EP.196 The Curtain Falls (2)

In a forest not far from Apuria.

Perhaps it was because it was a place untouched by human footsteps. There was only one set of footprints pressed into the layer of fallen leaves on the ground. Following the neatly arranged footprints, I stopped in front of a tree stump piled with leaves.

Rustle.

After brushing the leaves off the stump, I sat down on it. Feeling a moderately chilly wind, I let out a short breath. Before inhaling again, I lifted my head to look ahead.

The Braver, Kelharlem.

The person I promised to meet here.

Someone with quite a bit to discuss with me.

“So.”

I looked at him sitting across from me and opened my mouth. A slight bitter smile formed at the corner of my lips.

“Looks like you caught on.”

“It’d be strange if I didn’t.”

Kelharlem pointed his fingertip at me.

“Knowing how to deal with shadows, there couldn’t possibly be another mage who could impose constraints on me… other than the Ashen Mage.”

His voice was filled with certainty, and I had no intention of denying it. In effect, I had one more person who knew my secret… but that was unavoidable. Truly.

‘I had to deal with shadows; I couldn’t afford to hide my identity.’

It was a situation where I had to go all out.

There was no way I could afford to hold back against such an opponent. Sighing lightly, I clicked my tongue in disappointment.

“I was hoping to keep it a secret.”

“Did you even plan to hide it? Surprising.”

“…What?”

“Want an honest answer, Ashen Mage?”

I blinked in surprise.

In that moment, I felt as if the temperature in Kelharlem’s gaze had dropped significantly.

“From the moment I first saw you, I had a bit of a hunch. I became suspicious. I wasn’t sure, but I had a rough idea within one minute of making eye contact with you.”

“Uh…”

Was it that obvious?

I thought I was being cautious.

“…That obvious?”

“That obvious.”

Kelharlem nodded at my question.

“If you really wanted to hide it, you should be a bit more careful in your actions. It seems you need to revise the incantations you use too.”

“…Is it necessary?”

“It’s surprising you haven’t been caught until now…”

Surprising, it might be.

“In the first place, it’s impossible.”

I shrugged.

“It’s impossible for flesh and soul to be altered. It’s something that cannot happen. People who suspect that something impossible could actually occur are… just a handful.”

The more you know, the more you can’t help but think like that. I muttered, lightly tapping my chest with my fingertip.

“Only those who have faced beings like you and me, who make the impossible ‘possible’, can have such suspicions.”

Beings called shadows.

Concepts that defy providence.

“…Shadows.”

Kelharlem muttered that.

What he spoke was a two-syllable word, yet that single word must hold more significance for him than anything else.

“…I owe you a lot this time.”

I slowly opened my mouth.

“Thanks to you, both Apuria and the students are all safe. This was something I was meant to do in the first place.”

“No need for thanks.”

Kelharlem shook his head.

“A hundred years ago, I swore before the ashes of my homeland. This was something I had to do and must do.”

“That means…”

“My homeland went through the very same process.”

He raised his arm.

Looking at the split skin from the side effects of harboring shadows, Kelharlem continued.

“Do you know of Celestia?”

“The spirit user from Artiya, who was said to be the prodigy of talent? I know the name.”

“Do you also know that she received the blessing of the stars?”

“I wasn’t aware of that.”

Kelharlem tightly clenched his fist.

“Celestia was a Watcher and also Stella.”

“…She received two blessings at once? Is that even possible?”

“It seems to be. She was a girl with the most brilliant starlight. A shining child. Everyone expected her to have a radiant future ahead.”

Was that it?

“She got trampled.”

The heat in his voice intensified, with a tone of monotony.

“On the day she became an adult, the day she graduated from Artiya and stepped out into the world, Celestia was trampled.”

A Gletus appeared.

Just like the disaster that struck this Academy, Celestia was swallowed by the shadows.

After reaching that point, Kelharlem exhaled briefly.

“And, I couldn’t do anything.”

His voice carried a sense of regret.

“Even when the stars gave up on her, when the shadows took her as their vessel, and ultimately when she couldn’t endure and her soul was defiled…”

I could only watch.

I had no choice but to watch.

Listening carefully to Kelharlem’s murmurs, I realized it was the history of how a scholar became a Braver. Kelharlem was speaking about his life.

“I always regretted it.”

Kelharlem said.

“Was there no other way? At that moment, was there no way to save my disciple? Was there nothing I could do? I thought and thought repeatedly.”

A human who has lived over a hundred years in madness.

“Answers didn’t come easily. It took me 60 years just to feel my way to a vague answer. Another 40 years to give that answer a possibility.”

