Episode 388 – The Lords of a Ruined World
“Human…?”
She fell into thought, recalling the presence that had just left the study.
It was a human with an unusually powerful aura.
But that was all.
Strength, after all, was only by human standards, and not enough to pique her interest.
She returned to her seat in the study and quietly closed her eyes.
She had remained in this place all along, yet just like the human from earlier, no one had noticed her presence.
This world did not permit her to manifest in physical form.
Only her followers, acting as diums, could briefly give her shape.
Sa space, different world.
She was a being that drifted between this world and the spirit realm, gifting death as she went.
Jess Milo, the King of the Dead.
.....................
Today, too, she lingered within the traces of a presence she longed for.
The aura of an Undying.
She had clearly felt it nearby, and atop its remnants, she was overco with joy.
This ti, I will give him the perfect death!
Overjoyed, she had sought him out. But the joy was short-lived. Soon after, she tilted her head, puzzled.
Doubt.
A strange emotion for her, but this ti, it was unavoidable.
The one she sought had vanished.
“How odd...?”
The Undying was bound to her through a contract. Once a trace was found, their immortal spiritual link made separation impossible.
Yet for the first ti, she had lost that trace.
Could he have avoided on purpose?
“There's no way the Undying would avoid .”
For countless ages, they had t, sotis once every ten years, sotis every hundred. One sought death, the other sought to grant it.
She wanted to kill him. And for ages, she killed and killed again, drawing the remnants of the Undying toward death.
But as he himself once said, it was the “Curse of the Gods.” Whether by his will or not, he continued to resurrect.
She was under a contract to give him the perfect death.
Thus, until the Undying disappeared from the world, she too could not stop.
[I wanted to tell you this ti would be different.]
Jess Milo had smiled brightly.
It would be incredibly painful, but she wanted to let him know—this death would be the last.
She stared into empty space.
A distorted space faintly lingered.
Though faint, the aura of the Undying flowed from it.
Could he be inside there?
She wanted to enter, but since there was no passage, she felt a sense of regret.
[Why won’t it open?]
She stared blankly at the space.
And then stood silently, as if forgetting the passage of ti.
Through endless ages, she had grown used to waiting.
She knew emotions were aningless before the flow of ti, and that sotis, she had to let go of her mind just to endure without going mad.
If left alone, she would have spent another eternity in this castle, like an ancient wraith.
Vhuung—
If soone hadn’t called out to her.
Ssssss—
There was a reaction in the twisted space.
Only she could see the faint shimring lights flickering, signaling her.
As if beckoning her in.
No one could co out from inside, but soone had tampered with the space so that one could approach from the outside.
Naturally, only Jess Milo could access it.
Soone was calling to her.
[Undying?]
She smiled brightly once again.
Who else but him could recognize her and beckon?
Without hesitation, she followed the flickering lights and pushed through the gap in space.
She wanted to face him with a bright smile.
To gift him the sweet present called death.
A world painted in achromatic colors unfolded.
[Retonicalus!]
The presence of Jess Milo, defined by the word “dark,” appeared within.
But inside wasn’t just Jess Milo.
There was another being who had called her.
A being in stark contrast to Jess Milo’s presence—one of pure white.
The mont she faced this being of pure white, Jess Milo’s smile slowly faded.
And when they stood face-to-face, her expression turned emotionless.
The achromatic space began to stain black around her.
The aura of death.
Her long-buried self began to rise to the surface.
Because the being before her had to be t this way.
Before she realized it, the space was swallowed by darkness.
Within it, the being of pure white pushed back the encroaching darkness.
[It’s useless. Have you forgotten who I am?]
[I know you well. The one who ravages ti and space—Bentu of Ti and Space.]
Arcane of Fate.
Bentu, who stood behind him, revealed himself before Jess Milo.
[It’s been a while, King of the Dead. You may not be pleased, but I ask your understanding.]
[And this is the best place you found to run from the world?]
From his aura to his speech, Jess Milo now felt like an entirely different being.
The atmosphere around him was completely different.
[This space isn’t mine. It belonged to a being once called an Absolute.]
[“Once”... who was it that vanished?]
[The King of Greed—Makibeldor.]
From Bentu’s lips ca the na of an Absolute.
Hearing it, Jess Milo’s figure subtly trembled. As if she were smiling.
[For soone steeped in greed, he lived too long. I wanted to give him death myself.]
[Sounds like you’re saying it wasn’t your doing.]
[Do you think I did it?]
[There aren’t many who could erase Makibeldor. And this place—this rift—is accessible to only one: you.]
[Sorry, but it wasn’t .]
[I see. Since you were lingering where Makibeldor’s trace vanished, I assud it was you.]
