36 – The Smiling Skeleton
“Aagh, just kidding! Geez, why do you have to be so serious? You don’t have friends, do you?”
“Do I really not have friends?”
“Oh, sorry…”
Even if one were to overlook the practical utility of the speaking sword, it did not come across as particularly dangerous.
It seemed like there wouldn’t be any problem drawing it. After all, it appeared to have some kind of personality, and it would be pitiful to just leave it lying around in the cave.
I grasped the hilt and lifted it upwards.
The sword came out with an almost disappointing lightness. It seemed that the altar hadn’t been holding onto it tightly after all.
“Wow! Thanks for drawing me out! I was so fed up with this cave. It’d be great if swords had legs. Then I could walk around and look awesome, right? Or not? Actually, now that I think about it, that might look pretty ridiculous. Nevermind, nevermind.”
“Can’t you have a slightly more calm conversation…?”
“Do you have any idea how long I’ve been talking to myself in this cave? It’s so delightful to have someone to talk to!”
“…Well, do as you please then. What’s this ‘God of Whetstones and Blades’ you keep talking about?”
“A truly magnificent being! They are the one who sharpens everything. They told me I had a talent for swords, but I had no idea it meant like this.”
“Meant like this?”
“Not the talent to wield a sword, but to become a sword!”
“…In the first place, what exactly is this ‘god’… or rather, ‘demon’?”
“Gods are gods! The 72 deities that ascend to the Pantheon… Don’t you have a Pantheon here? Wait, what did you mean by saying it’s been tens of thousands of years?”
I briefly summarized the history of this world for the sword.
The sword interjected from time to time, but I mostly ignored it. I wasn’t particularly well-versed in the mythological history myself.
“So you’re saying that in this era, there are only two deities: the ‘Goddess’ and the Demon God?”
“Seems so, right?”
“The Demon God existed in my time, but this ‘Goddess’… I can’t quite guess which deity you’re talking about. Was she a new god born after I became a sword?”
“Do deities just… come into being like that?”
“I have no idea! How could I dare speculate about the creation or demise of the magnificent ones? It could just be that a god from the Pantheon changed their name.”
“You don’t think that’s unlikely…? It sounds like what you’re referring to as ‘gods of the Pantheon’ might be what we call the ’72 demons’.”
“I don’t understand why you’d call them ‘demons’! Of course, the gods might treat humans like toys… but it’s not like they hold malice towards people, right? Just as a child treasures their toys, the gods hold humans dear!”
“So you becoming a sword, that was one of those ‘jokes’?”
“From a human’s perspective, such affection might seem a bit rough, but… most gods do like humans…”
Indeed, that demon called Clavis Aurea didn’t seem particularly hostile towards us either.
In fact… it was the hero and I who attacked the demon first.
And even when I attacked the demon with magic, the demon didn’t retaliate very aggressively. The things this sword was saying seemed quite credible after all.
“Well, that was tens of thousands of years ago! Who can understand the whims of gods? It wouldn’t be strange at all if they got tired of their toys and wanted to break them all!”
“It’s quite a quick change of perspective.”
“What can I do? Now that I’m a sword, you… By the way, what’s your name?”
“Rain.”
“Easy name to remember! Or not? It might be so ordinary that you might forget it quickly. Anyway, as I am a sword now, it’s enough if you use me how you like, Rain.”
“Weren’t you supposed to be a priest before?”
“I’m a former priest! Currently, I’m a sword!”
“I see….”
“Anyway, let’s get out of this cave quickly! Hurry up! Hurry up, let’s go! To the world!”
It seems I’ve ended up with a rather noisy companion.
I’ll have to look for a way to silence his voice later. I might die from noise pollution if I keep listening to that voice.
*
The Sorcerer King, the Lord of Darkness, the Grand Mage who had even transcended death.
In the days when he was human, his name was Chunsik.
Through a pact with a demon, he became a Lich. Because Necromancy itself wasn’t originally a human art, but one of demons, in order for a human to practice Necromancy, they needed to twist the laws of nature, borrowing the power of a demon.
In the end, it was a meaningless endeavour. The power he attained, even betraying his own species, was a power that couldn’t achieve his true desire.
So, he gave up.
He didn’t want revenge. He would’ve been content if he could see his beloved daughter once more.
It was an unattainable dream.
A power incapable of achieving such a dream, might have had its uses, but wasn’t all that valuable.
Maybe that’s why the demon chose him. Demons inherently viewed humans as toys to be played with, toying with their fate.
That was the rule for those who dabbled in dark magic.
Borrowed power cannot save anyone. This was a law of the universe that he came to realise in his pursuit of magic.
As he mulled over this freshly.
He recollected the face of one half-breed. The weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings who he’d gifted his staff to.
‘Tch, Rain, that guy’s bothered me to the very end.’
