Chapter 58 : A Shattered Piece of Sky

I froze mid-swing beneath the pouring moonlight.

‘…Did that sound just now—was that cracking?’

I stood like a statue for a moment, then abruptly dropped into a seated posture.

Without delay, I dove into the lake of my inner world.

It took some time to calm my pounding heart and steady my breath enough to descend deep.

At last, I reached the colossal wall of steel and ice that towered in the depths of my consciousness.

And there it was.

A jagged crack slashed diagonally across its face.

“…!”

I reached out to touch the fissure, then turned to the Heavenly Demon.

“Master, the wall… it’s cracked.”

[…]

Only recently had he told me to steady my heart, to train patiently, and here I was—cracking the wall in a single night.

After a long silence, he finally muttered,

[…Unbelievable. I’ve never seen a lunatic gain enlightenment by dancing with a sword under the moon.]

“Enlightenment?”

[Something must have stirred in you. Otherwise, that wall wouldn’t have split.]

“…”

But I hadn’t realized anything.

No grand revelation. No profound insight.

I had simply felt good and started swinging my sword in the moonlight like an idiot.

Why had the wall cracked?

I had no idea.

When I had struck it again and again with the Starlight Sword, it hadn’t so much as quivered. But one careless sword dance beneath the moon, and suddenly it split?

“Wait… could it be?”

I opened my eyes and tried again, whirling through the same dance.

But no matter how long I swung, the wall did not budge.

Only sweat dripped down.

What was different from before?

Had I, without realizing, brushed against some mystery of the moonlight?

I didn’t know.

“…”

I sheathed my sword.

The mood was gone. I trudged back to the fire and sat cross-legged.

Once more I faced the cracked wall.

I pounded the fissure with the Starlight Sword, over and over.

But the wall stood fast.

I stared at it in silence, then opened my eyes again.

“Phew…”

A sigh slipped out.

Why did it stir my heart, only to leave me hanging? What a teasing thing.

Crackle, crackle.

The fire flickered.

Shushruta was still curled up in the same spot, asleep.

But she looked smaller, as though shivering.

I noticed the firewood had burned down, so I broke a few nearby branches and tossed them in.

Then, watching her peaceful face, I steadied my breath.

Nothing had truly changed.

It was only a single crack in the wall.

A wall doesn’t vanish just because a line is scored across it.

I recalled the Heavenly Demon’s advice:

Be steady. Be patient. Train without haste.

One day, the wall would fall.

I calmed myself.

“Phew…”

Then I set aside thoughts of the wall and turned to another challenge—summoning the crimson world.

The wall was not my only goal.

“Huup… haah…!”

I tried thirty times.

But no matter what, I couldn’t recreate it.

Frustrated, I sat deep in thought.

‘How did it happen back then?’

I decided to relive the memory in my inner world.

Not difficult—the fight was still burned into my mind.

‘Let’s try it.’

At once, the battle with the mad mage replayed vividly.

I was running.

My head spun, and dozens of spells chased at my back.

A hopeless scene.

Suddenly, in that vision, a crimson giant rose and strode forth.

I had thought then: Is that the Heart Demon I’d heard about?

I had smiled without realizing, drunk on madness.

And then, the crimson world had embraced me.

“Hup!”

I snapped my eyes open.

A ringing filled my ears.

The inner energy in my dantian burned hot.

The crimson world unfolded before me.

I stared wide-eyed.

It wasn’t truly crimson—more pink.

I tilted my head up.

A pink moon gazed back at me.

“…Ha. Haha…”

Laughter spilled out.

But then—like air deflating—my vision cleared.

The pink light receded.

The pale moon shone once more.

Suddenly, all strength left my body. My head spun, and I sagged against a tree.

At least I hadn’t fainted outright, like last time.

Sprawled like a beaten soldier, I still chuckled.

“Heheh.”

The Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue.

[I told you to restrain yourself. You never listen.]

The ringing faded, and the boiling inner energy cooled.

A half-success.

I hadn’t collapsed… but exhaustion surged over me like a tide.

“…Good enough…”

And with that, I drifted into sleep.

Tap, tap.

“Ashuban. Ashuban, wake.”

Someone shook my shoulder. I blinked groggily.

Shushruta stood over me, eyes fixed on the night sky.

She must have been staring for quite a while.

…Didn’t her neck hurt?

“…What is it?”

“The dagger. Give it here. Quickly.”

Even as she spoke, her gaze never left the heavens.

“What for?”

I followed her eyes upward.

The stars were as usual.

“Quickly. Hurry.”

She shook my shoulder impatiently.

Sighing, I handed her the dagger.

“Here.”

The Dagger of Ophosis gleamed as she lifted it high, aligning it with the sky like a missing puzzle piece.

