Chapter 420 - Transcendence
The traces of life left behind grew faint.
In the place where the remnants of memory vanished, pitch-black shadows filled in.
Countless paths rose up in every direction.
The abyss of Mado.
Standing before me, Verden looked straight at me.
"Back when I escaped from the Bohemirn magic tower and first set out on my journey of revenge, I was alone. So what I had to do was simple. All I needed was to grow stronger for revenge while keeping the bare minimum line. But how is it now?"
Verden slowly opened his fingers, one by one.
"I saved the lives of Adrian and Isabella, who were in similar circumstances, and made them my companions. I formed a cooperative relationship with the Society, using a promise as the medium. Not only that, I took in Alpha, who had been abandoned by the Demon King, and even reached out to Beta. All of them, results of my choices."
"..."
"Beyond the matter of building power to increase the possibility of success, the meaning of revenge itself has changed. Failure too is no longer the same. Now, it doesn't end just because I die alone."
The past and the present.
The difference was stark.
"If Adrian Chambers were to die, what would you do?"
"I would take revenge."
"What if it were Isabella Argyle?"
"The same. Because I took her in."
"Of course. And not only those you directly took in, but even if someone deeply connected to you were murdered, you would seek revenge."
If I failed, I would die, and if I succeeded, that would be all... such things no longer applied.
Because I was no longer alone.
Responsibilities I had never had before were now mine.
"That's why you're afraid."
I admitted it.
I had already had my life stolen once.
I knew too well what that felt like. I remembered it clearly. Having gone through that, I could not allow myself to once again lose my daily life by someone else's will.
To endlessly repeat loss and hatred, unable to escape the cycle of revenge.
That was the only hesitation that had kept me from reaching a half-understanding, that had kept me from moving forward.
"There are three choices before me."
Verden raised three fingers.
"The first, give up."
"..."
"If you abandon revenge, you could gain at least peace and rest. Though you may not reach the Transcendents, as a Quasi-Transcendent you'd still be tremendously strong. At the very least, those within your walls would be more than safe."
Of course.
"Adrian and Isabella would be disappointed, but if you explained, they would not leave. Both of them owe you unrepayable life debts."
"I did not save them expecting payment."
"Having already cast aside revenge, what's a little backpedaling in words? And there is a way to free Rovellin from the magic tower, while the Society can simply be ignored. Just close your eyes once. If you let go of yourself, everyone can live."
Verden looked east.
"Afterwards, settling down in the Kingdom of Estiria would not be bad. You're an honorary count, and you have Roafra... if you built a home, the past would remain nothing more than the past."
It was a quiet whisper.
"In other words, the moment you turn your back on revenge and promises, you can find happiness. Just like all those ordinary people around you."
The first choice, was no different from telling me to betray myself.
Not worth consideration.
"Next."
"...The second is to complete your revenge without becoming a Transcendent."
***
The power of a Transcendent is absolute.
But they die too. They are not beings outside life and death.
"You just have to mobilize every means, and completely isolate the Bohemirn magic tower. Simply spreading the detailed information of their unofficial experiments to the magical world would cause an uproar."
"Because human experimentation is taboo."
"Even just leaking the hidden classified data to the world would surely slash their power."
The Bohemirn magic tower would be condemned across the world.
Even Transcendents belonging to the magical world would not just sit and watch.
Of course, alliances with other magic towers or nations would be unthinkable. At best, they would try to avoid outright hostility.
"If you pit that Bohemirn magic tower against Black Hour in direct conflict... if the result is Dahit dying while only Balrog survives, that would be ideal. His injuries would be severe. Surround him and strike from all sides, and there's a chance."
"But there would be many sacrifices."
"Perhaps it could be with fewer sacrifices. After avenging yourself like that, you could then live the rest of your life happier than in the first choice. Just abandon the Ownerless Land, and move the people."
The second choice was rational.
To throw away the oath of toppling the Bohemirn magic tower as a Mage, and instead, with any means and accepting the risk of annihilation, bring them down—such was a plan, and a choice that could be realized.
Without becoming a Transcendent, there was no other way to accomplish revenge.
But I did not want a revenge and future premised on sacrifice.
