Realm Lord
Chapter 146: Dream for a Hypocrite

Chapter 146: Dream for a Hypocrite

That night, Arthur dreamed with a vividness that made his chest ache. He dreamed of himself as a child, small and helpless, watching his world crumble around him. The dream forced him to relive his parents’ death in excruciating detail—every sound, every smell, every moment of pure terror that had carved itself into his soul.

His mother’s final scream echoed through the wooden planks. He felt again that desperate, clawing hope that someone—anyone—would burst through the door and save them. A hero, a neighbor, even a stranger who happened to be passing by.

But no one came.

He relived the crushing weight of that realization, the way his faith in humanity had shattered like glass. The time he spent trembling in fear, waiting for footsteps that never came, for voices that never called out to help. The devastating loneliness that followed.

The hate had grown from that moment—a seed of resentment that had taken root in his young heart and flourished. Hate for the world that had failed him, for the people who had the power to help but chose not to.

Then Arthur’s dream took a strange, disorienting turn. The scene began to replay itself, but this time the details were different. The house was unfamiliar, the voices belonged to strangers, and the child hiding wasn’t him. Yet the emotions were identical—the same desperate hope, the same crushing disappointment, the same slow death of innocence.

This time, Arthur watched from outside himself, seeing the scene unfold with the perspective of someone who understood exactly what that child was feeling. The boy’s parents fell just as his had, and the same terrible silence followed. The same waiting, the same praying for salvation that would never come.

When the dream ended, Arthur was left with a realization that hit him like a physical blow. There were others like him—people who needed saving, who were desperate for it, who were crying out into the darkness hoping someone would hear them. And while he sat here, letting his pettiness and past wounds stop him from helping, he was forcing another child to go through exactly what he had experienced.

The thought was unbearable. In his selfishness, he had become one of those people he had always despised—someone with the power to make a difference who chose to do nothing instead.

Nobody was going to save them, but he could. He could save at least one person from experiencing that soul-crushing abandonment. And even if it was just one person, even if he could spare just one child from learning that the world was full of people who would turn away when they were needed most... that would be enough.

When Arthur woke, his pillow was damp with tears he didn’t remember shedding. The dream clung to him like a second skin, and he found himself with a lot to think about. The apartment was quiet—he and Aziel were still not speaking after their explosive argument the night before, and Arthur could hear his friend moving around in the kitchen.

Rather than face that conversation, Arthur decided he needed space to clear his head. He would go into the second realm alone.

Arthur lay back in his bed and closed his eyes, reaching out with his consciousness to feel for his connection to the second realm. The familiar tingling sensation spread through his body as the boundaries between dimensions began to blur. Before he knew it, he was opening his eyes to the sight of the endless roof of the tower in the core city of Aragon.

The transition was always slightly disorienting, like waking up in a place you’d only visited in dreams. Arthur sat up slowly, taking in the familiar sights and sounds of the second realm. The massive tower stretched impossibly high above him.

He left the tower and walked through the relatively empty streets of Aragon. The city had grown even quieter in recent weeks, with many of the volunteers preparing for their departure to the 3rd district. Most Chosen were either training intensively or spending time with loved ones before potentially never returning. Arthur found he preferred it this way—the solitude matched his mood perfectly.

The walk through the city was meditative, his footsteps echoing off the polished stone streets. He passed empty shops and vacant training grounds, the usual bustle of activity reduced to a mere whisper of its former self. Eventually, he reached the main gate that led out into the wider second realm, where the real dangers—and opportunities—awaited.

It took him several hours of steady walking to reach his destination, but finally Arthur made it to his usual hunting spot. The ruins of what had once been a rather small town now served as his personal training ground, a place where he could hone his skills without interference from other Chosen.

The ruins were currently inhabited by a very large pack of corrupted goblins. The smaller ones were usually tainted while some of the bigger ones would occasionally be twisted. As long as Arthur was smart about his approach and didn’t get overwhelmed, they weren’t too much for him to handle.

He began his hunt methodically, singling out the goblins in groups of one or two and dealing with them swiftly. The familiar rhythm of combat helped clear his mind, each precise movement allowing him to release some of the tension that had been building since his argument with Aziel. The clash of steel against claw, the surge of power as he channeled his abilities—it was exactly what he needed.

Arthur was deep in concentration, focused entirely on the goblin before him, when suddenly a sound pierced through the air that made his blood run cold. A scream—undeniably human—broke through the relative quiet of the ruins.

Arthur’s head snapped toward the sound, his concentration momentarily shattered. The goblin he was fighting seized the opportunity, dashing forward with its clawed hands swinging wildly toward his exposed flank. Fortunately, they were fighting in the shadow of a collapsed building, which meant Arthur’s dark sense was operating at full capacity. The enhanced perception allowed him to react with lightning speed, his blade slicing through the creature’s torso and cutting it cleanly in half.

Without hesitation, Arthur immediately began sprinting toward the source of the screaming. The ruined town wasn’t large, and it didn’t take him long to locate the disturbance. What he found made his heart pound with a mixture of recognition and dread.

A boy—probably no more than fifteen years old—was backed into a corner formed by two crumbling walls. Three goblins were slowly closing in on him, their yellow eyes gleaming with predatory hunger. The boy held a steel sword in his trembling hands, but it was clear he had little to no training in its use. Tears streamed down his terrified face as he screamed in a voice cracking with fear and desperation.

"St-stay away! PLEASE!"

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.