208. Become Queen, Talulah!
Talulah.
The leader of the Reunion Movement.
The architects of the Chernobog disaster.
In the eyes of countless people, she is a tyrant with blood on her hands, because the Reunion Movement under her command once stirred up a bloody storm.
However, long, long ago, she was also a fighter.
A fighter with burning ideals.
But the light of that ideal had long been swallowed up and buried by the boundless snowfield.
She herself was completely swallowed up by the ensuing boundless darkness, ultimately leading to the tragedy that swept everything away.
Now, she is imprisoned in a dark cabin deep within Rhodes Island.
Those gray eyes, like dusty glass, reflected no ripples, only a deathly stillness.
Only that day, the doctor's resounding declaration briefly stirred a faint ripple in the stagnant lake of her heart.
Then, life fell into a deathly silence once again, and she was like a sinner forgotten by the world, awaiting judgment.
That's fine too.
She failed to live up to the expectations of her former best friends and failed to become the person they had described as someone who could bring hope.
On the contrary, because of her depravity and loss of way, they... are all gone.
Why... is she the only one still alive?
Why is it that someone like her, whose hands are stained with sin, is still able to live on?
During her years of imprisonment, which were shrouded in darkness, she waged a silent yet fierce struggle with the shadow of the immortal black serpent that lurked deep within her consciousness, while pondering these unsolvable questions day after day.
Until the heavy hatch suddenly burst open.
A long-awaited, blinding beam of light pierced the darkness like a sharp sword, precisely enveloping the curled-up Talulah.
Suddenly exposed to the bright light, she instinctively raised her arm to shield her eyes. Through her fingers, she vaguely saw the outline of a figure—a Sankta, seemingly bathed in soft light.
"Good morning, Lady Talulah." The voice was gentle and clear, carrying a strange soothing power.
"My name is Lemuen. I look forward to working with you." The Sankta angel named Lemuen calmly gazed at the scarred red dragon before her.
As her eyes adjusted to the light, Talulah slowly lowered her arms, her grey eyes meeting the gentle gaze of the angel.
She spoke softly, her voice slightly hoarse from the long silence: "You... shouldn't have opened this door."
"If I don't open this door," Lemuen smiled slightly, took a step forward, and let her own aura illuminate the small cell even more clearly, "how am I supposed to get you out?"
"...What do you mean?" Talulah clearly didn't understand the meaning behind her words, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes.
"Talulah," Lemuen stopped in front of her, her voice low, "you have waited here long enough. Waiting will not bring salvation, nor will it bring answers."
"You need to personally take the steps to repay and make amends for everything you've done." Her words went straight to the heart of the matter.
"It's time to go, Talulah. We... should set off."
"...Where to?" Faced with this sudden invitation and the presence of this person exuding a divine aura, Talulah subconsciously asked.
"Go and save this land that is still sinking in suffering," Lemuen's voice was like a solemn declaration, "Go and end this endless cycle of misery."
"Go do the things you once dreamed of and longed to do, but ultimately... failed to achieve."
Lemuen's words stunned Talulah, who repeated absentmindedly, "Something... I failed to achieve before..."
"Yes," Lemuen replied affirmatively.
Talulah slowly shook her head: "I don't understand... why me?"
She didn't understand.
Why would someone as sinful as her attract the attention of this extraordinary Sankta woman?
Why would someone reach out to her, a prisoner in the abyss?
The prospect depicted was undoubtedly fatally tempting to her gloomy soul at this moment, but... what would be the price?
"Perhaps it's because..." Lemuen's smile held a hint of enigmatic clarity, "that leaving you here doing nothing feels like a waste. Why don't you come with me and do something more meaningful? Are you satisfied with that reason?"
Talulah remained silent, her gaze passing over Lemuen and landing on the doorway: "...What did the people from Rhodes Island say?"
As if in response to her question, Amiya stepped in through the light from outside.
"Miss Talulah," the young leader said, stopping abruptly, her expression serious. Talulah's gaze fell on Amiya. Amiya took a deep breath and solemnly said, "From today onwards, Rhodes Island's imprisonment of you officially ends. However, according to the agreement, Miss Lemuen will become your guardian."
"That's roughly the idea."
"So…" Lemuen extended her hand to Talulah, her hand appearing white and powerful in the light, "we should go."
