Chapter 187 : Chapter 187

Chapter 187 : Book of Eternity

The top secret command that the King gave to Sword Saint Luke was to protect the Book of Eternity and monitor Morosra and the Phantom Demon was being called by the name ‘Morosra’ only by those who knew of its existence in the Kingdom.

I organized the sudden information flooding into my mind.

I raised my head.

The tower made of books pierced through the clouds and continued beyond the sky.

Even while getting sick from the bizarre and overwhelming sight, the flow of my consciousness led to the next question.

“Just what is the relationship between the Book of Eternity and Morosra?”

“That is an interesting question.”

I only lowered my eyes slightly and looked at Luke.

He was also looking at the sky on the ceiling like me.

“The only thing Morosra fears in the human world is exactly this Book of Eternity.”

My head tilted. The Phantom Demon fears this place?

Luke smirked.

“At the very least, it would be a huge thorn in the eye.”

“Why is that so?”

Luke stared at me intently. A faint smile hung on his decrepit face.

“What a nasty friend. Just how far do you intend to test this old man?”

“What?”

“Stop right there. Well, indeed……. I was also like that when I was your age. I lived with my mouth shut tight for fear that loose words might pop out. Because speaking of the Royal Command carelessly is irreverence. So I couldn't even drink alcohol. Just in case I got drunk and spouted nonsense.”

He paused for a moment and laughed bitterly.

“……Well, I was also like you.”

“…….”

“Still, don't act too upright like a bamboo stalk. Just live ordinarily like how others live. This is also a place where people live. Although family is a bit tough, it would be good to make a lover or friends at least.”

I looked at Luke with my mouth closed.

He had a lot to say, but he had an expression of regret that he couldn't convey it all.

“Because I couldn't do that, my soul fell ill quickly.”

Like some old man giving his last greeting before leaving a workplace he dedicated himself to for a long time.

“So you, please, do not become like me and complete the mission until the end.”

Luke was mistaking me for his successor.

“……Now, then let's continue.”

Luke laughed lightly and changed the subject.

He was suppressing the emotions surging up.

“Now that we know about each other clearly, let's talk a bit more frankly. Looking at your reaction earlier, it seemed you were freaked out seeing the real thing, but how much did you know about the Book of Eternity before coming here? What I am truly curious about is how His Majesty the King explained this place to you.”

There was no need to reveal my identity and clear up the misunderstanding.

Rather, this side would be much more helpful in obtaining information.

Above all, I don't want to do that either…….

Instead, I quickly recalled what Luke said a little while ago.

A repository of memories that transcends time and space.

A library where the history and memories of the Kingdom, and the great knowledge left by numerous scholars of the past, are sealed in a conscious form.

And―

‘The last bastion of humans.’

I lifted my eyelids that had closed before I knew it.

“The soul of knowledge left by the Kingdom.”

“Ho-oh.”

“I learned that it is a precious treasure house that must be protected and passed down to future generations without fail.”

Luke nodded.

“Accurate.”

For a moment, I felt like I became Manuan. It won't be wrong.

The Ultimate Dal and the Book of Eternity were essentially the same.

“Do you know the fact that humans spend half of their lifetime dead?”

I shook my head. In times like this, it is better to answer that I don't know even if I do.

“It is because we fall asleep. Consciousness is cut off and only the body breathes, that is living death. We die every night and are reborn when morning comes.”

Luke straightened his waist.

It seemed he was about to bring up the main story.

“The Master of Illusory Dreams, Morosra, is an existence that dominates that time when humans are asleep.”

Luke's voice became low.

“That time when consciousness is cut off and the soul drifts, digging into that gap is exactly his method. Every night, we are unknowingly passing over the trap he has spread.”

It was a chilling story that was hard to believe.

Certainly, the unconscious is a realm that humans cannot control somehow.

‘Of course, I am different.’

There was a reason why the Phantom Demon didn't bother to manifest.

He didn't need to in the first place.

