Chapter: 631 – The Oldest Wish (12)
—
– Miro
The change came suddenly.
— Whip!
As I walked down the long path of the Sanctuary following Han Kain, one side of my vision went dark.
Curious, I turned my head only to find a pitch-black door.
Before I could even gasp, “What is this?”, Aidia dashed and pulled me through the door!
“Ugh?”
I let out a noise belatedly, but we were already in a completely different place from the Sanctuary.
The first thing I did was grab my pocket watch!
I immediately thought about sending back Aidia, who was acting strangely.
Here’s the problem!
I had no way to return to the Sanctuary by myself.
There’s only one person capable of creating an elevator to the Sanctuary: the Holy Mother!
So, with the timekeeper in hand, I was in a panicked state of “Oh, oh, oh…!” when Aidia grasped my hand and looked at me earnestly.
“Miro.”
“…”
“Just once, please trust me.”
Such an absurd request.
If I were Han Kain, I would probably ignore whatever the Holy Mother said and send her back immediately…
But the memories from Room 207 were holding me back.
Aidia from ancient Egypt.
She was kind, righteous, and had a deep love for the people of Egypt.
The princess before me and the Holy Mother had lived completely different lives.
In some sense, they weren’t that different.
Didn’t Han Kain say it multiple times?
The two Aidias’ personalities are strikingly similar!
“… What are you planning to do?”
Aidia smiled brightly and began to gesture for me to run.
Her running off without an explanation was infuriating, but she only had about 3 minutes left.
If she had something to do, she wouldn’t have time to explain it to me.
Instead of pressing further, I hurriedly chased after Aidia.
— Pat pat!
Had I been running for about a minute?
Before I knew it, we arrived at a significantly large space.
It was too dark to see what was around due to the lack of proper lighting.
“W-where is this?”
“…”
No answer came.
Only the sounds of “Creak! Bang!” echoed as if Aidia was operating some unknown machine.
I could also hear the sound of something solid breaking.
“Omg.”
“Aidia?”
“Looks like I’ve already been hit by the Lunar Church.”
“R-really?”
“That boy, Seungyub, right? And Lady Elena. Turns out they were tougher than I expected.”
Elena was already a strong ally; Seungyub…
Did he use awakening powers?
I’m not sure about Seungyub, but if it’s Portugal, it’s possible!
“Still, after all this time I’ve lived, getting taken down by just two—how embarrassing.”
“Aidia! No matter what you’re planning, your time is really running out!”
“How much time left?”
“Uhh, less than a minute! 40 seconds—”
“That’s enough. It’s over now.”
— Click!
With the sound of a switch being flipped, the surroundings brightened.
“Wah!”
As soon as it got bright, what came into view was Aidia with half her head split open!
— Crash!
I was so startled I fell backwards onto my butt.
At that moment, I could hardly tell what was more terrifying: Aidia’s head being split open or the fact that instead of blood, purple stone fragments were oozing out.
“What the—”
The Holy Mother, with her head split open, answered calmly as if nothing had happened.
“Thank you. Because you believed in me, it all worked out.”
“Aidia!”
“Miro…. My grateful friend. I will tell you my biggest secret.”
“What?”
The Holy Mother smiled brightly and pointed ahead.
My gaze followed her finger in a daze.
“…”
The Holy Mother’s greatest secret.
A colossal figure emerged from the darkness!
Staring at it, half in awe, I mumbled.
“W-wh-what’s your goal?”
The Holy Mother, still smiling, responded.
“To obtain an ending where everyone can smile in the final moment.”
This was her last act.
And at the same time, it was a new beginning.
*
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 234
Current Location: Searching…
Sage’s Advice: 0
—
– Han Kain
“Is nobody around? Someone to free me from this hell….”
It felt like the predecessors were caught in a dream from a distant past.
If there were time, I would like to wait for the ancestors to awaken…
But considering the threat of the far-off presence appearing ahead, there’s no room for such luxury.
“…”
The presence isn’t coming towards me.
It’s just watching, as if saying, “Come closer.”
Time is on its side.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward!
— Splash!
It sounded like a pebble dropping in a calm lake.
Immediately, an unknown vision engulfed me.
*
.
.
.
“□□□.”
“…”
“□□□! Senior researcher, can you hear me?”
“… Ah.”
I woke up in an unfamiliar place that resembled an office.
Startled by the sudden change, I quickly adjusted.
“I apologize. I suddenly felt dizzy…”
“Ho! Work is important, but don’t forget to take breaks. Especially someone as precious as you.”
“Too kind.”
“Haha! What flattery!”
This situation felt like I was watching a movie.
A movie where “I” am the protagonist.
“Gilbert, about the materials requested the other day.”
“Hmm… As you know, the senior researcher’s security clearance is at beta (β) level.”
“…”
“The materials you requested are alpha (α) level.”
