Chapter: 630 – The Oldest Wish (11)
—
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 234
Current Location: Searching…
Sage’s Advice: 0
—
– Han Kain
The moon’s ruler, the place where the prince dwells – the Sanctuary.
The structure of the Sanctuary is a simple, long straight route; it’s supposedly straightforward without any crossroads.
However, even with the divine sun summoned to grant superhuman sight, I couldn’t see beyond a certain distance.
“Do I just follow this path?”
“Yes. The way isn’t easy.”
“Has anything ever really been easy so far?”
The Holy Mother sounded as if she found it ridiculous that I would even ask such a thing.
“… I’ve never gone to the end of this path. Usually, the prince comes to escort us.”
Hard to reach the end, huh?
I wanted a more detailed explanation, but since summoning the Holy Mother, I hadn’t had a moment of respite.
It’s still the same now.
The Holy Mother has only about 5 minutes left.
“Let’s get going.”
*
Before even taking a few steps, I realized something.
Every step feels incredibly heavy.
It’s like climbing a steep uphill slope.
There’s no physical incline, but since human senses can’t quite wrap their heads around the situation, all I feel is a sense similar to climbing a slope.
“…”
Silence befalls, and as I take yet another step, I find myself at a higher elevation.
High elevation.
Higher dimensions.
A lofty realm.
I’ve had similar experiences before.
— Tap!
“It’s a bit tough.”
The lead figure—the Holy Mother, paused.
“Are you okay?”
“Still hanging in there.”
“…”
“I remember this feeling. It was a long time ago for me, but for you, it must be fresh in your memory.”
“Blessing’s Sanctuary.”
“Right, it’s that feeling when meeting the Owl in the Blessing’s Sanctuary…”
This was the sensation I experienced each time meeting a patron at the Blessing’s Sanctuary.
The feeling of my body shedding itself as my mind endlessly ascends.
It’s not a concept of upward in the physical sense, but a fundamental pull towards a higher-dimensional realm.
I vaguely understood a part of the Sanctuary’s secrets.
“It isn’t flat. This path leads upward.”
“The further we go, the higher the realm.”
At that moment, Miro muttered from behind.
“Hey, Kain, don’t we look a bit smaller?”
“Just your imagination.”
“I really think we’ve shrunk—”
“We didn’t shrink; the space is growing bigger.”
“What?”
“Let’s move. There’s only one path.”
After a few more minutes of walking, I noticed the back was too quiet, and when I checked behind, Miro and the Holy Mother had vanished.
“Holy Mother.”
“Ha! I knew something would happen; so it’s now?”
Despite the Holy Mother suddenly disappearing with Miro, the lead figure didn’t seem surprised at all.
His reaction was more of a ‘I expected this’ kind.
I felt the same way.
“If she had been in her original state, I wouldn’t have been concerned, but she was visibly recovering.”
“You’re right.”
Initially, she seemed like a child blindly following my words, half-broken in spirit.
If she had remained that way, it would’ve been easier to handle, but at some point, she started to get her bearings.
The realization of another part of herself in the Lunar Church was likely the first trigger.
Later, receiving repeated help from the Flute to maintain the elevator was the decisive blow.
“She must have developed a purpose of her own.”
“… What do you plan to do?”
“Let’s just go.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Even knowing the Holy Mother had different thoughts, I didn’t closely monitor her.
Even after confirming she had suddenly disappeared, neither I nor the lead figure seemed fazed.
“There’s probably no ill intent.”
“You seem to have sensed something deep in the ocean too.”
The place where everyone’s thoughts had unintentionally mingled—at the ocean’s depths.
There, I had vaguely read the Holy Mother’s thoughts.
Although I’m not sure what she is trying to do, she doesn’t seem to intend to harm us.
Her goal is the same as she mentioned before.
‘Happy ending.’
Though I didn’t worry about the Holy Mother, I couldn’t help but feel curious.
She likely has no more than about 3 minutes left.
What could she possibly do in such a brief span?
*
Minutes passed again.
It’s just about the time when the summoning entity Holy Mother uses up all her remaining time and disappears.
During that time, we moved forward without rest—no, moving ‘upward.’
“Gahhh…!”
The lead figure, who had been ahead of me, finally couldn’t bear the height and sank down to his knees, panting.
“Are you alright?”
“Does it look like it?”
“Let’s take a break for a moment. It’s pointless to fight in this state.”
“I think I’m starting to grasp things about the crown.”
“I guess we’re thinking along the same lines.”
The crown controls the 2nd stage soul conglomerate left behind by the primordial civilization.
It’s a power that even allows the prince, a great being like contradiction, to be subdued.
“You told contradiction just earlier? The logic of the crown is the high voice coming from the throne.”
“That’s right.”
“We’re moving towards the heights. In other words, this very space is part of the crown!”
“…”
“We’re advancing into a lofty domain…”
“Stay calm.”
My next words were somewhat impromptu; I just wanted to slightly ease the pressure the lead figure was feeling in front of me.
“If our last remaining ally collapses, I might get scared too.”
“Huh?! Ally? Do you really feel that way?”
“Isn’t it? I think we’ve been in the same boat for quite a while now.”
“Are you lying to the people you’re in the same boat with?”
“Sometimes.”
“…”
“Back when we negotiated, you said you wouldn’t mind who won, whether the Administration Bureau or the Raiders.”
“…”
“You were lying through your teeth, weren’t you?”
Sure, that was the conversation during negotiations.
My comrades and I had fallen into a void, devoid of family or anything.
To us, the Administration Bureau and Raiders were virtually indistinguishable, so we could accept the Raiders’ victory.