“Morosra flows false history and distorted knowledge into the unconscious of humans in that way. Like casting a deep hypnosis. If memories fabricated like that pile up, the thinking of an entire era becomes twisted.”

“Are you saying he brainwashes the unconscious and snatches away the control rights?”

“That is right.”

Consciousness is ultimately just the tip of a small iceberg floating on the massive ocean of the unconscious.

Having the unconscious stolen means, soon, giving away the soul.

Reason and emotion, and even dreams, hang on the Phantom Demon's hands, becoming specters wandering inside the false world he wove.

“It means Morosra is threading strings into our unconscious. So that he can control as he pleases.”

“Accurate.”

“If so―”

I looked around at the bookshelves and reached out my hand.

My hand passed right through the book.

“……The Book of Eternity is a record of truth that corrects the distortion of the unconscious.”

At the same time, a tool to restore the truth and―

“The last fortress wall of human consciousness to oppose Morosra.”

Luke nodded slowly as if agreeing with my words.

He raised his hand as if supporting the empty air.

In an instant, the golden grains of sand that flowed onto his palm condensed and formed the shape of a book.

Luke handed that to me carefully.

“……Also, it is the last sword as well.”

“Sword?”

“I have waited only for this moment that will come someday.”

The book Luke handed over scattered like a mirage as soon as my hand touched it.

In an instant, the scattered rays of light lingered around me and drew a pattern.

It was a trajectory of a sword that was neither writing nor sound.

「Death is certain, but the day is uncertain.

No one knows the time…….」

A cluster of white light burst inside my head.

It felt like a fire was set on my Baihui Acupoint.

「O one whom the light stayed upon, do not hesitate.

Seek the truth only at the tip of the sword.

·

·

·

I shall lead in the end.」

In an instant, my vision returned.

The afterimage of the letters formed blurrily shook following the pulsation and gradually disappeared.

I exhaled roughly.

“Th, this is…….”

“It is a record of the sword where my lifetime is condensed. I haven't thought as far as a name yet. You take care of that. I pray it will be helpful.”

Luke smiled.

“Successor.”

***

We walked slowly inside the Book of Eternity.

Although it is a space without substance, the smell of old paper brushed the tip of my nose faintly.

A book that is not a book, reality that is not an illusion.

It felt like walking on that ambiguous boundary.

“The relationship between the goddess statue and Morosra?”

“That is so.”

I asked just a moment ago.

How did he know that the Phantom Demon would descend upon Rosaria who became the Moon.

‘There is no way Luke knows the full picture of the Homunculus.’

Luke tilted his head.

“Why do you ask me that?”

“……?”

“Wait, goddess statue you say? Let's see. I feel like I might know…….”

His voice repeated being clear and then turbid.

Inside the Book of Eternity, Luke's complexion changed constantly.

The clear eyes that penetrated the other side of the world just a moment ago had become blurry enough to be unfamiliar before I knew it.

It seemed like multiple memories were fighting fiercely for dominance inside one body.

“I don't know. I don't remember at all.”

Of course, those words might be true.

Whether he really lost his memories, or the belief that the top secret mission must never be leaked woke up briefly…… only he would know.

However, what is certain is that the truth is buried deep within his memories.

And to take out those memories―

As he said, the fact was that time was too lacking.

“Ah, I am a bit out of breath.”

Luke stopped and caught his breath quietly.

There were no words for a while.

“Is His Majesty the King still healthy?”

His shoulders heaved slowly and then sank as if energy was escaping.

His face seen under the light was that of a person whose string of life was already unraveling thinly, strand by strand.

“……That is so.”

The person who gave such a noble mission to Luke was probably the King of the previous generation, no, maybe a monarch of an era much earlier than that.

Because it would absolutely not be the current incompetent and stupid King who runs away first at foreign invasions and only plays the puppet of Chancellor Zisair.

“Ah, I will leave without being able to see him. This is truly regretful.”

Luke closed his eyes gently while leaning his head on the bookshelf.

