### Chapter 509 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Third Trial ‘Miskatonic University’ (11)
—
The first feeling I experienced was surprise.
It was as if a millennium had passed, and the very fact that Aydia was still alive was astonishing.
“How can you still be alive? Are you not human? No, that can’t be it. Menes wasn’t immortal either!”
The girl who appeared just as she did a thousand years ago replied.
“Daughter of Horus. You carry many secrets, don’t you? I guess I’m somewhat mysterious myself. But more than anything, it’s the world that’s truly mysterious.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’ve had many experiences you cannot comprehend. Why are you so surprised to see me looking just like before?”
“…”
Suddenly, I noticed that part of Aydia’s body had turned crystalline.
Is that the secret to her longevity?
*
Did I just say “Aydia”? The Virgin Aydia?
Thousands of years ago from the year 1897, and the Virgin Aydia already existed? Moreover, she knows Yumi and Seungyub well?
To sum it up, Aydia originated from ancient Egypt.
*
“Aydia, you came alone without a guard?”
“Is that really something we need between us?”
What kind of relationship do we have, anyway?
Feeling incredulous, I commanded the entire nest to seize her.
Soon, tentacles tightened around Aydia, binding her instantly.
“…”
Too easy?
I expected her to have absurd combat power after surviving for 1,000 years, yet she was captured so effortlessly.
She didn’t even put up a semblance of resistance, so I had no idea what her combat strength was like.
“Wow~! How fascinating. This entire cave feels like a living creature’s disguise. So this is what they called a witch’s lair?”
“…”
“I’m glad I left my acolytes behind. If I had brought them along, they might have died without knowing what hit them. Human lives are valuable, right?”
The nonchalance in Aydia’s tone seemed to strip away any tension in the atmosphere, making me perplexed.
Listening to her made me almost forget that she and I were not friends or something.
In disbelief, I tightened my grip slightly.
“Cough! Cough! Can’t breathe! Let me go!”
“What’s this? Aydia, did you really come here to die?”
“If you think so, go ahead and give it a try. Just so you know, I’m not immortal; I won’t survive a head severing.”
“…”
A silent standoff continued.
Aydia’s demeanor seemed to change subtly.
The playful mask of the girl slipped, revealing someone filled with anger and emptiness.
“I kinda suspected this, but it’s true.”
“…”
“You can’t kill me, can you?”
“…”
“Because Horus saved me 1,000 years ago. There must’ve been a reason for that!”
I still couldn’t grasp why Horus sent the lizard princess back.
Thus, I was unable to kill Aydia now.
The fear of defying Horus’s command gnawed at me.
No matter how much time has passed, he was an incomprehensible being.
“Did I guess right? Horus truly saved me. But why? Why?”
“…”
“You don’t know? You also have no clue? Are you just following blindly because you’re scared? Afraid he’ll throw you into hell if you go against him?”
At that moment, a firm voice echoed from behind.
“Stop saying strange things. Brother—Horus isn’t like that!”
“Then what is he like?”
For a moment, both Seungyub and I were lost for words.
What kind of being is he?
Why am I afraid of him and cannot defy his orders?
“…”
Is it because he would kill me for disobeying?
Would he throw me into hell to be tortured forever?
No.
I know well that he wouldn’t kill or torture someone just for disobeying.
He’d probably just laugh lightly and say, “It’s okay, it happens.”
Instead, he’d just downplay my worth—me, Yumi.
I was terrified that the chess player of the Gate Train might see me as nothing more than a pawn, not even a bishop or knight.
“Will you let me go?”
“… Alright.”
Now that it’s evident that I can’t hurt Aydia, keeping her bound is pointless.
A moment later, Aydia opened her mouth.
“Hello? Wow! I didn’t expect Seungyub to be here, too. Oh? Is this atmosphere what I think it is?”
“W-What? D-Don’t get the wrong idea!”
“Oh, it’s just a misunderstanding? You and Yuumi aren’t anything special, right? Just two people living together in a cave for a thousand years without any reason.”
“Ugh! Ugh!”
Seeing Seungyub’s face turn crimson while Aydia wore that playful mask made me want to laugh hysterically.
“But where is the immortal sarcophagus? You all are holding onto it, right?”
“…”
We don’t need to disclose the location of the sarcophagus.
*
I never realized that Yumi’s fear of Kain stemmed from this.
Fearing to be evaluated as a pawn instead of a bishop or knight…
Yeah, what does the chess champion think of me?
…
Tch! What else could it be? Of course, I’m the queen!
*
I wasn’t sure what Aydia’s true feelings behind the mask were, but she certainly didn’t seem overly emotional on the surface.
Does she bury the past as if it never happened?
If that were the case, it would’ve been harder to believe, but it wasn’t completely so.
“Let’s be honest. Hand on your heart.”
“…”
“Put your hand up. I’ve raised mine, you know?”
“Uh? You really want me to put my hand on my heart?”
“Yes.”
Soon after, with a befuddled expression, Seungyub actually placed his hand on his chest.
“Yumi, you too.”
“… I have no idea what this show is about.”
“We aren’t exactly on friendly terms, are we?”
