Endless Debt

For Palmer, today is really a long day. He has almost lost count of how many battles he has experienced and how many times he has escaped from death. Everything is like a montage of mixed cuts. It's all going to hit you in the face, regardless of whether you can accept it or not.

"Ha...it's so cold."

Palmer breathed out a cold breath, the wind and snow passed over his body, and his body trembled a few times.

Previously, after Palmer sent Nathaniel away, when he was about to be killed by the Silent One, Bologo, who was promoted to the crowned one, fell from the sky and rescued him forcefully. Then the two crowned men started a continuous battle. Great wars, repeatedly breaking down the barriers of the world, and fighting between the etheric world and the material world.

It was a truly earth-shattering battle, as if there were really two gods at war. The earth, ocean, and sky would all be burned to ashes under their wrath.

Fortunately, these two crowned persons only have eyes for each other who are also crowned persons. They go all out towards each other and use all their means, vowing to be the only supreme existence.

Because of this, both Boluogo and the Silent One quickly forgot about the existence of Palmer, even the demons rolling and entangled in the etheric realm.

OK, forget about it.

While these lunatics were happily fighting and hugging each other, Palmer himself secretly escaped along the large crack in the collapse of the Pillar of Kingship, trying to return to the material world, and then search for Nethaniel and bring him with him. He looked for his scarred old boss and found a place where no one was around to hide for a while.

Everyone has their own things to be busy with, which is good.

But unfortunately, just when Palmer was about to escape, he suddenly found that he could not mobilize the ether, and even the alchemical matrix fell silent.

As a result, this relatively powerful defender was deprived of all his extraordinary power. Like a mortal, he looked up at the big crack in the boundless sky. No matter how he jumped, he could not reach it. Half a point.

At the same time, a blazing white storm rolled up the sea of ​​darkness. As if polluted by the evil and crazy power, the pure white storm turned into absolute darkness, a silent and silent storm in the vast ice field of the ethereal world. It spread upwards, and the same great silence descended on every place in the etheric realm.

No matter how disloyal Palmer is, this is only a matter of his work attitude and has nothing to do with his work experience.

Palmer immediately realized that there was a new situation in the dispute between the devils, which may be developing in a better direction, or it may be worse. He could not find Boluogo, and he was alone in this dead world. one person.

"Damn, what's going on?"

Palmer struggled forward against the increasingly cold wind and snow, complaining in a low voice... Now, it seemed that he could do nothing but complain.

The wind and snow repeatedly hit Palmer, and his hair and eyelashes were covered with a thin layer of ice and snow.

Without the protection of the ether, Palmer now looks particularly fragile, not to mention that the previous series of battles have already made him exhausted.

The dark storm in the distance suddenly dissipated, like an unfettered black mist, spreading in all directions, fading into the gray wind and snow, and disappearing.

This vision naturally caught Palmer's eyes. Before that, he had been carefully observing the strange scene. After waiting for a while, he made sure that nothing abnormal happened before he cautiously made a decision. Next steps.

Boluogo disappeared, and the devils disappeared without a trace. It seemed that in an instant, all the beings with minds in the ethereal world fell into nothingness. It was even said that even the storm of the secret source dissipated.

Palmer could vaguely feel that something big had happened, but rather than guessing what the big event was, he wanted to care more about his own survival.

"Sorry."

Palmer muttered, and with hesitation on his face, he discarded all the weapons and unnecessary sundries he carried on the spot, leaving only a dagger hidden in his waist.

He was very cold and tired. The wind and snow in the ethereal world were constantly taking away Palmer's body temperature and hindering his progress. What was even worse was that Palmer's clothes had no ability to resist the cold at all.

If this situation continues, Palmer, the defender, may freeze to death in the etheric realm.

"Such a stupid way to die," Palmer prayed in a low voice and muttered, "Bologo, Bologo, where are you, help me..."

Every time Palmer encounters a fatal situation, his good partner always falls from the sky like a surprise soldier and saves him from fire and water.

Sometimes Palmer feels that this may have nothing to do with his luck, it's just that his partner is professional enough, but if it is indeed related to his luck...

Palmer stopped and looked down at his feet. He could no longer feel the existence of his feet, as if they were frozen.

