Chapter Eighty-Four: It Is Right Here

“That fool is letting the Double Moon Wheel devour the night elves!”

The Queen was the first to notice the Double Moon Wheel’s movements.

She was startled. “Linley, take me to stop those Soul Rings at once, or the Double Moon Wheel’s power will only grow stronger!”

“But…” Linley glanced at the holy light arrows he was making. “I haven’t finished making many yet.”

“These are enough for now.” Linwen took the ten holy light arrows from his hand. “I’ll use my own bow to draw its attention. Linley, you go down and save the people.”

Linwen cared nothing for the lives of the night elves, but he couldn’t allow the Double Moon Wheel to grow even stronger.

Linley and the Queen immediately turned and descended. “Why would that old man allow the Double Moon Wheel to consume the night elves? Isn’t he worried it’ll betray him once it becomes too powerful?”

He had always wondered why Bard trusted the Double Moon Wheel so much.

“Every person who possesses the Double Moon Wheel inherits the memories of the previous owner,” the Queen explained. “In those memories, the Double Moon Wheel is an extremely loyal weapon. It has never once defied its master’s command. So even if it makes excessive demands, the king still trusts it, believing in five centuries of loyalty.”

Linley swept rapidly toward the ground. “Does that mean the old man has your memories?”

“No…” The Queen shook her head. “He only has the memories of the dead king. I am not dead yet. The Double Moon Wheel hasn’t received my soul, so it can’t know my memories.”

Linley frowned. “That’s not trustworthy at all!”

If the king’s memories were only gained after his death, then the Double Moon Wheel could easily tamper with them. This so-called five hundred years of loyalty might all be a lie.

“I think so too, but there’s no proof,” the Queen sighed. “Those memories are vivid and lifelike. Bard believes in them completely.”

They had already flown back to Florence, but the Soul Rings had moved ahead of them.

Red Soul Rings, trailing long beams of light, drifted down the streets. The night elves were in chaos, crammed into houses, their cries and wailing everywhere. A woman carrying a child rushed into a house, but was pushed out again, lost and desperate as she ran through the streets—only to be spotted by the Soul Rings.

A group of Soul Rings flew toward her, but Linley landed in front of her.

“Get out of my way!”

A flash of holy light from his hand, and the approaching Soul Rings dissolved into mist.

“What are these Soul Rings, really?” Linley felt a deep unease. They weren’t particularly powerful, yet they made him extremely uncomfortable. He sent his vital energy into his eyes and looked down the street, spotting several night elves marked by the Soul Rings.

“They’re dead!” Linley’s face turned grim. The eyes of those marked by Soul Rings glowed white, devoid of any sign of life.

Their souls had vanished; their bodies reduced to puppets for the Double Moon Wheel.

“It actually dares do this!” Linley destroyed another wave of Soul Rings with holy light, seething with anger.

“Don’t waste the holy light. Let me handle this!” said the Queen. Suddenly, the Double Moon Wheel shone, illuminating half the street. The Soul Rings drifting along the avenue disappeared one after another.

“Mommy, mommy!” A child’s wailing came from behind Linley. He turned and saw the night elf woman comforting her child. “It’s alright, it’s alright. He’s not a bad man.”

The woman looked at Linley with heartfelt gratitude. “Thank you for saving us, boss.”

“You know me too?” Linley was surprised. Did everyone in Florence know him now?

He was about to check the other streets when a delighted shout rang out, “Boss, you’re back!”

He looked up to see a group of black-clad night elves hurrying over.

“Go deal with those taken by the Soul Rings!”

“Find the priests—help them raise the barriers!”

The leader of the night elves issued orders as he ran to Linley’s side. “Boss, did the new king unleash these Soul Rings?”

“Soul Rings?” Linley frowned. “You recognize them?”

“There was an incident centuries ago. The Double Moon Wheel will stop at nothing for power.” The night elf threw back his hood to reveal an aged face. “As long as the master consents, it can seize our souls and turn us into energy for the Double Moon Wheel… Boss.”

The night elf suddenly froze, staring at the Double Moon Wheel hovering before Linley.

“Why do you have the Double Moon Wheel?”

“That’s your Queen,” Linley replied.

The Double Moon Wheel transformed into the Queen.

“The new king’s Double Moon Wheel is too strong. I’m cooperating with Linley for now. But it seems you’ve acted quickly yourselves…”

The Queen noticed that white barriers had already appeared in many places on the street. The night elves, having learned from past pain, had long ago developed a kind of barrier that could block the Soul Rings—though it could only block this one thing.

“Your Majesty…”

“The Queen has returned!”

Some elves emerged from their homes, emotional, kneeling at the Queen’s feet. In terms of prestige, Linley could not compare to this Queen of the night elves. Yet the old elf did not kneel, nor did any of the black-clad night elves—perhaps the Queen was a good person, but she had failed. She had not stopped the new king, nor had she saved them.

“While you were fighting in the sky, the prince had us start making preparations,” the old elf reported to Linley. “Our comrades were sent to every street in advance. The new king did indeed use the Soul Rings, but we’ve already organized the priests to raise many barriers.”

“But our priests are few. Linley, we need to go save people outside the barriers,” the Queen reminded him.

Linley nodded. The two of them took to the air, guiding those elves outside the barriers toward the priests’ protection.

The black-clad organization had set up more than a hundred barriers throughout the city. Most night elves, upon seeing the barriers, ran toward them of their own accord. Linley and the Queen found their work unexpectedly smooth. The Queen couldn’t help but laugh as they went from street to street. “The organization you built is more effective than all the nobles I commanded.”

They soon encountered another group of night elves rescuing their kin.

“Boss!”

The night elves greeted Linley with excitement, then looked in fear at the Double Moon Wheel by his side. Though their comrades had told them that this Wheel belonged to the Queen and had been saving their people, they still felt a deep terror of its power.

“Little prince.”

Linley recognized a familiar figure among the night elves—Eve, the astrologer. She stood in the center of the group, clearly protected by the others.

“What are you doing here?” Linley asked.

“I’m showing them the way,” Eve replied. She wasn’t much help in battle, but she could guide the night elves to survivors and priests, which was where her value shone.

Eve looked curiously at Linley. “Little prince, what about the other half of the Double Moon Wheel? Didn’t they say it was with you?”

“It’s right here,” Linley pointed at the Double Moon Wheel.

“But I can’t see it,” Eve said. She sensed a powerful aura around Linley, but saw nothing.

“That’s odd. It’s supposed to be visible to everyone when it’s shrunk.”

Linley was puzzled. Linwen had just seen the Double Moon Wheel a short while ago.