Chapter 36: The Prophet of Radiance
Where had it all gone wrong?
Kal traced his mories back, until he recalled the ssenger he’d seen at the top of the spire.
An insignificant assassin whose na he didn’t even know.
From that encounter onward, the future had begun to deviate from its expected course.
Kal pinpointed "him" as the reason the future was now twisted. This person—soone who seed capable of predicting his every next move.
A difficult opponent precisely because he could anticipate Kal’s moves.
‘How should I deal with him?’
As he pondered, Kal ca up with a possible solution.
“Unpredictability might be my only option.”
To escape "his" predictions, Kal needed a wild card, an elent of surprise that even "he" couldn’t foresee.
He thought of Etor.
Etor was land he had to claim if he wanted to bring all of Tobaron under his control and expand his power.
In the past, it had taken him three years to conquer Etor.
His father, his brothers.
It had taken him a long ti to clean up family affairs and organize Blyer.
‘Eight months from now.’
But if everything went according to his new plan, Etor would be in his hands within eight months. Compared to before his regression, this was lightning-fast.
Yet Kal’s expression remained unsatisfied.
“I need to push harder.”
Kal felt a need to accelerate his tiline, even if it ant sustaining greater losses. To disrupt "his" predictions, he needed "unpredictability." By twisting ti itself, he could unleash a cascade of unforeseen variables.
How much should he accelerate?
‘I’ll plant my flag on Etor’s walls within four months.’
Cut the ti in half.
There would be much bloodshed, but his plan was already grinding against obstacles, so he felt it was necessary to push forward aggressively.
Kal tapped on the side of the carriage. Lyon, riding close by, approached as Kal opened the window.
“Where is the ‘Prophet of Radiance’ now?”
“If our informants are correct, we should encounter him before we pass Elletor Fortress.”
“We’ll leave the carriage and move on horseback.”
“Sir? But…”
“Hurry up, Lyon.”
Taken aback by the sudden order, Lyon quickly collected himself and signaled to his n to prepare his lord’s horse.
“Hyah!”
Kal spurred his horse onward, pushing forward at a relentless pace.
If he wanted to advance his plans, he needed to tie up his existing tasks quickly.
eting with the Prophet of Radiance was essential to determining his future moves. The Prophet was not soone he could easily encounter outside of this specific mont, so he needed to act fast.
With the thunderous sound of hooves echoing behind him, Kal and his entourage raced nonstop toward the northern boundary where Elletor Fortress stood.
After riding tirelessly for half a day, the darkness of the forest gradually lifted as dawn broke, casting light over the worn stone walls that stretched endlessly.
Elletor Fortress.
The northern border of Tobaron.
Before reaching the fortress, Kal and his group encountered a large procession.
“Halt!”
Lyon rode ahead and blocked the procession. At the front was an exceptionally ornate carriage, clearly carrying soone of high status.
A mont later, as Kal approached with his knights, the guards surrounding the carriage drew their weapons.
“Right on ti.”
Kal looked at the banner on the carriage and nodded.
Beyond Elletor Fortress lay the Witch’s Forest of Ordor. No one uninvited could enter the forest of witches.
Fortunately, they’d intercepted the Prophet’s carriage before it crossed the fortress.
Kal took a handkerchief from Lyon to wipe the sweat from his brow. It had been physically taxing, but the person he needed to et was now in front of him.
“May I ask who you are?”
A large knight, representing the carriage, approached Kal. He was heavily armored and looked formidable at a glance.
‘Can Lyon handle him?’
These knights served Grand Duke Clarke, whose domain lay beyond the Witch’s Forest. The Grand Duke’s knights weren’t weak, but they weren’t known as elite either. Clarke’s territory was more influenced by wizards than by knights.
Kal was curious about their skill, but it wasn’t the ti to find out.
He had co as a "guest" to seek the Prophet.
“I’m here to seek an answer.”
“An answer requires a price.”
At the knight’s response, Kal made a small gesture, and Lyon stepped forward with a small chest. When the chest was opened, it revealed a pile of gold.
The tension imdiately dissipated at the sight of the gold.
The Prophet’s guest.
As long as the price was paid, social status didn’t matter. That was the standard set by the Grand Duke.
“Please wait here for a mont.”
The knight gave a slight bow and returned to the carriage.
Shortly after, the door opened, and an elderly man with his eyes covered by a cloth erged, assisted by attendants.
The Prophet of Radiance.
His prophetic abilities were famous throughout the entire kingdom, not just Tobaron. Seeking his prophecy required an astronomical sum of gold.
Yet people spared no expense to et him, even just once.
Once every two years, at the Grand Duke Clarke’s request, the Prophet would accept visitors, exchange gold, and grant prophecies. Now was that ti.
“Soone has co who does not share a destined connection with .”
“……”
Kal was seeing the old man before him for the first ti.
If not for his regression, he would never have t him. Was the Prophet able to sense that?
Kal took a seat on the prepared chair and faced the Prophet.
“Does the Prophet have no na?”
“Are you here to seek answers?”
The Prophet’s answers ca at a price. Kal chuckled lightly and continued.
“Forget it. I ca to ask about life and death. Can you tell ?”
“If I have never t them, I cannot.”
Kal clicked his tongue briefly. This ant he couldn’t inquire about the fates of the ssenger or the observer, Kevlin.
“Then, what about my own death? Can you prophesize my death?”
Given that the future was now uncertain, he needed to verify it.
