Leaving Klaus’s ill-tempered joke behind us, we headed deep into the darkness of the mountains.
It wasn’t dangerous because Klaus used magic to light the way, but I clung to Klaus’ side.
“It’s dangerous underfoot, so hold your hands tight, young lady.”
“yes.”
Klaus also wants to hold my hand, so there’s no reason for me to not hold his hand.
I could feel calluses here and there on Klaus’ hands.
Is this where the sword is held?
“Aren’t you scared, Your Highness?”
I asked, leaning into the warm atmosphere of the spring night.
Klaus looked ahead and only raised the corner of his lips.
His gaze seemed to reach into the distant past.
“I don’t think I asked this question expecting the answer to be that I’m not scared.”
“A man with a story is a bit tiring, but he’s attractive.”
“Is it okay if I don’t add the part about being tired?”
“But it’s true that I’m tired. If I told Lariette that she was meeting a man with a special story, she would be against it.”
“Rudiet has a story too.”
“Actually, Lariette is also a woman with a story.”
Klaus burst out laughing at my words. The sound of laughter spread through the quiet mountain.
With a refreshed look on his face, Klaus held my hand tighter.
“I like it when the young lady speaks like this.”
Warm warmth enveloped my entire hand.
“You act like you don’t have regrets about anything.”
“I have a lot of regrets. Don’t you know how many times I’ve made a wish to be in a relationship?”
Klaus didn’t answer but just smiled at me.
It doesn’t work. I signaled my surrender by raising the one hand that was not holding Klaus’s hand.
“Yes, yes. That’s right. I don’t have any regrets.”
“Look. You’re not afraid of dying, are you?”
“I’ve died once, and honestly, it’s not that scary. It’s not as big of a deal as I thought.”
What happens when you face death?
Ignorance breeds fear. However, once I actually experienced it, that fear subsided easily.
For me, death was rest. The soul that lived hard has found peaceful rest. It seemed like he was sleeping for a long time without waking up peacefully.
‘and then… … .’
It came into this body suddenly and broke it.
“Are you afraid of dying?”
Klaus looked at me blankly.
The wind blew in the quiet forest. The trees of the spring night sang in a square.
When the sound dispersed, Klaus spoke quietly.
“okay.”
I raised my head and asked.
“Can I help you?”
Klaus slowly made eye contact with me.
The source of the world was hidden at the beginning of the mountain.
Klaus dug through a few piles of grass and removed a rock, revealing the entrance to a small cave.
The inside of the cave was complicated like a maze, and Klaus passed through the complicated path without a moment’s hesitation.
Of course, I stuck to Klaus and followed that path.
“Did you memorize all the directions?”
“okay.”
“Wow, you’re smart, Your Majesty.”
“There is no genius like me.”
“Your Highness has a knack for making people want to give you compliments and then give them away.”
“Here, young lady.”
I grumbled for a moment, but then my mouth dropped open at the sight that unfolded before my eyes.
“wow…….”
Until I took a step, I was clearly in a cave, but the moment I took a step further, I was no longer in a cave.
However, it was not outside the cave.
Another world.
Instead of the indigo night sky that spread outside the cave, a sky of mysterious light mixed with light red and blue was waiting for me.
If you were to create the most beautiful sky on a sunset day, would it look like this?
A plethora of colorful flowers bloomed all the way to the horizon.
Rather than confusingly mixing and teasing the eye, the colors blend together naturally and make each other’s colors stand out. These were all flowers I had never seen before.
On the left, there was a large tree with lush leaves.
The presence of a large tree with dark maroon-colored tree trunks and lush greenery left a profound impression.
“This is the source.”
I looked around and was purely amazed. I couldn’t help but gasp at the mysterious spectacle I was seeing for the first time in my life.
The dowsing finder I had in my arms was showing a shallow response, humming as if it was impressed by this sight.
Klaus looked at me and walked to the right.
“that…….”
On the right, there was a colorful crystal pillar that did not fit into this space.
There was nothing supporting the top of the pillar, but I somehow got the feeling that it was supporting the sky.
And the most characteristic part of the pillar was that it was shattered in the middle.
“This is the source.”
Klaus said, leaning lightly against the pillar.
The center was completely shattered and disappeared, and seeing that the upper part did not move at all, it did not seem to be an object subject to the laws of physics.
I also approached and asked.
“This is the source?”
“okay.”
“How do you know this is the source?”
“I heard.”
“You heard it? From whom?”
