< 133. Do Not Wish for Peace, It Is Not for You (2) >
*
From the high ceiling above, light poured down, scattering chaotically in the dense magical mist.
Though there was no wind, he could feel the flow of air. Within it, the outline of something sleeping in the mist swayed.
– Thud.
The moment he took another step forward, the mist swirled. Magic distorted, weaving letters in the air. They were hieroglyphs of the Ivory Seat.
– Turn back, run. For your own sake.
“Stop talking nonsense.”
Fernandez stepped through the letters. The density of the mist thickened to the point where he couldn’t see an inch ahead. Not just the physical mist, but the density of magic had also intensified to an extreme.
His eyes could see not just light, but the flow of magic. Within the mist, his blue eyes shone brightly.
– Run. For your life.
“If that’s what it takes, I’m already running.”
He took another step. The magic surged. Now, it pressed down on his entire body, as if he were walking in the deep sea. The extreme density of magic crushed him.
– Crack.
His muscles screamed. His aged body should not have been able to endure it. Yet, inexplicably, he continued to move forward.
– Will you give up? I will show you the days you dreamed of.
Whoosh, the mist caught fire and burned, revealing a sunset and a hill before his eyes. A hill thick with the smell of ash, flame, blood, and iron. The loud sound of bells tore through his ears.
Before his eyes stood Aria. Backlit by the sunset, under a blood-stained sky. Faintly.
That time. Fernandez let out a hollow laugh. Past and future, dreams and reality, tangled and mixed. It was impossible to tell what was real.
If this moment before him was reality, then perhaps the past three years he had been moving forward were just a dream? Fernandez stared into Aria’s eyes as she looked at him.
“Do you regret it, Teacher?”
“That’s not what I’m curious about, Aria.”
Fernandez approached Aria and stroked her cheek. Tears streaming from her eyes soaked his hand.
“If I were to abandon you, what would you do?”
“Is that what you need, Teacher?”
“It seems so.”
“Will you not regret it?”
The moment she smiled up at him. The moment she slipped the ring he gave her onto her finger and laughed happily. The moment she handed him milk, stroked his hair. The moment she fell asleep in his arms.
All those moments—
“I regret it, Aria.”
“That’s enough, Teacher. I will bear your regrets for you.”
Aria laughed through her tears. Under the sunset, her smile shone brightly.
“So, Teacher, regret only because of me. For all other moments. As you always have. Be dignified.”
If I can be your only weakness, your only regret, and your sole lighthouse, then that is enough for me. Aria said as she rubbed her cheek against his chest.
He felt his chest soak with her tears. I promise. I will keep moving forward without stopping.
I know. That this is nothing but a daydream. An illusion conjured by Mumto, a long deception based on his memories. But—
Is a masterpiece in a frame merely an imitation of reality? A painting has its own beauty, and Fernandez will never forget the warmth of that sunset, the warmth of her embrace, the wetness of her tears, or the sweetness of the milk.
The flames engulfed them. Aria dissolved into mist. A dream ended. Emotions, too, shattered into tiny fragments.
“Your burden, I will carry it.”
Fernandez closed his eyes, recalling the sensation left under his hand. The mist swayed. Now, a sticky, low voice whispered in his ear.
“If it is an extremely realistic illusion, what difference is there from reality? Speak your wish. If you desire, I can make you feel your dream, your most desired moment, your happiest days and most glorious times, forever.”
All sorts of scents swirled at the tip of his nose. Fire, magic, and flowers. Freesia. Her flower. The flower that symbolized regret, bearing the weight of his sins.
“All the moments you desired are in your hands. Will you give up?”
Fernandez opened his eyes upon hearing those words. Beyond the mist-filled hollow, beyond the solidified mist, a massive silhouette appeared.
Red eyes gazed down at him.
“I will seize it.”
Do not offer happiness. Fernandez slowly released the flower stem he held under his hand. Kneeling on one knee, he gripped the hilt of the sword slung on his back.
“I made a promise to you.”
“What was it?”
“If this is but a dream, you will die, Mumto.”
“This is my world, my domain under my power. Do you dare declare you will oppose me in my own territory?”
“Pray.”
Fernandez’s hand drew the sword. Cutting through the mist, the Saintmetal Greatsword slowly emerged. Black hair flowed down below his eyes. Wrinkles disappeared, and new strength surged through his old muscles and ligaments.
– Swoosh…
Gripping the fully drawn sword, he plunged the blade upside down into the ground.
“I am the god of this world, and I am the one who—”
“I am the creator of the universe. To whom should I pray?”
“Prayer is not the wind. The prayer you must make is a defense of your sins. Pray, sinner of the Great Wilderness. To all the gods you have swallowed. Assume the proper posture of repentance.”
“There was someone who said such things to me. Do you think you’re the first? You are not the first, nor will you be the last.”
Fernandez’s muscles surged with power. He felt the unfamiliar pulse of divinity flowing through his blood. It was unfamiliar, yet a sensation he had felt before.
[Indeed.]