He guessed that if he took off his shoes at this time, he might be able to see his toes that were blue and purple from the cold.

Palmer murmured to himself, "Ha... now, my luck has really run out."

Suddenly, a flash of light came into Palmer's eyes, and he blinked. Where the dark storm dissipated, there was a clear point of light shining, like guiding the direction of a confused ship in the dark night. lighthouse.

This flash of light looked familiar, just like the crown on Bolog's head earlier.

Palmer swallowed, and after some hesitation, he shouted loudly, "Bologo!"

The voice echoed in the etheric world, and soon after, the noise of wind and snow responded to Palmer.

It seemed that it was not Blogo, nor anyone else, otherwise Palmer would have suffered a fatal blow the moment he shouted.

Palmer took a difficult step forward. There was no other place to go in the etheric world. Instead of staying there and waiting to die, or pinning the hope of survival on some illusory things, Palmer wanted to try to save himself.

He was not only a lucky guy, but also a person who refused to admit defeat. However, Palmer's unwilling will was often only stimulated for a short time when it involved his own survival.

"Come on, Palmer."

Palmer moved forward in the wind and snow, letting his body become colder and number.

"When you go back, you will be the hero of the world, the most valuable of all the Clex family heads," Palmer said, and laughed nervously, "Maybe you will become the director of the Order Bureau. Then, Nathanial's summoning room will be mine, hehe."

Palmer tried to tell some jokes and entertain himself so that the despair would not be enough to completely defeat him.

Slowly, Palmer approached the flashing point. It was not far in front of Palmer. It seemed to have a certain temperature, melting the snow and wind around it, forming a clean and pure land around it.

The flashing true body was exposed to Palmer without any cover.

It was a crown made of light. Unlike Blog's ten-cornered crown, its appearance was made of several branches intertwined, like a crown woven by children with plant roots and stems. It was simple and plain, with flawless pure white, and the light was rippling like water waves.

Palmer moved forward in confusion. Although he was not the crowned, he could sense from the brief contact that each crowned person had a different crown, and he had never seen this crown before.

More importantly, the crown should be the embodiment of the power of the crowned, but it was separated from the crowned person and thrown to the ground casually like a real crown.

Palmer tried to pick up the crown, but suddenly, he was tripped by something, and the whole person leaned forward and fell heavily to the ground.

Perhaps because his body was frozen, Palmer did not feel much pain. He turned his head to look at the thing that tripped him, and saw a familiar face under the snow.

Palmer was stunned for a moment, looking at the pale, lifeless face, he shouted in horror, "Bologo!"

The one who tripped him was Bologo, who was covered by the wind and snow. He fell motionless on the ice as if dead, letting the wind and snow cover his body.

"Berogo! Berogo!"

Palmer fell on Berogo, pushing his body repeatedly, trying to wake up his mind, but soon, Palmer found that Berogo had no breath, his heartbeat was dead silent, and his body was completely frozen, hard, without the slightest temperature.

"Damn it, Berogo! Wake up!"

Palmer shook Berogo's body vigorously. This was not the first time he had seen Berogo die, but inexplicably, he realized that this time Berogo was really dead, going to complete destruction, and there was no possibility of recovery.

Slowly, Palmer stopped moving, he gasped for the cold air, the low temperature rushed into his respiratory tract and lungs, bringing a sharp sting.

He no longer had the strength to hammer this sad reality, he could only kneel beside Berogo, trying to maintain his body temperature and maintain his remaining sanity.

After a while, Palmer seemed to accept the reality and sighed in a low voice, "So you will die too."

This is a stupid sigh. Everyone will die, just like ice and snow will melt, rocks will collapse, and everything in the world is destined to go to that distant extinction, but the time of their death is different.

Palmer reached out and touched Blogo's face, trying to open his eyelids, but Blogo's eyeballs seemed to be completely frozen with his eyelids in the low temperature. He felt like a cold sculpture, carved to life.

Inexplicably, Palmer laughed to himself, raised his head, and looked at the boundless and deep blue sky. The smile on his face became heavy and pale, until a heavy sigh echoed.

