Chapter 521: Past Forgiveness and Zero
Chapter 521: Past Forgiveness and Zero
"You...you..."
"Father."
Before the brave middle-aged man could finish his question, Prince Andre called out and took a step forward, snatching the Timekeeper Staff that he was holding. He then turned and walked towards the queen's seat.
"How dare you!"
Seeing the Timekeeper Staff, a symbol of the king's identity, being taken away, not only did the brave middle-aged man's eyes widen in shock, but the entire hall erupted in an uproar. Everyone's eyes filled with anger as they shouted and scolded.
"Stop! Do you know what you're doing?"
"Madman! That's not something you're qualified to touch!"
"Put down the staff!"
"Guards! Guards! Come and arrest him!"
What a nuisance...
Andre's ears rang from the shouting in the hall, and he subconsciously wanted them to shut up.
Unfortunately, with Felicia taken away, Artifex 01 wasn't by his side this time, and he didn't have the ability to forcefully silence these people. Prince Andre sighed, picked up the Timekeeper Staff, and walked towards the queen's seat. He extended his empty hand towards her.
"Mother, can I have the Timekeeper Wand?"
Looking at the hand extended in front of her, the queen on the throne was momentarily stunned. Then, with a puzzled expression, she asked:
"Who are you? Why do you look so much like my Andre?"
"I am Andre, Mother."
Andre seemed to have more patience with the queen than with the king. Amid the noisy commotion in the hall, he calmly explained:
"Just pretend I'm from a few years in the future. I need to use your staff for something. Can you give it to me?"
"This...I'm afraid that's not possible."
After a brief hesitation, the seemingly young queen, who didn't appear much older than Andre, tightened her grip on the staff and shook her head.
"The Timekeeper Wand is a very important item. I can't just give it to anyone, even if you are my Andre. There needs to be a reasonable explanation. And how can you treat your father like this? Give him back his staff, or else..."
Sigh... What a hassle. If I had known, I should have left the staff upstairs instead of placing it here.
With another sigh of resignation, Andre ignored the queen's words. He stood up, went behind the brave middle-aged man's seat, and after searching for a while, found a clock with peculiar markings. He bent all the hands to their ends.
"Click."
As the mechanism successfully snapped into place, pushed by the spring, the once noisy hall fell silent.
When Andre reappeared in front of the brave middle-aged man, his robes were unchanged, but his face seemed to have aged by more than a decade. The king's expression suddenly relaxed.
"Andre, so you're here."
After smiling at Andre, the aged king said with a smile, "Today is your coronation day. As soon as you take the Timekeeper Staff from my hands, you will become the next king of the Corlock Kingdom. Come, let me... Hmm? Where's my staff?"
"Thank you, Father."
Andre responded expressionlessly and quickly returned to the queen's seat. Taking advantage of her surprise, he snatched the Timekeeper Wand as well. Then, holding both staffs, he descended from the platform and headed towards the metal spiral staircase on one side of the hall.
The people in the hall, seated on their thrones, seemed stunned by the spectacle of the 'Prince Taking the Staff.' No one dared to speak, until the old king slammed his hand on the armrest and shouted in anger:
"Stop! Andre! What are you doing?"
"..."
"Andre! Are you rebelling against me?"
"..."
"Answer me! What do you intend to do with my staff?"
"..."
No matter how the old king questioned him, Prince Andre remained silent. Holding the two staffs, he climbed the spiral staircase, ignoring the commotion below. He continued upward until...
"You're going to see your so-called sister again, aren't you?"
The real Felicia is already dead! She's now a part of Artifex! Wake up and face reality!"
"..."
As if triggered by a certain keyword, upon hearing the old king's roar, Prince Andre's steps abruptly halted, and he turned back, glaring at the old king with a look of pent-up resentment.
But seeing the old king's anger, unable to truly stand up, he could only sit on the throne and roar at himself. Andre couldn't help but laugh at himself, shaking his head and withdrawing his gaze. He stepped onto the metal spiral staircase and left the main hall.
However, even after he had left the main hall, the old king's furious roars still echoed from below.
"Andre!"
"You bastard! Get back here!"
"You... come back! As my last son, if you return, I can choose to let bygones be bygones..."
Even now, he still talks about letting bygones be bygones?
Prince Andre shook his head slightly, and the metal spiral staircase beneath his feet slowly rose, carrying him to the top of the palace, where a giant clock face, over three meters tall, with only the second hand ticking, awaited him.
He took out his pocket watch to check the time, then picked up the scepter he had taken from the king and queen. He attached it to the exposed axis in the center of the clock, following the hands of the clock, according to the dial.
"Tick-tock."
The crisp sound of the mechanism falling into place echoed as the two scepters touched the clock face. The giant clock, over three meters tall, retreated and then rolled to the right in a clockwise direction, revealing the secret room hidden behind.
"Brother Andre?"
Before Prince Andre could even step into the room, a voice from within made him shudder.
Sadness, surprise, pain, disbelief... The tone was familiar, but the emotions were completely different. A weak, unfamiliar voice called out in the pitch-black secret room.
"Are you here to turn me off this time?"
"..."
"Don't imitate her voice!"
After a few seconds of silence, Prince Andre spoke with disgust:
"Artifex, I'm warning you for the last time. If you don't want to be turned off, stop playing these games with me!"
"Okay."
Seemingly not wanting to argue about this issue with "Artifex," Prince Andre hummed and said with an unfriendly tone:
"Take out your core, I'm taking it to Research Zone One!"
"Oh? Why?"
The voice in the room, upon hearing this, sounded curious:
"Although Artifex 01 is my creation, this imperfect prototype, Artifex 01, can only control a fraction of the maximum computational power, less than one-twelfth of 01's capacity. Now that we have a more usable 01, why take the risk of reactivating me?"
"Because Felicia has been captured, and her whereabouts are currently unknown. But I need her to do something."
Seemingly having no fondness for this "Artifex" using his mother's voice, Prince Andre spoke expressionlessly:
"So I'm reactivating you. I'll temporarily control the entire Corlock Kingdom and quickly find Felicia. If we can't find her, then make me another 01!"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
