Chaos Carrier With A Broken Talent

Did the participants ever wonder why the Thunder of Four Howls happened in the first place?

Why did the Lost Knight do it, and was it beneficial to him? Did he have any reasons for doing so?

Strangely enough, no one dared to delve too deeply into it. It was an event that happened several times a year, and everyone was used to it.

Klaus didn't care what reasons lay behind the Thunder of Four Howls; he just wanted to get to the end and receive his reward. It was important for him to participate in the tournament a year later.

He achieved his goal. Everyone received their reward, everyone except Ethan, but something special awaited him and the Lost Knight.

Whooooosh!

A cold gust of wind blew past Ethan, ruffling the black tips of his hair in the light of the white moon.

The others left, unaware of the secret meeting between the Lost Knight and Ethan. This had never happened before, not once since the beginning of the Thunder of Four Howls.

Perhaps if they had stayed at the Desolate Meadow, they would have seen it, but that was not the case.

However, the Lost Knight would not allow anyone but Ethan to see his reappearance.

Fortunately for the others, they were already far from the Desolate Meadow, preparing to return to their cities. Otherwise, a different fate might have awaited them if the Lost Knight had lost his patience.

Ethan stood before the Lost Knight, who waited for Ethan to touch his hand.

"Why me?" Ethan asked.

However, the Lost Knight said nothing.

If Ethan did not accept his offer, further words would be meaningless.

'Tsk, he's right. I have to do this.'

Clutch.

Ethan clasped the Lost Knight's hand tightly.

At the same moment, streams of light surrounded them as the ground beneath them crumbled, plunging them into the depths hidden beneath the field.

Ethan didn't know what to expect, but he wasn't surprised. After all, the Lost Knight and all his servants had to be somewhere. Only the Twilight Reapers didn't have physical bodies, but they were the exception.

Darkness surrounded them as the Lost Knight slowly sat down on a throne-like rock, as if carved from the mountain with a sharp sword.

In the distance, chains could be seen, followed by the Grim Knights, the wandering Twilight Reapers, the fallen warriors, and even the Walking Crypt with the Hollow Walkers running around.

It seemed that the Lost Knight was holding them all captive to use them again and again for the Thunder of Four Howls, because he needed servants to conduct trials.

But...

"Those chains." Ethan looked around, following their unbroken trail. "Wait, could it be?"

In fact, it was the Lost Knight who was locked up.

It was the Lost Knight who was inside the cage of chains that he couldn't break, not his servants.

"Well, I think you're starting to understand what's going on here," the Lost Knight said, leaning on his hand.

"This..." Ethan stammered. "Neither Klaus nor anyone else mentioned this. Doesn't everything here obey your will?"

The Lost Knight laughed grimly.

"Hahaha, of course, my will is the only thing that matters. Let me show you. We have a long conversation ahead of us, young man, at least I hope so."

There was nothing but sincerity and exhaustion in his words. He had been searching for a suitable candidate for a long time, and he had finally found one, perhaps.

He waved his hand as chains trembled, letting the two Grim Knights inside.

Out of the darkness, as if from nowhere, a table appeared, along with two glasses and a bottle of wine on a red tablecloth. The Grim Knights filled the glasses as if they were servants in a wealthy mansion and left.

"Is this all real?" Ethan asked, staring wide-eyed at the full glasses.

"The table isn't, but the wine is. It's one of hundreds of things that remained in my chamber after the fallen Carriers came here. Many years ago, I thought some artifact would help me, but that was naive. The First Rank Carriers couldn't have anything so valuable, and even the Second Rank Carriers are out of the question."

Ethan took a glass in his hands, looking at his reflection in the crimson liquid. He touched the table; the wood felt real, but it was all an illusion created by the Lost Knight.

This was a prison for the Lost Knight, but he was the ruler of this place, where he could do anything, even if not of his own free will.

"So, none of this was your decision? The Thunder of Four Howls, was it created by someone else?"

"No, it was my idea, my attempt to fix my predicament." The Lost Knight waved his hand. "As you can see, I am trapped. I cannot leave the Desolate Meadow, no matter how much I want to."

With a calm expression, Ethan took a sip. He needed a moment to process what he had heard.

"Why? You seem strong enough to defeat anyone in the entire region. Isn't that right?"

The Lost Knight shook his head.

"Do you think these chains are just for decoration?"

THUMP!

His fist slammed into the throne's armrest, sending a shockwave through the room.

"They limit my power, and the closer I get to the edge, the stronger their effect becomes! Whoever locked me here wasn't strong enough to kill me, so I ended up in this situation."

Sip.

Another sip.

Ethan had thought that the Lost Knight was just a monster who considered fencing his main passion, that the Thunder of Four Howls was his way of finding worthy swordsmen and guiding them on the right path.

But...

'Now I understand. He wasn't looking for swordsmen specifically, it was just a good excuse to attract people from the Hail of Swords. He was looking for something else.'

"You said something about chaos and darkness. Is that somehow related to why I'm here?" He raised his wine glass. "I doubt you offer this to every participant."

Instead of answering, the Lost Knight asked a question:

"What reward were you talking about?"

Ethan's expression became serious.

"Element Spark. I need to complete the First Ring."

A smile appeared behind the Lost Knight's helmet.

"Good. Very good."