Chapter 199
Chapter 199
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 199
Chapter Title: Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
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I nearly drew my sword and charged at him in that instant, but Miho remained utterly calm, so I suppressed my killing intent for the moment. As I glared at the prophet with composure, he sent another mental message my way.
[Do you think me a monster? I am merely a prophet.]
Miho, standing beside me, spoke up.
"You’re the one who relayed messages to the Heavenly Realm from time to time, aren’t you? So you were here all along."
I looked at Miho in astonishment. Did she know this otherworlder? Remarkably, the otherworlder seemed to recognize her as well and replied slowly.
[The fox of the Heavenly Realm. I didn’t expect you to come with a human...]
"......!!"
What in the world was going on?
As I stood there flustered, Miho explained to me.
"So-woong. This being has existed since time immemorial and occasionally visits the Heavenly Realm. Though an otherworlder, it maintains amicable relations with the Heavenly Realm and possesses extraordinary intelligence and wisdom."
"That makes no sense. Isn’t the Heavenly Realm hostile to otherworlders?"
As I raised my voice, the prophet responded.
[You humans lump all the races of the outer world under the blanket term 'otherworlders,' but in truth, there are hundreds, even thousands of such tribes. Most are bellicose sorts who see your kind only as prey... but I harbor no such malice toward you, and I believe coexistence with the Heavenly Realm is possible.]
"......"
"He’s right. This prophet is special. They even call him one of the Great Race."
It was a shock laced with terror.
To think an otherworlder from beyond was acting as a prophet in this northern wasteland, and on friendly terms with the Heavenly Realm and yokai no less! As I stood there dazed, the prophet spoke.
[The reason you seek Moscow, the capital of Arasa... what is it...]
"We’re actually heading to the North Pole. We figured Moscow would have maps leading there, along with all sorts of related knowledge, so that’s where we’re going."
The prophet’s face twitched.
[You’re not wrong. Ancient knowledge resides there. Many ancient races dwell in that place as well... So what do you seek at the North Pole...]
Did I have to answer that too? I glanced at Miho, who sent me a mental message.
[Don’t worry. This being cares for nothing but its thirst for knowledge, and even the Heavenly Realm deems it harmless. You can trust it.]
[Got it.]
I collected my thoughts and answered the prophet.
"To unseal the second seal of the Seven Luminaries—Mokya."
[Seven Luminaries—Mokya? You intend to release the seal on that thing, which bears the hideous scars of the Great Flood...]
The prophet replied with what seemed like incredulity.
[Are you not afraid...? When it speaks of Mokya’s second seal... have you ever considered... what sort of being guards it...?]
"......"
I only knew it from the brief hints on the stele inscriptions. After a moment’s thought, I said to the prophet,
"Hold on. Can you read the strange tongue?"
[Strange tongue?]
"The language unique to your otherworlder kind."
[There are countless languages of sorcery. I don’t know what you mean—bring a specific example...]
"Wait just a moment."
I pulled out Biyeong and headed straight for the SoYo—Mokya ruins.
Flash!
I sliced the stele at its base, stored it in my armory pouch, then returned to the grand temple via Biyeong. As I appeared in an instant and placed the stele before him, the prophet said in wonder,
[You... wield a sorcerer’s relic. That golden Biyeong was crafted by Abdul Alhazred... You use it quite cleverly...]
"I don’t care who made it. Can you read what’s on this stele?"
[Hmm. One moment...]
The prophet shifted its massive body toward the stele. Despite its bulky appearance, it moved surprisingly nimbly. It rolled its eyeballs around, scrutinizing the stele for a while before speaking.
[I’ve deciphered it. Do you wish to know the contents...?]
As expected of a fellow otherworlder, it could interpret the full text. I’d only grasped fragments, so I couldn’t comprehend the whole. I nodded.
"Tell me."
[It remains to be seen if you’ll stay sane enough to head to the North Pole after hearing this.]
