After the incident, Caelus, who was already gloomy that day, cancelled the celebration entirely. The lively atmosphere of the festival vanished almost instantly, replaced by unease and quiet whispers. Nobles began leaving one by one
Arthur returned to the palace with Isolde and then went back to his room.
'Twins huh, who could they be?'
Arthur leaned back slightly, thinking.
He didn't suspect the diplomats. They didn't appear suspicious and only seemed interested in gaining attention. Moreover, there could be countless pairs of twins he didn't know about. Jumping to conclusions without evidence would only create unnecessary problems.
'Anyways, ever since I've transmigrated I kept hearing that I had tamed a dragon when I was 12. I should go and meet him, not using him in battle is just foolishness'
The next day, Arthur made his way toward an underground cave located near the palace. The entrance was hidden beneath layers of stone and guarded pathways, making it inaccessible to ordinary people.
As he stepped inside, the temperature dropped slightly. The cave extended deep into the ground, its walls rough and ancient, faintly illuminated by glowing crystals embedded within the stone.
The path eventually split into two separate tunnels.
Each path led to a dragon.
One belonged to him.The other belonged to his father.
Arthur chose the left path.
The deeper he walked, the heavier the atmosphere became.
This path led to his dragon.
Valthyrix.
After walking further, Arthur finally reached a wide chamber.
And there—
He saw a man?
The man had black hair and eyes so deep and dark that they resembled the abyss itself. Even though his appearance was completely human, the aura surrounding him made it clear that he was anything but ordinary.
The air around him felt dense, almost suffocating.
'I guess he is in a humanoid form in order to fit in the cave'
"You're not Arthur"
Those words made Arthur's face go pale instantly.
He didn't expect this.
This was dangerous.
The man, who had been lying down casually, slowly stood up. His movements were relaxed, yet carried a quiet dominance.
"I can detect souls, even though you're in his body, your soul is different than Arthur's, imposter"
"Let me explain"
"Oh I will, but first let me beat you till half death"
Valthyrix immediately pulled out a sword and lunged straight toward Arthur.
Arthur had no choice but to draw his own sword.
CLING
Their blades collided with force.
"I'm surprised Solvyrion still listens to you"
They continued exchanging strikes, their movements accelerating rapidly. To an outside observer, they would appear as flashes of light rather than human figures.
"Not bad kid, four years ago I was defeated by Arthur. But can you?"
Arthur was at a clear disadvantage. Even though he had gained some experience during his previous battle, he was still a beginner in swordsmanship and relied heavily on instinct.
As for magic, the only disadvantage of magic is that fights between mages of the same tier is pretty much impossible at their mana cancel each other out, unless one spell is significantly superior to the other. That's why mages dominate swordsmen and other mages of lower tiers, but when they find another mage of the same tier, they typically fight using swords no matter how weak their mastery is. That's why dual learning is important but extremely difficult
Both Valthyrix and Arthur were at the 10th tier of magic
So the fight came down to skill with the sword.
Fortunately for Arthur, Valthyrix wasn't aiming for lethal strikes.
'I have to prove my worth to him'
Arthur pushed more mana into his legs, increasing his speed further. Even though it increased the pain he felt, he was practically immune to pain at this point
'If this body had defeated Valthyrix back then, it can do it again'
Arthur increased his pace and began using the original Arthur's sword techniques. The movements felt unnatural at first, but with guidance from the sword spirit, they became smoother.
This caught Valthyrix off guard.
The fight continued for a few hours
Their swords clashed repeatedly, each strike carrying force and precision. Small cracks appeared on the ground beneath them due to the pressure of their movements.
Finally—
CLANG
Arthur's sword was knocked out of his hand and fell to the ground.
Valthyrix's blade stopped just short of his neck.
"Impressive, kid"
He pulled his sword back.
"Even though you had help from your sword spirit, lasting so long without any experience is actually surprising"
"Am I worthy to talk now? Or do you still want to kill me?"
"Haha, it was just a normal exchange as I was bored, we had a contract so I anyways can't kill you, even though your soul has changed, the body is still the same"
"I see"
"I belong to another world, with no mana, and when I died there I woke up in Arthur's body"
"A world with no mana?"
These words clearly surprised Valthyrix.
"And still you lasted so long? Whoever you are, you've surely worked harder these few days than Arthur has ever had"
"Thanks for the compliment, anyways, would you know anything about why I transmigrated into Arthur's body and what happened to him after that?"
"How am I supposed to know? But listen to one thing, Arthur was born with a divine mark, thus his soul was also a divine soul. And such souls cannot be possessed by any ghost, ghoul, monster, or human, unless"
"What?"
"Unless he allowed it"
"Why would he do that?"
"As I said, I don't know, but one thing I'm sure of is that if he didn't want, your soul could not take over his body."
"Also, I know him very well, that selfish guy will not sacrifice himself whatsoever even if the entire world gets destroyed. You get what I'm saying? He probably encountered an opportunity, which required you to possess his body. As for what opportunity, I'm not sure"
Even though he had ignored it before, now this became a big mystery
"I anyways didn't like him at all, so I don't mind you taking over his body. You've also earned my approval"
"You didn't like him because of his arrogance and selfishness?"
"No, because of an incident"
"What incident?"
"Close your eyes and I'll show you"
As soon as Arthur closed his eyes, his surroundings changed completely.
It felt as if he had been pulled out of his own body.
He was no longer standing in the cave.
Instead, he was watching something unfold—
Like a third person viewing a memory.