Myths Reawakened

White Night Creed was controlled by Darienne, and she had priority over Wayne. Unless she released her transformation, Wayne could never put on the armor of Moonlight, no matter what. So, even though the small eyeball for Moonlight on the Book of Greed’s cover glowed, surpassing Sun and matching Darkness, nearly overtaking Death and Nature, even though Wayne was filled with light-silver mana, he still couldn’t transform on the spot.

Darienne didn’t dare to release her transformation. She bore the heavy responsibility of suppressing the seal and couldn’t give Wayne the chance to prove himself. However, the fact had presented itself. Whether she accepted it or not, Wayne had the authority to transform into the Moonlight Knight.

Damn Church of Nature and damn Moula, stealing my successor from me!

Darienne only had one thought in her head: she was here first.

Kristen was the one who led Wayne down the path of magic, and Filomina was the one who taught Wayne the divine arts of elven transformation. He was destined to become the Moonlight Knight, but the Church of Nature played dirty.

Darienne stood blankly in place for a long time. Putting White Night Creed away, she asked the question that was bothering her: “Why are you both the Nature Knight and the Moonlight Knight? Why can you become the Moonlight Knight even after becoming the Nature Knight?”

“...”

“Say something, Wayne!”

“I’m just a boy, Darienne. If you don’t know either, how could I possibly know?”

It was such sound logic that she couldn’t argue against it.

Darienne opened her mouth and then closed it, hesitating before saying stiffly, “So what are you now? Which goddess’s knight are you?”

Although she had phrased it as a question, she stared intently at Wayne’s face and coerced him before he could speak: “Say it. Say that you’re the Moonlight Knight. Kristen and Filomina have given you everything. You have to do right by them!”

By that logic, my master and mother, as well as my fiancée, were members of the Church of Nature. Vera and Valkyrie followed the Goddess of Sun. Shouldn’t I do right by them, too? Of course I should!

Wayne spread his hands. “I don’t know. The goddesses have their plans. I don’t have a say in this matter.”

Right! Darienne nodded. Neither she nor Wayne had any say in who was whose chosen knight. The goddesses did. She should contact the Goddess of Moonlight for clarification.

She was about to do just that when she realized that she couldn’t. The Land of Seal was distorted by the projection of the ancient god’s Vassal Realm. Space itself was chaotic and abnormal here. If she sent a message, who the recipient would be was anyone’s guess.

It would be a real debacle if the message reached the ancient god.

Since Darienne couldn’t contact the Goddess of Moonlight, she could only wait for the goddess to contact her. She grabbed Wayne by the collar and said, “Keep your distance from Moula from now on. Don’t be fooled by his righteous appearance and apparent virtues. He’s a cold-blooded bastard who doesn’t even bat an eye when he kills. Got it?”

Sis, doesn’t your conscience hurt when you said that?

Wayne would have to be out of his mind to believe her nonsense. He had eyes and could see the kind of person Moula was.

Objectively speaking, he was a noble knight with a strong sense of justice. His morality was so impressive that even someone like Wayne couldn’t compare.

As for Darienne... well, at least she looked good.

Their faces were close enough for Darienne to see the doubt in his eyes. She snarled, “You are my successor. I order you not to meet Moula from now on.”

“What about Sir Leo?”

“What does this have to do with Leo?”

“Truth be told, I’m also the Sun Knight’s successor.”

“Huh?!” Darienne blinked in confusion, her overbearing aura instantly dropping. She said after a long pause, “I didn’t hear that clearly. What other knight are you? The Death Knight?”

Well, that, too. I’m all five in some sense.

“I forgot to mention. I actually met Lord Leo once before meeting you,” Wayne said bashfully, struggling to distance himself from the frosty beauty but failing. She yanked him back, their faces getting closer.

They were so close that Wayne could feel her breathing. He was one shove away from losing his first kiss with her.

“Calm down,” he urged. “Keep some distance from me. I have a fiancée. I’m begging you not to use a honey trap even if you are going to make a move on me.”

He was being completely honest. He couldn’t fit one more in his schedule.

Annoyed, Darienne let go of his collar and mocked, “I’ve been with countless men in my life and have had countless relationships. A brat like you doesn’t interest me at all.”

“Wonderful. I prefer them innocent.”

“Bastard, who are you insulting?” Darienne raged. But on second thought, something didn’t need to be proven because it would be gone once proven. She glared coldly at Wayne, gritting her teeth. “Tell me, what’s with you and Leo? Why did you become the Sun Knight?”

“Strictly speaking, I’m not yet the Sun Knight. I haven’t gained the recognition of Dawn Doctrine, only part of the power...”

“The Ocean of Mist... the knight’s medal...”

“So, it was all an accident.”

Wayne summarized what happened innocently. “I was eager to save someone, and suddenly, the medal recognized me. I was confused, too. I was already the Nature Knight’s successor by then.”

“So it was you.” Darienne frowned. Some time ago, Moula had bragged to her about finding an excellent successor, saying that he could confidently suppress the seal since his successor would take his place if he died in action. He had nothing to worry about anymore.

