Having lost the future and all possibilities, they existed merely as phantoms of the past within that Imaginary Zone, independent of time and space. Controlled by the Crimson Moon and the master of the Imaginary Zone, they moved like puppets on strings, following the trajectory dictated by fate.
This was a city that had died.
Countless spirits stripped of their destiny, within this eternal Divine Kingdom, cycled repeatedly through the old phantasms.
"The most pitiable are they themselves." Shiayar's gaze fell upon the blissful faces of the commoners.
They were already dead, turned into phantoms without fate, without a future... yet they still believed they were alive, convinced they possessed the power to decide their own lives.
He gently closed his eyes.
When Shiayar opened his eyes once more, his attire had subtly changed.
Gone was the simple trench coat, replaced by a long black robe with red clouds embroidered on it.
A whirlpool mask concealed Shiayar's handsome, delicately contoured features, leaving only his forehead guard engraved with scratches and the cap with wind chimes attached.
Passersby occasionally cast curious glances at him, but none lingered for long.
Years of ferment within Camelot had made the majority of its citizens supporters of the Daybreak Organization.
As for followers who imitated Cain's garb, they were naturally beyond counting.
However, one capable of imitating to this extent was indeed rare.
Shiayar just spread his arms slightly, and within the whirlpool mask's eyes, Runes from the Alchemy Matrix gently rotated.
Invincible metal was alchemically forged in The Void.
It bore that slight figure, clad in the long black robe with red clouds, as it ascended higher and higher into the sky.
"So, Augutina."
"Let's begin."
...
「Camelot, Inner City District.」
At the Royal Palace's highest point, in the Throne Room.
A solitary, lofty figure stood alone in the Throne Room, upon the Cangyin throne.
She looked down upon the square in the Inner City District below her, where the crowd grew ever more congested and boisterous, pouring in from all sides.
After a long while, she finally turned her body to the side.
Then, she looked down at the enormous Round Table beneath the throne, at the knights standing arrayed there.
"Speak, what is it you wish to do?"
"Your Majesty! You once said that you wanted to create a nation where the people could stand on their own, without the presence of Deities. For this, you even rejected the Dawn Church's invitation and support.
"But what have you done now?"
The robust knight, clad in silver armor, shining like the sun, suddenly stood up.
"The Seven Gods whom the Dawn Church worships are, at least, orthodox gods... they are Deities too, but they still follow some semblance of order.
"Yet you, Your Majesty, plan to cooperate with an ancient god of the Abyss, even at the cost of transforming Camelot into their Divine Kingdom, to turn the Empire's citizens into followers of the Crimson Moon?"
Gawain paused briefly before continuing to speak loudly.
"Please refute me! Tell me that everything is just a figment of wild speculation that I have rashly made up!
"Tell me that Merlin was beguiled by the Crimson Moon before his death, that he was attempting to deceive us, to divide the Sovereign from the Knights of the Round Table, and to have us embroiled in civil strife according to some sinister plot! Tell me that the sword injury on him did not come from the Sacred Sword, but was a forgery by the Crimson Moon!
"Tell me your true intentions were never to do any of this, nor to cooperate with the 'Crimson Red Moon'!"
He looked expectantly at the lone figure on the throne.
But what responded to Gawain wasn't a stern reprimand or a denial.
Instead, it was a cold and indifferent voice, devoid of vitality.
Silvery hair fluttered, revealing the delicate features of the young girl.
Yet, looking at her, Gawain could not find even a hint of the familiar, warm appearance the young Sovereign had when she disguised herself as a man under the name Artorigus.
"Lord Gawain, the intelligence you've gathered is not wrong.
"Merlin did die at the hands of the Sacred Sword."
The indifferent voice echoed within the Throne Room.
"The Dawn Gods cannot offer what I seek, but the Crimson Moon can.
"Time can wash away everything.
"However intense the sorrow for the departed might be at this moment, after a few hundred years and countless generations have passed, it will be forgotten by the world, reduced to a mere symbol in history textbooks.
"He once said—A person truly dies when the last person in the world who remembers him also forgets.
"But I don't want it to be so. I don't want him to be forgotten by the world. I want to witness with my own eyes the moment when his heroic spirit returns.
"To achieve this goal, only eternity suffices. I will use the powers of the Crimson Moon and the Sacred Sword to permanently fix Camelot, the Sacred City, in the Imaginary World, crystallizing it as eternal and undying.
"This is the choice I have made."
The Knight King's cold words shattered the last of Gawain's illusions.
"Of course, I understand that the path I have chosen is contrary to the creed that you, as knights, uphold.
"So whether you continue to follow me, leave, or even unite here to overthrow me, it doesn't matter to me.
"I'll give you five minutes to decide."