Chapter 455: The Forgotten Heroes.
Chapter 455: The Forgotten Heroes.
I couldn't help but feel awkward as I looked around. The sight of thousands of souls kneeling in unison was truly a spectacle, but it also placed an inexplicable pressure on me. Ahn Sol must have felt something similar, as I felt her squeeze my hand tightly.
Fortunately, the awkward moment didn't last long. The man directly facing me slowly rose to his feet, and the other souls followed suit in perfect sync.
Just as I was staring blankly at the man, who was once again smiling kindly, a mage suddenly approached and began to quietly chant a spell.
The incantation was very short. She seemed to mutter just two or three words before looking at me with a gentle smile. It was the woman with golden hair who had healed me earlier.
—Can you hear me now, our Savior?
Just then, as my attention was momentarily captured by the woman, I heard a fluent voice, much clearer than before.
I was startled for a moment but quickly understood the situation. The spell the woman had just cast was a type of translation magic.
When I calmly nodded, the man's face brightened as he continued.
—Thank you, Savior. We are….
“I think there's been a misunderstanding. We are not the saviors you think we are.”
Even though I had deliberately cut him off, the man showed no sign of displeasure. Instead, he smiled even more broadly and shook his head.
—No, you are. You purified us who were stained by darkness and liberated our souls that had wandered aimlessly for thousands of years. You guided us, the abandoned, to the path of light. Therefore, she is undoubtedly our savior.
Ahn Sol must have been incredibly embarrassed by his words, as she shyly hid behind my back.
I recalled the man's words and looked down at Ahn Sol with a renewed sense of wonder. Her True Name was, after all, 'One Who Guides the Light.'
The man, who had been gazing at her with infinite warmth, quietly closed his eyes.
—How can we ever repay this grace…?
I blankly stared at the equipment the souls were wearing. Now that they were pristine again, every single piece of gear looked extraordinary.
If I had my way, I'd have asked them if they could leave their equipment behind since they were ascending anyway.
But a tiny voice drifted from behind me, saying, “You don't need to repay us….” so I just smacked my lips and said nothing.
“In that case, I have a question. Would you be able to answer it for me?”
—Of course. Whatever you ask, I swear in the name of God to answer to the best of my ability.
Seriously? I get that you're grateful, but please, stop. Talking like that makes me feel like I have to ask some profound, impressive question.
Since I was planning to ask something rather trivial, I grumbled internally before speaking.
“The reason we came to this mountain range was to find people. Recently, many have gone missing here without reason, and among them is someone we know. We eventually made our way to this fortress…. Do you know where those people are, or what happened to them?”
The moment I finished speaking, a strange light flickered in his benevolent eyes. His expression turned serious, and he spoke in a solemn voice.
—Ah, that matter…. I know of it. I believe it is the work of our former comrades who strayed outside the fortress.
“Former comrades…?”
—Thousands of years have passed since we were trapped in this fortress. No matter how noble a person was in life, one cannot endure forever against the flow of time. We knew this, yet we merely stood by and watched. I do not know how to apologize.
“Then….”
The man gave a bitter smile before speaking again in his usual clear voice.
—What I can tell you for certain right now is that they are slumbering in the fortress's basement, and that some of them are still alive. I also know a way to save them.
The word "some" bothered me a little, but at least I knew Ahn Hyun's chances of survival had increased. We entered the mountains right after he went missing, so he must have been brought to the fortress relatively recently.
I spoke immediately.
“I see. Then you can tell us how to get to the basement and how to save them, right?”
—Of course. However, before that….
The man suddenly fell silent. He seemed to look at me cautiously before continuing in a quiet voice.
—It will not take long. So, would you be willing to listen to my… no, our story for a moment?
*
The man's following words were a story, but in a way, they could also be seen as an explanation.
Of course, I had been curious about what happened after Magna Carta's fall, so I listened with considerable interest.
Magna Carta's curse. It wasn't a single curse, but two.
One was, as expected, a curse laid upon the entire mountain range.
To put it simply, a restriction was placed on the souls tainted by the curse, preventing them from leaving the mountains. It seemed this restriction had mixed with the souls' resentment to create a field effect.
And the other curse was, unexpectedly, a curse of prophecy.
The Dragon of the End, Magna Carta, was said to have left a prophecy for the Great Hero just before it drew its last breath.
