"My wish?"
I stared at him, slightly taken aback by his words.
Arthur kept his cold, scarlet gaze on me.
"You can ask me for anything, and I will fulfill it. Even if it is something impossible, I will find a way to make it possible."
Looking into his eyes, I realized he wasn't lying.
A wish...
My mind raced.
What do I want?
"Yes. What do you want?"
Hallucination Iris floated beside me, her bright blue eyes drifting between Arthur and me.
"This is a rare chance," she remarked. "To have the High King ready to fulfill anything you wish for."
Her illusory fingers hovered over my face, her smile widening.
"What will you choose?"
I relaxed and held Arthur's gaze.
There were countless things I could ask for.
But there was no reason to decide now.
A promise from the High King was not something I intended to waste.
Dear readers, many of you are probably thinking I should throw this offer back in Arthur's face.
After all, this man was responsible for more than enough of the ugliness in my life.
Unfortunately, I am an opportunist.
And this, my dear readers, was a bloody good opportunity.
"I'll hold onto that wish," I said.
I tilted my head, a small smile forming on my lips.
"Perhaps I'll call upon it another time."
Arthur didn't respond. He held my gaze for a few more seconds before closing his eyes with a sigh.
"Very well."
"But..." I placed my hand on the desk, my smile fading. "I do have something else to tell you. Something I've already decided."
Arthur opened his eyes.
"What is it?"
"I am renouncing my claim to the Black Throne."
Silence settled over the room.
Arthur leaned back slightly in his chair, his crimson eyes studying me.
"Are you sure about this?"
He didn't sound angry or disappointed.
Just... curious.
I nodded.
"Yes, I am."
I pushed myself away from the desk and walked toward the windows overlooking the gardens.
"My return from the Tear has already shaken the political landscape of the Kingdom."
I glanced back at him.
"The second High Prince. An heir whose strength rivals Morgan."
Arthur gave a small nod.
"You are not wrong."
"I figured."
I turned toward the window again.
"People will start choosing sides. Morgan. Gawain. Me."
I sighed.
"I'll be expected to prove myself, deal with nobles, attend court, and eventually become involved in the succession."
The thought alone was exhausting.
I had no desire to shoulder a crown again. Not after everything I'd already experienced.
I turned back toward Arthur.
"I have no desire for the throne."
My gaze met his.
"And I don't want to leave the Royal Family either."
A half-hearted chuckle escaped me.
"Being a royal has its benefits."
My smile faded as my gaze lowered.
"And it would make Mother sad if I left."
Arthur studied me with a stoic expression. "You've put a lot of thought into making this decision."
I nodded. "Yes. I am stepping down from the succession, and I hope you can handle the follow-up."
I tilted my head.
"This is not my wish, Your Majesty. This is merely a decision I made some time ago."
"Hm," Arthur rested his chin on a fist, as if in deep thought.
With my luck, he would reject my decision.
I was a valuable asset to him, especially with my connection to Phoebe. Letting me walk away from the machinations of the Kingdom would be like throwing away the key to a strategic weapon of mass destruction.
An uncomfortable moment passed before Arthur closed his eyes and nodded.
"Very well."
He opened his eyes and looked directly at me.
"You are free, Mordred."
I blinked.
That… was easy.
"But…"
I knew there was a catch.
Arthur rose from his chair and stood before me.
Goodness, he was tall.
"If there ever comes a time when you are the sole surviving Pendragon..."
His scarlet eyes shimmered as I looked up at him.
"… will you retake your birthright?"
I stared into those crimson voids, trying to find any semblance of humanity in them.
I found none.
"I doubt that will ever happen, Your Majesty," I replied calmly. "We Pendragons are a hardy bunch."
I sighed.
"We've endured for millennia. And I hate to say this, but with you around, I'm pretty sure we won't easily fade away from this world."
My expression hardened.
"But if that ever happens, then I will do my duty."
I met his gaze.
"Even if it means ruling the ashes of this world."
"That's my answer, Father."
Arthur's expression didn't falter.
"Hm."
He stood close enough that I could have reached out and touched him, yet I still couldn't sense a trickle of his power.
His control over Ardor was unfathomable.
Arthur walked past me and stopped beside the window, gazing down at the gardens below.
"Now that you are free…" he glanced back at me. "What do you intend to do?"
I frowned. "Why do you want to know that?"
My voice dropped, anger slipping into my words.
Unbothered, he merely shrugged. "I'm just curious."
That was uncomfortable to hear.
"Then remain curious," I grumbled, turning away.
"Iris Lefay."
I froze.
Slowly, I turned around.
Arthur was looking directly at me.
My heart pounded, and the embers of my rage smoldered within me.
"What about her?" I asked, my voice low.
"You intend to remain by her side."
His gaze burned into me.
"Even if she doesn't remember you?"
How did he know?
He always knows, Mordred.
Morgan's words came back to me.
My fist clenched.
