Chapter 880: The Eye That Sees Fate (16)
Those who inherited the mission of the Lighthouse Keeper, from generation to generation, also inherited the power of Chogyeon (超見)—the ability to see farther than anyone else.
It was a power that went beyond merely having good eyesight, one granted to those who could foresee and foretell crises before others.
A talent that might have begun, long ago, in an age before civilization, with a single sentinel who possessed unusually sharp eyes.
But as eons passed, as the positions of seas and continents shifted, and as billions of lives bloomed and withered, the power was miraculously passed down without being broken. It had come to embody the weight of that time and life, blossoming into the concept of an Authority.
The talent that was once only about seeing far had, at some point, begun to gaze beyond the present into the past and future, and beyond this world into the endless dark sea.
Just when was it that the master of this power was given the name Lighthouse Keeper and entrusted with such a grand mission?
Perhaps its beginning wasn’t so long ago.
But Lapis had never once doubted her duty or the essence of the Authority she had inherited.
Life, memories, the past, fate. If she willed it, she could see anything.
Although she had at times considered this power—which showed her things and forced her to see even when she didn’t want to—a curse.
But she had never encountered someone like the young man sitting before her now, from whom she could see nothing at all.
“……”
A cold atmosphere clung to his expressionless face. Dark black hair, carelessly swept back.
His outward appearance was quite young, but if the rumors were true, his actual age was likely several times that.
The sight of him, leaning back slightly with his eyes closed, silently burning a cigarette.
“Hoo……”
An unconcealable exhaustion hung about him as he leaned languidly against the chair.
That was all that Lapis Falcia, the Lighthouse Keeper and wielder of Chogyeon, could see of this man.
His magic, the flow of his mana, his Root Mindscape, and even the slightest fragment of his will-thought were all invisible.
A strange sense of dissonance, as if she were looking into a hollow void in human form.
This man was the great wizard known as the most insane in the mega-city.
And he was the one who had blown away Evan, Lapis’s protector, and abducted her here.
“My sight… it fails to connect.”
Nowhere in this vast obsidian cavern could Lapis’s will-thought extend outward.
A bizarre phenomenon, as if the entire space were absorbing her will-thought, only to extinguish it.
Adamant Thunder spoke nonchalantly.
“It must be difficult to use your power with your vision impaired.”
“……”
Did he know that Lapis was suffering the backlash from overusing her power?
Perhaps he had known all along, which was why he was sitting so brazenly before her now.
Lifting her gaze slightly, Lapis asked quietly, “Where am I?”
“The tower’s underground cavern,” Adamant Thunder answered, his eyes still closed.
“Deep inside my Domain.”
“……”
A Domain declared by a great wizard who had reached the 8th level.
Was that why even the will-thought of a missionary like Lapis couldn’t escape, but instead sank heavily, submerged?
Lapis waited for Adamant Thunder to continue, but he said nothing more.
Was his intention merely to trap her in this space, with no thought of explaining his motives?
In fact, aside from her hands being bound to prevent her from forming hand seals, there were no other restraints on Lapis.
She could have stood up from her chair and roamed the cavern freely.
But Lapis dismissed the foolish idea of getting up and trying to flee from Adamant Thunder, and instead spoke to him directly.
“I’ve heard stories about you. You’re quite famous in the Central Front.”
“……”
“They say you killed Madrich Onnion, turned the Machine City upside down on your own, and defeated a general of Deadrise.”
Adamant Thunder still said nothing.
“The wizard who has killed more superhumans than anyone else…”
He merely opened his closed eyes and stared blankly at Lapis with a murky gaze.
Even as they made eye contact and spoke, she couldn’t read any emotion or intent within them.
“There shouldn’t be any connection between you and me. Why are you doing this?”
But Lapis desperately maintained her composure and forced herself to continue speaking.
From the moment Evan, her protector, was defeated, there was no possibility of overpowering this man with force.
Still, she had to buy time and find a way to make contact.
Not to save herself, but for the sake of the successor who would inherit her mission as the Lighthouse Keeper.
Even if she died here in the worst-case scenario, the power of Chogyeon had to be passed on to one who had accepted the Watcher’s duty.
Repeating that one fact over and over in her mind, Lapis said, “This incident will ensure the Central Front learns not only of my visit to Vulcan, but of this atrocity as well. Are you hoping for a new war to break out over this city?”
“……”
“If you intend to destroy my soul and seize my Authority, it will take a great deal of time. At the very least, such a violent method will never-”
“I was asked to kill you.”
At Adamant Thunder’s indifferent reply, Lapis felt her breath catch in her throat.
Because a part of her accepted the words thrown by the young man before her as an undeniable reality.
Yes, perhaps she had deliberately asked the question, preferring to hear those words rather than tremble with endless uncertainty.
Instead of hoping for the miracle that Evan and Partisha would come to rescue her again, she wanted to talk about the reality that would never change.
But Adamant Thunder’s words didn’t end there.
“I also received a request that requires your ability.”
With a flick of his hand, Adamant Thunder made the spent cigarette vanish and leaned back in his chair with a languid air.
He pulled a new cigarette from his pocket, bit down on it, and lit it before muttering, “And so, I’ve simply decided not to choose either side.”
“…What did you say?”
How could such a conclusion possibly be drawn from that explanation?
As Lapis blinked in bewilderment at the purely selfish answer of the great wizard, Adamant Thunder rose from his seat.
Leaning on his staff, he turned and peered into Lapis’s sky-blue eyes with a cold gaze.
“By keeping you bound here, I can deal with that wizard and other troublesome matters more easily.”
