Chapter 1349: Engineered Transcendence (27)

Still early morning, before dawn. District 49’s businesses and exchanges were already bustling.

Hundreds of people moved in perfect unison through the exchange, carrying goods and reallocating sections.

Unopened boxes, statues covered in talismans, and catalysts were brought in by the truckload.

Drones and spirits hovered overhead, photographing and diagramming District 49, designing a circular layout centered on the entire area.

News and broadcasts from various channels streamed live across the billboards.

“[The Central Council has officially announced that Adamant Thunder’s Ascension Ritual is fast approaching.]”

“[With item businesses in District 49 completely halted, and entry/exit forbidden in and out of the area, many citizens are experiencing confusion…]”

“[The Police Department announced it would establish a safe zone with the city government’s cooperation, hinting at congestion already forming in the Outer Zone…]”

“[Meanwhile, many citizens have gathered near the Outer Zone to witness the birth of Vulcan’s first Ascendant…]”

Even without delving deep into the outside news, one could feel the entire city’s gaze fixed on this place.

The Central Council’s official announcement, the full support of the Countermeasures Committee led by Councilman Meyer.

By now, no citizen of Vulcan would be unaware of what was happening here.

Amidst the intense media spotlight, people quietly prepared for the ritual.

Lennok walked through the center of the VIP exchange, where all sorts of goods were piled high like mountains.

“Van. The purchase of catalysts and symbols needed for the ritual is almost complete.”

Beside Lennok, Jenny flipped through a tablet incessantly, checking catalogs as she spoke.

Behind her, dozens of superhumans and laborers carried the designated items further into the exchange.

“I referred to the list you sent, but there were so many hard-to-find items that I had to search across the continent. We even had to send people to the Republic and the fallen Kabahim, you know?”

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Now that everything’s gathered, it’s really just a bunch of weird stuff. Should I quickly read out the list?”

Jenny murmured, quickly scrolling.

“Time Tree Sap. Bodhi Tree Twigs. Dream Gem and Shards of the River of Oblivion. Essence of Iceflame and White-Winged Species Feathers. Bloodfire Horn and Snow Dragon Heart…”

“…”

“Fragments of the Hanghasa Labyrinth. Shards of the Moon’s Lighthouse. The blueprint for the Demonic Conflux Array, and even a map to Heaven’s Gate…”

Jenny, who had been examining the list with a wry expression, looked back at Lennok.

“It’s a bit odd to ask now, but why do you need these kinds of items? It’s natural for a ritual to require various catalysts, but blueprints or maps aren’t usually necessary, are they?”

“To supplement the primordial mysteries.”

“…Mysteries?”

“Though it borrows the form of a ritual, ascension isn’t something that can proceed merely by drawing a magic circle and following the steps.”

Lennok said, looking around at the catalysts and equipment piled up throughout the exchange.

“It’s the process by which an individual gains the qualification to transcend the world. It’s not something that can be achieved solely with the authorities or laws that originally exist in this world.”

“So?”

“If there are primordial mysteries, or objects equivalent to them, it helps.”

Primitive Magic passed down from ancient times.

The primordial mysteries contained within the highest-tier Primitive Magic, now wielded by only a select few of Kundara’s supreme True Bloods.

A power that Maleon Gnosis possessed, but Euphoria Aosel, despite also being a supreme True Blood, did not.

The concept itself, which defies the laws of spellcraft and equivalent exchange to manifest miracles, is a miracle that only existed in the early days of the Third World.

Lennok planned to compensate for the inevitable shortcomings of the Ascension Ritual using other methods.

Jenny, too, seemed to understand immediately upon hearing Lennok’s words and nodded.

“So that’s why the Ascension Relic was an ancient artifact.”

“Normally, there wouldn’t be a need for all this, but since the mirror was used once at the ruins, it’s necessary to replenish the power originally contained within it.”

Lennok said, looking at a necklace displayed on a stall in one corner of the exchange.

“It’s a ritual that must fail, but that failure must be a result after the ritual has fully run its course. The Ascension Ritual itself must be performed properly, without any issues.”

“…”

“Dadam’s desired direction is probably similar. Fortunately, having seen the Promotion Magic Circle Jindun left in Kundara, I was able to grasp the general direction.”

The Promotion Magic Circle Maleon used in Kundara was a safeguard left by Jindun to seal the Ninth Tribulation.

