Chapter 140
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Sign (2)
I deliberately twisted the fabric of space at the exact spot where the Tower of Intellect had first discovered the trace of that hidden space.
The moment he realized that the interstice had already been mostly repaired, all of this might feel too contrived.
But there was no other way.
I couldn't exactly pose as Cedric and skillfully find another space either.
"Hmm..."
The Tower of Intellect arrived at the very spot where he had first torn open the space in the past and let out a low sound, as if sensing some subtle incongruity.
In contrast, Blazing Glory seemed utterly unaware that such a space had ever been hidden here, silently scanning the surroundings without a word.
After briefly surveying the area, the Tower of Intellect decided there was no need for further deliberation and raised a finger.
He had ultimately decided to enter the interstice.
In that instant, his finger thickened and became covered in scales.
With a light horizontal swipe, a small ripple spread out like a wave, brushing past us.
I was already intimately familiar with the sensation of the interstice revealing itself.
"Ah."
As the interstice opened, the Tower of Intellect suddenly turned his head, as if something had just occurred to him.
"This is your first time, right?"
His gaze brushed over Rozelin.
"Be careful. Mana usage is restricted here. You'll lose control over the surrounding mana as well, so if you try to move like you normally would..."
The Tower of Intellect calmly recited the precautions but trailed off, shifting his gaze to Blazing Glory.
"Come to think of it, you probably know without me saying. No—in fact, you know more than we do. Is there nothing else we need to watch out for?"
"...I see."
Blazing Glory lifted his head, as if he'd been listening as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"In this place, at least, I'll set aside my role as the learner. It would be right for me to take the lead."
"Take the lead..."
I responded quietly to his words.
"'0' must have had some other intention in calling us here. It'd be best to figure that out first."
'0's intention.
Of course, I knew exactly what it was.
The arrangement for Rozelin would come down the moment we entered the interstice.
I'd already prepared it that way.
"...I see."
But maybe I'd crushed their spirits a bit too much.
In any case, we stepped into the interstice.
The oppressive pressure closed in again, squeezing the breath from our lungs.
It was the sensation of mana usage being restricted.
For me, it was just that much, but the others would suffer even more, as all the surrounding mana under their influence got swept away too.
The loss of influence was tantamount to a loss of power.
"..."
I glanced first at the Tower of Intellect. There wasn't a hint of agitation on his face.
'Has he perfectly adapted after just one visit...?'
I shifted my gaze next. As expected, Rozelin was hunched over deeply, grimacing as she barely held on.
Blazing Glory, naturally unaffected and perfectly fine, was instead showing a more dramatic reaction than ever before.
The night sky above me, pitch black without a single star since I wasn't emitting any primordial mana.
Gazing up at that darkness, Blazing Glory's eyes were wide open.
"Before I knew it... to this extent..."
The Tower of Intellect reacted to his mutter as well. Looking around, he said,
"All of it... repaired? Not a single trace of the prisoners' escape left behind?"
Without waiting for a reply, Blazing Glory stepped forward first. He moved slowly, busily turning his head this way and that to check the surroundings, as if determined not to miss a single change in this place.
There was no spare time to let the suffering Rozelin adjust.
Perfect timing.
A little further ahead, the primordial mana I'd hidden in advance would reveal itself.
The Tower of Intellect was the same.
But before following Blazing Glory, he glanced briefly at Rozelin.
Blocking his line of sight, I approached her first.
"I'll take care of her."
The Tower of Intellect gave a short nod and turned his gaze forward without another word.
I helped Rozelin to her feet, supporting her.
"You okay?"
"Ugh..."
Rozelin shook her head, biting down hard on her lip.
"I feel like I'm gonna puke... This sensation... it's a first for me."
Supporting Rozelin, who had no spare capacity to collect herself, I followed step by step behind Blazing Glory.
And before long, Blazing Glory came to a sudden halt.
'Found it...'
I muttered inwardly, watching his movements.
Blazing Glory bent at the waist without a word. As his thick hand dug into the ground, something buried within revealed itself.
In that moment.
The faint light that had been seeping out flared brightly.
What emerged from the earth was a small orb of light.
The lesser primordial mana orb I'd hidden.
It wasn't intensely bright, but the moment it was fully exposed, it transformed as if reclaiming its original nature.
"This is...!"
As Blazing Glory exclaimed, swallowing his breath, the orb in his hand blazed forth as if to illuminate the world.
And a ripple spread out, as if the interstice itself were reacting.
Stars began to bloom one by one in the starless night sky.
The once pitch-black heavens turned in an instant into a canopy embroidered with stars, and the barren interior of the interstice transformed into a scene beautiful enough to deserve the name.
While everyone except me froze in astonishment at the sight, the light extending from the orb in Blazing Glory's hand connected with one of the stars in the night sky.
Perfectly.
A path linking heaven and earth as one.
And from that path, another line branched off.
The light plunged straight down to the ground without hesitation, piercing Rozelin's body precisely.
All eyes turned to Rozelin.
Pretending to be shocked as well, I released my supporting hand and took a step back.
Rozelin remained frozen in the exact posture I'd been holding her in. As if the light piercing her allowed no movement whatsoever.
Soon, the light spread through her entire body like an infection.
Flowing over her skin, it seeped in, causing her whole body to glow brighter and brighter.
Until even her outline became impossible to discern.
By now, she had surely been pulled into the realm of consciousness. Led by her subconscious into the trial phase.
It was the process of forging the vessel.
The ritual of reshaping one's existential framework, which I had undergone as well.
Rozelin too would have her vessel transformed, just like me, and inherit "that power."
A power whose true nature even I hadn't fully defined yet.
A force flowing in from beyond the opened domain, perhaps existing even higher than true primordial mana.
I stepped back to stand near the Tower of Intellect and Blazing Glory.
There was no longer any room for me to intervene.
The Tower of Intellect stared at Rozelin with a hardened expression for a while before quietly opening his mouth, as if sensing something.
"That power... it doesn't seem harmful to her."
He'd noticed it right away.
In contrast, Blazing Glory stood silently with a face struck by the most intense shock yet.
From his perspective, it must be one shock after another that he could scarcely accept.
His eyes seemed not to be seeing the scene before him, but something beyond it.
I quietly asked him,
"Do you know what's happening?"
"Wait..."
Blazing Glory raised his head a beat late.
"A very old memory... resurfaced. More precisely, an implanted one."
Blazing Glory muttered something in a small voice, like speaking to himself.
"The light that shines when the suitable one arrives... Those who come later, follow him as the provisional administrator."
"Provisional administrator?"
The Tower of Intellect repeated the words questioningly.
"Follow him?"
Open interest flickered in his eyes.
Keeping a nonchalant expression on the outside, I sorted through my thoughts inwardly.
The Tower of Intellect wouldn't know yet, but I did.
The "suitable one" was surely the Hero.
Yet the implanted directive wasn't to follow me, but to follow the Hero.
Well, in truth, it wasn't all that different...
"...That's all the memory implanted in me."
"Who exactly is this suitable one?"
"...I don't know. Just to follow as provisional administrator whomever the light guides. If I had to guess, maybe the successor to the previous administrator..."
"Hmm..."
The Tower of Intellect crossed his arms, lost in thought for a moment.
"Too many possibilities... The Son of Valor isn't ordinary after all. Should have expected as much..."
Suddenly, he lightly tapped his fist into his palm and said,
"Perfect timing."
It wasn't what I'd expected him to say, so I had to ask,
"Perfect timing? For what?"
"Might as well defy that implanted command right now."