The summer Davis turned sixteen, he met her, and for the first time understood what it meant to like someone.
She was intelligent, cheerful, and passionate about many things. It was not just her appearance that attracted Davis.
That summer, she told Davis two things. First, she liked him too. Second, she was leaving.
Young Davis believed that if he allowed love to blossom, it would only bring her a long-lasting pain after brief happiness.
So he endured it all, even though she told him that she "liked him too," meaning she knew he liked her.
Davis was the kind of person who wanted to protect everyone.
Now, at his current age, he sometimes thought he had been too naive, leaving regrets in his life.
If he had held her hand back then, would there have been so many sleepless nights and dreams of her?
He did not know. But there was one thing he already knew.
"You can call me Jan."
Davis stared blankly at Jan, whose familiar name and familiar face had drifted away from his life ever since she moved away with her family that year.
"I'm not the person you knew, but I can also be the same person." Jan's statement might have been a bit cruel, but Davis was lost and was unable to respond.
"Just like you, you're not the Davis they know, but you're also the Davis who is incredibly important to them." Jan left Davis, Dennis, and Woody completely baffled.
"I don't understand."
Jan did not directly answer, but gently stroked her crystal ball. The ball magically emitted a strange glow from within, slowly forming images.
Davis could not help but lean in to see, as he seemed to recognize the people in the images. It was his girlfriend, then his mother, and he saw himself. Inside the crystal ball was his original world, and he was lying quietly in a hospital bed.
"Have you ever heard of the multiverse?" Jan asked Davis who was engrossed in the images.
"So, this is me from another universe?" Davis looked up at Jan.
"It's a bit different. The multiverse is a number of parallel worlds, different timelines developing due to the possibilities of different events." Jan said calmly, "But this world is not like that. It's a real world that exists in fantasy. Another Davis here is both fantastical and real."
"So the place I came from, is that real?" Davis seemed to have grasped a bit of it.
"It is to you, but it's a fantasy to them." Jan continued, "Have you ever played chess?"
"Right," Davis nodded in response.
"Let's say you're the chess player, your world is what you perceive as real."
Davis stared intently at Jan, patiently listening to her explanation.
"What about the chess pieces? What is their world like? The war on the chessboard is their reality, their only universe." Jan paused, looking at Davis.
Davis turned his head to glance at his companions, feeling as if he understood, but not completely. "Like I entered the world of a chessboard... no," a thought flashed through his mind, as if it was clearing a corner of the fog in his memory, "This is the world of a game?"
Jan smiled faintly upon hearing his statement.
"How can I return to my original world?"
Jan smiled and said, "Do something you're very familiar with."
Davis looked puzzled again.
"Fight."
"Fight?"
"Just like you've gone on countless adventures in the past, you came to this world to set out with them, to defeat evil together." Davis saw a flash of light in Jan's eyes, "You are the destined one in this world. You will shoulder the task of leading the Ten fighters to defeat evil. Only by fulfilling your duty will you have a chance to find your way back to your original world."
Davis felt incredulous. If this was a dream, it seemed too real. He was not sure if he really wanted to do what Jan said. He lacked confidence, but at the same time, he did not seem to have any other choice.
"Right, here's a treasure for you." Just as Davis hesitated without speaking, Jan took a small wooden box from behind her, "The treasure inside can bring you miracles when you lose all hope."
Davis looked at Jan, then turned back to his companions, finding Dennis and Woody full of anticipation.
Then Davis turned back to Jan and reached out to take the box. This action signified his acceptance of the difficult and dangerous fate he was about to face. At that very moment, an extremely terrifying figure flashed through his mind...
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Julian's eyes glowed red, and he slammed his hand hard on the throne's armrest. The stone armrest shattered instantly, with pieces of stone flying and scattering. However, Julian's expression was hidden behind his mask, and even though his mouth was bleeding from the force of the blow, no one knew.
"Urgent report!" The second messenger rushed into the Imperial Council Chamber. Seeing that no one was speaking, he quickly knelt down and reported, "Our troops were attacked by the Prince's army. They failed to conquer the coastal city, and the captain is now leading the troops back to the capital."
Julian suddenly stood up. The messenger had just raised his head when several purple skull blasts appeared in front of him. The skull blasts struck his chest, and the messenger flew backwards limply, motionless.
