Chapter 1317 The Sole Vulnerability <TOC> Chapter 1319 Agreement
Translator: SumTLMan
Sanders’s eyes momentarily tightened as he seamlessly transitioned from the Wilderness of Dreams back to reality.
At that moment, Rolando’s form began to blur. His gaze was vacant, utterly unaware of the events that had unfolded.
As the stimuli in Rolando’s reality intensified, it finally shattered the chains binding him to the Gate of Dreams.
Rolando vanished.
In the vast and boundless wilderness, Angel emerged from the mist, staring at the spot where the two had disappeared, his expression grave and stern.
He recalled Sanders mentioning that Rolando was trapped within the Geometric Lock and that Sanders had personally erected another cage, suppressing Rolando’s magic. Given these circumstances, Rolando should’ve been entirely safe. How could anything possibly go wrong? Let alone a fatal twist?
As Angel’s confusion deepened, Sanders opened his eyes.
The first scene that met his gaze was a dark silhouette standing within the magic cage, back turned to Sanders, masking its actions. However, the sound of dripping echoed, and the ground was stained crimson.
The silhouette’s figure… was Eureka!
Eureka was supposed to be caught in the illusion realm created by Sanders. According to his calculations, even if Eureka gradually grew resistant to illusions, there’s no way she could awaken so quickly.
Moreover, even if she did awaken, wouldn’t Suis have some control over her?
Sanders stole a glance and noticed Suis standing to the side, his expression complex, lost in contemplation.
Sanders had no time to contemplate the sudden turn of events. In a blink, he was inside the cage. Before Eureka could react, a surge of wild, nightmare aura shot straight to her forehead.
“No!” Suis exclaimed in shock.
Ordinarily, the illusionary realms Sanders employed to ensnare Eureka were gentle. But this time, even Suis felt a jolt in his heart upon sensing the violent and aggressive nightmare power.
Alas, by the time Suis tried to intervene, it was too late. Eureka’s face drained of color, and she collapsed.
Sanders, rather than attending to Eureka, turned his gaze to Rolando, seated on the prison chair, a gaping wound in his torso from which blood gushed incessantly.
However, in the face of such a fatal injury, Rolando’s expression was eerily serene. A smug glint shone in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled slightly.
Without hesitation, Sanders reached out, his fingers glowing with vital energy, attempting to heal Rolando’s injury. But even as the wound began to mend at a visible rate, it couldn’t halt the rapid ebb of Rolando’s life force.
“It’s futile. You can’t save him… hahaha,” Rolando laughed deliriously, his voice accompanied by spurts of blood and flesh.
Suis, initially focused on Eureka’s state, lifted his head in confusion upon hearing Rolando’s words. “Save him? Who is this ‘him’ Rolando refers to?”
As Suis grappled with his thoughts, Sanders’s cold voice broke the silence, “Why don’t you show yourself?”
Suis, puzzled, questioned, “Who? Who should come out?”
Sanders ignored Suis, his profound gaze fixed on Rolando. “Your dark persona has no desire for survival because he can replace you. But what about you? Upon death, you will plunge into an eternal abyss of darkness, never to return to this world. This dark personality will be reborn in your flesh and overshadow your very existence.”
“Would you relish witnessing such a scenario?”
At this juncture, Suis’s understanding was nebulous, sensing that Sanders seemed to be addressing another persona within Rolando… But could such endeavors bear fruit?
A shadow of darkness played across Rolando’s visage, “You indeed discerned something. However, your efforts are in vain; he won’t heed you…”
His words trailing off, Rolando’s austere countenance began to shift — oscillating between venomous glares and moments of serenity.
“What’s your game? Go back!” Rolando exclaimed suddenly, “He’s deceiving you! Even if you manage to break free, it would be for naught. You’d end up a puppet, doing another’s bidding. Do you dare betray the King of Guman?!”
Rolando’s final outcry made his once vacillating expression revert to its original coldness.
It seemed as though the words “betray the King of Guman” acted like a binding curse on his dominant personality.
Aghast, Suis wondered if the scene unfolding before him denoted an interaction between Rolando’s dual personalities. How had Sanders orchestrated this?
Sanders regarded Rolando contemplatively, “Your life’s trajectory is already spiraling towards its inevitable end. What do you fear now? My prior commitments to you remain steadfast.”
With a sinister tone, Rolando countered, “What have you promised him? Mark my words, it’s a fool’s errand; forever beyond your grasp! You naive soul, are you actually placing your trust in this dark wizard before you?”
Rolando’s inconsistent tone indicated another internal skirmish with his primary self.
Sanders persisted, addressing the persona buried deep within Rolando, “Whom do you trust? This dark persona striving to usurp everything you stand for, or my words? At the very least, I honor my commitments.”