Talulah's gaze lingered for a moment on the hand reaching out to her. This hand represented the unknown beyond the cage, the possible salvation, and also... she had to once again shoulder the heavy responsibility of her past.
After a brief internal struggle and turbulent emotions, she finally slowly raised her hand.
My cold fingertips carefully touched that warmth.
Two hands clasped together at the entrance to the darkened cell.
The instant their skin touched, a pure and powerful light burst forth from Lemuen without warning! This light was not scorching or dazzling, but rather carried a soul-cleansing warmth, instantly filling the entire cell and dispelling the gloom in every corner!
At the same time, a deep voice, imbued with the weight of countless ages, resounded directly in the depths of Talulah's consciousness: "I have never seen... a life like yours."
"Powerful…beautiful…like…a divine being walking among the world…"
At the center of the light, Lemuen's expression remained calm and undisturbed. Her gaze pierced through Talulah's body, as if staring directly at the foreign entity lurking deep within her soul.
"Is that so? Thank you for the compliment." Her thoughts responded coldly and clearly in Talulah's mind, "But now..."
"It's time for you to leave."
The deep voice carried a hint of understanding: "Then... I'll... take my leave for now..."
As that thought dissipated, Talulah clearly felt that the terrifying being known as the Undying Black Serpent, who had been clinging to her like a leech, had silently and completely... dissolved and receded, like a shadow dispelled by light! The heavy shackles that had been weighing on her heart for so long suddenly lightened!
Talulah looked up abruptly, her gray eyes fixed on the Sankta woman in front of her, who had once again displayed a gentle smile.
The immense shock left her mind blank, her eyes filled with disbelief and astonishment.
The evil god she fought with all her might, day and night... just... disappeared?
"Now that I've done this," Lemuen said naturally, releasing her grip as if it were nothing more than a trivial matter, and turned to walk calmly toward the door, "you'll feel a little more at ease, won't you?"
"Alright."
She stood at the boundary between light and darkness, turned around, and gestured, "We should get going."
Talulah's gaze remained fixed on Lemuen, her inner shock still lingering.
She couldn't help but look at Amiya again: "The leader of Rhodes Island... this Miss Lemuen... who... exactly is she?"
Amiya watched Lemuen's retreating figure as she walked towards the light, her eyes flashing with complex emotions.
After a moment's thought, she gave an answer that was closest to the essence in her understanding, yet full of endless imagination: "A person who can cure Oripathy..." Amiya paused, as if weighing the weight of her words, "...and perhaps... will be the one who changes the fate of this suffering land."
Talulah: "..."
The one who will change the fate of this suffering land... Talulah silently pondered Amiya's words in her heart.
There was a time when she was so certain she would become that person. The one who would bring change, end injustice… once upon a time…
"Are you really sure it's okay for me to leave like this, Rhodes Island?" She asked again, her grey eyes looking at the young leader.
This freedom came too suddenly, and it was too heavy.
"We believe in Miss Lemuen, and we also believe in Mr. Xiling." Amiya's voice was firm and clear, her gaze piercing through the doubt in Talulah's eyes and reaching the depths of her soul.
"Likewise, Miss Talulah, I am willing to believe in you as well."
"Miss Talulah," Amiya called her name softly, with a solemn entrustment in her voice, "go and pursue your new path."
After a moment of silence, Talulah took a deep breath, as if to completely displace the suffocating air in the cage.
She nodded slightly, her voice low but carrying a resolute determination: "...I'm setting off."
When she found the vehicle ready to depart as instructed, the scene before her made her slightly taken aback.
The Sankta Angel, who displayed divine majesty in the prison cell, was now grabbing a man by the collar and dragging him off the driver's seat without any regard for his image.
"Lemuen, I think we can deepen our trust a bit more, like… let me drive?" Xiling tried to get the driving rights, his face showing a helpless yet ingratiating smile.
The response he got was a blank glance back from Lemuen.
Her gaze was calm and unwavering, devoid of anger, yet it carried a strange, undeniable sense of oppression, as if to say, "Don't even think about it."
Xiling: "..."
Silently, he moved to the passenger seat, inwardly screaming: Why does it feel like Lemuen has become more and more decisive in her actions towards him since they confirmed our relationship? Before, she would at least offer a few words of comfort, but now she just uses her eyes to suppress him!
