowly nodding.

Roel’s mind immediately whirred into action.

The doomsday prophecy—it was not just once or twice Roel had heard about it. It was a disaster that humans of the present generation had to overcome if they didn’t want to go extinct. For thousands of years, humankind had done everything they could to avert it, but evidently, their efforts had been futile.

“…It’s finally here?” Roel murmured while looking at the gloomy city before him. He finally understood why Artasia was so uneasy. A helpless smile formed on his lips as he softly asked, “Are you certain?”

“…Yes.”

“Since that’s the case, won’t you answer a question of mine?” Roel said with a heavy sigh. “Artasia, you have already seen my ending, haven’t you?”