Clear, cool water flowed from the Magus of the Court's robe sleeves, trickling down, unable to be stopped.
Heber estimated that in about fifteen minutes, her left arm would completely disappear.
Thinking about it now, Morgan le Fay probably "pre-empted" her own achievement.
Morgan le Fay had twice personally pushed Albion to the brink of destruction, just one step away from truly achieving her ambition.
In this state, she used [Fourth Mark: From the End] to hypothesize a "self who successfully destroyed Albion."
Normally, such an attempt would not succeed.
But Morgan's achievement was always confined to the three islands of Albion, a future that might occur on the island.
Morgan le Fay was a witch who truly inherited the kingship of the island, and the kingship she held allowed her capriciousness.
Therefore, [Avalon] was temporarily proven by Morgan in a hypothetical form.
If it had only gone this far, then the achievement Morgan had pre-empted would quickly be disproven.
Because while Arthur was weakened, Albion still existed, and the repulsion from reality would quickly destroy her "hypothesis"... But Morgan used [First Mark: Fairy Eye] to fix the observed future onto the Twin Kings.
—As long as either of the Twin Kings survived, they could severely shake Arthur's rule, causing Albion to irreversibly decline. When Arthur's achievement collapsed, Morgan's achievement would truly be realized.
It was like taking out a loan from a bank to play the stock market; as long as Morgan kept winning at the gambling table before she was liquidated... everything would be fine!
Pledging her island kingship to exchange for a greatly discounted pseudo-achievement... And Arthur was completely unable to stop Morgan, so her future was close at hand.
However, Heber appeared before her, telling her that she could only go this far and not beyond.
"I have fewer Marks than my Royal Sister, and I lack lethality... But [Illusion] can make her attacks miss, and even temporarily twist them for my own use."
Heber forced herself to think, to distract from the numbness and pain that was gradually spreading throughout her body.
"It's precisely because I used my Royal Sister's own attacks to kill the Twin Kings that the 'wedge' she used to fix the future disappeared... The cycle could not be maintained, and my Royal Sister could no longer bear the weight of her 'achievement'."
The moment [Avalon] disappeared, Morgan suffered irreparable heavy damage, making it extremely difficult even to maintain her own existence.
And the moment Morgan went bankrupt and was liquidated, Heber's achievement was realized.
"This body can still hold on for a while..." Heber thought.
The path she walked silently caved in, and clear water emerged from the ground, gradually converging into a river. Blue-purple pansies sprouted and bloomed along both banks of the river, confining the clear water to a fixed channel.
The residents of London finally noticed this invisible anomaly. They watched from windows, from alley corners, and from the roadside, marveling at the clear river and praising the blooming flowers.
...
Buckingham Palace, deep within the palace always shrouded in heavy curtains.
On the iron throne, entwined with countless pipes, Arthur suddenly awoke.
A hoarse sound erupted from her chest; it was merely a breath, yet it was as heavy as the booming of an ancient bell.
Had a bad dream... Arthur thought.
She dreamed of her last conversation with her Royal Sister.
Arthur had been incredibly disappointed by her Royal Sister's betrayal and incredibly angry at her Royal Sister's choice.
However, with the passage of time, her former subordinates were no longer, and trusted close retainers became increasingly scarce. Arthur had once had so many followers, but time had taken them all away one by one.
In the end, the only familiar people left were her Royal Sister and Merlin.
Arthur raised her head and looked out of the left window, her gaze passing through layers of curtains to rest on the now empty London Tower.
Two prisoners, different in status but similar in predicament.
Compared to the elusive, eternally youthful Merlin, her Royal Sister, who shared a similar plight, made Arthur feel more empathy.
In the end, hatred and anger had been dulled by time, turning into something like a Pearl.
Arthur even felt a little... pleased.
So much so that she even began to anticipate the scene when her Royal Sister would push open the palace gates: what expression would she use to greet her then?
Just the thought seemed to alleviate some of the centuries-long pain.
The palace gates made a heavy sound and slowly opened.
Footsteps approached from a distance, but the sound that reached Arthur's ears was not what she expected.
"I'm back," said the girl with flaxen hair.
"Why is it you... Where is my Royal Sister?" Arthur asked wearily.
"Unable to maintain her form, she dispersed into lake water," Heber said, hiding her arm, which had completely turned into clear water, behind her back, trying her best to maintain a calm tone, "Just outside London."
"..."
The silence was as cold as iron.
Heber didn't mind Arthur's attitude. She continued to speak to herself: "The Red Dragon and the Lion have both been dealt with by me, as have their armies. Not a single noble who fought with them remains. The nine existing Round Table Knights are all dead as well. In these past few decades, you..."
"Enough, Merlin."
Arthur's voice was strange and cold, as if suppressing anger, or perhaps disheartened.
"You're like an elusive ghost, always doing things for me, but..."
"Enough," Arthur repeated, "I'm tired."
However, the sage remained unmoved.
She continued to chatter about things Arthur no longer wanted to hear.
"Enough!"
The monarch on the iron throne spoke for the third time. Her eyes were like molten gold, her voice strange and terrifying, and her shadow, reflected between the curtains, twisted like an old dragon coiled in a cave.
The sage's voice was drowned out by the monarch's roar.
"Who do you think you're making decisions for, Merlin? Who do you think gave you your current position?!"
"You're just an ignorant fool..."
Arthur gazed at the sage with disappointment. She felt betrayed once again.
"I don't need you to do anything at all." The monarch laughed mockingly, "How about you guess what I was going to do?"
The sage remained silent, seemingly awestruck.
"I'm tired of sitting on the throne. The ideal kingdom is far off and will never be realized," Arthur said, "If that's the case, why not use it to achieve my Royal Sister's ambition... Heh, completely destroy this Albion that I've grown weary of, and then rebuild it from the ruins!"
"All this time. You seem to have misunderstood your role, Merlin."
"I did once have impractical ideas... But you've been appearing less and less," Arthur's disappointment was unconcealed, "If that's the case, then what's wrong with conferring my Royal Sister?"
She had been tormented on the iron throne for too long and no longer wanted to be a prisoner.
In her long suffering, Arthur finally began to understand Morgan.
History had entered a dead end, with no future to speak of; only they, bound by blood, could support and understand each other. There was no other solution.
Albion would be constantly destroyed and rebuilt; war was the engine that maintained the world's operation.
Arthur watched the sage from above with a vengeful delight, anticipating her answer.
"So that's what you were thinking." The girl with deep green eyes looked up, meeting the angry monarch's gaze, "Then I can rest assured."
The sage's expression remained unchanged, but her tone subtly revealed an irrepressible uplift.
Arthur frowned. Heber's reaction was truly unexpected.
The monarch carefully observed the cheerful Heber, realizing that ever since she entered the palace, she had been facing her sideways.
"What are you hiding, Merlin?" Arthur suddenly felt a hint of unease, "Why won't you face me?"
Splash.
What answered Arthur was a pool of clear, emerald water. It flowed from the Magus of the Court's sleeve, spilling onto the ground without hindrance.
Heber's left shoulder drooped limply, and there was nothing but clear water in her sleeve.
The sunlight shone on the water covering the floor, reflecting dazzlingly.
The emerald color began to extend little by little up Heber's neck, forming snake-like patterns on the girl's delicate cheek, appearing eerie and despairing.
"As you can see, Your Majesty." Heber suppressed the joy in her heart, answering in a calm tone, "I am about to die."
[Current Lostbelt Progress: 98.5%].