Rift Heart
The Rift Heart was a gem that contained the power born from rifts. Gods were born from primordial rifts, and that power had been passed down through countless deities to this day. In that sense, rifts could be called the most primal and fundamental source of divine power.
That meant it was the most potent divine force—but conversely, it also implied the most primitive and dangerous one.
[Adel, we can't let that bastard live. He actually succeeded in artificially creating rift power. An experiment even the Arunasar failed at.]
Kaldret spoke toward Adel, who had blocked his path.
[It's not just about the danger of the power. Even gods can't resurrect the dead. There's no way an imperfect creation by a mere being could succeed.]
"Shut up!! The ones who need to vanish are you lot. Just because you can't do it doesn't mean we can't. Someday, I'll be the first to use this gem to erase you...!!"
[What? Someday? You're done for today.]
Kaldret bellowed as if he might charge at any moment.
"Enough. Why are you two acting like kids—a guy who's lived over three hundred years and another over three thousand?"
[K-Kids?]
"What do you know...!"
"I know."
Adel spoke to Sennew in a calm voice. It was strange. Just moments ago, the tension had been thick enough to explode at the slightest spark, yet Sennew nearly dropped the Rift Heart he clutched at Adel's single word.
[......]
Even after living for ages, he felt an eerie chill in Adel's eyes—something he could never possess.
"If you keep holding onto that, you'll regret it for sure. I'll say it again: no matter how much time passes, you won't complete it."
"......You madman. Delusions of grandeur. I've reached the stage of containing rift power all on my own. Just a little more, and it'll be done!!"
"We'll see. Normally, I wouldn't show my hand before a deal, since it's a loss... but I'll make an exception."
"Show what?"
"The ancient spellbook I brought. If you can read runes, you'll know it's about alchemy."
Sennew's face hardened. He'd never mentioned the book's contents, fearing it might weaken his position in the trade. But he hadn't expected Adel to already know exactly what it was.
"Damn it, you're toying with me."
"Hardly. Who trades without knowing the value of the goods?"
"Then why show me the book?"
"Just look at the last of the three volumes. The rest are trade items. It probably covers the alchemy you're working on, too."
Sennew eyed Adel warily but opened the book carefully, curiosity winning out. He began reading slowly. His expression shifted constantly—brightening, then grave, then despondent, repeating several times. Finally, he glared at Adel in disbelief.
"What is this...?!! Alchemy to summon rift power is ultimately impossible? Don't make me laugh!"
"Don't ask me. I can't read ancient runes. Never could stomach complicated stuff like alchemy."
Adel addressed the man's heated reaction.
"But I do know one thing. They say the ancients had a highly advanced civilization."
"Civilization?"
"Not half-baked engineering mixed with magic like ours, but pure enlightenment from those who truly understood. The gods called it science."
He continued.
"A civilization beyond our imagination. But that's exactly why the Arunasar sorcerers tried creating something from nothing. And they failed spectacularly."
Adel picked up the spellbook Sennew had thrown to the floor.
"On the brink of destruction, they left this book as a warning against repeating their mistakes."
He held it up.
"In short, it's a warning for fools like you."
"......Shut up!!"
"That said, I don't think their alchemy was absolutely wrong. Or impossible."
"What do you mean?"
Sennew looked up at Adel, his scowl easing slightly.
"Science is what made the Arunasar civilization shine. Someday, I'll step into the realms they challenged."
[Adel, you're serious?]
Kaldret sounded momentarily flustered by his words.
"Everyone talks about how glorious the ancients were. But how long will we blindly envy a past we've never seen?"
"......Then?"
"I'll create a world that declares the present—right now—more brilliant than any ancient glory."
"Pretty words. But just as empty. Why do you think the ancients fell? You think the gods will sit idly by while you challenge them?"
Sennew sneered at Adel.
"That's your delusion. The blind spot you haven't escaped after clinging to death for three centuries."
Adel replied as if he'd been waiting.
