Chapter 862: The Handover (30)
Pyeonram’s consciousness space, so vast its end was hard to fathom.
A great jungle stretched out, overgrown with nothing but undergrowth between the old stone floors.
The consciousness construct that had been corrupted into a well leading to the Outer Sea had ascended into reality, and on the empty plains left behind, Pyeonram spoke.
“You are right, human.”
In this vast world of consciousness, a place he had entered by temporarily leaving even his physical body behind.
The Transcendent, who had been on the verge of shattering spacetime by consecutively chanting the highest-level spells, seemed to feel nothing about what she had just attempted to do.
Instead, she merely stared at Lennok with transparent eyes, her emotions unreadable.
In the pupils of the wizard, who had just finished his mental link with Davi and turned around, the shadow of the young girl stretched long.
“You may mock it as arrogance, but in a sense, it is also the conviction that one will reach the end.”
“…”
“Before you arrive, it is nothing more than a vague feeling, but after you cross that threshold, it becomes a faith you can clearly perceive.”
The shadow cast at the feet of the girl, who stood with her messy white hair spread haphazardly, somehow seemed to trace the form of a giant snake.
The Ascendant, borrowing the form of a young girl, slowly dusted off her gathered hands and turned her gaze.
“You already possess it. You are more convinced than anyone I remember.”
“…I am.”
“Anyone who has raised their own status beyond a certain level comes to possess the obstinacy that their own method is correct.”
Pyeonram turned her gaze, her face expressionless.
“If you are unwavering, then that is fine. It will not be too late to watch for the answer beyond the conclusion you reach and then decide.”
The decision Padme Kiesa spoke of was likely not just about whether to cooperate with Lennok.
The snake that guards the well. A Transcendent born bearing Pyeonram’s epithet.
To her, who fulfilled her duty even as she slowly lost her own memories, Lennok’s existence as someone attempting ascension was not merely a matter of distinguishing friend from foe.
If Lennok were to attempt ascension in the future and the fruits of his labor were judged to be contrary to her mission.
Then, as an Ascendant, she would literally use her full power to eliminate Lennok from this world.
“I will accept Heavenly Sight’s mediation. As promised, the essence of the consciousness construct will be handed over to that wizard’s Guardian Spirit Beast.”
“If you were going to say that, you should have notified me before taking action,” Lennok replied, a look of bewilderment on his face.
“Thanks to you moving without notice, my Guardian Spirit Beast has awakened in reality. It’ll be a struggle just to get out of here and handle the situation.”
Pyeonram tilted her head.
“What does that have to do with me?”
“…”
“Alright, that’s enough from both of you.”
As Lennok fell silent, lost for words, Heavenly Sight stepped forward.
She leisurely patted the girl’s shoulder and said with a grin, “Padme. Thank you for accepting the proposal. Without your help, this wouldn’t have ended smoothly.”
“I did not do it to receive thanks.”
The girl, looking weary, touched one of her eyelids and said, “As I said, one well to protect is enough. As long as the result is that it won’t be overwritten, I don’t care about the method.”
“I know. I heard that a long time ago. That hasn’t changed, even after so much time has passed.”
Heavenly Sight smiled.
“But I’m different. The mission I chose isn’t a task carried out with a clear objective, but something closer to a postponement, stretching the process out indefinitely.”
“…”
“I had my doubts, but after meeting that wizard and you, I understand. I acted according to my initial beliefs until the moment I died, and then I departed.”
Slowly removing her hand from Pyeonram’s shoulder, Heavenly Sight said, “Then I suppose I should follow suit.”
“…Even if you are just a splinter of the past, you are still a splinter from a point in time when you had clearly earned your qualifications,” Pyeonram retorted, brushing off Heavenly Sight’s hand with an indifferent air.
“To now care about how your life in the present age ended… it doesn’t suit you.”
“Really?”
“…”
A strange silence fell, and Pyeonram averted her gaze.
“There is nothing left to do here. I will be returning.”
The problems that arose in this consciousness space, the commotion from her clash with Lennok and Heavenly Sight in the process… even the act of splitting her consciousness construct and handing it over to the Guardian Spirit Beast seemed to hold no particular meaning for her.
