Nana and Gopi's Rebirth
Count Ktolari quickly regained his composure and examined us, who had appeared out of nowhere.
“Is that it?”
“Yes, to be precise, those are they.”
Count Ktolari knew exactly what I had brought with me. He'd been there when we received our mission from Kutula.
“Incredible. To think I'd lay eyes on legendary beings like this.”
Count Ktolari stared at Nana and Gopi for a long while, his eyes brimming with fascination.
“You'd never guess from looking at them.”
“Exactly. Even I wouldn't have believed it without seeing the site myself. More importantly, could you open the path?”
“Ah, of course.”
Count Ktolari opened the passage leading to Kutula.
“I won't be stopping by here on the way back, so let me say goodbye now.”
“Surely we'll meet again sometime?”
Count Ktolari smiled as if it were no big deal.
I shoved Nana and Gopi into the open passage, then something occurred to me, and I turned back to ask.
“Are you satisfied with your current life, Count Ktolari?”
“I'm quite satisfied.”
A being who had lived far beyond an ordinary human lifespan—could he truly be content with that existence? The previous Count Ktolari hadn't been able to bear the weight of those years and had sought a successor. I hadn't yet felt that burden myself, but the thought suddenly struck me that one day it might come crashing down.
“I see. That's a relief.”
I gave a slight bow in farewell and began descending the stairs, with Nana and Gopi ahead of me.
Nana and Gopi, trapped in the bodies of a child, moved agonizingly slowly down the steps. I had no desire to carry or hold them, so I let them walk on their own.
“My legs hurt so much.”
Less than an hour in, Gopi started complaining. She looked every bit the exhausted child, and it was hard not to feel a pang of sympathy.
“Then let's rest a bit.”
As we sat on the stairs to catch our breath, Gopi spoke up.
“Where are we going?”
“To an outer god named Kutula.”
“A god? A real god?”
“Yeah.”
There was no point hiding it now that we were this far in. But upon hearing that, Nana and Gopi both burst into tears.
“Why are you crying?”
“You have no idea how long I've yearned to meet a god.”
“What do you want to do when you meet one?”
“I want to ask why they created something like me.”
An existence that had survived for thousands of years by endlessly stealing other bodies—surely that life hadn't been easy.
“Then you've got the wrong one. He's not this world's god.”
“How do you know that?”
Good question. What was I, exactly? Maybe I wasn't so different from Nana and Gopi. An entity living on by endlessly absorbing others' souls. The thought crossed my mind.
“Someone like you, but a bit luckier.”
“So you're not human either, are you?”
Nana, in her tiny bird form, seemed to sense something; her little eyes sharpened.
“Yeah, maybe not.”
It was true—I wasn't an ordinary human. I'd been one once, but not since then. Right now, I might just be wearing a human shell.
“Up you go. Let's keep moving.”
I pulled Gopi to her feet, and we resumed our descent.
Along the way, Nana and Gopi grew chatty and started peppering me with questions.
“How old are you?”
“Around two hundred? How long have you lived?”
“A little over three thousand years, I think.”
A staggeringly long time. Even for me, it was hard to fathom.
Without Drakan around, they might be the oldest living things on the continent.
“Why take over a rural girl's body? Wouldn't it have been easier in some noble or royal?”
“Nobles are more trouble. It's better hiding among commoners.”
Who was I to argue with an expert?
More questions and answers followed. Nana and Gopi had started as tiny bugs born in the Great Forest. There had been other siblings at first, but they all died during growth. That insignificant creature had gradually grown stronger over centuries, escaped the Great Forest, adapted to the human world, and survived another few millennia.
“What do you live for?”
Nana and Gopi's questions could cut deep at times. It left me speechless.
Why was I alive? A tough one.
“What have you lived for?”
“To become a better version of myself, I suppose.”
An answer I hadn't expected. Mind-blowing. It seemed three thousand years could turn even a mere bug into a sage.
I'd underestimated Nana and Gopi—severely—and now I was learning from our exchanges.
Alternating between rests and walking, we finally reached the bottom level.
In the distance, Kutula's massive form slithered toward us from the darkness. As horrifying a sight as ever.
Nana and Gopi, upon seeing it, collapsed in terror, trembling violently. Even Count Ktolari had reacted that way. Why couldn't I feel it?
“I've kept my promise.”
As Kutula drew near, I announced that my task was complete.
[Confirmed.]
Why had Kutula wanted Nana and Gopi captured? To devour them like those mercenaries? Even if so, I couldn't stop it.
[Nana, Gopi.]
Kutula called to them.
“W-we meet the great one.”
The girl and the tiny bird prostrated themselves cutely enough, but the situation wasn't one for appreciating that.
[You must die.]
“I see.”
