Shadow of the Beautiful World

clang

The last blow of the hammer hit the burning iron felt.

The green flame of fear has been dimmed to the point of being invisible, representing that the power of fear of the serpent has been completely burned up, in the final flame dancing.

Merlin put down the hammer.

With a slight movement of his fingers, the crown of fear that was finally forged floated in front of his eyes.

It is silver gray.

It looks very much like the crowns worn by medieval kings. The whole is a slightly thin iron ring, with embellishments forged into thorn flowers on the upper and lower edges.

On both sides of the crown, there is a decoration in the shape of a human face.

The one on the left is like a big snake, and the one on the right is like a nightmare. They all have only their heads and are wrapped in silver-gray chains.

They don't have a jumping consciousness, but if you listen carefully, you can hear the endless wailing of the two evil gods.

They are bound forever in this crown, and unless the crown is broken, they will not be free.

The body of the big snake has been sealed in time by Thor with eternal power, it is the king of fear in the past.

The Nightmare has no body at all, but being tied to the crown means that it can no longer covet the dream world and the nightmare dimension.

Directly in front of the crown, there is also a blurred human face.

The shadows can't be seen clearly, it represents the ontology consciousness of the crown of fear, and this ultimate creation of fear will also grow, but it serves the king of hell after all.

As long as Merlin doesn't choose to abandon it, it will never rebel.

Beautiful creations.

After the fire of fear was extinguished, the shining silver crown emitted light like white smoke in the darkness, wrapping around Merlin's body.

The smoke dissipated, and in the smoke, a face yelling at the top of its voice would appear from time to time.

It was the physical manifestation of fear.

Perfect

Merlin looked at this frightening creation, and he stroked the warm crown with an admiring gaze.

The crown felt its master's touch, and it swung in the air, neighing with joy.

It is begging its master to wear it, so that it can fulfill its mission of existence, absorb the fear of all things for its master, and let its master add another deadly weapon.

Judas was not happy.

The sharp sword sprang out from the air with a neighing sound, and it stopped beside Merlin, waving its sharp blade at the flattering Crown of Fear, as if it was going to smash this bastard who only wags his tail.

It is Merlin's most trusted weapon!

This new lick dog needs to step aside!

Quiet.

Merlin patted the angry Judas.

The sword was like a wronged puppy, it circled Merlin twice and neighed sadly, making Merlin laugh out loud.

Don't worry, you will always be my favorite sword.

Merlin reached out and stroked the spine of Judas' sword. He said:

You will soon fulfill the mission for which you were born, and you will not be abandoned.

Judas was satisfied.

It erected its body triumphantly, gestured to the crown of fear, like a demonstration, and after doing all this, Judas quickly disappeared into the air.

It drank the blood of the elders of the universe before, and new power was conceived in this sword. It must adjust itself to the most perfect state before its master steps onto the battlefield.

It already knows the mission for which it was born.

It won't disappoint Merlin.

You are really interesting. It is not a good thing to give weapons their own will. They will obey you when you are strong, but once you become weak, they will abandon you.

In the shadows behind Merlin, a very young voice sounded with a teasing tone.

He said to Merlin:

Weapons are not bound by morality. The only purpose of their existence is to harvest life. Since they can harvest the lives of others, why can't they harvest the lives of their masters?

Unreasonable!

Raven stretched out his hand to hold the crown of fear. He turned his head and looked at the looming figure in the darkness. He said:

A weapon is not used to harvest life, it is used to protect the master, as long as it is held in the hands of the real master, it will become an extension of my will

I named it Judah, a rebel like myself.

Merlin paused, looking at the figure in the darkness before him, he said:

Then, Lord Sandman, I have completed our agreement.

As long as I am still alive, the nightmare will not be able to break free from the shackles. You can go to sleep with peace of mind. From now on, there will be no screams of nightmares, and your nightmares will no longer scare you.

Yes, that's why I'm here.

The figure in the darkness walked out slowly.

He is very much like a decadent young man, wearing a robe from the ancient Greek period, revealing a small piece of chest, with black messy hair swaying, and there are fluttering ribbons flying around his waist.

This form is not at all like a member of the legendary endless family, let alone a powerful god.

But he is.

Merlin has confirmed from the Supreme God that the 7 members of the endless family are all real gods.

But their form of existence is very strange. They are more like the manifestation of the invisible rules in the universe, representing the movement of the stars, but they are never too much.

And in this deformed universe, the existence of the endless family is also distorted. They are not as mysterious and powerful as in the main world.

This can be seen from the fact that the Sandman needs to ask Merlin and Zatana to help him get rid of the nightmare.

You solved a big problem for me.

The Sandman reached out and took the Crown of Fear from Merlin.

This decadent young man looked at the silver crown in his hand, he sighed and said:

Even if I was born in a world of nothingness, the malice in my sleep still makes me sleepless. Look, I have dark circles under my eyes.

This guy was a very peaceful existence, and he pointed at his eye sockets, making a joke to Merlin.

But Merlin didn't respond.

Okay, okay, I know what you're expecting.

The Sandman heaved a long sigh, and he said to Merlin:

But my brothers and sisters and I cannot help you. We are not good at fighting, and in this deformed and illusory world, the power we can use is extremely limited, but we can help you protect your world.

He said:

You can go to the stars to fight against the Outer Gods without worry. As long as you can persist on the front line, you don't need to worry about the rear.

No, I need you to do another thing for me.

Merlin shook his head, and he said to the Sandman:

I want to ignite the furnace and let the burning cosmic force spread across the star sea, so as to shape the foundation of reality. I have selected my companions as the beacons to attract the force, but they may not be able to do it.

I hope you can help them when they need it.

