The aches and pains that arise one after another throughout the body, the cold that stimulates the trembling of the joints, the hunger that seems to burn through the stomach, the itching and numbness after the old and new wounds have healed, and the dizziness and fatigue that are all-consuming mentally...
All kinds of negative feelings come in like a flood.
The sobs and gasps of the guard members seemed to have a faint echo in their ears.
This stimulated Thales' vision to fluctuate slightly.
And the sin of Hell River, which has always been ready to move and be unruly, is now dormant and lifeless, like a seriously ill beast, refusing to give him any more help.
Thales knew that this might be a side effect of the restorative power of the Hell River, or the sequelae of the abuse of magic energy, or even the result of the flash explosion of the alchemy ball.
I have tortured this young body too hard.
But he had no choice.
No.
Amid the worried sound of the fast rope and Belletti's nervous gaze, the boy tried his best to stand firm.
But he can't fall.
In a daze, Thales, who was equally heavy both physically and mentally, said this to himself, waving his hand to reject the help from others.
Not yet.
He bit the tip of his tongue hard several times, stimulating himself to the point of trembling.
It seems like this can draw enough strength from the almost numb pain to concentrate.
In a different kind of silence, Thales, who was holding a torch, turned around with difficulty.
He looked at the man who was sitting against the wall, covering his injured arm, with a lonely and slumped look on his face.
Following Thales's gaze, others also turned to the poor man who said nothing and just stared blankly at the two bodies.
Belletti's red eyes were fixed on that person, as if expecting something.
Cannon and Tardin's expressions were full of shame that they dared not face, and Samir's eyes held unspeakable meaning.
But the closer the torch in Thales's hand came, the more the opponent shrank back, even turned his head to avoid it, as if he was afraid of the light.
"Quil Barney."
"Chief Vanguard Officer."
Thales sighed tiredly:
"I know you've been through a lot today."
The indifferent figure seemed to feel something and subconsciously shrank back.
Thales stopped.
In the boy's blurred vision, Barney's figure gradually became clearer.
Not long ago, it was this man who extended his rough, calloused palm to him.
But at this moment, the radiant look in the other person's eyes no longer existed.
Instead, there is darkness.
Full of despair and self-blame, pain and confusion.
"No, Your Highness," Little Barney's head was pressed against his shoulder and the wall, half of his face was immersed in darkness, and he couldn't see clearly:
"No."
His words were full of hatred, and the mark on his face became more apparent.
"Don't use those sensational tricks against me..."
"Don't comfort me, and don't forgive me..."
Little Barney said nothing.
He held his injured arm and huddled in the corner, dying, avoiding the light.
Like a trapped animal that has lost its life.
no way no money.
Only the walking dead remain.
What took him away?
What took away this man?
That warrior who wields his sword and shield fiercely and fiercely, charging into the enemy's formation with great force?
That extremely powerful man who was in a desperate situation, dripping with blood, and never changed his color?
Thales took a deep breath and gently threw away the torch in his hand.
The dim and blurry light and shadow flickered.
Without the stimulation of the torch, Barney finally turned his head slightly.
"of course not."
The young man gave a peaceful smile:
"And I'm not prepared to do that."
Thales stared at Barney and his tone became calm:
"Because you did nothing wrong."
The trembling little Barney was stunned for a while.
The dungeon fell silent.
Until Thales' words continued to ring:
"Since eighteen years ago, as a loyal and loyal vanguard of the Royal Guard, Barney, your path has always been clear, straight, one-way and only."
"You live in the purest world. You only need to stick to yourself and protect your companions. You never need to choose between dilemmas."
Little Barney's eyes slowly solidified, but he remained motionless.
The young man turned to the other people in the dungeon and spoke in a deep voice, as if he was sighing:
"Not like them."
Sak'erkong looked at the two bodies on the ground, his eyes unclear, and Samir lowered his head deeply, seemingly unhappy.
"Unlike Naji, who is full of regret and guilt, he longs for peace of mind but cannot get it."
Cannon, Bree and Tardin each have their own difficulties.
"It's not like Nai, who feels like a lump in his throat when he knows the truth, suffering in the hesitation of opening his mouth."
Thales stared closely at Barney's unchanged expression, and finally sighed:
"It's not like..."
"Not like your father."
Father.
As soon as the word came out of his mouth, Thales saw little Barney trembling violently.