Thus, in the process of helping with Maleon’s Ascension Ritual, Lennok vaguely understood how the ritual should be structured.

Whether Dadam knew this and chose Lennok is unknown, but it was clear that Lennok held both the means and the methods in his hands.

“But I never thought you’d actually get this.”

Lennok, deep in thought, looked down at a pure white stone displayed in a showcase in one corner of the exchange.

A small stone fragment, emitting a faint, pale luminescence without containing any magical power.

The surface of the stone was densely inscribed with tiny characters, forming a strange pattern.

“A map to Heaven’s Gate… so it was still an existing object in this world.”

“What are you talking about? You’re the one who asked me to get it.”

“I did ask for it, but I just listed items that could be used for the ritual; I didn’t actually think they could be obtained.”

Lennok, who had been looking at the stone with amusement, turned to Jenny.

“Jenny, do you know what this stone is?”

“I don’t know… an ancient relic or something?”

“It’s a Moonstone.”

“…Huh?”

“It’s an object that existed long before this world. There wouldn’t be an appropriate way to obtain it in this timeline, to begin with.”

The moment Jenny was speechless, Lennok asked casually.

“The Lighthouse Keeper must have obtained it, right? Since there was a connection with the Moon’s Lighthouse.”

“…That’s right.”

“Then it’s fine. We’ll use this too. I don’t know if Heaven’s Gate still remains in this world, but we won’t be using this as a map.”

Afterward, Lennok spent time with Jenny walking around the exchange, checking for missing catalysts and reviewing the ritual’s sequence.

Although Jenny had procured most of the items, Lennok’s judgment was ultimately required to find substitutes for any missing catalysts.

They revisited the time and place to begin the Ascension Ritual, reconfirming the routes and positions.

The moment preparations were complete, after a few final requests to his colleagues who had come to the exchange to find Lennok.

“…”

WHOOSH!!!

Lennok realized that all the personnel in District 49 were now silently watching him.

Not just the personnel working in the tower, but people across Vulcan would still be observing this place.

He was reminded once again of the immense scale of the Ascension Ritual, but Lennok thought it might even be better to be so overtly in the spotlight.

Since it wasn’t something that could be attempted in secret anyway, it might be better to deliberately stage it and warn everyone across Vulcan to pay attention.

However, Lennok knew that those waiting for him now weren’t stopped for that reason.

“Van.”

Jenny hesitated, then asked.

“…Are you really going to be okay?”

“Lutchman, whom I met at the ruins, made one mistake.”

Lennok said.

“He spoke as if I could become an Ascendant anytime I wished, but that’s not true. Becoming a Level 9 isn’t that simple.”

“…”

“There’s no absolute reason to borrow the form of such a ritual, but it requires no less powerful sudden enlightenment and gradual cultivation. Something powerful enough to break oneself…”

Lennok smiled, looking at Jenny, whose expression had tightened in silence.

“Lutchman failed to understand that because he isn’t a Seeker. More accurately, because he was a being who didn’t desire it. In reality, he prioritized his power over the quest for truth.”

“Of course, but…”

“If so, why was Lutchman so convinced that I could become an Ascendant immediately if I just set my mind to it?”

“Huh?”

Jenny looked up, a surprised expression on her face.

Lennok nodded.

“Because there was someone who actually did that a long time ago.”

“…”

“I’m not participating in the ritual solely because I accepted Dadam’s proposal.”

Lennok turned away from the speechless Jenny and said.

“Through this ritual, I intend to find out if that is actually possible.”

WHOOOOSH!!!!

A frigid, intense wind, cold enough to sting the eyes, swept through the city sky.

The silvery moon, so high that clouds flowed beneath their feet, made everything on the ground look distant.

In the heart of the Great Forest’s Ideological Domain, beneath a crescent moon like a colossal silver bow.

As the sleeping Ascendant’s consciousness awakened, a sharp thunderbolt rotated in the air.

CRACKLE…!!!

The afterglow of lightning pierced the heart of the Ideological Domain like a flash.

Before the Ascendant could even blink, a wizard in a black coat stood before her.

A colossal presence, facing the warm breeze, gazed silently at her with an expressionless face.

The lingering essence of boundless will-thought and mind imprint, overflowing like a sea, filled to the extreme and beyond.

Each time she faced that distant will-thought, faint memories from long ago came to mind.

Distant moments when she had emptied and abandoned herself to challenge ascension, believing she would reach the answer.