Fine.

The Sandman flicked his tongue, and with a gentle smile on his face, he said:

It's not very difficult. My brothers and sisters and I will help. In addition, you relieved me of my burden and let me fall asleep easily. I think I should help you a little more.

How about, let me tell you a crisis that you haven't discovered yet.

The Sandman narrowed his eyes, and his figure became unreal, like a colorful nebula of fire, in a psychedelic and beautiful light and shadow, in the waves shining like a nebula.

He lowered his voice and said something to Merlin.

Raven's expression immediately turned pale.

It's like hearing some of the worst secrets.

The Outer Gods are not stupid, arrogance is just their disguise, Merlin.

In the dreamlike halo, the Sandman whispered:

They were prepared for your possible rebellion at the beginning of the game, but it was not irreparable.

To do great things requires sacrifice. People often call it a 'great sacrifice', but who can look at all this with the mood of a sacrifice?

I hope you can prepare well, Merlin, this is a difficult road, unfortunately, you can no longer turn back.

The Sandman raised his hands and gently put the crown of fear in his hands on top of Merlin's head.

At the moment when the crown was added to his body, Merlin's long black hair fluttered in the air, and the power of fear continued to emerge, and it was integrated into the system of the seven deadly sins mastered by Raven, and finally transformed into the power he needed.

The figure of the Sandman dissipated, and at the moment of disappearing, he said softly:

Appreciate what you still have.

I hope to see you again in the real world, my friend.

—

Today, the Dusk Spire, as in the past, stands at the junction of various hell dimensions. From the top of the tower, you can still clearly see the Satanic Throne burning in the fire in the center of hell.

But today's minaret is not lively.

Members of the Sons of Hell are scattered throughout the Hells, dealing with the current chaos, even though they all know the truth of the Void Age.

But just because all of this is false, you can't let the chaos in hell grow.

Nihilism is out of the question.

Every minute and every second before the doomsday showdown begins, they still have to fulfill their duties as the lord of hell.

Since they look down on what the hell lords of the previous generation did, and now it's their turn to take power, they should do something different.

And the debate about the king of hell is still being discussed.

The children of hell hope that Merlin can ascend to the throne as soon as possible, declaring the arrival of their era.

It's not just a ceremony.

The appearance of the king of hell means that the chaotic dimension of hell has a leader, even if it is only a nominal leader, hell can no longer appear in a broken posture under this righteous name.

Even if there is a conflict with Heaven in the future, the King of Hell can still discuss and negotiate on behalf of the princes.

But Merlin remained silent for a long time.

He was waiting for Nightmare to complete the casting of the Crown of Fear, and the rules of the King of Hell Contest were still in effect. He had to ingest fear to complete the enthronement ceremony.

Moreover, Merlin intends to use himself, the gathered fear, and the power of hell endowed by the throne of Satan to combine the three to break through the single universe.

hum

Merlin, who was wearing a casual suit, stepped out of the flames. There was no silver crown of fear on his head, and wearing a suit with a crown always felt weird.

So instead, the crown was transformed into a pendant that hung around Merlin's neck.

He looked at the Satanic Throne surrounded by raging flames.

The throne belonging to the king of hell is not gorgeous, in fact, it looks like a pile of rotten wood that has been randomly built and nailed together.

Not only is the left and right unbalanced, but it also looks very shoddy, and the entire throne doesn't even have a suitable plane.

Above the dilapidated backrest, there is a sloping cross, which represents the contempt of the hell creatures for heaven.

Under the throne made of rotten wood, the four letters I.N.R.I were written crookedly on the wood facing the front.

That means King of the Jews: Jesus of Nazareth

Well, this is also a mockery of God, representing the incompatibility of hell and heaven.

In short, the throne of the legendary King of Hell in front of Merlin's eyes is simply like a bad product full of black humor and hippie style.

Just like what a hell lord once said, when this thing is thrown on the street, even the homeless will not take a look.

But so what?

No matter how bad the throne is, no matter how ugly, no matter how funny, it is still the treasure that all creatures in the entire hell dream of, and everyone is proud to be able to sit on this throne.

The throne itself is not luxurious, real luxury is the symbol it represents.

kingship.

This thing itself is not determined by the throne.

The truly honorable one is the one sitting on the throne!

Merlin didn't inform anyone, he stepped up the stairs wrapped in raging flames with a feeling of disenchantment.

Every time he took a step, the flames sprayed from both sides of his body became more intense.

But this kind of flame couldn't stop Merlin's footsteps, and couldn't even ignite Merlin's clothes, and the crown of fear hanging around his neck radiated light.

Wherever that light went, the raging fire became docile.

This is the rule.

Whoever ingests the greatest fear, shall become the king of hell.

And Merlin had no competitors now, the Satan Throne was like a stripped beauty, it had no other choice but to bend down to cater to Merlin.

Merlin stroked the scorching rotten wood, he didn't have any emotion, and he didn't have anything to say.

He was a little less interested, perhaps because he knew some secrets that he shouldn't have known.

He just turned around like that, and sat firmly on the slanted chair of Satan's Throne. The rubbish thing actually swayed twice, like a high-back chair missing a leg, almost throwing the raven out.

But anyway, it can be considered solid.

The flames are burning.

They were the first batch to know the birth of the King of Hell. Before Merlin's eyes, they were burning around, obediently projecting the projections of the hells of all worlds into the firelight.

Those beating sparks are like messengers, waiting to spread the order of the king of hell throughout hell.

From today

Merlin lazily propped up his arms, propped his chin, raised his legs, and put his other hand on the armrest of the rotten wooden throne.

He said in a low spirited tone, as scripted:

hell

everywhere