Ch. 381 - Arctic Iceberg Mountain (9)

What should she do?  

Should she stop him now?  

Would it make any difference if she, one of the Twelve Divine Moons, proclaimed in her sternest voice, ‘That approach isn’t wise?’

Countless thoughts raced through Pale Yellow Autumn Moon’s mind.  

But… She couldn’t back out now.  

It wasn’t just a matter of pride. Conceding now would only prove that her reasoning was weaker than Maran Kaltz’s. The moment she surrendered her intellectual superiority, all her advantages would vanish.

If Maran Kaltz perceived her knowledge as worthless, he wouldn’t hesitate to abandon her—or worse, attack and steal her power.  

‘No! That can’t happen!’  

She hated fighting. In truth, she had never once defended herself in battle. Her powers as one of the Twelve Divine Moons were unsuitable for combat, and she’d never bothered to learn magic… she considered it the study of lesser beings.

‘But this… This is too much!’

Turning all the cities in the Arctic Iceberg Mountain into Persona Gates—  

It was insanity.  

"Maran Kaltz, wait! Let’s talk about this—"  

But before Pale Yellow Autumn Moon could finish speaking, it was already too late.  

"Abula! Katarokum!"  

Boom!!!  

Maran Kaltz slammed his staff into the ground and unleashed a gray wave that spread across the Arctic Iceberg Mountain.  

"Abula? Kata?"  

Those words rang a distant bell. They were ancient spells used by mages long ago. Though she knew nothing of magic, her status as one of the Twelve Divine Moons made it easy to interpret any language.

‘Let the world lose its light.’  

And then—  

"Abula… Nemeharum!"  

‘Let the world be dyed in gray.’  

Boom!  

Another strike of Maran Kaltz’s staff unleashed a black wave that blanketed the Arctic Iceberg Mountain.

"H-Haha…"  

It was over.  

Truly over. 

Pale Yellow Autumn Moon stood frozen. She completely forgot about her disheveled hair as she stared at the scene below with dilated pupils.  

‘This is madness… Absolute madness’  

Bzzzt—!  

At the top of the Ice Spirit Plateau Fortress, a tiny purple sphere appeared, no bigger than a human head. In the blink of an eye, it swelled like a balloon, enveloping the entire fortress.

But it didn’t stop there.  

The purple sphere continued to expand and spread outward in the shape of a dome.  

It rapidly grew, swallowing the lower cities and everything in its path.  

"Ah…"  

She could only stare in numb shock. The Persona Gate rolled outward like a monstrous tidal wave, and no human power could possibly halt its advance.

"It is done, O Divine Moon."  

Maran Kaltz proudly gazed at the Persona Gate that had consumed all the cities in the North and smiled in satisfaction.  

And at last, Pale Yellow Autumn Moon realized the truth.  

All Class 9 mages were broken in some way—  

Physically, mentally, or both.  

In Maran Kaltz’s case, he was missing emotion.  

It was a flaw, but it also freed him from the shackles of human morality, allowing him to make cold, rational decisions.  

And yes… Wasn’t this the most logical decision?  

A way to minimize casualties while eliminating the creatures entirely—  

By sealing them all away in another dimension.  

"This… This scale of a Persona Gate… How did you even create something like this…?"  

"Hmm? O Divine Moon, I thought you would already know."  

"What?"  

"What do you think a Persona Gate truly is?"  

She realized she’d never once asked herself that question. Her silence, born of ignorance, stung her pride. Maran Kaltz just smiled.

"An inverse world… A force that draws in another dimension, isn’t that right?"  

"Indeed. That’s what everyone believes. Even the dark mages who wield that power."  

"… Are you saying that’s not the full truth?"  

“Heh. It’s not exactly wrong; it’s just that no one ever considered that this ‘inverse world’ might be right in front of our eyes. So close you can see it plainly.”

He turned his gaze toward the sky.  

The Second Black Tower was eternally surrounded by a blood-red sky filled with twinkling constellations.  

For years - no, centuries - the old man had lived here, observing the stars without rest.  

"… No way!"  

"Yes. The ‘inverse world’ is none other than the constellations in that sky. Each star represents a different world."  

For a moment, Pale Yellow Autumn Moon nearly stumbled backward but managed to hold her ground.  

'A mere human figured out something like this?!’

If what he said was true, then Maran Kaltz had come dangerously close to unveiling the very truths that formed the foundation of this world.  

'And yet… he gave it all up? Right at the threshold of discovery?'  

What had this old man seen at the edge of truth that caused him to despair and abandon it all?  

"A Class 9 mage is a human who has come closest to touching the stars."  

He spoke softly, his eyes fixed on the sky.  

"But… No matter how close a human gets to the stars, they can never truly reach them."  

Even standing on the highest peak in the world wouldn’t bring someone measurably closer to the stars. If a god were watching from above, the difference between standing on the ground or at the mountaintop would be insignificant.

"… I see."  

Only then did Pale Yellow Autumn Moon finally understand why the old man had given up on reaching truth.  

He had realized it—  

That no matter how close he came to truth, as a human, he could never truly reach it.  

And now, Pale Yellow Autumn Moon had reawakened the very dream he had once cast aside.

"Now then, tell me… The one who challenged the Divine Moons. The one with an improbable chance—the mage who came closest to the stars… Tell me his story."  