Dadam, recalling ancient times she could no longer even remember and having invoked the past ritual, opened her mouth.

“You’re later than I thought.”

“…”

“Did you need time to make up your mind?”

“A useless question.”

Lennok said.

“It’s impossible for a being like you not to have heard the news from the ground.”

“News from the ground… Indeed.”

Dadam replied.

“I feel the humans gathering. Everyone in this city is watching us.”

“…”

“You deliberately amplified the scale of the ritual and gathered gazes, waiting for this moment to arrive. Are you satisfied now?”

Thousands, tens of thousands, or even more people seemed to be watching District 49 from near the Outer Zone.

At this moment, with everyone awake and aware throughout the mega-city watching the nearby sky.

A normal human would find it difficult to even breathe properly under the pressure pouring down on this place.

But neither of them showed any emotion, even after perceiving the situation unfolding across the city.

“It sounds like you don’t particularly care how the Ascension Ritual is conducted.”

“I hear the aspirations of the humans gathered here, but they are merely meanings that do not reach me.”

Dadam shifted her gaze.

“What’s important is your own will, who leads the ritual. Today’s events will only gain meaning if you are truly prepared to challenge and fall.”

“…”

“Now that you stand before me again, may I take that as a sign that you are ready?”

“Before we begin, let me confirm one last time.”

Lennok took a step.

“The ancient mirror is an object that bestows the qualification for ascension. It’s a power that, for a suitable Seeker, has a high probability of making the ritual succeed.”

“…”

“I will open that Ascension Ritual, force it to fail, and completely annihilate the mirror created by the World’s Ten Laws.”

Lennok said, looking into Dadam’s empty eyes.

“In exchange, you teach me the manifestation method of the Ideological Domain, and the deal is done. You understand, right?”

“A single moment will be enough.”

“What?”

“If you have truly trained yourself close to transcendence, you will understand the moment the Ascension Ritual fails.”

Dadam’s transparent gaze seemed to pierce through Lennok.

“A single moment of reaching beyond the threshold will allow you to accept the enlightenment. At that point, it can be said that a proper price has been paid.”

“Are you warning me about the moment of paying the price for the deal?”

“An Ideological Domain is the power to engrave a philosophy into spacetime, transforming reality into one’s own world.”

Dadam said softly.

“However, that doesn’t mean an Ideological Domain is a superior version or an evolved authority of a Domain. Wasn’t your Domain, which you gained upon reaching Level 8, the same?”

“…”

“Just as your Domain cannot be a superior version of a basic Domain, an Ideological Domain is not a power superior to a basic Domain or your own unique Domain.”

Dadam raised her hand, drawing forth magical power.

“You will come to understand this meaning amidst an endlessly flowing, ancient miracle.”

“Is everyone ready?”

At that moment, a platinum-haired young man in a fedora emerged from between the dense trees.

He smiled broadly, his hand touching his hat, holding a staff in one hand, and bowing his head.

Unbelievable as it was, Lennok knew the identity of this sudden intruder.

“…Silford.”

Unofficial external advisor under the City Government’s Central Council. A Herald representing the will of the Elder Council.

An unidentified Transcendent, who called himself a sorcerer, had appeared, having been appointed as the Elder Council’s Herald after Onnion.

Silford, too, waved slightly at Lennok as if pleased to see him.

“It’s been a long time, Van. A very long time, hasn’t it?”

“I thought you’d died somewhere long ago, but you’re still alive.”

The last time Lennok saw Silford was when Professor Raphael was scouted for the research institute, so it had been quite a while.

He hadn’t appeared at the Level 8 summit held in the satellite city, nor at the subjugation campaign or victory ceremony, so Lennok had thought him dead, only to see him here.

“I am truly sorry for the rudeness committed by ‘some’ within the Elder Council regarding this matter. I hope this apology isn’t too late?”

Silford tilted his head slightly, smiling.

“Please rest assured that all individuals involved in this matter, led by Lutchman, have been expelled. We will strive to prevent such unpleasant incidents in the future.”

“You’re not saying it won’t happen again.”

“Who would be foolish enough to guarantee something that cannot be guaranteed?”

Despite Lennok’s unenthusiastic reply, Silford chuckled and waved his staff.

“It’s a bit late to mention this, but many of the old crones with authority within the Elder Council have minds that are literally worn out. To put it simply, they’re incredibly stubborn and autocratic.”

