Ch.171Arba (6)

“I can see it.”

-Renia, the founder of the Structural School and the first Contractor.

*

Not much was known about Renia.

But that didn’t mean she was completely unknown. Veterans like Luwellin typically had extensive knowledge of the world’s lore.

Perhaps that’s why Luwellin had been flustered since the moment he recognized Renia’s face.

Renia was a renowned magician.

As is often the case with founding magicians.

But what set Renia apart from other magicians was that her notoriety constituted a significant portion of her fame.

She began as a magician of the Protection School. Unlike typical Protection School magicians who served nobility, armies, or nations, providing shields against enemy fire while living luxurious lives.

She wanted to spread her reputation. She had always been ambitious.

So she freely deconstructed Protection School magic and discovered the existence of “lines” that formed the foundation of protection.

The Protection School, already engaged in an eternal struggle with the Destruction School, began creating superior protections based on her discovery and offered her the position of headmaster.

But she kicked that position aside and left.

The desire to become an even more legendary magician drove her forward.

During her journey, she faced countless dangers and adventures. Some were carefully selected and made into stories suitable for children.

What those children learned as they grew older was that Renia eventually became a villain.

Renia became a dark magician, a scholar of the Exploration School.

She wanted to uncover the secrets and principles of the world.

She possessed wealth and knowledge gained through adventure, talent that had marked her as the next headmaster, and the ability to manipulate “lines.”

But even that wasn’t enough. She couldn’t reach the truth of the world.

The problem came after all her attempts ended in failure.

She realized that even dark magic was lukewarm. She needed more powerful magic, magic that could change the world.

So she explored the dungeons left behind by the Three Races.

She was the first to decipher the structure of dungeons and understand everything about them.

Though the records were destroyed and no longer remain, from those dungeon structures, she glimpsed the world’s secret.

Or more precisely, a fragment of it.

She tried to recreate that fragment.

Thus, Renia—the most talented yet most foolish magician—created the first magic of the Structural School.

She applied the lines used in the Protection School. She drew lines using the knowledge learned from dungeons and techniques mastered during her adventures.

What she drew remains unknown, but the result was clear.

She opened the sky.

She saw the universe. She took in everything lurking beyond the universe.

And she went mad. She became the first Contractor and simultaneously the first Structural School magician.

At the same time, she became the human who opened the sky and a rampaging witch.

Her subjugation only ended after half the continent was engulfed in flames.

Her disciple, looking at her corpse, felt regret and mourned the death of his lover.

Carrying the incomplete knowledge Renia left behind, considering it both a discovery and a keepsake, he established the Structural School.

But there was one thing he overlooked:

Renia’s prophecy.

She spoke it with her dying breath.

That someday the sky would open again.

It seemed less like a prophecy and more like belated regret or the frustrated goal of a defeated villain.

But it wasn’t something that could be simply ignored.

Her prophecy was remembered for at least the first thousand years.

Now it has become an old, forgotten prophecy that no one thinks about.

But even now, questions remained.

Even Luwellin couldn’t understand the true meaning of the prophecy about the sky opening.

Was it about the appearance of the Sword Saint whose name would be passed down through generations?

Or perhaps the countless deeds of the Three Races?

Maybe Lucilla’s appearance?

Or…

As Luwellin’s thoughts deepened, the hazy crimson pupils slowly moved toward him.

The gaze was so intense that even Luwellin, lost in thought and unaware of his surroundings, stiffened when he felt it.

Eyes that revealed a strong desire for something.

But the woman didn’t speak. Luwellin, meeting her gaze, thought and said:

“The drug is a passage.”

He found himself speaking formally without knowing why. Unable to understand the reason, Luwellin slightly frowned at his own use of honorifics.

A strange feeling. But he didn’t mind.

He had found a clue. And he vaguely understood the process of obtaining that clue.

The cow-person’s behavior had been strange. She didn’t seek payment, nor did she seem to be attempting prostitution.

She seemed driven solely by the intention of bringing Luwellin here and making him take the drug.

Natural movements, but with something unnatural mixed in, creating jarring moments.

This gave Luwellin an odd sensation.

It was like… seeing someone in a dream.

There was a feeling that logic or rationality was missing or insufficient in her actions, something that didn’t seem problematic at the time but felt strange upon waking.

It was dreamlike. Luwellin briefly considered the reason.

It wasn’t just the drug. Or more precisely, it wasn’t only the drug.

