Chapter 89 : Bloodline

Chapter 89: Bloodline

Creak–

Creak–

I rowed slowly, alone in a small ferryboat.

The sky looked as if it were about to spill over with stars.

“Mivabar, Goddess of Wisdom.”

That was the star Iodin had always looked up at.

I had forgotten the names of the other Thirteen Gods the moment I heard them, but Mivabar was the only one I still remembered.

“And that one… were they the Eleven Demons?”

I had learned many things from the ancients.

For instance, among the countless stars in the sky, there were twenty-four that shone the brightest and most special.

Those were the Thirteen Gods and the Eleven Demons.

The Thirteen Gods, forever fixed in the same places, allowed anyone to know their exact location anywhere on the continent.

Meanwhile, the Eleven Demons, which always moved in steady intervals as they raced across the heavens, told us the time and date.

The Thirteen Gods gleamed blue, while the Eleven Demons burned red.

Creak–

Before long, the boat touched shore at an island.

“So this is the place.”

Climbing up a hill, I found traces of an excavation from long ago.

Sunken ground here, mounds of earth piled there, all uneven and rough.

“Was there a temple once?”

In contrast, smooth stone pillars shone white under the moonlight.

Half-buried in the ground, jutting out here and there, the pillars were so tall and majestic that they looked like small towers.

They were beautiful, yes…

But nothing seemed to be gained from them.

Well, even if there had been something once, it would have been dug out long ago.

“Looks like I have to go further.”

I followed the valley down while checking the Book of Fate.

Vrrrrm—

A red rectangle appeared, marked inside the Book of Fate.

Walking toward it, I felt the sudden response.

“This is it.”

As I thought. The rectangle.

It really did mark a place where time travel was possible.

Flip—

I opened the Book of Fate.

There was a page glowing with a light-green hue.

But unlike before—

‘Two pages?’

Now there were two glowing pages.

‘Ah… so when it said the book updated itself last time, this must have been the reason.’

After I had comforted that crying child in my dream, new functions had suddenly appeared.

---

* Time travel will no longer be forced. It will only be triggered when the written record is read aloud.

* You can now select your time-travel destination. One additional destination is unlocked with each level.

* An estimated duration for completing the mission will be provided.

---

Thanks to that, my mind felt at ease.

No longer would I be suddenly thrown into the ancient era without warning.

I turned my eyes to the two glowing records.

---

[Ruceras Calendar, Year 4681. February 13] Night.

The intruders who scaled the wall in the middle of the night had appearances so bizarre, I wondered if they were even human…

(Estimated Mission Duration: 8 hours)

[Ruceras Calendar, Year 4663. October 29] Brilliant moonlight.

O Lord. Please, protect us. Let everyone return to their true selves… and let us win....

(Estimated Mission Duration: 3 days)

---

‘This is incredible.’

It wasn’t just the estimated mission duration.

Beneath it, there was even a map attached!

‘The first record is... Oldland? Does that mean I’ll have to do something there?’

Oldland, huh. Amazing. From all the way out here?

But—

It was far. Far, far too far.

I had to plant the seed of Dracium, and if I put it in Oldland, retrieving it later would be troublesome.

That one was dismissed.

Fortunately, the second record was perfect.

‘This one is… just right here?’

The location on the map overlapped exactly with the uninhabited island where I stood.

‘Close by, that’s convenient.’

The mission’s duration was three days.

‘That works too.’

With the update, the time ratio had been adjusted to 12 to 1, so when I returned, only about six hours would have passed.

I had just unified Ailun, so it was a bad time to be away for long. This was perfect.

Good. My mind was made up.

I read the second record aloud.

“Ruceras Calendar, Year 4663. October 29. Brilliant moonlight. O Lord. Please, protect us....”

At that moment,

Flash—!

Huh?

In the sky, the Eleven Demons blazed with a fiery red light. It was twice as bright as usual.

‘Stars… shining?’

I had always traveled through time indoors before, so I hadn’t noticed.

Could it be that they always lit up like this during time travel?

Was the Book of Fate connected to the Eleven Demons?

Why, of all things, did it have to be tied to demons....

With that uneasy thought, I was flung—thud!—out of the world.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock—

The river of time wrapped around me.

By now, it was familiar, almost comfortable.

*         *         *

When I opened my eyes, the world was radiant.

