Scepter of Thorns

When the goddess of truth received the news that the goddess of wisdom had disappeared, she was having afternoon tea with the god of light on the balcony of the castle.

The Goddess of Truth looked at the man sitting across from her slightly drunkenly.His long golden hair reaches his shoulders, and a few slightly long locks naturally hang down on his forehead.A white mask covered the upper half of his face, revealing only pale lips and a sharp chin.And the well-cut black and white gown further highlighted the shapely and tall figure, and the embroidered lace on the cuffs blocked the back of the hand holding the teacup.

The lazy warm sun in the afternoon coated him with a layer of light, but it was as distorted as a phantom.

"Kyle..." she couldn't help but whisper.The man just smiled slightly when he heard the words, and lightly placed the teacup with a gold-painted rim on the tray.

The Goddess of Truth calmed down, put her white wrist on the shoulder of the God of Light, and whispered in his ear as if bewitching: "I know all about it."

He didn't answer, but the smile became more and more dazzling, like the light that inadvertently flowed into the darkness, which made her feel uneasy.The Goddess of Truth carefully held the chips in her hand, but she still pretended to be calm, and fondled his blond hair: "You killed Herdina."

"It seems that the truth is in Serones' hands."

He finally responded.The admiration in the eyes of the Goddess of Truth could no longer be suppressed, she stepped back and sat upright in a ladylike posture: "Kyle, who is Seronius?"

"She is the beautiful and wise lady in front of me." Kyle praised without hesitation, but there was darkness in his ice blue pupils, as if looking at a dead person.

Serones, the goddess of truth, obviously didn't notice this, she just bowed her head slightly, as a tacit approval of his appreciation.

"Then." Kelton paused, then stood up, "See you at the ball."

His figure gradually faded and disappeared in the light.Serones was unwilling but didn't show it at all. He just summoned the envoy Celine: "Go and get my costume ready."

The Goddess of Wisdom, Heldina, is dead, after all, because she knew too much.And Heldina's death wasn't just physical, otherwise she wouldn't disappear, at least there would be a godhead left.The only explanation is that the God of Light stripped her godhead, so he must also know that Heldina told her half of the secrets.

Serones' methods are much better than Heldina's. She knows very well that Kyle will not let her go, and the initiative is only part of it. The real highlight is the dance.

※※※

According to Somania's request, Edward changed into the white gown and black dress that had been hanging in the closet at some point.The simplicity of the dress was that of a waiter, so Edward was not expected to play any role at this ball.The only thing he wants now is to have more colors to save his eyes. No matter how beautiful the black and white world is, it will be monotonous after all.

Then Edward was led by Somania to a carriage burning with golden flames.

The four war horses have snow-white temples, with four hooves stepping on the fire, neighing and eager to move, the reins on the temples are connected to the silver-white body, and the upper wall of the European-style carriage is carved with gemstones to form a painting.The wheel has a wide diameter and is inlaid with a layer of copper edge, which is gorgeous yet safe.

Edward stared blankly at the familiar carriage with a delicate mood.Because a few days ago, the person in the carriage was still him.

The familiar sense of coercion dominated this space again. Edward's heart trembled, and he lowered his head to see that the golden cape had entered the carriage. He was about to step on the horse with Somania when the voice came from the carriage. The words of the man clearly seemed to be whispering in the ear: "Edward, it is not your job to drive, come in."

Somania resolutely choked on the saliva.

It's not Edward's job to be a royal driver, so is it his? !He is a majestic heir, but he is not as good as a new envoy!Somania immediately shot his eyes in Edward's direction, but sadly found that the other party had already entered, and couldn't help throwing off the whip in resignation.

After Edward got in, he realized that there was actually a lot of space in the carriage, which was far from being as narrow as he saw visually, and it was no problem at all to accommodate three or four people.But his eyes were quickly attracted by the man leaning against the window sill reviewing the documents. He was sitting on Edward's left side. The white ribbon was tied in the middle of his golden long hair, which was stained with the color of the sun. It was extremely bright and dazzling. Pain.Half a white mask concealed his face, leaving only light blue eyes in the gap.

Edward suddenly had a very strange feeling. He couldn't explain what was going on, but he just felt that the person in front of him was not like this. This strange intuition virtually verified the fact that they had seen it before.

