The Origin of Acting (1)

<Side : ALL>

A woman in a bridal gown gently strokes her swollen belly.

With a benevolent expression and maternal love, she is… Creyss Seherablade, the Spirit of Smoke.

Also known as the ultimate weapon or trump card of the Empire.

She had existed since the Empire’s inception, a monster who had pioneered the Empire’s foundation with blood-stained hands.

But this was not Creyss’s true role.

Her original role was simple: summoned by rubbing a lamp, she would grant the summoner three wishes, then disappear into smoke.

These three wishes contained the power to reform and transform the world, and she was like smoke, existing by consuming this power as fuel. After granting the wishes, she would disappear, be reborn, and repeat the cycle.

That was the raison d’être of the Spirit of Smoke.

However, things went wrong from the very beginning.

When the Empire’s desert was once a city boasting lush nature and vibrant life, the Goddess of the Stars brutally destroyed it with fire and pillars of sulfur.

The Goddess of the Stars burned all life simply because the city’s behavior was vile, turned those who looked at the stars into salt, and covered the land with sand, making it impossible for even a single blade of grass to grow.

In those ruins, the Goddess of Relationships sent down the Spirit of Smoke.

The Goddess of Relationships created her to restore solidarity among people and revive hope in the desolate sandstorm. But even that purpose faded, leaving the Spirit of Smoke with only fragmented memories.

She didn’t even remember who sent her; only the three wishes made by the man who picked her up, the first emperor of the Empire and its founder, were Marked upon her.

The founder of the Empire, the human later known as Aladdin, held a golden lamp covered in sand. As he absentmindedly brushed off the sand, she, who was trapped inside the lamp, was summoned.

At the time, she had no ego and was merely a tool that mechanically granted wishes. She told Aladdin the rules of the wishes.

Only three. She would grant anything. Wealth, honor, power—she could grant anything, and if she wanted, she could even obtain enough Magical power to reach the monstrous woman called the Empress beyond the Empire…

Aladdin listened to her words, pondered for a moment, and then told the Elemental his three wishes.

“First wish. You shall be bound to the Empire until my bloodline, Aladdin’s bloodline, disappears.”

At that moment, she was forever bound to Aladdin’s blood. As long as that blood circulated in the world, the Elemental was not allowed to perish or be reborn.

“Second wish. You are stronger than anyone, tougher than anyone, and faster than anyone.”

She was granted immense power, transforming her from a mere wish-granting Elemental into an absolute force with overwhelming power.

“Third wish. You must unconditionally obey the commands of my bloodline. The command is ‘Open’.”

That wish gave birth to her ego but also imprisoned it.

Afterward, she became Aladdin’s direct bodyguard and was used to unify the fragmented lands of the Empire, which had been turned into sand.

She suppressed all resistance and defeated Aladdin’s enemies in a single night. Through this, Aladdin became the founder of the Empire, and she, who followed him and displayed overwhelming power, was later called Scheherazade and depicted as the protagonist of countless fairy tales.

The fact that the female winner of the Imperial Martial Arts Tournament is called Scheherazade and the male winner is called Aladdin also originates from this…

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<Side : Craise Seherablade>

『Martyr’s Moon – 11th Day (Noon)』

【Day 1 of the Empire’s Invasion】

The bedchamber was silent.

The wind rustled through the thin curtains, and the air in the room was still.

“Haa…”

I let out a soft sigh and placed my hand on my belly. A gently rounded belly… Even at a glance, it was obvious that I was pregnant, but in reality, no life was breathing inside this belly.

But I didn’t take my hand away. If I didn’t concentrate on this extreme act of pretending to be pregnant, I… wouldn’t be able to achieve my goal, and I wouldn’t be able to face the man who sacrificed himself for me.

“Gunther… He boasted that neither swords, fire, nor poison could harm him, but as someone who has watched the Empire for a long time, I know how vicious the Empire’s torturers are. I hope you’re safe. You’ll be released soon…”

I closed my eyes again, recalling the memory of when I first met Gunther.

At that time, I was sitting alone in the oasis. This small sanctuary in the middle of the desert was created solely to hide me, who was called the Empire’s ultimate weapon.

The situation at that time, where no one came to find me, was very strange. The war between the Empire and the kingdom, which started from a very small issue, I had to move to end the war according to the Emperor’s order, but…

I didn’t step forward. As planned, the Emperor’s envoy would have come and told me to prepare for deployment, but the current Emperor’s bondage within me disappeared, and my body regained its freedom. Of course, that freedom wasn’t true freedom, but…

Smoke rose from my fingertips. As the Spirit of Smoke, I could feel what was happening throughout the Empire through the smoke there.

