Chapter 1153: Fate of Demise (4)
A plaza situated at the outskirts of the royal capital. The warm midday sun poured down.
Kabahim, located near the Northern Continent, wasn’t excessively hot even at midday.
The cool breeze mingled with the voices of people, adding to the lacking warmth.
Fences were erected on all sides, with knights standing guard between them.
Yet, even that couldn’t contain the excited atmosphere around the plaza.
Freya Kalins’s 17th World Tour. A concert held in Kabahim’s royal capital, following Torquepaz.
“Waaah!”
On the stage set up in the plaza, Freya sang, and people cheered like mad.
Along with the sound amplified through the speakers, the crowd’s voices grew louder.
[Alright everyone~ it would be a huge problem if something happened on stage, wouldn’t it?]
Freya spoke before the audience gathered from one end of the plaza to the other.
With a languid voice, Freya looked around and gestured sweepingly towards the stage.
[Everyone, please stay in your seats for me while I sing.]
“Waaah!!!”
The crowd reacted wildly to Freya’s gestures and every word, welcoming her.
Though the time and place differed from Torquepaz, the fervor and cheers directed at her were the same everywhere.
On the rooftop of a luxurious villa overlooking the stage, where the cheers escalated into a roar of sound.
Lennok and the Fisherman stood on the rooftop, silently watching Freya’s concert.
“These days, the kids who make a living singing are incredibly talented. I haven’t enjoyed such music in a long time.”
A middle-aged man, with a long fishing rod slung over his shoulder, sat cross-legged, his eyes sparkling.
The Fisherman’s expression beneath his straw hat was no different from the crowd below.
“If something like this happens again, call me. I’ll drop by to listen occasionally, as long as I’m not off-continent.”
“…”
“She’s a person who shines dazzlingly, no matter when you see her.”
A voice spoke from beside Lennok, who ignored the Fisherman’s words and was lost in thought.
Antares stood there, arms crossed, with a calm expression.
“She’s someone born with a talent that draws attention from others, regardless of her own will. Perhaps taking up a profession on stage was inevitable.”
“…”
“Even if she doesn’t want to, she’ll continue to sing and be loved by people. The more skeptical she feels about that fact, the more it will happen.”
“So?”
“Tell her to love what she does a little more.”
Antares chuckled at Lennok’s sharp retort.
“Because after today, I likely won’t meet her again.”
“There’s something you should explain first, rather than relaying messages like that.”
Lennok said, slowly turning to Antares.
“Aron is freezing and preserving humans to extract their magic and talents. He’s been acquiring the necessary knowledge for this process from a place called the Archive.”
“…”
“A repository of Ars Nova’s knowledge. It seems he even obtained the knowledge and procedures needed to use the remains of a dead god from there.”
Aron’s plan to resurrect Ban-gung using Ars Nova’s knowledge.
The will of a monarch seeking salvation, which he cannot achieve alone, by using the power of a Transcendent that can erase even Outer Gods.
But Lennok hadn’t forgotten that Aron was using his Talent for Duality to obtain knowledge from the Archive.
“To steal the remains of the dead god, we’ll also need knowledge from the Archive.”
The core objective of the [The Gate] assault operation. The most important key to stealing the god’s remains.
Lennok stared at Antares with a cold gaze.
“We need to find a way to enter the Archive. Where are the other members?”
But Antares didn’t answer and raised his gaze.
“And Aron, too, will have finished preparations for his campaign to assault [The Gate].”
“What?”
“Since the plan to open the [Back Door] failed, Aron will have no other choice.”
Antares said calmly.
“To achieve his goal in any way, he must have obtained the ‘right’ to use the god’s remains from the Archive.”
“The ‘right’ to use the god’s remains…?”
“It doesn’t mean a concept comprised of specific codes or authority.”
Antares nodded at Lennok’s question.
“It’s closer to ‘knowledge’ that only someone who has killed a god can know. That’s why it can only be obtained from the Archive.”
“That’s…”
Lennok paused at Antares’s answer.
The reason why the Seer, who had never intervened until now, was answering Lennok’s questions like this.
