EP. 187 Each Stage (1)
“Before the story begins, let me give you a warning.”
“Don’t ask me how I know this, what my source of information is, or if I can tell you more. Just… don’t.”
The words of an unknown Elf.
“I can’t answer even if you ask. What I say is all I know.”
Recalling that phrase, Kalt thud jumped off the roof. He soared between rooftops, sprinting at full speed without slowing down.
“There is someone who induced the current situation, and I know of the plan he has devised. Since I know, I will explain the way to counter it.”
The black coat flutters.
Inside the fluttering coat hem, countless magical devices supported by the Master of the Black Tower are hanging. Each is an astronomical treasure.
“You might have an idea about the one who made the plan.”
Skebal the Ancient Lich.
“Right, as expected. That barrier is his doing. It seems nothing has changed compared to centuries ago, but still… objectively, he’s a bothersome opponent.”
The Elf continued, sounding somewhat annoyed.
“Three steps. If you follow these three steps I’m about to tell you, you can minimize the damage.”
Kalt hung at the top of the clock tower.
Taking a deep breath, he narrowed his eyes. A vast forest sprawled before him. Beyond the forest lay the Apuria Academy entwined in a black barrier.
“First step.”
Kalt put his hand into his pocket.
What he held was a small orb-shaped magical tool. It was originally designed to rip through barriers… but there was no way a regular magical device could tear through the Ancient Lich’s barrier.
“Use that to break through the barrier.”
And, of course, this was not an ordinary magical tool. It was modified by the Elf under the Master of the Black Tower’s assistance. The Elf affirmed while handing over the device.
“You should be able to get through.”
Kalt decided to trust that statement for once.
Thud.
Kalt kicked off from the clock tower and leapt.
The forest scenery vanished in an instant. The black barrier loomed right before him. Then, Kalt pulled the pin of the magical device he held.
Peeing!
Sizzle, and sparks flew from the magical device.
Just before colliding with the barrier, Kalt threw it towards the barrier. At the moment the black barrier and the magical device touched, a small explosion occurred.
Zziz, zzzz.
Once the explosion cleared, a hole large enough for a person to enter appeared. However, it soon began to close. Kalt dove towards the closing hole.
“If you’re in, find them.”
Kalt stepped into the darkness of Apuria.
“What I need to find are the children blessed by the Star.”
He activated magical devices one by one, all while keeping his presence hidden.
A magical purification device attached to a gas mask.
A device to enhance physical abilities.
All sorts of tools to assist with movement.
Royal Guard supplies, magical tools developed by the Master of the Black Tower, and concoctions modified by the unknown Elf. Dozens of magical devices supported Kalt’s body.
This is the domain of Skebal the Ancient Lich.
No heroes are here.
There is no one to replace the hero. The Ashen Mage who always confronted calamity is not here either. Standing here is just a mere hunting dog.
Therefore.
Kalt reached for his waist.
What he touched was an experimental potion being developed by the Royal Guard. A doping agent intended to enhance the physical capabilities of superhumans.
It’s still only in the developmental stage.
The side effects are unknown.
Moreover, it is a potion intended for use by superhumans. He has no idea what side effects he might face using it himself.
“…”
The doping agent shimmered red.
Staring at it, Kalt steeled himself.
I’ll use everything I can.
He surely would.
If that time comes, he wouldn’t hesitate.
Thud.
In the darkness, the hunting dog pounded the ground.
2.
Reaching toward the shadow, Kelharlem recalled.
He recalled the experience of the past hundred years.
Constraints and control.
That has been Kelharlem’s life.
He controlled his madness through constraints. By chaining himself, he lived a life full of restrictions. The past hundred years gave Kelharlem an epiphany.
To imprison something within oneself.
To control it by confinement.
When that line of thought intertwined with his answer, it suggested a possibility. This slender possibility has been gradually materializing in Kelharlem’s long life.
Of course, I do not have certainty.
He does not overestimate himself.
He knows too well the bitter price of overconfidence, having tasted its severity over a hundred years ago.
Thus.
Kelharlem created numerous constraints.
He experimented with which constraints would be most effective. There were countless constraints, and an abundance of trial and error.
He searched and searched.
As a result, Kelharlem found an answer.
Now it’s time to put it to the test. Wishing that his life holds meaning, Kelharlem grasped the shadow.
Crunch.
The shadow colliding with the light directs its gaze towards Kelharlem.
Of course, Kelharlem is not a vessel sufficient to contain the shadow. He has not been chosen, loved, or blessed by the Star.
But…
If one has ever contained starlight, he has.
A hundred years ago, Kelharlem devoted his entire lifespan to the Star, and the Star granted a massive amount of starlight to his soul.
The experience of that time.
Recalling that experience, Kelharlem swallowed the shadow.
As the shadow clashed with the light, it wrapped around Kelharlem’s arm and aimed for his heart. The muddy substance engulfed Kelharlem.
