Chapter 320:
After the memorial service, Gardian became much busier than before.
People returned to their homes and took out the weapons that had been lying in the corners for a long time.
It had been 32 years since the curse of the frozen land.
Except for the children who were born during that time, most people had experienced the struggle with the world before.
Axes, spears, swords, bows, shields, and so on.
Every house was filled with heavy and hot, yet firm and resolute wills.
The forge was constantly burning with rune stones, emitting high heat. The sound of hammering iron echoed throughout the night. The weapons regained their shine as the rust was peeled off.
The hot smoke spewed out of the chimney and rose beyond the magic circle.
The heat mixed with the cold and created white steam. Gardian was covered with white steam.
“So, we’re going to fight after all.”
“Do you regret it?”
“A little.”
Lean, who was looking down at the scene from a high place in the spire, nodded his head with a bitter smile at Yu-hyun’s question.
“But, I can’t help it. I’ve already made my choice. I don’t know if it’s right or wrong. No one knows what will happen. But at least, I’m more confident that I’ll regret less than avoiding the fight.”
“Then why did you bring me here?”
Yu-hyun came up to the high place in the spire for the first time. There was usually a way to go up such a building, but this place was hard to reach unless it was a precious force like Gondulebor.
Lean invited Yu-hyun to this place.
“I wanted to show you something.”
“Show me something? What is it?”
“The hidden truth.”
Lean said that and suggested to go down.
As they went down the endless spiral staircase, Lean explained.
“Originally, I wanted to keep it to myself and not tell anyone.”
“What’s under the spire?”
“Yes. The altar that implements the magic circle, it exists under this spire.”
“The altar where the great five sisters descended from the sky and later chose the next Divine Spirit candidate to ascend to heaven? But that place still existed?”
“Yes. It exists. It never disappeared. And I’ve been hiding it for a long time.”
“Why?”
“There was nothing good about letting others know.”
“And I’m okay?”
Lean nodded his head.
She didn’t hesitate to tell Yu-hyun the truth that she had hidden from others.
At first, she doubted him more than anyone else, but after he found the hidden path and told her that the curse of the frozen land originated from Georen.
No, after he woke him up after that.
Lean decided to try to believe in something called hope.
The staircase leading underground soon came to an end. What was connected inside was a cave made of ice.
“It’s so warm here, but the ice doesn’t melt.”
“It used to be a solid iceberg. It’s only because of this warmth that it made a way.”
How long did they walk along the path? The intense energy felt from inside became stronger and soon a large cavity appeared.
In the center of the cavity was an altar, and around it were four statues.
However, only one statue was intact. The other three statues were already collapsed and hard to trace.
“What are those?”
“The great five sisters. No, should I say four sisters now?”
“Four?”
Didn’t they say they all died and disappeared?
Yu-hyun examined the last remaining statue.
It was about 12m tall.
It was a statue of a woman wearing a dress-shaped armor, holding a thick sword handle with both hands and sticking it into the ground.
Her face was covered with a veil so she couldn’t see it, but the energy flowing from the statue itself was sacred.
That energy gathered in the center of the altar.
“That’s a sword?”
What was floating in the center of the altar was a single sword.
It was a plain sword without any decoration. But the energy flowing from that sword was extraordinary.
It was that sword that made a passage and gave power to Gardian’s magic circle, not those statues.
“What is that?”
“The key sword. It’s the qualification for the last candidate to choose.”
“Qualification? You mean for the next Divine Spirit?”
“Yes. That sword is Georen’s power that he left for his next Divine Spirit candidate.”
“That’s Georen’s power?”
It was quite hopeful news.
It meant that Georen at the end of the north didn’t have his full power.
It was doubtful that he would have his original power intact when he perished as a Divine Spirit like that.
If that sword was a part of the power that Georen left behind, I understood why Lean was determined to fight.
“Do we just need to take that sword?”
“Yes. But there is an important problem.”
Lean pointed to the last remaining statue.
“That key sword cannot be touched without the approval of the five sisters.”
“Five sisters? Then that statue is?”
“The youngest of the five sisters. Pioled.”
Lean seemed to recall the memory of facing her in the past and gave a bitter smile.
“She hated and despised me more than anyone else, who was weak and frail.”
“You said all five sisters died, so why is the youngest one still there?”
“Not all five sisters died. To be precise, only Kaira died, and the other four came back alive.”
Lean told me what happened 32 years ago.
Four candidates and five sisters left to solve the curse of the frozen land, and after they realized they had failed.
One day, four powers flew towards Lean.
Lean recognized them as the five sisters, and asked them happily.
‘O great sisters. Have you returned? The curse of the frozen land? Did you solve it?’
But the answer that came back shattered Lean’s expectations.
[No. We failed.]
[We couldn’t stop the curse of the frozen land.]
[A huge power. We couldn’t even resist it.]
[We barely escaped.]
As the sisters spoke one by one, Lean realized that one of the five sisters was missing.
‘Kaira. Kaira? What happened to her…’
[Big sister is gone.]
