Chapter 712 The Withering Flower
Years passed in the blink of an eye.
Nial had long since returned from his second trip to the Monster Dimension, and he had made his way back to the royal palace as well
It felt a little bit weird to return to the royal palace at that time because he was not accustomed to the attention everyone paid him.
Everyone tried to please him, which ought to be great.
However, it made feel Nial Lacardia as if he was suffocating.
He had been doubting himself and his life in the Lacardia Empyrean Void, just to get thrown into the masses of attention when he wanted to be alone the most.
News of his First Familiar's evolution had already spread, and so had the information that Goldy was likely to evolve into a True Dragon.
The Divaro Golmmian Flood Dragon was currently longer than 100 meters and Goldy had become strong enough to deal with most Summoners' familiars.
There weren't many Summoners with a stronger Familiar than Goldy.
If there are stronger Familiars, there would only be a few. These Familiars would mostly belong to families and clans related, or close to the Royal Family.
With that understanding, Ayase asked Nial to grow stronger and turn into the strongest Emperor of the Lacardia Empyrean Void.
Nial wished that he could repay Ayase's favor by doing so but he was reluctant to say anything.
He was not sure if he would stay in the Lacardia Empyrean Realm, after all.
Time passed once again, seems like a snippet of time had been removed from Nial's mind.
The next thing he remembered after his talk with Ayase was quite confusing.
Goldy had grown up and it evolved, turning into a full-fledged True Golden Dragon.
Nial was not sure which resources Goldy had received to evolve but he was certain that they had to be worth a fortune.
Either way, Goldy levitated behind him as he ascended the throne in the royal hall.
He was being crowned? How much time had passed without him realizing it?
Five years? Ten? Dozens? A century?
Nial was not sure, but he knew that he was currently on the verge of finishing his Godly Foundation.
He was already at the Trixar rank and the strongest existence in the Lacardia Empyrean Void.
'Just like that? … I had so many things to do, but I'm already at the Trixar rank, all of a sudden?'
It was almost like Nial entered a bad movie, and the protagonist became a powerhouse all of a sudden.
A nonsensical time skip happened, just like that.
The crowning ceremony didn't last long. After spending what felt like ten the ceremony was already over and it was late at night.
He was in his room, dozing off and trying to understand what had just happened.
'Five decades passed in the blink of an eye, and nobody thinks that it's weird? Is that what they call the memory loss of powerful Cultivators? In exchange for the best possible cultivation talent their lifespan will be reduced…no it's more like a skip of time…but I'd that really it?' Nial wondered.
He didn't really remember when he fell asleep but the women's voices - telling him to wake up - reappeared in his mind.
'I shouldn't be asleep right now…right?'
Nial stared at the mirror, watching his mature face and body before he sighed deeply as another question surfaced on his mind.
'And if I'm asleep…since when?'
Just as he asked he spoke in his mind, questioning himself, the past, and even the present, a golden thread began to manifest from the center of his room.
He was still in the royal palace, watching himself in the mirror.
Something had changed.
The luster in his eyes was no more.
His golden and silver heterochromia eyes lost their color.
His once-powerful eyes had been replaced by milky-white, lifeless eyes that stared unfocused into the mirror.
However, Nial was not really shocked by the sudden change. It was actually much more comfortable.
"Once I lose my sight, everything will go back to how it is supposed to be…"
Nial could feel the power of the Royal Family's Ancient Heirloom fluctuate wildly as Nial said these words. It was almost as if the Ancient Heirloom agreed with his statement, and that it praised him for finally opening his eyes to the truth.
Rather than considering it as opening his eyes, one could say that he finally closed his eyes, dispersing the illusion one and for all.
Darkness oozed out of Nial's body as the Ancient Heirloom of the Royal Family unleashed its dormant powers.
For the last thousands of years, the lower of the Ancient Heirloom had never been fully unlocked.
Yet, the young Emperor, Nial Lacardia, was able to do so even if he didn't intend to tap into its power.
At that moment, the Ancient Heirloom began to buzz, and the golden flower inside his Cursed Divinity, on the other side, began to lose its luster.
It was withering.
Meanwhile, the woman by his side smiles bitterly.
The woman was Celine, Nial's former personal maid, his current wife, the woman who had obliterated anyone who intended to harm Nial in the last few decades.
She was not as powerful as Nial but her scheming and strategic mind allowed her to overcome this hurdle easily.
Tens of thousands had been killed by her hands and she didn't regret it even once.
However, what she regretted was one thing.
She regretted that she had never been able to replace the three women that had been in his mind.
Even after she picked out the traits he liked most about these three women, Nial never even compared her to them.
He loved Celine, but that was not because he saw the Oracle, Hana, and Princess Evalyne in her.
It was different.
He learned to love Celine, yet, he knew that he could never really be with her, not forever.
Somehow, he knew.
That all of this was just a Witness State.
He was just a Witness of what could have been his future if not for the Advocate of the Pryards.
He knew…no, his memory resurface…all of them.