The prince sighed secretly in his heart.
"So, you think your father should have told you the truth back then, right?"
Thales looked at Barney's struggling and changing expression and said softly:
"The question is, if he really confesses to you, what will you do and how will you choose?"
If he told me the truth...
Little Barney's outline was distorted in the firelight on the ground.
But in the end, the vanguard officer turned his head angrily and stubbornly, facing the wall, avoiding the light, without saying a word.
Only the ugliest mark is exposed in the firelight.
Thales looked at the other party's reaction calmly and continued:
"I guess……"
"Will you listen to his difficulties, stand with him, and then, like him, fight and die in front of the palace gate without ever returning, and be buried with your own choices and sins?"
"Carrying the blood debt of regicide, will you sleep forever?"
Little Barney still turned his head and said nothing, but the mark on the side of his face twitched inexplicably.
Thales' tone began to worsen:
"Or are you loyal to the late king, standing on the opposite side of him, facing him with disappointment, sadness, confusion, anger and pain, fighting him with swords and annihilating your relatives for justice?"
"Carrying my father's stigma will lead to a lifetime of nightmares?"
Little Barney's outline moved, and visible veins bulged on his fists.
Thales chuckled:
"Or will you be like now, losing yourself in confusion and hesitation, refusing to accept reality, walking away alone, and escaping everything that is coming?"
"Live in chaos with a coward's guilt?"
The boy's eyes turned to the sword on the ground that was taken away from Barney by Sak'el:
"Even... death?"
Just die.
The pioneer officer, who was hiding from everything while holding his injured arm, shivered.
He seemed to be unwilling, and only uttered a few vague words from his mouth:
"It doesn't matter anymore..."
But Thales didn't let him continue.
"I think that's his concern, his fear."
The prince's voice dropped:
"He knows you and understands you, so he is afraid that when you know the truth, when you know his choice, you will have no more way to go..."
Thales' body was in a wretched state and his face was tired, except for a pair of eyes that were burning with energy.
"I think this is also the tacit understanding and agreement between those brothers and sisters who have kept you in the dark for many years and your father."
Little Barney's breathing stopped for a few seconds and he was stunned.
Ignoring the serious injuries on his shoulders and arms, he turned his head again and looked at Taldin and others.
But they all lowered their heads and avoided his gaze.
Thales ignored Barney's expression of confusion and pain, but looked at the non-existent distance and sighed softly:
"Your father did not intend to betray or deceive you, Commander Barney, nor did he hedge his bets and please in the middle, as Naki said."
The young man spoke with regret and sadness:
"The truth is, he loves you."
"He wants to protect you."
Thales' voice paused, accompanied by Barney's increasingly messy breathing:
"He just..."
"I don't know how to express it."
The prince's voice was steady and profound, containing indistinguishable emotions:
"So, he made the choice for you."
No one knew that at that moment, Thales clenched his fist fiercely.
The choice made for you.
Little Barney's thinking paused for a moment.
The pioneer officer was a little lost.
In his distant memories, the familiar figure that had often visited his nightmares over the past eighteen years appeared again.
That solid, tough, stubborn figure that he originally thought would never fall.
And that voice of the past.
Serious, powerful, and thoughtful:
[Your grandmother wrote a letter...she wants you to go back.]
【I think it should be your choice.】
Little Barney's eyes were distracted in the firelight.
Go back...
The choice is yours...
Little Barney subconsciously hugged himself tightly, shivering, with inexplicable fear rising in his heart.
But the next second, what rang in his ears was the other party's rare, not so tough, even weak and helpless words:
【No, we can't escape.】
【my son.】
The other party's voice became increasingly blurry, but his face became clearer and clearer.
It's up to me to choose...
No.
Little Barney's expression slowly twisted.
He was holding his injured arm in unbearable pain and breathing intermittently.
"No……"
Barney put his face on his shoulders, twitching uncontrollably, and his voice was so trembling that it was distorted:
"Father……"
As if he didn't want to appear too weak, little Barney, with a distorted face, put the index knuckle of his left hand between his teeth and bit down on the whimper in his throat.
Everyone in the guard silently watched little Barney's angry and painful look, and unspeakable sadness spread in the air.
Thales sighed slowly, feeling a lot in his heart.
"His plan clearly failed."
The prince tried his best to use his gentlest, but also most serious voice:
"Even if it's eighteen years late, you still faced the truth."