“…”

“I am merely a Herald representing the will of the Elder Council; I cannot interfere with the internal decision-making of the Elder Council, so giving you a definite answer on such matters would, in fact, be a lie.”

“Really?”

Silford’s attitude seemed brazen at first listen.

But Lennok didn’t get angry watching Silford.

Instead, he merely looked at Silford’s smiling face with a cold smile and asked.

“Isn’t it rather because you’re not on the Elder Council’s side to begin with?”

“Oh, is that so?”

“I know someone whose way of speaking is strangely identical to yours.”

Lennok said calmly.

“Strangely, you haven’t appeared in this city since he awakened. Why is that? I doubt there’s a reason that’s difficult to guess.”

“…”

Lennok turned away from Silford, who was still smiling without answering.

“You came to observe the ritual, didn’t you? Do as you please. As long as you don’t interfere, I won’t mind.”

“…My, my.”

Silford chuckled, then glanced at the Ascendant who was watching them without any reaction, and adjusted the brim of his hat.

“Understood. Of course, I must oblige if that is what you wish. However, may I offer one warning?”

“What is it?”

“I know of a being who was forcibly made an Ascendant by the will of others. Dadam, too, surely knows his ultimate fate.”

“…”

“You should be careful. Understood?”

He was not unaware of where Silford’s name originated.

Therefore, he couldn’t possibly be unaware of the meaning of the warning Silford was conveying.

Aurel Silford, the World-Soul. The failed Transcendent who was forcibly made an Ascendant by Ars Nova’s experiments, ultimately becoming a bullet for the Well.

Coming from someone who inherited Silford’s name, this warning felt more real than anything.

“…”

But Dadam didn’t bother to refute Silford’s outright warning in front of her.

In fact, she showed no reaction whatsoever, making it doubtful if she was even listening to him.

Just as when she first met Lennok, she merely watched the two of them with empty, emotionless eyes.

“Heh heh. This is why I truly dislike Ascendants.”

“…”

“Enough. I’ve said useless things. I haven’t done anything unlucky right before a critical ritual, have I?”

“If you intended to shake my mind and make the ritual fail, it wasn’t a bad attempt.”

Lennok replied nonchalantly, resuming his steps.

“If you don’t want to die, stay far away. As an Ascendant’s bloodline, you too will inevitably be affected to some extent.”

He knew why the sorcerer, who hadn’t appeared for a while, was here now.

The sorcerer was the one who inherited the blood of Aurel Silford, the World-Soul. In other words, a descendant of a corrupted Ascendant.

Being familiar with Ascendants, there would be no Transcendent more suitable to closely observe the ritual.

But conversely, it also meant he was equally susceptible to being swept up by the influence of the Ascension Ritual.

Silford seemed to understand this as well, nodding readily and stepping back.

“Understood. But are you planning to start the ritual right here?”

Silford asked, glancing aside.

“Won’t it take some time to return to District 49 and begin the ritual?”

Since the Ascension Ritual wouldn’t begin in Dadam’s Ideological Domain, the starting location would, in all likelihood, be within Adamant Thunder’s Domain.

If so, even returning to District 49 now to finalize preparations for the Ascension Ritual and refine his mind and body would be insufficient.

Given the importance of the upcoming ritual, he would need time to bring his mind and body to optimal condition.

“I had my fortune told recently, before the ritual.”

But Lennok chuckled at Silford’s words and tilted his head.

“They said there are things one doesn’t know until they’ve tried. That you can’t prepare for everything, but you’ll know when the time comes.”

“…?”

“Even after much thought, I couldn’t quite figure out what I was missing. But I need to know before anyone else, no matter what. So, what should I do?”

“What are you talking about—”

KRA-THOOOOOOM!!!!!

In that instant, an intense thunderclap, as if the world itself were splitting in two, erupted.

A colossal pillar of light, visible even above Dadam’s Ideological Domain where the magnificent Great Forest stretched out.

In the fleeting moment Silford gaped slightly and the Ascendant watched the luminous halo covering the sky with empty eyes.

Lennok, standing with his arms crossed against the colossal pillar of light, said.

“Simply put, I just need to start the ritual much earlier than anyone anticipated.”

“…Huh?”

“Ascendant. I accept your proposal, but I intend to personally decide its beginning and end.”

Lennok’s form blurred as he met Dadam’s gaze, leaving the faltering Silford behind.

“The Ascension Ritual has already begun. It will be over soon.”