#17
Two objects came into my sight.
One is a bracelet with pointed thorns on the inside.
One was a glass bottle with a design that could not be understood by the sensibility of this era.
“These are ‘Gleipnir’ and ‘Nectar’ respectively. Although it was forced to become a degraded replica by avoiding the gatekeeper’s eyes, this is enough. There will be no difficulty in repairing your wounds and preventing forced awakening.”
“… … How are you going to use it?”
“Can’t you see? It’s a bracelet and a drink. So what should I do?”
Immediately after the words of the thorny Maru continued.
“mind… roo… … ”
“master.”
“Guest… … er, properly… … ”
“… … All right.”
Maru nodded and looked at me.
“Put this bracelet on.”
A metal bracelet engraved on the outer rim with unreadable characters.
There were sharp thorns on the inside that made me wonder if it was okay to wear it as it is, but Maru and Tetra didn’t say anything to me.
Before putting it on my wrist, I gulped down the neck for a moment and asked the floor.
“If you wear this… What is happening?”
“Nothing happens. Now is.”
“then… … ”
“It’s something that will make things right after you drink ‘Nectar’. It prevents Shinsung from running wild at will, and captures the energy of going crazy. In the process, the bracelet is destined to disappear after fulfilling its role.”
When Maru finished speaking, I looked down at the bracelet. I feel like it would hurt if I put it on somehow. It’s made of metal, so you can’t turn it around. With your fingers together, slowly insert your hand into the circular hole.
‘Ugh.’
Of course I got stabbed. In the process of putting on the bracelet, a thorn underneath it pierced my skin. On the soft skin of the back of the hand, a line of red blood was drawn in a straight line. But because it was only that much pain, he grimaced and put the bracelet around his wrist.
“Is this done?”
“Not yet. It has to go through an absorption process.”
“absorption… … ?”
That was then.
— 👑!
“Aaah!”
It felt like blood was running through my brain.
The bracelet, which was obviously spacious, contracted rapidly, piercing the thorn into my wrist.
‘Me, bro… … ‘
A feeling of tightness in the bones and pain as if the flesh were burning in fire. It felt like my wrist was going to be cut off like this.
I sat down on the floor screaming and held my right wrist tightly with the other hand.
Bright red blood flowed down terribly, and hot pains continued to erupt from his twitching wrists.
“Be patient.”
Maru just looked down at me and said so.
“Ouch… … ”
Tears burst out. The bracelet tightened even harder as if it would break my wrist to the bone.
Odd characters engraved on the outside emit light. I was not able to come to my senses with the agony of pain in my head, but I suddenly knew that it was a type of text that I had seen anywhere. It looks very similar to the letters of Elena’s letter.
How many minutes have passed?
“Don’t be shy. Get up now.”
“flaw… uh… … ”
At some point, the feeling of suffocation disappeared.
my wrist.
my wrist… …
“… … ?”
Tears were streaming down my cheeks, but I barely lifted my head and looked at my wrist that was holding me.
I thought my wrist was cut or amputated along the way, but it was clean and healthy with no wounds anywhere.
It was a very vivid and terrifying feeling. It felt as if I had been dreaming.
However, the reverberation of that lightning-like agony that had permeated my brain was still vivid.
‘……?’
I gathered my eyebrows to the center.
Not only was the wrist intact, but the bracelet was also gone.
By absorption, was this what you meant?
He clasped his hands one after another as if to confirm that the sensation was still there. It still stings like a needle is being stabbed in the veins, but it wasn’t unbearable when he came to his senses and took a calm, deep breath.
“Drink this now.”
I staggered to my feet, wiping away the remaining tears with my fingers, and took the glass bottle Maru was holding.
challang.
The mysteriously colored liquid inside the glass bottle swayed once.
“It is a ‘nectar’ that only the heavenly gods have the right to take. Alchemists, unaware of the existence of this, are trying so hard to alchemy the backward compatible ‘Elixir’ of nectar.
