Chapter 159: Not a Difficult Task (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 159: Not a Difficult Task (5)
You should have just disappeared.
You should have vanished and never appeared before my eyes again.
Why now?
So suddenly.
So terribly, suddenly.
…Why on earth did you have to reappear?
* * *
It was just like Bern.
Something that shouldn't exist was in a place it shouldn't be, at a time it couldn't possibly be.
Fragmented. Incomplete.
Yes. Just like Bern.
It would have been better not to see it. It would have been a hundred, a thousand times better not to know.
He had desperately wanted to know why the Axis of Time had moved and who had used it for what purpose. He had chased that truth relentlessly. But he had never wanted to face the Axis of Time itself again. Not once, even in his wildest dreams, had he imagined he would lay eyes on it once more.
—They say it turns back time only once.
Those were Chase’s words, a single line found in an ancient text. He had claimed it was the only piece of information regarding the Axis of Time, so Calian had accepted it as absolute fact. He believed that since it had been used, it had vanished from the world.
Yet, here he was, looking at it again.
No words in existence, no matter how carefully chosen, could ever express what Calian was feeling.
Staring at the golden ring floating alone in the air, Calian’s lips parted slightly.
"Ha…"
A sigh escaped him, carrying a weight heavier than any words. But he was still breathing, a sign that his despair hadn't yet reached the point where he wanted to give up on life. A hollow laugh followed the sigh.
Only now did he understand. Before they entered, Alan had cracked a rare joke to lighten his mood. He must have been worried about how Calian would react the moment he stepped inside and saw that.
Unable to bring himself to say, “Don’t be surprised,” or, “Don’t be shaken,” Alan had offered a joke instead.
“How amusing. If only my brother had eaten his meals properly, I wouldn’t have had to see that damned thing so suddenly.”
Since a hollow laugh had already escaped him, Calian made a joke of his own. It was meant for Alan, who was staring at the back of his head, to reassure him that he was fine. In the process, he dragged in an innocent person who had nothing to do with the rediscovery of the Axis fragment.
“It’s a relief,” he added. “At least it’s only a part of it, and that part is here.”
It was a relief that it was only a fragment.
“I don’t have to harbor expectations I shouldn’t, and I don’t have to worry about the same thing happening again. That is truly a relief.”
How fortunate it was that, because it was only a fragment, he didn’t have to cling to forbidden hopes.
“Since a part of it is here, no matter where the rest of it is, the same thing won’t happen again.”
How fortunate that was, too.
In the end, though none of this was actually fortunate for him, Calian kept repeating the word “relief.” Just like the day he learned that Bern’s life had been completely erased from memory.
“…Do not swallow it down like that, Your Highness. Your insides will rot away.”
This was Calian, the man who had forced himself to swallow Silike’s poisoned tea until his stomach dissolved, all without so much as a frown. He might be saying it was a relief in a perfectly calm voice, but Alan knew better. This time was no different.
Another dose of poison had just entered his already ravaged soul.
Calian did not answer. Alan suppressed the urge to rush to his side and see his face.
For a long time, Calian stood in silence.
And for a long time, Alan simply watched, afraid the prince might crumble.
“I am fine,” Calian finally said, his voice calm and steady. “My heart is strong.”
He told himself it was enough that he didn't feel like dying. He accepted that even after seeing this, there was nothing he could do.
“Even if this exists, what could possibly change now? Even if, by some miracle, we obtained the complete Axis of Time and could turn back time again, how could we fix something that has already gone so far astray?”
What if someone other than Bern was forgotten next?
What if someone other than Calian lost their name?
He had no choice but to close his eyes to it.
“…What do you intend to do with it?” Alan asked, not truly believing Calian was fine. He thought it better to steer the prince’s thoughts in a different direction.
“I am enough. No more,” Calian gave an ambiguous reply as he stepped toward the golden ring.
His plan was to examine it and then destroy it. He didn't care if the Axis of Time was a sacred artifact; he would ensure it never saw the light of day again. It didn’t matter what power it held or what incredible abilities it possessed. The horrific act of turning back time must never be repeated. That was all that mattered.
