Chapter 204

Chapter 204

Chapter 204 – What on earth is this guy talking about…?

Once the contract was completed, a brilliant light flashed, and the wyvern took the form of an immature wyvern, far from being majestic.

Spirits usually transform into the shape their contractor desires upon formalizing the contract, but in this case, the change was influenced by both the wyvern’s will and my own.

‘…Well, after all, it’s still just a half-grown wyvern.’

Leaving behind the wyvern flapping its adorable wings, I turned my gaze toward Gayerus.

Now came the truly important matter.

The fragment of Reverse Heaven.

What the spirits called the “fragment of the cursed grimorire” was the last task remaining for Baharmut.

Gayerus, receiving my gaze, nodded slightly and looked toward Chenbi.

[Contractor, we will move separately from the Savior. Is that alright?]

“Yes, it’s fine.”

[Thank you for your understanding.]

After asking Chenbi for permission, Gayerus turned around and walked away.

[Let’s go, Savior.]

Leaving Damian, Chenbi, and Mr. Myselrn behind, I followed Gayerus.

The somber passageways of Baharmut were brilliantly illuminated by the lights of the countless spirits following us.

The wyvern flapped its wings and followed me. Leading an army of spirits like this moved me to tears.

‘…Ten thousand spirits.’

It had become a reality.

In any case, suppressing my lingering emotions, I wondered how long we had walked.

[We are here.]

Gayerus stopped before a massive stone door.

‘This is…’

I paused for a moment and raised my head to take in the scenery before me.

The stone door was enormous.

The facilities of Baharmut were generally huge, but this one stood out especially for that reason.

Its vast surface was intricately carved with symbols representing elements like water, fire, wind, and earth; a grandeur that could easily cause one to mistake it for a temple dedicated to the gods.

It was not long before the massive door began to open.

Rumble, rumble—

The gigantic stone door slowly opened inward.

The spirits exerted physical force to open it, and soon, the vast interior was revealed through the opening.

The interior was equally majestic.

There were no special decorations, but the twelve pillars flanking both sides and the carvings engraved upon them were more ornate than any adornments.

Yet, amid all that scenery, one thing in particular caught my eye: a single altar.

The place where the throne of the palace would be located.

An altar situated right there.

Upon it rested a rather large crystal sphere, and just as I focused on it, Gayerus began to walk again.

Step, step.

My footsteps echoed against the walls of the great hall.

In this space where even the air felt solemn, I suddenly had the sensation of having stepped back thousands of years in time.

A long time ago… this place must have been filled with countless spiritists.

They would have gathered here like a king and his ministers, divining the fate of their nation.

And what must their power have been like?

It was difficult to fathom.

While contemplating the glory and authority of thousands of years ago through the landscape, I could not shake off a vague sense of emptiness.

‘Thousands of years…’

A kingdom that had once shaken the continent had vanished without a trace.

And this was not just the story of the era of the Ten Thousand Spirits.

‘…Destroia.’

The madman who called himself the first emperor had become a being that no one had ever heard of.

Closer to home, the future Blandoga family.

Even the Blandoga family, which currently enjoys great prestige as a renowned magical house, would be easily forgotten after its fall.

In the end, it was the fleeting nature of time.

Realizing once more the ephemeral nature of time, my thoughts naturally turned to the tower I intended to build.

‘Perhaps…’

The tower I erect might be something that time would eventually erase.

I had proclaimed myself a great sage, vowing to remain eternally in history, but was it all just an illusion that would ultimately fade into oblivion?

It was a wild thought, but contemplating that colossal civilization eroded by time made it impossible to avoid.

But then.

[…Savior?]

I snapped out of it at the sound of a faint voice whispering in my ear.

“Yes? What?”

[Savior, what are you thinking about? Go up. To the altar.]

“Ah, I got it. To the altar!”

I gathered my thoughts and followed Gayerus’s instructions, stepping up the stairs to stand in front of the crystal sphere.

My distorted face was reflected on the curved surface of the sphere.

Somehow, looking at that ridiculous expression helped clear my cluttered thoughts.

‘Damn it!’

Yes, washed away by time or whatever; if you thought that way, nothing in the world made sense.

Struggling through life only led to death in the end, and engorging yourself on food out of hunger only meant you would be hungry again by dinner.

Anyway, as I sorted through my thoughts, Gayerus’s voice echoed in my mind.

[We begin.]

“Alright.”

I replied curtly and straightened my posture.

The spirits moved immediately afterward.

[Here we go!]

[Freedom now!]

Shouts of joy erupted as they dived into the crystal sphere.

Soon, the orb glowed dazzlingly with the lights of the spirits, and it was then that Gayerus’s voice was heard again.

[Now, extracting the fragment.]

A change occurred simultaneously.

Zzzzz—

A surge of intense light filled the air.

The light soon took shape and then died down.

What appeared was a single scroll. No, more precisely, a single page torn from some book.

The moment I saw that page, it became clear to me.