It felt like what he experienced when he released the constraints preventing him from feeling his own body.

Divinity.

Divinity had plunged them into a dreamlike state.

But whose divinity?

In an age where all gods had died or departed, the last born god was sensing another divinity before him.

‘There are still many sleeping gods in this continent.’

The Empress had said. He had wondered if it was true, but concluded it was more likely to be the truth.

There was nothing to gain from lying about such things, and above all, Luwellin himself was a being capable of sensing divinity.

“…A passage to lead to a sleeping god.”

The woman with the hazy expression finally smiled. Her bright smile evoked a sense of déjà vu.

But Luwellin couldn’t place that feeling, and merely watched as the woman walked along the shoreline where the sea waves rolled in.

‘The shore? It was just a black space until now.’

It was an unfamiliar place. No, not entirely unfamiliar.

He had seen it when defeating the Aulbear shapeshifter, that warrior whose name he couldn’t remember. Though he was nearly dead, he had managed to step on the sandy beach.

It was quite different from what he had expected of a winter sea, but he had experienced it.

This sea was the same. Luwellin stood dazed for a moment before following the woman.

And he saw the surroundings gradually change with each step the woman took.

Only the initial shoreline was familiar to Luwellin.

All the subsequent scenery was unfamiliar.

There was a mining village with smoke rising from chimneys.

Sometimes there was a tall magic tower, sometimes a dungeon or a monster’s nest perched atop a mountain.

All were unfamiliar. Even Luwellin, who had etched countless sights into his eyes and memory through innumerable playthroughs of Grim Darker, couldn’t recall anything matching this unfamiliarity.

“The past…”

To Luwellin, this appeared to be the past of the magician known as Renia.

It might not be, but since she herself said nothing, there was no way to know. As Luwellin followed her, he realized they were approaching a strangely familiar space.

It was a city.

A strangely familiar city. Normally he wouldn’t have recognized it immediately, but even with Luwellin’s poor memory, he soon realized as familiar places began to appear.

This was Arba.

More precisely, the ancient form of the city that would later be called Arba.

The mismatch between walking speed and changing scenery was a minor issue. Luwellin had somehow passed through unknown places and reached a massive cavern.

There weren’t just Renia and Luwellin there.

“…”

In that enormous cavern were countless humans.

Humans stacked upon humans. Standing and leaning on each other’s bodies, supported not by their own legs but by each other’s weight and sense of balance.

Like vines, their bodies leaned on each other as if they were parts of something greater rather than individual bodies.

Even Luwellin, who wasn’t easily shocked by unusual sights, was momentarily appalled, and within that scene, he found one familiar being.

It was the cow-person who had practically administered the drug to Luwellin.

She was mixed among the other humans, supporting and being supported by them.

Not exactly a familiar face, but one he had seen before.

He had some acquaintance with her. And that somewhat familiar face was like an inanimate object.

Grotesque. That was the only impression Luwellin had. He felt nothing divine or sacred.

A tower built of humans, knees buckling under excessive weight, the mixed and chaotic body odors of people piled layer upon layer, even humans who had grown cold from not breathing properly.

There are times when ordinary dreams become nightmares. This was such a time. Luwellin unconsciously drew in a breath and felt his heart racing without realizing it.

And Luwellin’s heart…

Thump—!

Divine power spreading in concentric circles from Luwellin. A sense of bewilderment in the space. Renia’s face contorting with sadness and despair.

Before Luwellin could say anything…

Crash!

The dream shattered.

Amidst the scattering fragments, Luwellin opened his eyes.

Clang!

Luwellin’s extended leg smashed the smoking device that had been emitting the drug. The acrid scent abruptly cut off and settled to the floor, and Luwellin, coughing, looked around.

‘Gone.’

The cow-person wasn’t there.

And she wasn’t the only one missing.

To Luwellin, who staggered outside, the building that had once been a brothel appeared desolate and cold, as if no human had ever entered it.

The humans who had been passionately engaged in acts, the humans and demi-humans mixing bodies, the demi-humans sharing animal-like passion with each other…

Even the nobly dressed man who had lain on a demi-human’s lap, talking as if he just wanted someone to speak with, wearing a sad expression.

As if everything Luwellin remembered was a lie, he saw only a desolate space filled with dust.

Cold sweat dripped onto that dust, and Luwellin hurriedly went outside.

His retreating figure looked like someone fleeing.

Just like when he was a child, having a nightmare and crying in his sister’s arms.