It was because Lennok instinctively knew that this fact itself was deeply connected to Antares’s purpose.
“From the beginning… were you participating in the assault operation to stop Aron?”
“Perhaps.”
Antares gave a wry smile.
“Because I was the one who enabled Aron, with his Talent for Duality, to access Ars Nova’s Archive.”
“What…?”
Antares turned his head towards the Fisherman.
“I’d like to move. Can you take us to a ‘fishing spot’?”
“Hmm?”
The Fisherman, who had been humming a song beside the two, wore a reluctant expression.
“But if we go to a fishing spot, I won’t be able to hear the song.”
“I want to talk somewhere quiet.”
Antares said.
“I’m asking you. I need your help.”
“Hmm, a request. A request, you say…”
The Fisherman rubbed his chin, looking displeased, then suddenly grinned.
“I see. If it’s a request, then I can’t refuse. Shall we go right away?”
The moment the Fisherman, who accepted Antares’s request with surprising cheerfulness, gripped his fishing rod.
Whoosh!
“…!!!”
Lennok realized he was standing at the edge of an enormous lakeside.
Freya’s singing. The crowd’s cheers. The vibrant sound had vanished as if a lie, replaced by silence.
A strange stillness, as if only Lennok, Antares, and the Fisherman were left on a quiet lake.
“Then, I’ll go fishing over there, out of your way.”
The Fisherman, who had risen in the deafening silence, waved at them.
“Have a good time.”
“Where… are we?”
He knew the Fisherman was a member of Pandemonium and possessed unique abilities, but this was beyond anything he’d imagined.
Even with his Targeted Resistance suppressed, to be forcibly teleported so quickly that Lennok couldn’t even perceive it was astonishing.
What’s more, Antares wasn’t even a member of Pandemonium, yet he seemed to know the Fisherman’s abilities in detail.
“He is an eccentric born on a different timeline, eternally fishing for time until the moment the end arrives.”
Antares explained.
Antares’s gaze, watching the Fisherman’s retreating figure disappear beyond the lakeside fog, momentarily became complicated.
“He repeats the same actions endlessly, unable to achieve any meaningful outcome through the process… but by placing a restriction he himself doesn’t perceive, he gained a unique and unapproachable ability.”
“So this spatial transfer is the Fisherman’s ability?”
“He can freely move anywhere he perceives as a ‘source’ that can serve as a fishing spot.”
Antares said, turning his gaze to Lennok.
“Not only across the continent but even the demonic realms beyond the continent can be targeted for his amusement.”
“That’s…”
“It seems he can’t travel such long distances while taking others with him, but this much will be enough for now.”
Only then did Lennok understand why the Fisherman primarily operated outside the continent.
An eccentric with an unprecedented power to move freely anywhere there was a ‘source’ he could consider a fishing spot.
Lennok immediately realized the strategic value of an ability that allowed one to freely traverse even beyond the continent, as soon as he heard the explanation.
“It’s a thoroughly non-combatant power, but in terms of scope, it’s comparable to an Ascendant’s ability. No, in its direct movement capability, it’s superior to that…”
Thinking that, Lennok suddenly raised his gaze.
“Wait, then the reason the Clown brought the Fisherman on this operation—”
“The Clown knew that [The Gate] beneath the royal capital was not a normal passage.”
Antares nodded.
“He understood what existed within [The Gate] and devised a method to steal the remains of the dead god.”
“…”
“Others might not know, but if you want to enter the Archive, I can help.”
Antares looked at Lennok and said.
“Through my precognition, I can ‘filter out’ directions where the Archive doesn’t exist, and with the Fisherman’s ability, we can traverse spacetime.”
The knowledge of Ars Nova that Aron downloaded from the Archive using his Talent for Duality.
The ultimate dream of Ban-gung’s resurrection, achieved by sacrificing the remains of a dead god. Even the presence of the Fisherman and Antares.
Clearly, the reason Antares was explaining this to Lennok at this moment was also—
“It seems you, as a Seer, cannot directly access the Archive yourself.”