"It looks like I'm going to die here too..." Palmer seemed to be talking to himself, or to Blogo's corpse, "I've thought about death, and I've thought about many ways to die, such as dying in a terrible disaster, at the hands of a powerful enemy, or living as old as Mamo, dying on the bed." "But I never thought that I would die here, or die in such a funny way, and I never thought that I would die with you." Palmer was always good at enlightening himself, and asked curiously, "Do you think we will be buried together and be neighbors like the pair we saw in the cemetery before?" Thinking of this, Palmer perked up, took out the dagger at his waist, and raised his hand to carve words on the ice. "I have to think of an interesting last words..." Palmer thought while chiseling the ice with his remaining strength, hoping to leave some words for later generations to carve on his tombstone.

After carving a few words crookedly, a gust of cold wind blew in, and a thin layer of snow dust covered Palmer's writing. He reached out and wiped it away, but before he could continue carving, the snow dust covered it again.

Palmer paused for a moment and threw the dagger aside casually, leaving it covered by the wind and snow.

"Even if I carve words, no one may be able to see it, and even if someone comes here, by that time, we will probably have been digested by the ethereal world."

Palmer looked nearby, and saw the large ruins caused by the fierce battle between the devils, and the collapse of the pillar of kingship in the distance... Everything that was devastated had been covered up under the constant wind and snow, just like the ancient kingdom disappearing in the sand. In the sea.

Whether they are magnificent or despicable, just like facing the cruel and merciless time, they will all return to the snow dust in the ether, not to mention Palmer and Boluogo.

A faint sense of despair lingered in Palmer's heart. He could feel that his body temperature was constantly lowering, and the temperature at the end of his limbs began to drop. His limbs became cold and numb, his heart rate dropped, and his breathing became shallow and shallow. slow.

Palmer was a little sad, after all, death is a cruel thing, but fortunately or not so fortunately, his friend was by his side, although this friend had already died first.

"It's so peaceful...so what were you thinking about before you died?"

Palmer looked at Burlogo's face curiously. His expression was peaceful, without pain or anger, as if he was walking towards death in a sweet dream, which made Palmer extremely envious.

He didn't know the cause of Boluogo's death, and besides, it seemed useless to dwell on it now.

Palmer wanted to take off some clothes from Boluogo's body. Even if he couldn't save his life, it would be a comfort to relax a little before death.

But when Palmer pushed aside the snow on Boluogo's body, he found pieces of metal armor set on his body. Not to mention keeping him warm, the metal felt extremely cold, as if there were Like metal burrs, the cold even stung Palmer's hands slightly.

Borogo is dead.

Obviously Palmer already knew the fact that Bologo was dead, but this strange thought still appeared and flashed back in his mind again and again, as if Palmer still refused to believe it, so his only instinct was this reminded him repeatedly.

Borogo is dead.

Palmer became very sad and his mood reached the bottom. Fortunately, the freezing cold temperature had dulled his thoughts a lot, and he was approaching death. This sadness would soon return to peace.

In the vast silence, the light-cast crown was still lying quietly on the ice, emitting a warm, pure white light.

That light illuminated Palmer's heart, and also illuminated a glimmer of hope in this silence and despair.

Palmer tried to stand up, but his frozen legs couldn't move at all. He could only crawl over in embarrassment and try to touch the light-forged crown.

An ethereal and strange sound suddenly sounded in Palmer's mind, echoing in the etheric realm.

It seemed that someone was whispering to Palmer, but the words and words spoken by that voice were beyond the comprehension of Palmer. But even so, Palmer could still understand what the other person wanted to express, as if he was secretly speaking. reached a consensus with his mind.

"You said, you can save me?"

Palmer stared at the light-forged crown and repeated, "You will also fulfill all my wishes and hopes, and erase all pain and sorrow..."

The crown lay there quietly, silent, except for Palmer talking to himself.

Palmer slowly approached the crown, and waves of warmth were emerging from the crown, as if it were a huge fire, driving away the chill of the etheric world.

In this desperate situation, this warmth is so precious. Palmer can clearly feel that the ice hanging on his eyelashes and hair is melting and evaporating, and his weak heart rate has picked up, even numbness and The limbs that had lost consciousness became soft and alive again.

