EP.140 The Past, A Past Even Further Back (3)
_Cardi’s_ vision kept walking, undeterred by blizzards, cliffs, or monsters attacking. He stumbled but continued on._
It was a time from long ago. A past with different terrain and environment.
Looking at that distant past, _Raniel_ walked in the present.
‘… This is strange.’
_Raniel_ constantly felt a sense of unease. Everything in her eyes seemed odd. _Cardi_, who couldn’t fight properly, defeating _Skebal_, and an old man who seemed inexperienced dismantling a beast skillfully—all of it felt unfamiliar.
‘Is it really _Cardi_?’
_Raniel_ thought. The _Cardi_ she saw in the past was different from the _Cardi_ she knew now. It was too different. The _Cardi_ she knew had an air of a scholar.
‘He knows a lot, has lived for a long time, is skilled in alchemy… He looks a bit happy when explaining something to others, that mysterious _Elf._’
But what about the _Cardi_ she was seeing now?
‘…A soldier.’
He felt like a soldier.
-…It’s not far now.
_Cardi_ muttered as he raised his head. _Raniel_ followed suit.
‘…The summit.’
It was the peak of a mountain surrounded by blizzards. _Cardi_ moved towards that peak, plunging into the storm, followed closely by _Raniel._
_Whooosh!_
Snowstorms raged. The cutting wind felt like it could tear skin. It was difficult even to keep her eyes open; it overwhelmed _Raniel._
‘…Ugh.’
She squinted her eyes. It was worse than the center of the sanctuary. Her steps grew heavy, and she almost lost her way multiple times. But each time, she kept her eyes on what was ahead.
_Silver hair, no, now ash-colored Elf._
_Cardi’s_ vision did not falter in the snowfall. He kept moving forward without resting even for a moment. What was he seeking?
_Crunch._
_Raniel_ gritted her teeth and followed him. Time flowed endlessly. It was hard to gauge how much time had passed. They kept walking.
Was it a day? Two days? Or perhaps even longer? Or was it just a fleeting moment?
She walked through an unknowable amount of time. At the end, _Raniel_ arrived. She gathered her strength for one last step.
_Thud._
The snowstorm subsided.
It was the infamous _Kurakt Mountain Range’s_ summit.
‘Phew, phew…’
_Raniel_ gasped for breath as she looked up. It was a wide open space, near the clouds, close to the sky.
And.
‘…What?’
There was the research facility _Cardi_ spoke about. However, its scale seemed a bit off. _Raniel_ made a bewildered sound as her eyes widened.
‘There’s a small research facility I’ve set up in the northern _Kurakt Mountain Range._’
_Cardi’s_ words echoed in her ears.
‘…Is this really a small research facility?’
It wasn’t. Absolutely not.
_Raniel_ mumbled absentmindedly.
‘This… it’s a tower…’
A structure soaring up to the heavens. More precisely, a magic tower (_魔塔_).
_Thud._
While _Raniel_ was in shock, _Cardi_ continued forward. He pulled a key from his pocket, which was the same key _Raniel_ had.
‘…’
_Raniel_ quietly retrieved the key from her own pocket. It was the key _Cardi_ had taken from the traitor. Following _Cardi_, she moved along.
-Huff…
The vision of _Cardi_ let out a sigh and stood before the tower’s main entrance. Several layers of barriers were placed on the firmly closed door.
The past _Cardi_ pushed the key into the barrier, and now _Raniel_ did the same.
_Clink_—a sound rang twice in succession. One by one, the numerous layers of barriers surrounding the tower’s main door were dismantled. Only after dozens of barriers were removed did the door reveal itself.
‘…’
_Raniel_, who was about to reach for the door, froze. She fell silent. Her gaze was directed at the symbols engraved on the door. At the end of the symbols was a name left by the one who engraved it.
It indicated who the owner of this tower was.
‘Really.’
The symbol of ash. The symbol of the _Ashen Tower._
‘_Cardi_, you.’
_Cardi van Armiel._
‘What in the world are you doing?’
_Armiel._
The founder of the _Ashen Tower_ and the first _Master of the Ashen Tower._
2.
‘They must have arrived by now.’
The Elf who had lived for centuries gazed out the window. Light began to creep into this alleyway, which hadn’t seen sunlight in over a hundred years. It wasn’t hard to guess the cause.
The child he had picked up years ago.
That child, named _Belnoa_, cleaned out the dark underworld that had plagued this alley for a century. For him, it was just a moment in time. However, for that child, it wasn’t.
_Belnoa_, resembling _Belial_, had grown. _Chloe_, resembling _Gleria_, had also grown.
They were becoming adults. No longer needing his guidance. Perhaps, they never did to begin with.
‘Not just them.’
He had met a child over a decade ago. A special child. A child who had to be special. _Cardi_ had asked the child for their name.
