He knelt down.
"You know I could never harm him," his tone was gentle.
She looked like she wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Her eyes moved to the sword, then back to him. But the words stayed locked inside.
He pressed a hand to his chest, like something heavy was sitting there.
"I could never hurt that child," he repeated, his voice softer.
He got up slowly and extended his hand. She hesitated… then took it.
"You can look into my mind. Just like you did before."
He dropped his sword. The sound of it hitting the ground echoed softly.
"If you still think that I killed our son…" he paused, looking her right in the eyes, "then I'll accept any punishment you give me."
Her hands started to glow as she stepped closer. She lifted them up and placed them on his head.
Sylas screamed in pain.
Everything came flooding back—
The moment he first arrived.
The pain.
All those lonely days.
And the day he died.
The memories didn't stop. His heart raced. His body shook. It was too much.
When she finally removed her hands, every emotion he had ever felt hit him all at once.
His legs gave out—but Morgana caught him before he fell.
"Told you," he whispered next to her ear, his breath brushing her cheek.
She didn't speak right away. Then, slowly, she wrapped her arms around him.
Elizabeth approached and pulled him slightly by his shirt.
"Who is she?" her tone was soft.
Sylas looked down for a moment, then sighed.
"I'll explain everything."
His voice was quiet but steady.
"It started when I entered the door. It was weird. I woke up in a forest. Watched the real Arthur pull the sword… and be killed in front of me. I couldn't do anything to help him. All I did was watch. But I avenged him. I was going to tell everyone the truth—but I couldn't."
He looked at all the people who had gathered again.
"Because they were hopeful. They saw me as king… as their savior. Their eyes were filled with light. And I couldn't take that away. So I became their king."
After a long breath—
"I didn't feel like a king."
He lifted Excalibur.
"No matter what I did, it never opened for me. But I kept playing the part. I made friends, built a kingdom, defended the people. I even found a family… for the first time in my life, I wasn't alone."
He paused again, then lowered his eyes.
"Then… things got complicated. A witch cast a spell on me. I didn't even know what happened until it was too late. I ended up with Morgana. And we had a child—Mordred."
The group went quiet. Sylas kept going.
"Later, she found out the truth. That I wasn't the real Arthur. Just someone pretending to be him. And that's when she turned on me. She thought I killed the real Arthur and took everything from him. She believed I was trying to destroy Camelot."
He kept talking.
"We fought. Days and nights passed. She was powerful… angry… but deep down, I think she still cared about me. She just didn't understand what I was trying to do."
He looked toward Morgana.
"Merlin told me the prophecy said Mordred would bring ruin to the kingdom. That I had to kill him. But I couldn't. He was just a child. My child."
His tone was lower now.
"So Merlin took him away… hid him somewhere safe. Somewhere the prophecy couldn't reach."
"After that, Morgana disappeared. I searched for her, but it was like she vanished from the world," he muttered softly.
"Like the prophecy said, Mordred betrayed me. We fought. But I couldn't kill him. I was alone… sad. I was tired of everything. So I let myself be killed—and asked Merlin to guide him… to be a better king than me."
He smiled.
"I had no regrets when I died."
Then his eyes welled up with tears.
"You know what's worse than being impaled by multiple spears?" He looked around.
"Watching the kingdom you built burn to the ground… as you die."
"Then I woke up. I was in a white space, and Merlin opened the door. My quest was complete," he said softly.
He felt a weight lift off his chest. He did it. The burden he carried all that time he was in Camelot—he could finally rest.
He looked around. The people were watching him. They all froze, like the truth was too much to handle.
Sylas smiled and closed his eyes, letting whatever was going to happen… happen. He waited for them to turn on him. To call him a fake. An imposter. To say he never deserved any of it.
But they didn't.
They came closer. One by one.
And then—they all dropped to their knees.
"It doesn't matter who you are," one of them said. "To us… you will always remain king."
Sylas just stood there. The truth was out. The lies were gone. And yet—they chose him. Not for his name. Not for his blood. But for everything he gave. What he built. What he sacrificed.
Not for himself.
But for them.
For his people.
For his kingdom.
In that moment, the system popped up again:
[System Notification]
Hidden Quest Completed
Name: The People's King
Objective: Be accepted as king.
Status: Complete
Ultimate Ability Unlocked: Final Oath – Caliburn: Blade of Promise
Caliburn is the true form of Excalibur—revealed only when the Belief Gauge reaches 100%.
Final Oath – Caliburn: Blade of Promise
Channel the full strength into one final, unstoppable strike. The attack scales based on Excalibur's current rank. Gauge must reach 100% to activate. After use, Caliburn reverts back to Excalibur, and the gauge resets to 0%. The attack consumes all the user's energy and temporarily disables Excalibur's Domain abilities.
From the top of the mountain, he heard a horn—and an announcement.
They were about to execute Lancelot.
He grabbed his sword and turned to Elizabeth, Ryan, and Liz.
"Let's go."