That was likely because the various layers of time and memory stacked within Pyeonram were already endlessly sinking into oblivion along with her.
I quietly watched the back of the girl as she turned and walked away toward the horizon.
“Goodbye.”
Pyeonram casually raised her fingers while her arms were crossed.
Brushing back her voluminous, navy-blue hair, a gentle smile formed on her face, a face that had slipped past the flow of time.
“Farewell, Padme.”
“…”
She does not say, “see you next time.”
The moment Lennok felt something in Heavenly Sight’s words and slowly raised his gaze.
Pyeonram, who had been walking away toward the horizon, briefly stopped.
“…”
The crumbling, scattering horizon and the evening sky, dyed red like a sunset.
As if feeling the same thing, the girl captured Heavenly Sight’s form in her transparent eyes.
As if trying to commit to memory for the last time someone who had already departed this world.
The moment the girl, who had been facing Heavenly Sight without a word, suddenly soared up into the massive body of a giant snake.
The Ascendant’s consciousness, which had turned back to fill the distant plains, vanished completely.
Fwoosh!!
“Is she gone?”
Heavenly Sight, who had been maintaining a dignified composure, finally let out a sigh and a bitter smile.
“She’s so dense, yet her intuition is sharp only in the strangest ways. That hasn’t changed.”
“…”
Ignoring Lennok, who was staring at her with a dumbfounded expression, Heavenly Sight turned her head sharply and said, “Well, since it’s come to this, shall we take care of our own remaining business?”
“Remaining business?”
“This consciousness space, its master now gone, will soon collapse.”
Heavenly Sight pointed above her head and said, “Before that happens, there’s one thing I want to tell you. It would be good if we could make it in time.”
Crack-crack!!
Just as she said, Pyeonram’s consciousness space was cracking on all sides and rapidly contracting.
The consciousness construct that originally resided here was gone, and now that the real Pyeonram had also left, the space had lost its meaning and was slowly fading away.
Understanding this, Lennok said to Heavenly Sight, “I understand you were trying to save the consciousness construct during the mediation with Pyeonram. I also admit that your method was helpful to me.”
It was easy to miss since events had unfolded so rapidly with the two Ascendants clashing, but Heavenly Sight had clearly tried to help Lennok.
At the very least, the process of handing Pyeonram’s consciousness construct over to Lennok would have been impossible without her noticing his concerns about the Guardian Spirit Beast.
Though unintentional, it was clear that he had received her help. But—
“That doesn’t guarantee I have to listen to your demands. Why would you think I’d cooperate with you?”
“Difficult. But I expected as much.”
Heavenly Sight smiled and waved her hand, and a simple chair appeared behind her.
Sitting down on it as if with some effort, Heavenly Sight said, “Don’t worry. I’m not asking for some burdensome feat. In the first place, you’re too dangerous to entrust with such a task.”
“…”
“Yes, you are dangerous… That’s why, honestly, I’m still not sure if it’s okay to ask this of you now.”
Heavenly Sight muttered, lost in thought as she tapped her brow.
“The Lighthouse Keeper’s power is specialized in seeing farther than anyone else, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it can see all futures. In a way, while it’s a power close to a superior version of foresight, it also falls short of the curse of omniscience.”
“Just get to the point. Didn’t you say we don’t have time?”
“Lapis.”
Heavenly Sight said.
“I need to meet that child you spoke of.”
“…”
“The fact that I once handed over the authority of the Lighthouse to another… she must know about that.”
Through her deep blue hair, Heavenly Sight’s eyes flashed with an unreadable emotion.
“If she has truly accepted the duties of the Lighthouse Keeper to protect the mission, she will try to finish things.”
“Finish things.”
Lennok stared at Heavenly Sight with his arms crossed.
“Is this related to the Curse of Metamorphosis you mentioned earlier?”
“…”
Heavenly Sight did not answer.
Watching Heavenly Sight’s expression with a sharp gaze, Lennok spoke slowly.