"Creation is indeed the gods' domain. The ancients challenged it and failed. But... why challenge it at all?"
"What are you saying? It's obvious. Would anyone tolerate intruders in their territory?"
"People say the gods destroyed the ancients in rage. But it wasn't jealousy of humans."
"......"
"Gods don't interfere directly in human affairs. It's their own rule."
[True. We manifest power in the world only through oracles, blessings, and contractors.]
Sennew's face went blank, as if struck on the head.
"The ancients simply destroyed themselves."
Kaldret chuckled at Adel's words.
[Humans always want to believe what suits them. They did invade our domain, though. We needed to instill caution for that sin.]
But his laugh was bitter, not mocking.
[We didn't stop them as they hurtled toward ruin.]
"So we need a different approach."
Adel slowly raised his head to meet Sennew's gaze.
"Not challenging the gods' domain. Seeking their help."
[......What? No, Adel. Even gods can't revive the dead. Reincarnation follows the cycle, becoming new beings.]
"I'm not talking resurrection. I'm talking soul links."
[......Hm?]
Kaldret stared at Adel in confusion, but Sennew swallowed dryly without thinking.
"Sennew. Just once. Using your imperfect gem, you can summon the one you want—but only once. True revival is impossible."
His eyes trembled.
"But if you try reviving your entire clan with it, you'll repeat the ancients' mistake. Elves filled with resentment would ravage the continent."
Adel continued.
"And they'd be exterminated in the end. You know that. Souls defying the natural order aren't granted reincarnation."
"How can you be so sure I'll fail?"
"I've seen it."
"......What?"
"I saw you regretting it. And you admitted it—saving your clan was just an excuse. You only wanted your child back."
Sennew flinched, his shoulders shaking.
"That's what you delayed death for, binding yourself in the Black Magic Palace, defying the natural order."
"What the hell are you?"
"Your comrade."
"What...?"
"And the one who killed you."
Adel said flatly.
"Among my many regrets, you're one. I don't want you to vanish. But I can't stand by if you ruin the continent. That's why I'm giving you this chance."
Adel placed the three spellbooks and the Titan's Book before him.
"I'll be straight. The gods already know. No need to hide it."
He met Sennew's eyes.
"I regressed."
"......!!!"
"I came to change my future. And yours. You've chained your soul enough with your body."
Step— step— step—
"In my world, Gerald's spellbook was lost. You always regretted never seeing it."
"Th-That's..."
"But that false hope led you astray. It made you misuse the gem the wrong way."
Adel approached him.
"After you died, I learned about the spellbooks from a dragon who lived in ancient times."
Thud—
"Think carefully. Will you use this and doom the continent, etching the elves' curse into history forever? Or help me ensure that even if elves vanish, humanity honors them?"
He pulled the Rift Heart from Sennew's grasp.
"It's up to you."
"......Huh?"
Sennew let go without realizing.
"Read the spellbooks I leave behind. The answers are there. I'll hold onto this until then."
"W-Wait...!"
He shouted at Adel's back, but the barrage of shocks left Sennew too stunned to stop him.
"Really...? You know my future?"
The elf, over three centuries old, was thrown into chaos by this boy who knew the obsession that had bound him.
"And if so?"
"I have one question."
"Not one of your homunculi ever gained a proper will?"
"Surprising. You're more curious about that than if I'm really a regressor?"
"......Tell me."
Ironically, for a grand archmage steeped in research, the man before Adel was just an incomplete soul. Perhaps desperation could shatter even reason.
"They all failed. Not a single one. Imperfect revival was worse than necromancy—they gained resentments and became uncontrollable."
Adel answered firmly, and Sennew's face hardened.
"Your daughter, Melissa, too."
Clench—
Sennew gripped his fist without thinking.
"You asked if I know your future? I don't."
"What...?"
"The future I spoke of is just my past life's. You're not the you from then. So please..."
Adel said to him.
"This time, find life within death."