"Cruel, but true."
Little Barney began to tremble again.
The pioneer officer closed his eyes, as if this could prevent something.
"I know your tricks, Your Highness."
He snorted stubbornly.
"A common method used by nobles - just like you just dealt with other people, you take advantage of their weaknesses and give them an offer they can't refuse in exchange for what you want most."
On the other side, holding Cannon, Bree and Tardin, and even Belletti and others' expressions changed slightly.
Little Barney snorted and said to Thales:
"You are now taking advantage of my feelings towards my father."
Thales paused for a moment, as if he couldn't bear it.
But he finally took a deep breath and spoke slowly:
"So, that's your weakness?"
"Your father?"
"When he deprives you of the opportunity to choose for yourself, so that you can avoid painful choices and even avoid the consequences of your choices?"
Father.
Little Barney's arm began to tighten, feeling the increasing pain from the fracture.
No.
He loosened his teeth in a cold sweat, opened his red eyes, looked at the prince angrily, and hesitated to speak.
"Does his behavior mean anything to you?"
But Thales shook his head.
"Don't answer me," the prince said softly:
"Answer yourself."
Barney paused slightly.
Thales turned his head and glanced at Samir, who had a complex expression, at Belletti, who looked hopeful, at the three Tardins, whose moods were difficult to distinguish, and at Sak'el, who had suffered a great change and was mentally confused.
The prince took a deep breath to relieve his dizziness.
"For example, would you be like just now..."
Thales turned around, reached out with difficulty, and picked up the long sword on the ground.
"Just like your father expected, worried, and feared."
"Becoming that cowardly veteran who, after knowing the truth, lost his life, fell into despair, and was so miserable that he just wanted to die, Quill Barney?"
Little Barney's eyes were fixed on the sword in Thales' hand.
His sobs gradually became smaller and his shaking stopped.
Thales sighed softly.
"Do you know?"
The prince lowered his head, lowered his voice, and said sadly:
"If you did that..."
"That only means one thing - your father, he is right."
Little Barney shook hard!
"Because whether you admit it or not, you have confirmed your father's worries and confirmed his judgment: you cannot bear what he faces."
Thales took a step forward, resisted dizziness, inhaled and spoke:
"You are equivalent to recognizing your father's idea, agreeing to the choice he made for you, and following the path he paved for you."
The pioneer officer gritted his teeth, his expression became more painful and his face became more distorted.
His gaze went back and forth between the resolute and irrefutable prince and the bloody sword lying on the ground.
"You prove with your actions that your father should never tell you the truth of the matter, he should never share his choice with you, and as weak as you are, you should never know this secret!"
Thales' words were strong and his eyes were sharp.
Belletti and others behind him were so shocked that they looked at each other.
But Thales continued to speak, his tone getting stronger:
"Because of you, Captain Quil Barney, because you can neither endure the pain nor bear the consequences!"
"You are not qualified to make your own choices."
Little Barney clenched his fists unconsciously and breathed rapidly.
The pioneer officer and the prince looked at each other silently, one struggling and hesitant, the other firm and cold.
Unexpectedly, the next second, the prince's tone dropped and he returned to tiredness:
"However."
"Are you?"
Thales took a deep breath, turned the sword tremblingly, and handed the hilt to Barney.
"Yeah?"
Little Barney froze.
[Your grandmother wrote a letter...she wants you to go back.]
A familiar voice echoed in his ears.
【Very good, then I won’t go back.】
His gaze fixed on the sword changed back and forth, sometimes confused, sometimes painful, and sometimes sad and angry.
Until Thales gently lowered the hilt of the sword that no one had taken.
The dungeon became quiet again, except for the sound of breathing.
It seems like a century has passed.
Finally, little Barney opened his mouth, took a deep breath in the dull dungeon, and tried his best to calm down.
"But what if," Little Barney's next words were full of sarcasm and disappointment:
"What if I am?"
"Is he the one who can't bear it after the truth is shattered?"
Barney's words were nasal and hoarse.
"What if I'm such a coward and don't have the right to choose for myself?"
But Thales smiled.
He gently dropped the sword and let it whine on the ground.
"You once said, Barney," the prince's voice was soft and hoarse, as if he was afraid of waking up the sleeping person.
"Those brothers and sisters you cherish, they are the reason that supports you to survive in the darkness and persist until now, right?"