"And what are you going to do about that?"
We held each other's gaze for a moment.
Arthur sighed.
"Nothing. I just wanted to know."
He studied me for another moment.
Then he stepped toward me and held out his hand.
"Mordred."
I stared at his outstretched hand.
"Grab my hand."
My body tensed at the sudden request.
"What?"
"I have compensated you for the suffering you endured," Arthur explained, tilting his head.
His crimson gaze remained fixed on mine.
"Now I am rewarding you for your accomplishments on the battlefield."
"And to do that, we have to go somewhere else."
Hesitating, I looked at him.
His expression was calm and patient, as if he were prepared to stand there for as long as necessary.
Stepping forward, my hand hovered over his for a moment before I finally took it.
The moment our hands touched, the world simply... changed.
I immediately released his hand and scanned my surroundings.
We were no longer in Arthur's office.
"Do not be alarmed," Arthur said, standing beside me. "We have just teleported out of my office."
I stared at him.
Teleported?
I hadn't sensed a thing.
No warping of space. No tingling sensation on my skin.
Not even the merest shift of the surrounding ardor.
Even Phoebe's teleportation left traces.
Arthur had teleported without leaving so much as a ripple behind.
It was… seamless.
My heart raced as an important question surfaced in my mind.
Just how powerful is this man?
"Where are we?" I asked, taking a second look at our surroundings.
We stood in a warmly lit room lined with several pedestals rising from the smooth floor like trees.
The white pedestals held glass cases. Inside them were…
"Weapons?
I frowned, and stepped toward a particularly long pedestal.
The glass case held a long lance. Its silver, serrated head resembled an oversized dagger, while the bronze-shaded shaft was entwined with silver vines covered in tiny runes.
As I got closer, the runes shimmered and emitted a faint glow, as though responding to my aura.
The plaque on the glass case gave me a name.
Longinus
My breath quickened, and my fingers trembled.
The Lance of Longinus.
A weapon that had been legendary even in my old world, where weapons sometimes seemed to blur the line between the mundane and the mystical.
It exists in this world.
"This is…" I looked at Arthur.
He nodded. "One of my Divine Instruments."
His gaze swept across the room.
"Welcome to the Divine Armory of the Pendragons."
Walking between the many pedestals, he continued.
"This place houses many mystical weapons collected and created by the Pendragons throughout our existence."
"Historically, they were wielded only by the Pendragons," Arthur glanced at me. "But now, they may be wielded by my children and the Knights of the Round."
"The ones I've chosen."
I strode between the pedestals, marveling at the weapons and tools displayed.
Turning to Arthur, I asked. "What makes them different from conventional weapons? Most weapons used by warlocks can effectively conduct ardor and even their strands."
From my storage ring, I slipped out one of the Fangs and held it up.
"What makes a Divine Instrument different from my Fangs?"
Arthur's gaze lingered on the white dagger.
Perhaps he recognized Morgause's dagger in my hand.
He never showed it on his face.
"A good question," he replied. "The Divine Instruments are made from materials of the highest quality. Their Ardor conductivity and Strand versatility are unmatched."
"But what truly sets them apart…"
He beckoned me toward the pedestal beside him.
"... are their unique properties."
I approached the pedestal and looked into the glass case.
I blinked, taken aback.
"What the…?"
Inside the case, I saw the shadow of a dagger.
But there was no physical dagger casting it.
Just an unusually detailed shadow on the glass.
The plaque beneath it gave me a name.
Carnwennan
I knew that name from my old life.
It was the dagger Arthur had used to kill a monstrous witch.
"It's a shadow," I noted with a frown, trying to make sense of the two-dimensional dagger shape.
Arthur nodded.
"That is Carnwennan's unique property. It envelops its wielder in shadows, rendering them untraceable. Not even the gods would be able to sense them."
I whistled.
"That's actually pretty useful."
"It can also cut shadows," Arthur continued. "Separate them from their owners and influence them through their shadows."
He glanced at me.
"If Carnwennan cuts the head of the shadow…"
"The owner dies as well," I finished, looking back at the dagger's shadow.
"That is incredible."
I straightened up.
"And highly dangerous."
I looked around at the other display cases.
"So each of these has its own unique properties."
Arthur nodded.
An empty case caught my attention. It was similar in length to the case holding Longinus.
I approached it and read the name on the plaque.
My blood ran cold.
Rhongomyniad
"The All-Piercer," Arthur said, arriving beside me. "It could pierce anything. Space, time, even abstract concepts."
"It was once wielded by Bran the Conqueror," he explained. "Now, it's claimed by Morgan."
My mind reeled.
Longinus.
Carnwennan.
Rhongomyniad.
Three well-known legendary weapons of my old world, all existing here as tangible realities.
If they existed…
Then surely…
"Mordred."
Arthur's voice snapped me from my thoughts.
I turned toward him.
He looked at me for a moment before asking.
"Which one would you choose?"