‘Whoa… what is this...?’

It was night, that much was clear.

But against the dark sky, a curtain of colored lights illuminated everything.

Even the aurora I had once seen over the open sea as a child hadn’t been like this....

A dazzling, multicolored aurora.

Red, blue, yellow... all kinds of lights embroidered the heavens. It felt as if the mighty gods themselves were dancing upon the sky.

But deep within it all, what I felt was—

‘What is this?’

A chilling dread that made the hair on my arms stand on end.

What I thought was an aurora was, in fact, the fluorescent glow of the Psychedelic Moon.

It clashed with some kind of veil in the sky, creating that magnificent aurora.

‘Every time I see it... such an ominous moon.’

The Psychedelic Moon. What on earth was it?

Even Seah didn’t know. The archaeologists had only said, “We might have heard something like that...” but they had never provided a proper answer.

The moment I realized the dazzling light staining the sky came from the Psychedelic Moon, a tension rose in me unbidden.

The last time I had seen that moon, I had been forced to witness far too many deaths.

‘But… this time, there’s no one?’

Somewhat bewildered, I looked around.

There were no suspicious men running beside me,

no frightening figure riding a horse at my side,

no strange woman suddenly reaching out for a handshake.

‘What kind of situation is this?’

It was just me, alone,

under a radiant night,

standing on a narrow staircase carved into the cliffside.

No hint of direction given.

‘Are these clothes supposed to be a hint?’

I was wearing a cloak—loose and flowing, pure white, long as a robe.

‘But then… what am I supposed to do? Should I climb the stairs? Or go down?’

Or perhaps I should just plant the seed of Dracium first?

I was still turning these thoughts over when—

a young girl’s voice tickled my ear.

“Mivabar, Goddess of Wisdom. Vishanti, Goddess of Compassion. Oh, and also... ah! Odotet, Goddess of Insight... Tet.”

A desperate, prayerful voice.

Following the sound, I climbed the staircase.

Soon, a small girl came into view.

The cliff had been carved into a round clearing, and upon its face were statues of the Thirteen Gods.

The girl knelt on the flat stone ground before a blazing brazier at the clearing’s center, offering up an earnest prayer.

‘She looks so young… out here at night? Alone?’

I hid myself in the shadows and observed her actions.

“Please, don’t let anyone suffer anymore. Heal everyone’s pain. Please protect us.”

I stayed silent and watched.

“Especially Uncle Urgulak. Don’t let him suffer. Don’t let him… die. Please. Really, really.”

But then—she started crying.

Tears streamed down her cheeks until her face was soaked.

What on earth had happened to her?

My body itched with curiosity, but still—

I watched.

“I humbly beg all you gods. So...”

She rustled through a basket beside her.

“This is my most treasured fairy tale book. And also...”

Whoosh!

She threw the book into the blazing brazier.

Ah… some kind of offering?

“And this is my most precious doll, a gift from my dearest friend.”

Again—

Whoosh!

“And… and this one is...”

The girl suddenly trembled.

“This is from my mom, before she passed away....”

Twice as many tears began to fall.

“A letter my mom wrote... and her clothes... If you smell them closely, you can still catch her scent.”

The precious letter and clothes in the child’s trembling hands slowly moved toward the brazier.

Her little hands shook violently.

I stayed still, watching the situation unfold.

“Y-you really, really… have to answer my prayer, okay…?”

She was just about to drop her most treasured belongings into the fire.

Damn it, this was driving me mad.

Snatch.

That was the essence of Unity of Sword and Self.

The moment the will was formed, I was already there.

When I came to my senses, I was holding the child up in my arms.

Carefully, so that her precious letter and clothes wouldn’t fall into the flames.

“...Huh?”

The girl looked up at me.

Seeing me cloaked head to toe in a white robe, she tilted her head curiously.

“Are you a pilgrim, mister?”

So this white robe must have been the garb of a pilgrim.

The child was small and frail.

So light, I could barely tell if I was carrying her at all.

“How old are you?”

“Me? Seven.”

“...And when did your mother pass away?”

“A year ago....”

Haa...

Right. I needed to be cautious. I didn’t know the situation here, nor what my mission was.

“What’s your wish? Tell me in detail.”

“My wish?”

Exactly. I couldn’t just interfere recklessly.

What if my mission had nothing to do with this place?