With those ominous words, the prophet translated the SoYo inscription.
[One who pairs with the song of darkness awaits.
The gait of the wind, the god of cold and white silence.
To one who reaches the primordial north, no trials await...
Yet you who would unseal, meet the god of silence.
Slit your flesh, awaken the ancient bloodline, and arrive.
Only the arriver’s blood may be offered upon this altar.
Great ancient one, grant glory to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors...]
"......!!"
[I have a question. Did you offer your blood upon SoYo’s altar...?]
I thought back carefully. Come to think of it, I’d offered my blood to SoYo’s altar without question to open the secret passage to SoYo.
"Yes."
[Then you have qualified to unseal SoYo’s second seal. Only one who offers blood to the altar gains the right to reach that place...]
"I knew that much. Anything new?"
The prophet replied,
[Do you even know what this inscription hints at with 'ancient one'?]
"Not really. That’s why I’m asking."
[The gait of the wind, the god of cold and white silence... This phrase points to only one being. It refers to that [Elder Ruler] who has existed since the dawn of time. It is called the gait of the wind because it rides the stellar winds...]
The prophet continued,
[That Elder Ruler walks upon the winds.]
"Hmm..."
[From the inscription’s conditions, we can’t predict what will happen when you meet it... But that being is something no human power can oppose...]
"Even the power of a Great Immortal?"
The prophet answered my retort with amusement.
[Think a mere immortal’s spirit body can match an Elder Ruler in power...?]
"......"
Having a fact I already knew confirmed left a bitter taste. If what it said was true, even if I reached the North Pole and found Mokya’s second seal, I’d likely be slain on the spot by that being. As I pondered, Miho asked the prophet,
"By [Elder Ruler], you mean beings powerful enough to overturn the world, right? Then why is one guarding something as trivial as a Seven Luminaries seal?"
[Hmm...]
The prophet fell silent for a moment before answering.
[The Seven Luminaries were not made by humans—they were bestowed upon humanity by the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. This difference is vast... In other words, the Seven Luminaries hold immense power that could threaten even an [Elder Ruler].]
"That means..."
The prophet shared its speculation.
[I can’t know the full details... but perhaps some deal was struck between the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and the [Elder Rulers]. Especially that irregular being known as Emperor Gongson Hwanwon—it might have been possible...]
"Emperor was irregular?"
[Emperor Gongson Hwanwon is the only one who broke the pact. And the one who created a new order with himself at its axis. Even I cannot fathom their deeds...]
"Pact? What pact?"
[The ancient pact... one from the extremely distant past, as far as I know... I don’t know the details. I only know of it because spirits often mention it.]
Pact.
For some reason, that word felt like it would become a crucial clue ahead. The prophet didn’t seem to know for sure either, so I’d have to dig into it later. I shook my head and said,
"Hold on, hold on..."
[Speak...]
"If I unseal Mokya’s second seal and somehow survive the [Wind-Walker], could that power let me face an [Elder Ruler]?"
[Quite possible. Didn’t I just explain that?]
"Then how do I obtain the ancient knowledge in Arasa’s capital? Are there North Pole maps too?"
[Find the library there. It will be in the ancient library.]
"How do I find it?"
The prophet suddenly clamped its mouth shut. As Miho and I stared at it puzzled, it replied with a hint of irritation.
[I’ve given all I can for free... Now pay the price...]
"Price?"
The prophet’s eyeballs gleamed.
[Indeed. Knowledge I painstakingly amassed over thousands of years, and you want it all for nothing? I demand compensation, if only out of principle...]
"That’s fair..."
It was true—the knowledge so far was worth its weight in gold. But what gift could appease this prophet? On a hunch, I pulled a gold ingot from my armory pouch and showed it.
"How about this? Pure gold."
[Put it away... That holds no meaning.]
"How about this? Millennium Snow Ginseng."