I asked him.

“If you witnessed Morosra directly, what did you intend to do to him?”

“I must punish him appropriately. In the name of His Majesty the King.”

“He is an existence without substance. How did you intend to cut an evil spirit wandering the gap between illusion and consciousness with your sword?”

“What is cutting?”

“……?”

Luke opened his eyes half-closed.

He raised his index finger in front of his eyes.

“……And what is a sword?”

The corners of his mouth went up very minutely.

“A sword is not something to cut with. It is drawing the path one must walk.”

Luke closed his eyes again soon.

He continued speaking with a very faint breath after a long silence.

“In your heart, make your own path.”

With those words at the end, his shoulders sank slowly.

The face of the person who protected the old oath to the end was infinitely peaceful.

***

The next day.

From early morning, Ellen's Gang's hideout was noisy. It was absolute chaos.

The Alkabang Gang surrounded the hideout and onlookers swarmed every alley and roof of surrounding buildings.

“Come out, Ellen!”

“Are you hiding, you cowardly bastard!”

The onlookers were making more of a fuss.

Holding liquor bottles, they shouted loudly or stomped their feet on the walls, pouring out boos.

Thud, thud.

The shadow of the overpass directly connected to the entrance squirmed.

Finally, Ellen's Gang revealed themselves one by one.

“Hehehe, fucking Rookie Ellen. Finally, the day to twist that guy's neck comes. Arrogant bastard.”

Several executives including Johnana giggled next to Alkabang.

They all couldn't hide their excitement.

“…….”

On the other hand, Alkabang's expression was dark.

As an organization grows larger, a gap is bound to form between the leader and the executives.

The power at the peak looks big, but in reality, because power must be divided among every pillar supporting the roof, interests get tangled and actual power is bound to become faint.

“Boss, this time there is no going easy or anything like that. We also endured enough.”

“…….”

“If we go on like this, other Families will look down on us.”

“That's right. How did we come to this state?”

“It is all because of that Ellen bastard!”

One of the executives pointed at Ellen specifically.

“Ellen! You bastard, you crossed the line way too much!”

“Boss! Hurry and give the execution order!”

The confronting groups filled the alley.

At the center, Alkabang and Ellen stood facing each other.

“…….”

“…….”

The two people stared at each other wordlessly.

Everyone's gazes were focused.

“……Ellen, this idiot bastard.”

“…….”

“I told you, you…….”

Then, Johnana who was behind shouted.

“Enough with the chatter! Let's sweep them away, Boss!”

Alkabang squeezed his eyes shut.

He was feeling like a cliff was right in front of him.

“Everyone has good energy from the morning.”

This time it was behind Ellen's Gang.

Noser walked over while stretching leisurely.

“Ahem……!”

Johnana, who was going crazy until just before, coughed in vain like a beast tucking its tail.

The spot where he was beaten by Noser yesterday throbbed.

“I must have warned you clearly. You guys, don't do nonsense.”

Noser scanned the Alkabang Gang slowly.

On the outside, he pretended to be leisurely, but on the inside, he was quite flustered.

He thought he scared them enough yesterday, but he didn't know the Alkabang Gang would move this quickly and boldly.

‘It is a bit early right now.’

Bolero, who went to take Dayron's head, hasn't returned, and Bihen's whereabouts are also unknown.

‘This is troubling.’

Sweeping away the Alkabang Gang right now has no meaning.

But that doesn't mean I can just watch Ellen's Gang getting done in either.

“You stay out of this, this is our business.”

Alkabang narrowed his eyes.

He also vaguely knew that Noser was stronger than him.

Even so, he didn't show any sign of being intimidated at all.

“Ellen. Choose.”

In an instant, the area became quiet as a mouse. It seemed like everyone held their breath together.

As all gazes focused on Alkabang, he slowly placed his hand on his sword hilt.

“Die by my hand, or defeat me and become the Ruler of the Port.”

It was a formal duel proposal.