“…”
“I know, I know. You are no ordinary senior researcher. The higher-ups are also paying attention to your contributions…”
“Please.”
“…”
“…”
“□□□, I plan to attend the evening meeting soon.”
“What do you mean?”
“I trust you won’t rummage through my desk while I’m away.”
“… Thank you.”
“What do you mean?”
Shortly after, the superior who was talking with me left.
I—no, □□□ found several folders from the empty drawer.
…
A very old memory.
At this time, my position was a senior researcher.
Back then, I was looking to obtain materials that couldn’t be accessed with my level of clearance.
It seems that after much effort, I managed to drag in a superior to gain access to the materials.
But what is □□□?
It seems to be my name back then, but I can’t quite make it out.
*
Beneath the shining silver lights, I awoke, sifting through various documents.
This was the designated quarantine area C-213 underground.
— Flap!
“Considerations on the Soul Conglomerate”
“…”
“1. Origin
As T. Diamond revealed long ago, the essence of what is called a god is simple.
From the cosmic irregularities that have existed since the creation of heaven and earth—
…
Countless chaos converged into one point, and thus, a god was born.
Could we retrace such a process to mold a great being with our own hands?”
The idea of gathering human souls to create a god.
This was the very essence of the mystery obtained by the first civilization.
While I was rummaging through research documents, I suddenly grabbed a pen and jotted something on an empty paper.
I am a worm.
Humanity is a worm.
An endlessly insignificant and weak creature.
My beginning was weak, but I swear my end will be grand!
Starting my life as a worm, I will not end as one.
“…”
I felt intense emotions.
Jealousy towards those great beings looking down from heights.
Lamenting my fate born as a human.
A longing to overcome my frailty.
Then, as the pages turned, key content emerged.
“4. Control and Management
According to T. Albert’s research in AS 4731, through the ‘Crown’, the second-stage Arks can also be controlled.”
— Flap!
As I flipped through the research material, I came across the following line.
“The Crown is complete. Ahh…! Praise it! Only the noble, who deserves praise, may wield the crown.”
The one who deserves praise, the noble—referring to the royal family of the primal civilization.
“…”
The supreme mysteries discovered by the primal civilization.
Gathering human souls to create gods.
The mechanism by which the gods created this way can be controlled, and ultimately, overthrow them with the Crown.
Put together, if the royals wielding the Crown can be reborn as great beings.
An extremely great technique.
But here lies one significant gap.
That gap is something I must fill.
— Tap!
Just before I closed the material, I felt an incomprehensible emotion.
“… What is this?”
An overwhelming vastness that renders all of humanity’s glory meaningless!
This, indeed, is an inescapable despair.
My past self was extraordinarily afraid of something, and this fear turned out to be the beginning of everything.
But…
I don’t know.
I had no idea what I—no, □□□ was afraid of.
Just like my name, the memories related to fear wouldn’t surface.
*
— Beep! Beep!
Warning sounds rang from all directions, and every warning light on the walls flashed frantically.
The term ‘XK-level apocalyptic event’ appeared on the display. Though I didn’t know the exact meaning, I could feel that chaos was erupting all around.
Had there been a shootout? The walls were splattered with blood and innards, corpses strewn on the floor, and people gasping as they became corpses.
Amidst it all, I walked passively.
“□□□ Director! Wh-what is… whatever this is, cough!”
Only upon hearing the hoarse voice did I realize.
The person causing this uproar must be my past self, right?
“…”
— Kyaaaa! Grrr!
— P-please, save me!
Horrific monster roars and the anguished screams of people echoed all around.
— Bang! Boom!
— Suppression Team 3, move to District 13!
— ‘Fairy Circus’ has been released from District 8—Kyaaaa!
Gunshots rang out from everywhere.
People desperately trying to stabilize the situation and the sounds of terrible screams in between.
Listening to it all, my heart grew more complicated, but regardless, my body moved on its own.
An indistinct intuition.
Researchers, staff, suppression teams—countless people were trying to stop the person I used to be.
A futile resistance.
At this moment, I am the head director of the Protection Bureau’s mystical research.
The only one who knows all the secret paths and weapons of the facility.
The only one holding the ultimate authority over all procedures.
Once I betrayed them—that moment left them no hope.
…
If all this truly happened in the past…
I should forget the bitterness regarding how the Bureau killed me repeatedly.
To be honest, my past self did seem like a person who deserved to be killed.
*
In a bizarre area filled with flickering, strange light.
In the center was a fairly handsome blond boy adorned with black chains.
As I approached, he blinked in fear and asked.
“W-who are you! If you touch me, I’ll d-die!”
At that moment, the sound of “Zzip!” triggered a memory that I thought I couldn’t recall.
“I am Aleph (ℵ). I am the one who will give you freedom.”
“M-me? Why would you give me freedom?”
The next words came with utmost sincerity.
Thus, it was incomprehensible.
“To save myself from hell.”
— Splash!
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