“…”
“You massacred my kin, including my ancestors, and I had to be cursed and exiled.”
Seungyub and I could only remain silent with awkward expressions.
“I’ve been seething with resentment for ages. Revenge. Burn Egypt to ashes. Kill Horus and his followers. Those thoughts consumed my soul.”
It seemed unbearable as Seungyub quietly placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
In such a tense atmosphere, it wouldn’t be surprising if a sword flew at any moment!
“Pfft!”
The next second, Aydia’s light laughter broke the tension.
“That was all 800 years ago. You two probably can’t understand because the time you’ve been awake is shorter than the time you’ve slept.”
“There’s no such thing as eternal feelings in this world.”
To be honest, when I heard her words, I understood perfectly.
I’ve gone through similar processes myself.
My obsession with Egypt, which seemed eternal, had lessened dramatically in just a hundred years.
Aydia seemed to have lived a whole millennium without any signs of hibernation.
*
A thousand years wide awake without hibernation…
That’s certainly enough time to make even a grudge about my parents’ deaths blur into oblivion.
It doesn’t mean I’ve completely forgotten the resentment.
Rather, it’s more like I’m no longer swayed by emotion.
They say that forgetting is the greatest blessing bestowed upon humans.
Eternal emotions that never fade are, in themselves, something supernatural.
Like my love.
*
“Do me a favor. Don’t think of it as helping me; think of it as saving the suffering humans.”
“Suddenly asking for help, are we?”
“It’s not really an exchange, but if you help me this time, I’ll forget the past grudge! I won’t ever bring it up again.”
As I and Seungyub were flabbergasted, Aydia added a subtle threat.
“Continuing to oppose me would tire you out, wouldn’t it? You can’t kill me, right?”
“Is that a threat?”
“Yes. If you refuse my help this time, I’ll torment you for 1,000 years. Every day, I’ll shove wild boar poop into this weird cave three times and throw in flaming wood. I’ll spread rumors that it’s filled with gold!”
Seungyub opened his mouth quickly as he processed Aydia’s bizarrely realistic threats.
“Wait, wait! Calm down. Just give us some time to talk!”
“Alright. I’ll wait here.”
After Aydia left, Seungyub and I sighed and looked at each other.
“What the heck is going on! Argh! If only Kain-hyung had dealt with her back then!”
Why did Kain save that girl?
It’s no use blaming him now.
“Let’s stop discussing pointless things. What should we do? Help?”
“… Well, the situation does sound serious.”
The facts are quite simple.
About 700 years ago, Aydia built a city on the Iberian Peninsula – what is now known as Spain.
However, for the past 20 years, nightmare-like phenomena have been occurring, causing innocent people to die.
According to Aydia’s findings, the source was a massive mirror discovered underground in the city.
“Is it some sort of haunted mirror?”
“They say a bizarre world unfolds beyond the mirror. It sounds like a door to another world.”
“Sending human soldiers is useless, and Aydia can’t handle it alone… Yumi, what should we do?”
“You decide.”
“You know I lack luck.”
“I’ve noticed that apart from blessings, you have a certain intuition. So just go for it.”
“… Let’s help.”
I knew I’d say that.
It didn’t resonate much with me personally, but the fact that innocent people are slaughtered daily by weird phenomena seemed significant to Seungyub.
Setting aside moral reasons, Aydia’s threat was quite daunting.
Having Aydia, who is immortal, forever disturbing our hibernation just because Kain helps her?
That’s a tough predicament indeed.
*
Yumi’s memories flickered by in an instant.
In between, like how we arrived at the Iberian Peninsula, the scene felt inconsequential and thus forgotten.
Or maybe, since it’s a piece of Yumi, that part might not be in her memory.
Soon, three people stood before the ominous entrance leading underground in the city.
At this point, Seungyub’s luck is nonexistent.
*
“Let’s go in!”
“Aydia.”
“Seungyub? What is it?”
“Are we really going in just the three of us? I thought we’d bring some city guards with us.”
Aydia lightly shook her head.
“Unnecessary; it’d be more of a hindrance.”
“…”
“I told you several times, didn’t I? Ordinary humans go insane long before they get close to the mirror, right?”
“That’s true, but…”
According to Aydia, getting to the mirror was easy.
The path just winds down, and there are no forks or monsters along the way.
So the problem lies solely with that mysterious mirror causing all sorts of disturbances.
“… Aydia, you said you’ve looked into the mirror, right?”
“I’m the only one who returned unscathed after looking into it.”
Seeing Aydia smiling endlessly, I pondered.
An eerie mirror that ordinary humans can’t even approach.
She claims to be the only entity that gazed into it and returned safe.
…
Is she truly in the right state of mind?
*
Mirror, mirror…
Come to think of it, when Lucas summoned the alien god called ‘Yaldabaoth,’ he said it opened a portal to the outside.
Its form resembled an enormous mirror.
Is there a connection?
No, in this context, it would be stranger if there isn’t a connection, right?
The findings of Aydia and Yumi in their respective realms are “the mirror”?
I need to look deeper.
In an instant, the judgment regarding the mirror flashed across Yumi’s mind.
“It’s both the cause and solution to all the problems of the world.”
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