Palmer knelt before the crown and carefully and cautiously stretched out his hand. Slowly, his fingertips touched the crown.

It's strange that even though the crown is emitting such intense heat, it doesn't feel hot to the touch. On the contrary, it still has a hint of coldness.

Palmer grabbed the crown with both hands and lifted it up. The whispering in his ears became stronger and clearer, as if an unknown existence was beside him, leaning down to whisper.

The crown in her hand seemed to be breathing, synchronized with Palmer's heartbeat, each beat carrying a seductive whisper.

At first, those voices were as gentle as the breeze, quietly whispering endless possibilities in his ears. It promised him that as long as he was willing, he could have power over everyone and become the master of the world.

The splendid palace emerged from Palmer's eyes. He saw that people carved out the cold mountain rocks and used countless corpses to build a palace reaching the sky on the highest peak of the world. In the courtyard covered with gold, He was sitting high on the throne with a crown on his head.

People sang their names, and their kneeling figures extended from the peak to the foot of the mountain. Even if the cold wind took away their body temperature and life, people still maintained their morbid piety, and only their own glorious figure was in their eyes.

Palmer's heartstrings were gently plucked, and a glimmer of desire flashed in his eyes.

The light of the crown was reflected in Palmer's eyes, but then, Palmer frowned slightly, as if he knew the future. Then he saw a deep being walking towards him on the throne.

His complexion was pale, and he was serious. Darkness rolled under his robes, and the pale scythe was raised high. He tried to harvest Palmer's life, but the light from the crown made his cruelty and coldness unable to approach him.

Finally, he sighed and disappeared in the palace. From this moment, Palmer not only gained supreme power, but also gained almost eternal life.

The voice beside his ear became restless, and the whisper gradually turned into a roar, surging like a tide, drowning Palmer's reason.

It promised that Palmer would enjoy this supreme power alone, as long as he was willing, as long as he lowered his proud head.

The cold wind in the ether world became colder and colder, and the warmth radiated from the crown became more and more intense.

Palmer's will began to waver. In this extreme environment, his desire to survive, his desires, and his various thoughts were infinitely magnified, and his rationality collapsed bit by bit, until there was only a desire for power and an obsession with eternity in his eyes.

As long as he wore this crown, Palmer could make the glory of the Clerks family everlasting, and at the same time, he would enjoy the eternal beauty with Wosilin.

All the cruelty and imperfections in the world would no longer exist before his eyes.

It can even be said that as long as he holds this power, Palmer can make the world a better place in his own way...

Yes, he will become the eternal king and rule the world in a way that he thinks is wise. By then, the world will only be filled with self-identified beauty, self-identified good and evil, and self-identified order.

A breeze blew by, rolling up a piece of snow dust, and Palmer's spirit immediately became tense. He picked up the crown and turned his head to look at the strange place.

Palmer heard it, and the originally quiet ether world became noisy again, as if there were groups of greedy ghosts roaming around him, they also longed for the crown in his hand, hoping that their twisted wishes could be realized one by one.

"Who!"

Palmer turned around nervously again, but all he saw was the cold body of Blogo except the vast snow dust.

His gradually cloudy eyes stared at Blogo's body, and Palmer's thinking became narrow. Apart from the promise of the crown, he could no longer tolerate anything else. His behavior became more and more extreme. In order to keep this secret, he did not hesitate to go against his nature... if that kind of thing still existed.

"You're not dead, right? Blog."

Palmer held the crown and moved back cautiously, with an evil laugh in his voice, "You must be pretending to be dead, after all, you are an undead... Do you want to take it away when I'm not paying attention?"

As he said, Palmer looked down at the crown in his arms, and in his ecstatic eyes, he stroked the surface of the light cast vigorously, feeling the subtle touch.

Under Palmer's touch, the entangled branches seemed to have gained vitality, and they grew again. The original pure white light seemed to be polluted, and the light became dark and dark, with a scarlet color emerging in it, and blood-colored arcs jumped.

One after another, sharp spikes grew out of the branches, piercing Palmer's flesh and blood, sucking his blood, but he seemed to feel no pain, and did not notice the abnormality of the crown.