Elixir. A legendary elixir that can cure all diseases. What was in front of me was greater than that elixir.
“As I said before, of course, it’s a degraded version. But what you’re trying to do is of a much easier kind than immortality or immortality, so there’s nothing to worry about. If I had brought in a defect-free real thing, it would have left a sequel.”
Maru explained that to me, and carefully laid the supporting Tetra on the sofa.
Maru, who looked down at Tetra with sad eyes, quietly uttered a spell next to her.
“—. ——.”
As the warm light struck once, Tetra’s distorted complexion seemed to have become more comfortable.
Maru made a brief beckoning in the air. A dry towel flew from somewhere. Maru quietly reached out to places where sweat was forming, including Tetra’s forehead and face with closed eyes.
Meanwhile, while observing the liquid in the glass bottle, I gently turned my head and asked.
“If you drink this… … Are your memories coming back?”
“yes.”
Maru nodded his head.
“It won’t come back all at once.”
said so.
“You have to go through a process of adaptation. If you wake up everything that has been dormant, you will inevitably go crazy. or wake up. You know that’s not a good thing, right?”
“… … I know roughly.”
“Of course, even if you adapt, there is a limit with only nectar. There are risks that cannot be avoided.”
Maru said while keeping her eyes fixed on Tetra.
“Because of your request to eliminate such side effects as much as possible, the owner brought the bracelet to the brim.”
“… … ”
“It is absolutely impossible to choose only what you want and release only a part of it without waking up everything that is sealed. I’d rather release everything from the beginning, then put back only the most dangerous ones. That bracelet will put you to sleep there.”
Perhaps it was because Tetra had told him to treat guests properly, Maru had changed his attitude and kindly explained to me. On the other hand, the tone of the tone was never friendly, though.
at that point.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to get back. But there is one thing you must keep in mind.”
“… … what is that?”
Maru then looked back at me.
“Everything, take it.”
“… … ”
As I was about to open the lid of the glass bottle, I heard some strange words from the floor.
“Tetra-sama didn’t tell you, but no, maybe you forgot. Or maybe you thought you could overcome it. You didn’t comment on what happened after you drank the nectar and approached yourself within yourself. So I’m warning you. Just in case you don’t know.”
What are you trying to warn?
“All incarnations. You don’t get life through a simple contract.”
Just before a human longing for life reaches complete death, the touch of heaven is reached out.
A contract that is made the moment you hold that hand.
Incarnation was thus born.
“It’s not enough to have my future mortgaged to fate, so pitiful and pitiful. You have to prove how desperate you are.”
The floor murmured briefly.
“That’s why what you suffer is – asceticism.”
It was really strange, but it seemed that a little bit of sympathy permeated Maru’s eyes as he looked at me.
“In the process of fulfilling the contract, the human beings who will become incarnations are subjected to asceticism to the limit of their souls in heaven. continue. infinitely. Until the soul collapses to the point where even basic judgment is impossible without the help of someone. For eons of time.”
The tone emphasizing infinity and eternity was enough to cause even the slightest fear.
“I think I have reached the limit and I can never get up, but if the vessel of my soul is large and wide, the penance never ends. I have to get up again somehow. Otherwise, you will fall into a deeper abyss.”
I couldn’t understand what you were saying. But the moment I heard the word “a deeper abyss,” it seemed as if something came to mind.
‘… … What was it?’
However, the memory was so hazy that he eventually fell asleep again under a deep sleep.
“For Hwa-shin, the opening of the divine is like that. The same goes for what you are going to do as a result by drinking nectar now.”
I haven’t been able to easily tilt the glass bottle yet. This is because the more I listened to Maru’s words, the more complicated it felt.
“Like other human beings, we do not simply sacrifice our lives, but we must prepare ourselves for the destruction of sin in our souls in addition to our bodies. As it is to bring about a miracle that was only obtained at the end of the torment for proof, even the soul that was worn out after going through the torture is to descend again.”
