In the Aether World, there were three moons, and whenever the full moons rose, the earth was abundant with mana.
It was often called "Mage's Day."
This was a magical revelation from ancient tis when the Progenitor Mage drew mana from the starlight and moonlight in the sky.
"Tomorrow evening, Charlier's full moon will rise."
Tomorrow, Charlier, the largest and most powerful of the three moons, would reveal itself fully.
Although it was regrettable that all three moons wouldn't reveal themselves like last ti, since three people were attempting the Constellation Project, it shouldn't pose a problem.
They had to reach the Moonlight Temple in the Canyon of Kallansar by the next evening.
But, that wasn't much of an issue.
The demons on the way were at most Level 3 Danger, so they posed no challenge to the girls.
However, it was a bit disappointing.
"Ah, the world is truly vast."
Edna stretched out her legs, and strolled barefoot on the white sandy beach of La Plati Coast.
As there was no one around, there were only three girls on this vast coastline.
"... If we wait a bit, a boat will co to pick us up."
Edna drumd on the water with her foot, and Hong Bi-Yeon frowned.
"We still have so ti left. Let's enjoy it a bit more leisurely."
"..."
They hadn't co here for leisure.
As much as they all loved the sea, and it wasn't they didn't want to stay longer.
Infact, nothing was as delightful as diving into the erald sea.
Yet, no one expressed dissatisfaction.
They simply gazed at the horizon quietly.
"... Oh, right. For this kind of field experience, we need evidence."
Edna took sothing out of her bag, set up a tripod, mounted a cara on top, and called Eisel and Hong Bi-Yeon.
"Hey, quit fooling around and co over here."
"Huh? What..."
"We don't have ti for that."
"Anyway, you're just standing there doing nothing and spacing out, right?"
"..."
"Hurry up, co on!"
Edna forcibly forced them to stand beside her on two different sides with their backs facing the azure sea.
Coincidentally, just before departure, they dressed light and airy to feign the guise of a traveler.
The commorative photo was sufficient.
"We didn't co for this, I know. But still, there's no harm in capturing photos anyti, anywhere. It's all about mories. It's a part of life, so engrave it."
...
Among them, Edna's seemingly juvenile advice held an inexplicable weight, leaving Eisel and Hong Bi-Yeon speechless.
They were unable to dismiss it as a joke.
"Alright, shall we take it then?"
One, two, three!
Click!
The burst of light.
A mory to be cherished forever.
Traversing the Canyon of Kallansar itself wasn't particularly challenging.
In fact, this place used to be a haven for leisure hunters roughly 2 to 30 years ago, as the discovery of the 'Moonlight Temple' on that day unveiled a treasure of astronomical value to the world.
Soon, it was turned into a museum, and there were tales of nurous treasure hunters seeking their fortune in the Canyon of Kallansar.
Of course, that was all in the past.
No one had discovered any treasure since then, and the Kallansar hype quickly faded away.
However, thanks to that, a perfect map was drawn, allowing Edna's group to traverse the canyon quite comfortably.
They silently climbed the mountain.
Since they had been consistently training their basic stamina, climbing the mountain posed no issue.
The problem, however, lay in the intermittent attacks from cunning demons.
Just because they were estimated at Level 3 Danger, they were not to be ignored.
Those with intelligence have used tools to hunt down stronger opponents with weaker strength, just like the ancestors who once defeated mammoths with a single stone spear.
They stayed guard the whole night.
Whether a princess or a commoner, they both stood guard for the sa three-hour shifts and slept in the sa sleeping bags.
Thus, the next evening arrived.
"... We've arrived."
The three girls finally reached the Moonlight Temple.
The very temple that had drawn nurous treasure hunters to the Canyon of Kallansar 30 years ago.
There, the mysterious staff found—the 'Enelina Moonlight'—was said to wield the power of the moonlight.
However, the temple itself appeared desolate.
Despite being considerably spacious like a moderate-sized sports field, it lay in ruins, overwheld by decay.
All that remained intact was the altar at the end of those stairs.