Darienne had hidden her envy and told Moula to kindly get lost. Then Leo cheerfully dropped by and said that he had found his successor, too.

His story matched Wayne’s account, except Leo didn’t know what his successor looked like. He planned to seek his successor out in Londan after they overcame the crisis in the Frozen Land. If he unfortunately died in battle, he would send Dawn Doctrine away. He would have no regrets aside from not being able to meet his successor in person.

Darienne was in a foul mood that day. Both Moula and Leo had successors, but she didn’t. It was irritating.

“If you already are the future candidate for two chosen knights, why lie to me?”

“I wasn’t trying to lie to you, but to satisfy my curiosity. If I could gain the recognition of Elemental Mantra and Dawn Doctrine, what about White Night Creed, of another faith in the Life Alliance?”

Wayne said sincerely, “If I had told you the truth from the start, you wouldn’t have agreed. I had no choice but to do this.”

“Fine, fine. So you don’t actually like playing cards!” Darienne seethed, but suppressed her anger. “What are you trying to prove? Your talent? That you’ve gained the recognition of three goddesses simultaneously?”

“No. The goddesses shouldn’t be willing to share a chosen knight even though the three goddesses all belong to the Life Alliance. If I can do this, They must have given their permission for a reason.” His expression turned grave. “I can’t speak with the goddesses and thus do not know Their plans. I only know that somehow, I’ve ended up in the Frozen Land. Perhaps it was the goddesses’ hands that had guided me here.”

The explanation doused Darienne’s fury. He was right. Without the goddesses’ permission, Wayne would never have become this exceptional.

“You’re only a successor, far from as powerful as a true chosen knight. Even though you’re the successor to three chosen knights, you can’t change anything...”

Darienne had a complicated look on her face. “I don’t understand what the goddesses are thinking. My only guess is that the situation is so dire that one of the three chosen knights—I, Moula, or Leo—will fall here, or perhaps we’ll all die. That’s why the goddesses have you as a backup to prevent things from spiraling out of control.”

“Perhaps.”

There was nothing left for Wayne to say. Darienne had found him a good excuse, so he could only nod in agreement.

“Go find Leo. If this is what the goddesses want, you have to gain the direct approval of Dawn Doctrine.” Darienne stood in place with dejection, slowly turning around to look at the full moon in the sky.

Wayne took two steps toward her and said in a low voice, “If we both survive, Darienne, I’m willing to become your successor.”

“Who knows...” She shook her head slightly, turning to him and saying gravely, “Be ready. Perhaps the three of us aren’t the ones who will fall.”

“Is now the right time to tell me that?” Wayne shrugged. “Aren’t you worried that I’ll run away?”

Darienne said nothing. She only patted him on the shoulder, and when he turned to leave, she added, “Remember your promise. If we both survive, you’ll be my successor.”

“I’m not you. I always keep my word.”

“You better.” Darienne raised an eyebrow with conflicting feelings. “Go quickly and return quickly. You’ve only practiced archery for half an hour today. You still need to train for seven and a half hours.”

The training time was suddenly much longer.

“No more card games?”

“I’ll seek you out for more if we have a chance later.”

***

Sun’s seal site.

Leo, wearing golden armor, looked completely dumbfounded after listening to Wayne’s explanation. As the Goddess of Sun’s chosen knight, Leo’s physique and appearance fit the stereotypical imagination. He was the very picture of masculinity with bulky muscles that could dance once the armor came off.

“You’re my successor, but also... Moula’s and Darienne’s?”

Leo confirmed the complex relationships among them, still struggling to speak due to disbelief. As a chosen knight, he thought he had seen everything under the sun, but three deities choosing the same person as their knight? That was unheard of.

The divine power of the Sun that Wayne had displayed, however, was real. He was definitely the successor that Leo recognized. In other words, the three goddesses had indeed chosen the same person.

Leo came to the same conclusion as Darienne. When Wayne seemed composed and unconcerned, he couldn’t help but approve of him. He drew the Dawn Doctrine without hesitation.

The golden spear had a slender, sturdy shaft, appearing to be forged from pure gold. Every pattern appeared noble and solemn. Blazing, dazzling light gathered at the spearpoint, as if containing the sun’s infinite energy. When Leo held it, the light that the spear emitted was like the golden rays that shone through the clouds and illuminated the land.

In addition to the Dawn Doctrine, Leo’s Sun Armor also came with a medal and a golden shortsword for close combat. He was armed to the teeth, so to speak.

The medal and shortsword were both part of the armor, so fundamentally, they all originated from the Dawn Doctrine.

Wayne took the divine artifact and slowly raised it overhead. As Leo lifted the restriction, the mana in his body was rendered pure gold by sunlight.

The Book of Greed wolfed it down in one gulp. On its cover, the five small eyeballs corresponding to the faiths of the five goddesses shone brilliantly. Nature’s green, Sun’s golden, Moonlight’s silver, Darkness’s black, Death’s grey. He was now the five chosen knights united in one, and the five eyes radiated together at this moment.

The large eyeball representing Wayne at the center of the cover became brighter than ever. He came to understand everything!

“Life...”