“You are making a wrong choice.”
At that moment, a whisper reached Kelharlem’s ear.
Yet, there was no time to listen.
“I place a constraint.”
Enveloped in the shadow, Kelharlem began to impose constraints.
Navigating the gap between reason and madness, he desperately recalled the answer he found.
The shadow is the concept opposing the Star.
Even if what he consumes now is merely a fragment, it still aligns with the truth. What must he give up to consume it?
Reason. Mind. Soul.
Everything that is Kelharlem, including himself.
Thus, he makes himself an entirely empty vessel. He becomes a puppet acting according to predetermined principles. The extinction of his existence doesn’t matter.
“I will live this life given to me in flame, an endless life of uncertainty, solely for you.”
It was a life meant to keep that vow.
In the present, resembling that day, Kelharlem reminisces about the past. He stands in the same place. Yet, he makes a different choice this time.
That will be enough.
As the shadow consumed Kelharlem, a constraint aimed to pierce through him.
“A mere commoner.”
A voice sounded from beyond the shadow.
“Do you think a commoner who must forsake something can contain the shadow?”
Skebal the Ancient Lich.
“Impossible.”
He scoffed.
As if he had already experienced the same thing.
“Only those chosen by the gods can be vessels for the gods. It has always been that way.”
Kelharlem felt it.
The shadow he contained trying to escape.
The shadow is not bound by chains.
“You will accomplish nothing.”
Because he was not chosen.
Because he was not blessed.
Because he was not loved.
“Nothing.”
He accomplishes nothing.
The ancient lich laughed like that.
Amidst that laughter, Kelharlem’s lips twisted.
“That may be true.”
Kelharlem said.
“However.”
A mere human.
“I anticipated that as well.”
He does not overestimate himself.
By not overestimating, he considers the possibility of failure.
By keeping failure in mind, he thinks of what comes next.
“Oh Star.”
A human who despises the Star calls upon it.
“I make a deal.”
Balance.
Time freezes for an instant.
In a world that has come to a halt, only the Star and shadow dance. The Balance that emerges before him is cracked. The one shattered a century ago is shabby.
Kelharlem makes a deal with the Star.
The Star agrees to the deal.
It’s a transaction so simple it’s ridiculous.
“Confine me.”
The measured price is paid.
Time, which had stopped, begins to flow again. A massive hole opens before Kelharlem. It is a passage to the Otherworld. Towards that, Kelharlem takes a step forward.
“How?”
Skebal’s third eye wavers.
Seeing that, Kelharlem lets out a laugh.
“I won’t let it happen your way.”
The reason he had barely held onto shatters.
Captured by madness, Kelharlem can no longer connect his thoughts. Instinctively, clutching the shadow, he leaps into the hole before him.
Whoosh!
The hole enveloped Kelharlem.
3.
The highest floor of the Black Tower.
Cardi, arms crossed, gazed out the window.
His gaze was fixed on the black barrier. However, what he see was beyond the barrier. He mentally conjured up what was invisible.
The clash of light and shadow.
The resulting distortion.
He recalled an event from centuries ago. That day, Cardi witnessed the distortion. A distortion far more enormous than what he is witnessing now.
“The distortion that swallowed half the continent.”
What must have been done to prevent it?
Countless methods were attempted.
He displayed all means available on that spot.
“But it was useless.”
Everything failed.
All of it was merely a stall.
In the end, the only answer found was to force someone to sacrifice themselves.
“The least bad choice.”
The least bad choice that barely evaded the worst.
However, there was no option other than that.
He would have to make the same choice again.
“…”
Cardi silently gazed out the window.
In a similar situation as before, he could think of only the same method. He found no best solutions. Always just the least bad option.
“What a pain.”
What use is a thousand years of accumulated knowledge?
What meaning is there in a thousand years of life?
“I thought I would be able to make a different choice this time…”
“What do you know to make a choice or not?”
Then it happened.
A voice, incredulous, came from behind him.
“You.”
Cardi turned around.
“This time, it seems you know quite a lot.”
The girl who had been lying in bed.
Just moments ago, she showed no signs of waking, yet she raised her body. Droplets of sweat rolled down her jawline. Even while groaning, she stubbornly pushed herself up.
“Hey, Cardi.”
The girl perched on the bed.
She brushed aside her flowing ashen hair. The determined gaze that emerged from behind her hair was resolute.
“Explain.”
She reached out, grabbing Cardi by the collar and pulling him close to her face.
“Everything.”
Cardi met the girl’s gaze mere inches away.
Her eyes, staring straight at him, were blue. The glimmering blue of her eyes seemed like they wouldn’t let him go before getting an answer.
“I’ll find the answer.”
She declared.
Raniel, the Ashen Mage.
The mage who always sought answers stood once again, ready to seek them.