"It's over there."
With each step, dust scattered, and climbing the unsettling, creaking stairs, the girls stood in a triangular formation upon the altar.
Eisel cautiously raised both hands, and sent the fragnt of 'Constellation' flying towards the center.
Arien had already explained its usage thoroughly.
There was no room for mistakes.
This was now the only remaining piece left in the world.
"Is everyone ready?"
Confirming Edna and Hong Bi-Yeon's nods, Eisel took a deep breath with a resolute expression.
Closing her eyes, she focused her mind towards the fragnt of Constellation.
Slowly... Very slowly...
The sky began to rotate rapidly.
It felt like watching the night sky's stars move swiftly as in a ti-lapse recording.
It was a misconception.
'The stars... are they rotating in reverse?'
At that mont of realization, the three girls were walking across a starry expanse.
As Edna and Hong Bi-Yein tried to step back from her in daze, Eisel hurriedly gestured for them to move towards the center.
They recognized the signal, and moved towards the center while clasping each other's hands.
"Is it now... happening?"
"... Yes."
Only then conversation start to work.
Hong Bi-Yeon turned her head to gaze at the sky studded with stars, each of them holding information recording the world's knowledge.
'Is this truly the Constellation Project...?'
There was no ti for appreciation.
Eisel quickly shouted into the void.
"Reveal to us, 'the end of the world'."
Rumble!
"Laugh!"
"Ugh..."
However, as if refusing, the vast ocean shook violently, kicking off imnse waves, as if trying to engulf them in a deluge of information.
Looking bewildered, Hong Bi-Yeon asked what was happening, and hastily, just like before, Eisel shouted the sa request.
"Baek Yu-Seol... Show us Baek Yu-Seol's entire past!"
Suddenly, miraculously, what seed like an imminent deluge that would engulf everything receded.
... Thud!
A colossal black dragon erged.
A world that had been destroyed.
The sky filled with crimson teors was already striking the deceased land, while amidst it all, the black dragon gazed upon the collapsed world.
"Th-this is..."
"Focus! That's an illusion!"
Seeing Edna tremble, Eisel shouted.
'I know. I understand too, but...'
'What is that?'
'What on earth?'
Such a sight undoubtedly showed 'the end of the world.'
However... such a thing was never in the 'original novel.'
It was just the story of the invasion of the parallel world.
Why did such a demon appear?
She simply couldn't comprehend it.
"That person is..."
In a world where everyone had perished, Hong Bi-Yeon spotted soone.
A man clad in armor which seed to be enchanted with moonlight...
The future Baek Yu-Seol.
Watching him walk alone towards the black dragon, Eisel spoke.
"That... it's the last sight I witnessed last ti."
Back then, due to insufficient mana, she couldn't see beyond.
But now, it would likely be possible.
"More! Show us more of the past!"
What happened after that?
What on earth happened?
Crashes and flashes illuminated the skies.
Suddenly.
Countless worlds spread in all directions.
No one could speak.
Up, down, east, west, north, south, in countless worlds, there existed Baek Yu-Seol.
Each had a different version of Baek Yu-Seol.
One Baek Yu-Seol was sitting quietly sowhere.
Another Baek Yu-Seol was pierced by a demon's claws and died.
Sowhere else, Baek Yu-Seol hunted a demon the size of a house.
Nurous Baek Yu-Seol existed across worlds.
They weren't parallel worlds; it was all just one Baek
Yu-Seol.
"Ah."
After grasping the whole situation, Edna collapsed to the ground.
Look there.
Wasn't Baek Yu-Seol pierced by the demon's claws?
Yet in the next mont, sowhere else, he rose again and marched forward.
Death.
And regression.
She knew.
Baek Yu-Seol traversed back in ti and existed here.
However... there was one aspect she hadn't considered at all.
'How many tis has Baek Yu-Seol actually returned?'
Naturally, she thought he reversed ti only once—the Curse of Eleventh Moon... was just like that.
With just one regression, one's existence could be erased from the world.