Why are you giving such fragmented information? If you’re going to give it, recite it all at once! Don’t just answer random Zen questions.
When I looked frustrated, Klaus took a breath as if it was a bit difficult to explain.
And then he calmly opened his mouth.
“In my last life, I was unable to prevent the extinction of the world. After searching for a way to stop it, I found this place. But soon… this place also began to disappear.”
This is near the imperial capital.
According to Klaus’s words, this means that in the end, even the empire of this world was completely destroyed.
“Here, I blamed God for the first time. I went out of my mind with anger and despair at God, who gave me talent and strength but did not grant any of my wishes. Then I heard a voice.”
“Was it the voice of God?”
“I think it probably was.”
For some reason, it seemed like it would unfold like that.
“The voice told me that it was up to someone else to use my powers, but I was unlucky. Even though I was so angry and out of my mind at the time, those words stuck in my ears.”
“I guess so.”
“So I prayed. Please let me use my strength. I thought you could use it… It was the first time in my life that I felt so miserable.”
Klaus smiled faintly.
“The voice said no.”
“Why? Because it’s not someone else’s wish, Elena?”
“Yes. I just repeated that I couldn’t make a wish.”
I could feel Klaus’s pain even as he talked about the past.
The world is collapsing and everyone is dying, and even if there is great power, it cannot be used.
“I had no other choice. I just held on to this and kept praying. Please let me turn back time. Please give me one more chance.”
“Then you gave me a chance?”
Because it ended up regressing.
Klaus nodded slightly.
“I don’t know who gave it to me, but the voice said, ‘The source is responding, the world still wants to live.’”
“……Ugh, this is another meaningful line.”
In light of the common knowledge of Lopan, which is not useful to know, it seemed that this was a place with important meaning.
Klaus spoke again in a lighter voice.
“And this is how I met the young lady.”
“I guess I’ll have to take a look.”
The source of the world with important meaning.
As I bent down and looked at the pillar, I felt a sense of déjà vu.
“……Huh? This looks like the same material as that one, right? The one I picked up.”
A piece of crystal from the closet in my room and a piece of crystal I found at the duke’s tomb.
and a cut crystal pillar said to be the source of the world.
‘By any chance, do I have to collect these crystal pieces?’
‘The sealed piece of X-soul’s bead has broken!’ Or, ‘Let’s collect seven draw balls and make a wish!’ Well, this kind of development can’t happen, right? Seeing Klaus staring at me blankly, I think it’s true.
‘Ok, fine. You can go on a great adventure to find the scattered crystal pieces.’
Although I wonder what the genre of this world view is.
“Then why is this crystal broken?”
“Well, it was already like this when I came. In your opinion, does this matter matter?”
“Are you asking my opinion?”
“okay.”
Are you suddenly asking me about its importance?
“Uh… I’m not sure if it’s important. Anyway, knowing the cause is generally helpful. Looking at this situation, the culprit who broke this crystal could be our biggest enemy.”
“hmm…….”
If someone destroyed the origin of the world, wouldn’t that person be a shadowy person? In fact, if you know it, God may have arranged something.
I answered based on my knowledge of the world of Ropane. Klaus rubbed his chin and groaned for a moment.
“Hmm… yes. That’s right.”
Then Klaus suddenly latched onto the crystal pillar and began to examine it carefully.
Ugh, I did this thorough research, but what if it turns out to be nothing? It’s embarrassing, so I have to make an excuse in advance.
“Of course, it might not be a big deal. Maybe the demons were playing a trick again. I heard the world was almost destroyed when the demons came in the first place.”
Klaus was still busy looking at the pillar, but I didn’t stop talking.
“Because it looks like a pillar, it seems to be supporting the world. If the pillar supporting the world falls, wouldn’t it be the fault of those who want the world to be destroyed?”
“No. This is not the work of demons.”
Klaus cut off my endless excuses and declared.
“Why?”
“The demons’ main weapon is a three-part spear. There is darkness at the tip of their weapon.”
“Ah, trident.”
That thing typical demons carry?
“But this pillar was cut too cleanly to have been attacked with a spear. It is the remains of a sword with an area larger than that of a spear. Moreover, it has other features as well. Look here.”
The spot Klaus pointed to was the center of the shattered pillar.
A soft halo of light remained in that place.
“It’s shiny.”
“Yes. A trace of light.”
Klaus nodded.
“There is only one person who uses a sword that leaves traces of light. The masters of the Sword of Radiance. They are angels.”