‘I may be defeated and vanish now, but I, and this prophecy, will never disappear. I will leave my power and my will within one of the humans here, without anyone, not even themselves, knowing. Yes. For a time, you may do as you please. But someday, when one among your descendants inherits my power and will—the moment the seed of the end sprouts!—the world will once again fall into chaos. So, struggle all you want until then. Kuhahahahahaha!’
A curse akin to a prophecy that would never fade and would one day surely come to pass.
The humans, having barely finished the battle, had to face a new crisis. Even though the fight was over, the curse tainting the mountains had them completely trapped.
Still, despite the twisted ending, the humans did not let go of hope. Believing there had to be a way, they remained in the fortress, absorbed in finding a way to lift the curse.
Then one day, the Great Hero who had led the battle in the mountains delivered a message. Thinking she had finally found a way to break the curse, all the humans gathered in one place and waited for her.
And at last, the Great Hero appeared. The humans, filled with anticipation at the thought of finally going home, gazed at their commander.
But the first word from the Great Hero's lips was an apology.
—Everyone. I'm sorry.
The sudden apology threw the humans into utter confusion. The Great Hero then revealed the whole story to the bewildered crowd.
The gist of it was about the prophecy Magna Carta had left at the end, and that she had found a way to stop the curse.
In essence, the Great Hero said that they didn't know which human had inherited Magna Carta's power and will. Therefore, if they were to leave the mountains, they could become the cause of future chaos in the world, so they must not go outside.
In other words, the "way to stop the curse" meant the unconditional sacrifice of all the humans who had participated in the battle and survived.
—By the time she finished speaking, all preparations were already complete. After she finished and apologized to us one more time, she activated the method without giving us a moment's pause. That method meant our deaths and eternal bondage.
“That method was….”
—The Great Hero's wish. It was a method using the Stele of Wishes.
“The Stele of Wishes?”
—Yes. The Stele of Wishes. It is a method that uses seven steles containing Fragments of God to form a magic circle, borrowing the power of Ganesha, the goddess of language and wisdom. If the wish is deemed worthy, the user can grant any desire.
“…Does that make any sense? If she had that kind of power, she could have just wished for the curse to be removed. Or she could have asked it to reveal the person who carried the prophecy….”
I was starting to understand a little, but at the same time, I couldn't help but feel skeptical.
The Great Hero tried to stop Magna Carta's curse.
But the only method she could think of was to kill everyone because she didn't know who carried the dragon's power and will? And then, fearing that a soul imbued with the prophecy might escape, she accepted the dragon's curse to ensure no soul could leave the mountains?
I don't know what this Stele of Wishes is, but I truly can't understand how someone with such incredible power could only come up with that.
In any case, according to his story, the humans had been played by Magna Carta. It had created a situation where they would suffer no matter what choice they made.
The only difference was whether the victims were the survivors of the battle or their future descendants. In the end, Magna Carta had succeeded in getting its revenge on humanity one way or another.
As if sensing my thoughts, the man smiled faintly and spoke.
—That's right. That is the correct way of thinking. However, as I understand it, there are several conditions that must be met for a wish to be granted. And I don't believe for a second that she didn't think of that. There must have been a valid reason why she couldn't put those thoughts into practice…. Ah. Of course, that doesn't mean we understand her. Although we were prepared to die when we entered these mountains, we at least wanted to return to the homes in our hearts after death. Some wanted to return to their families, others to the side of the gods they served. We never wanted to live on as wretched specters, even in death.
The man finally finished his long tale. He let out a light sigh and looked up at the sky. For the first time, I could feel a sense of emptiness and sorrow in his face and voice.
—Thousands of years. It was a difficult time. Truly terrible. Even in death, we struggled to break the curse somehow, but in the end, there was nothing we could do on our own. All we could do was write down the grievances in our hearts or hope for the power of someone who might one day come here. But no one ever came. Hahaha.
Well, of course they couldn't. The place was cursed.
I felt I could understand a little of what these souls had gone through. In a situation with no dreams and no hope—no, in a situation where they had tasted despair right before tasting hope—I wouldn't have been able to keep my sanity either.
The man looked down again and laughed hollowly. He glanced at the wall standing there. The once-white surface was now slightly scorched.
—My apologies. I said it wouldn't take long, but it seems to have gone on longer than I thought.
“No, it's fine. Hearing your story, I fully understand your situation. Personally…. I feel a sense of respect for you all.”
The man's eyes widened for a moment. Then he gave an embarrassed smile and said.
—Haha. That's the first time I've heard that from someone…. It's a strange feeling. Like I'm being rewarded for something.
