Something More Precious Than Truth (2)
Something More Precious Than Truth (2)
As soon as the lesson ended, Olivia ran straight to the Black Market.
"Here. The information you requested. Check it over."
"..."
The Black Market owner handed Olivia a thick stack of papers.
Over the past two years, rumors related to the Eastern Coalition numbered a whopping 487. Like hell I was going to memorize all of those. I just couldn't remember the exact order, but I could tell which ones were the rumors I had spread.
'Ah, right. This one. This one, and this one.'
In the end, the ones I picked out totaled twenty-three.
'Got it. Memorized.'
As soon as she finished checking, Olivia left the Black Market without a second thought. She burned the stack of papers on the spot.
[Skill 'Blink' activated.]
[Remaining Time: 3:11]
The moment she arrived near the Gold Tower, the timer began counting down. It seemed Melina was in her office.
"You cannot enter right now. She said not to let anyone in."
The secretary blocked Olivia. She didn't need an explanation to know the reason.
-Wooong.
The energy emanating from inside the office was unusual.
"Has she attained some kind of enlightenment?"
"I am not sure either. I have served the Tower Lord for decades, but this is a first..."
Come to think of it, counting the one she had just given Melina, this was already the fourth Fragment.
For a mage of Melina's caliber, she would have started to get a feel for the Truth by now.
Of course, it would still be no more than a vague sense. It was like having moved from impenetrable darkness into a faint, hazy mist, where you still couldn't see anything but could at least feel a glimmer of light.
In both states you can't see your surroundings, but at least in the mist you can feel the light.
In that sense, it was a tremendous step forward.
Olivia pointed to the door.
"She will probably have to stay here until tomorrow morning."
"...Until tomorrow morning?"
"It could be even longer. So don't just stand here alone—go quickly and bring the others."
The secretary hesitated.
"W-Well, even so..."
"I will stand guard while you are gone."
"Th-Then I will return as fast as I can!"
The secretary's face brightened, and she hurried down the stairs.
Tap-tap-tap...
The footsteps grew fainter.
Olivia stealthily placed her hand on the doorknob.
'Just a tiny bit.'
She carefully turned the knob. Through the small gap, golden energy seeped out. It was pure mana, so calming that merely touching it brought peace of mind.
-Hooooh.
Olivia peered through the crack. The office was filled entirely with golden light. In the center of that golden radiance, Melina sat cross-legged in midair with a serene expression.
Melina's body rose higher. More golden light streamed from her. Her magical power swept through the room like a wave.
Then, at some point, her magical power began to dissolve into the air.
'...'
Olivia nodded at the sight.
'She realized.'
She had not reached the Truth yet. She had only realized what she needed to do to reach it.
Mages draw mana from nature and store it within their bodies. That stored mana is called magical power.
To a mage, mana itself is meaningless. It is not that you cannot use magic with mana, but compared to magical power, its efficiency drops overwhelmingly.
That is why mages spend their entire lives accumulating magical power. They push it to its limit, expand their vessel, then push it to the limit again, repeating the process endlessly.
Melina had repeated this process for two hundred years. That was why she was the continent's mightiest mage.
But the Truth is different.
To reach the Truth, you must discard all the magical power you have accumulated. Discard and discard until you have poured out every last drop.
That is the first step.
To a player beyond the screen, it was just a tedious part of the process, but to an Archmage, it would be the hardest decision of their entire life.
They had no certainty.
They could not be certain it would be filled again after they discarded it.
All that remains is fear.
The fear of losing everything and ending up a useless old person in a back room.
-Hooooh.
But Melina overcame her fear and moved forward.
What had given her such courage?
There was no time to think about it.
-Click.
Olivia closed the door. Right on cue, the secretaries came running.
Olivia gave them a slight bow, then hurried to her own room.
[Remaining Time: 0:03]
She looked forward to seeing how much it would have changed by next time. It was truly something to look forward to.
*****
Melina opened her eyes only at dawn. Her eyes shone with an impossibly clear golden light.
"..."
Her body felt light. It felt as if she had set down a burden she had carried for a long time.