“Because I am merely a Seer who glimpsed a failed future.”
Antares affirmed.
“If this flow is connected to the ending I saw, I can foresee it, but I cannot directly change it. That is because it is a taboo to alter the ending I have foreseen.”
“…”
Had Antares vanished as soon as they arrived in the royal capital because he was preparing to use his precognition?
A repository of knowledge that Ars Nova had preserved until the very end, even after meeting its demise, for its reconstruction.
Once the Archive’s existence was recognized, it was clear that he had to enter it directly.
There was a possibility that knowledge on how to handle [The Gate]’s power, or how to control rampaging lightning magic, also existed there.
“How can you access the Archive using precognition?”
“The Archive exists at the Boundary Line of the World and the Outer Sea, doubly overlapping at the boundary between the material world and the Imaginary Dimension simultaneously.”
Antares said, spreading his hand.
“This was a measure to prevent the knowledge necessary for Ars Nova’s reconstruction from disappearing, even after the world met its end.”
“…”
“One must be able to see two different boundary lines simultaneously, like two sides of a coin, to perceive the Archive. The Talent for Duality is the qualification for that.”
Antares closed his eyes.
“Long ago, I used precognition to guide Aron’s Talent for Duality… helping him access the Archive.”
“You…”
“And now, I want to undo that mistake.”
“So you’ll use your precognition to gauge the Archive’s location and the Fisherman’s ability to access it?”
“The Spring of Wisdom within the Archive is one of his fishing spots. If he helps us, we can safely travel near the Archive.”
Antares said that and turned away.
“Fisherman. May I ‘request’ such a thing from you?”
“Seers… are truly inconvenient guests.”
Along with Antares’s words, the man appeared from beyond the fog, holding an empty bucket.
The Fisherman’s expression beneath his straw hat, as he looked at Antares, was strangely uneasy.
“Not only do you tell me things I don’t necessarily want to know, but aren’t you too well-informed about me?”
“Among all destinies that deviate from causality, you are an exceptional being.”
Antares smiled.
“Because you are unbound and free, those of us subjugated by precognition, like me, can see that freedom even more clearly. If I caused offense, I apologize.”
“For a Seer, you’re a polite one, knowing how to apologize.”
The Fisherman looked at Antares with an uncharacteristically serious gaze.
“But, if you overuse precognition like that, you’ll meet a terrible death. Are you alright with that?”
“I’ve already decided what end I will meet.”
Antares replied.
“To glimpse the future to my heart’s content, like a Seer, and to die like a Seer. Will you help me?”
“Hmm…”
The Fisherman, who had been pondering, raised his hand.
“If that’s also a request, then I can’t refuse.”
The moment the Fisherman lowered his hand, the tranquil lakeside scenery completely transformed.
The beautiful singing echoing under the dazzling sunlight. The cheers of people utterly captivated by Freya’s song.
“Waaah!!!”
“I can take you to the fishing spot you mentioned, but only I can remain there.”
The Fisherman, who had instantly returned to Kabahim’s royal capital plaza, said.
Unlike before, he stared at Lennok with a serious expression, not even paying attention to the music around them.
“Among the fishing spots I’ve discovered, this one is particularly reluctant to get a bite, so you’ll have to find your own qualification to remain.”
“I request your help.”
“Wait…”
Rumble!!!
At that moment, a mighty magical resonance echoed from the opposite side of the royal capital, where the plaza was located.
A dense magical afterglow, strong enough to momentarily freeze even Freya, who was singing, and the knights guarding the plaza.
Shwaaak!!!
A light stained black surged into the sky, drawing a gigantic black ring.
The rotating black ring unfolded across the sky and began to drip black tears.
“It has begun.”
Lennok’s gaze, watching the black ring floating in the sky above the royal capital, turned chillingly cold.
“Aron is opening [The Gate] beneath the royal capital.”
Since the plan to open the Back Door failed due to Lennok, they would have to open the gate beneath the royal capital by orthodox means and enter the sanctuary.