In a word, awakening is like that. If he summons the power obtained in the process of asceticism, his soul collapses in return. It meant death. A complete annihilation that does not remain even as a death spirit.
“So, the incarnations who have opened their divinity, most of them go crazy and pursue only one goal.”
In other words, there are incarnations that do not go crazy.
Maru was wiping away Tetra’s sweat. In between, while chanting a healing spell with a pure white light.
It is said that the Tetra opened the divinity for me. It means that his soul is ready to collapse.
Of course, he said there was a way to control it, but as a Tetra, he had no choice but to chew his lower lip when he suddenly thought about how much he had made up his mind and entered the inside.
I asked, feeling the fishy taste of blood.
“Sorrow is… something.”
“… … ”
Maru licked her lips.
“A human being designated as a preliminary incarnation, without knowing when it will end, how difficult it will be, or what awaits at the end, is an eternal ordeal that is carried out with nothing.”
“… … ”
“The moment the soul of the subject of the trial collapses, the penance ends. Calculate what you get in that state. By summing up all of the period, difficulty, and qualifications proved in the asceticism, a new divinity is given differentially, the soul is returned to the initial state, and the life and death of the person who has completed the ascetic ) is turned over.”
“… … ”
“People who have been given life in this way may acquire unprecedented abilities or change their appearance under the influence of the divine. Just like you.”
“… … ”
Why did my body become like this?
Is that asceticism the result of ordeal?
The floor looks straight at me. He met the young man’s eyes in a straight line. I felt like I was being sucked in.
“… … White is not granted to normal humans. A divinity that can only be obtained through covenant and penance.”
The reason why there were so few people with white magic even on this wide continent was that.
“The master… … ”
Maru blurted out his words.
In the end, there was nothing more to say.
“Anyway.”
I point my finger at the glass bottle in my hand.
“If you drink it, you might even get some memories you didn’t want. This is why I am warning you.”
Elena had said The memory I was trying to find was sealed so deep, that in order to find it, I had to untangle the second-level seal.
Maru was talking about the second level seal now. He seemed to know the meaning of Elena’s words that if unraveled, it would turn into a monster.
“… Are you incarnation too? How do you know such details?”
“no. I am not an incarnation.”
Maru shook her head. and said
“Before that, he wasn’t even human.”
“… … !”
If you’re not human, what do you mean?
Maru didn’t answer my questions.
“All this knowledge belongs to the Master. I am nothing more than inheriting that knowledge.”
Apparently, they were not the relationship between an ordinary user and the owner.
“You know, drink nectar. And no one can help. Everything is a problem you have to overcome on your own.”
know. This was only my problem. I first asked for it, I hoped it would, and I decided to take all the risks. Tetra believed in my will and granted a very difficult request. There was absolutely nothing I could do to get out of here because I was afraid.
“Anyway, when everything is over, Gleipnir will take care of the memory of asceticism, but until then, it doesn’t change the fact that you have to take full responsibility for it. However, if the master saw you properly, it would be a price you could afford.”
shake your head There’s a way to solve them all, so I guess I gave them to you. I saw it for the first time today, but I believe in Tetra. I believe in what she showed me.
‘… … ‘
but.
‘Cause I’m human too
It is true that fear takes precedence.
With such a terrifying warning, where is the human who is not afraid? My wrist holding the glass bottle is also trembling.
To tell the truth… very little regret
Is it right to search for memories while doing this?
As Elena said, my personality could be destroyed, is this really the right way?
To live like this and forget everything… Isn’t that a much better way?
‘No.’
However, the conclusion had already been drawn.
Open the stopper of the nectar and put it down on the table next to it. The stopper soon turned into a piece of light and permeated the air.
“after… ”
exhale a short breath.
Before drinking the nectar.
“Hey, let me ask you one thing.”
“Something?”
To Maru, whose eyes narrowed.
I asked.
“… As long as you don’t give up, is it okay?”
Now I’m thinking about it.