The Prophet fiddled with a crystal orb in front of him. After a mont, it glowed a warm orange. He shook his head.
“I do not see the touch of death on you. Not for now.”
“‘Not for now’? What does that an?”
“It ans that depending on your actions, your future could change at any mont. I can only see your imdiate fate.”
“If death is foreseen, can it be avoided?”
“You may or may not be able to avoid it. However, if you do avoid it, you’ll pay a price equal to your worth.”
“A price? What kind of price?”
“Sothing precious to you.”
Kal grinned, baring his teeth. Lyon could tell that his lord was irritated.
“Who dares to take sothing precious from ?”
The Prophet rely pointed silently toward the sky. It could an a god, fate, or perhaps the heavens themselves—a vague answer.
“Your answer lacks conviction.”
“I speak only the truth.”
It wasn’t the most satisfying response, but it was enough for now. It ant there was no imdiate threat to his plans.
“I have more questions.”
“Then you must pay the price.”
“You really are an expensive mouth to feed.”
Kal glanced at Lyon, who placed another chest in front of the Prophet.
“Have you received any recent ‘divine ssages’?”
“Hmm, there is one… but…”
For so reason, the Prophet seed reluctant to speak of it.
“Can you verify the life of its owner?”
“Yes, divine ssages are unique. Do you seek an answer?”
When Kal nodded, the Prophet inspected the orb, and then, after a mont, nodded in confirmation.
“He is alive.”
Kal nodded slightly.
‘So Donecolint is still alive.’
Having confird his survival, Kal figured that all he needed to do now was locate him. He asked for clarification.
“I want to hear the content of the divine ssage.”
“Divine ssages are revelations from the gods. If sharing them recklessly disrupts the world, a severe penalty follows, as you may have noticed from my blindness.”
“That doesn’t concern .”
“……”
“You don’t have a choice, do you?”
At Kal’s command, Lyon brought over three more chests of gold for the knight standing beside the Prophet.
Once the gold was confird, the knight stood by the Prophet.
“The guest requests an answer.”
“…But…”
“Rember, you are bound to the Grand Duke’s will.”
Faced with the knight’s cold remark, the Prophet bit his lip and briefly looked up at the sky, his sightless eyes hidden beneath the cloth. Seeing this, Kal was tempted to ask—
Could the Prophet foresee his own death?
“I can only reveal a single line of the divine ssage. The rest is obscured.”
“You can’t see the whole ssage?”
“Do not ask why. This is the first ti I’ve experienced such a thing.”
For the first ti, Kal’s face showed a flicker of surprise. Donecolint’s divine ssage was famous throughout the land as the "Siren’s Scream." And yet, here was a prophet who couldn’t fully decipher it.
Why did the thought of him suddenly co to mind?
“Speak!”
The answer Kal sought was the divine ssage from Donecolint, The Siren’s Scream.
With a hint of urgency in his voice, he demanded an answer. The Prophet clutched the glowing orb.
Though his eyesight was gone, the letters of the divine ssage were seared into his mind. Most of it was unreadable; he had only managed to interpret a line from the very bottom of the ssage.
The Prophet wondered.
Could Arcane the Fatekeeper, or the Witch Lily, interpret this entire ssage?
He didn’t know.
But he was certain that those two would never reveal it, even if they could.
This might bring death upon him, but as a sinner, he had no choice.
The Prophet’s mouth trembled as he spoke.
[XX XXXX – XX XX XXX]
[X XX XX.]
[The Siren’s Hymn.]
“The Siren’s Hymn.”
Kal’s face twisted, his expression darkening like that of a demon.
A hymn, not a scream?!
The owner of the divine ssage had changed.
***
For soone like , living the tough life of a salaried worker, the most precious and blissful part of my day was when I could finally lie down to sleep.
Nestling under the rustling, soft blankets, spending ti imagining the intense events that would unfold as villains grew stronger in the novels I read—those monts were pure sweetness.
Just thinking about it made feel so light, like I could float, and my steps were always a little bouncier on the way ho from work.
But the illusion would shatter in the early hours of the morning when I’d turn off my smartphone and close my eyes. The ti between falling asleep and waking up passed by in the blink of an eye.
Just the sight of sunlight streaming through the curtains was enough to ruin my mood.
Ah, ti to get up for work.
‘Ugh, damn it, just a dream!’
As my consciousness returned, I took a deep breath of relief, realizing that the scene illuminated by the morning light wasn’t a set of curtains but a dense forest surrounding .
The relief of not having to go to the office.
The fact that I could feel happy just over this was honestly ridiculous, but I wanted to savor this mont.
Since being thrown into the world of the novel, I had my first long, uninterrupted dream. It was a vision of my forr life as a regular office worker, a life that I’d lived right up until I ca here.
Reflecting on it now, life in the real world may not have been exciting, but it did offer small comforts and a sense of security.
Being dropped into sothing like the Serengeti wilderness really made think that maybe I’d had it pretty good back then.
“And yet, even now, I still hate the idea of getting up for work. How did I ever survive the grind of being a salaried employee? Ugh.”
I tried to get up, but my body felt as heavy as a soaked sponge.
How long had I been out?
Looking around, I realized there was no one else nearby.
I started to get up, brushing off my clothes, intending to go look for Karl, when I felt a dull sensation on my left wrist. Raising my hand, I saw a thick bracelet fastened there.
A coarse, black bracelet.
Seeing the bracelet, it seed like the procedure had been completed successfully.
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