[Big sister sacrificed herself to send us here.]
[Yes. To somehow save the people.]
‘Save the people?’
[Lean. You half-breed candidate. We won’t last long. We are alive now, but if we go on like this, our bodies will collapse and die.]
The remaining four sisters eventually made a decision.
Rather than die like this, they decided to leave a spark of hope.
They headed to the altar they had descended from the sky. And they each stood in their designated places and gathered all their remaining power.
‘Sisters! What are you trying to do!’
[What we have to do.]
[What big sister wanted.]
[Protecting the world.]
The sisters grew larger and larger, and soon their bodies began to turn into stone.
[Use the remaining power in the key sword, and preserve the last humanity.]
[Lean. We don’t expect anything from you. But at least as a candidate, do this one thing.]
[Use this power to gather survivors. And wait for the possible reincarnation of a new hero in the future.]
[Do this simple thing properly, we beg you.]
The four sisters poured their power into the altar as they spoke. At the same time, Pioled, the youngest sister, who was holding a sword in her arms, floated up and stood in the center of the altar.
They poured all their remaining power and the power of the key sword into it, and the four sisters turned into stone statues.
At the same time, the ground around the altar shook violently and caused a geological change, sinking down below.
Lean could only stare at that scene in despair.
After that, Lean followed their will and formed a guardian.
“Didn’t you ever find it strange? How I could gather the power of the altar. Even if I borrowed Gondulebor’s power, Kaira’s disciple, I couldn’t have made a magic circle that could maintain this huge city for 100 years.”
The reason for all this was right here.
This power was the last bastion that the remaining four sisters created by sacrificing themselves after losing in battle.
Their big sister Kaira thought Lean was their last hope, but the other four didn’t think so.
Lean was a half-breed who was afraid of fighting and a coward.
Rather than entrusting everything to Lean, they had no choice but to pray for a new possibility to be born someday.
“I think their choice was not wrong. Surely, even if I had been given power at that time, I wouldn’t have been able to fight properly. Maybe I would have ruined everything with my own hands.”
That’s why Lean hid the altar underground.
There was nothing good about letting people know that he couldn’t trust himself enough to maintain this magic circle with his own power. At the same time, Lean himself vaguely agreed with their opinions.
If not him, then someday a great hero would be born in this guardian.
He decided to entrust everything to that person.
“But even as time passed, no one like that appeared.”
Frishen? Rahian? They were certainly great warriors, but they were not heroes.
Lean was a half-breed who was chosen as a candidate for the next Divine Spirit. His judgment couldn’t have been wrong.
That’s how 32 years passed by.
The sisters who turned into stone statues couldn’t withstand time and crumbled one by one.
The first to go was Radia, the second sister.
Next was the third sister, Flore.
Then the fourth sister, Darwin.
Now the only one left was the youngest sister, Pioled.
“I understand now. There was never a hero to be born in the future. As you said, the last hope that Keira left behind was pointing to me.”
“Then, can’t you just pull out that key sword?”
“That’s the problem. I still haven’t received the recognition of the great sisters.”
Without the recognition of the great sisters, I can’t wield the key sword.
I need the power of the key sword to face the corrupted Divine Spirit, Geon. But even that is not allowed.
“Will they listen if you ask them?”
“No matter what I say, Pioled won’t listen to me. I don’t even know if she’s awake.”
The statue made of hardened Pioled still maintained her shape, but she would eventually meet the same fate as her sisters.
“What if we wait until they all disappear?”
“If they disappear without passing on their ownership, no one can get it anymore. The opportunity itself will vanish.”
“…That’s bad.”
“That’s why I came here to ask her before the final war begins. To let me wield the key sword. To give me a chance.”
Lean looked up at Pioled’s statue.
“But I’ve been waiting here since I came, and she doesn’t even seem to respond.”
“Is she awake?”
“I don’t know. Whether she’s ignoring me on purpose or she’s fallen into a deep sleep due to her weakened power.”
“You brought me here because of the key sword.”
Lean nodded.
If it was Yu-hyun, who had Keira’s body, maybe he could wield the key sword without Pioled’s permission.
He had hidden the truth of this altar from the tellers who looked like Keira, because they were unreliable and self-serving.
But he thought Yu-hyun might be able to do it.
“I guess there’s no choice.”
Yu-hyun shrugged his shoulders and climbed up to the altar.
The key sword was not floating too high, so it was within reach if he stretched out his hand.
As he approached, he felt the power flowing from the sword more strongly. It was pure and warm. Yu-hyun thought this was what they called the power of stars.
The moment Yu-hyun gathered his courage and reached for the sword,
[Don’t touch it.]
A voice echoed in the hollow of ice, making Yu-hyun stop his movement.
This voice was only heard by Yu-hyun.
No, time had stopped around him at some point.
The realm of mind.
Pioled had invited Yu-hyun here.
“Pioled?”
[Don’t call my name so casually with my big sister’s appearance. You’re just a mortal who wears her skin.]