Everyone present was intimidated by Julian's anger, especially the first messenger. He knew that if he had been one step slower as the second person to enter the Council Chamber, it would have been him lying on the floor.
Julian, having vented some of his anger, sat down again. He had sacrificed everything to finally ascend to the throne of the emperor, but in the past month, things had gone from bad to worse.
Since he had personally led the soldiers out last time, he had unexpectedly encountered Albus's obstruction and was even injured by him. He could not lead his troops out again too soon, and he kept hearing reports of his troops being resisted in different places.
The Empire had a responsibility to protect its people, but to do so, it needed an army. Maintaining an army required vast financial and human resources, forcing the Empire to levy taxes and recruit soldiers from across the land. With these resources, the Empire could wage war on all fronts. Since ascending to the throne, the former Emperor, Hero King, became increasingly obsessed with power, constantly demanding more contributions from his people to fuel his endless wars.
Before becoming Emperor, Hero King had noble ideals that earned him the sincere admiration and loyalty of Albus and Julian, two valiant warriors who followed him into countless battles. However, after successfully vanquishing evil and becoming Emperor, Hero King began to change. When his attempts to dissuade him proved futile, Albus reluctantly decided to leave the palace and abandon his old friend who had become consumed by power.
From that day onward, Julian, who had chosen to stay, took on all the responsibility. He felt like he was the only one who could advise the Emperor, so he tried every means to balance the Emperor's desires with the interests of the people. However, years of dedicated efforts yielded no desired results.
The people seemed no better off than before. Witnessing their suffering while being unable to do anything about it, Julian began to resent Albus for abandoning all responsibility and leaving. He began to resent the Emperor he once admired, and even started to resent his own powerlessness. He slowly realized he was aiding and abetting tyranny, and understood that staying was pointless, as he was merely clinging to his hard-earned position and glory. As resentment morphed into anger, Julian began to believe he had to do something to change the situation.
At this moment, as if summoned by his twisted emotions, a mysterious sorcerer appeared silently in his room one dark and stormy night.
"Who are you?" Julian was surprised that someone could penetrate the heavily guarded palace.
"Who I am is irrelevant." Hidden beneath his robe and hood, the sorcerer's appearance was completely obscured. He spoke in a low, almost inaudible voice, "What matters is that I have brought you what you desire."
"Absurd, what desires of mine needs to be granted by someone else?" Julian's emotions were complex at that moment.
The sorcerer offered no explanation, but instead produced a mysterious mask.
"As long as you wear this mask, you will gain enough power to suppress the Emperor." Julian only then realized that the sorcerer's voice was not coming from his mouth, but instead, was entering Julian's mind through telepathy.
Hearing these words, Julian's blood seemed to freeze.
Being able to suppress the Emperor would force him to stop waging war so frequently and make him a supporter of peace once again.
Was this possible? Hero King was a demigod with heroic power. Could he possibly obtain power that rivaled, or even surpassed his’?
In a split second of distraction, the sorcerer's figure vanished without a trace. However, he was not a hallucination, as the mask, which seemed to exude an evil aura, lay where he had stood.
"So, 'suppression' is just that. 'Suppression', isn't it?" Julian told himself. As long as he could make the Emperor listen to his advice, this power would no longer be needed.
Julian's heart raced as he considered trying on the mask to see if it truly had magical power. However, once he cautiously put it on, he never took it off again.
That night, many in the palace heard a terrifying, heart-wrenching scream. Then, a masked fiend, seemingly from nowhere, stormed into the Emperor's chambers, his power unmatched, even by the Emperor, who possessed heroic power.
The Emperor should have been far stronger than Julian, but Julian, wearing the mask, felt a scorching heat emanating from his chest, a fiery inferno from hell, transforming into an unimaginable force.
That night, the Emperor and almost all the royal family were slaughtered by Julian. Only Prince Louis, who had snuck out of the palace for fun, escaped.
Covered in blood, Julian announced to all the ministers and generals that night that he would ascend the throne as the supreme ruler of the Empire. Those who resisted were captured and killed without exception.
Julian, who had donned the mask in the hopes of stopping the Emperor's warmongering, did not bring peace to the nation after gaining the throne. He had completely forgot his original purpose of betrayal and became a more terrifying ruler than the Emperor.
Not only did he demand that the army continue the wars it had launched in all fronts, but he also did something even more terrifying...
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