Ch.112Prophet (2)

“I’m sorry.”

A voice whispers in my ear, breaking through the profound silence.

How many times have I witnessed this scene?

A blurry landscape flickered in the Prophet’s vision.

The sky dyed blood-red, the academy building collapsed without a trace, bodies piled like dust among the scattered debris.

It was a world on the brink of destruction.

“In the end… we couldn’t prevent the apocalypse.”

The boy standing beside him muttered.

He was in equally terrible shape.

His once-neat formal attire was now tattered and torn, and his golden hair that used to flutter brilliantly was soaked with blood.

His eyes, once characteristically narrowed, now showed only wide-open pupils.

“Headmaster.”

A tired throat calls to the Prophet.

Simultaneously, his legs stagger.

The snake momentarily loses balance but quickly regains his center, turning toward the old man with a bitter smile on his lips.

The darkness gradually coloring his complexion signaled farewell.

His lips, dripping with blood, moved slightly.

“Still, we have one last move left.”

A struggling finger points to the sky.

Beyond the red background, the last remaining [Calamity] was rearing its head.

The snake speaks.

“From here, I’ll go alone. That’s the only way to protect this world.”

A sentence resolving to sacrifice himself.

The Prophet couldn’t stop him.

He could only quietly ask how he should explain this to the children who would be left behind.

The boy smiled gently.

“Well… regardless of the hidden circumstances, the fact that I’m a traitor remains unchanged.”

“With that reputation, I don’t want to leave behind excuses.”

“It would just complicate things.”

“I’ve decided to set aside my worries about them now.”

“They’re strong children, so they’ll surely overcome this.”

An ending that no one would acknowledge.

The snake takes the world upon his shoulders.

Only the sound of cold wind echoes in his footsteps as he passes the Prophet.

The boy recites over it, as if adding harmony.

“Headmaster… I entrust a different future to you.”

Step by step—

Leaving behind an incomprehensible request, the snake advances toward the center of the raging storm.

The Prophet stared at the receding figure.

He unconsciously reached out his hand.

But from an unreachable distance, the boy disappears.

Only winter remains in the empty background.

Whoosh—

The old man stood there for a long time.

It was an unusually vivid dream.

***

A terrible silence flows through the space.

I quietly hold my breath.

As I fidget with the teacup in my fingertips, my gaze drifts to the Headmaster sitting on the sofa across from me.

The white-haired old man remained composed in the calm atmosphere.

Only the sound of breathing could be heard.

“……”

“……”

Neither of us dared to speak first.

The atmosphere continued precariously.

The Headmaster in particular seemed distracted, staring into empty space with unfocused eyes.

His calm gaze carried an inexplicable wistfulness.

‘It’s quiet.’

I mutter inwardly.

We certainly exchanged meaningful greetings, but since then, there had been no sign of conversation.

The snake and the old man simply continued their tea ceremony in silence.

Of course.

This silence was within the expected range.

I was in a position to be treated with caution.

Even if the other side showed willingness to talk, the probability of getting answers to my questions was low.

This was because of the [Restriction] the world had placed on the old man.

I recall the original work.

Gaston Gallimard.

The Headmaster who had led the Academy for decades, a transcendent being who could glimpse the future from birth.

The world gave the old man the epithet “Prophet of the End.”

However.

Names change depending on who calls them.

Despite having a firm real name and epithet, users who played the original called him by a different name.

None other than “The Most Powerless Prophet.”

I recall several posts in my mind.

[Category: Question Board]

[Title: Headmaster <- What exactly does this character do?]

I’m still a newbie on my 5th playthrough

But I can’t figure out what this Headmaster guy does

Isn’t he just an extra?

He’s supposedly the head of the academy but barely appears

Whether the academy gets attacked or whatever, I never see this guy resolving anything

He has less screen time than professors like Cadel or Selena

From in-game mentions, he’s supposed to be super strong

But he needs to show something for it to be convincing

All I’ve seen is an old white-haired man drinking tons of tea

The other professors made more of an impact tbh

And what’s this Prophet subplot about??