The atmosphere is solidified.Since the other party did not speak, Edward had to stand by the car door, not daring to sit down.He felt familiar not only with the person in front of him, but also with his every move.I also like to approve documents in the carriage, and if I have time, I will take a nap.

It turns out that God also wants to approve documents?

The God of Light didn't speak, and Edward didn't open his mouth wisely either.After about a while, the carriage stopped.

arrive?

Somania opened the car door and turned sideways.Edward, who happened to be standing by the car door, quickly moved aside, but his elbow was grabbed by the people inside.

"Call me Kyle," he said.

"... Kyle."

Kyle got off the carriage, and Somania tried to maintain a calm expression and looked at Edward: "Do you still want me to invite you to follow?"

"It's an honor." Edward put his shoulders on his shoulders, watched Kyle enter the hall door, and asked, "Don't gods have the power of teleportation, why do they still need to drive?"

Somania asked back: "Is there no man with powerful mana in the human world who still rides in and out of the carriage?"

"Okay." Edward shrugged, "Are we entering after all the gods?"

Somania sneered, "Otherwise, do you still want to enter the arena before the gods? You humble half-breed."

An hour later, the gods gathered, and they finally entered the venue.

For the first time, Edward knew that the God Realm had the same facilities as the Human Realm, at least entertainment venues like dance halls were available. [This is a unique masquerade ball, with seven venues in the imperial style.The seven ballrooms were arranged so that only one of them could be seen at a time, and there were sharp turns every twenty or thirty yards, each of which produced a novel effect.On either side of the center of each wall was a tall, narrow Gothic window facing out into a closed corridor.The corridor is zigzag, connecting all the dance halls in series.

The windows are framed with stained glass in the same color as the main color of the ballroom it opens onto.For example, the easternmost ballroom has blue curtains and its windows are bright blue.The second ballroom had fuchsia curtains, and its window panes were also fuchsia.The third whole is green, and the windows are green.The furniture and lights of the fourth are orange, the fifth is white, the sixth is violet, the seventh is tightly surrounded by black velvet, and the ceiling and walls are covered with black draperies, hanging down in the same color and material. Thick wrinkles formed on the floor stalls.But only this dance hall had windows that didn't match the tone of the room—here the window panes were scarlet, like thick blood.

There are many golden ornaments in the seven ballrooms, some are placed randomly, and some are hanging from the roof.There were no lamps, no candlesticks, no light of any kind from them.In the corridor connecting the dance halls, facing each window stood a heavy tripod with a stove on it.The room was brightly lit by the light from the fire through the stained glass.But in the black ballroom, the firelight projected on the black curtain through the blood-red glass was extremely gloomy, shaking the faces of the entrants strangely and uniquely, so few people stretched their legs into the room.

Also in this black ballroom, against the west wall stood a huge ebony clock.The pendulum swung back and forth with a dull, heavy, monotonous sound.When the minute hand completes a circle on the clock face and it is time to strike the bell, it emits a clear, loud, deep, extremely beautiful and unique sound from its copper lungs. 】Every hour passed, the bell struck the eardrums, and the silence of the crowd was deliberate, as if they were playing something. After the tremor passed, everything returned to the original noise.

Strange, like being pulled by an invisible thread.In the absurd ball of intertwined colors, it sounds like a death knell.

Edward shivered. He suddenly remembered where he had seen such a scene. It was a black book in his mother's bookcase, which was full of treacherous and bloody Gothic novels.When he was young, he secretly read it, but his mother found out.She cursed him with the same creepy, bloody grin, and locked him in the Cube.

That story is No. 13, called "The Masquerade of the Red Death".

----Chapter11. Prom & End----

The author has something to say:

Note 1: The descriptions of the ballroom are all excerpted from the Gothic short story "The Masquerade of the Red Death" by the famous American poet, novelist and literary critic Edgar Allan Poe (Edgar Allan Poe, 19-1809) in the 1849th century , with slight changes, those who are interested can search the original article, I strongly recommend it.

It is put here as a plot stalk, which is similar to a script. Next is the role-playing of the dance party, which is the content of "Red Death Masquerade".

In fact, they are all relatively magical themes. I feel that there is no discrepancy in the text, and they should be compatible. I would like to note that it is not my original creation.