A mage who searched for answers for a hundred years.

Now, having lived for only 27 years, I found it hard to imagine that time, and I could only sigh.

‘…So similar.’

From Kelharlem, I saw someone I knew very well.

「Perhaps it’ll be in a hundred years.」

「Maybe in several centuries.」

「Or perhaps, it could even be several thousand years later.」

An elf who has endured a life of immortality with the resolve to bear the passage of time. Although the quantity of that time may differ, I felt that Cardi and Kelharlem shared similarities.

“And so a hundred years have passed.”

Kelharlem spoke as if sighing.

“And.”

He gazed at me.

His face was still expressionless, but for some reason, it seemed he was smiling as he spoke to me.

“My hundred years did not seem meaningless.”

With ash-colored eyes.

“Did I say thanks, Ashen Mage? No, it’s not you who should be grateful to me.”

He shook his head.

“Rather, I want to express my gratitude.”

Slowly, very slowly, he bowed his head.

“Thank you. Raniel.”

Calling my name.

2.

As he bowed, Kelharlem reflected on his life. It had not been an easy life. It had been a challenging life. Through the long years, Kelharlem had to endure while questioning himself.

Is there meaning to this life?

Is there value in a life that does not age?

Kelharlem had to feel, every moment, that he was surpassing being human. The words whispered by Gletus always hovered around him, becoming nightmares.

“You resemble me, child.”

A woman steeped in madness.

A Braver who hated the stars, trying to pull everything down to her own level.

Kelharlem glimpsed his future in Gletus. He had always feared that one day he would become like that.

Because he feared it.

Because he did not want such a future.

Kelharlem had to endlessly remain on guard. He imposed constraints upon himself to control his madness. He strived not to take other lives lightly, unlike Gletus.

‘There was an easy way.’

Time and again, the easy route was evident. Surrendering to madness and seeking comfort was not the only easy way.

‘Compromise.’

A compromise that said this is enough.

Justifying sacrificing a few for the greater good.

The paths walked through rationalization and compromise flickered before Kelharlem’s eyes countless times. If someone were to be sacrificed right now, there would be dozens of options he could gain.

Yet, he did not choose.

He could not choose.

‘Because I had to keep my oath.’

What Celestia wanted from him was certainly not such a life. To become superhuman to keep his oath, Kelharlem never forgot his promise.

That was a hundred years of walking.

A life of immortality walked in order to keep one promise, to validate the answers he found on his own.

A life traversed through doubt and vigilance.

A life endured while fumbling through regrets.

A life that survived madness.

Has there been meaning in that life? To that question, Kelharlem had yet to answer. Yet, here, at this moment, he could confidently state.

“There was meaning.”

Because he gained.

“My hundred years have had meaning.”

Because he had seen that there could be other endings.

“And.”

Kelharlem looked at the mage before him.

It was a being that had found an answer different from his own.

“Thank you for presenting me with new possibilities by showing me another answer.”

He had concluded that shadows were “something that cannot be dealt with.” Hence, he sought answers only by binding and restraining them. However, the mage before him was not that.

“From ashes to ashes.”

In the consciousness that had plunged into madness, Kelharlem vividly remembered the flame he had seen through his blurred sight.

“From curse to ashes.”

The ash flame that burned away the shadows.

The beam of light that dispelled darkness.

That presented Kelharlem with a new path.

“My plan had failed. I succeeded in consuming the shadows, but I could not completely confine them. Eventually, the shadows would have escaped from me over time.”

It was not a perfect plan.

By all means, Kelharlem should have experienced failure again. He should have been frustrated that his hundred years had been meaningless. However, that did not occur.

“Therefore, my plan only succeeded in buying time.”

Buying time.

For someone else.

“The value of the time gained…”

“Is determined by the person who continues it.”

Kelharlem’s words were answered by Raniel.

“The time you bought was inherited by Kalt, and the time Kalt earned was again passed on to me.”

Next, then to the next.

“That result is this. All the students are safe, the fragments of shadows that appeared here have been completely burnt away… and even you are safe.”

Raniel pointed at Kelharlem.

Then, playfully asked a question.

“How about the new collar?”

At those words, Kelharlem could only manage a bitter smile.

“Well…”

Kelharlem ran his hand over his neck. He could hear the clank of metal. And… perhaps the same sound was resonating in the ears of the girl before him.

“It’s a familiar feeling.”

“I tried walking as I had read before, I’m glad it fits.”

Raniel shrugged her shoulders.

She remembered all the constraints observed during the duel. Hence, having no considerable difficulty in reimposing them.