But Baek Yu-Seol had regressed dozens, hundreds, thousands, no, tens of thousands of tis.
Dying, resurrecting, attempting, being forgotten, dying again...
And then repeat.
"This can't be..."
Witnessing Baek Yu-Seol's endless deaths and endless attempts, Eisel and Hong Bi-Yeon couldn't keep their composure.
Eisel covered her mouth with both hands, and trembled as she said, "Just how many tis..."
Have you experienced death?"
She couldn't finish her sentence after all.
Edna blankly gazed at few Baek Yu-Seol.
"The heart of a sleeping giant."
Baek Yu-Seol reached a place buried at the end of the continent, hunted down the guardian protecting it, and stood at the summit, facing the Twelfth Moon.
'The Depths of Alamanca.'
Baek Yu-Seol traveled deep in the sea, and found the place that couldn't be discovered, and finally encountered the New Moon there.
'The Whirlpool of Atlantes.'
Diater: 5 kilotres.
The largest whirlpool since the world's inception, but everything froze on that day.
Standing on the frozen whirlpool, Baek Yu-Seol faced the Twelfth Moon Bronze.
"Twelve New Moon...?"
Edna also vaguely knew of their existence.
After all, the original novel ntioned New Moons as a legend.
Why?
Baek Yu-Seol tirelessly searched for New Moons across different ti periods and worlds.
They were now just relegated to legends...
But they were certainly ant to be found.
That was not the future.
It was a story from the past.
'Why... what's the reason...?'
Thump!
The mont she felt intense pain in her chest, 'countless worlds' began to fold in on themselves.
Slowly, the limits of what they could access were closing in.
"No!"
One by one, slowly.
As they all began to disappear beyond the reach of starlight, Eisel desperately squeezed her mana.
The last question permitted to the girls.
"To save the world... no, to save Baek Yu-Seol, what must we do...!"
However, the Star Archives continued folding without regard for her plea.
Was there no more knowledge allowed for them?
Yet, one world remained unfolded.
It was the sight of the very end where the black dragon and Baek Yu-Seol had faced off.
"Huh...?"
However, sothing was off.
Unlike before, the black dragon was lying on the ground shedding blood.
'The black dragon...?'
'He hunted...?'
Watching the unbelievable scene where he alone had hunted the one that brought destruction to the world, the girls turned to look at Baek Yu-Seol.
Chill!
Standing atop the black dragon's body, he wiped the blood-stained moon-lit sword, and his eyes held... no trace of emotion.
It almost stopped their hearts for a mont.
That was Baek Yu-Seol at the very end.
After countless regressions, having lost all emotions, he blankly stared into space.
Instinctively.
They looked around following Baek Yu-Seol's gaze.
Mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
The corpses ford mountains, blood turning into rivers, and every civilization built by humans over thousands of years had perished.
Even the three moons which ford the origin of the world plumted to the earth.
... Suddenly.
The figure of Baek Yu-Seol disappeared.
The reason... seed known even without being voiced.
After countless regressions, despite killing the black dragon, there was nothing left.
'This life is a failure.'
So, he turned back ti again.
He thought and went sowhere to repeat everything once again.
"Ah..."
Eisel exhaled heavily, appearing disappointed.
Despite all the efforts, nothing remained.
Maybe they all had already died in this world.
Baek Yu-Seol didn't want that.
To him, mories were already like tangled threds, but he continued without giving up on his beliefs.
For a better world, he continued relentlessly to strive for an ending where everyone could survive.
He would keep pursuing his goal.
Whoosh...!
The wind blew.
... A world with nothing left.
A world where the calamity that caused the destruction of the world was hunted down, and even the sole survivor had left and departed from that world.
Just when they were wondering why it continued showing this place, twelve bright constellations extended from the black dragon's body and vanished into the sky.
"W-what...?"
"Constellations...?"
What were they showing them?
Before getting answers, the last world that had perished lted away into the vastness of the starlight.
Right after...
Thump!
All three girls lost consciousness and collapsed.
User Comments
0 comments from readers