The fire had gone out—she must have extinguished it on purpose.

Her expression was solemn as she tilted and shifted the dagger, as though trying to fit it into a shattered fragment of the heavens.

Indeed, etched upon its blade were unfamiliar constellations.

I watched, blinking sleepily, as she studied it with rapt attention.

Moonlight poured over her.

Reflected in her black eyes, the light gleamed strangely.

The glow touched her pale cheek, then slid along her jaw, down the line of her neck.

It reminded me of how moonlight had flowed down my blade earlier.

‘…Was that it?’

I rose to draw my sword, to test the thought—

Fwoosh!

Suddenly, a pillar of light erupted from the dagger.

It shot skyward, dazzling and fierce, like a lance of starlight piercing the night.

“…Huh?”

I stared, dumbstruck, as the beam carved into the heavens.

It was like watching a shooting star fall in reverse.

The beam of light shot higher and higher, as though it would pierce the heavens, until at last it struck a star.

Ping!

It bounced off, then ricocheted to another, then another, sketching glowing lines across the night sky.

I stared, wondering what it meant. For a moment the light seemed to wander aimlessly, circling in confusion…

Then—Ping!

It suddenly snapped forward, streaking like a stone skipping across water, blazing in a single direction.

The beam moved from star to star, leaping between them just as Shushruta darted from tree to tree.

A trail of starlight strung itself across the night, stretching endlessly onward.

I stood there, dazed, watching the mad rush of light until Shushruta called sharply,

“Ashuban.”

“Huh?”

“Hold this, quickly.”

She gestured at the dagger she still held aloft.

I blinked, stepped closer, and carefully took it as she passed it to me.

“Don’t move an inch,” she warned. “Hold it exactly as I did.”

“Uh… all right.”

The beam no longer connected to the dagger at all, but she seemed afraid it might vanish if I shifted.

I was worried too, so I froze like a statue, dagger raised.

Meanwhile, Shushruta hurriedly pulled out a compass and a scrap of paper, glancing between the sky and her tools, scribbling furiously.

At last she nodded in satisfaction.

“Done. You may lower it now.”

I shifted the dagger slightly.

The distant beam remained, stretching away through the stars.

So, the dagger’s position no longer mattered.

Shushruta added another note to her paper, then began packing our things.

I stared at the dagger still in my hand, then at her.

“…What exactly did you just do?”

She explained quickly as she worked.

“There have long been theories that this dagger’s code was linked to the constellations. After all, the blade is engraved with star patterns. But no one ever found their match in the sky—because they don’t exist.”

I listened silently as she continued.

“Ashuban, do you know who the god of blacksmiths is?”

I scratched my cheek. “Nope.”

“God of iron and fire. Hammer, anvil, and forge. Volundr.”

“Ah.”

“Do you know his constellation?”

“No.”

“The Anvil. Look there—see it?”

She pointed upward.

I squinted, following her finger.

“…Where?”

She clicked her tongue, came closer, and guided my gaze.

“There. That jagged constellation—shaped like an anvil.”

I bent down a little, lining my eyes with hers as she pointed.

And yes, if I squinted, it did vaguely resemble an anvil.

“…That’s the Anvil? Bit of a stretch.”

“All constellations are.”

At best, it looked like a dented, lopsided anvil.

Shushruta shifted her finger slightly left.

“Do you see that cluster nearby?”

“Yeah, I see it.”

A scattering of stars, uneven and disorderly.

She explained, “When you place the dagger’s engraved constellation here, those stars form the Hammer.”

“Seriously?”

“If you doubt me, try it. Just—don’t channel mana.”

I immediately lifted the dagger overhead, aligning its etching with the stars.

Sure enough, the patterns merged.

The scattered stars became a hammer, the crooked anvil now paired with it.

“…Ohhh.”

Fascinating.

I couldn’t resist—just a trickle of inner energy flowed into the blade.

Fwoosh!

Light burst forth again—twice as bright as when Shushruta had wielded it.

Alarmed, she smacked my shoulder.

“I said no mana!”

“Sorry, curiosity got me.”

I tucked the dagger back into my clothes and looked at her.

“So that means…”

She nodded.

“It is the path to Ophosis’s tomb.”

“…!”

She slung her pack over her shoulder, ears twitching as she listened.

“They’re coming.”

“Ah.”

“Sending a pillar of light into the sky at midnight—few would have missed it. Especially yours. It was brighter than mine; even from afar, it would have been seen.”

“…So I shouldn’t have done that?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

“Heh.”

“Run!”

“Got it!”

We dashed uphill, fleeing the pursuers.

A dark night.

Far away.

A pillar of light rose.

“…”

A man watched it silently.

White breath curled from his lips.

The silver-haired knight, camping alone, rose slowly to his feet.

(End of Chapter)

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