Surprisingly, Nana and Gopi accepted it calmly, lifting their heads with detached poise—the transcendence of long-lived beings, like elves.
[And be reborn.]
“Even reborn, must we live like this?”
[Nana, Gopi.]
“Yes.”
[Will you become my incarnation?]
“Gladly.”
[Good. Then die.]
No sooner had Kutula spoken than Nana and Gopi's bodies began to melt away. They dissolved rapidly, without so much as a scream. Soon, not a trace remained.
“Will Nana and Gopi take on a role like Count Ktolari's?”
[Yes.]
A pairing of Nana-Gopi and Kutula made sense, in a way. For Count Ktolari's role, they fit perfectly—eternal life, occasional body swaps for identity laundering. Ideal candidate.
“What about Count Ktolari, then?”
He wouldn't just dispose of him, right?
[Nana and Gopi will be reborn in another world.]
Emperor Yujin had crossed to another world once. Now them too. How many worlds were there?
“How many worlds are there?”
[I don't know. Even I can't count them all.]
Worlds beyond even a god's reckoning. Imagining it made my head spin. How many gods did it take to manage them all? The idea that each harbored gods on Juno's level sent chills down my spine.
[Now go.]
Kutula vanished into the darkness. No new tasks this time?
I waited until he was completely gone, then initiated spatial transfer. Time to head back.
Descending those stairs with Nana and Gopi had eaten up quite a bit of time. My mana had fully recovered, but my companions were anxiously awaiting me.
“I'm back.”
After the final jump, I rejoined the group, and they all stood to greet me.
“Welcome back.”
“Everything all right?”
“What about Nana and Gopi?”
Jayke and Argin checked on me, while Joseph asked about Nana and Gopi. That was the difference between true retainers and church affiliates.
“I was fine. Nana and Gopi? Erased them.”
Joseph eyed me suspiciously, but it was the truth. They no longer existed in this world.
“Let's head home.”
We turned around and made for Akasha Territory.
After another long journey, we returned. The territory had tripled in size since our departure. Competent administrators had already been dispatched to the newly annexed lands. The locals welcomed it; many had lived under Akasha before the shift to Marquis Illivard, and Akasha Territory's reputation for livability had spread.
For a while, days passed peacefully, barring a few incidents—like the masters' sparring in the mansion's backyard growing too noisy, prompting me to build a distant training ground and banish them there, or the overzealous new officials clashing with local criminals and corrupt holdovers.
“When do you plan to visit the annexed territories, my lord?”
One day, Wider came by.
The dispatched officials were handling things well, and I'd already surveyed everything via clones, so I had no real urge to go.
“No need to, right?”
“But the original Akasha family estate is there, isn't it?”
True—the ancestral mansion, not my new one, was in those lands.
“What's that got to do with anything?”
“They say quite a few Akasha family heirlooms remain.”
Heirlooms? I vaguely recalled seeing nothing noteworthy via clones. Even if there were, unless they were artifacts or relics, they held little value for me.
“Can't we just clear them out?”
“They're items that require your confirmation, my lord.”
Too risky for underlings to handle unilaterally.
“Can I go now?”
It wasn't far. A quick spatial hop and back.
Wider, who'd seen my method a few times, shook his head.
“For morale's sake, make it official.”
He had a point. A saint who jetted off to foreign lands healing the sick but skipped his own territory would look odd.
“Fine, I'll make a trip.”
“Wise decision.”
Wider prepared everything, and we departed the next day. Though close, the full elite escort tagged along once more. Traveling with three masters as guards—more lavish than an emperor.
We arrived at Resto, the old heart of Akasha Viscountcy—a modest city. Smaller than Wider's new Akashik, but well-managed under Marquis Illivard, making it plenty livable.
The townsfolk gave an enthusiastic welcome. As usual, I healed the sick, played the saint blessing crowds, then entered the original Akasha mansion.
The local administrator greeted us.
“Welcome, my lord.”
A capable fellow, as expected from Wider's hires.
“Good to meet you. What are these items that need my permission to dispose of?”
“Ah, mostly portraits of past family heads handed down through generations, and books they wrote themselves.”
Yeah, those would be tricky to handle without approval.
The administrator led us to where they'd been gathered—a room that had served as a secret storage for past lords.
We decided to trash the portraits or keep them warehoused. While checking the books, I spotted a thick, extremely worn one. Probably from the founding patriarch.
As I picked it up, the administrator added,
“It was stored deep in the warehouse, and since it looked so old, we set it aside separately—but the contents seem faded away entirely; no text inside.”
I nodded and flipped open the first page.
Faded? I could see it fine. This felt familiar.
And the single line on that first page carried immense weight.
-Author: Mage Arc Builder-