Chapter 162
Chapter 162
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: Unbreakable Dawn, Holy Flame Cemetery (1)
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0.
“Will you get a title too, Mr. Kim Baek-jun?”
The [Master of the Broken Dawn] suddenly sheathed his sword as he spoke.
It was strange.
In the Beacon Keeper's cemetery.
Ever since training began, he had never stopped for any question.
“Was it too childish a question after all?”
“No. It’s an utterly human one, I’d say.”
It felt like the [Master of the Broken Dawn] was giving a gentle smile.
“You will definitely receive one.”
“……!”
“But no one knows when. It could be the day the succession fully ends…… or the day the mission concludes.”
I could only tilt my head at those words.
“Why would that be? Isn’t it given directly by the previous generation?”
“It’s true that one of the predecessors informs you…… but it’s not a person who bestows it.”
“What does that mean…….”
The [Master of the Broken Dawn] pointed his sword tip beyond the horizon, toward the cozy twilight.
“Geldharia herself descends with a holy spirit to teach it.”
“………!”
“You look thrilled. Good, does that motivate you a bit?”
Ah…… it’s kind of embarrassing.
I cleared my throat awkwardly, and the [Master of the Broken Dawn] suddenly sat on a gravestone and asked.
“I’m curious—what title would you like to receive?”
What title……?
I hesitated for a moment, but no good ideas came to mind.
“Won’t you give me something better than what I could think of?”
“Well, of course. What I meant was, what kind of meaning do you want in the title?”
“……?”
“Because a title embodies that will.”
I stabbed the tip of the Dawn Sword into the ground and gazed at the twilight as I spoke.
“Kim Jae-shin. Park Mi-kyung.”
“……?”
“My adoptive father and mother’s names.”
I didn’t know why those names came to mind then, or why they slipped out of my mouth.
“Well…… I don’t really know. I’ve never written stories or played a lot of games.”
“…….”
“But to me, those two were heroes. Somehow, I wanted a name like theirs.”
I looked at the [Master of the Broken Dawn] and gave an embarrassed smile. Then he said.
“Does thinking of that name warm your heart?”
“……!”
“Even in despair, you’ll find hope; even in darkness, you’ll gain the strength to seek light?”
I could only nod blankly.
It was astonishing.
He understood my feelings better than I did.
“That’s the kind of title you want, Baek-jun.”
It felt like the [Master of the Broken Dawn] was smiling brightly.
“One that fills everyone who hears it with hope just from the name alone…… Excellent.”
I had to blush and wave my hands.
“No…… no, it’s not.”
“But such a title must be earned through the path you walk, not the result.”
The [Master of the Broken Dawn] stood from the gravestone and warned firmly.
“That way, people can look at the trajectory of your life and feel hope.”
“……!”
“The name itself isn’t what matters. The title comes as the result of the life you’ve lived, Baek-jun.”
It wasn’t all that surprising.
My adoptive parents, who were firefighters, became my heroes not because of their names, but because of the lives they led.
“And the life you desire—the symbol of shining hope in despair. That path will be truly arduous.”
“I know. It surely will be.”
“You must walk it alone to the end. Is that alright?”
I hesitated for a moment.
But I’d come this far; all that remained was to see it through. So.
“Yes. I’ll go all the way.”
I nodded solemnly. The [Master of the Broken Dawn] smiled faintly.
“Then let’s begin right away.”
He leaped to his feet, gripping his sword.
“A dream impossible for you now, unable to properly wield even the basic powers of 《Divine Light》 and 《Holiness》.”
That day.
He definitely said that.
That I had to walk it alone.
But you know. That was a blatant lie.
“You can do it.”
He was always by my side.
“It’s okay. You can do it.”
On that endless path.
Whenever I thought I was walking this road of hunting shrouded in black darkness and despair alone.
“One step…… one step forward. Toward the life you’ve chosen.”
In every moment.
The [Master of the Broken Dawn]……
He was always there beside me. Guiding me, comforting me, encouraging me.
“It’ll be grueling, like you’re about to collapse, agonizing like you’re about to fall…… but it’s okay. You’re moving forward.”
Whenever I turned to look beside me.
Whenever I staggered, on the verge of falling.
Whenever I collapsed, thinking I could never rise again.
“It’s okay to rest when it’s tough. That’s normal.”
Listening to my complaints.
Supporting my body beside me.
Extending a hand to lift me up when I fell…… he was there.
“Just one step, one step, slowly forward. Good. You’re doing well.”
He rejoiced with me when I was happy, grieved with me when I was sad.
“You can definitely do it.”
Pushing my back with all his strength from behind…… he was there.
“In this world filled only with sorrow and tears…… a being that illuminates the entire world like the dawn.”
「You were deceived.」
Then, at some point, an alien laughter swirled in.
「Deceived…… and you helped such a being. Ahaha, ahahahaha, hahahahahahaha……!」
He deceived me…… deceived me?
At that moment.
I violently shoved away the [Master of the Broken Dawn] who had supported me.
He……
Pushed me onto this grueling path…… it was all a deception……?
Why did I do that.
Why on earth did I think that back then?
But.
Even so.
The [Master of the Broken Dawn]……
He came back for me, who had been arrogant as if I’d achieved everything alone.
“It’s okay.”
At the moment the mission was about to end.
The very instant I was about to forget the compass of my life.
“There’s still…… something you haven’t accomplished, right?”
This time.
He carried me on his back when I couldn’t stand. Even though his own body was drenched in blood.
“This will be the last time…… but I’ll help you. It’s okay. Come on, slowly…… slowly…….”
Just what are you…….
What did I ever do to deserve this…….