It was clear that Pandemonium’s full force would also move simultaneously, attempting to confront Aron with all their might.
Lennok’s task was to enter the Archive, obtain the right to steal the remains of the dead god, and then enter The Gate.
The method to steal the Outer God’s corpse. The secret to Ban-gung’s resurrection. Even a way to control rampaging lightning magic.
“Let’s begin.”
Clack!
The Fisherman, raising the fishing rod slung over his shoulder, handed Lennok a fishing hook.
The moment Lennok threaded it onto the inside of his glove, the Fisherman clasped both his hands together.
With the illusion of everything before his eyes being split in two, the world tore apart and surged upward.
Grrrrk—
Kwagagagaga!!!
The sensation of space warping lingered on his tongue, and a chilling tearing sound brushed past his nose.
His five senses swirled chaotically, raging through his sensory organs, and immeasurable synesthesia overflowed.
The Boundary Line of the World and the Outer Sea. The boundary between reality and the Imaginary Dimension.
Distinguishing and defining two concepts that were alike yet different, he navigated forward as if walking a tightrope.
The intersection of four distinct yet homologous concepts and dimensions.
At the moment a golden shooting star, located at that very end, poured faintly into Lennok’s eyes.
Whoosh!
Lennok stood in the middle of a colossal temple, enveloped in a golden glow.
“…”
The light of the setting sun streamed diagonally from outside the temple. A warm breeze wafted along the walls.
A tranquil and languid atmosphere, like finding a library just before closing in the late afternoon.
Was this what it would feel like to visualize and unfold the landscape before everything ended, to capture it with one’s own eyes?
This was the Archive, holding the knowledge and wisdom of Ars Nova, the central city.
A repository of knowledge left behind for the future, even after the world met its end.
The commotion that had begun in the royal capital had vanished as if a lie, replaced by a quiet stillness that made his chest feel languid.
Lennok, forgetting even to adjust his mask, stared blankly at the scene before him.
“Then, I’ll be waiting here.”
The Fisherman said, perched on a golden fountain located right beside them.
He cast his fishing rod below the fountain, adjusted his straw hat, and nodded.
“I wish you good fortune.”
“…”
Lennok looked down at the fountain and paused, seeing something flowing instead of water.
Strange arrays of characters flowed beneath the fountain, constantly shifting their forms.
Ancient Liquid Text, impossible to decipher with the naked eye.
Was this fountain, capable of holding this Liquid Text, the Spring of Wisdom itself?
“You should be careful.”
The Fisherman nodded the moment Lennok turned without a word.
“This place doesn’t reject or push away unqualified beings. Instead, it draws them in and traps them here forever.”
“…”
“Unqualified beings are eternally bound here, becoming the very knowledge within the Archive. I’ve seen such individuals, several times…”
The Fisherman’s words, as he watched Lennok’s retreating figure, slowly trailed off.
Because, as Lennok’s shadow robe swayed and he took a step, the entire golden temple began to tremble.
Kugugugugu!!!!
As if reacting to Lennok’s presence and turning its gaze, the bookshelves and pillars inside the temple simultaneously tilted.
The golden sunset bowed its head at his feet, and the statues displayed all around knelt in unison.
An overwhelming spectacle, as if the entire Archive was turning towards one person and opening up.
The Fisherman, speechless, looked at Lennok’s retreating figure.
“You… you’re a much more important person than I thought, aren’t you?”
“…”
But Lennok didn’t reply, instead watching the unfolding spectacle with a tense demeanor.
He had anticipated that Ars Nova’s Archive would react in some way.
The question was how the Archive would perceive and treat Lennok’s presence.
As Lennok thought that and gazed silently at the scene before him, at that very moment.
[Imperial Archive Access Complete]
[Spiritual Nexus Open. Existential Projection Rate checking.]
[Special Authority User Re-entry Approved]
[Retrieving reserved access information]
“Re-entry…?”
The instant Lennok paused at the unexpected message.
Before Lennok’s eyes, a golden record glowed and ascended.
[There is 1 message left by the authority user himself within the Archive.]
[Would you like to view it?]