Pale Yellow Autumn Moon bit her lip hard.  

***

A cool wind brushed along the cliff’s edge. The sun shone down from a crystal-clear sky, reflecting on the churning ocean below. This was Barangka Cliffs, located in the continent’s northwest.

"Wow…"  

Eisel stood at the cliff’s edge, her eyes glued to the stunning vista. The panorama was so magnificent that she couldn’t help but gape in wonder.

"It’s… Beautiful ."  

No matter how she tried to describe it, no one would ever truly believe it.  

Even standing right there, the world felt distant and unreal.  

It was nature’s masterpiece.  

A grand sculpture far beyond what any human could create.  

As much as she wanted to stroll barefoot along the cliffs, wearing nothing but a light dress, she wasn’t here to sightsee.  

“So… there’s supposed to be some sort of pillar reaching the heavens somewhere along this cliff?”

Hong Bi-Yeon, who was casually dressed in a denim jacket and jeans, pressed her temples with her fingers, clearly frustrated. 

The blessing that Flame had temporarily cast seemed to be wearing off, as a headache began creeping in.  

"A pillar, you say?"  

"Yes. A massive one."  

"Huh…?"  

Eisel’s blue eyes darted across the vast cliffside once more. She had an unobstructed view in every direction, even catching sight of the distant horizon. Yet, there was no pillar to be seen.

"You fools. Of course, you can’t see it. If it were just sitting there in plain sight, mages would’ve already torn it apart and picked it clean, down to the last scrap."  

"That… Makes sense."  

"So how do we find it?"  

"Well, I brought this."  

Flame pulled out a faded cube fragment—  

The Fragment of Constellation, which had been handed to her by Knight Commander Arein some time ago.  

Seeing it brought back memories—  

Memories of how, during last year’s summer break, they uncovered Baek Yu-Seol’s secret.  

The girls fell into momentary silence, recalling that moment.  

"Back then… We only saw glimpses of Baek Yu-Seol’s life. We could observe, but we couldn’t intervene at all. But this time, it’s different."  

"Different…?"  

"Yes. This time, we’re going to travel through time. Just like… Baek Yu-Seol did."  

"Like Baek Yu-Seol…"  

The words ‘time travel’ sent visible shockwaves through Eisel’s expression.  

No doubt, it reminded her of her father.  

"Which is why… There’s something I need to warn you about." 

Flame looked back and forth between Eisel and Hong Bi-Yeon, and locked eyes with both of them.  

"When we go there, no matter what happens, we must never interfere easily."  

She paused and then looked directly at Eisel, repeating herself firmly.  

"We cannot change the past. That’s something even Baek Yu-Seol couldn’t do. Remember that."  

It was true.  

Even Baek Yu-Seol had failed to alter the future.  

Instead, to protect reality, he had chosen to deceive the past.  

"The past cannot be changed. Ever."  

The words rang in Eisel’s ears like the tolling of a bell.  

"The past cannot be changed. The past…"  

She knew.  

She already knew.  

She would never make such a foolish mistake again.  

Trying to change the past would be nothing short of an insult—  

An insult to Baek Yu-Seol and her father.  

"… I’ll remember."  

When Eisel nodded, her eyes filled with determination, Flame gave a satisfied smile.  

"Alright. Let’s split up and start searching."  

"If anyone finds something, press the brooch I gave you to send a signal. I wish we had smartphones… Maybe Baek Yu-Seol could invent one for us someday."  

"Smartphones?"  

"Yeah. Like a portable notebook that lets you talk to people from far away. Doesn’t it sound like magic?"  

"Magic can’t even do that!"  

In this world, the correct expression might have been, ‘Doesn’t it sound like science?’  

"Anyway, this place hasn’t been discovered in hundreds of years. It won’t be easy to find."  

"But…"  

Flame trailed off, hesitating.  

“Call it a hunch, but I believe the two of you might manage it. You both have… a special destiny.”

She let the thought drift, unwilling to delve further. Yet deep down, she believed she possessed a similar destiny of her own… and still struggled to fully trust it.

"Alright then! Let’s move out!"  

Forcing a playful grin, she lifted the cube fragment in her hand. In that instant…

The world dimmed.  

…!!  

Silence.  

There was no explosion, no sound of shattering. Nothing.  

The bright sky suddenly turned a murky gray.  

And just as the girls felt that something was wrong,  

They all instinctively turned their gazes to the sea.  

There it was—  

A pillar.  

A massive silver pillar connecting the sky and the sea, firmly embedded at the center of the earth.  

Why…?  

Why hadn’t they seen something so vast before? It was massive enough that overlooking it should’ve been impossible.

The girls traded stunned glances. In this unnervingly silent world, their voices refused to carry. Yet with a single nod, all three sprang from the cliff’s edge.

Crimson, cerulean, and golden wings unfurled behind them as the trio hurtled toward the glowing pillar in the gray atmosphere.

High above them, Fawn Prevernal Moon watched silently, standing in the air, his hand gently grasping at nothingness.  

‘Pale Yellow Autumn Moon… She’s quite useful, I must admit.’  

He couldn’t say how Flame had come to find this place, but it scarcely mattered.

What mattered was the moment she traveled through time and awakened to her true destiny—  

Because when that happened, Baek Yu-Seol, the one fated to walk a different path, would vanish from this world… forever.

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