What am I that you would go this far…….
“You’re going to keep going, right? You’ll definitely make it, Baek-jun. You’ll be the dawn of this broken world.”
His voice grew fainter.
At the same time, his form began to fade into light.
“So don’t give up.”
No, no, no.
“If you don’t give up, you can do it, Baek-jun. Definitely.”
Don’t go.
Don’t leave.
Please…… please, like always, stay with me……
At that moment, I opened my eyes.
In a world where everything was warm.
In a world where sunlight filtered through my eyelids.
……Sunlight?
My mind snapped alert.
I had collapsed face-down on the dirt floor, but when I lifted my head…… where is this……?
A wasteland dyed in the twilight of life.
Humble yet sacred graves spread across it. Armaments stabbed into the graves like tombstones.
No way.
The Beacon Keeper's cemetery……?
I quickly flexed my hands and feet, checking my attire.
Pure white mourning clothes.
Beneath them, sensation returned fully to my body that should have been dead.
「You’re awake.」
No sooner had I confirmed it.
A voice so familiar, so longed-for, rang out.
“Tersia…… ma’am……?”
Elegant silver hair like moonlight.
“How…… did I…… get back here……?”
Simple pure white mourning clothes.
Embroidered on them with silver thread were a crescent moon and a full moon.
“It wasn’t…… someone who died in my place…… was it……?”
Pure white features.
A sad smile lingered on her graceful eyes and lips.
“Ah…….”
Then, realization dawned.
Of the battle that had just taken place.
And so, in that instant.
My knees gave out, and I collapsed to the ground.
“……It’s over.”
Everything was finished.
The dawn I had longed to see.
Kim Gye-sang’s sacrifice. The promises with Hong Byeong-gyu, Yoon Geon-woo, and Cha Seung-hyeon. The promise with Jeong Ha-kyeong. The promises with Do Ye-jin and Shin Tae-yeop.
It was all…… completely over now.
「101st.」
Tersia approached with quiet steps and patted my shoulder.
「You did your very best.」
My very best……?
The grief in those words forced me to bite my lip.
“100 days…… no, 150 days, was it……?”
「Yes.」
“It wasn’t a long time…… but still…… I really did my best, didn’t I……?”
「Yes. The 101st did your absolute best. Truly. So now…… rest.」
I felt Tersia’s fingertips tremble on my shoulder. I murmured in a low sob.
“I did my best, so it should be fine…… but why…… why do I feel this resentful……?”
「…….」
“Why…… why does my heart hurt so much……?”
I clutched my chest, chewing my lip to suppress the sobs rising like a burning lump.
“Why…… why am I…… why…… why this…… why…….”
「Ah…………………….」
Then Tersia.
Gazing at the twilight, she let out an infinitely sorrowful sigh.
「After experiencing such overwhelming despair…… facing the Absolute God’s divinity, why do you keep walking this path?」
Why……?
The answer would be countless, endlessly long.
「Countless Beacon Keepers gave up. After confronting the Absolute God. But why you?」
“…….”
「Just because of a vague wish to save someone?」
“………….”
「That alone doesn’t explain it. You’re human. Fundamentally different from the Creator Gods.」
I wasn’t good with words.
So I gave up summarizing and just confessed honestly.
“The reason I…… came to hold this sense of mission…… honestly…… was because of my adoptive parents’ honor.”
「Honor? What honor?」
“If I lived like a thug…… like a delinquent…… it would tarnish…… the lives they lived…….”
That’s why I lived diligently.
That’s perhaps why I tried so hard to emulate their character.
“Isn’t my life as a Beacon Keeper the same……?”
Their lives weren’t in vain.
To prove it not with words, but with my own life.
“If I give up…… won’t all the fights of the predecessors who battled until now…… be in vain……?”
「…………………!」
“And the encouragement…… support…… prayers…… tears…… from the predecessors who chose me…… won’t they all be meaningless……?”
Tersia looked at me.
For a very long time. When I finally couldn’t hold back the bursting sobs and began to cry, Tersia.
「You…… the 101st…… you’re really…… truly…….」
She embraced me and cried together.
Not just Tersia, but all 98 predecessors in this cemetery seemed to be weeping.
“That’s why I’m resentful…… the tears won’t stop…… defeat…… it’s so frustrating…….”
I don’t know why.
But in the wind brushing past my ears…… it felt like many sighs echoed.
「The 100th chose a successor so much like himself.」
Tersia stopped crying and spoke in a trembling voice.
“I’m…… like the 100th……?”
「Yes.」
At that moment.
Tersia’s expression turned deadly serious.
「That’s why we mustn’t repeat the same mistake as the 100th, out of haste.」
“…………?!”
「I am Tersia. Tersia Arbayehr.」
As Tersia touched her chest with her right hand.
「The first successor of Berkenzia, whom Geldharia called as her very first apostle.」
Like the beings of the outer universe emanating the light of their authority, her eyes began to emit golden radiance.
「Across thousands of years. Over two thousand six hundred battles with the outer universe.」
Simultaneously unfolding majesty overwhelmed me with awe.
「Only two apostles emerged victorious from those battles. The baptismal name I received was Arbayehr, meaning [Apostle of Grace].」
The armaments stabbed into every gravestone.
「101st.」
They all began to flicker with their respective glows, as if paying homage to Tersia.
「Just three days.」
Overwhelming presence of radiance.
This…… is the true power of light?
Completely different from the outer universe that crushes opponents.
Just like Final Liberation Berkenzia.
My body and soul…… warm and deeply moved……
「Three days in the world’s time. That is, until your body fully recovers.」
“…………?!”
「During that time, I, Tersia, will personally guide you.」