“I believe you are more than deserving of it.”
—Not at all. Still, thank you for saying so. Ah, now I will give you the answer to your earlier question. First, the people you mentioned are all, without exception, slumbering in the basement of this fortress. They are in the very place where we last faced the Great Hero.
“You must have felt quite wronged by what happened then.”
At my light comment, the man scratched his head awkwardly.
—Well... At the time, rational thought was impossible. While some comrades gave up and were laid to rest quietly like us, others probably wandered the mountains out of habit. Still, it's a blessing in disguise. I've heard there were cases where the souls of severely corrupted comrades tried to steal the bodies of living humans, but it seems there is no one like that here.
I suddenly heard Hangyul let out a faint, dry cough. Deciding it wasn't an issue that needed to be brought to the surface, I changed the subject.
“I see. Then could you tell us how to get to the basement and how to revive them?”
—Hmm. It's not a place suitable for the living, but a good opportunity has just presented itself. I don't know why, but Magna Carta suddenly revived and broke through the ground. The place is on the first basement floor of this fortress. We had sealed Magna Carta on the second basement floor, so if you go through the hole it made, you should be able to get in quite easily. And….
The man paused and pulled the golden-haired woman who was beside him forward for me to see.
—The method to bring them back is simple. As long as they are alive, this friend's ability can save them all.
The woman was the one who had cast the time-reversal magic on me earlier. I instantly understood how she would save them and nodded immediately.
“Understood. We've heard everything we wanted to know. You don't need to worry about us anymore, so perhaps the rest of you can finally lay down your burdens.”
In other words, I was telling them to go ahead and ascend.
As soon as he heard me, the man smiled brightly.
It was then.
—Please wait a moment.
—I have something I'd like to say.
Just as I was thinking that everything was finally over, two new souls appeared from behind the man. Both souls had the form of beautiful women; one wore shining silver valkyrie armor, and the other was dressed in the neat attire of a priestess.
Suddenly, their appearances felt strangely familiar.
—I apologize for interrupting, but may I speak with that person for a moment?
—I would also like to speak with her for a moment.
The man glanced back and forth between the two before quickly turning to look at me. I was momentarily confused, but I reflexively nodded my permission. They didn't seem like they would cause any harm.
I watched as the two women passed me with pleased expressions, and saw them stop in front of Cha Sorim and Hanna, respectively.
—Then I shall ask. Are you not a sister of the Arcus who serves Flavius-nim?
—Perhaps, are you a successor who has inherited the legacy of the priestesses?
The moment I heard their words, a sudden thought flashed through my mind.
Come to think of it, Cha Sorim's class was Arcus Valkyrie, and Hanna's was Twilight Medium.
Looking at my two clan members, who were blinking blankly, I thought to myself.
…We hit the jackpot.
—Aha…. I see. To think we would meet the successors of our comrades here…. You're right. While my heart yearns to ascend as we are, that would be discourteous to the one who saved us. Hahaha.
Just then, a clear voice spoke again. I turned my gaze forward and saw the soul slowly approaching Ahn Sol and me.
The man bowed his head deeply to me, then walked over to Ahn Sol and calmly knelt on one knee.
“Y-You don't have to do that…. I don't need anything…. Just…. please rest now….”
Ahn Sol mumbled in a voice as small as a mosquito's, but the man answered by shaking his head.
—I cannot do that. It is true that thanks to you, Savior-nim, all the curses that bound us have been broken, but in the end, this means we have incurred another debt.
Ahn Sol mumbled again.
“It's really okay….”
—Haha. No. This is for our sake as well. During our time in these mountains, we have had many thoughts and regrets. There was a time when we hated all humans, including the Great Hero. If we were to ascend now and forget the grace of our salvation, we would become no different from her. We wish to reclaim our convictions as well.
Did she decide he was beyond reasoning? Ahn Sol gently raised her head and shot me a look pleading for help. But I just shrugged my shoulders. It was my way of telling her to do as she pleased.
Shing, chang!
A moment later, with a clear ring of steel, a sword appeared in the man's hand. He held the sword reverently, as if in a knighting ceremony, and slowly raised it before Ahn Sol.
And after a moment, the man spoke quietly.
—So, just as you saved us….
“Ah, no….”
Ahn Sol waved her hands frantically, her face a mask of panic.
But ignoring her, the man raised his head with a gentle smile.
—Would you please grant us a single chance to save you and your precious people?