Thud!
He stopped before he could take a third step.
His feet had halted right in front of the ring. More accurately, something had blocked him, preventing him from going any further.
An invisible wall stood between him and the Axis of Time. Something was protecting the fragment.
Humm…
Realizing this, Calian drew his sword without hesitation. A deep resonance hummed from the blade as it filled with a dark red aura. Guessing Calian’s intent, Alan withdrew the protective barrier he had cast around the prince.
At that moment, Calian swung.
Clang!
A sharp sound echoed through the space.
Calian’s sword, which seemed to drip with a tragic, crimson light, stopped in midair, blocked by the invisible wall. He swung again and again, but every attack was deflected by the barrier.
Alan watched for a moment before speaking quietly. “You should sheathe your sword. Even I could not breach it.”
Calian bit the inside of his cheek. So that was why there were no visible security measures. If no one could even get close, who could possibly touch it?
He finally dispersed the mana and aura that formed his sword. A dark red haze, resembling Calian himself, scattered in all directions before vanishing.
Watching the light fade, Calian spoke.
“Sispanian…”
A barrier made of a power that even Alan couldn't overcome. There was only one person who would place such a thing here: Sigmund Khan Sispanian, the owner of this space.
“It must have been Sispanian’s doing.”
If not her, then Serenti. But Calian didn't mention Serenti, speaking only of Sispanian. He wasn't foolish enough to carelessly speculate about divine intervention.
“Master, you saw the Axis of Time in Secritia, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I saw it once.” When Chase had investigated the Axis of Time, he had summoned Alan to Secritia. Alan had seen it then.
“So it was perfectly intact in Secritia, disappeared when I opened my eyes, and at some point—though I don’t know when—a piece of it ended up here.” Calian lowered his gaze, his thoughts racing. “Whether directly or indirectly, Sispanian seems to be involved. It’s highly likely she hid this fragment herself, though I don’t know if it was before or after she met me.”
Sispanian’s Empty Nest in the Siegfried territory was a known location. This place, however, was a secret. If she had to hide something, and for some reason couldn’t use her own subspace, this would have been the safest location.
“And then the palace was destroyed, and it was revealed.”
Should I allow them to erect a statue of Arsen after all?
Amused by the sudden, morbid thought, Calian let out another hollow laugh and pulled a pebble from his pocket. It was the black stone Alan had suggested might be an ‘artificial sacred artifact.’
The commonality between the fragment of the Axis and the stone was the script, which even Calian couldn’t read. Since he couldn't get past the barrier to examine the ring up close, he wanted to at least compare the characters from where he stood.
“I have already checked,” Alan said, anticipating his thoughts. He had already compared the characters on the stone to the ones Euria had copied down. It was why he had brought up the stone on their way here. “There were no identical characters. However, I confirmed that they are of a similar script.”
“Which means they are different words from the same language.”
“It is highly likely.”
Hearing this, Calian fell silent again.
As he waited, Alan glanced around at the walls, which were carved with the stories of the eight heroes who had led the War of the Two Gods to victory. Among them, only the face of the ‘Great King of Secritia’ remained blank. Her nameless face was a mere outline, with no eyes, nose, or mouth.
Alan smiled bitterly at the memory. Though the reasons were different, she, like Bern, was someone whose face and name had been forgotten.
Calian’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. “In any case, I’ll have to move a bit faster now. It would be one thing if we hadn’t found it, but now that we have, I feel I must ask her directly.”
“Do you intend to meet Sispanian?” Alan asked.
Calian nodded. “Yes. Since it seems I cannot destroy the fragment here, I must meet her. I need to know why the Axis of Time, which served its purpose in the past and vanished in the present, remains here as a fragment. And whether the rest of it truly disappeared. Among those who might know, Sispanian is the only one I can meet.”
She might refuse to answer again, but he had to try. It wasn’t as if he could cross the Senyu River to personally question the Chief God Serenti.
“Will you go immediately?”