“If it’s something that will cause problems for Lapis, I refuse. The Eyes of Blue she leads holds a considerable position on the continent, and they’ve helped in many ways—”
Lennok, about to say more, shut his mouth and shook his head.
This was the memory of a dead Ascendant. There was no need to explain every other reason.
“She’s a child.”
“…”
“She is struggling because of the mission you passed down to her.”
“…And?”
“You would do well not to do something you’ll regret. For your sake, and for Lapis’s.”
Heavenly Sight looked up at Lennok, somewhat surprised, then burst out laughing.
“That’s a very human answer… Does a wizard like you still have such compassion left in you?”
“Didn’t I tell you?”
Lennok retorted coolly.
“If I were the type to break down, unable to control my own emotions and will, I would never have started this in the first place.”
“…”
Heavenly Sight’s face seemed lost in deep thought.
The expression visible through her hair seemed steeped in an emotion that was difficult to describe.
“Fine… Then just pass on one message.”
Heavenly Sight said in a low voice.
“That I want to see her. That alone is enough. Understood?”
“If I don’t know your motive, I have no reason to deliver it.”
Lennok cut her off sharply.
“I need an answer.”
“No, you already know.”
Heavenly Sight smiled quietly and raised her gaze.
“You know that child is looking for me. You have a faint sense that she wants to settle things. Isn’t that why you’re wary of me?”
“…”
“If you intend to refuse, then do so. No matter how you move, nothing will change in the end.”
Heavenly Sight’s remark, willingly entrusting the matter to him and letting go of even the words she had just told him without any lingering attachment.
At her breezy acquiescence, even Lennok hesitated for a moment, unable to read her intent.
Was her detached attitude because she was a Transcendent who had surpassed hierarchies, or was there another reason?
Kugugugu!!!
The plains where they faced each other cracked, and in the collapsing spacetime, the consciousnesses of the two began to rise and sink in different directions.
Heavenly Sight, sinking below, looked up at Lennok’s consciousness, which was rapidly ascending back to reality.
With her chin propped on her hand, leisurely seated on the chair she had created, she seemed completely unconcerned with the world crumbling around her.
Heavenly Sight looked at Lennok and gave a soft smile.
“But I will be waiting.”
Paat!!!
Immediately after, Lennok, having ascended from the consciousness space and escaped, let out a shallow cough.
“Cough, cough!!”
Returning to reality from a space where he existed as a consciousness construct, the weight of his flesh once again pressed down heavily on his mind.
A shackle that made it difficult to live a normal life for even a moment without the power of medicine and magic.
But what truly made Lennok strong did not exist only in the wizard’s reason or in his transcendent intuition.
“Hoo…”
Wiping the sweat that trickled down his cheek, Lennok finally realized he was sitting, leaning against a large eggshell.
The egg was as large as Lennok, so it could easily support his weight and still stand perfectly upright.
“…Wait.”
Lennok, who had been absentmindedly leaning back and organizing his thoughts, noticed something was off and froze.
The eggshell, which should have been heavy and solid, was strangely light.
Surely, unless something that was supposed to be inside had gotten out—
[Hey, I told you not to run around!]
Swish!!
Something shot past Lennok at incredible speed.
Something was darting around the underground cavern of the Magic Tower as if exhilarated, with pieces of yet-unbroken eggshell dangling all over its body.
With a small fox cub perched on its head, it frantically shook its head back and forth.
[Yoohoo, yoohoo~]
With a strange cry that was hard to imitate, it circled around Lennok, its speed so fast it was difficult to even track with the naked eye.
“…No way.”
The moment Lennok, intuiting that the unidentifiable shape was the being that had been asleep in the egg, raised his mana sense.
Whatever had been excitedly running around the cavern sensed Lennok’s mana and stopped in front of him.
Only then could Lennok see the form floating slowly before him with his own two eyes.
[Yoohoo?]
It was the form of a baby dragon, tilting its head at Lennok with a strange cry.
It was about as tall as Lennok’s waist, a chubby figure with a plump belly sticking out.
Standing and supporting itself on its hind legs, it covered its two shining eyes, nestled between its long snout, with its thick front paw.