Maybe I wasn’t incompetent at all.
After failing and failing like that, in the end, I did not let go. Then maybe I had the talent to not give up. If something like a star can be called a talent, wouldn’t that be enough to count as a talent?
He clenched the fist of the other hand. Maru was speechless. After a brief silence passed through the hall.
“… I don’t know. It’s not something I’ve been through.”
However, adding
“If it were the master, you would have said yes.”
Maru gently brushed Tetra’s bangs.
I was watching that.
“… I believe.”
Because that was enough.
After nodding your head.
-sudden!
I inhaled the nectar at once.
#18
But.
Surprisingly, I emptied all the nectar, which tasted like a normal, refreshing wine, and brushed off the last drop, clenched my teeth and waited for the reaction to come.
‘What’s missing?’
was fine body and mind. As usual. It felt like there was liquid in my stomach, but it wasn’t as hot as alcohol or anything like that. There’s no way that’s the case, but at the time I even thought the same, maybe I misunderstood and brought wine.
“No response… … ”
“Keep in mind.”
Just as I was about to say, “There is no response,” Maru opened her mouth to me with a more serious look.
“yes? what… … ”
What do you need to keep in mind?
That was then.
The world is tilted to the right.
The first thing I did was put my ears on the floor. His eyes were blind, and his senses were suddenly cut off. I opened my eyes, but I couldn’t see at all. A world full of darkness. One very shallow and faintly shining dot there.
“With the same white deity as your master, you are one of the few humans who have endured penance for hundreds of years or more.”
Strange sounds that come directly through the brain, not the ears. My head was filled with high and low tinnitus in an instant.
‘The point… … ‘
It’s like putting a white dot on a black canvas. Without knowing that the floor had put a round barrier around me, and saliva was dripping from my mouth lying on the floor, I just stared at it with my distant eyes.
It’s getting bigger and bigger,
It soon became a painting.
reddish glow. A space dyed pure white in an instant. It’s dazzling and there’s a sound of water. The endless sea opens up. Under the scorching sunset, the scarlet sea toss and turns heavy on the scales of the water. The familiar feeling of paralysis that penetrates the memory slowly opens the eyelids that I didn’t even notice in the first place. OK.
—Do you want a miracle? boy
someone whispered to me
#19
“Uh… … ”
On the sofa, Tetra opened her eyes.
‘Ugh, my head… … ‘
I barely managed to catch my shaky sight. My head was spinning and my stomach was churning as if I was going to vomit at any moment, and I just felt sick, but it was much better than before.
‘Maru… … Ezio… … ‘
Books were flying around where I looked up blankly. It’s still his office. A soft feeling wrapped around the back. He was lying on the sofa.
‘Have you bought… … ‘
Tetra looked relieved and put her wrist on her forehead. It took me a while for my senses to return to the point where I could move properly.
‘I really thought I was going to die.’
If it had been a little late, there would have been no need to take any further action. If it was someone else’s soul, even if it were to be broken, how could it be well put together?
‘Still, I succeeded.’
It was definitely a pleasure. Tetra sighed.
By the way… …
“Floor?”
Originally, Tetra was Maru who was closely caring for her when she lost consciousness, but now she is not by her side.
This was really strange.
What was it that I was going to go get? There wouldn’t be anything like that. Even if there is something else to do, Maru never leaves the side of Tetra who is struggling like this.
“Floor? i woke up… … ”
So, feeling suspicious, Tetra slowly raised her upper body from the sofa, frowned.
“… … oh master.”
Where did Maru go?
it was there
On the sofa right across from him, he was seriously contemplating something with his chin resting on his clasped hands.
A gloomy voice came out of his mouth.
“A little mind… Please eat?”
Tetra rolled her eyes.
“Uh, uh. It costs… … What, why are you doing this? Ezio? Did you use everything I gave you properly?”
“… … Yes. wrote.”
Maru nodded, but his expression was not bright.
weird.