“……!!”
Lapis’s expression changed drastically as she instantly understood his words.
Because she, too, immediately realized who “that wizard” was.
Could it be, this blood-crazed wizard was targeting—
“Sir Evan is…!!” Lapis cried out instinctively, then bit her lip and lowered her voice.
“He has nothing to do with this. He was only helping me because I asked him to.”
“……”
But at Lapis’s words, Adamant Thunder simply looked down at her and shook his head.
“You’re agitated. But you’re not wrong.”
“…Pardon?”
“The possibility you speak of is also something I may need to address in the end, if necessary.”
As Lapis desperately tried to understand, Adamant Thunder walked past her and tilted his head.
“I have no interest in the affairs of the Watchers. I know as much as I need to about their duty.”
“Wh-Where are you going?”
Adamant Thunder looked as if he was about to leave the tower at any moment.
Hearing him speak of Evan, Lapis had no choice but to ask.
What if Adamant Thunder suddenly changed his mind and decided to kill Evan right now—
Just as he was about to leave the underground cavern, Adamant Thunder turned back to Lapis and said, “I permit you free movement within the tower. You may do as you please, so long as you do not use your Authority.”
“What is that supposed to…”
It seemed Adamant Thunder had no intention of killing Lapis right away, but he didn’t seem willing to release her either.
Lapis had no right to expect anything at this point, but neither path seemed to have a good ending.
She was definitely missing something important.
Something crucial about Evan that Adamant Thunder knew, but Lapis hadn’t yet realized.
A secret Lapis certainly knew, but had not yet connected to the current situation.
But before her thoughts could fully take shape, Adamant Thunder slowly closed his eyes.
“The outside has gotten quite noisy.”
The only thing she could sense from this man, whose every sign and intention was unreadable, was an immense fatigue.
Just as Lapis realized it was something akin to mental erosion that surpassed physical burden,
“The conference attendees, I presume… To think that nothing changes even after a warning. They’re full of confidence.”
A cold sneer formed on Adamant Thunder’s lips.
“Then I suppose I must go out and greet them myself.”
“……!!”
His voice was so chilling it sent a shiver down her spine.
The infamy and madness of this wizard, which had felt vague until now, became terrifyingly real with that single phrase.
The reason why this man, who at first glance seemed reasonable enough to converse with, was called the most insane person in the city.
As Lapis fully comprehended this and lifted her head, Adamant Thunder’s figure had already vanished from the tower.
“……”
Whoosh!
A gentle breeze blew from the far side of the vast obsidian cavern.
The underground area of the tower was so expansive that from her chair, Lapis couldn’t see the other end of the cavern.
Lapis silently stared at the empty chair across from her where Adamant Thunder had been, then gritted her teeth and stood up.
“…I have to tell Sir Evan.”
Adamant Thunder had told her she was free to move within the tower.
That was likely because he was confident she couldn’t escape his Domain on her own.
If she dared to defy the direct words of that madman, she would probably have to bear a commensurate price.
But Lapis had no intention of stopping now just to save her own skin.
She wasn’t afraid of failing due to her own misjudgment or a foolish choice made by refusing to see reality, nor was she afraid of dying.
But she could never forgive herself if the wizard who had tried to protect her to the very end in this city came to harm because of her request.
‘If I can get out of this underground cavern and to a place where I can see the sky, I might be able to use my power—’
“Ah, you must be Lapis Falcia.”
As Lapis was looking around the cavern, trying to calm her fear, a woman’s listless voice came from behind her.
“……!!”
“It’s really you. You look just like your picture.”
Startled, Lapis whipped her head around to see a woman with a strangely sharp impression looking at her, arms crossed.
She was twirling her shoulder-length curly hair with one hand, her gaze tilted with a languid air.
“It’s an honor to meet a celebrity from the Central Front. Since fate brought us together, shall we shake on it?”
“…Who are you?”
“Jennycia. Call me Jenny,” Jenny replied.
Jenny approached Lapis with a somewhat defiant swagger and held out her hand.
“I’m the one who handles all the diverse and troublesome cleanup for the outlaw who kidnapped you.”
“……”
“I still don’t really get what Van was thinking, kidnapping a Lighthouse Keeper—”
As she spoke, Jenny’s expression was one of bewilderment, as if the reality of the situation hadn’t quite sunk in yet.
Did this mean Adamant Thunder’s decision to detain Lapis had been made without informing anyone else in the tower?
As Lapis’s mind raced, Jenny shrugged with a look of resignation.
“Well, it’s Van we’re talking about, so I doubt I’ll ever know until the very end. I gave up trying to understand him long ago.”
“……”
“So, you should probably just take it easy and wait. You’ll be lucky if he even fills you in after it’s all over.”
“Adamant Thunder has forcibly detained me here,” Lapis said, shrinking back slightly with caution.
“Do you expect me, who could die at any moment, to trust your words?”
“I don’t know. I doubt Van will kill you now, though,” Jenny answered in a weary voice.
“Van isn’t the type to watch a target he’s decided to kill for very long. Do you really think a wizard of his caliber would invest time and effort into the act of murder?”
“…That’s.”
Indeed, if he had that kind of patience, Adamant Thunder wouldn’t have earned the reputation of a blood-crazed wizard.
The explanation was so plausible that Lapis was startled to find herself momentarily convinced, and she shook her head slightly.
Seeing her expression, Jenny flashed a mischievous smile.
“Oh? You’re not falling for it. Most people usually calm down when they hear that.”
“……”
This woman, she thought, was undoubtedly as dangerous as the man who had just left.