〈 Chapter 322 〉 Ashen Tower (5)
*
My disciple, raised like a son, is trying to kill me.
Rosel, startled, backed away from Rania for a while, and after a considerable scuffle, he was finally captured by Rania. Naturally, Rania did not strike Rosel on the head; instead, she knelt in front of him and explained the situation for some time.
“… So that’s how it was?”
“Then what else could it be…?”
With a sigh, Rania lowered her head.
“Why would I kill my master in the first place? Do I have any grudge against you?”
“Well… that’s true.”
Rosel thought logically in that way.
However, he couldn’t deny that with this suspiciously energetic child, the thought of ‘maybe…?’ crossed his mind. She was quick to judge in strange situations.
“Or, Master, have you done something wrong to me? Why are you acting so repulsed?”
Rania laughed teasingly, and Rosel let out a bitter laugh before giving her a light flick on the forehead.
“Ouch!”
“Is that something to say to your master who was going to make you a cup of coffee after you came back sweating on a hot day?”
“Uh, um… I’m sorry.”
Rania rubbed her bangs and smiled bashfully.
Rosel sighed and patted Rania’s head with the back of his hand. Remembering the earlier situation, his heart still felt like it had dropped.
“Phew…”
Rosel exhaled sharply and cleared his throat.
“So, about what you said about the Elder.”
His narrowed eyes.
Rosel looked at his disciple and spoke.
“Explain in more detail.”
*
Rania disclosed everything she knew to Rosel, who, after listening for a while, pondered while rubbing his chin.
“… You were told neither the reason nor the cause?”
“Yes, he was quite evasive about the topic.”
Rosel had watched the Elder since he was young.
At that time he wasn’t an Elder yet (??), but even then, the character of Krenbel Elenoa had never changed. For decades.
‘He’s a deep thinker.’
If he is hiding information, there must be a reason.
“He’s not someone obsessed with his own honor. He’d rather remain silent than speak lies. He’s a thoughtful person, making it difficult to guess the reason.”
Rosel tilted his teacup.
Sipping his tea, Rosel narrowed his eyes.
“He asked you to kill him, did he?”
“… Yes.”
“Are you thinking of granting that request?”
Rania hesitated as she parted her lips slightly.
She couldn’t easily respond, but she lowered her head a little and spoke reluctantly.
“… I think I will.”
Rosel observed Rania’s expression.
It seemed she was troubled and hesitating, but it wasn’t about having to kill the Elder. She was troubled about something else.
“Resti, you seem worried about that child.”
Rania flinched, having hit the nail on the head; her shoulders trembled.
She raised her head and looked at Rosel.
“I just thought about it a bit.”
Rania sighed.
“For that child, the Elder is like a master to me. A father, a benefactor, and a teacher. He’s such a great person.”
A master who changed her life.
He had set her on the path to magic (??) and provided her the stage to unleash her potential. And he was a father figure to her, an orphan without a family.
It’s only natural to feel a connection.
If someone killed such a person after years of being bedridden, what would Resti feel?
“I think I would be broken if it were the me before experiencing the battlefield.”
The idea that might come from losing someone dear to oneself.
If she had never experienced losing someone precious beside her, she would truly crumble. Rania was certain of that.
‘Actually, I think it might already be like that even now.’
Even now, she could feel a chill at the thought of her master dying.
It was an unimaginable thought.
Resti had to experience that in reality.
“That child smiled brightly every day.”
The moment Resti said “thank you” with a beaming smile kept replaying in Rania’s mind.
The voice echoed in her ears.
The smile lingered before her eyes.
It tightened Rania’s chest with a sharp pang. Feeling suffocated, she muttered.
“That’s the situation where I have to snatch it away.”
With her own hands.
“That’s not an easy situation.”
Rosel sighed.
It was truly not an easy story.
‘Seeing that he’s asking for death, it seems there’s no way he can end his life by himself…’
If Rania doesn’t kill the Elder, he will become something else in front of Resti. This meant a more horrific situation awaits.
No matter what she chooses, tragedy awaits.
Only a tragic ending awaits whichever path she takes. The carriage that cannot stop is racing toward a cliff.
“The choice is yours, but in this case, there might be two methods.”
Rosel spread two fingers.
“One is to tell Resti everything. Tell her everything she shared with you. It’s a method for her to face the truth and overcome it herself.”
A straightforward approach.