Only after Xiling sat obediently in his seat did Lemuen reveal her signature gentle smile again, turning to Talulah, who was standing beside the car. "Get in the car."
Talulah silently opened the back door and got in.
The interior of the vehicle was simple and spacious. Looking at the backs of the two people in the front row, she was at a loss for what to do. She could only turn her gaze to the rapidly receding scenery outside the window—the outline of Rhodes Island was shrinking and moving away quickly.
As the steel fortress that had imprisoned her for so long completely disappeared from sight, Talulah finally spoke, her voice breaking the brief silence in the carriage: "Where...are we going now? What exactly are we going to do?"
Lemuen skillfully maneuvered the steering wheel, her gaze fixed on the road ahead.
"I'm going to Victoria with you. He," she gestured to Xiling in the passenger seat, "is going to Colombia. By the way, we haven't officially introduced him yet, have we? His name is Xiling."
Xiling turned to the side and waved to Talulah: "Nice to meet you, Miss Talulah. I am Xiling."
Talulah nodded politely: "Talulah."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Lemuen got to the point: "You might be wondering why we're going to Victoria?"
Talulah did not deny it, but simply waited quietly for what would happen next.
"That place is currently the epicenter of the struggle on Terra, and it will also be the starting point for us to turn the tide and break through the fog." Lemuen paused, then posed a crucial question: "Talulah, what were your ideals?"
Talulah's throat bobbed, and the answer, buried beneath ashes and blood, welled up on her tongue with a long-lost bittersweet feeling: "I... want to fight for the Infected. To fight for their right to live, breathe, and not be trampled on this land."
"A noble ideal," Lemuen's voice held no sarcasm, only pure affirmation, "but what do you think is the most crucial element in truly realizing it, turning it from a slogan into reality?"
Before Talulah could come up with an answer, Lemuen had already given a decisive conclusion: "It's power."
"If you want to fight for the rights that the infected deserve and break free from the shackles of the vested interests, then you need to possess unparalleled power."
"It is an absolute power strong enough to silence all opponents, subdue all doubters, and leave them with no choice but to obey your will!"
"Sounds domineering, doesn't it?" Lemuen's gaze met Talulah's gray eyes through the rearview mirror.
"But this is the harsh reality we must face. Mercy cannot shake the rock that has oppressed us for millennia; only strong enough power can reshape the rules."
Lemuen's tone then took on a reassuring air of certainty: "However, thankfully, we are not empty-handed. The power strong enough to overturn reality and uphold our ideals..."
"...We already have it."
"Victoria," she declared, "will be the place where our power first manifests itself, where we formally step onto the stage of history. It will also be the place where you, Talulah, will emerge from the ashes, reappearing before the world in a new guise!"
Talulah's heart pounded heavily in her chest: "What...do you want me to do?"
"To become king. The monarch of Victoria."
Talulah resisted almost instinctively: "I have no rights over these things..."
"Wait a moment," Lemuen interrupted her impending refusal gently but firmly, "Please let me finish."
Talulah's words caught in her throat.
Lemuen turned her head slightly and gestured to Xiling beside her: "In the near future, he will solve the Oripathy problem that is spreading throughout the entire continent of Terra—from the root, he will completely solve it."
"Solve...the entire Terra Oripathy problem?!" Talulah's pupils suddenly contracted, an incredulous shock washing over her. She abruptly looked at the man in the passenger seat.
How to completely solve Oripathy disease?
"That's roughly the idea," Xiling nodded.
Lemuen didn't give Talulah much time to process this shocking information. Her voice continued, "Talulah, Oripathy is indeed one of the sources of many tragedies on this land. It has devoured countless lives and twisted countless destinies..."
"However, it's never just Oripathy that can devour people! The suffering of this land is like a never-ending vortex, interwoven with countless profound pains—oppression, war, discrimination, famine, ignorance…" Lemuen's voice was calm:
"What I want is to sever the root of all this endless cycle of suffering! To bring it to a complete end!"
Talulah stared blankly at the driver in front of her. Cutting off the root of all suffering meant that the other party was facing the entire Terra, a blueprint even grander than her ideal.
"Talulah, you don't need to rush to give me results. We have plenty of time. Tell me about it after you see the current state of Victoria." Lemuen said the last sentence in a relaxed tone.
Talulah: ...