That staff… had been made from a broken one.
A staff containing his daughter’s keepsake. It had been picked up by those who knew nothing about it and recklessly used. Maybe he’d been a little too excited about that. That’s why he’d accidentally let the Hero escape in his hasty use of magic.
Oh, what a comical situation. That’s just like his life, isn’t it?
The magic, which he started out of a reluctance to inherit the family’s art of pottery, led his daughter to follow in his footsteps and go after a hero.
The wand he handcrafted as a gift for his burgeoning daughter, ended up breaking at a crucial moment, leading her to death.
Having offered half of his soul to a demon in an attempt to save his daughter and giving up even his rebirth, all he could learn was the fact that her soul had already departed.
Even the wand, that was filled with his deceased daughter’s keepsakes, was a present.
The Celestial King who received it passed away, and the wand was seized and used by the hero to save another.
He felt as if his destiny was mocking him.
He couldn’t attain anything he desired. Everything he wished for would be destroyed because of his longing.
That’s what destiny whispered to him.
So, he had no choice but to give up.
What more could a father, who can’t even remember his daughter’s name despite his longing for her, wish for?
That’s why he has also abandoned the name ‘Chun-sik’, given to him by his father who used to be a potter.
That’s the essence of him being called ‘the great wizard who abandoned even his name’. He is nothing more than a corpse that has given up to the point of not being able to hold onto a name.
“If that’s my fate, perhaps it would be better to die. From the start, I shouldn’t have sold my soul to the demon…”
“Then I’ll return it. It’s unnecessary as of the moment the seal was broken.”
“…What?”
A voice he should not have heard reached him. He didn’t use black magic, so how could he hear this voice.
But, the incredible thing was, not the voice itself.
The truly unbelievable part was, the content of what the voice was saying.
“Remember your death. And enjoy the present. Because of your death, your lives will be more valuable.”
“What exactly is…”
“I had fun while I was sealed. Thanks to you, it was quite entertaining to watch.”
“…”
He wanted to ask what it meant.
But, he couldn’t.
Something ripped apart was being forcibly pulled back together, mixing and intertwining with his soul.
Finally merged into one.
In the depths of this body, which was nothing more than a skeleton.
There was a heartbeat.
As if it was always like this.
Even before he had the chance to fully experience this event, which was nearly impossible, that completely changed a person’s soul.
First, there was a voice that penetrated his mind.
– “…Is it okay with me, who is so inadequate?”
– “Heh, if the Tower Master of Cheongma himself considers himself inadequate, what would other magicians become?”
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– “You know too. That… all of it was thanks to you, not my abilities.”
It was a memory.
For the contract, the demon took away ‘half of the soul.’
And.
Half of his soul.
It was no longer his own.
– “Anyway, you are so clumsy…. At times like this, you should not talk about being inadequate, or enough….”
– “….”
– “Isn’t ‘I love you’ enough?”
– “…I love you.”
– “Heh, me too. I love you, Chun-shik.”
Only then did he remember everything.
He had someone he loved. He had half a soul. He had a partner who promised love.
She was the daughter of a magician. The very reason why he, who was nothing more than a minor artist, was able to learn magic formally, was also thanks to her.
He entered Cheongma Tower and learned magic.
With talent, he became the youngest Tower Master in history.
He had proposed to her formally on the day he became the Tower Master.
Their love soon bore fruit.
– “Are you okay?! And the baby?!”
– “hahahaha, look at this child, darling. Doesn’t she look cute like you?”
– “Ah, this child…my daughter…thank you, Goddess….”
For a long time, he wondered what to name his daughter. If it was a girl, his wife chose the name, and if it was a boy, he would choose the name.
The child born was a daughter.
His wife told him the name of their daughter, smiling.
The daughter’s name, derived from Cyan, symbolizing the Cheongma Tower, was.
“Cyan….”
It was Cyan.
“Live now that your soul has been returned. Remember death. Enjoy the present.”
The demon’s voice gradually faded away.
Only then was he able to break free from his contemplation and regain his sanity. Before he could mull over the memories he had regained.
There was something he wanted to ask.
“Why did you return my soul? What does it mean that the seal is broken…?”
“The Clavis Aurea has unlocked our lock. Your trivial soul is no longer useful, so we returned it. That’s all.”
“…”
“I don’t know either. Since there were traces of Clavis in the ‘wand’ you created, you should ask the owner of the wand for details.”
“Wand…?”
With those words, the demon disappeared.
Staring blankly at the spot where the demon’s voice had vanished, he collapsed to the ground.
He quietly recalled his regained memories. He mulled over the memories to ensure that he did not forget anything.
Even though he was already dead and nothing but a skeleton remained.
Yet, there were memories that made him happy just by remembering them even if he could no longer live.
In the very spot.
The skeleton was smiling.