As Palmer's consciousness gradually sank into desire, the crown also grew from the original branch into a sharp and evil crown of thorns. The blood-colored light emitted dangerous arcs, reflecting on Palmer's body, stretching his lonely figure long, as if to merge with the deep darkness.

"Supreme... power."

Palmer grabbed the crown of thorns with both hands, slowly lifted it up, and tried to wear it on his head.

His breathing became rapid, and the light crown of thorns in his hand became heavier. The crown of thorns hung above Palmer's head, and the sharp thorns grew wantonly and extended towards Palmer, as if they couldn't wait to bind Palmer under this terrible power.

Suddenly, just as Palmer was about to put the crown of thorns on his head completely, his movements stopped. Palmer looked at the ice surface under him. A slight vibration came from under the ice surface, and then a huge shadow slowly swam through the ice layer under Palmer.

Palmer blinked, and the huge shadow disappeared, as if it was just Palmer's illusion. At the same time, an inexplicable thought rose from Palmer's mind.

"Why should I become a king?"

Palmer had many wishes, some noble, some humble, some valuable, some worthless.

When he was a child, Palmer wished that he could sleep comfortably in bed all day, or that he could beat Wosilin in wrestling. When he grew up, Palmer repeatedly fantasized about his retirement day, preferably receiving a pension at the age of 30. He also fantasized that he would become the head of the Clex family and live a life of pointing fingers at others.

Many wishes filled Palmer's body, but among these cumbersome and huge wishes, there was no extravagant hope of becoming a king.

So, why did he suddenly want to be a king?

Palmer woke up and put down the heavy crown of thorns in his hand. At the same time, a crisp cracking sound rang out.

Looking down, he saw that the crown of thorns in his hand was the starting point, and a series of blazing white cracks extended out of thin air, cutting the space wantonly and breaking them into pieces.

Palmer thought that the boundary between the material world and the etheric world was broken, but then he found that these terrible cracks did not come from the collapse between the two worlds, but a vision that Palmer had never seen before.

"What is this...?"

Palmer looked at a crack, and behind the extended crack was another similar space, as if Palmer was kneeling between mirrors, his figure overlapped and extended towards infinity.

In the world behind the crack, a long-haired Palmer knelt on the ice, holding the crown of thorns in his hand, and the body of Blogo fell behind him... It was exactly the same as the scene Palmer was in now.

"Another me?"

Palmer was puzzled. He looked at another crack. In that crack, a short-haired woman was kneeling. From her side face, Palmer's facial features could be vaguely seen, as if she was Palmer's sister.

Palmer was an only child and he had no brothers or sisters.

Looking at the next crack, the image of Palmer kneeling in it was completely different.

He had a wild afro, and was covered with metal ornaments. His exposed skin was covered with daunting skull tattoos. He had a weathered electric guitar slung across his back. Blogo's body lay quietly behind him, and a broken bass lay beside the body.

A trace of confusion flashed in Palmer's eyes, and his eyes were attracted by another crack.

There, Palmer was shocked to find that Blogo was still alive. He held the crown tightly in his hands and knelt on the cold ground. What was even more weird was that what appeared behind Blogo was Palmer's own body.

An indescribable feeling spread in Palmer's heart. He continued to explore the next crack, and the scene in front of him shocked him again.

The majestic warhorse half-knelt in the snow, and behind it lay a knight in armor with an arrow in his chest. Palmer guessed that the warhorse was named Palmer, and the knight was called Blogo.

The cracks were like portals to parallel worlds, and each world played out the story of Palmer and Blogo.

Just like a text told in different languages, although the voice and text are completely different, they explain the same meaning.

The images of Palmer and Blogo in each world are very different. Some Palmers are rough and heroic strong men, while others are mechanical creations with mechanized prostheses and neon lights all over their bodies. There is even a world where Palmer turned into a squirrel, holding a glowing chestnut in his hand, and another squirrel named Blogo lay quietly beside him.

"Really...really crazy..."

Palmer seemed to be awakened by this shocking scene. He looked down at the crown with countless thorns in his hand. What was happening now was happening in countless worlds.

These worlds were originally unrelated, but at this moment, the fate of all the worlds, all the Palmers and Blogo were entangled together.

Thousands of worlds converged at one point.

On the crown of origin.