Something… …
Tetra, feeling some kind of insecurity, darkened her face.
‘What happened?’
The intuition of the Archmage never goes wrong.
Thanks to the rest, my magic has recovered quite a bit. Tetra, who had flicked her fingers and washed away the remaining waste, looked towards the floor.
Exactly beyond that.
‘… … uh?’
next moment.
Tetra’s complexion hardened.
“Explain.”
“… … ”
The forehead of the floor tilted down.
“sorry. master. It is my responsibility.”
“Explain first.”
“I was trying to act quickly when something went wrong… … There was nothing I could do. therefore… … ”
“therefore.”
“sorry. master.”
Are you blaming your own incompetence? Or maybe it was because my master’s efforts went in vain. Maru covered her face with her hands as if feeling miserable, and quietly dropped a tear.
“Failed… I did.”
“… … ”
Failed.
What does that mean?
That was Tetra’s original intention. After opening Ezio’s divinity through nectar, all seals are released at once, and after Ezio recovers all the memories released in the process, Gleipnir absorbed in Ezio’s body suppresses the aftermath of the divinity opening.
Then, Gleipnir puts only the most dangerous parts to sleep first, and then slowly helps the memory adapt. so as not to be burdened at once. That way the soul won’t collapse.
that it failed.
The fact that a hole was drilled in the process that shouldn’t cause any problems there… …
“Gleipnir… It was destroyed.”
“… … What?”
Unbelievable news came.
It is something that should never be destroyed now. In the past, it was a bracelet that had to be destroyed only after completing all its roles.
Otherwise… …
“no way.”
“… … sorry. master.”
This is the third apology.
‘Nope… no.’
Tetra, shaking her head, got up from the sofa. I stumbled for a while, but I maintained my balance for the time being. Maru tried to get up quickly, but Tetra shook her head. Ignoring the floor, he hurriedly walks over it. The pace soon accelerated.
“Ahh… … ”
Finally.
Tetra could see Ezio.
Contrary to expectations, Ezio was awake.
His eyes were open and he was breathing clearly. The color is fine too. Everything is normal.
but.
Only one was not normal.
“… … As a replica of Gleipnir, I don’t think it could handle the consequences of 500+ years of asceticism.”
At most, I thought it would be around a hundred years or so.
It was an unexpected number.
It took a while to hear unbelievable words.
Tetra looked at Ezio.
“ah-.”
And I had to take a step back.
eyes were red
It was blood.
Ezio was in tears.
“… … Ezio.”
“… … ”
“… … Can you hear me?”
Ezio lifts his head and looks at Tetra.
At least I meant to hear it.
If Maru’s explanation is true, he raises a question that he has no choice but to ask Ezio.
“… … How many times have you died?”
“… … ”
Ezio, who was drooling from his lips, murmured.
“… … 1042.”
Maru, who watched the situation from the side, said:
It reached its limit by controlling only a portion of the unlocked seal, and eventually Gleipnir was completely destroyed.
so.
What Ezio remembers now is only part of the penance.
If the bracelet is broken at once, it means that it has suffered more than 500 years of torture, so even if you succeed in re-sealing half of it, a whopping 250 years remains.
It is not yet known how many divided memories they have.
However, Ezio has experienced more than a thousand deaths just by remembering it now.
That’s the only number of times I fell into a deep abyss and crawled out of nowhere.
If so, how many times was it originally?
In Purgatory, where you have to die and start over if you fail even once, how many times did Ezio die for over 500 years? …
Tetra dared not count.
But.
What kind of pain Ezio, who was so silent, was going through inside, there were so many things that Tetra could relate to.
“Sorry… I… I didn’t mean to do this… … ”
“… … ”
It succeeded in not breaking, but in the end, he approached the sad soul that was too worn out, cautiously approached him, and silently knelt down and hugged him.
When Tetra is crying and hugging herself.
Ezio looked into the air with empty eyes.
And I thought.
‘Don’t look for it.’
Everything was useless.