All I’d be doing was hurting the child further.

“Yeah. Tell me. I’ll grant it all.”

I knew. I knew very well.

“What should I do first?”

I couldn’t help myself.

*         *         *

“What’s your name?”

“Sheneril. But you really promised, right? You’ll do everything?”

“Yeah. What should I do first?”

“Ah! The sick people! Hurry! Hurry!”

Sheneril tugged at my sleeve, her eyes bright, and dashed down the stairs.

“Slow down. You’ll trip.”

Not that I couldn’t catch her if she fell off the cliff.

“Faster!”

Following Sheneril down a turn of the staircase, a vast gorge and the village within came into view.

Quaint little buildings lined the slopes of the canyon.

Judging by eye, it looked small enough that one could stroll through the whole place in about an hour.

“Pilgrim Valley.”

Near the bottom of the stairs, the village’s name was etched into a great stone.

Above, the colored curtain of lights still danced across the sky...

And at the village entrance, a man sat beneath that glow.

“Hold on.”

He seemed human from afar, though a bit off. But up close, it was clear he wasn’t human at all.

“A monster.”

I quickly pulled Sheneril behind me and rested a hand on my sword hilt.

“Hey there~ Sheneril, finally coming down, huh.”

The monster dusted itself off and rose, waving a hand in greeting.

A body over two meters tall.

Dark brown skin.

A broad, jutting square jaw lined with saw-like teeth that gleamed in the mouth.

I knew that monster well.

One that often appeared along the Border.

“An… Orc?”

The Orc turned his head toward me and said,

“What? Never seen an Orc before?”

No… you’re a monster.

Why are you talking? Like a person?

“Uncle Targul!”

Sheneril ran straight into the Orc’s arms.

“Alright. Let’s go. Everyone’s waiting.”

The Orc gave me a sidelong glance and let out a mocking snort.

“Pilgrim, eh? You’re a country bumpkin, aren’t you?”

Mm…

Never thought I’d live to see the day an Orc mocked me.

‘Come to think of it, there was that theory, wasn’t there?’

The theory that Orcs might once have been an intelligent race.

‘Looks like it was true.’

To think the same Orcs that once went mad and tried to slaughter any human on sight would now be cradling a seven-year-old child with care.

Ten thousand years ago.

This place never stopped surprising me.

*         *         *

Following the Orc, Targul, through the village, what I saw were countless wounded.

“...Too many.”

Even Targul himself was limping.

People with missing arms, Orcs missing legs, crouched along the streets like defeated soldiers.

‘At this rate… keeping my promise won’t be easy.’

I didn’t have many Peak Recovery Potions, but I did have plenty of mid-grade and lower ones. Lorraine had given them to me by the box.

But with so many wounded, and no small number of them gravely injured, it was overwhelming.

Even my stockpile of potions wouldn’t be enough.

Worrying over this, I trailed after Targul and Sheneril until, before long, we reached our destination.

“...Huh?”

There, about forty children were gathered. Around ten wounded knights stood in full armor, guarding them.

“Ah, Sheneril is here too. Within an hour, we’ll be escaping this place.”

The knight who seemed to be the leader said so.

And then—

‘What is this?’

Was it because of the aurora burning and twisting across the heavens?

The scene felt familiar somehow.

Thump-thump-thump-thump.

My heart pounded, as if it would break.

The children huddled together in fear.

The knights checked their weapons with solemn faces.

And over each of their faces, I saw an image overlap—

our own flight from Banroa.

My chest tightened, emotion rising within,

my eyes burning.

My vision blurred.

Right now, flames must have been flickering within my eyes.

Targul suddenly leaned in and looked into my face.

“What’s this? So you’re a descendant of the ancient heroes, eh?”

“What?”

“Your eyes. The flames in your eyes. That’s the mark of a Hero’s Bloodline… you didn’t know? Even an Orc like me knows that.”

In typical Orc fashion, Targul’s voice rang out loudly.

“Hero’s Bloodline?”

“An ancient bloodline?”

“Then he might even have the qualities of a Saint, no?”

Suddenly, murmurs spread around me as everyone turned to stare.

“It’s true! There’s fire in his eyes!”

And then someone cried out like a scream.

What the hell was going on?

Flames in the eyes were supposed to be nothing more than a symbol of royalty and nobility in Banroa....

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