Especially today, the smoke was unusually thick. As the war became entrenched, from the smoke of the bonfires of those who had settled in the desert to the Flash and smoke emitted from weapons. An aura mixed with dust and the smell of blood permeated every corner of the Empire.

And suddenly, the commands that had been binding my heart disappeared one by one. Even the command to stand by that the Emperor had given me. The fact that it had disappeared indicated only one possibility.

“The Emperor is dead.”

I gasped. The Emperor’s death could mean liberation, but it didn’t develop into hope. Because one of the original commands still remained.

“Until the Emperor’s bloodline disappears…”

The Emperor’s bloodline still existed, so no matter why the current Emperor died, another bloodline would eventually appear and try to use me, and I would once again be reduced to their tool. This was something I, who had watched the Empire for 3000 years, could be sure of.

That fact made me even more depressed.

“When can I escape this terrible reality?”

My hands still bore traces of blood. The stench of blood and flesh, which did not disappear even with the passage of time, was terrible.

This smell followed me and accused my existence. An Elemental created to help humans, to grant three wishes. My original purpose would have been to give hope to humans, to build relationships for them, and to enrich their lives…

But what have I done so far?

With these two hands, I have cut, crushed, and trampled humans. Under the Emperor’s command, I mercilessly took their lives. I ignored the pleas of those who begged for their lives and had their limbs cut off, and I beheaded them.

This terrible contradiction was eating away at my insides.

“I must disappear.”

I said that in front of the oasis. But even that simple thing was not allowed to me.

The first wish made by the man who originally wished upon me.

“You shall be bound to the Empire until my bloodline, Aladdin’s bloodline, disappears.”

That command was keeping me bound to this world.

It was then. Breaking the silence of the oasis, I heard a presence, and I raised my head to look in that direction.

“Is anyone there?”

He was a man with messy brown hair and no shirt. He was holding a huge shield and a club… The strange thing was that I couldn’t feel any presence from him.

I couldn’t tell what Species he was or what his intentions were.

In particular, his eyes had lost their luster and were whitish. I wondered if he had lost his sight, but he looked straight at me and smiled awkwardly, saying.

“I am Gunther Owen. Are you over there?”

I stared at him. His tone and actions were not threatening, but I still couldn’t trust someone who had found the oasis, which was protected by advanced Magic and Concealment Magic that drove people away.

“This is not a place for strangers to enter carelessly.”

I said in a cold voice. Even if he had accidentally entered through countless probabilities, there was no topic for him and me to talk about… and I was no longer qualified to face and talk to humans.

Gunther turned his head towards me. He seemed to have lost his sight, but he seemed to be looking directly at me.

“Ah, so this is the oasis. I got lost and came in by chance. I’m really… worried if it’s rude. Ahaha!”

At that time, I frowned as I listened to his words. Chance… I definitely didn’t think that was possible.

This place was a hidden space in the middle of the desert. It was a place that ordinary people couldn’t easily access, so how…

“You got lost?”

Gunther nodded and replied in a cautious voice.

“Yes, I was originally trying to find water near here. I happened to find this place while passing through the desert…”

I pondered his words. Even if I conceded his explanation of chance a hundred times, there was still something I didn’t understand.

Besides the Emperor, there were countless others who had discovered this hideout, but what they wanted to say was always the same. Money, honor, and even women.

“So, what do you want from me by coming all the way here?”

Then he waved his hands and said in embarrassment.

“Ah, I don’t want anything. I just happened to arrive here while looking for water and a place to rest.”

His attitude seemed honest. As someone who had met humans for a long time… I could read the person’s true intentions just by having a little conversation.

But I still couldn’t let my guard down easily.

“Really… you weren’t sent by someone?”

Gunther shook his head again.

“No, really. I’m just a passerby. I really, really found this place by chance.”

I watched his attitude and had no choice but to believe that he had really come by chance. At least, there was no special intention in his tone or expression.

There were still many unknown aspects to his existence. The shield and club in his hands looked very solid, and his eyes, though they had lost their luster, were somehow sharp.

“If my being here is uncomfortable for you, I’ll leave soon. But I would be grateful if I could get some water for a while.”

“Just for a moment. But if you do anything foolish…”

“Thank you!!”

I subtly moved away from the oasis, and Gunther quickly ran over and quenched his thirst. I stared at him for a while, not letting go of my suspicion…

Gunther, who claimed to be a stranger, wiped his mouth with his hand and shouted loudly at me.

His presence left me with an unknown sense of tension.

And with the appearance of the stranger, the air in the quiet oasis seemed to have changed in a strange way.

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