After hearing this, everyone in the guard breathed in confusion.
Little Barney's figure trembled slightly in the firelight.
Following Thales' gaze, the man glanced at the two bodies of his colleagues in a daze.
The prince looked at the gradually cold bodies of Naki and Nai with sadness:
Thales sighed softly:
"But I think it's just the opposite."
Little Barney's fingers tightened slightly, and his breathing became more and more disordered.
Thales raised his eyes and glanced at the underground storage room of the Bone Cage, which was full of dust and mess.
The guards noticed that the prince's expression became ethereal and confused.
"Naki said that in this bottomless dungeon shrouded in darkness, everyone was tortured."
"But there is only one person."
"He lives in the only place where light can shine."
Little Barney's eyes froze for a moment.
Everyone in the royal guard was stunned.
Thales' voice was very soft and careful:
"There, he has what they have lost and long for most."
The boy, who looked bruised and embarrassed, lowered his head and gave Barney a calm and brisk smile.
Little Barney was stunned.
"Compared to other people's tacit understanding or secrets, you are able to maintain the purest persistence, the purest steadfastness, and the purest sincerity."
Belletti lowered his eyes in confusion, Tardin lowered his head in pain, Samir pressed his hand on the hilt of his sword, Cannon and Bree remained silent.
Thales spoke in his brightest and most regretful tone:
"This is what they have long lost, the most enviable, jealous, admirable, most desired but out of reach, the most precious thing. It is the premise of your father's own sinking, and it is the eternal guilt of your brothers.
In exchange for the fire saved for you."
"The fire that makes them feel ashamed of themselves, something they don't want, and they dare not look directly at it."
The enunciation is clear and the aftertaste is long.
Little Barney stopped talking, he just stood there stunned.
The expressions of the remaining guards varied from confusion to anger.
Thales glanced at Naki and Nai who were closing their eyes on the ground, but he smiled:
"The truth is, Quill Barney, before I came here, you were them, your brothers and sisters' light in the night: bright and hot, burning and dazzling, representing that they were unwilling and did not dare to
I want to, and I dare not destroy, the brightest and most beautiful side."
Every word that Thales said made Barney's chest rise and fall, making others bow their heads and sigh, even Sak'el was no exception.
"Admit it or not, little Quil Barney..."
Thales leaned down with difficulty, his palm resting on the bloody sword for a second, and then slowly moved sideways.
He picked up the torch next to him.
"You are the only one they still hope to remain loyal to in this desperate world full of betrayals."
"It is their only coordinate when they are immersed in self-blame and guilt, doubting themselves in a meaningless future."
"It was the only light they could see when they raised their heads while struggling in the bloody darkness until their bodies were bruised and bruised."
"He is the only being they can respect, love, admire, envy, and look up to without any reservation or scruple."
"It is their last bit of comfort when they look back at the past in the bitter cold and dull rest of their lives."
Just listen to Thales sigh:
"For eighteen years, you were the reason for their survival."
"And after all this happens, will you..."
But little Barney interrupted the prince.
"Fake."
He looked slightly annoyed and angry, but his hands, feet and expression were a bit at a loss.
"Fake!"
"These are all illusions, things they created with despicability and betrayal," Little Barney shook his head in a daze, clenching his fists, as if this would help him wake up:
"Never existed."
He roared hoarsely and feebly:
"Whether it was my father or anyone else...they didn't give me a choice at all back then!"
"No!"
Little Barney was a little excited, and his words made most of the guards look away in shame, not daring to look directly.
At this moment, Thales suddenly moved forward!
He raised the torch in his hand high!
The fire was approaching and flickering, causing little Barney to subconsciously raise his hands to avoid it.
"No, they didn't give you a choice," the young man said quietly:
"But your life gave."
Thales spoke very slowly, which unknowingly made the excited Barney calm down.
Thales sighed again:
"It's just that compared to others, your choice comes later, but it is more critical and important than them."
"Right now, right here."
"After eighteen years."
Thales turned around and looked at everyone, including Sak'el, who was also immersed in darkness.
"Yes, Barney, when the truth is revealed, when all the pretense is torn apart, and when there is a brutal confrontation," Thales said quietly:
"You will understand that everything you have experienced before is just for today and what choices you can make."
Thales turned back and looked firmly at Barney who was dodging.