‘After all, it is the reverse paradise.’

Wooong—!

The resonance of the Flame Brand proved it.

The cursed grimorire was Reverse Heaven.

Cautiously, I extended my hand toward Reverse Heaven.

Perhaps because it was the second one.

It was not as emotional as the first.

The strange characters crowded on both sides, the texture of an unknown material, that mystical aura… everything left me completely indifferent.

But it did not take long for that feeling to fade. I tilted my head at a sudden, strange sensation.

“…What is this?”

[What is the matter?]

“No, um.”

It was undoubtedly a fragment of Reverse Heaven, but it did not cause any particular reaction.

In other words, unlike the first fragment, which was absorbed the instant it touched my hand, this second fragment remained rigidly in its form within my grasp.

‘…Do I have to eat it?’

A ridiculous thought crossed my mind, and immediately after, the clamor of the spirits erupted.

[Something is not right.]

[What is it? It’s scary.]

[Trapped! I can’t get out!]

Were they expressing the anxiety of the spirits? The light from the crystal orb flickered ominously.

Gayerus’s face, initially bewildered, turned serious. Soon his eyes fell upon me.

[Savior, don’t tell me…]

“…? No, I don’t know either.”

[Of course I trust you.]

No, he did not seem to trust me.

It was a suspicious look, as if he had somehow linked the spirits to the fragment of Reverse Heaven. I felt deeply aggrieved.

The fact that the fragment did not react was confusing enough, but now the spirits were throwing a tantrum, plunging everything into chaos.

What went wrong?

I analyzed the situation calmly.

First of all, the fragment the spirits extracted did indeed belong to Reverse Heaven. That was made clear by the throbbing resonance.

However, the fragment was not absorbing, and the spirits were trapped inside the sphere.

‘…Why on earth?’

No matter how much I thought about it, I could not come up with the cause.

So, standing there dumbfounded, racking my brains to comprehend the situation…

[It is strange.]

“What?”

I tilted my head at the sound of Gayerus’s voice.

What could be stranger than this?

[It seems… it wants to show the future.]

“…The future?”

Gayerus nodded.

In other words.

[The fragment borrows our power. And shows it to the Savior.]

The fragment of Reverse Heaven was using the power of the spirits to show me the future.

All right.

Flash-!

“…!”

A blinding light burst from the fragment of Reverse Heaven.

My vision flickered.

…That was the limit of my consciousness.

How long was I unconscious?

When I opened my eyes again, I could not hide my bewilderment.

Where am I? Who am I?

I was sitting in a massive library… or at least, I wasn’t sure if it was a library, but rather a space filled with books covering every wall.

Had the owner maintained it well?

The books on the shelves gleamed with a deep luster, without even the musty smell of paper.

At that moment, I was slumped on the floor in the middle of the library, without so much as a chair. It was then that I felt a presence.

Step, step.

Footsteps approaching from behind.

Instinctively, I tried to turn my head, only to realize I had no control over my body.

‘…What the hell?’

I analyzed the situation calmly before I had lost consciousness.

Clearly, with Gayerus’s help, I had managed to grasp the fragment of Reverse Heaven. And… the spirits were trapped in the sphere, I believe?

And after that…

• It seems… it wants to show the future.

• The fragment is borrowing our power. And showing it to the Savior.

Yes, that was it.

The fragment of Reverse Heaven was borrowing the power of the spirits to show me the future.

‘Then, does that mean I am seeing the future right now?’

If so, was this space…?

Upon realizing this, I looked at the scenery again. Of course, since my gaze had been fixed on it from the beginning, it was more like examining it closely.

But, rendering that effort futile, someone appeared before me.

“You despicable scum! It took me quite a while to find you.”

That guy…

I silently observed the entirely black knight standing in front of me.

Soon, his armor faded into the shadows with a “shhrrk.” The skin of the revealed knight was surprisingly pale, and his eyes, an eerily intense red.

That face was familiar to me: Shine.

But calling me vile scum?

‘Then, does that mean this body is my future self?’

When that thought crossed my mind.

Suddenly, I felt that something was wrong.

Why on earth is that guy so pissed off?

The Shine looking at me at that moment was angrier than I had ever seen him.

His face was coldly expressionless, but those eyes… The emotion clouding that red gaze was unmistakable fury. As I met that gaze for an instant.

Shine opened his mouth.

“I came because I have questions for you.”

As he spoke, his eyes twitched slightly, as if he were struggling to suppress his surging anger.

In contrast, my future self remained seated in silence, looking at Shine: heart beating calmly, breathing regularly, completely serene.

Had Shine fallen into some fool’s trap again? I wondered.

His voice echoed in my ears.

“News is spreading across the continent. ‘The Lord of the Tower is allying with the Decullan.’ Is this rumor true?”

…What?

“Speak. Are you really bowing down to those snake-like bastards who ruined the Blandoga family and killed Parun, just to save your own skin?”

What on earth is this guy talking about…?