It’s the hardest path because it is the right way.
“The second is…”
Rosel hesitated.
That was not a method he wanted to recommend.
However, not everyone can walk the difficult path. Sometimes, choosing a wrong path might be the way to save those who might break while walking the correct one.
“Deceive her.”
Rosel said.
“She was killed by someone. No one knows who, but that person exists. Deceive her in that way.”
This was possible for Rania.
“Make her live on with a desire for revenge. At least while her spirit is burning, she won’t crumble.”
Until she can accept the truth.
Until she can mature mentally.
Keep deceiving her.
“… That’s.”
“I don’t want to recommend it. But just know that this path exists.”
Rania fell silent.
Rosel sighed and wiped his eyes.
“The choice is yours. Or perhaps there might be a better method. Let’s think a bit more.”
Rosel said, and Rania nodded.
But both of them instinctively knew.
That no other options exist.
Most likely, one of the two choices would have to be made.
2.
I found myself standing in front of the Ashen Tower, sighing.
In the end, I couldn’t choose either.
While I was pondering, daylight broke, and I postponed my choice. There was no need to choose immediately. There was still about a month left.
Just as I was justifying myself, I entered into the Ashen Tower. Given my position as the heir of the Ashen Mage, and with the Elder’s permission to visit freely, it wasn’t difficult to access the tower.
Not seeing Resti around was rather a relief, and I proceeded to the top floor of the tower.
“Oh, you’ve come?”
The Elder waited for me in the same spot with the same expression as yesterday, and I nodded before pulling a chair to sit beside him.
“Have you thought about my proposal?”
“… There are still many things on my mind.”
I nodded.
“I will do it.”
However, I added a condition.
“Please tell me everything. No hiding.”
“There are reasons for hiding…”
“Even if it’s not from you, I know quite a few secrets. There’s also a lot of information that needs to be kept hidden. I won’t spill it without permission, so just speak your mind.”
I gave a forced smile.
“I need to hear the inside story to be able to choose.”
“… What about?”
“Resti Elenoa.”
The Elder flinched, his body stiffening.
“When you die, if it’s revealed that you were killed by someone, what do you think will happen to that child? You must have thought about it.”
“……”
The Elder fell silent.
I continued speaking.
“Rather, you should tell that child everything…”
“That can’t be.”
The Elder cut off my words.
I narrowed my eyes. The Elder looked at me with a pained expression.
“That is not allowed. Not for that child…”
“Why not?”
“That child will definitely ask questions and try to uncover the truth. Why I harbored this curse, why I tried to hide it from her… that child will have doubts.”
It was an obvious sequence.
I questioned the Elder.
“Then isn’t that a problem?”
“No.”
“Why the heck…?”
“Then I would have to tell you everything. And that’s likely what she wants.”
‘Whom?’
I blinked in confusion.
The Elder was sweating.
“Who is that?”
He remained silent for a while.
After a few minutes had passed, the Elder finally opened his mouth with difficulty. He asked me to promise.
“Promise me you won’t speak of it.”
“I swear on the honor of the Ashen.”
“I believe you.”
The Elder exhaled and straightened his back.
“I made a contract with some shadow.”
A contract.
The moment I heard the next words, I couldn’t help but hold my breath. The unexpected name popped out.
“The shadow introduced itself as the First Light.”
The First Light.
A madman who created shadows.
The Elder was telling me he made a contract with that being.
3.
Krenbel Elenoa, who took in Resti, intuitively felt that the child would be his last disciple. She was a talented and quick learner.
Just watching Resti’s growth was a delight every single day. Krenbel taught her everything he knew and tried to be a wonderful father to that lonely child.
He regarded her as his own child.
He sincerely hoped for her growth and success, often imagining the day Resti would sit in the position of Master of the Tower.
Then one day.
Krenbel saw a shadow within the tower.
The shadow roamed freely inside, undeterred by any barriers. Krenbel chased after it and witnessed it slip into Resti’s shadow.
That wasn’t a familiar spirit.
It wasn’t a mere shadow.
It was something ambiguous, an unknown entity.
While Resti slept, Krenbel spoke to the shadow lurking underneath. What was it, that followed this child?
【I am the parasite to the seed that will become a great tree.】
The shadow said with a peculiar smile.