“No. After I wrap this matter up. Even with the teleportation magic circle, the tasks at hand are more urgent. I can’t trust those two handfuls not to cause trouble while I’m away.”
Alan smiled faintly, knowing exactly who the ‘two handfuls’ were. Besides, Sispanian had told him to seek her out only when he was fully prepared. The discovery of the fragment and the preparations he needed to make were entirely separate matters.
“First, I need to meet Prince Randel again.”
The black pebble engraved with characters from the same script as the Axis of Time. The power of a certain organization, to which the pebble had reacted. And the connection between them and Randel.
Steeling his resolve to confront one of those two handfuls, Calian recalled his words.
* * *
“Give me an answer, Prince Randel. I want you to tell me yourself whether I should consider you an enemy, or if you are someone I must also embrace.”
He had said that.
“You don’t have to tell me what’s hidden behind the Seal of Oath right now. Just answer that one question.”
And that.
“You keep placing Brissen and His Majesty on the same level,” Randel observed quietly, having stared at Calian for a long moment. He had realized that if he were to target Brissen, Calian fully intended to stop him, just as he would protect King Lemain.
Calian nodded, seeing no reason to hide it. “I have decided not to equate the Marquis and the Margrave with the rest of Brissen. I’ve abandoned the idea of treating the entire family as an enemy. I plan to erase only those three—the Marquis, the Margrave, and Viscount Lennon Brissen—and keep the family alive. I have a use for them.”
“I wonder if that is arrogance or confidence. Surely you know how difficult it is to eliminate the heads of the Brissen faction while preserving their power, and how unlikely it is that a Brissen family kept alive in such a manner could ever be properly utilized.”
“I have someone I can rely on. It will be fine.” Saying so, Calian tapped the rim of his teacup. “And if anything slips from his grasp, I can simply cut it away then. What is so difficult about that?”
Brissen’s power was necessary, but it was not irreplaceable. If any of them defied Franz’s control, he would simply eliminate them. It was not a difficult task.
Pruning. It was something he had done countless times before.
“You do not doubt the child you trust,” Randel said, already knowing Calian was referring to Franz.
Calian let out a brief chuckle. Randel was right.
That vexing little brother, whom he loved and hated in equal measure. He had never doubted him.
Bern had rarely let people into his inner circle. But once they were inside his walls, he never doubted them. Of course, he had been stabbed in the back before. He knew all too well how much that hurt. Even so, he did not doubt his own people.
“Because I trust myself more.”
It wasn’t because he was a fool who blindly trusted others. It was because he believed in his own strength.
“I am not someone who will fall because of a mere betrayal.”
Whether it was confidence or arrogance, the current Calian felt the same way. From the moment he decided to join hands with Franz, he may have resented him, but he had never doubted him.
“Yes. I understand.”
“Shouldn’t you give me your answer now?” Calian pressed, staring back at Randel.
After a moment, Randel spoke. “It is something else. I am not targeting His Majesty or Brissen.”
“And you cannot tell me what it is?”
“No.”
“Because of a contract?”
“Yes.”
For now, that was enough.
For now.
Having made his decision, Calian nodded. While protecting Lemain from an early death, he would also protect the Axis of Time until he could destroy it. While protecting the heart of that grass-eating bastard, he would also protect his eldest brother’s heart.
He would just protect them all. Since he could do it all at once, it wouldn’t be difficult at all.
“I understand.”
The scent of bergamot no longer drifted from the cooled black tea. Whether it had truly faded or if his senses could no longer perceive it, he couldn’t tell. All that remained was a bitter aroma and a bitter taste.
“It seems I always end up showing you my back, Prince Randel.”
What he could share with Randel face-to-face was not friendship. If they were to truly face each other now, they would have no choice but to draw their swords. Though there was a difference this time—he was turning his back to protect, not to abandon—in the end, all he could show Randel was his back. That was the best he could offer.
“Do not step out of my shadow again,” Calian said, his red eyes boring into Randel’s.
“You will die.”
Toward those deep blue, ocean-like eyes that seemed to pull him under, Calian reached out a hand—for the first and last time.