“Congratulations on passing the second trial.”
And then, Atzoatl vanished again.
Zolga came to me to announce I had passed the second trial.
Was it unexpected?
That I would wipe out all the Chimeras?
Certainly, Atzoatl was a Young God who did not belong to ‘Chaos’ in the previous mythological era.
If he hadn’t seen the spirits that existed in this continent back then, he might not know much about Ignis, who appeared in response to my call earlier.
Thank goodness.
It was Ignis not using magical power that made it possible.
If it weren’t for Ignis, it would have been extremely tricky.
I could have passed the trial, but if I had used that means, Aurelia wouldn’t be looking at me with such religious eyes.
“Then I will guide you to the final trial. Please follow me.”
With that, Zolga headed somewhere.
I joined Aurelia again and followed her to the next trial location.
Finally, the last trial.
This was the final examination to inherit Celestia’s legacy among the three trials to become the Heir.
If I could just pass this trial, whether Zolga wanted it or not, he would have to hand over all of Celestia’s legacy to me.
And this would be a choice Atzoatl absolutely did not want.
Atzoatl trying to make me his representative….
Wait a minute.
Could it be that such a thing comes up in the last trial content…?
Still, being a deity, there’s no way they’d present something so childish…?
After following Zolga for a while.
“Please step onto this platform.”
We arrived at a circular platform as guided.
It was large enough for about ten people to stand on.
Bzzz bzzz bzzz
And the platform started to rise up.
Is this an elevator?
Going up this time?
As it ascended, the ceiling opened, bringing us outside.
The scorching sunlight of the wilderness poured in as the ceiling opened.
We’re going outside?
What kind of trial is this going to be…?
Boom thud
The platform stopped, having risen to such a height that the ground was barely visible.
From that tall height, Zolga opened his mouth.
“Then let’s begin the final trial.”
*
“Zolga, we are Celes. We are the proud guardians of the tomb that protects the legacy of the great Celestia Empire.”
“As the proud guardians, we must uphold our duty.”
“Zolga, as the future chief leading the Celes tribe, you must take responsibility.”
“Our tradition passed down for thousands of years.”
“We are waiting for the Heir.”
“The Heir who will come to us someday…”
“The Heir….”
I had heard this since childhood, ad nauseam.
The proud guardians.
The duty of the chief.
To preserve this radiant legacy that we cannot even use for a potential savior who might never arrive.
To remain hidden and unable to step outside this filthy and desolate wilderness for a savior who might never come.
To lead our lives with these excellent skills while enduring hardship for a savior who might never appear.
I couldn’t accept it.
No, I just didn’t understand.
Why must we devote our entire lives for the fallen royalty of a ruined nation?
Why do we have to live prepared for a lost royalty whose existence we don’t even know if they are alive or dead?
If I became the chief, I swore to throw off all those duties.
I would save our suffering tribe.
I vowed to abolish the old and wrongful practices.
Until I was bound by the prohibition called a “vow” at the council of the tribe’s elders.
Before that, I didn’t understand.
Why was my mother, who loved our family and tribe so much, just watching our tribe’s unfair life?
Even with the glorious legacy of Celestia that could overturn the entire continent, why didn’t we utilize it except for ‘trials’?
My mother didn’t just refrain.
She couldn’t.
The prohibition that made us serve the Celestia royalty forever.
The elders were also already bound by the prohibition.
The curse from the past had been passed down to ensnare the descendants as well—a vicious cycle of the old practices.
An eternal shackle that no one could break.
I always wished for it.
I hoped that someday someone would come to liberate us.
I would be okay even if that savior was the Heir; I just wanted to be freed from this poor, miserable life.
I hoped for a savior who would allow us to escape from this wilderness.
But no one came.
No one, from our ancestors to this very day.
No one came to find us.
We had been with the shackles of our ancestors for thousands of years, slowly withering away here.
Rather, if the tribe had perished…If I had never been born into this world, then the descendants would not have to suffer.
The prohibition. Our shackles made us utilize the legacy of Celestia at least minimally.
Even if we wished to wither away, it was impossible.
Our prohibition ensured we could always take the trials of the Heir.
A life neither dead nor alive.
We waited for salvation, knowing nothing of how the outside world turned.
Then, one day.
-That journal… I thought it was a lie, but there really is one?
What I thought was salvation had arrived.
-So that guy really was a descendant of the Celestia royalty? This is interesting.
A dark soul appeared before me.
She spoke to me.
-You. Become mine.
That existence.
The one who introduced herself as Atzoatl claimed she was a god.
A god who could save us.
After thousands of years of searching, Celestia appeared.
A being from outside for the first time, coming to see Celestia.
I could only think of it as a god.
Did the god come to rescue us, who were eternally suffering?
Of course, I couldn’t believe that this being was truly a god.
Even if she was a god, I couldn’t tell if she had genuinely come to save us as a benevolent deity or if she was a malevolent god playing with us.
-If you become mine, I will free your tribe from bondage.
But….
Even if this was a devil’s whisper,
I could sacrifice my being to save my tribe.
Thinking thus, I accepted the contract with that existence.
And… that existence was indeed a devil.
-What?! A prohibition? Then I can’t use Celestia’s legacy. Was this a bust?
I took “the representative” to mean she intended to make me her apostle.
No, a representative wasn’t such a thing.
It was a superior prohibition that would make me move according to the devil’s will.
I had ended up more tightly bound than the prohibitions I had been under until now.
I had acted to break free from the prohibitions but ended up ensnared in a greater one.
-I made you my representative, but… it seems too wasteful to just discard you. For now, stay. You’ll be useful somewhere.
Could it be more tragic than this?
The best I could do.
To end in such a way…?
Am I… my tribe… will we never be saved?
Then, one day.
Rumble
He came.
No way.
The entrance prepared for the Heir had opened.
That place, which had not opened for thousands of years.
Many guardians.
Many of our tribe had longed for that door that began to open.
Our wishes… could it be that the day has come…?
“Welcome. I’ve been waiting, Heir.”
The day I had imagined countless times in my mind.
“I am Zolga, the chief of the Celes tomb guardians.”
Thousands.
No, ten thousand times I had recited this line in my head.
Feeling as if I was in a dream.
“Never did I imagine that the prophetic one would arrive in our generation. It is an honor to fulfill my duty as the guardian of the tomb.”
Could our tribe… be freed?
Would we escape from this wilderness?
Would we emerge from our thousands of years of bondage?
Would we be able to live as ordinary people…?
Crack
At that moment.
The demonic energy planted inside me took control.
“Understood. I will begin the first trial. Kelbec!”
My mouth and vocal cords moved contrary to my thoughts.
No.
This isn’t what I intended.
“Great one. The Heir has arrived.”
-Yes. I see.
“What shall you do?”
-Let’s try the trial first.
No.
No way.
I realized.
I was already in the devil’s grasp.
Whether the devil would let the Heir pass the trial was secondary.
What mattered was that the devil would not let me go.
That our tribe would not be saved.
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