"Fyodor."
After encountering one of the cult’s mbers, Vanitas was led to their base of operations.
Despite everything happening above ground, they had remained hidden, operating under a church that had once held imnse influence over five centuries ago.
It had to be said, but it was not an ordinary church. At its peak, it had been overseen by the Pope himself.
Pope Alexander IV, known as Rodrigo de Borgia, was a figure whose reign had been marked by corruption, manipulation, and bloodshed disguised as faith. An empire he had built on control.
That alone told Vanitas enough that Fyodor had lived through that era. Through the reign of a man who had turned religion into a weapon.
At his call, Fyodor, in Selena’s form, turned around, his skirt lifting slightly as he clasped his hands behind his back.
Vanitas looked at him.
The sight was unpleasant.
He kept his expression steady, but it was uncomfortable. The longer Fyodor remained in that form, the more it seed to affect him. It was clear that Selena’s mannerisms had begun to influence the way he carried himself.
Even so, there was no confusion, because beneath that appearance, beneath the image of a young woman, was still a cold-blooded man.
"Perfect timing. Take a look at this."
Fyodor’s tone had changed. If back then, he spoke in riddles and presented himself as a prophet. Now, there was none of that. The way he spoke was more direct and eager.
Like soone who was asking to be disposed of. Vanitas observed him without reacting.
There was no need to rush.
Araxys had not been summoned yet.
In any case, Vanitas and examined the Dragon Bones.
And indeed, part of its seal had already been broken. Fyodor had clearly put in the effort just to undo a single layer.
For context, there were five seals in total, each one different in both its contents and interpretation. On top of that, the language used was foreign to the locals. Even after centuries upon centuries, no one had managed to properly decipher it.
Until now.
With Vanitas’s help, Fyodor had finally managed to undo the first layer of the seal.
"What was the first layer’s ssage?"
"ssage?"
"I’ve unsealed sothing similar before," Vanitas said. "From what I can tell, each layer is a sentence ant to be spoken in the demonic tongue. Whether that’s intentional or just a way to hide it, that’s unclear. As for Archmage Zen, he likely left sothing behind for us."
Fyodor nodded.
"It went along the lines of, ’미래의 나에게. 저항하지 마.’ Following your thod, it should translate to, ’Do not resist the future.’"
"...."
Vanitas remained silent.
The reading was correct.
But the interpretation was not.
Fyodor had managed to pronounce the Hangeul correctly, enough for the seal to respond and break, but the aning he derived did not align with the original intent.
This world’s language simply could not capture it accurately.
No, what ’미래의 나에게. 저항하지 마’ actually ant was, "To my future self. Do not resist."
And for whatever that ant, Vanitas had his own theories. "Do not resist" could an letting events flow as they are, allowing a bad ending to occur, or perhaps even allowing Araxys to be summoned.
Nevertheless, this was only the first layer. The remaining layers would likely convey the rest of Archmage Zen’s ssage in full.
"Step aside."
Vanitas took control, and Fyodor obediently moved, stepping back as Vanitas focused his attention to the second layer. At a glance, the markings were different. There were rough calculations woven into it, arranged in a way that resembled a cryptic poem.
Either that, or the Hangeul itself was far more primitive.
So of the structure did not align with the modern Korean he was familiar with. Certain patterns, certain placents of words, felt outdated, as if they belonged to an older system no longer in use.
From what he could piece together, Vanitas made a rough assessnt.
This was a form of Hangeul that predated back to the Joseon era. At the sa ti, since it did not contain any Hanja characters, it likely ca from a period when Hangeul had already been established as the primary system.
There were clear examples.
Words that would normally appear in modern form had been written differently. For instance, what would now be written as "것이다" appeared closer to "것이로다," carrying a more formal and declarative tone that had long since fallen out of use.
Even the spacing felt off.
Where modern Korean would separate phrases cleanly, this version blurred the boundaries, forcing interpretation through context rather than structure. It was not unreadable, but it definitely needed reconstruction.
From there, Vanitas could only infer that this was a transitional stage of Hangeul. A point where the system had already broken away from heavy reliance on Hanja, yet had not fully settled into the standardized form he knew.
The language was still stabilizing and shaping itself into sothing much more consistent.
Then did that an... Archmage Zen had lived during the Joseon era?
By rough estimation, in modern terms, that would date back to sowhere between the 15th and late 19th century, around the 1400s to the 1800s.
That alone was enough to raise questions.
Was this world’s history wrong?
Was this a tiline where Korea had ceased to exist, replaced by a world where magic had taken over?
If that were the case, then it would explain why Korean was treated as a demonic tongue. It could an that, at so point in the past, Koreans had been associated with demons, or perhaps had even beco them.
But that theory did not hold completely.