“…I need the key sword. Please lend me your power.”
Pioled laughed out loud at Yu-hyun’s words.
[The key sword? Who wants to use it? You? Or that half-wit?]
“Does it matter who uses it?”
[Of course. If someone unworthy touches it, they will explode. I could allow them to hold it for a while if I wanted to, but that’s all. And in my eyes, you are not worthy. Even if you imitate my big sister’s appearance, you can’t resemble her in the most fundamental thing.]
“Then only Lean is left.”
[Give him the sword? That’s a joke. Lean is not fit for a candidate.]
“Something that happened 32 years ago.”
[Do you think I don’t know what happened during that time? How arrogant of you, mortal. I may be staying here, but my eyes and ears reach beyond this place. Do you think I ignored Lean for 32 years?]
Pioled said.
She had watched Lean for 32 years just in case, but he was still a coward and a half-wit.
He had changed enough to swing his sword and defeat frost giants, but there was still weakness in his heart.
[A person who is trapped by regret cannot handle the key sword. Even if he seems to be cold-hearted and swings his sword without hesitation, that is different from completely shaking off his delusion. His heart will crumble someday. And you want me to give him the key sword, which is the only chance?]
“Lean did his best to protect this city as you asked him to.”
[Yeah. And there are still 68 years left for this city’s life. We haven’t even passed half of the time we gave.]
“Keira wouldn’t have wanted this.”
[Shut up. Keira may be respected by all of us sisters, but we can’t fully trust her words that judged Lean’s potential. And that became more certain as I saw his actions for the last 32 years.]
“But it’s different now. And the survivors are preparing for the final war. This could be the last chance.”
[Not everyone is leaving. The number of survivors will decrease, but the lineage will continue.]
“If we don’t do it now, we’ll all die!”
Yu-hyun exploded in anger at Pioled’s uncompromising words.
“Qualifications, temptations, what are you talking about! In the end, you just don’t like Lean from the start and you’re making excuses!”
[Excuses? Are you saying that we’re putting our petty emotions ahead of the end of the world?]
“Then, what is it if not that? Let me ask you this. Are you sure that someone who is qualified will be born in the remaining 68 years?”
[…]
“I thought so. You can’t answer. Of course. It’s hard to say that.”
[Do you think that Lean will gain power just by holding that sword? Even if I acknowledge his ownership, Lean won’t be able to use the power contained in the sword properly. He’ll either be controlled by it or go berserk.]
“You sound so sure, as if Lean will definitely do that. And you don’t even believe in his potential.”
[If he had potential, why didn’t he show it until now? He’s a mortal. How long do you think I’ve been watching him? 32 years since the curse of the frozen land. And much longer than that before that. Tell me. If he had potential, he would have shown signs of it from the beginning, but did Lean do that?]
That was why Pioled was confident.
Lean would change? He decided to fight?
It might look like that to other people, but Pioled’s eyes couldn’t be fooled.
There was still temptation left in Lean’s heart. And that was not something he could get rid of just by saying he wanted to.
[I shouldn’t have believed him in the first place. Big sister trusted Lean, but he must have done something to deceive her.]
“How dare you say that…!”
[I don’t know. I don’t know because even though I asked, the author didn’t tell me. Who knows better, you who have been with him for a few weeks at most, or me who have been watching him for decades.]
Yu-hyun clenched his teeth.
It wasn’t that they couldn’t communicate. It was because they had radically different views that their conversation endlessly ran parallel.
Pioled’s faith was too firm for Yu-hyun to break through.
For Pioled, Lean saying he would fight was like a criminal who had committed crimes for decades asking him to believe he had reformed.
He might have given him a chance if he didn’t know anything, but as one of the great five sisters, he could feel the remnants of temptation in other people’s hearts.
“…I’m not asking you to trust Lean. I’m asking you to trust Keira who trusted Lean.”
Yu-hyun smiled bitterly.
“But you, even though you’re one of the great five sisters, you can’t even trust your own sister.”
[…]
Pioled closed his mouth.
There was no point in talking to Pioled anymore.
As soon as Yu-hyun made up his mind to do so, he was able to escape from Pioled’s Mental Realm and return to reality.
Yu-hyun pulled back his hand that was about to touch the key sword.
“Why are you doing that?”
“I can’t touch it. It’s just a copy, so I’m not qualified.”
“Who said…?”
“Pioled did. He forcibly dragged me into his Mental Realm and told me that.”
“She said that?”
“What do we do now? Without the power of the key sword…”
“No.”
Lean said firmly.
“We have to fight anyway. Even without the key sword, we have our own strength.”
“Are you sure?”
“It’s better than living like this forever.”
As soon as Lean answered, it happened.
Ding.
A sound that was familiar but hard to hear now.
It was the sound that came when the Genesis system worked properly.
[You have succeeded in digging into the core story of this world.]
[System rebooting.]
[Loading complete.]
[Welcome back to the Genesis system.]
The Genesis system, which had not been working properly until now, was connected.
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