It was fabricated for an alliance with the Raiders.
I might’ve misled the discussion then, but as time passed, the lead figure has caught on to my bluff.
The biggest reason being the presence of Ahri and the old man Mooksung.
These two, who have a sense of loyalty and mission towards the Administration Bureau, cannot accept the Raiders’ victory.
The Raiders, whom we’ve never met directly, were fair game for deception.
The need for an alliance is clear, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I appeared as a king while suppressing Ahri and Mooksung’s opinions.
However, the lead figure has been watching our relationship closely.
He knows I wouldn’t just ignore or suppress Ahri and the old man.
“So, doesn’t that make us allies even more?”
“What?”
“Even after catching on to my lies, you didn’t inform the Raiders.”
“…”
“It seems you even aided my lies. Didn’t you report that young wisdom wishes to join the alliance?”
If the lead figure is assisting my bluffs, then the Raiders would surely trust me unconditionally.
“Let’s be honest with each other.”
“Be honest?”
“What do the Raiders matter to you?”
“… The folks from the Alliance will probably puke and collapse if they hear this conversation.”
“Who cares what extras, who can’t even be here, think? If they wanna puke or hang themselves, let ’em.”
I know the lead figure.
I understand the one intense longing in his heart.
The wish of the lead figure, Wisdom, is singular.
To break free from this hollow reality and challenge the 3rd floor, the path of ascent!
“I believe in you, lead figure. I trust that relentless desire to reach the 3rd floor.”
“…”
“So please believe in me too. I’m putting in the effort for your wish.”
“Ha! So this process is your dedication to get me to the 3rd floor?”
“Just a bit, yes. We’ve rested long enough, let’s move on.”
The road still stretches ahead.
…
— Crack! Crack!
As I kept moving forward and upward, a memory suddenly surfaced.
During the evening, I would lean against the balcony railing and gaze down at the city lights of Seoul.
There were hundreds and thousands of vehicles filled with people running about in a frenzy.
Peering down at them, I would spread my palm.
Thanks to the perspective shift, where things further away appear smaller and closer things look larger, it was a fascinating experience.
I could see dozens of cars and hundreds of people crammed into a space the size of my palm.
Feeling as if I had become a tremendous giant.
Transcending to an existence so great it couldn’t compare to the tiny ants down below.
Why, there’s this saying, right?
“The invention of the airplane wasn’t industry or science; it was a miracle.”
This is the thrill of high altitude.
Now I’m heading to a realm so lofty that no airplane or spaceship could ever reach.
…
At some point, I too found standing here quite burdensome.
This place, this profundity was not easy to handle.
On the other hand, I thought this as well.
If I can endure to the end of this path, perhaps the future me and the past me will be completely different.
“Huff!”
“Let’s take a breather.”
“What if the moon—the prince attack us right now?”
“If he was going to, he’d have done it already.”
“…”
“Can’t you feel it? Even a prince can’t act freely in this place.”
The prince is not in a calm situation either.
The ancient seal of the moon.
The intense pressure from the alliance of the Administration Bureau and Raiders outside.
The reforms brought about by the now bizarre contradiction.
Lastly, the peculiarity of the Sanctuary itself!
Various arrangements prepared by every force under the sky suffocate the prince.
That’s how I need to trust and move forward.
The lead figure, who was out of breath, suddenly looked at me and said incredulously.
“Hey, haven’t you drifted farther away from me than earlier?”
“I think my steps are a bit slow.”
“Slow? You weren’t intentionally lagging behind, were you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you using me as a test rabbit or a sacrificial lamb? I’m up here taking on the pressure of the Sanctuary while you walk ahead and, just in case of danger, take the hit first.”
“You’ve got it wrong.”
“Is that so? Didn’t you feel sorry at all for calling me an ally earlier?”
“The misunderstanding I’m referring to is that exact part.”
“What?”
“The hotel-style allies are usually like this. If we face danger all at once, we might just die together.”
“Come on….”
“They say don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Only one person should navigate dangerous spots at a time.”
As I delivered my logical reasoning, the lead figure flopped like a fish for breath and lamented.
“Why must I bear the brunt? What’s the reason for me to be in such a dangerous position?”
“Who turned back time? Me. The person with more information will survive longer, raising the odds of winning.”
“… You’ve got a reason for everything, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Ha….”
“Are you alright?”
“Do you know what’s saddest of all right now?”
“What is it?”
“The fact that I feel your reasoning is quite rational. And I still want to say this.”
“I’m all ears.”
“Are you even human while acting like this?”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“… I’m trapped in a dilemma. I can’t but fall into this trap intentionally.”
“Trust me.”
“It was you who trapped me.”
“Now, now, let’s not dwell on that. Shall we lead the way? We ought to reach the 3rd floor, right?”
…
A few more minutes passed as we moved onward.
— Thud!
The lead figure, who had persevered in front of me until now, finally collapsed.
“Ahh… Teresia… Cedric… help me, get me out of here….”
Teresia? Cedric?
They seem to have been the lead figure’s old comrades.
“I’ve endured for so long….”
“Lead figure, hey!”
“Isn’t this enough? I’ve done my best…”
“Are you not hearing me?”
“Is there no one? Someone to free me from this hell….”
“…”
The lead figure isn’t dead or anything.
He could wake up at the right moment and come to my aid.
Nonetheless, for now, he has become powerless.
…
Something in the front began to take on a blurred shape.
I felt a distant presence gazing down at me.
The end is approaching.
What remains is simply a matter of whether it’s a happy ending or a bad ending!
— Splash!
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.