[A mass of highly condensed qi... but to me, it’s worse than trash.]
Why was it so picky?!
As I grumbled inwardly, the prophet grew annoyed instead. It seemed irritated in its own way.
[Enough. If you’ve nothing more to offer, I’ll be off...]
Whirrr
In that instant, space warped, forming a bizarre passage. As expected of an otherworlder who’d lived eons, it wielded strange sorceries. If it vanished into that passage, I had a feeling I’d never find it again. I shouted hastily.
"Wait! Wait! How about this?"
[What is it?]
In a flash, I pulled a grimoire from my armory pouch. I set aside the Heavenly Dark Secret Book I always carried and drew out the Na Yin Castle Original Transmission I’d acquired recently. It pained me a little, but I shook it off.
‘It’s not like I can read it or use it anyway.’
Spotting the Na Yin Castle Original Transmission in my hand, the prophet froze. Its face filled with disbelief.
[No... that’s...]
"A grimoire I picked up on my travels. Worth trading, right?"
Swoosh
The prophet dispelled the spatial passage. Its demeanor suddenly meek, it replied,
"Of course. The Book of R’lyeh is certainly worth it..."
"Book of R’lyeh?"
[It is a grimoire on the evil god and its kin. Bound in human skin, made in the Xia Dynasty—quite the authentic piece... Give it to me, and I’ll share the information.]
"Who or what is R’lyeh?"
[The underwater city where the evil god dwells...]
So that’s what it was.
Amazed, I tossed the Na Yin Castle Original Transmission to the prophet. It flipped through the pages, verified its authenticity, and said,
[Do you know where this treasure came from...?]
I recounted my battle with the giant tentacled toad in the Great Thunder Jade Fortress and how I’d found it in the cave behind the creature. The prophet marveled.
[To station a beast of the moon as guard... What peculiar fellows.]
"Beast of the moon?"
[The monster you fought dwells on the far side of the moon. It’s not native to this world...]
"Yeah, whatever."
The prophet seemed profoundly knowledgeable about otherworlders. And it didn’t seem aligned with the Demon Horse Legion.
After stowing the Na Yin Castle Original Transmission, the prophet continued.
[I’ve received great compensation, so I’ll specially open a 'gate' for you... You’ll arrive straight at the ancient library.]
"Gate?"
The prophet’s eyes twitched, emitting a bizarre green glow into the air.
Crackle
Hummm—
"......!!"
In that moment, a spatial passage formed in the center of the vast auditorium. The prophet apparently commanded sorcery that freely manipulated space-time. As I stared in awe, it said,
[Go now.]
"Good. Perfect. This leads right to Moscow’s ancient library, right?"
[Bring more grimoires or otherworlder relics... I’ll trade knowledge of equal value.]
"Of course. Can’t you open a path to the North Pole?"
[My spatial sorcery operates on the same principle as that Biyeong... I can’t open gates to places I’ve never been.]
"Hmm, fair enough."
Grimoires were useless to me anyway. Now I could trade them with this erudite otherworlder sage!
"Oh, besides knowledge, can you trade other things?"
[Depends on the price...]
"Got it. What should I call you?"
[Prophet will do.]
Satisfied with my new trading partner, I stepped into the spatial passage.
Flash!
Miho and I emerged in a massive library chamber moments later. Miho said in wonder,
"So this is the ancient library."
"Looks like it."
No trace of humans. Time seemed frozen here since ancient days, the air almost stagnant. It appeared to be a subterranean secret space, sealed by ancient technology to preserve the books.
I pulled a few volumes from the shelves crammed on all sides and tried reading them. But I soon grimaced.
"Ugh. Ancient script..."
Not otherworlder tongue. Not Cyrillic either. Some entirely new language, meaning I’d need to learn yet another to decipher these books. Miho patted my dejected back and said,
"We made it straight to Arasa’s capital, didn’t we? Let’s head out and explore first."