There were too many inconsistencies.
This world still carried traces of modern influence. Vanitas could recognize them clearly, from the existence of cars to certain mannerisms and the overwhelming European influence present in its structure.
If this were truly a divergent tiline, then where had everyone else gone?
No, they were here. Right in front of his face.
The distinctions were subtle, but present. The people carried mixed traces of Aricans, Asians, British, Germans, Russians, Italians, and more.
It was not pure, but blended, as if generations had rged over ti. In fact, Vanitas had already concluded long ago that the body he now inhabited, Vanitas Astrea, carried distinct German traits.
Which only made things more confusing.
...Was the modern world he knew another reality?
Or had Chae Eunwoo simply been pushed further ahead?
A future where modernity had collapsed, where the world he once knew, a world dominated by machines that felt like they ca out of science fiction, had already co to an end, reduced to this warped fiction?
No, that was too much of a stretch.
"You seem to be losing your mind."
Vanitas glanced to the side. Fyodor had moved closer, hands clasped behind his back with a smile that did not suit him. If it had really been Selena, the gesture might have co off as endearing.
But this was Fyodor. A man he would have to kill sooner or later.
"Just thinking..."
"Well, think harder, my friend. I’m not confident I can undo the second layer within a week. A few months at best. Yet you only need a glance to understand sothing. Are you deliberately making decipher it to buy ti?"
The pressure shifted. Fyodor’s killing intent bore down on him. Indeed, the mana emanating from him was unlike anything Vanitas had encountered before.
"...."
...But it still did not compare to the Iron Lotus.
To realize that Fyodor was weaker than the Iron Lotus... It was unexpected.
At the very least, it confird sothing. If it had not been for Abyss, the Iron Lotus would have taken his life.
’To think I had underestimated it so...’
But nevertheless, if it had been Fyodor who dealt with the Iron Lotus, the sa Lotus he had been the cause of triggering in the first place, instead of leaving Vanitas to clean up after his ss...
"...."
...Karina would not have had to die.
She wouldn’t have had to go through whatever it was she endured.
Just the thought alone was enough to enrage him. For a mont, the urge to kill Fyodor right there and then boiled.
"...."
But he held it back, gnashing his teeth.
At the sa ti, as Vanitas examined the second layer more closely, he noticed sothing.
’Huh?’
Just beneath one of the spell formulas, there was a single anomaly that did not align with the rest of the layer’s schematics. It stood out, as if it did not belong there.
If anything, judging from its structure, this Hangul was more likely part of the first layer.
Vanitas narrowed his eyes and began to read it.
’You must have a lot of questions.’
’But I believe everything I’ve done was to lead you to this mont.’
’You may resent as much as you wish.’
’But just know... there was no other way...’
’...Future .’
A ssage left behind.
"...."
Vanitas clenched his fists. He had already co to a conclusion long ago about who Archmage Zen truly was.
But knowing that did nothing to ease him.
If anything, it made it worse.
To accept that Zen was another version of himself... that was sothing he refused.
Vanitas would rather die than associate himself with Archmage Zen.
He would rather die than admit they were the sa.
He would rather die than accept that everything that had led to this point had been set in motion by a version of himself he did not even know.
Sure, he could admit that he had made countless mistakes up to this point.
But even so, he had never gone as far as to spare this world.
Vanitas would see his revenge through to the end. He would make sure that whoever that incompetent fool was, the one he was forced to clean up after, would face the consequences for it.
"Archmage Zen..."
"What is it?"
"Get out."
"Excuse ?"
"I said get out, you sick bastard. I can’t focus with you in the room."
Fyodor tilted his head, confusion passing over his face before he let out a chuckle. He turned, the skirt lifting with the motion.
"Very well. I’ll leave you to it."
He took a few steps, then paused and looked back.
"Oh, and I know you resent . I’m fully aware of how much you despise right now."
"Words aren’t enough to describe it, Fyodor."
Fyodor smiled faintly. "Even so, we are still working toward the sa goal. It would be best if you kept that hostility in check. Even my benevolence has its limits."
He held his gaze for a mont.
"I respect you, Vanitas. It is unfortunate that the one closest to Araxys holds such contempt for ."
With that, Fyodor left the room.
Vanitas turned back to the Dragon Bones, carefully uncovering the traces left behind from the first layer.
——Oppa!
At that mont, a voice rang out. The room, which had been dim just a second ago, was suddenly washed in white.
——lissa? What are you doing her?
——Look, look! I can do magic like you and Unnie!
Vanitas turned around. There were two figures. A man who looked eerily similar to him, and a little girl who bore a striking resemblance to Selena.
For the first ti, Vanitas was looking directly at him.
"...Zen."
At the face of that bastard.
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