Boonie Bears: Another World Fantasy

Throne of the Abyss.

The center of the royal palace.

"Where are you going?" The conversation was much shorter than Sharp had expected. Yeman sensed something was wrong and immediately got up and went to the door.

"Shh—" She held up her finger, signaling Sharp to stay put and wait.

Sure enough, some different sounds came from inside the hall, and heavily armored cavalrymen in iron boots pushed open the tall doors of the hall's passageway. Looking down from the second floor, it was as if a high staircase leading directly to the destination had been opened in advance for someone.

It's Mus. He's back.

Ye Man'er didn't dare to delay, so she took Sharp downstairs and pretended to have been waiting for him for a long time.

"Just answer whatever Mus asks you later. He's not going to do anything to you, just cooperate with him." She straightened her clothes and stared at the last tall door of the main hall.

"What if I don't want to cooperate?" Sharp asked, his face grim, a question that hardly needed an answer.

“I think you’ll most likely do that, but Mus is after your talent and the legacy from Mavia… It’s better to resist less, it’ll make things easier for you,” Yeman said.

"..." Sharp didn't say anything more, the weight of the necklace around his neck was now very noticeable.

Am I scared?

No, I should be laughing.

Sharp had no reason to be afraid of him. When this nightmare that had haunted him for most of his life finally appeared, he was relieved.

Yeman deliberately stood in front of him, a small gesture that brought Sharp some comfort in this unfamiliar place.

After all, he had no one else he could trust.

Golden light shone at the gate, and not only Mus... the entire Knights Templar had come here.

“I really can’t understand! Why choose to remain still? Look at Lefie, he led the way into the city long ago and is probably having a great time there right now... But we have to rush back to discuss our so-called tactics?” Before she could be seen, her voice was heard; Fanny’s distinctive and high-pitched voice pierced through the surrounding air and reached her ears.

The group slowly approached. Leading the way was Yi Tong, her injured left eye wrapped in thick gauze, her only remaining right eye fixed on Ye Man'er and Sharp beside her.

"Don't get me wrong, the reason I've called everyone back isn't just to discuss tactics. It's to see a distinguished guest—"

"Bringing outsiders into this place at will? Sister, you first let Na Ling go, and now you've brought him here. Do you really intend to collude with these people?" Ye Weike shouted at his sister, his words showing absolutely no respect.

Ye Man'er was used to her younger brother's rude and disgusted attitude. Faced with this already shattered family relationship, she could only helplessly choose to remain silent.

Sharp didn't pay much attention to the knights' quarrel. Instead, his gaze followed Mus, the current general of the Deer Clan, who walked unhurriedly at the back of the column, seemingly oblivious to his subordinates' squabble. Only after everyone else had stopped did he begin to step forward.

Mus gazed down at the visitor like a dictator addressing his subjects from a palace terrace. His serious, somber face lacked the warm, gentle nobility of most Deer Clan members, though his sharp eyes seemed equally intelligent. He was tall and muscular, and the striking scar on his right cheek suggested he had endured countless battles.

Yeman led Sharp to the bottom of the steps and looked up at Mus.

This tyrant had no intention of bringing up his past misdeeds. Sharp repeatedly suppressed the hatred that he couldn't quell, keeping his lips tightly shut.

“It took us a lot of effort to get you,” Muss said. “But the result is always satisfying.”

“I’m not satisfied,” Sharp retorted.

Mus walked down a flight of stairs, keeping Yeman and Sharp at a distance.

“Your arrival makes our plan more complete, so we won’t resort to extreme measures… Sharp.” Whether intentionally or not, Mus held out a hand to him. Sharp felt a heat rising at the back of his head and inexplicably began to feel dizzy.

Golden antlers suddenly appeared behind him, like a hypnotic bell, radiating flowing energy that coursed through his body. Sharp stumbled forward, then knelt before Mus, vomiting blood several times.

“I think it’s time we talked, time traveler, about how you got here—”

His low profile meant he could only see the boots Muss was wearing; the iron boots drew closer and closer until they filled Sharp's entire field of vision.

The endless darkness, like a giant net, silently enveloped Sharp, slowly eroding his consciousness. Just before his consciousness was completely pulled away, Sharp vaguely saw a familiar figure.

"Why did you abandon me?" Naya's ghost asked.

……

Sharp opened his eyes. To his surprise, he was no longer in the main hall. Instead, he was in the room he had been in before he transmigrated. Sharp looked around; the bedroom and wardrobe were exactly the same, the computer desk was brand new, and even the ornaments on the coffee table were untouched.

The air was filled with the fresh scent of laundry detergent, clothes hung on the clothesline, and warm sunlight streamed in from the balcony.

"Hello, Sharp."

He turned around and found Mus standing on the porch not far away.

The inner garment revealed after he removed his armor made him feel completely at ease in his surroundings. Sharp couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if these people came to his world.

"You know my background?" Sharp asked in surprise.

“So much time has passed, and to prevent your memories of this place from fading, I used the Golden Antlers to recreate all of this.” He picked up the small object on the table and held it in his hand. “To some extent, the High Priest of the Deer Clan might distort the facts he sees through the antlers, but the Golden Antlers will not… It’s like a traveler who came from beyond the heavens to Earth, bestowing upon my people the blessings of the heavens.”

