WiSh - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Night

A soft sound echoed as a faint crack appeared on the dragon tomb's stone tablet. Will stood up, reached out, and grabbed the hilt of the sword, gently lifting it from the stone. The entire sword was as light as a feather, almost imperceptible in his hand.

Before drawing the Shadowbane, Will had assumed it was a short sword. Once drawn, he realized that the part of the sword embedded in the stone was as long as the part exposed.

Neither too long nor too short, it was a perfect fit for a black, narrow sword at his waist. The blade was double-edged, with a long, slender tip, making it ideal for an assassin.

The blade did not feel sharp. He couldn't sense the sword's edge. A top-quality sword, when held, should feel alive with sharpness. But the Shadowbane did not.

Crackling sounds continued as the dragon tomb's monument split apart, eventually shattering into pieces of black crystal.

Dragon Glass? Will wondered. He had never seen Dragon Glass, only had vague memories from his past life.

Suddenly, the intense heat of the dragon tomb began to subside. This was strange. It was as if the fire magic of the Sword of Light within the dragon tomb had been absorbed by the Shadowbane. In just a short while, the unbearable heat of the underground chamber became mild, and the scorching sensation of the air faded, becoming comfortable for humans.

Will didn't understand why, but he knew it had something to do with the sword.

The sword was dark and unremarkable. Whether it was its former name, Shadowbane, or its current name, Flame of the West, Will felt they were not suitable. He decided to call the sword Night.

He held it in his right hand and reached out with his left fingers to test the legendary sharpness of Night. Before his fingers were even an inch from the blade, he felt a sharp pain as if an invisible line had cut through them. He quickly withdrew his left hand, examining his fingers. Five faint white marks from the blade were visible.

The sword's sharpness was invisible, and its plain appearance belied its unmatched edge. There was no need to touch the blade to feel its sharpness, which was as piercing as a thorn.

Such a sharp sword, yet it had no scabbard, hanging at his waist. The blade's sharpness would slice his black clothes into fluttering butterflies. He looked around, taking in the entire underground chamber, but saw no scabbard hanging anywhere.

Will drew the steel broad sword from his waist with his left hand, crossing it with Night to test its power. A hissing sound was heard, followed by a lightness in his left hand as the steel broad sword snapped in two. Half remained in his hand, while the other half fell to the ground. The broken tip of the sword pointed toward the ground but failed to penetrate the black stone, clanging as it hit the floor.

The Shadowbane, Flame of the West—from the two previous names of this sword, it was clear that it possessed the attributes of fire magic.

Such a sharp sword, forged from dragon bones, was unmatched in sharpness, and a magical sword. A magical sword that countered ordinary metal swords!

The Hall of Righteous Judgment! These three words flashed through Will's mind.

The mysterious, ancient voice that had sounded when Will first drew the sword had fallen silent after he knelt and recited the creed. There had been no further reaction. Perhaps this sword was the treasured artifact of the so-called Hall of Righteous Judgment.

Only the question remained: what was the Hall of Righteous Judgment?

In his previous memories, this fantastical world had nearly a dozen mysterious organizations, with even more across the Narrow Sea. Each continent had two to three, but there was no mention of the Hall of Righteous Judgment.

The Hall of Righteous Judgment worshipped the God of Time and Space, while the Sword of Light's deity was the God of Fire. Two different gods' wills coexisted in the same underground chamber without contradiction.

But Will quickly understood. Eddard Stark and Catelyn Tully Stark lived under the same roof, loved each other, and worshipped different gods. The original name of Night, Shadowbane, upon reflection, shared a similar meaning with the Sword of Light.

Will had many questions he couldn't answer, but he chose not to dwell on them. With Night in hand, he decided to leave first.

Reaching the top of the spiral staircase, he turned back to see the dragon tomb's heat rising again.

Holding Night, he walked into the pearl cave, his eyes fixed on the various beautiful pearl pieces. He felt nothing.

Will judged that it was because he had Night in his hand. Once Night was drawn from the monument, the dragon tomb's high temperature vanished, as if a servant had met its master. From this, it was clear that the predecessor who named the sword Flame of the West may not have understood its true power.

This time, leaving the pearl cave felt like walking in a warm bedroom, with a sense of security. Upon exiting the cave, the Stark family's tomb was surprisingly cold.

Will inserted Night into the scabbard of his steel broad sword, which fit perfectly, albeit too wide. But this was good, as there was no risk of the blade damaging the scabbard.

In the depths of the Stark family's tomb, devoid of light, Night emitted a faint glow, as if to illuminate the way for its master.

Will noticed the intricate decorations on Night's guard, complex and beautiful, resembling architecture, flames, or faces, or a combination of the three. When you looked closely, you saw three layers of light and shadow; look even closer, and the three layers merged into one.

The patterns on the guard and hilt were filled with countless shadow flowers, traces left by the meticulous forging technique of Valyrian steel.

Other famous swords considered dragonbone hilts the highest configuration, yet this dragonbone sword had a hilt made of Valyrian steel.

Will pushed Brandon Stark's stone statue back into place. Brandon Stark's knees no longer supported a greatsword, and his hands, which had once held a sword hilt, were now empty. On the ground lay a pile of iron rust powder from the greatsword.

This was a fatal flaw. If someone entered the depths of the tomb, they would notice—all the male Stark ancestors' statues had greatswords resting on their knees, with the hilt in their right hand and the tip in their left.

Perhaps no one would ever discover this, or maybe it would soon be found by someone from the Stark family or someone else who entered for another reason. Will didn't want to leave just yet. He needed to find a way to fix this problem.

The reminder from the forest spirit prompted Will to test the supernatural powers of this world. Priests of the Lord of Light could resurrect the dead, so he decided to try the supernatural powers of his new master.

He knelt on one knee: "Before the God of Time and Space, every life is eternal, and in the face of the world's evil and strife, only righteous judgment prevails. Disciple of the Hall of Righteous Judgment, Will, humbly requests the God of Time and Space to restore the iron sword's form to the stone statue of Brandon Stark, builder of the city, at the entrance to the dragon tomb's underground chamber."