"The last one."
"The third is to become a Transcendent. But you already know, don't you? The moment you reach transcendence, there is no going back."
Ignacia had clearly said I was chosen to be a Transcendent... but unlike that, here, now, only my will existed.
To choose.
Meaning it would be decided solely by my heart whether or not to become a Transcendent. That meant it was unlike the usual Transcendents.
Verden declared.
"Once you take a single step further, you'll never be able to stop. Even if you succeed in revenge against the Bohemirn magic tower, you may yet lose again. The world is full of things beyond reason. You may face an even more horrific end than the endless cycle of revenge. Not only you, but all those at your side... and yet, will you still choose it?"
I stood at the crossroads.
There was no need to force myself to picture the unclear, unimaginable future.
The answer lay in the past.
───If the fire of the bonfire burns too brightly, too strongly, you cannot even see what lies around it. If you feed in all the logs before letting it dwindle, it will all burn away without a trace.... Ahem, I've spoken too long, my throat is parched.
The eccentric alchemist who created the demon core, Lito Varslan.
───Why can I not see death?
The tower master of DarkWarton magic tower, Ryndel Nexleon.
───You may take on companions, or even lead a group yourself. Both have similar meaning. Since the magic tower gave you such a wretched life, there will be others with vengeance like yours. If you join together, it will have meaning.
The fragment of the Demon King, the Administrator.
───All Transcendents are lunatics.
───And as always, theory alone never reaches a conclusion, does it? There is always one more thing. Madness.
Beyond the bounds, Ignacia.
───That the existence called Verden, rejecting fate and making ceaseless choices, carries a meaning far beyond what you imagined.
The World Tree.
I knew what I had to do.
I realized what madness I needed. I understood the weight of my choice.
I spoke.
"On the contrary, perhaps it won't be a horrific end, but an ideal tomorrow that awaits. No one knows the future."
"Ideals are ideals because they cannot be attained. And those ideals... the world will not wish for them. Peace will not be yours to dream."
Perhaps.
No, surely so.
Even so.
"I will no longer remain as mere possibility."
This was my choice.
"...So the answer is set. Then you know what you must do."
"Yes, I've already done it once."
At my reply, Verden nodded and vanished before me. He had never truly been there. He was only a part of my own mind.
The abyss of Mado, its core.
A place that, having chosen nothing, held within it infinite potential unbound by limits.
But now, I had to move.
Of course, I had no thought of choosing any one of the countless Mado paths spread before me.
I lifted my head where I stood.
A strange world of darkness and mist shimmered in my blue eyes.
Gazing at it, I stepped forward.
Boom.
My footsteps echoed through space.
Invisible, intangible stairs rising toward the heavens bore my body.
A path only mine.
Dark crimson waves swallowed everything below. Only by standing upon infinity did I finally enter the true realm of Mado.
There is no predestined fate in this world.
Choices are made solely by my will, and the results are my responsibility.
If anything dares to block the will I carry out, I will crush and trample it. Whatever it may be. Even should it be the heavens, I will defy it gladly.
Just as I have surpassed innate limits no one else ever overcame.
Destruction.
That is my essence.
"...What a long road I have taken."
And yet it was a road I had already walked.
Slowly, I neared the heavens.
At last, passing through the darkness that smothered the abyss, I reached beyond.
Round and round.
Back to the beginning.
Defying the Heavens.
***
The Cabin in the Blue Mountains
Even in the pounding snowfall, a man standing outside sipped his tea.
Thanks to the robe he had been gifted, he did not feel cold at all.
"It's already been more than ten days... I wonder if something happened."
The guest who had entered the cave in the snowy mountain had not returned.
From time to time he would step outside the cabin and gaze up at the distant mountain trail, but not even a shadow appeared.
He was worried.
His heart leaned more and more toward going into the cave himself to rescue the guest.
"...?"
Just then, something approached from far off, from ground and sky both.
At an incredibly fast speed.
Rubbing his eyes, thinking he must have seen wrong, before he knew it, a strange man and woman were standing before him.
Gulp.
The man swallowed.
It was sheer chance he did not fall over from shock.
His heart thumped violently.