But Bentu had no doubts about her words.
Death was Jess Milo.
She would never lie when it ca to death.
[Then who was it?]
[Why ask ?]
[Because I thought you would know.]
Jess Milo thought of the Undying.
Even Bentu wouldn’t have noticed his traces.
Only she, bound by contract, could perceive them.
But she shook her head.
The Undying had no body. And a formless being couldn’t possibly erase the King of Greed.
[Do you have proof it wasn’t you? Isn’t crossing between realms your specialty?]
[Unlike you, I pay a steep price to stay here. The sa goes for Makibeldor and the other Absolutes. That’s why, in this rift, there's a "pact" among Absolutes to prevent hostility.]
[A steep price, huh. Are you saying you’ve completely left the boundaries of divine law? You know the fate of forgotten beings.]
Those denied by the world eventually vanish. Even Absolutes weren’t immune to that fate.
Because Absolutes weren’t gods.
[The Spirit Realm is safe.]
[So, you fled to the Spirit Realm? Well, I suppose there’s nowhere else to hide.]
In the Spirit Realm, one could escape the cycle.
It was another world, connected to this one.
But that’s all.
If one’s true form stayed in the Spirit Realm, returning here was nearly impossible.
Even an Absolute couldn’t easily breach the wall between dinsions.
You might do it once, but twice would an certain destruction.
[Choosing isolation—foolish.]
[Do I look isolated to you?]
[Not everyone is like you.]
[Seems you’ve forgotten where the King of Greed vanished.]
[Probably in the rift. As just a spiritual form. That applies to you, too.]
.....................
Bentu fell silent.
Jess Milo interpreted the silence and smirked.
[So you really plan to cross over.]
[This is a changed world now.]
[Hahahahaha!]
Jess Milo laughed madly. Mixed with ridicule—mockery for the foolish.
[The Undying no longer exists in this world.]
[Why did I wander this damned world alone for countless ages?]
[I know you were searching for the remnants of the Undying.]
[The Undying isn’t dead.]
[Not dead, but no longer present either.]
[How are you so sure?]
[I trust my prophecy.]
.....................
Jess Milo silently gazed at Bentu.
The vision of prophecy, granted by control over ti and space.
Not always accurate, but certainly different from other Absolutes.
Of course, the Undying did exist.
But there was no reason to tell him that.
[This was a waste of ti.]
Jess Milo began to withdraw his presence.
The space, once blackened, slowly returned to achromatic stillness.
There was no reason to explain her contract with the Undying.
As Bentu said, after losing his body, the Undying’s presence had faded.
She was about to return to the world when Bentu stopped her.
[It wasn’t a waste. I think my prophecy will help you.]
[A prophecy?]
[Retonicalus. The one you so desperately wish to et.]
.....................
[Go to Pri Root. There is a “link” there that can reach Retonicalus.]
[A link?]
[The prophecy said it would bloom into a radiant, blood-soaked flower, but it was trampled and vanished before it could blossom. That being will be your guide.]
[Hmm....]
Jess Milo slowly returned to her world through the rift, murmuring,
[I wonder if that’s truly a prophecy that transcends ti... or part of your grand design.]
[Is that more important than eting Retonicalus?]
[Using , huh? How amusing. Interesting.]
Through her fading presence, Jess Milo spoke one last word to Bentu.
[You’ll all see again. The end of the forgotten is always death.]
Only the presence of pure white remained in the achromatic world.
Soon after, the light grew thicker, and a man with a neat appearance erged.
Neatly combed golden hair.
On both ears, the sa pair of blue sapphire earrings as Arcane shimred enchantingly.
Bentu of Ti and Space.
He looked at the trace Jess Milo had left behind.
“You’ll go there eventually, nonetheless.”
He knew very well that the Undying was the only key that could move her.
The King of the Dead would inevitably move toward Pri Root.
Because Bentu’s predictions always ca true.
But lately, that certainty had begun to crack.
Bentu touched his blue earring and recalled a certain human’s divine na.
[Arthur Clayton – Divine Na Hunter (Order)]
He glanced over the list of incomplete divine nas beneath it, frowning slightly.
A figure unseen in prophecy.
Yet by that one human’s hand, the grand plan Bentu had envisioned had unraveled completely.
To rebuild the shattered gaboard, only one thod remained.
Erase the board altogether—or flip it over.
Using the King of the Dead improperly could destroy the world, but no other alternative ca to mind.
The world’s flow leaned too heavily toward Arthur.
“Because now... it’s a flow that can’t be overturned unless we act now.”
Even if her blessing were to sweep across the continent, it didn’t matter.
Under the blessing of death, he would simply build the board anew.
Just like the ruined world of the past.
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