"And this choice is," he said softly:
"When you face all the darkness in this world, when you are angry because of betrayal, not angry because of deception, painful because of hatred, and desperate because of failure, when everything you have fought for is far away from you."
"What kind of person will you choose to become?"
No one spoke.
There was another unspeakable silence.
But little Barney's eyes were no longer misty. He just stared at the prince with a complicated expression and an incomprehensible meaning.
He sneered from his nose, sad and helpless.
"That's easy to say," Little Barney gritted his teeth and leaned his chest forward, as if trying to resist something:
"Because you're not there!"
He gritted his teeth hard.
"If it were you, if you had experienced all this: betrayal, deception, hatred, failure..."
Little Barney raised his voice and said angrily to the prince:
"You yourself, what kind of choices can you make, and what kind of person can you become?"
But he was quickly interrupted.
"Simple."
Thales sighed.
"In Xingchen, the teacher who taught me swordsmanship told me about it on the first day."
The next moment, Thales' arm moved!
Little Barney was startled, but he reacted very quickly and caught what Thales threw.
It's a torch.
It was the torch that Thales picked up from the ground.
The fire burned tenaciously in front of little Barney's eyes, illuminating his whole body one by one, from bleeding, scars, holes, to marks and brands.
Dispel the darkness.
"She said to me: Raise your shield."
I heard Thales say calmly but without any doubt:
"There are only two situations where you can let it go."
At that moment, Little Barney, who was holding the torch, was shocked!
The firelight flickered violently in his hands, swaying back and forth.
But it didn't fall after all.
"No matter how fucked up the world is, Barney, no matter what facts they try to convince you, deceive you, and tempt you to open yourself up to hatred, to retaliate with hatred, to surrender to anger, to surrender to despair, just to be them.
Captives and slaves in the rules..."
Kuaisheng, who had been watching silently, was the first to feel that Thales' mood had changed.
"No matter what reality does to you, no matter how others hit you, hurt you, torture you, no matter how limited and painful the choices life leaves you..."
"No matter how many times the damn world betrays you, betrays you, hurts you, forces you..."
Under the firelight, Prince Thales, who had been adventuring with Quick Rope himself these days, showed rare and complex emotions at this moment:
Pain, sadness, numbness...
And fragile.
These fast ropes were something I thought I would never have a chance to connect with that optimistic, humorous, strong and ever-changing Thales.
After a few seconds of pause, Thales took a deep breath.
"Only one thing matters."
In front of little Barney's confused and knowing expression, Thales gave a faint smile that seemed more helpless or melancholy:
"They can't change you."
"I don't want you to put down your shield."
In the silent, dull and dark dungeon, little Barney stared blankly at Thales.
A scene from long, long ago suddenly flashed before his eyes, when he had just joined the royal guard.
At that time, he was young and proud, proud and confident.
That day, he swung the wooden sword in his hand and attacked the country girl who fell in the sand and was in a mess, with a face full of pain...
He once thought that this vain girl had climbed to the top of the royal family and won the favor of the Crown Prince, so His Highness jokingly thrust her into his hands to "learn some martial arts".
[Believe me, miss, I hate this mission as much as you hate me now.]
He still remembered that in the training ground, he endured the pointing eyes of his colleagues, and said contemptuously and disdainfully to the "training target" assigned by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince:
[Now, noble Miss Jinni, raise your shield.]
He still remembered the look in the girl's eyes as she gritted her teeth and got up from the ground.
[There are only two situations where you can let it go...]
I remember the sweat on her face mixed with dust and blood.
And no matter how badly the girl was beaten by him, she would hold on to the shield in her hand and never let go.
【You die, or the enemy dies.】
Little Barney's vision blurred for a while.
"You don't need comfort or forgiveness, Vanguard."
Thales raised his voice:
"You just have to face yourself."
After a few seconds, Barney seemed unable to bear the prince's hopeful and bright eyes, and subconsciously lowered his head to avoid the other person's sight.
At this moment, he was confused and at a loss.
"Is that possible?"
Little Barney tilted his head and looked at the two bodies on the ground with suspicion and sadness, and his tone became a little hesitant.
Thales looked at Barney, who was holding a torch with his teeth clenched, and smiled faintly.
"certainly."
"Because that's what I do."
Thales turned around slowly, leaving the vanguard officer with a shaky but difficult step back.
"From the first day," under everyone's gaze, the young man took steps forward and raised his head with a smile: