Free Web NovelChapter 19: The Eternal Twilight
Before Roland could process what had happened, Aurielle’s mocking voice echoed from the darkness.
"An ant should know its place."
On this, he looked toward Aurielle and saw that she was preparing another spell.
His face instantly turned pale.
For the first time in many years, he felt something he had almost forgotten.
Death.
"Origin Ultimate Skill."
Aurielle’s voice echoed softly across the battlefield.
She slowly closed her eyes.
"Abyssal Execution."
The entire battlefield fell silent.
Every shadow within sight began moving toward her. Darkness flowed across shattered buildings, broken weapons, fallen corpses, and the blood-soaked earth before gathering behind her.
**WHOOOOOOOOOM!**
The mass of darkness continued growing larger and larger. It swallowed the surrounding light, twisted together, and compressed into a single point.
A gigantic black-purple blade slowly manifested behind Aurielle.
Dozens of meters long.
Towering above the battlefield like the weapon of a god.
The pressure alone caused the earth to crack.
Nearby soldiers dropped to one knee as fear gripped their hearts. Even the remaining Bronze Knights felt death looming over them.
Aurielle slowly opened her eyes.
Then she swung.
**KRRRRRRAAAAAAAASHHHHHH!!!!**
A gigantic black-purple slash tore across the battlefield.
Buildings split apart as though they were made of paper. The earth cracked open beneath its path, while a devastating shockwave swept outward and sent countless soldiers flying.
Everything in its path was consumed.
The remaining Bronze Knights didn’t even understand what had happened.
One moment they were standing.
The next—
Their bodies split apart.
Blood erupted into the air as both halves crashed heavily onto the ruined battlefield.
Before the slash could continue any further, the cloaked knight who had remained silent the entire time finally moved.
A blur flashed across the battlefield.
The man instantly appeared in front of Roland and extended one hand forward.
When Roland saw him, hope finally appeared in his eyes.
"Uncle!"
Roland shouted.
**BOOOOOOM!**
The Abyssal Execution collided directly against the man’s outstretched hand.
The impact instantly shredded his dark cloak.
Pieces of cloth exploded apart, revealing thick brown hair and a rugged middle-aged face beneath.
**WHOOOOSHHH!**
"Ughhhh!"
The man gritted his teeth.
Veins bulged across his arm as he struggled to hold back the attack.
Even then, he was still being pushed backward.
The ground beneath his feet shattered.
Long trenches formed behind him as he desperately resisted the overwhelming force.
Yet a moment later, he roared.
"Don’t underestimate me!!!"
**BOOOOOOM!**
A terrifying aura erupted from his body.
Peak Silver Knight.
The pressure exploded across the battlefield.
**WHOOOOSH!**
Roland was blasted away instantly.
Nearby soldiers collapsed to the ground gasping for air while weaker men lost consciousness on the spot.
The surrounding ruins trembled violently.
Aurielle narrowed her eyes.
But she didn’t make another move.
Several moments later, the gigantic Abyssal Blade finally disappeared.
The battlefield slowly became visible again.
Everyone stared in shock.
The middle-aged man was still standing.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
One of his arms was completely ruined and covered in blood.
A massive trench stretched across the battlefield behind him.
Many soldiers could clearly see the dragging marks left behind as he had been pushed back nearly ten meters before finally stopping the attack.
The man spat blood onto the ground.
"Good kid."
He wiped his mouth and gave Aurielle a long look.
"Royal blood is still royal blood."
After saying that, he took out a healing potion and drank it.
Warm light spread across his body.
The ruined arm rapidly healed before everyone’s eyes.
A few seconds later, he casually swung it around.
"Good."
He then pulled out a sword.
Silver mana immediately surged across the blade.
The weapon released a sharp humming sound as he pointed it directly toward Aurielle.
"I’ll give you one last chance."
"Submit and accept Roland as your new husband."
A small smile appeared on his face.
Then he delivered the final blow.
"Because your useless Hero is dead anyway."
Silence.
Utter silence.
Even the battlefield seemed to freeze.
Many soldiers exchanged puzzled looks.
They didn’t understand why those words mattered.
But Aurielle did.
The color slowly disappeared from her eyes.
Her breathing quicken as her face pale and her pupils dialted.
Then Images start surfacing within her mind.
Luke.
His awkward smile.
His confused expression.
The way he looked at her without fear.
Without greed.
Without expectation.
Then the man’s words echoed again.
Dead.
Dead. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Dead.
The battlefield disappeared from her senses.
Only that single word remained.
When Aurielle finally spoke, her voice was so calm that it frightened everyone who heard it.
"Then why are you all still alive?"
Every person present instinctively looked toward her.
Their expressions froze.
Aurielle’s eyes had changed.
They were no longer purple.
They looked like glowing violet suns.
An overwhelming pressure began spreading outward.
Aurielle slowly spread her arms.
As her body descended toward the ground, light and darkness began flowing toward her from every direction.
Golden radiance and endless shadows intertwined around her figure, spiraling together like two rivers becoming one.
The moment her feet touched the ground, her body seemed to dissolve into the boundary between both forces.
Neither light.
Nor darkness.
But something that existed between them.
Then—
A sleepy, ancient voice echoed across the battlefield.
A voice so soft it was almost a whisper.
Yet every person present heard it clearly within their minds.
*"Lose yourself within the eternal dusk."*
The moment those words fell—
The sky dimmed.
Not darkened.
Dimmed.
The distinction between day and night slowly began to fade as if the world itself could no longer decide which side it belonged to.
Purple twilight mist emerged from every shadow.
From shattered walls.
From the cracked earth.
From pools of blood staining the battlefield. freёwebnoѵel.com
From beneath the feet of every living being.
The mist spread endlessly.
Across the battlefield.
Across the horizon.
Across reality itself.
Tiny violet particles drifted through the air like fragments of dying stars, filling the world with an eerie and beautiful glow.
Then—
**WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH**
The twilight mist erupted outward.
Yet strangely, no wind followed.
No sound accompanied its expansion.
The battlefield became unnaturally silent.
Even the clash of steel and the cries of soldiers seemed distant, as though swallowed by an invisible force.
The spreading mist moved like a dream invading reality.
The farther it expanded, the more distorted the world became.
Distances felt wrong.
Directions lost meaning.
Shadows stretched unnaturally.
And for a brief moment, every person caught within its embrace felt the same terrifying sensation—
"Twilight Veil".
---
When Darius Ashenford come out from trance, he looked around, and for the first time in many years, uncertainty appeared in his eyes.
The world had changed.
The battlefield was gone.
The burning tents, shattered walls, corpses, and blood-soaked earth had all vanished without a trace. In their place remained only an endless plain stretching toward the horizon.
Far in the distance, vast mountain ranges rose beneath a strange purple sky while enormous rivers wound through the land like silver serpents. Above them, the Sun and Moon existed together, hanging side by side in the heavens. Golden clouds drifted across violet skies, and countless stars glittered overhead despite it clearly being daytime.
The entire scene was breathtaking.
And horribly wrong.
Darius slowly tightened his grip on his sword.
This wasn’t an illusion.
His instincts were screaming at him.
It felt as though they had been dragged into another world, a place where the laws he understood no longer applied. A realm trapped between opposites. The moment before sunrise. The moment before sunset. A borderland suspended between beginnings and endings.
His gaze swept across the surroundings.
No soldiers.
No knights.
No sounds of battle.
Only one familiar figure remained.
Roland.
Darius immediately rushed toward him.
"Uncle! What is happening?"
Roland asked the moment Darius reached him. Panic was visible on his face, and even his voice sounded unstable.
Darius frowned.
"I don’t know."
Roland looked around once more, his eyes filled with growing unease.
"Is this related to the princess?"
Even he sounded uncertain asking the question.
Darius remained silent for several moments before finally speaking.
"We don’t know yet."
His eyes drifted toward the distant horizon.
"But it feels like we provoked something we should not."
A chill immediately ran down Roland’s spine.
After that, the two began searching.
Minutes passed.
Then hours.
They walked endlessly across the plain, yet nothing changed. No matter how far they traveled, the mountains never seemed any closer. The rivers remained distant. The horizon never moved.
It was as though the world itself refused to let them reach anything.
Eventually Roland’s frustration boiled over.
With an angry roar, he swung his sword.
**BOOM!**
A powerful shockwave erupted outward and tore across the landscape. The ground cracked apart as dust and stone exploded into the air.
Yet moments later—
The damage vanished.
The earth repaired itself before their eyes as though nothing had ever happened.
Roland froze.
Even Darius felt his heart sink.
Without saying a word, Darius raised his own sword.
Silver mana erupted from his blade.
**WHOOOOSH!**
A massive silver slash shot across the horizon and struck one of the distant mountains.
The entire peak split apart.
Rock collapsed.
Dust filled the sky.
For a brief moment, victory flashed across Roland’s face.
Then Darius blinked.
The mountain was whole again.
As though it had never been damaged.
Silence followed.
Neither man spoke.
For the first time since entering this strange world, genuine fear began creeping into their hearts.
An uncomfortable silence settled between them as they continued walking.
Eventually Roland stopped.
His breathing had become heavy.
His face was pale.
"Uncle..."
"What do we do now?"
Darius opened his mouth.
"Let me thi—"
His words stopped.
His entire body froze.
His pupils suddenly contracted.
Roland frowned.
"Uncle?"
Seeing Darius’s reaction, he quickly turned toward the direction his uncle was staring.
The moment he saw what stood in the distance—
The color drained from his face.
[Chapter End]
Huge thanks to **Arije_subomi**, **tree weebs**, **Mare_Nectaris**, and **Aubreymundo** for the Power Stones!
Your support genuinely means a lot and helps motivate me to keep writing. Thank you for supporting the novel and being part of this journey.