_Raniel._
That was the name of the child. A child destined for greatness. The child had talent. An interesting child. _Cardi_ had observed the boy for some time.
‘Even though it’s only a fleeting moment.’
It was a joyful time. The boy grew into a young man. Watching his growth felt like seeing his own past.
‘So similar.’
Perhaps he hoped so because the boy resembled him. When the boy left the tower to defeat the Demon King, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
_So similar._
_So very similar._
_That’s why it was you._
‘…’
Thus, _Cardi_ hoped.
‘Whatever you see there, whatever you realize, whatever you touch…’
That she could accept it.
‘Only your thoughts are the answer, _Raniel._’
He could only wish.
3.
_Armiel._
There was a wizard called that. No one knew his name. He always refused to be given a name by the royal family. He just called himself ‘_Armiel._’
– I will excavate the ruins of the fallen kingdom.
Research about the lost past. In the name of studying the ancient kingdom that once thrived, leaving only ashes behind, he built a tower. The royal family named the tower he built the ‘_Ashen Tower._’ That was the first magic tower.
Thus, the _Ashen Tower_ had no color.
Colorless, odorless, tasteless.
This was both a feature of the _Ashen Tower_ and a trait of the first _Master of the Tower,_ _Armiel._ He always wore a robe and never removed it—not even on the day he stepped down from his position.
_Armiel._
He was an enigmatic figure.
‘… _Cardi_ is _Armiel_?’
_Raniel_ turned her head.
Her gaze was fixed on _Cardi_. Watching _Cardi_ ponder over something as he held the doorknob without opening it made her think.
‘_Armiel._’
_Raniel_ knew little about that existence too. Through the memoirs left by the second _Master of the Tower,_ she could only guess he was a special wizard.
‘… And a descendant of the ancient kingdom.’
Many presumed so.
Because he was a survivor of the kingdom, he established the _Ashen Tower_ to reconstruct the technologies of the past. He attempted to do what no one else had done.
‘However, he also failed.’
One day, he vanished without a trace, leaving the position to the next _Master of the Tower._ He disappeared, taking all research materials with him.
And now, as time passed,
_Raniel_ faced the first _Master of the Tower._
The figure seemed both strange yet familiar.
‘What the hell?’
_Raniel’s_ brows furrowed. There was nothing she could understand. It was maddening. Nothing was clear.
‘If I open this door…’
Is there truth behind it? Will everything be understood?
‘Huff…’
_Raniel_ exhaled sharply.
She placed her hand on the doorknob that _Cardi_ was holding. _Thud,_ dust fell.
-…
Just like the past _Cardi_ seemed to resolve himself, he pulled the doorknob. Their movements overlapped. The past door opened gently, while the present door creaked ominously.
_Creeeak._
The door opened, and wind rushed in.
The incoming breeze wasn’t cold. Warm air flowed in, revealing the inside of the tower.
‘… A church?’
That was the first impression. More akin to a church than a facility for studying spells. Gentle sunlight flowed in through the long row of windows.
-…
_Raniel_ looked back at _Cardi_. He bit his lip, walking with a furrowed brow. She watched him as he brushed past her.
_Thud._
Taking one step, then two, up to about seven steps, he stopped.
‘…’
A moment of silence.
‘Sorry.’
His voice broke the silence.
The voice echoed against the church walls, possessing substance. Though a vision, it felt real. The circuit engraved on the church’s walls vividly highlighted _Cardi’s_ figure.
‘I couldn’t keep my promise.’
He said.
‘I couldn’t protect you.’
He gazed at the place where sunlight gathered. Someone was standing there. At that moment, _Raniel_ realized. The past _Cardi_ was looking at something from a time long before himself.
‘Sorry, _Gleria._’
_Cardi_ called out someone’s name. Just as _Raniel’s_ voice didn’t reach _Cardi_, _Cardi’s_ voice didn’t reach someone from the past. Was it mere coincidence?
‘Ah, you’re here?’
The past vision replied to _Cardi’s_ voice.
_Cardi_ gritted his teeth, knowing that it wasn’t a voice meant for his current self.
‘You’re really late. Do you know how long I’ve waited?’
The past _Cardi_ was greeted by a woman from an even earlier time, smiling gently. She let out a soft laugh, and then as if whispering the name of a lover, she spoke _Cardi’s_ name.
‘_Armiel._’
_Cardi_ bowed his head, while _Raniel_ lifted hers.
‘Hah.’
_Raniel_ chuckled lightly.
She murmured as she wiped her eyes.
‘… Really, I’m going crazy.’
The woman calling _Cardi’s_ name was someone _Raniel_ could not possibly fail to recognize.
_Pure white hair._
_Green eyes._
_The traitor, _Gletus._
The woman who existed before she became a calamity was there.
It was a past, further back than before.