Sharp didn't care about any of that; what he cared about was that Mus had seen through him, and that was the only pretense he had left in this world.

“Here we can be completely honest with each other. No one will interfere with your thinking, and I will not spread the content of our conversations. Only the two of us will know.”

This might sound reasonable if one were unaware of Muss's past actions. So far, Sharp has no reason to believe him.

“Why don’t you tell me about your grand plans? You’ve tracked me all the way to Shenzhen, and your true intentions have become clear,” Sharp cautiously suggested.

Mus let out a series of cold laughs.

"You must know a little about the Deer Clan in the past. Our royal family began to decay and degenerate long ago, neglecting its own people. It wasn't until humans outside knocked on the Deer Clan's gates and stirred up a bloody battle for territory that we finally woke up..." Mus solemnly recounted, his eyes filled with genuine sorrow.

"At that time, I had just become the leader of the Templars. I watched helplessly as our outdated cavalry was defeated by the heavy firepower of humans, with no means of resistance. Reform was imminent, so I coerced the High Priests to write to the royal family, hoping to awaken their desire for change." He smiled bitterly as he said this.

"You failed?" Sharp guessed.

“No, I saw through it. Before the collapse of the royal family, they were still pinning their hopes on the Golden Deer Antler. But although that thing was worshipped on a high pedestal, it did not have the ability to reverse the war. In order to break this blind dependence on the sacred artifact, I killed almost all the high priests of the priesthood.”

Decades ago.

Mid-stage of the War of Heaven and Earth.

Arrows pierced the gates of the sanctuary where the Order made its pilgrimages, and even the guards at the gate defected to the rebels. The Knights Templar launched a fierce attack and stormed into the sanctuary's main hall.

All the high priests who claimed neutrality were slaughtered as lackeys of the royal family, their blood staining the white marble floor of the sanctuary. In the backyard, among a pile of headless corpses, Mus discovered a young girl trying to escape.

At first, she used the blood of the corpses around her to fake her death, then removed her priest's robes and tried to slip away from the execution ground disguised as an ordinary person.

She managed to fool the guards, but she couldn't fool Mus.

Not long after, the poor girl was captured and subjected to a brutal beating. When she was finally brought before Mus, covered in bruises, she was terrified and even wet herself.

Looking at the tomb that represented the old dynasty, Mus gave the girl two choices.

"Either you join me in rebuilding the new Deer Clan, or you will be buried forever in the fire pit along with these scriptures."

Under immense pressure, the instinct for survival triumphed over everything. The girl chose Mus, and chose a brand new dynasty.

Unbeknownst to her, she would soon be in sole control of the Deer Clan's divine power, the very lifeblood of this people, as she embarked on her long journey home.

The girl with a tragic past later grew up to become the only current High Priest of the Deer Clan—Anar Lefebvre, and also the first Deer Clan member in history to hold the dual identities of priest and Templar Knight.

Mus felt that his intuition about people was always right, except when it came to Naling's betrayal.

"Then we stepped onto the throne of the abyss and arrived at the royal palace, only to find that someone had already taken action there beforehand." He raised his gaze, lost in his memories.

"The incumbents, successors, and even newborn members of the royal family were all killed without exception. To this day, no one knows who did it. Then, at the end of the War of Heaven and Earth, our new regime re-established the national system and defended the glory of the Deer Clan."

Sharp didn't believe that Mus had told him the truth.

"Is invasion and waging war considered your glory?"

“Boy, the hatred between our races has not been committed against you, and you have no right to judge whether it is just or evil. The war between our two races has never stopped.”

Previously, Sharp naively believed that the Deer Clan was nearly extinct and merely seeking refuge, as any displaced immigrant would do. Now, Mus proved to him that the Deer Clan's ambitions extended far beyond that.

Outside the window, a beam of light descended from the sky, comparable to a powerful asteroid. It crashed right in the heart of Deep City, instantly leveling the entire city. The dust engulfed Mus and Sharp, creating new land and a new kingdom.

Sharp recognized that this was a disaster brought about by the Golden Antlers.

"The Golden Antlers repaired your body and gave you power, but they are not an endless treasure trove of energy. They are a beacon from outer space, which landed on Earth long ago and has been used by our people ever since. For thousands of years, it has been constantly sending signals, searching for a suitable person... But I think that person has now appeared before me." The devout general extended an invitation to him.

As he prepared to seek a more complete explanation, the golden antlers extended golden chains and brazenly invaded his mind.

"For decades, the only hope that has kept me going is to rekindle the fire of our race. Join us, Sharp, you are a gift from another world, see the true face of the Golden Antlers for me, and then together we will build a greater kingdom."

The earthquake shook the ground beneath Sharp's feet, tearing open the exposed bedrock. Thick smoke and flames spewed from the cracks, and desiccated corpses formed a high staircase leading to the highest throne.

A strange woman wearing a crown looked down at him from her throne; her entire body was covered in horrifying bloodshot eyes. This was Sharp's first encounter with the manipulator behind the scenes.