Chapter 98

For a moment, I lost my judgment.

‘Was it originally a place that burns? Or did a fire just happen to break out at the right time?’

Hot flames shot up into the sky.

I hadn’t noticed the black smoke obscuring the clouds while I was on the ground.

It even blocked the view from my eyes after crossing the second wall. Indeed, it was an incredible magic.

‘And there’s no sign of anyone around.’

It feels like a dead land, a land burning eternally in hell.

Is this place really a sanctuary?

“What are you thinking about? It’s too late to turn back now.”

“...Hmm. You’re actually making sense for once.”

We passed through the garden where flames were rising and entered the interior of the temple.

The situation inside the temple was no better than outside. The inside was bright due to the flames falling through the ceiling, but fortunately, it didn’t seem to be collapsing yet.

What should I do now?

‘Should I look for Lu here?’

But if I find Lu... what happens after that?

-Internal intrusion detected.

That’s when a familiar voice came from somewhere in the ceiling.

It was the same voice that came from Dian Ket’s eyeball.

-To maintain security, all areas will be sealed and automatic detonation will be prepared.

-Automatic detonation in 100 seconds. 99, 98...

Hold on.

“Automatic detonation?”

I just got in.

Boom, boom, boom, boom.

The interior, which had been as bright as daytime, began to darken quickly.

Doors and windows were being sealed one by one from the entrance where I first stepped in.

We ran forward.

Or rather, we tried to run.

“93, 94... What are you doing? Don’t just stand there, attack. I’ll kill you as quickly as possible.”

Beyond the flickering heat, a man with long silver hair stood like a statue.

His bright red eyes were as fierce as a demon’s.

The sanctuary of Calpha is a place that only allows entry to Calpha.

And anyone could see that this figure had appeared to punish the intruder who had entered the sanctuary.

‘So, is he the third Calpha?’

A sharp aura pressed down on my skin.

I felt my hair stand on end with tension. It was a feeling of tension I hadn’t felt in a long time.

The silver-haired Calpha said,

“I’m in a really bad mood right now. I finally got a vacation and was having a good time. And a rat crawls in after just half a day? It’s been almost 15 years since this last happened.”

Swish. Andret drew his sword.

“Damn. What a hassle.”

Andret, who had pressed his brows together, pushed my body backward.

“I’ll handle this side. You go and take care of your business.”

Goosebumps ran up my arms.

Is he crazy? He’s talking like we’re allies on a battlefield.

“Do you know why I came here?”

“Why? Is that a question? You came to find that crazy blue-haired magician, didn’t you? Right?”

That’s true.

“First, I need to send you to that lunatic to make things easier later. Get out of here quickly.”

I understand his intention, but my feet wouldn’t move.

Why? Because Andret is my brother.

Did he notice my hesitation? Andret’s sword figure shot toward the silver-haired Calpha.

From that moment, my deliberation became meaningless. I turned my back and headed in another direction.

-70, 69...

The completely sealed interior was as dark as a cave. I lowered my body as much as possible to avoid choking on the smoke, but my breathing still quickened.

How long had I been walking?

I had arrived at a slightly different path.

Between the long stretches of the path, long cloths hung from the ceiling, like when I boarded the airship.

First cloth, second cloth, third cloth...

How many cloths did I pass?

While running non-stop, I felt the ground beneath my feet give way.

“Huh?”

At first, I thought the floor had collapsed due to the flames. I tried to escape quickly, but my legs wouldn’t move.

As dizziness washed over me, I closed and opened my eyes, and another person stood in front of me.

A person who shouldn’t be here, Malicops.

[I don’t understand. Why are you so determined to find Calpha?]

“...Grandpa Malicops?”

[To retrieve Dian Ket’s diary? Or to bring back an excellent magician to protect the Weatherwax family, as Daisy said? Or out of anger? Oh, surely you don’t think he will move according to your wishes.]

The old man’s penetrating gaze looked into me.

Malicops, with a look that seemed to understand everything and was therefore sympathetic, comforted me.

[I understand. You must have gained great confidence at the Count Serenye’s castle. That Calpha must hold you in high regard, right?]

Somehow, my chest felt tight.

It felt like he had hit the nail on the head.

‘What is this annoying situation?’

I ignored the rough breath in my throat and looked around.

The interior of Calpha, which had been flashing red, was no longer visible.

A dark space, like the inside of a darkened room. The appearance of Malicops, who shouldn’t be here.