“…One thing has changed.”

While fidgeting with the chains, Kelharlem became aware of the platinum chains binding his heart. The words engraved on the chain that used to be there were “Consume the Shadows,” but not anymore.

Same conditions, same circumstances.

Yet the course of action taken then is engraved in different letters. He read aloud the poorly written words.

“‘Summon the Ashen Mage.’”

Those were the words inscribed on the chains.

Raniel let out a mischievous smile.

“Since a fundamental Battle Mage will come to help, just buy time.”

“Didn’t you inscribe ‘Great Ashen Mage’ instead?”

“……”

Raniel subtly averted her gaze.

Her face had turned strangely red. Seems like she abruptly wanted to change the topic, as Raniel continued speaking.

“So, what will you do from now on?”

“I suppose I’ll have to rest a bit longer until my mana fills. And I still have that promised class to finish…”

“And then?”

“Most likely.”

Kelharlem said.

“I’ll return to the battlefield.”

“…You know your output has dropped, right? Your power won’t even reach half of your old spells.”

“I know.”

At that moment, Raniel’s spell had completely burned away the tainted mana of Kelharlem. In the process, several pathways had completely burnt away.

“With a good strike, it might be about 30% of the old power.”

“And yet, you’ll head back to the battlefield?”

“Even if I’ve weakened, there will still be many who need me.”

Even though he had weakened, he was still superhuman.

And the battlefield still needed superhumans.

“I haven’t found a way to solve the fundamental issues like you did, so I must at least buy some time.”

“…You caught on, didn’t you?”

Kelharlem nodded.

“Seeing the students I’ve nurtured, I’ve roughly pieced it together. The composition was quite decent. As long as I keep buying time until they all grow up… I can manage that with this body.”

However, he trailed off at the end.

“I just hope those kids don’t rely too much on the stars.”

“…Aha.”

Raniel smiled at Kelharlem’s words.

Kelharlem didn’t understand the meaning behind that smile.

“…Why are you laughing?”

“There’s one student I think you’ll be pleased with.”

Raniel said, looking toward Apuria.

“The Fourth Princess, Ayla.”

“…Are you talking about Stella?”

“Yeah. While you stay in Apuria, why don’t you pay a visit to that princess? You’ll be satisfied when you see her.”

Saying that, Raniel dusted off her knees and stood up. Then she faced Kelharlem directly.

“You’ve really worked hard on this matter.”

She extended her hand toward Kelharlem.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Kelharlem.”

Then she introduced herself.

“I am Rania. Perhaps, for a while.”

“I am Raniel. It’s a pleasure meeting you, Kelharlem.”

Reminded of a greeting they once shared, Kelharlem chuckled and shook her hand.

3.

“Ah, speaking of which, I almost forgot to mention this.”

I turned back. Kelharlem had called to me just as I was about to exit the forest.

“What is it?”

“About the being that summoned me here.”

“…The First Prince?”

I halted my steps.

The First Prince, that was the only part of this neatly concluded incident that I found ‘incomprehensible.’

‘Since Princess Lruiel’s letter hadn’t arrived yet, I was considering visiting soon…’

I shot Kelharlem a sideways glance.

“Why the First Prince?”

“He’s something strange.”

Kelharlem stroked his chin.

“I have been studying the cycles of the stars for the past hundred years. I successfully deduced that the day the starlight shines unusually bright, illuminating those who bestow blessings upon others, is the very day the ‘ritual’ is held.”

The reason he could foresee the shadows coming to Apuria and why he was able to come here. As Kelharlem explained the reason behind this, his voice lowered slightly.

“On the day I grasped that and was about to write a letter expressing my intent to visit Apuria…”

He reached into his robe.

What he pulled out was a letter stamped with the royal family’s crest.

“That letter arrived at that moment.”

There were no specific words written in the letter. Only a single line indicating the name of the Apuria Academy.

“Just as I was about to visit Apuria, a letter arrived telling me to head to Apuria. It seems the sequence is misunderstood widely among the public… but I think you should be informed.”

“…Does the First Prince know something?”

“It’s difficult to just chalk it up to chance.”

Kelharlem folded the letter and handed it to me.

“I’ll leave the judgment to you.”

I stared at the received letter. There was a blood-red symbol drawn along the edge of the letter. As I gazed at it, I frowned.

“…Hey, Kelharlem.”

“What is it?”

“You were exposed to the magic when you faced Skebal, right? Everything you had.”

“That’s likely. So I purified everything, didn’t I? Is there a problem?”

“This.”

I shook the letter.

“I can sense something similar to the skull cup from here.”