For the first time, a hint of panic surfaced on Rolando’s otherwise malicious face.
Even the most impeccable shield eventually shows signs of wear and tear.
“He cannot save you; why cling so fiercely to such a belief? He simply cannot!” Rolando shouted vehemently.
With a composed demeanor, Sanders replied, “Your injuries are grave. My efforts alone won’t suffice. It’s only if you have the will to survive and make necessary adjustments that there’s a sliver of hope.”
After a brief pause, Sanders left him with a parting thought, “Is it your choice to vanish, leaving no trace, or to fight fiercely, to at least continue living and chase that ever-elusive… freedom?”
Sanders’ words, like a spark born from a swift clash of flint and steel, cut through time and space, resonating deep within Rolando’s psyche. The core personality, hidden and trembling in the shadows, lifted its gaze to the three diverging paths ahead.
One path led to the abyss of eternal darkness — death.
On another, stood his dark persona, luring and dissuading him in a voice he knew too well.
The last was a mist-shrouded path, where the faint silhouette of Sanders could be discerned. A path of uncertainty, but one that might lead away from the grim abyss.
In this dire moment, the core persona closed its eyes. Ignoring the seductive whispers of his dark persona, he took a step onto the path veiled in mist.
The dark persona began cursing him, spewing venomous words.
Pausing momentarily, the core persona turned to his dark persona and said, “I simply don’t want to perish so soon.”
With that, he ventured deeper into the mist.
Meanwhile, in reality, the malicious glint in Rolando’s eyes faded, replaced by a renewed desire to survive.
“I’ve agreed… please save me,” he uttered, his voice meek and faint, drowned by the curses echoing from his dark persona in his psyche.
Sanders took a deep breath in his heart, nodded slightly to Rolando, and turned to begin dismantling the magic cage.
To save Rolando, the only strategy now was for Sanders to employ healing spells and restorative potions externally. Simultaneously, Rolando himself had to harbor a will to live, employing a guiding spell to channel the potions to their precise locations internally. This symbiotic external and internal effort with Sanders’ treatment could be his saving grace.
Therefore, only by breaking the magic cage could Rolando use the guiding spell for his own salvation.
However, as Sanders was about to shatter the magic cage, Suis intervened, “What if he’s masquerading as his persona? How can you trust him?”
“Whether it’s his first or second persona, the power he exudes will tell,” Sanders calmly stated, “Beyond that, I’d rather hear your explanation. Why did you step into the Geometric Lock and not stop Eureka from killing him?”
Caught off guard, Suis stuttered, struggling to find words.
Sanders ignored Suis, knowing that whatever his reasons might be, the top priority was to revive Rolando.
Once the magic cage was shattered, Rolando could sense the magic source again. The long-absent magical energy finally flooded back into his depleted body. At the same time, Rolando also acutely felt the creeping inevitability of death and its looming countdown.
While Rolando was still in a daze, a vial of healing potion was poured into his mouth.
“If you wish to live, guide the potion to the wound,” Sanders’ voice reached Rolando’s ears. Without hesitation, Rolando followed Sanders’ directive.
With the need to control the guiding spell, Rolando’s focus sharpened. The cursed voices of his dark persona in his sea of consciousness, and the emotions overwhelming him, gradually faded. All his concentration was channeled into guiding the potion and observing its effects within his body.
Sanders worked feverishly to stabilize Rolando, whose own tenacious grasp on life strained against his grave injuries. Despite Rolando’s valiant efforts, the severity of the damage to his organs was significant, leaving Sanders barely holding the scales of life in balance while the situation continued to decline.
Recognizing his grim predicament, Rolando flirted with despair. Yet, his fervent desire to live prevented him from succumbing entirely. However, this fleeting moment of desolation granted an opening for his darker persona to take hold, weaving a tapestry of temptation and condemnation, flooding Rolando’s mind.
The guiding spell he was harnessing began to warp.
Just when all seemed lost, even to Rolando who believed his chances dim, a fresh surge of vitality coursed into him.
Lifting his head in bewilderment, Rolando was met with a striking cascade of fiery red hair.
Suis had intervened.
While Suis didn’t understand Sanders’ adamant determination to keep Rolando alive, he trusted that there was a valid reason behind it. He also discerned that the present Rolando was not his flawless secondary persona but the more vulnerable primary one. Saving him might hold the key to resolving the impasse.
With Suis’ assistance, the tide of healing shifted, gradually climbing from the brink.
Ten minutes later, they both withdrew. Nearly 80% of Rolando’s injuries were healed. Given the exceptional constitution of a transcendent like him, he would naturally recover from the remainder over time.
Relief washed over Sanders, and as he turned to face Suis, his gaze bore a singular message, silently demanding an explanation.
Chapter 1317 The Sole Vulnerability <TOC> Chapter 1319 Agreement