After tidying itself up by patting all over its head with its front paws, the Guardian Spirit Beast looked at Lennok with sparkling eyes.
An enthusiastic gesture, as if it were trying to tidy up to look good for Lennok.
“…Wait a minute.”
Lennok made a strange face.
“How can a Guardian Spirit Beast be so fat…?”
[…Eeeyit-hoo.]
As if that wasn’t what it wanted to hear, the baby dragon’s reaction was to promptly place its front paw on Lennok’s head.
Seeing this, Davi, who was riding on the beast’s head, immediately grabbed the dragon’s whisker and pulled.
[What do you think you’re doing, being cheeky to Master!]
[Awoo, awoo~]
Unable to dislodge Davi, it rolled around on the floor as if in pain.
Lying it down and watching it quietly, its form looked so round it seemed more like a ball than a dragon.
He never imagined its physique would catch his eye before its species or lineage.
Could this be the direct consequence of it lazing around in the egg, gobbling up all the food it was given?
[Kooo~]
While Lennok was briefly contemplating, the Guardian Spirit Beast fell asleep right there on the spot where it had lain down.
With its long snout pointed upwards and bubbles coming from both nostrils, it conveniently fell into a deep slumber.
“…”
Lennok stared at the Guardian Spirit Beast, dead to the world, then took out his phone and made a call.
“…Evelyn, it’s me.”
Standing up with the immediately connected phone, Lennok said, “About that bodyguard job for Lapis we talked about. I’ll take it.”
[…!!]
Listening to Evelyn’s quick reply from over the phone, Lennok became lost in thought.
Heavenly Sight’s consciousness construct had said she wanted to meet Lapis, but she never gave a reason.
It might be nothing, but if the reason Heavenly Sight wanted to meet Lapis was related to the Curse of Metamorphosis she mentioned…
If that curse, which converges on the predator, applies not only to spirit beasts but also to Ascendants—if her words were not a bluff.
Then he needed to stay by Lapis’s side this time and see how the situation developed.
It wasn’t just for Lapis’s sake; it was undoubtedly an opportunity to learn how the feat of ascension affects a Transcendent.
“Right. I’ll be going in my capacity as an Observer, so please tell Lapis in advance. I’m counting on you.”
Naturally, he would have to operate under the identity of Evan Martinez for the mission to guard Lapis.
He hadn’t expected to be moving as an Observer in Vulcan, but Lapis was one of the few who had known Evan for a long time.
If he gave her a heads-up, there shouldn’t be any problems.
“Well then…”
Finishing the call, Lennok immediately turned his gaze to the Guardian Spirit Beast.
A Guardian Spirit Beast born with the power of Ouroboros, and of a lineage so close to Pyeonram that it was bound by the Curse of Metamorphosis.
Because of this, Lennok had an idea of its species, but he never thought it would be born in the complete form of a dragon.
‘I expected it to take the form of a snake, an imugi, or some high-level magical beast or spirit beast close to a reptile, but a dragon of all things…’
He had met many life forms while traveling the continent, but Lennok knew of very few real dragons.
The ghost dragon Yao Xun he met in Yorta and the dragon incarnation that was said to be a member of Kundara were the only draconic beings Lennok had seen in person.
At the very least, he needed to confirm what abilities and origins the Guardian Spirit Beast had, and how it perceived him.
With that in mind, Lennok calmed himself and was about to wake the soundly sleeping Guardian Spirit Beast, but.
His phone, with notifications still on, rang again.
Beep-beep!
He tried to ignore it, but the message that appeared on the screen was immediately read by his mana sense.
Sender unknown. It was a direct message sent to the line Adamant Thunder used for external business.
[There is a matter we wish to discuss regarding a summit between high-level ability users.]
“…”
[If you are amenable, could you please come to the coordinates indicated below?]
“A summit…”
Lennok closed his phone and looked up.
He thought it would take some time, but the discussion was moving faster than expected.
He could spare some time now while the Guardian Spirit Beast was asleep, but—
“It’s a little annoying, that’s for sure.”
Regardless of how they found his line, if they were summoning him directly, there had to be a good reason.
Thinking this, Lennok immediately stood up from his spot.