"Haa, this compass is really useful, but it's a shame it doesn't show vertical coordinates. To think someone lives in a place like this."
The woman, Isabella, let out a sigh, then asked the man.
"Excuse me, have you seen anyone pass by here?"
"A young... man, you mean?"
"Wearing a platinum robe, gray hair, blue eyes, and very handsome..."
It was the guest.
But he did not know for what purpose these uninvited strangers had come.
Perhaps they might harm the guest.
The man thought to feign ignorance, but the two were not easy to fool.
A faint change of expression.
The brief shift of his gaze.
"You know where our lord is. Toward the summit of the range, yes."
"Uh...!"
"To read that just from an expression, impressive. Either way, we're lucky to have a lead. Please guide us."
In an instant, they lifted the man's body with magic.
Whoooosh!
Adrian raced through the Blue Mountains, while Isabella walked through the air, following behind.
"Uwaaaah...!!!"
Dragged off without warning, the man felt his head spinning. He was overwhelmed. The situation was developing far too quickly.
Even then, he tried desperately to lead them away from the guest's location... but despite his effort, Adrian was not deceived at all.
The entrance of the snowy cave drew near.
And then.
Kugugugugugugugu...!!!
Nature pulsed.
In the blink of an eye, a faint tremor swelled into a massive earthquake. The shock was so intense that even the air quivered.
The entire Blue Mountain range shook.
A supreme stature of nature.
Experiencing such violence for the first time in his life, the man stammered.
"Wh-what is this...."
"...! Look there!"
Isabella pointed ahead.
The thick snowpack shattered and began cascading down the slopes. The white wave turned into a torrent, then transformed into a tidal surge.
Half his body exposed, Alpha finished his calculations in an instant.
Large−scale avalanche approaching. Estimated arrival in 13seconds. Evacuation recommended.
If swept away, it would be deadly.
Isabella opened her Mado with full force.
She blocked the rushing shockwave, and at the same time lifted Adrian and the man into the sky.
Then, from above the cliff, an enormous block of ice toppled, falling directly toward their heads.
Adrian drew his sword.
Yeongwang 連光
Part of the ice struck by the sword light was cut diagonally. Its trajectory shifted slightly by external force, and it crashed below.
The powerful impact split the ground apart, sending snow spraying up like pillars.
Any ordinary person would already have been swallowed alive, buried beneath the avalanche.
The unending avalanche ravaged the ground, while the lashing blizzard raged with uncontrollable fury.
Was this what it felt like to witness the end of the world? The Blue Mountains howled in agony.
At that moment.
Zzzezezezezek.
A sharp pulse brushed past their ears.
They all turned their heads toward the sound. In the sky, a faint crack was etched.
"What... is that?"
No one answered.
For no one could understand the current situation.
The phenomenon did not stop.
What had been a single fissure spread further, and soon countless cracks covered the skies above the Blue Mountains.
───!
The heavens shattered like glass.
Unbelievable.
The man thought it must be some kind of optical illusion. Yet for him, this was the only way he could describe what lay before his eyes.
The sky had turned upside down.
"Kh...!"
A powerful wave pressed down on the Blue Mountains.
Before they could resist, all were swept away by the aftershock, plunging downward.
Barely maintaining her senses, Isabella reflexively cast magic again, and thanks to that, they suffered no grave injury, merely bumping lightly into the snowdrifts.
Once more, they raised their heads.
As if nothing had happened, the sky had returned to normal.
The avalanche had ceased.
Even the eternal blizzard of the Blue Mountains had stopped. The wind too had died.
Silence descended.
And then.
From the collapsed entrance of the snowy cave, a single figure emerged from the small darkness.
Verden.
But his appearance was different.
Unlike before, all sense of presence had vanished, and the platinum robe of the Demon King, Ainber, had been dyed in resplendent darkness.
A shiver ran along their senses.
It was precisely because they could feel nothing, that overwhelming awe surged within their chests.
They had to move.
They could not stay still.
Regaining control of his body with desperate effort, Adrian bowed his head deeply.
"Congratulations, on your awakening."
The Infinite Mage.
The Transcendent of Destruction.
At last, Verden had crossed the wall.
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