[He’s a useless character]

-> What kind of name is Gaston lol

-> Is that really it? Nothing else?

[We don’t know exactly what the Prophet subplot is either]

-> Who are you to lump me in saying we don’t know?

-> So do you know?

-> No

-> Ugh, trolling

+++

[Category: Free Board]

[Title: If the Emperor is the worst toxic character]

The Headmaster is the most useless in the story

He literally does nothing

Yet he carries massive plot hooks

Something about being the Prophet of the End

Anyway, the story keeps emphasizing he’s super important

I thought he might do something later, but nope

He’s called a prophet but provides zero help

Something about restrictions from the world

Because of that, he never gives proper answers to anything

Even if you use up a mythic item for conversation

All you get are a few cryptic spoilers you can’t understand

If they were going to make a character who can barely speak, why give him the prophet setting?

I don’t understand what the developers were thinking

If the Emperor is terrible personality-wise

This guy is fundamentally flawed in his very design

[This is truly “saw the future-dge”]

-> Lol knowing the future but nothing else

[I’m a newbie so what’s this prophet thing?]

-> Literally a prophet. He can see the future because he transcends providence or something.

-> ???? For such an ability, he doesn’t do much

-> That’s because of the restrictions

-> Restrictions?

-> Think of it as the price for his ability

[So what are the Headmaster’s restrictions?]

-> He can’t interfere with the future he knows. If he reveals it to others or twists providence, he bears the world’s karma and his existence is erased.

-> What the hell, that’s garbage

-> There’s a reason he’s called a useless character

-> Why does a character who can see the future exist if he can’t interfere or reveal anything…?

-> Well, at least he can see the future. Have a drink.

[It’s because not all endings have been revealed yet. Remember the hidden ending the developers mentioned? The Headmaster might play an important role there.]

-> This is the most likely explanation

-> Speaking of which, has anyone seen the hidden ending?

-> No, not that I know of

-> Even the strategy guide author couldn’t figure it out

-> If that guy can’t find it, maybe it doesn’t exist

As you can see.

The old man before me hadn’t chosen silence by choice.

He kept quiet because he had no alternative.

If he were to reveal even a little about his prophecies, the backlash from the restriction would surely tear his aged body apart.

It could mean losing an iconic figure over a few words.

Too heavy a risk to bear for just a few sentences.

Of course.

It wasn’t that there was no way around it.

There’s always a side path.

“Headmaster.”

It was the same in the original work.

The Prophet of the End.

Originally, no answer could be heard no matter what question was asked, but there was a known method to temporarily bypass such restrictions.

That was to offer an item equivalent to a mythic as a sacrifice.

The principle was simple.

Restriction.

This was the world’s warning not to deviate from providence, and if carelessly defied, one would pay an appropriate price.

In the Headmaster’s case, as his ability was significant, the price was also heavy.

Nothing less than the erasure of existence.

This was why he couldn’t disclose prophecies.

But what if we used this in reverse?

“I already know about the restriction.”

Divert the price elsewhere.

More precisely, transfer the penalty for violating the restriction elsewhere.

Assign that role of false sacrifice to a [Divine Object].

Items that were called “mythic items” in the original work.

While the continent was created and sustained by the touch of gods.

These were fragments of the world that existed throughout that history, imbued with sacredness, and ultimately recognized for their high status.

They were also treated as the rarest items.

‘It’s not called good for nothing.’

A status that could bear the price, if only briefly.

When handed to the Prophet during questioning, the Headmaster could temporarily relieve part of the restriction.

Using this loophole, brief questioning was possible.

Of course.

It wasn’t a particularly favored interaction among users.

Many felt the items were too valuable.

A divine object had maybe a 1 in 100 playthrough chance of being obtained, and using such an item for just a few lines of dialogue didn’t seem worth it.

Naturally, the divine object used would disappear immediately afterward, making recovery impossible.

Moreover, since he wouldn’t reveal any great future but only offer a few cryptic lines, the reaction from users who valued their resources was understandable.

It was more beneficial to use them elsewhere.

‘However.’

My case was different.