Considering all the points, I, at this moment, am probably...

[That’s probably just your imagination. From what I think, Calpha is merely keeping the promise to Daisy.]

“...What promise?”

[What? What promise? The promise to bury Daisy next to her brother’s grave. The promise he engraved with a soul oath.]

‘...Promise.’

Oh, I made a mistake.

‘Talking to an illusion in a mental magic trap.’

It meant I had stepped deep into the trap without realizing it.

As a result, my mind became even more blurred. It’s a very bad situation.

Since it’s a trap to protect Calpha, it’s difficult to break it voluntarily...

[Moreover, you have died and come back to life, and your soul is broken, a special case. Calpha must have found you interesting. From a magician’s perspective, you have infinite research value.]

“...”

[So, stop the delusion there.]

“...”

[Daisy. This is advice for you. He doesn’t care about you at all...]

Boom!

A terrifying explosion echoed, and my mind suddenly cleared.

The hazy smoke that had clouded my brain was instantly cleared away.

“Huff!”

Bent over, I expelled the breath that had been blocked. As my mind returned to normal, a face came to mind.

‘Andret?’

How many seconds until the explosion?

My ears were ringing, and I couldn’t hear properly. I immediately gave up on finding Lu.

‘I need to find Andret, Andret.’

But when I straightened my bent back, I couldn’t move.

Because I realized the surroundings were no longer dark.

I looked up at the ceiling blankly.

Above the bright night sky, it wasn’t rain, but shining snow, or rather...

‘A meteor shower.’

Stars were falling.

The magnificent sight left me speechless and forgot all my worries as I looked up at the sky.

I had never seen a shooting star in my decades of life. Or rather, most people probably haven’t.

It felt like a divine prank that a meteor shower would fall on such a day, at such a time.

“The alarm was a mistake. The real intruders are these meteors.”

It was a very natural greeting.

As if in a dream, I turned my gaze, and a silhouette leaning against the window frame, looking up at the distant sky, appeared.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

His vivid blue hair, more dazzling than the stars, blurred my vision.

The man, more radiant than the stars, looked at me with dark, melancholic eyes.

Suddenly, the presence of Count Serenye seemed insignificant compared to this man.

Facing his sharp and fierce golden eyes, it felt foolish to have thought of this man when I met Count Serenye in the past.

They are incomparable.

“The meteor shower that fell in the Astros sky 100 years ago. It was quite a spectacle when I looked up, but it caused quite a forest fire. Just like now.”

At first, I thought my ears were deceiving me.

“100 years ago?”

The cold wind of the northern continent blew through my hair.

I turned my body reflexively. The collapsed ceiling and walls, the flames, were all gone.

No, they hadn’t disappeared. They were slowly returning to their original positions.

The spreading flames gradually shrank, and the collapsed walls slowly regenerated and returned to their original form.

And soon, they turned into a dazzling star and returned to the sky.

As if time was rewinding.

‘...Ah. The alarm went off...’

Not because of Andret and me, but because of the meteor that fell into the sanctuary.

“This is the lunar eclipse from 109 years ago.”

Through the window that had returned to its original position, the white moon, which had been rising and setting repeatedly, was turning red.

“And this is probably the full moon from 120 years ago. It was the largest full moon I’ve ever seen.”

The endlessly rotating stars and moon.

The restored Calpha.

The Edelweiss garden, shimmering white under the moonlight.

I couldn’t help but ask Lu.

“Are you... turning back time?”

He only smiled.

‘That’s impossible.’

Such a thing can’t exist.

Controlling time is an impossible magic.

The law that humans cannot be free from the time line is as certain a truth as the law that soul oaths are engraved on the soul, isn’t it?

‘...Is that really the truth?’

I looked into Lu’s eyes.

In this northern continent, I have met two Calphas.

Skuld, whom I met in Astros, had an aura comparable to a sword star, and the Calpha I met here had a slightly disappointing aura compared to Skuld.

But Lu is different.

I can’t see through Lu’s power.

Even after crossing two walls and gaining control over my sword, I still can’t gauge Lu’s existence.

“Who are you, really?”

“Me?”

Behind the smile that appeared like a mirage, a large sun rose.

There was no more night. He brought the dawn to me.

Is it the sun of autumn? Or the sun of summer? The intense blue light made me squint.

“God.”

The quietly tilted head blocked the dawn.

The rising sun spread like a painting behind Lu’s shadow.

“I am the god of the northern continent, Lord Calpha.”