The laughter of the Jackal burst through his throat. The remnants of divinity in this world were breaking through the weakened control of the ruler and running wild.
The power of the dead god covered the back of his hand. Like hair growing and claws emerging. His hand gripped the sword hilt as if to crush it.
“The demon, the heretic. And…”
[I will burn the mage.]
The catalyst was the Keyblade. In the final moment, it was the divine blade that pierced Kadán’s heart and sealed itself.
The god of discipline, the ruler of the scales. The executioner. The fallen god who lost his divinity first to Mumto.
Kadán, the heretic hunter, had possessed his body.
*
-Whirr!!
Chains stretched out from beyond the fog, targeting his body like snakes. Some he deflected, others he dodged, and some he had no choice but to—
‘Take with his body!’
-Crack!
Blood gushed down his throat. His left shoulder, right calf. Black chains pierced through and embedded themselves into the ground. His body, which seemed to lose balance for a moment, miraculously regained its posture.
-Snap!
With a short swing of his greatsword, he severed the chains. Hatred, curses, corruption… If one were to name it, it would be something like that. Sticky hellish magic surged through his wounds.
But his flesh immediately began to heal. Kadán’s divinity resided within his body. His blessing was [Hunt]. A symbol of an unending will that burns until he tears out the enemy’s throat and quenches his rage with their blood—
Even if his arms, even if his legs, even if all his teeth were torn out, he would split his own heart and coil his body like a jungle snake to drive the final spike into the enemy’s heart!
-Crackle!
Curses followed. Chains took shape, dozens of high-level spells intertwined and aimed at his body! But he dodged. He dug in, thrust, deflected, let some pass, and took some with his body!
The wounded Jackal charged towards the enemy’s throat. His divinity burned, transforming him into the shape of a thick, dark-brown furred beast. Almost crawling due to the injuries and agony coursing through his body. He ran towards the enemy like a four-legged beast.
The divinity burning in his grasp sharpened like that of a beast. He severed and chewed through the cursed chains and bindings that dug into his forearm.
-Rise!!
The figure beyond the fog howled. Fear oozed from deep within its voice. Soon, skeletons and mummies surged and swarmed within his radius. But—
“Is this all?!”
The Great Demon, Mumto. Lord of Nightmares, Calamity of the Great Wilderness, Ender of Empires. The one wrapped in thousands of curses. Emperor of the Wraith Empire—
-Crack!
Skeletons and mummies turned to dust before his grasp and blade. Each time, his wounds increased, but now magic and curses flowed instead of blood.
Extreme corruption that would make it no surprise if he collapsed and died instantly. His blood burned, and Mumto’s curses filled every inch of his being.
Even in the smallest passages of his blood vessels, even in the horrific state where the bindings of curses were shattered. The divinity of the god who swore to hunt demons eternally at the cost of his own death did not stop.
[You’ve weakened, Mumto.]
The Jackal laughed. With a burst of blue light, towards the great necromancer beyond the fog!
[You’ve weakened. If this is your end, I will mourn.]
‘Ridiculous. That guy?’
[No. Mortal. My long revenge has been so futile.]
Fernandez charged towards Mumto’s silhouette, breaking through skeletons, mummies, and curses raining down. A storm of blades and fangs.
“Wait! Do you really think this world is your illusion?”
Mumto’s desperate voice echoed. The sound struck Fernandez’s ears, and his fevered mind paused for a moment. Even as Kadán’s savagery took over his body and Mumto’s curses raced through his veins, his mind retained reason.
“This world is shaped by your memories. Yes. I have seen your memories. The betrayer of humanity, Faijashi. I have seen the world you destroyed. The main world. And didn’t you say this is Vaitas’s horizontal world?”
-Boom!
With those words, a giant skeletal hand descended before Fernandez. A massive black skeletal hand struck right before his feet.
Staggering from the quake, the surroundings blurred and faded away. For a moment, the world twisted into darkness, and the fog’s formation began to take shape as magic ran wild.
A giant black skeleton appeared before him. A skeleton wearing the Pharaoh’s ornate crown gazed at him.
It whispered.
“Even if it’s an illusion, a world this intricate is no different from reality. The one who judges reality is always yourself. But, think about it. If Vaitas was possible, how could I be impossible? I am more familiar with mysteries than he.”
The skeleton chuckled lowly.
“This is a horizontal world created solely for you. Yes. I have glimpsed your knowledge. I pay my respects, mortal. In a thousand and seven hundred and twenty years, you are the first to threaten me so. Thus, I will give you a chance. Overlay this horizontal world onto the main world, and achieve the reversal Vaitas so desired. Be eternally happy with those you love. Yes. I will even save your son’s soul.”
Is that not all you desire? Why take the long road? Mumto whispered lowly.
[Do not listen, mortal.]
‘Shh.’
Fernandez clicked his tongue briefly and caught his breath. Mumto’s magic, curses, and hatred coursed through his veins, whispering to him.
I will save your son. I will revive your wife. I will eternally project the happiest moment you desire until your end.
Like a masterpiece in a frame, is it worthless? It seemed as if honey dripped from Mumto’s words.
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