Not a single trace of magical power remained in her body. Yet Melina's face showed not the slightest regret.
If anything, she looked relieved.
"So this is what it was. This is how it felt."
Melina gazed out the window with an enchanted expression.
"Aah..."
A world filled with mana of every color.
-Ba-dump.
Melina felt that her heartbeat had oddly changed. Mana circulated through her blood vessels. As if she had become a part of nature itself.
In exchange for giving up all her magical power, she had gained mana.
"Aha."
Melina laughed like a teenage girl.
"It wasn't about discarding!"
Even if you poured hundreds of sacks of golden dye into the ocean, the color would not change.
The ocean would remain blue.
"It was about blending and becoming one!"
She had shattered her vessel and become part of the great ocean; now her dantian was the world itself.
That was how Olivia had been looking at the world.
No, her world would be far more beautiful than this.
Because she herself had only just taken a step closer to the Truth.
Melina sprang to her feet.
"I must show her."
It was still dawn, the sun just rising over the horizon. A diligent disciple would already be awake.
Melina quietly opened the office door.
"T-Tower Lord?"
"Shh. Be quiet."
The secretaries gasped at the gentle smile on Melina's face.
"Is Olivia still asleep?"
"...Yes."
Melina nodded and headed downstairs. She could have teleported instantly, but for now, she wanted to walk.
Tap.
Melina thought as she descended the stairs.
'It is all thanks to you.'
When she had discarded about half of her magical power, a terrible fear had overtaken her.
The fear of losing everything she had built up until now in an instant.
But there had been something even more frightening than that.
The fear of being unable to give anything back to the one who had given so generously.
From that moment, she had been able to let go of any lingering attachment to her magical power.
Not caring whether she lost it or not, she poured it all out.
If not for Olivia, she would have died without ever even nearing the Truth.
To reach the Truth, one had to love another person more than the magical power accumulated over a lifetime.
The old Melina would never have been able to do that.
By then, Melina had reached the bedroom.
"...Master?"
"There, there. Stay lying down."
Melina stroked Olivia's hair with her fingers.
'How can you be so dear?'
Olivia, who had been quietly watching Melina's touch, asked.
"Master."
"What is it?"
"Did something good happen?"
"Well..."
Melina, who had been about to happily explain what had happened tonight, closed her mouth.
"..."
Olivia's blue eyes demanded an explanation.
-Hesitation.
At the same time, a bittersweet smile crossed Melina's face.
'A day has passed.'
The disciple who deserved gratitude had not yet awakened.
"...I will tell you later."
"Later when?"
"Hmm..."
Of course, this child was also her disciple. She merely hid her sage aspect deep in her unconscious mind.
But...
"When you have grown enough to teach me, then I will tell you."
"...Huh?"
"Do not worry. Because you will surely become such a person."
Melina stroked Olivia's hair again.
This was not a story to tell this child now.
'Wouldn't it be too unfair if you heard it already?'
Melina decided to keep today's events to herself for a while.
For the sake of her beloved disciple, who might have even crossed time itself to meet her teacher.
"Now, let us get up."
Melina began the lesson as she did on any other day.
The sun rose, set, and rose again.
When nearly a month had passed like that.
"So today is the day."
The day when the disciple would become the teacher and the teacher would become the disciple.
The day when the treasured disciple would become the beloved, irreplaceable disciple.
And.
[Remaining Time: 160:00]
Olivia opened her eyes in bed.
[Remaining Time: 159:59]
The timer began counting down the instant it appeared. That meant one thing.
"Are you awake?"
Melina's touch was warm. Not only that, but a smile full of affection bloomed on her face. It was a natural smile, so much so that it was hard to believe she was someone who had lived her whole life emotionless.
[Melina Diviae]
- Level: 97
- Favorability: 50(+80)
- Class: Archmage of Time and Space
- Titles: Seeker, Gold Tower Lord, Guardian of the Empire
"Come now, open your eyes quickly. I have something I want to tell you."
A face like a child waiting to be praised.
From that, Olivia was certain.
"Congratulations, Master."
Things had turned out very well.