【Once it becomes a great tree, it will be too late, so isn’t it more efficient to parasitize from now? That’s what I think, but what do you think?】
Krenbel poured all manner of magic in an attempt to push the shadow away, but it couldn’t be pinned down by anything. It had no fixed shape. Mana wouldn’t work against it. It was not a being that belonged to this world.
A being dwelling outside of providence.
Close to a god (?), the entity whispered into Krenbel’s ear.
【It’s useless, my friend.】
The shadow was attempting to seep back into Resti.
A sinister existence aimed to possess Resti, to eat away at her soul. Krenbel had no intention of watching such a future unfold.
He sought an answer.
In a brief moment, Krenbel felt a sense of familiarity from the shadow before him. It was something only Krenbel Elenoa, who had spent years trading with the stars and studying Mana Trading Studies (??), could recognize.
He thought the shadow’s shape, and its essence, resembled that of the stars.
With a mix of doubt and hope, Krenbel reached out toward the shadow. The mage who always called upon the stars in the sky was requesting a trade with the shadow now crawling on the ground for the first time.
“I make a trade.”
The shadow stopped its movement.
Slowly emerging from Resti, the shadow stared directly at Krenbel. The features of the shadow revealed its eyes. The revealed eyes bore a resemblance to human features, yet were not human.
The eyes of a madman.
The insane one smiled at Krenbel.
【Are you sincere?】
“I wish to trade…”
【Oh, of course. I never refuse someone who seeks a deal. I shall grant it.】
The madman laughed.
【State your terms, foolish wizard.】
Krenbel, who had made countless and countless trades before, spoke the conditions that would satisfy the being before him. The one who heard this laughed.
【You would give me your soul in exchange for this child?】
“Until the day my destiny runs out.”
【Is there a reason for that?】
“It seems more valuable to parasitize a great old tree like myself than an unripe seed, doesn’t it?”
Krenbel proposed.
“I am the Elder of the Ashen. I may not become a great tree like this child, but I have achieved higher accomplishments for now. For the time being, you can…”
【You’ll switch to another body when you die?】
“Correct.”
【A tearful sacrifice, indeed.】
The shadow laughed.
【I like it. Indeed, that might be more enjoyable. But let me add a condition.】
The shadow reached out.
The extended fingertip pointed towards sleeping Resti. It grinned as it indicated the slumbering child.
【If that child asks about this contract, you must tell her everything. Furthermore, when that moment arrives, I will suggest this to her.】
This old man sacrificed himself for you.
I will give you a chance as well.
Will you accept me in place of this old man?
At that moment, Krenbel’s body stiffened. Resti would surely not reject that proposal. She would undoubtedly form a contract.
“Don’t… do that.”
However, Krenbel had no right to refuse that condition. In the end, he accepted the proposal.
【The contract has been sealed, wizard.】
Until your destiny runs out.
That was the condition, which meant Krenbel could not take his own life. He also couldn’t perish. Through a contract with the transcendental being, he gained temporary immortality. However, he would be consumed by this shadow until the end of his given life.
‘And someday, Resti will find out.’
Thus, Krenbel made the hard choice.
He inflicted wounds upon his own soul.
Having eaten away at his own destiny, Krenbel fell into a comatose state. He had to hold the shadow in his body until the day his destiny ran out.
That way, he bought four years of time.
In his hazy consciousness, Krenbel wished and wished. For those four years, he sincerely hoped Resti would grow. To grow and grow to the point where there would be no chance for the shadow to parasitize.
“But that plan has fallen apart.”
The Elder glanced at his frail arms as he spoke.
“I couldn’t sleep until the day I die and ultimately awoke with 37 days remaining. The shadow that had been dormant within me is trying to awaken.”
The Elder opened his tightly closed eyes.
Half of them were stained pitch black.
“In a little over a month’s time, I will be completely consumed. The shadow will use my body as bait to capture Resti, and I can’t allow that.”
The aged man asked Rania for a favor.
“Therefore, please don’t let Resti know. Just when the day my time runs out comes… kill me.”
Rania could not reply to him.
Her master was asking her for a favor, having devoted his life for his disciple. He was pleading for her to ensure that his sacrifice would not be in vain. Desperately hoping that his choice would remain a sacrifice.
“Ah… really…”
Rania wiped her eyes.
‘This is insane, really.’
Tragedy awaited no matter where one went in this story.
Now one more path has vanished from that tale.
What remained were deception or the most brutal path.
*
